Category Archives: DIY

Home Sweat Home

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The nursery is “done”! Done for now that is. Since we had just embarked on the quarter round adventure the weekend before Amelie’s arrival, the nursery was completely torn apart the morning we headed in to the hospital. Hubs, the dear, hustled home on the third day of our stay to finish it up and put it back together.

Let’s start with a before:

And now the after, come on in!

So, what did we do? Obviously, we ripped out the blue carpet and got new laminate floors in Walnut Plateau, from Home Depot. Then we painted the walls too many times, finally settling on a beautiful gray called Ashes, by Behr. Hubs installed a new drum light from Lamps Plus (luuurve). I hemmed the curtains (from Ikea) with good old fashioned hem tape. And you remember when I freshened up this free table and scored that adorable little lamp at Goodwill, right? And then, there’s the quarter round. Isn’t it pretty?

To the right is the changing table (ie the green beast that took me months to finish):

The dresser was from my first house (also from Ikea) that used to be blonde. The paint color we used is Green Energy by Behr. I love it. Cross all of your fingers and toes that it holds up!

A volunteer makes these little booties at the hospital and one of our favorite nurses snagged a pair for Amelie.

Hubs picked out the art from Etsy and hung it while I was recovering in the hospital. *sigh* It’s so sweet.

Here is the left hand side. Our crib and rocker are from Ikea as well.

It’s all a little bland. I didn’t want to add big heavy art above the crib (for fear of it falling on her one night) but this wall sure needs some spice. Maybe a stencil? Also, the blonde legs of the rocker clash massively with our floors, but I never got around to doing anything fun with it. Maybe one day. Maybe not.

Our other Etsy find got plopped into a frame from Target I had bought years ago but never got around to filling:

Here’s the wall opposite of the window, sporting a mirror we already owned.

The right hand door is the closet. Open that and you will not come out the same person. It needs a complete overhaul. We are storing tons of crap in there, on the floor and smashed into every crevice. I have dreams a beautiful closet system with spunk but for now it just looks like crazytown.

Still to do:

  • replace outlets and covers (the existing ones are grungy)
  • address the closet
  • add finishing touches to the dresser (if I can muster up the energy)
  • possibly paint the doors
  • fix the blinds (they are much too long)
  • add hooks, pillows and other accessories

Truth be told, we’ve totally set up base camp in our bedroom rather than the nursery. That’s where we change her and where she sleeps because I don’t like being too far away from my sweetie for now.

And, you can’t have a nursery post without a picture of the little baby! Here’s my snuggle butt, just 6 days old.

She makes it feel complete. *gets mushy*

Baby Bump Update

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Now that it’s finally official – I’m growing a human – I’m sure you can’t wait to be inundated with all things baby.  Should we let the nonsense and self-indulgence begin?

Main scoop: I feel good and although I’m anxious about giving birth, I’m very excited to meet you-know-who. Wonder what this little person that I’ve been carrying all of these months is all about?

The Science: Baby Center recap – 39 weeks. Basically, we are on the home stretch! Ohmergerd.

Body morphing: I’ve noticed a “drop” in her position. She’s always been cozied up a little low inside me, but now I have much more room up by my sternum. No more rib punches or shortness of breath! One of my track kids asked “Seriously Coach, how do you not tip over!?”. I told her that was a good question! I think having disproportionately big feet have helped.

She’s still moving a lot (which is a good sign) and just being generally adorable. I got measured at the doc last week and I’m 33 cm (I think, if I remember correctly), which is bigger than last week so that means my tummy is still growing. YAY! Happy news.

Sexy stuff! To your relief (and mine), nothing new to report! It’s about to get real sexy up in here when she arrives. I can’t wait to overshare that awkwardness.

Food drama: Another reason I think Baby dropped is that I can eat a lot more now…and I’m actually hungry again. This is a big change from a week ago where I’d eat five Cheezits and accidentally ruin my dinner because of it.

Exercising? Silly exercise! I’ve been sleeping more instead.

To Dos: Hubs and I started installing the quarter round in the nursery last weekend. Talk about “cutting” it close (har har). The cuts turned out to be fairly easy (even I learned how to use our new saw!) but nailing the quarter round into the wall? A nightmare. I don’t get why it’s impossible (are our walls made of concrete!?!) but I couldn’t even manage to sink one nail and it took Hubs two days to attempt the rest of them. We’ll be purchasing (renting? borrowing?) a trim gun for the rest of the house because that was a royal pain. And we still have a whole house of quarter round to do, hooray!

