A little crush on my happy chairs....

To further along my Home Makeover I headed from Princess Room to Dining Room.  I have  a cheap dining room table.  I will admit it.  I also have NO desire to upgrade to a better one.  Every day something disgusting, hazerdous, or just plain disasterous happens to that table.  It has been Sharpied, gouged with a fork repeatedly, finger painted, and had construction paper glued all over it.  AND that was all in the past two weeks.  No sir....no new table for me until my kiddos are all past the RUINING phase.

SOOO I decided to upholster them.   They were just plain wood before.  Now they are plain wood with a little KICK:)  Can you tell which one Em helped with????

She REALLY wanted to show off her creation--she cracks me up!!!!

I used THIS site to help with the actual upholstery.  BUT I did a few things differently.  I used oilcloth for starters.  I KNEW that there was NO point in covering my chairs with fabric.  That would have lasted about....2 minutes before they were totally ruined.  So OILCLOTH it was.  I ordered it from ETSY.  I used THE OILCLOTH ADDICT.  I would TOTALLY order from her again.  She was nice, quick, helpful AND the price was right. 
Another difference....It only took me about 1.5 yards of the 3 yards I ordered.  She used 6 yards of fabric for 6 chairs.  I only needed 1.5 for 3 chairs.  Not sure what the difference was.  I could do two across the width of the fabric.  SOOO now I have a giant leftover piece of oilcloth---now I need another project. 
ONE more difference, I used 2 inch foam instead of 1 inch foam.  SOOO I folded my corners like a present instead of with pleats.  I liked the way it looked....crisp and clean and square. 

 Although this took some time, it was pretty easy and I felt it had big pay off.  I LOVE THEM!!!  They make me happy.  Happy in the kitchen does not happen too often.....So I am going to savor it while it lasts.  And REALLY  doesn't the cute little chair look pretty happy too?? :)

Monday Makeover--Princess bed and a few odds and ends

 OK...so I have not been slacking on the whole 52 weeks of MAKE OVER thing...but I am a bit slacking on the whole....BLOGGING thing:)  Recently Emersyn started Pre-school, which means that Ethan and I have 2 1/2 hours to kill without our happy helper.  We have spent quite a bit of that time at thrift stores.  My first find....

A Princess Bed Tent for Emersyn's room.  I didn't plan on changing Em's room at the moment, but could not resist this beauty for just 8 bucks.  It has cute little butterflies on it (which just happened to be the EXACT color of her bedroom).  SHE LOVES IT!!!!!!! 

I find her in there playing with her babies or stuffed animals.   She uses it as a fort.  When she takes a nap, it is RAPUNZEL's tower...and I of course am Flynn Ryder. 

In the beginning she would play herself to sleep and  I would have to come SAVE her in the middle of the night because she would be all tangled up.  BUT now I guess she has figured out how to un-tangle herself...THANK GOODNESS!!!  Ok....moving on to Cool Find Number 2....

 This was another Goodwill find.  For 10 bucks I am SUPER excited to have some storage in her room.  Clearly I have not figured out WHAT to store yet, but I am working on that.  AGAIN....what are the odds that the tubs would EXACTLY match her bedroom????  I found the tent and the shelf in the same day...and I am not gonna lie I was PRETTY PROUD OF MYSELF!!!
The next to additions to her room have been on my TO-DO list for about...A YEAR!!!  I even had the stuff to make-over, just not the time, energy, or motivation.  BUT once one thing gets up-graded, it is best to keep the ball rolling.  SO I took this little shelf I found at Value Village for 5 dollars and gave it a face lift. 

 I thought it had potential...although the bright drawers....not a fan.  SOO I sanded it and spray painted it all white.  Then I used some of the leftover paint from her walls to paint the knobs.  AND VOILA....a cute little shelf for all of her hair stuff.  It is perfect for holding clips and rubberbands.  And I can imagine that SOME DAY she can put her little jewelry stuff or something in it.  Kinda Fun!!

 THEN....I took this frame from Value Village (2 bucks) and took out the glass and lovely mountain scene.

