Dining Decision

For months, literally, I’ve treated our dining area as nothing more than a hallway.

On one side, a glass topped table…  On the other, a brown paper bag console table.

That’s it.

No art.  In fact, the only ornamentation was the fruit bowl I put together.  The console has exactly three candles and a mirror.

I’ve managed to get the rest of the room almost in shape.  I even managed to get new curtains from the local Salvation Army (for $9.99!).  The room does need artwork and some tweaking, but that will come in time.

Back to the dining area….

The glass-topped table and modern chairs just aren’t working in sync with the rest of the room.  They’re just too modern and cold, while the rest of the room is comfy and traditional(ish).   It left me uninspired… to say the least.

I had a breakthrough today!  My local Salvation Army had a solid wood, round, pedestal table!  One that needs work – but you can’t expect perfection for $24.99!  Right now, it’s in two pieces in my living room, waiting for me to decide what to do with it!

And there is the dilema.

I’m thinking a white base, dark stained top and a compass rose overlay.

The Ogre?  Well, he’s not on board with the white base, although he is very approving of the compass rose.  I suggested black…. he doesn’t think that will work, either.

This decision could be a while in making.

I’ll keep you posted as to who wins!

—

I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Re-organizing for a better workflow…

This is my sewing room.

Yah.  I know.  It’s an unorganized, untidy mess.  And it is affecting not only how I feel about being in the room, but also about how I actually work when I’ve gathered up the gumption to start sewing.

That has GOT to stop.

In the effort to rework this room so that it is more easily kept clean and tidy, I’ve made a few changes.

Firstly, the large white armoire that holds my belly dance costumes?  I moved it to our bedroom (which desperately needs doing!).  This cleared up a lot visual space and actually made more room for future storage pieces.

Next, I moved all of my fabric to plastic tubs and piles in the hallway.

That freed up the shelves so I could remove them.   Of course, this meant I had brand new holes in the walls that have to fill and touch up.  No photos of this, since I know you’ve all seen patched walls!)

I moved my corner desk to the opposite side of the room.  Instead of pushing the “L” into the corner, I moved it so one of the legs jutted out into the room.  The space under the window is perfect for my ironing board.  From my new desk position, I face the doorway instead of a wall – so the room feels more spacious, even though it isn’t!

I took the time to paint a very old bulletin board and even older bookcase.  My grandfather made this bookcase for me about 35 years ago.  It started out as white, then was a light pink, then a beige….  But this is my room and I wanted a pop of color.  I think he’d be pleased!

Opposite to the bookcase is my shelf system.  The shelves are covered in a snakeskin vinyl print that’s easy to wipe down, and smooth enough that even the most delicate fabric won’t catch.  I installed these by mounting the brackets on two slender lengths of board.  This way, there are only 4 screws per unit in the wall instead of 12 per side!  The board backing also helps distribute the weight of the fabric over a larger surface, which helps with my brittle walls.

The shelves are above my cutting table.  To the left of the cutting table are two rather pink plastic storage units.  These units were holding the majority of my patterns (many which are pdf files), but I’m going to be using them for only the patterns that I have tried and like.  The untried patterns are now sitting on top of the cutting table, waiting patiently!

In the corner, I’ve got two wall mounted mirrors flanking a mirrored door.  This is a perfect place to store Edith as well as get a view of myself from more than one angle.  Helpful when fitting a pattern!

Right below the window, I have my ironing board.  It’s convenient here, since it’s a case of “sew a seam, press a seam”.

Getting the bones of the room this far actually took most of the weekend.  On Monday night, I decided to move the desk about 2 feet…  and broke it (don’t ask…  there was bruising and swearing, as well as a bit of blood involved.)

I spent Monday evening trying to put it back together again, but the connector units were absolutely useless by this point.  On Tuesday I picked up some corner brackets, some metal plate connectors and some longer screws.  It took several hours on Tuesday, but I managed to put it together again.  The Ogre had to help me with putting the hutch on top of the desk, but I managed to do the rest on my own.

