2 Projects in 1 Post

OK, so I'm not usually one to jump from project to project.... but I must admit it did happen and it all goes back to Thanksgiving...

My husband's sister and her family had joined us for an awesome Thanksgiving weekend, full of eating, games, placing rocks (more on that later) and crafting!  The crafting bit was all thanks to my sister-in-law, and of course when shown the craft, well... I just couldn't resist.  So, we spent a bit of time painting and gluing, but you can read all about it on her blog.  It was quite a lot of work, but if you think about how much something like that would cost you in the stores... it's quite worth it!  We finished most of the project together, but then she had to head back home and I was left with a project half finished.  And it sat there for... well... let's just say there may have been a thin layer of dust on it.  Looking for some inspiration to finish the project, I started to peruse the internet hoping to find the inspiration that my S-I-L took with her, but instead I found my next project!

My inspiration for my second project was paper.  Scrapbook paper that I had to have!  And because of these wise old words: "You can never have enough paper", I bought the paper.   And it was a good thing I listened and bought that paper, as I may not have enjoyed this piece of wall art nearly as much!  Here's the finished product:

Following that project I realized I really needed to finish what I had started first... so here's my first project all finished and hung... my little girl loves it so I'm happy! :)  

Oh, and I just realized I haven't shown you the progression shots of the work we've done in my daughters room... so here it is:  

Watch the transformation and I'm sure you'll be amazed :)

Bright Yellow walls with swirly's

Half pink, Half Green: waiting for the molding to divide the colors

And this is what it looks like today!

Thanks for stopping by!  

  
 

Paving Stone Patio

This post is more for the family and friends who are interested... if you aren't family or a friend feel free to read on anyway!

Well, I really can't take credit for the following project, but I just had to share it.  My husband did such an amazing job on it and I am so proud of Him!  After much contempation, our backyard patio finally became a reality AND it is now finished!  I won't say how long it took *COUamonthGH* but it is definitely well worth the wait.  And we even have some summer left to enjoy it! 

I sadly don't have a nice picture of the before but here's one that will give you an idea of what it looked like before:

   
Digging a hole...

Filling the hole... 

I think we're starting to look like the "crazy" neighbors on the block

First we piled all the dirt from the backyard hole along the side of the driveway and then received a truck and a half load of gravel a few days later.

Hole filled and leveled...

Walls and capstone finished...

After many hard days of work, the patio is finished...

Stairs back on...



Didn't he do such an amazing job??? 

If you'd like to leave some encouragement for him, I'll be sure to pass it on!



The Beach inspired Bathroom is Born!

So my creative juices have been targeting my new house lately. I know... may not be so exciting for some, but I am loving it and have been looking forward to this day for soooo long! As I mentioned in my previous post it just feels so great to know things are being accomplished a little at a time. SO my goal is to share these accomplishments as they happen. And guess what?! An accomplishment has happened this week! My Master Bathroom is finally finished (the first "room" complete)! 
We moved into a wonderland of "green". Every wall (for the exception of one room) was painted the same green. Not that I don't like green... it just wasn't right for MY house. :) So after many days of painting all the green is finally gone! (but more on that transformation later) Focusing on one room at a time here...

BEFORE:                                                                        AFTER:
(Green bathroom)                                                           (my lovely beach themed bathroom)

The walls were painted with some left-over paint from another room. Added a few touches to make it feel like a beach and I'm done the first room!

Thanks for reading my blog today! I hope to share more in the coming days/weeks so check back soon!

A little Organization in My Life

Ok, so it's defnitely been a while, and I know you've all been wondering what's been going on?!  Well... since my last post, my family and I have moved!  And we now own a house!  As you can tell, I'm very excited about this as it's our first home AND we don't have to rent anymore!  yay!
This new home owning thing has brought us alot of new and exciting challenges though, which I'd love to share with you in the upcoming posts. 

As I'm sure you all know, moving into a new place can take a while to get settled.  And even if everything else isn't quite in the right place yet, it's nice to know that there's one spot in your house that's "organized' and "finished".  This spot for me happens to be my front closet.  :)  I bought 4 buckets from Dollarama, made some tags for each of them, and BAM. Organized.  

    I thought I'd share it with you because it's the first place in my house that I can say is "finished!".

A nice splash of color

I had seen some old baby receiving blankets on our local buy and sell webpage and wondered what I could make out of them... after looking online for some ideas I came across this how to on braided rugs. 

So I got those old receiving blankets and started ripping them up!  I eventually decided the rug would go nicely infront of my washer & dryer. 

I would, however, like to warn you of two things before you try and attempt this project.  1. Make sure it's not too big a rug.  I measured the rug out to go infront of my washer and dryer but realized the space was a bit bigger than I first thought.  2. make sure you have the time!  I quickly found myself braiding and hand-stitching for a good week or two, but I think it was worth the work because I'm so proud of how it looks!  Definitely a nice splash of color to my dark and dreary laundry/storage room.

And now... I know you've been dying to see how it turned out... 

Easter Time

Seeing as how Easter is this weekend, I've been trying to do different Easter related crafts with my daughter this week.  We ended up painting Easter things (because painting is her favorite). 

I was trying to come up with some different fun crafts when my M-I-L sent me this great idea for Easter Baskets.  The baskets were a bit tricky for my 3 year old daughter, so I went in on this one alone.  I think they turned out really cute. 

The website I referred to above has a great tutorial if your interested in making them.  The only thing I did different was I actually used the plastic container to create a more sturdier basket.  I just cut off the lip of the containter and taped the paper to the inside of the plastic container. 

I think the kids are going to love using them while they hunt for their Easter surprises!

Clipboard Photo Frame

I finally finished a project that's been in the works since last September, when we got back from Disneyworld.  Kylie's bedroom walls are still looking a little bare, so I've been looking for some fun ways to put photos up in her room.  I finally finished the project (idea taken from a book I have) and I've put it up low enough so she can enjoy it.  Already I'm hearing her talk lots about it :)

100 acre wood Birthday Party!

My little baby boy is 1 year old now!  It's amazing how fast a year goes by... and now I am left thinking... where did the time go???  It feels like only yesterday we were holding this little baby...

And now we are lucky, if he sits long enough, to hold this guy...



I didn't do a whole lot for his party, we just had a few friends over during the day and our family for supper and cupcakes (oh and skype is such a great thing! our parents were able to join in watching our little guy blow out his first candle)  I went with a Winnie the Pooh theme, so I tried to transform our kitchen into the 100 acre wood... using plastic green table clothes to look like trees... if anything, our little 2 year old loved it.  :)

And the cupcakes were transformed into bumble bees

And our little boy was transformed into a... mess :)

It was a great day to celebrate the birth of this special little boy!