 I spray painted the frame, stapled chicken wire to the back of the frame (there are tutorials ALL over the web for the how too), and added the bows ( I probably needed a bigger frame--haha!!).  I just wanna add that I used my BRAND NEW staple gun, which is MY FIRST OFFICIAL TOOL.  I have never had a tool of my own, so this is not borrowed from the MAN OF THE HOUSE....IT IS MINE!!!  I love that.  And another side-note...I used the power sander ALL BY MYSELF to sand the shelves.  YEP....pretty proud of myself!!!  I know SOME women are all independent and use power tools and stuff...Not Me.  But I am getting there...one NON-hand removing tool at a time:)

Here is the new HAIR STATION....Much better than the huge pile of junk that used to reside on the top of her dresser!!

And since the REAL reason for my blog is to remember this time of my life and the lives of my kiddos, I am gonna take a quick tour of Emersyn's room as it is right now.  Go ahead and blog hop somewhere else if you like. 
Her dresser area is in one corner.  We found the dresser on Craigslist and Todd did some touch up painting to it.  I love that it is kinda throw back vintage looking---although it is actually from Target (shhhh).  
The shelves I got from Grandma June before Emersyn was born.  She thought I might find a use for them....yes please.  I painted them and think they are kinda cute and girlie.  The 2 vintage signs and the cute soap box were a gift for Baby Girl when she was born (Thanks Paula).  The hanging signs were made by my Bobbie and have cute little vinyl words on them.  The tiny ceramic piggies were found by Russ  and given to us (since anyone who knows me AT ALL knows I have a thing for piggies).  Next are Em's first little baby shoes--I cannot make myself pack them up.  AND LAST  are her cute little Birthday Girls.  One for each of her 3 birthdays and given to her by Grandma Marilee. 

 Next to her bed is her night stand.  I painted this when I was pregnant with her.  This night stand was next to my bed MY WHOLE LIFE.  I stacked my books under it and stashed my treasures (and journal) in the little drawer.  I KNEW she needed it too.  So I sanded off the ugly dark brown paint and replaced the old school gold knob with a pretty flower.

 Ballerina Piggy bank came from Marcie and has already been emptied once into a savings account---woop woop!!!!!  The little girl lamp was given to us by my Aunt Brenda.  It belonged to my cousin Jamie and was given to her by my Grandma Louise.  My Grandma painted it for her and she had had it in HER room for her whole life.  She kept it to pass to her daughter, but since she doesn't have any children, she wanted Emersyn to have it.  I actually have the SAME lamp, but painted in different colors.  Mine was given to me by MY Grandma June and it resides up stairs in my craft room.  They both mean more to me than I can express and I LOVE that Emersyn gets to grow up with a piece of her Great Grandmas.   
MOVING ON.   The ugly star is Emersyn's music box.  As a baby she was the worst sleeper EVER.  This music plays for EVERY nap, EVERY bed time, AND EVERY nightmare---night waking---quiet time.  I am sure she can now go to sleep without it, but I don't wanna find out. 

Phewww....that about sums it up.  There are a few more changes I would like to add to Emersyn's room to make it a little more BIG GIRL.  But for now we are pretty happy with the results:)

Fun Quote Friday!!!

Those of you who know me best know that I do not often HOLD BACK my true opinions.  BUT I kinda do when it really matters.  SO I have recently decided to be MORE me.  I saw this quote and LOVED it.  Why WOULDN'T I wanna be me????  I think trying to be more NOT me sucks and takes too much energy.  SOOOO Cheers to ME-ness!  More Me-ness (I guess You-ness for you) for everyone!!!

ABC Baby you and me now....

I found these ABC exercise cards and thought they looked PERFECT for us.  1.  Emersyn LOVES to exercize right now.  2.  She is also learning her letters.  WIN WIN!!  I didn't cute them up like THEY did because I figured the fun would wear off quick or Ethan would eat them anyway.  I just printed them and cut them out.  And guess what......

 We are getting big old muscles.  YES WE ARE:)  This was a hit.  First we identified the letter and then we did the activity listed. 