Even with all of this, the hardest part hadn’t even started!  It’s difficult for me to just fold and sort my fabric, when all I really want to do is fondle it!  However, I was disciplined – tough, even!  I only succumbed to tempation a time or two!

That’s the story of the improved sewing studio.  Clean and neat and with a better workflow and storage.

Now I have to try to keep it that way!

—

I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.\

Saturday’s Success!

I’m going to get to into the meat of this particular post, but I’d first like to notify you that I’m thinking about moving to a five day a week posting schedule for the summer.  Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday are looking like they might be the winning days, but I’m not sure yet.  If you have any input, please feel free to post a comment! I’d love to know what you feel about this.

Now…. ON TO THE POST!

Before I even poured my coffee, I had the first coat of paint on the inside of the night table for the guest room.  Those of you who know me in real life will understand how desperate I am to get this room done!  Working on it sans coffee!  Wow.

While I waited for the first coat to dry, I scooted to the kitchen, poured my coffee, took my first sip, fed the cat and then boogied outside to water my garden.  I’ve been neglectful of it, and I’m afraid it shows.  My poppies, which were showing so very much potential, seem to have all disappeared.  I’ll know better next time!

Then it was down to the basement to work on some of the other projects.  Like painting these plastic overlay pieces.  These started out life as square overlays from Dollarama.  I trimmed them down and cut them into quarters on the diagonal.

And sew the hem to the box-pleated bed skirt.

All of this while doing laundry, watching movies and chatting with the Ogre.  Multi-tasking at it’s finest!

With the overlays dry and the last stitch done on the hem, it was time to take all of my toys upstairs and really get to work!

It was also time for another cup of coffee!  ‘Cause our house runs on love and strong cups of coffee.  For real!

Coffee in hand,  I went back upstairs and added DIY bed risers to the frame for the double bed.  They are nothing more than 2″ X 2″  X 6″ with a large screw set into the center to join to the foot of the frame.

I moved on to covering the headboard I had built out of leftovers.  There are lots of tutorials out there on how to do this, so I won’t bother to show you the fifty-zillion staples right now.

Once the headboard was completed, I attached it to the bed frame and set up the box spring.

Next up was my possibly most disliked household chore!  I broke out my iron and spent far too much time running it over the bed skirt.  Am I the only one who detests ironing?  I know it’s needful, but really…

The room’s really starting to come together!  There’s a lot to still be completed, but these are smaller projects.  It’s so nice to have the big things done!

I hope you’re having a great weekend and being as productive (or not!) as you want to be!

—

I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

My Mommy’s Coming to Visit!

In three short weeks, my Mom will be here for a 10 day visit.  This may not seem momentous to anyone but my sister and I.  But Mom lives on PEI, and my sister Carolyn and I live here in Ottawa, ON.

We do speak by phone, but visits are few and far between.  We either have the time to visit OR the money to do so.  Sometimes, though, the stars align and it all falls into place!

This time, it’s due to my youngest sister.  She’s a military wife and her husband is away for a few weeks at the end of June.  She’s packing up her little girls, popping them and my Mom into her car and heading out to spend time with her in-laws in Montreal.  Fortunately, Montreal is only a short trip from here!  I’ll go and pick up Mom, visit with my sister and the littles (and her lovely in-laws!) for the day, then drive quickly away with my Mom stashed in my truck!  [About 10 days later, I’ll reverse the process and I won’t be nearly as excited then 😦 ]

Anyhow….

I’m so thankful that I’ve managed to get the living room (except for trim at the ceiling) done.  The first floor is definitely Mom-ready.

The second floor, however, not so very much at all, at all!

I’ve got to get an actual guest room completed.  Not that Mom would mind, I know.  She’s coming to see my sister and I, not my house.  But she’s done so very much for me and loved me through my absolute worst times that I want to have a pretty, restful haven for her here.  After all, she’s “ditching” Dad for the duration and is going to need some benefits tossed her way!

Here’s what the room looked like when I thought to take a few photos.  I’m not quite sure WHAT I did wrong with my camera, so I’m going to ask you to forgive the poor quality.