Hubs and I have been taking a few minutes after dinner to pick up our piles and put stuff away as if we are going into labor that night. It doesn’t replace the massive amount of deep cleaning that our house desperately needs, but it ensures we don’t come home to complete madness when the time actually comes. It makes me feel a little better anyway.

And randomly: I don’t want to forget this so I figured I’d add it in here. One of Hub’s “duties” is to rub my belly with lotion after a shower (or anytime it feels tight and itchy). He warms it up between his hands, talks to her and massages her so gently. It’s ridiculously sweet. I love these moments. I can’t wait to see him interacting with her on the OUTSIDE. It’ll make me a total goofball, this is certain.

Update: We woke up early on the day of our 39th week and I found that I was bleeding, so we packed our bags and headed to the hospital! More details to come…

Friday Tidbits

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Happy Friday, everyone! I’m scooting off to a track meet this afternoon and it’s supposed to be 70 degrees and sunny!

This is my little DIY project for the nursery. Our previous homeowners left this table on the deck for us. It’s meant for outdoors and was a dirty speckled taupe color but we decided to “clean it up” with white spray paint and use it in the nursery.

Much apologies for the terrible lighting, I took these pics this morning and the nursery window is East facing.

Although not really my “style,” I think the height is perfect and it was free…can’t beat that!

That’s the lamp I scored at Goodwill last week for $3.99. It’s a baby blue with a grungy shade and brown cord but I think the size and curves are sweet. I’d like to redo that as well (maybe in a punchy pink?) but it works for now if I don’t get around to that.

The Ikea rocker needs some spunk too, but I doubt I’ll get around to that either. Go me!

Enjoy the weekend, my bloggies!

Camellia Crib Follow-Up

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Remember one of the first posts I had on my little blog baby?  Basically, it was a painfully long list of To Dos that the Hubs and I hammered out before we put the house up for sale last spring and *another list* on what was still left to do.

Now that 2011 showed up, I thought a follow up was in order.  You guys still with me or did you take off already??

These items remain on the To Do List (you know I love me some lists):

  • The Great Deep Clean of 2010 will be an ongoing effort of cleaning, sorting, and purging. I vow to touch everything!
  • Repaint service door.
  • Touch up paint in the kitchen. No, let’s be honest.  We need touch up paint, Like, Everywhere.
  • Do something about our grubby front door. Magic Eraser?  Repaint?
  • Get my hair cut and highlighted. It’s an embarrassment.
  • Paint master closet *shudder*.

An update.

1.  The Great Deep Clean of 2010 has slopped over into the Great Deep Clean: My Life Long Adventure.  This is ongoing, or should I say, stuff I should be doing but am too lazy most days.

2. We did paint the service door (and wrote a really exciting post about it).  Check!

3.  A fail.  I’ve done touch ups in the bedroom but that’s about it.  *sigh*  This needs to get done before we put the house back on the market in the next month.

4.  Alas, our grubby front door is also still on the list.  My motivation is currently zero but this also needs to be done soooon.

5.  My hair.  Check.  But, unfortunately, it’s about that time again so…back on the list it goes.

(Not much progress has been made, eh?  Wait for it…)

6. Paint the master closet.  Ummm, CHECK.

It went from this:

To this:

Pretty nice, huh?  I didn’t take a picture of everything put back into the closet because it was a lot of crap and I was feeling fatigue.  See my pile?  Blech.

It’s a boring color (same as our master bedroom) but it really finishes it off (and covers up the scuff marks) so I’m glad I spent a weekend finally tackling this project.

Any house projects, big or small, that are on your list to take on in 2011 (that, coincidentally, were supposed to be done in 2010 but who’s keeping track)?

Shiny things.

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We caught the decorating bug over here and my house has been hurling up baubles and glittery ornaments ever since.  I’ve been enjoying it.  I had to avoid temptation and NOT BUY ANYTHING NEW for Christmas.  Saying the same thing but with a different sentence:  My challenge – To use what I’ve got.  Come, let’s check out my place.

My front door.  It’s a Pier1 wreath that I bought at full price (idiot) a few years back because I couldn’t resist.  It’s cute.  But, I will not be paying full price for Christmas decor again, oh no sirree.

Brrr.  Let’s go in, it’s cold outside.  Also, my neighbors are glaring.