 This is not gonna get you abs of steel, but it does get your heart beating.  We did the whole alphabet AND Emersyn usually makes us do it ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE HOUSE.  For example if the card says walk in place.....we walk in place through the whole house. 

 I got a good sweat going (it was a 90 degree day though).  It was better than sitting around on the couch and typing on the computer:)   So if you have a busy little one and need an excuse to get off your bum...print these.  OR if you need to make dinner and want your busy one to scram....print these.

Have fun getting your KARATE KICK on!!

Bookmobile!

Did you guys have the bookmobile growing up???  I used to love to climb on that big old bus and find new books (or the same old ones again).  We have the bookmobile in our neighborhood, but I am not sure of the schedule....so we just go to the boring old library.  BUT someday I want Emersyn to walk up on the Mobile Bus filled with goodness and be amazed.  Anyway...I love the library (although it is not as adventursome as the Bookmobile) and have found a few good reads lately.

First off, SOMETHING BORROWED by Emily Giffin. 

 I will just preface this by saying this one was probably pushing the PG13 radar.  If you don't mind some adult language mixed with a lot of adult content....than no worries.  IF you do mind...than not for you.  Anyway....this one was hard for me to read.  I am sure you are familiar with the premiss because it is now a very popular movie.  There are 2 best friends (like the kind who have been best friends for their whole life).  One is the hot popular friend who is REALLY NOT THAT NICE.  The other is the nice cute sweet friend who gets trampled on by the mean girl.  Anyway....long story short...nice girl starts having an affair with mean girls FIANCE.  I know that is so NOT COOL!!!  My problem with this book is that I have a moral issue with cheating, so I didn't know who to root for.  I was also not sure if the fiance was using the nice girl or if they REALLY loved each other.  It was all just a little creepy to me.  Sneaking, lies, cheating...not my thing.  I thought it was well written and the author is funny.  AND I for sure understood the good friend/bad friend relationship, but I had a hard time getting past the whole CHEATING with an almost married man thing.  Yep....that is that. 

Next, NOWHERE CAROLINA by Tamara Leigh.  I recently found out this is a number 2 in a group of books, the first one being LEAVING CAROLINA.  I did not read the first (but I am now) and it doesn't seem to matter what order they go in.  Just some of the same characters.  Anyway...this one cracked me up...BIG TIME!!!!  If I wrote a book (which is right up there on my bucket list), I would write like Tamara Leigh.  FUNNY LADY!!!!  This book was about Maggie, who used to be the cool girl, head cheerleader, not nice, high school dream girl.  NOW she is a much changed and grown up mother of a 12 year old.  The problem....she is not sure which of 3 men is DADDY to her daughter.  She had a rough couple days I guess you could say.  She is now living a good Christian life and has changed her ways, but her daughter is getting teased for  the fact that her mom doesn't know who....well you know.  SOOO she goes on a quest to find out which of the 3 is the winner.  To add flames to the fire, one of the daddy contenders moves back to town.  He is the one she hopes is the winner and who she actually had feelings for (and still does), but she begins to lie and sneak around and freak everyone out.  GREAT FUNNY BOOK!!!   My favorite 2 parts of the book...1. Maggie has a word of the day calendar and tries to fit the word of the day into her DAILY conversations....pretty funny for the English teacher still hiding inside me.  AND 2. They way Maggie prays.  Sometimes she mutters a prayer like..."oh crap God please don't let my daughter find out I was a big fat floozy."  Cracked me up....although I am sure it is very improper:)  

 Finally, THE GIRL IN THE GATEHOUSE by Julie Klassen. 

This book reminded me of a classic British novel...like Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice.  It was set back in the day and ALL about proper and improper.  Mariah (the main character) had been sent to live in her aunt's gatehouse because of an indiscretion that has caused her to be shunned by society ( you have to read it to find out what naughty thing she did).  Her aunt dies and she is forced to try to earn some money to pay her rent, so she decides to sell some of her novels (did I mention she was an author???).  Since novel writing was about as bad as prostitution back in the day, she tries to keep it all a secret and writes under a pseudonym.  Of course the new tenant in the main house is a hunky man...thus the necessary love interest...but he is trying to show his OLD love that he has moved up in society and is in fact equal to her family so they can be married.  It is an interesting story about right and wrong and lost and found reputations.  Nice sweet simple old fashioned book. 