Last weekend was a rainy weekend, which always throws me off my game.  However, I did manage to finish the “Stay Calm and Sleep In” artwork on Saturday and get the second (and third) coat of spackle on the areas that needed it.  I also moved the mattress and box spring into the storage bedroom (which will one day be my craft room/studio space!)

Sunday was designated as sanding, priming and painting day.  I wet sand spackle, just to cut down on the amount of dust in tee air, and that goes fairly quickly.  Then, I taped off the floor.  I didn’t bother taping off the ceiling as the primer really doesn’t show against the ceiling paint.  It does mean I have to be very careful cutting in when I’m using color, but I find that easier than trying to tape off popcorn ceilings!

With the tape in place, I primed.  This room, like all of the other painted rooms in this house, had been done in two colors.  There were two very pale blue walls and two bright pastel blue walls.  Two coats of primer covered enough that I could move on.

With the walls primed, I quit for the day and moved on to a hot, hot bath.  It’s amazing how much paint I can get on myself!

There’s still a lot to be done!  The yellow paint for the walls, the white on the trim will be done during the week, I hope!  I’ve got a dresser and night table to paint, lamps to re-do, an upholstered headboard and pleated bedskirt to finish, curtains and a blind to hang… and the list continues.

But it’s for my Mom.  And she is soooooo very worth every bit of it!

—

I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Living Room Console Reveal

Tah-Dah!!!!

Isn’t it beeeeyoootiful?  I’m so happy with how it turned out.

Tutorial Tuesday! Paper bag finish…

I’ll be doing the console/sofa back in DIY chalk-y paint and paper bag finish.  It’s a first for me, and I’m astonished that someone actually thought of this.  The results I’ve seen on the interwebs are just beautiful.  Hopefully, mine will turn out something like these..

4 You With Love used Rit dye to tint her glue during the process and ended up with this perfect floor!

These stairs?  Joyfolie did a masterful job!

It’s even sturdy enough for a bathroom floor!  Compulsive in Texas did a half bath that looks absolutely terrific!

I’m of the firm belief that, if it’s sturdy enough for a floor, it’ll do JUST FINE for a console top!  It’ll give the simply shaped console a bit of old-world feeling.

It’s your turn.  Have you tried the paper bag finish?  I’d love to hear how it turned out for you!

—

I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Thinking ahead

Surely, I can’t be the only person who is working on one (or three) projects while thinking of the zillions yet to come!  I can’t be that unique – even if I am “special” sometimes!

I’m pretty much like that no matter what I’m doing, but it seems to be even more emphasized in the DIY/Decorating department.

For example…

I’ve been limiting myself to working on one room at a time.  Mostly so I can actually have a finished refuge or two, but also because it just feels right.

I worked on the Closet Mudroom until it was done.  Then, I moved on to the First Floor Hallway.  When that was finished, it was time for the Living/Dining room.  Which meant painting, redoing bookcases, and prioritizing the other zillion things that the room needs to be complete.  Right now, I’m working on the console table/sofa back.  Once that’s complete, the dining room console will need doing, the coffee table will need renovating, the dining room table will get redone and the gray velvet chair will need completing.  Some sort of art will also need to be created.

There’s also the Patio/Garden… which I’m working on when I can.  That project has seen me move the dozens of concrete pavers that were there, create a walkway to the gate and rip up every single blade of grass.  There’s still the grading of the soil, the (re)placement of the stones, the tilling and augmenting of the soil and the actual planting to go.  Not to mention the painting of the cushions I rescued from the curb and the creation of some sort of art for the space.

Even with all of this going on (not to mention the 40 hour work week my employer prefers I actually show up for!), I’m thinking about the next room.  In my head, I’ve got the perfect Guest Room planned.  And, suddenly, a Studio for my costuming and DIY things popped into my head.

I’m trying very hard to stick to “one thing at a time”, but it’s tough sometimes.  There’s a struggle to keep to the plan.

Thinking about it, I’m realizing that it’s the planning and dreaming that keeps me going.   Even though I’d love to come home to a beautiful home and not feel rushed or pressured to get things done, the idea that I might actually come to a definitive end and finish everything is not something I really want to think about!