Look what greets you when you walk in – a little gift from me to you!  Awww.  Don’t touch though.  It’s only for looks.

I just wrapped this picture in wrapping paper and added an embellishment that I already had.  And like the cheapskate I am, I will reuse that wrapping paper/embellishment when I unwrap my art and hang it back up.  Hey, I’m “resourceful”.

My house is tiny so, even though you are standing in the entry way,  you are also already in the living room/dining room just by breathing.  Take your shoes off, my carpet eats stains like I eat Christmas cookies (fast and with little regret).

Here is a weird little nook in my living room.  Usually a cream vase lives here.  I swapped the vase for a tree and cluster of baubles (I know there is a proper word for it, so help a girl out please).  They match each other.  What they DON’T match is the wreath outside.  The shame.  I bought them during two different Christmas seasons from Pier1.  I know, I am appalled too.

The vase.  Well,  it was moved to the entry way floor.  Please be kind and remember that I can’t spend any money.  I had to be “creative”.

It’s bad, I know.  Can we move on, please?

Our stockings, hung with care.  *Yawn*.

Actually, they stay there until I turn on the fireplace…and then I am so overcome with paranoia that I move them to underneath the TV (which is not cute) because I’m worried they will go up in Falala Flames.

Our tree!

Hubs took this pic in “night mode” with it all aglow.  And, yep, we rock the fake tree.  Feel free to hate if you wish.  The color scheme is red and gold.  I’m stuck with it for now.  Usually, I would like to have my wrapping paper coordinate, but this year I am trying using up scraps.  So, yeah.

Do you know who was green with envy when we decorated the tree?  Rita! (OMG, she’s still alive!).  So, I adorned her.  She was totally pumped.

Our living room is finished off with some random festive crap.  I got that candle from Pier1 (a theme?  think they should sponsor me?) last year when I hit up their after Christmas sale.  I plopped it in my Christmas bin and forgot about it.  It was a surprise when I dug out all of the decorations.  Go me.  Oh, and also…

I whispered my wish list to Santa.  Hopefully he took notes.

Our dining room.  Have a seat and feel free to crack open some wine.

Most of this is from when I lost my mind and spent $131 dollars at Pier1 after Christmas.  I dragged all of my loot home and showed the Hubs (he was surprisingly calm).  After I sobered up from my shopping high, I was racked with guilt.  So, I returned most of it (a good portion being reed diffusers and candles) and only ended up keeping $50 worth of stuff.  Those red candles and the star being part of the ‘kept’ haul.  A side story that you’ll wish I hadn’t wasted your time with:  I was IN LOVE with a little bird wreath hanger (I had been crushing on it for a long while) and in my frenzied Pier1 shopping extravaganza (references above) I scooped it up.  But The Guilt made me return it.  Coincidentally, it was the only item that I bought that day which not on sale.  BUT, I was at Pier1 shopping for Christmas presents earlier this month and, lo and behold, there was the little bird wreath hanger (only one left!), 50% off!  I snatched it up and high fived myself (it looks like a clap from the outside).  Oh, Karma, you taste so sweet.  I’ll be showing it off soon (I’m FORESHADOWING).  Anyway, where was I?  Oh, Christmas.

Let’s move along.  I have random Christmas towels in the kitchen and downstairs bath.  It’s so vanilla but then again, I like vanilla.  Also, I didn’t take any pictures because this post is too long and I can tell that you are feeling some fatigue.

The only other room that got some Cheer is the upstairs bath.  Normally, you see…

But, I did a little switcheroo.

I got this paper from Hobby Lobby this fall.  I hit up their clearance section and got two sheets of Christmas paper, one Easter one and two other sheets with random patterns.  I waited in this terribly long line and almost bailed on the entire transaction because, seriously, these five sheets of paper were NOT WORTH IT.  But, I was too far invested in the line wait, so I hung in there.  I’m glad I did because the cashier boy did some magical clearance calculations on those archaic registers and rung me up.  “11 cents.” He said.  I thought I should mention that one sheet alone cost .23 cents but we were both sick of staring at each other so I scrounged up the change and skipped happily out the door.  I’m sorry Hobby Lobby, I don’t know where I stashed my Integrity.  My bad.

Also, sorry to waste your time with another stupid story, but it’s my way.

Back to this.  It’s easy.  And Fairly festive.

And I left this welcome basket out for Santa.  Just in case the reindeer get startled by a cell phone tower and splatter urine on him, he can take a quick pit stop and clean up.

