February 7, 2010
Where to put all those earrings??

If you are female, I am sure you have a bunch of dangly earrings. If you do, I bet they are in a tangled
mess. When you find one to wear, you wonder, where is the other one?? Then you proceed to dig through
the pile thinking, there must be a better way!!

Ok, so maybe that is only me. BUT, this is a really pretty way to display and store your favorites! It is
very easy to make and will result in a decorative way to have your earrings conveniently located.

This is such an easy project! Really. Easy.

First, you need to pick a couple things:

1) Frame. It can be any kind, color, or size. I wanted a thick white frame but I had this, so I used it.
I think this one is 10x14.
2) Background. It can be fabric or paper. I used a piece of scrapbook paper.
3) Lace or Mesh. I have a HUGE bolt of this pretty lace that I snatched up from Ikea a few years ago.
If you ask nicely, I can even send you a piece, I have A LOT. It folds small so it would be cheap to mail.
4) Frame mat. You don't need one but since I used a thinner frame I thought it looked better with it.

Then, all you do is remove the glass and wrap the paper/fabric and lace. Then place in frame and hang!

I told you it was easy didn't I?? I didn't have to purchase a single item. You know you have a piece of
tulle or an old sheer curtain or SOMETHING like that hanging around. Now you just stick the earrings
through the lace and you're good to go! What a pretty little thing to hang in your bedroom or closet.

February 6, 2010

Today we took the boys to the pediatrician since they both have been pretty sick this week. Well, Oliver has
his first ear infection and Noah has pneumonia AND a double ear infection! Poor kiddos. Oliver is not
bothered by it at all and is as happy as can be. Noah, if on Motrin, is pretty happy as well. Last night his ears
were really bothering him, we felt so bad for him. He didn't want to put his head down on the pillow so we
propped it up a bit and that seemed to help a little. Hopefully after a day or two they will be feeling better. I hate
it when my babies are sick! We were planning on taking Noah for his first haircut today so that will have to wait
until next week. So don't mind his hair all in his eyes! Here is a quick video of Oliver chatting away and a couple
clicks of them being surprisingly chipper.

I'll be back with another project idea soon!

February 4, 2010

Today's project is a larger one, but still relatively simple, if you are handy or are married to a useful guy. :)
It is a desk turned into a bathroom vanity/sink! Take a look.

Beautiful and VERY functional! So, first you have to start with a great desk. A school teacher type desk.
One with drawers on the side. You want one of these because the drawers remain functional which, for me,
is pretty darn important (Hey, Steve has a drawer too!).

Then, all we had to do was find a sink basin we liked and cut a hole in the top. Now, this is one of those
instances where it would behoove you to measure twice (or 4x) and cut once! Once you cut it, well, it's cut!
I would start a little small just to give yourself a little room. Oh, before you cut, remove the middle drawer
if there is one. Just pull it out. Save it, you still need it.

Then, once you've got it cut you need to coat the top of the desk with Spar marine varnish. This will make
the top waterproof to prevent the wood from rotting and such. We used 4 or 5 coats. You can leave water
on it for days and it won't absorb. Fabulous! (we did this step outside because of fumes)

After that has dried, you can set the sink in and hook the pipes back up.

Once you have that in, you need to seal where the sink hits the desk with polyurethane caulk. This prevents
water from getting under the rim of the sink. We used clear.

Now you have to attach the drawer front. We removed the front from the actual drawer and then nailed it
to the desk frame from the side drawers.

Those are the basic steps. We also had to raise the desk up a bit since desks can be lower than average sink
height. You can see at the bottom of the desk, the base is just straight boards. That was lucky, since it made
adding height easy. Steve cut wood to the height we needed and attached it to the base. Voila! A good 4" or
so added.

I then bought a tension rod and sewed a curtain for the front. You could also just get a nice tall basket to
place under there. It is a very nice feature since we can use it to store TP and cleaning supplies. You
could use a basket and store towels! Or you could even attach a piece of wood near the base for a shelf
and place folded towels on it.

This was actually the very first project we did when we moved in 3 years ago. It has become pretty
popular since then. But, I have mostly seen people use old dressers. This is so much easier and nicer
because the drawers can still be used. Unlike with a dresser where the drawers are all removed and just the
fronts remain. It is also kind of neat, this desk was Steve's from when he was a kid. I guess his dad bought it
from a garage sale for $5 back in the 80s! I loved the style, the color, and the drawer pulls. It just so
happened to be almost a perfect match for our doors in the bathroom. Very lucky!

This was one of the best things we've done. The sink that was here before was a pedestal. This is
infinitely more useful, and much more beautiful! LOVE it.

What do YOU think???

February 3, 2010

Here is my next home "project" idea. This one is SUPER easy. It is a blanket rack made from an old
ladder! It is very handy and looks nice in contemporary-country style. Think, Pottery Barn.
That is generally how I describe my house. I like very clean, simple, vintage inspired, antique, and
WHITE. Can you tell already?? Mostly I am pretty anti-clutter. Plus, lately I have become quite bold in
my wall color choices. To make up for all the white accessories and furniture I use. Recently we have
painted dark chocolate brown, a deep poppy red & New England blue. Our next painting project is going to
be a terra-cotta orange! I think we might even attempt extra-wide stripes for our stairs and hallway. We'll see.

Hmm. How did I get that far on a tangent? Anyways, here is a view of the ladder we have. We actually
got really lucky. I had been wanting to do this and when we moved into our (100 yr old) house, this ladder
was in the garage! It is super old and covered in splats of paint and stain, and has lots of wear on it. I love
it! It really has so much character. I have received countless compliments on it in the 3 years we've had it.

(Oh, and see that beautiful quilt?? My baby sister Hollianne made that for us. Thanks Holli!)

All you do is find an old wooden ladder (garage sales, antique stores, auctions, barn sales etc) and cut it to the
size you like. I had Steve cut ours from floor to the very edge of our crown molding. Then, we just braced it
to the wall with some small brackets. Actually, we didn't do that part until last year, when Noah become mobile.
Figured it was safer. But it is also nice because you can PUUUULLL the blankets off without it falling over.

You could also use a new wood ladder and paint it. Beat it up with something maybe. Chains? Hammer?
I don't know, I'm just shooting some ideas out there. Does anyone have any chains just hanging around
anyways?? Probably not. Oh, I also have one ladder left over. It isn't quite as nice as this one, but it is still
great. If you are local and are interested, you could have it! Just throw me a quick note and I'll let you know
if it has been claimed or not.

Keep an eye out, tomorrow I will be posting another fun idea!

February 3, 2010
Shots from Noah's Party!

I'm not sure what happened, but yesterday when I updated the website, all the text disappeared! By then
I was so tired, I decided to leave it until today. So, sorry for all those who visited and were confused.

Anyways, here are some photos from Noah's 2nd birthday party! He had such a BLAST! Man he was
so excited. We decorated for the party while he was taking his nap, so he was thrilled when he woke up.
As I'm sure you can notice, he loves Elmo (what 2 year old doesn't?). He doesn't even watch Sesame St
except for a couple times, so it is pretty interesting. We do have about ten Sesame Street books though.
So, he had a great time! He loved having everyone here. When he woke up in the morning he said,
"Everyone? Over? In a minute?". So cute.

We are back in our regular groove here, with all 3 kiddos during the day. The baby girl I watch is here
7-5 so that makes for busy days! Be sure to stop back tonight, I plan on adding a new creative idea for
the house. I think this one will be an easy one...we'll see!

Noah in his new tent (which is MUCH larger than we had thought. yikes).