AND just for fun....a children's book to add to the mix.  We read A LOT of kid's books over here and LET'S BE HONEST....SOME suck.  BUT when you find a good one....it is REALLY GOOD and should be shared.  I loved this one.   BIG WORDS FOR LITTLE PEOPLE by Jamie Lee Curtis (yep the Activia lady).

I love making little kids smarter....because then they will be smart BIG kids.  This book uses big words and makes them cute and fun.  Now Emersyn likes to add those words in to her life sometimes...not always correctly, but at least we try.  Who doesn't wanna hear their 3 year old say INTELLIGENCE in a sentence???  LOVE IT!!!!

HAPPY READING:)

Fun Quote Friday!!!

I guess if I can "create" something cool like......an Emersyn....than I can pretty much make anything:)

Pre-Schooler IN THE HOUSE!!!!

Pre-school is in full swing around here and we (aka Emersyn) could NOT be more excited about life.  She also could NOT be any cuter!!!!  I mean really???? It is just not fair to the other kids--haha!!!  Anyway.... I had a crazy idea that I wanted to get Emersyn a cute LITTLE backpack.  You know like the perfect size for a little tiny person???

Then I got the crazy idea to make her one.  STUPID MISTAKE.  I ended up spending a lot more than I should have and wasted a LOT of time.  BUT I guess it was a good life lesson.  I learned to READ the pattern before buying fabric (the first bunch I bought was not the right type).  I learned to check around first before buying online (I got screwed when the owner of the etsy shop I bought from WENT ON VACATION and forgot to send me my fabric).  I learned that JOANN never lets me down (I found about 15 cute types of canvas right in the store after searching online for weeks and only finding 2 or 3 that I liked).  I learned that once you tell your kid you are making them a backpack you better MAKE them a backpack.  I also learned to NEVER GO TO A FABRIC STORE ON A HOLIDAY (1 hour in the cutting line, 20 minutes in the check out line, another 20 minutes in line at another store to get the 99cent item you forgot at the first store GRRRR!!!).  I also learned that kids are never COMPLETELY potty trained and that you can make a backpack in about 3 hours (the night before the first day of school) if you have no choice.  Wanna See It????

I used THIS pattern from Made By Rae.  It was pretty easy and well explained.  I will probably never use piping...EVER!! But it was a good learning experience.  The rest of the bag was a cinch, but the piping pretty much kicked my butt. 
A few things I would do differently....I would use 2 different fabrics.  I would maybe add a side pocket.  I would MAYBE make a larger size.  This is perfect for her, but it does not hold a folder.  Her cute little papers come home folded in half.  BUTTTT it is the same size as the other backpacks I see roll up at the pre-school, so for now it is perfect. 

Speaking of ROLLING UP TO PRE-SCHOOL....it is like ANOTHER world over there.  I am BARELY into my 30's and I feel like the frumpy old lady mom.  The other mommas roll up in their pimped out Escalades and park next to my mom van.  Hmmm??? Am I a loser???  The first thing I thought on day one was....."Oh shoot, all of my wife beaters and shorty shorts were in the wash this morning...I had to drop my kid off in my capris and sensible shoes.  DARN IT!!!"  What the crap....who are these moms?????  They have fake tans, fake nails, and fake....well a lot of fake things.  Anyway...I guess I will not be showing up in my sweats and a hat as I fully expected to do after week one....BUMMER for getting showered and dressed twice a week:)

  Anyway...moving on.  Em's 2nd day of school dress was a re-purpose.  I started with a polo dress hand-me-down that had a bit of staining on the front.  I cut it off and added this cute birdie fabric.  The bottom fabric is my new favorite knit fabric.  It is from Joanns and I have bought it twice and will probably be back for more.  I made the ruffle on the bottom out of a two inch strip.  Instead of sewing down the middle of the ruffle I sewed two lines of stitching about 1/4 inch off the middle.  That made it look a bit like pleats instead of ruffles, I kinda love it.  I am not sure why it looks like I sewed the ruffle on crooked in the picture, but I am pretty sure it is straight....or at least straighter than that:) 

I can just imagine what the Barbie moms would think if they found out my kid was wearing a handmade backpack and  a re-purposed dress--haha!!!  I love it.  Em LOVES it too.  She cannot wait to get out the door in the morning!!!  I guess the kids must be nicer than the moms :)

Success!!