Of course, it helps that I know it really won’t end, ever.  There will always be another project.

Which is wonderful for my sanity… but not so great for the Ogre’s!

—

I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Bookcase Week – The mini-reveal!

OK, so this isn’t REALLY the big reveal.  It’s a mini-reveal.  There are still a few things that need completing before we get to the end.

Nonetheless, it’s time to show you what they look like against the wall.

If you remember, these cases started out as a motley array of beech and birch finished, multi-sized lovelies.  Some from K-Mart (when Canada still HAD a K-Mart), some from Zellers and some inherited from The Girl, I think.  There were also three short Billy’s that the Ogre and I purchased about 12 years ago.

After some Gorilla Glue and homemade chalk-y paint, the pieces were left to cure for several days before loading up again.  (Here’s where I take a deep breath and hope you all like it as much as I do!)

Fabric to the rescue!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the projects that bring me the most rewarding feelings – whether it be in the planning, the doing or the enjoying afterward.  I know for some, paint is the answer to any question.  For me, it’s fabric and fibres (yarns, etc).

There’s really no surprise in that.  My Mom is a long time seamstress turned quilter.  Both of my Grandmother’s knit and crochet things of great beauty – and warmth!  My Dad is a knitter.  His Dad knew his way around a sewing machine, as well.

I started knitting when I was 18.  For about 15 years I designed and knit pretty much anything.  I used to joke with the Ogre that I could knit a couch!  I probably could, but can’t see any reason to, though.

I had to stop knitting, due to the repetitiveness of the motion.  I was experiencing too much physical discomfort in my arms, shoulders and neck.

So, I started sewing.  First by machine, then by hand.  I love working with fabric.  Feeling it in my hands as I hand sew is a relaxing, zen thing for me.  Most of my sewing is done by hand.  (I own two machines, but prefer my little needle and thread!).  I began belly dancing, and the costuming for that was exciting and thrilling.  There’s something so wonderful about taking a floppy piece of fabric and turning it into a bedlah (bra and belt) or circle skirt.

When we started planning for this move, I put my needle and fabric away for a while.  Walls need painting, furniture needs refinishing…  sewing and beading just had to be put on the back burner for a while.

Of course, I did do a bench cushion for the mudroom.  And a curtain panel for the doorway leading to the basement.  Now I’m working on some curtains for the patio door.

But I have an idea percolating in the back of my brain.  A way to use fabric to shore up the wood working skills I don’t have.  I’m hoping to experiment with that this coming weekend.  I’ll keep you posted.

I will tell you, though, that it has something to do with this lovely…

—

I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Wee Wallet Wednesday

Kijiji.  Oh, how I love thee.

On Sunday, I was browsing Kijiji for items in my favorite price range – free.  And I found several beauties.  Some, I skipped over, but the following two just HAD to be mine.

So I emailed.  And waited.  And waited.  I even left a wall partially painted to run downstairs to the computer to check my email at least five times once.

Two hours later, I received the lovely email that said I could come and get the items on Monday night.

Wheeee!!!

The Ogre doesn’t quite get my excitement, but I’m sure you all do.

This lovely lad will replace the Ogre’s current dresser… which will be moved to the guest room.  I won’t be working on it for some time, but it has such a nice shape that I think I’ll be able to do something really nice with it.

It doesn’t remotely match my dresser, but I like the disparity that provides.  The Ogre has his own tastes as do I – the bedroom will reflect both of them (I hope, anyway!).

The second piece is really the one that caught my eye.  I’ve been thinking of doing painted finishes for the guest room furniture, and I wanted to play with chalk paint (of the DIY variety, of course!).  This little lady has PERFECT lines – and a drawer!

Once the Ogre saw this piece, plans for it changed.  Now it’s destined for the living room as a side table.  Decorating by committee, I guess….

However, I’m so excited over these pieces.  And the price?  Well, it’s hard to beat FREE, isn’t it?

How ’bout you?  Any free or very inexpensive finds lately?  Things that you just can’t believe are yours now?  Share away!  I’d love to know.

—

I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.