And subtle hints never hurt.

And that’s it.

I think I may set out a plate of cookies for The Man, although it’s sincerely debatable if the PMS Monster will beat him to it.  You’d better hurry, Santa!

Gotta run, Hubs thinks I am being nice and shoveling out my neighbors.  But, secretly, I am blogging in the closet.

**Update:  The Nester is hosting a Holiday Decor Linky Party and I attended.  I shouldn’t have.  It’s like going to the Oscars sporting a greasy 2 day old ponytail and ill fitting yoga pants.  But, check it out if you want some awe inspiring holiday decor because obviously you didn’t get your fix here.

Candace’s Crafty Corner: A onesie that says it all

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Adorable?  Yes.  The idea stolen off of the internet?  Yes.  A great gift for a baby shower or the birth of a new little munchkin?  Yes.

You can copy me, I promise I won’t tell.

What you’ll need:

  • white onesie, prewashed
  • stencil
  • black fabric marker
  • black fabric paint (I used soft black)
  • Friends or family members that are procreating

I traced the letters first with a black fabric marker and stencil.  Be sure to put a paper towel liner inside so it doesn’t bleed through the back.  I also slipped a small cutting board inside to have a hard surface to craft on.  And since I have too much time on my hands (and don’t own a paint brush), I filled the letters in with fabric paint using a toothpick.  Because I’m anal retentive like that.

Let it dry for a long while, then tie it up with a cute bow and hand it over.  People will think you are cooler than you are.  Score.

Candace’s Crafty Corner: Rock on

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This is my corner of the world to make things and post them on the Internet.  Whether they are ugly or not.  You’re welcome.

I put my crafty pants on and made this centerpiece to spice up our *yawn* normal decor.  Here is what happened.

I took a sharpie, some white river rocks I had around the house, a glass hurricane that I plundered from the bathroom and 5 minutes of my very precious time.

I wrote words on my rocks.  It was incredibly difficult.

And then, I stuffed them in the vase with a candle.  Done.  A spooky centerpiece that would *almost* inspire me to eat at the table.  Almost.  Do you like?

I do, so deal with it.

Grand total: $FREE, my little monsters, FREE.

Love,

The Wicked Witch of the Midwest.

Candace’s Crafty Corner: A Wicked Wreath

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This is my corner of the world to make things and post them on the Internet.  Whether they are ugly or not.  You’re welcome.

I wanted a wicked wreath and I wanted one now.  On the cheap.

A friend took me on a gorgeous hike to take in the fall colors.  It was perfect weather for stick hunting.  I convinced my friend to let me jam all of my sweet sticks into her newly vacuumed car.  She was too nice to say anything but I know she cursed me later.

At home, I tied them in an awful looking rectangle.

I used cream yarn leftover from a wedding project (read: FREE).  But, it was cream and looked super uncool.  I started to get nervous but kept at it.

I had some black spray paint (which I bought five years ago) that I was going to use to touch up my scratched fireplace.  Laziness and apathy set in and I never tackled that project.  The fireplace is still scratched up and this spray paint is not made for wood.  But, it was FREE.  So, I used it.

It turned out like so.  I kinda liked how the yarn soaked up the snarly paint.  It was getting spookier…

A couple more sweeps of the spray paint and it was done.  But, it needed more Spooky.  I bought some glitter spiders from Walmart, the Hubs help me put on some fake spiderwebs (leftover from last year, ahem, FREE) and I picked up some black wide ribbon from JoAnn Fabric and hung this creepiness up.

Originally, we had it hanging lower (it looked really awesome) but it banged up against the siding and trim and scuffed it up with nice black marks (gah!).  So we had to string it up taught to prevent it from moving around much.

What do you think??  Need more pictures?  Ok.

Want to know the grand total?

  • Sticks: $FREE
  • Yarn: $FREE
  • Spray paint: $FREE + $HOUSE SCUFFING
  • 8 pack of Spiders: $2
  • Ribbon: $1.98 +$GRIMACE because I could have used a coupon but forgot it
  • Cobwebs: $FREE

Total: $4 , boooyah!

Have you started stocking up on Halloween candy yet?  No?  Get on that.

Candace’s Crafty Corner: An Afternoon Pumpkin De-white

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This is my corner of the world to make things and post them on the Internet.  Whether they are ugly or not.  You’re welcome.