I just have to start off by saying.....I DISTRESSED SOMETHING!!!  I have been wanting to mess up some good stuff for A LONG TIME.  But it really isn't the style of my house.  I decided WHAT THE HECK....and did it anyway.  AND (drumroll) I LOVE how it looks in my house.  Even a modern clean look works with my NEW VINTAGE TRAY. 

I found this KITTY tray at Value Village.  AND as much as I DOOOO love kitties....I did not love the whole kitty cat, country blue, hearted up vibe.  Cool if that is your thing I guess...

I painted and distressed and fell in love.  Like when I first saw it I almost asked it to marry me...BUT then I decided Todd would not wanna be a Sister Tray....or whatever that would make him, so I decided to just hug it and give it a little space.  FOR NOW:)

And for now it is sitting on my happy  (and cleaned off for once) counter with my happy pink flowers, RIGHT above my happy little organized JUNK DRAWERS.  AND that makes me

VERY HAPPY!!!

Makeover Monday-- 1 down, 51 to go

I have about A MILLION half done projects going on in my house right now.  SERIOUSLY.  I am that person who is UN-linear.  Most people would attack their house one room or project at a time.  NOT ME!!!  I jumped in and attacked EVERTHING in my house.  Now I have a FEW organized areas amongst A LOT of chaos.  My completions so far are pretty boring and have not made ANY impact on the overall look of my house, but they have made me FEEL better, so that is what counts I guess. 

To start off, I have been reading multiple books on cleaning and organization strategies...

 and then I found a 21 days to getting organized challenge....

and sooooo a lot of what I did this weekend was CLEANING and ORGANIZING.  Not fun for me...not really too fun for you either.  BUT here it is. 

PER the 21 day challenge I started with JUNK DRAWER.  Only problem....I have about 5 junk drawers in my house.  I tackled 3.
PER Unstuff Your Life, EVERTHING NEEDS A HOME AND LIKE THINGS SHOULD BE WITH LIKE THINGS.  I have always believed this, but needed it to hit me over the head.  SOOO I am also trying to find PERMANENT places for all of my STUFF.
PER...something else I read somewhere....take before and after pictures so that you can look at them and be embarressed and NEVER wanna go back to that ugliness.  I am going one step further and showing YOU ALL the ugliness so that I will be even more MORTIFIED and never let my drawers get so *&%! out of control. 
HERE GOES....

Junk Drawer #1 BEFORE

After: I stole some trays from my bathroom drawers (which are coming up soon on the list) and divided up the nonsense. 

BEFORE:

After:  Mostly I had to put the 1 thousand things that didn't belong in there in THEIR homes and then the drawer was a snap to clean up.  I am still thinking about dividers, but good for now.

Before:

After: 90% of the crap went in the trash. Now I have phone numbers and addresses.  I should really get more friends so I have enough numbers to fill the drawer back up:)

I also tackled THIS ugly mail holder and got it all cleaned out and pretty again, but have not figured out my NEW HOME for the mail yet....working on that one still:)

Pretty boring.  I hear ya. I WOULD totally recommend these 2 books if you are looking to de-clutter.  They are not start to finish reads, but skim and skip through books.  I LOVE people giving me ideas for keeping the crap chaos under control.  ANYWAY....

 I hope to have some of the fun stuff finished up SOON.  On the half done list....3 spray painting projects, 1 Ana White wood project, and creating a new office area in my bedroom.  BUT until I get off my bum and off PINTEREST.....