New Year, New Resolutions

It's not been a good start to 2012, I must say. I was full of ideas...full of promises of what I was going to START doing....but then....what I had (what we all had) been dreading happened......

I lost my sister in law to cancer. My 39 year old sister in law. My sister in law who I had been friends with since I was 7. We were in Sunday school together. We graduated high school together. We thought it was just "so cool" that we married brothers. It's impossible to wrap my head around a loss like this.
I painted her this sign for Christmas 201o. It was a quote she loved..and a quote that was very fitting of her. I didn't realize how prophetic it would be.

It truly is my goal this year to work on this blog, to work on this little business. This post is a start, I suppose.

Just sorting it all out....

I've been working on some 3 foot "quote" signs. I really enjoyed working on the layout of this one..

I think it is kinda cute and charming, and it's going in my own laundry room. However, when I posted the pic on fb..my brother in law made a tacky comment about it (dang brothers' in law). I have to admit, it was kinda funny...he was referring to another room he thought it could go in! None the less, it's bad for business, so I had to remove his comment (sorry). I'm working on a few more 3 foot signs, and I hope they sell well. I'm also working on a few furniture pieces, and I'll post those soon!

Wall Murals

When I went to redo Libby and Lola's room a few months ago I had a bit of a challenge. With 2 girls ages 6 and 2..I wanted to do something feminine and girly..but not "tween" quite yet, and not "baby" either. After seeing the beautiful paint colors in the spring PBK catalog I went with "Under the Big Top" by Benjamin Moore (Shhhh...I had a big box store mix it for MUCH cheaper. Who cares if it's not as high quality!?! Let's be honest, I'll change it again within a few years). I followed http://justagirlblog.com/2009/12/tree-mural-tutorial.html (forgive me for the long link, I'm still learning how to shorten it..and I'm to lazy/impatient to figure it out right now), using my handy dandy projector. It really was easy peasy (although time consuming) I did spend quite a bit of time finding my own tree image somewhere on the www... although now I have no idea where! I wanted the tree to curve and sway across the room.

Overall, I am very happy with the way it turned out. It makes me smile every time I walk in the room. The most important part, the girls love it too.

Boys' Beds Reveal

So, I finally got around to posting some pics of the boys' beds. I bought them off of craigs list a few months back. I absolutely love them!





The color is "Stolen Kiss" by Sherwin Williams. I put on 3 coats, distressed them, then followed up with a coat of "Provincial" stain by Minwax. To finish, I added a coat of wax. Whew! Alot of work, but worth it! However, those spindles and me?!? So not friends by the end.

My goal this summer is to get over my nerves about blogging and actually do it!!!! I have tons of projects and pics to share!!!

Stuck in a rut

So, I've been stuck in a creative rut lately. A big one. A bad one. I have this brand new pretty blog and I'm ignoring it completely. I've been tossing around some ideas in my head. Hopefully one or two will rattle themselves into fruition. I HAVE painted the kids' bedrooms..and as soon as I figure out my new fancy schmancy camera, I'll post some pics. So, in the meantime, this rambling, nonsense blog post is a start in the right direction...I guess?

Boy Beds

I have two boys, ages 4 and 8 (I also have 2 girls, ages 6 and 2-yes I'm a little looney). The time had come to move our 4 year old out of his toddler bed and into a "big boy" bed. I knew I wanted matching headboards, and was wishing for footboards. Months went by of searching craigslist..and then, finally, these beautiful babies appeared! MATCHING maple headboards with footboards!!! I was ecstatic!!! My heart began racing in panic that they would be sold. I sent my hubby out snatch those puppies up! Turned out the listing was from a "dealer"..and he was not going to budge on the price. But, $175 bucks for two maple,vintage (oh, did I mention they are VINTAGE..at least 50 years old-squeal!) twin headboards with matching footboards was worth it to me. Now, let me say they were pretty darn beat up. Leaving them "as is" was not an option. While I loved the natural wood color of them, I decided that stripping and refinishing was just not in their future. So, these boys have been painted a beautiful red, and I'm in the process of distressing and staining them. I can't wait to share the after photos. It's surprising that my family can hear each other since I'm making so much noise ooohhhing and ahhhhing as I work. If it is possible to be in love with inanimate objects, I am. As I've been working on them I've been daydreaming about their past. Were they once in another set of brothers' room? Oh, if only they could talk......

Something for me

I decided to paint this little sign for me last week. It was my intention to enter it in funky junk's copy me challenge...but well, I just got a little lazy...or insecure about it. Probably a little of both. Regardless, I am glad I created something for myself. I like the way it turned out and I have a nice little spot for it in my kitchen.