The leaves are changing and that’s got me itching to Fall-ify my little casa (which is still for sale).  While the Hubs thought I was going grocery shopping, I skipped over to Hobby Lobby instead.  Fall ceramic goodie decor was 50% off and I had my credit card locked and loaded.

And that’s where I bought these lovelies fuglies.  Yeah.

I don’t think the picture does them justice.   They had a shiny iridescent sheen that reminded me of how the Gulf probably looks right now.  The 16 year old cashier looked at me in horror as she wrapped up my purchases and sent me away with the silence that I knew was JUDGMENT.  I didn’t blame her.

Then, I went to Menards and picked up some supplies to transform these little monstrosities.

First, I tried to sand the oil slick coating off with the sand paper sponge I had bought from Menards.  It didn’t work.  That crap was shellacked, cemented, not-going-anywhere with this wimpy sandpaper.  So, I used some general purpose sand paper that I already owned and that seem to rough it up enough for the paint to stick to (and probably loosened up an ample amount of wonderful fugly dust for me to inhale).  I wiped it down and let it dry.  I’m not really sure if this is necessary and I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know what I am doing.  You’ve been warned.

I moved straight to the spray paint.  Until now, I was a spray paint virgin.  But, that all changed this past weekend.

I got some great spray painting tips from a few blogs I stalk:

1. Don’t buy cheap spray paint. Rustoleum is a great brand (especially for metal projects).

2.  Shake the product as noted on the can (shake it up really, really well and count it as your workout for the day like I did).

3.  Start spraying outside of the object and make straight, overlapping, LIGHT, passes (left to right, for example) starting from the base of the object.

4. Plan to do a few light coats to get even (non drippy) coverage.

And.  Here.  My finished product.  Ooohs and aaaaahhs are appreciated.  And if you gave birth to me, they are required.

Cool, huh?  They remind me of these sexy versions.  Now, I have to brainstorm where to put them.

You probably couldn’t give a crap but here is what I paid for this fall fun:

  • Ceramic Pumpkin/Squash:  $5.50 and $4.50
  • Spray paint: $3.44
  • Sandpaper sponge that I’m using for my next pedicure: $2.94
  • General Purpose sandpaper:  $FREE (from my paint bin)
  • Hubs relief that I was busying myself with a project instead of bothering him:  $priceless

Total: $16.50 which, coincidentally, is about the same amount of money that I spent on fun clearance scarves this weekend.  I bought 4 of them, upping my collection to 9.  I can’t wait to wear them and add an instant 15lbs to my face.  Go me.

Also, the probability of my house selling fell from 0.005% to I-probably-will-have-to-pay someone-to-buy-it% because now the front yard looks like this:

Did anyone else DIY this weekend when they should have been grocery shopping?

Door-k

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During the initial walk through of our house, the realtor suggested repainting the service door (the door from our garage to the kitchen). It was pretty beaten up from hauling groceries (and general crap) in and out.  So, I slapped this little undertaking on our quickly growing To Do List. The project took me a WEEK to complete (and my enthusiasm fizzled exponentially with each passing day). Here are the stats: 3 coats of paint, 24 hours cure time between each coat, 2 trips to Menards, 1 ruined pair of running shorts (gah!), 1 trip to Home Depot (long story), and 1 TORNADO (!!!) later: it’s finally finished.

Enter stage right:  The star of the show, Gloss Smoke Gray Rustoleum.


I like the way this color ties in our garage’s gray shelving and breaks up the white walls.  Not that you can tell from the picture.  Just take my word for it.  Or don’t.  Anyway, I hope the darker color will ward off future grubbiness longer than white would. Isn’t she a cutie?

yummy

Are you ready for the money break down?  No?  Sorry, but I don’t care.

  • Sandpaper:  Free (from my grab bag of a paint bin)
  • Paint liner tray: Free (from paint bin)
  • Primer: $3.99
  • Stupid brush that immediately disintegrated, leaving fuzz embedded in the high gloss finish : $1.98 + $swear words
  • A foam roller made specifically for OIL BASED paints: $4.39
  • Rustoleum small can of paint (that quickly ran out): $3.99
  • Rustoleum “Big Mama” can of paint: $8.24
  • Target running shorts that actually FIT and I knew I shouldn’t paint in:  $heartache
  • Total: $22.59 (not including tax, elbow grease, swear words, or heartache)

Do you think the smoke gray (in lieu of traditional white) was an ok decision? Any ~$25 projects that you plan to tackle soon?  In other news, do you think Raisinettes get the respect they deserve?