Temporary Fix to Ugly Tiles...

One room hasn't been shown, and that is our Master Bathroom. Let me show you what we started with.  It was yellow and pretty gross. The following photos were from when we walked through the house right after buying the house + are with the previous owners stuff. I honestly look back at these pictures and think we were pretty brave for taking this house on...

Awesome eh? But we had no room in our budget to replace anything. We were faced with a dilemma. What was a way that we could update the bathroom temporarily and inexpensively, to help us hold off on doing any renovations. I also wanted a nicer bath, as I love my baths. So, our fix was...you paint!

 We hired someone to come refinish our tub, and at the same time, paint the yellow tiles.

It was a temporary fix that cost us $1,000. It was money well spent as since them I've been able to enjoy baths and feel as though our bathroom is somewhat appealing. 

But here is the flip side. With any temporary fix, there is that word temporary. The bathtub is showing signs of wear and the paint is chipping in certain spots. We are doing everything in our power to extend the life of our little bathroom. The two rooms, our Kitchen, and Master Bath are the only 2 rooms we never touched, and, the two rooms that are showing MAJOR wear. Aubrey actually said to me "It would make sense to do the bathroom at the same time as the kitchen." to which I freaked out at the idea of TWO renos going on. (Not a good freak out, but panic freak out!) So we kind of have two renovations that we are researching now....Give me strengh.

Fluffing our Empty Nest

We just got back from taking both of our kids to college.  It's a very strange feeling to be empty-nesters!  In the spirit of this, I came up with this simple "nest-themed" tablescape.

 I used my Mom's silver.  She purchased it piece by piece when she was 18.  I am so thrilled to have it!

I found these square bowls at TJMaxx on clearance.

I found this nest at Twig.   I LOVE her stuff!

I made these napkins this summer.  HERE  is the link to learn how I made them.  Jane at Cottage at the Crossroads told me about the grapevine napkin rings she found at Hobby Lobby.  I think they look great and were really cheap there!   (on sale for $1.25 for six!)

 

I made these topiaries a few weeks ago.  HERE are the directions for making them.

 

  

I found these birds at TJMaxx for $1.99 each.  

A little bit of brown paint and they look so much better!

I have to keep the doors closed if I have the table set so Bailey the cat doesn't come in.  :)  He is sure the table is set for him! 

Thank you so much for visiting!

Pam


I am linking to the following parties:

 

16 months

Oscar is 16 months tomorrow. I am rather shocked when articles make reference to my "toddler". Surely they are mistaken. I can't believe he is a toddler.

He's at the stage where he is asserting his opinion. Like refusing to allow me to put pants on him.(Hence the missing pants above) or deciding half way through our walk that the stroller is not the mode of transportation he wants - so he starts to whip toys out from the stroller and I know that a meltdown will soon follow. I end up carrying him home to avoid nice old lady neighbours commenting that "The pour child is likely hungry*". (Um, no. He is not hungry, he is just super pissed off at me because I won't let him run into the street...But thank you for your help)

But as quick as he is to turn red and throw himself against a couch in protest to something, he is just as quick to run over with a book and snuggle. He wakes up with me up by putting a toy lion in my face and with a little voice says "ROOOOAR". He's loving the vintage Fisher Price toys I've picked up at Value Village and also on Etsy, where I found this awesome Fisher Price train.

I wanted to say that many of you have commented on my Oscar posts sometimes, offering comforting words. You may not know they are comforting, but to know that for example sleep issues are just at our house, makes everything seem "normal".

Framed Bow Ties

Did you see Steven + Chris today? Look what project they did... Framed Bow Ties in Ikea Frames! Maybe one of my favourite Designing Duos* saw Oscar's Bow Tie?? :) Love those two.

*Sarah and Tommy are obvioulsy the other Design Duo that we all love!

A lovely weekend

I went to my cousins wedding on Saturday night. Apart from being a gorgeous evening, the event was adult only affair. I'm not unfamiliar with "adult only" weddings - we made our wedding adult only aswell (young babies who needed their Mommies came, but no toddlers). Oscar needs one of us at home at night* so Aubrey took one for the team and I attended the event with my immediate family. .It was such a nice time. It was a different event (for me) having no child.

My Dad asked me to dance, my sister, Mom and I boogied on the dance floor, and I had amazing conversations with my brother and his awesome girlfriend.  I even got to come home with one of the gorgeous centerpieces thanks to a mutual friend and bridesmaid (Hi Courtenay!) who helped make sure I could have one. Not having little Oscar there, I ate at a regular pace had some lovely conversations with those I love. And although I wouldn't change the food being thrown at me at home, it's definitely nice to have a night out with just adults.

*Why didn't we get a babysitter? Oscar is not an easy "bedtime" child, and also sometimes wakes a lot during an evening. We have to go in and help him get back to sleep. So, an event like this we devided and conquer. He's getting better at sleep but for now, we don't want him to wake to someone else and really freak out!

Italian Alphabet Tray

 

I am having fun with Citrasolv projects again this week!  I found this neat Italian alphabet graphic at The Graphics Fairy.

 

I flipped the image in Picnik by going to the Rotate Tab.

 

Did you notice that there is not a "J" or a "W" in this?  Hmmm....  :)

I used Citrasolv (purchased at Whole Foods). I put gloves on and did the project in the garage so it wouldn't smell up the house.

I taped the graphic to a pine board my husband had glued up for me.

Because this wood was very smooth, the graphic went onto the wood without any problems by just using a paper towel to apply the Citrasolv to the paper.  I still used the plastic tool to rub it, but almost didn't need to. The right side looks really smudged in these pictures, but doesn't look that bad in person.

 

I let the piece dry for a couple of hours so the graphic would be set in the wood.

I then applied Puritan Pine stain with a foam brush.  I wanted to stain it before assembling it so I wouldn't have any missed spots. 

 

You can see where the stain looks a little different in some spots.  I was ok with that because I wanted some 'character' on this piece.  With soft woods like this pine, to get an even application, you should first use a wood conditioner.  

 I stained the edges before they had the final cuts.  The one really long piece was cut to size once we put the piece together.

Some wood glue, a finish nailer and this framing contraption got it all into place.  If you don't have a framing contraption, you will be fine! 

I used a foam brush and applied this clear satin polyurethane to the whole piece. 

I let it dry for a couple of hours then attached the handles on the sides.

And here's the finished product:

Thanks so much for coming by.

Pam

I am linking to the following parties:

 Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays

Basement, Completely Done

Exciting news - The basement is 100% done. All I needed to do was pay some attention to adding extra detail and hanging some art to get me to the finish line. And although the entire basement is considered as my workspace + studio, the space naturally divided itself into sections.  This was probably our biggest DIY of all, having broken up the concrete ourselves, replacing the drains, moving plumbing, it took a whole 6 months. I thought a proper showcase of the finished space would be a nice way to close the door on the design process for this space.

1. COMPUTER AREA
My DIY Desk is still going strong. Coming in at around $300 for the project, it really is one of my favourite DIYs. The baskets on the Ikea units acts as drawers, keeping useful things like camera cords, stamps, personal stationery. In this area there are actually 3 bulletin boards (1, 2 having their own blog posts) - and - all different sizes. But I upholstered them all in the same fabric to give them a unified look. Bulletin boards are a necessity in my life, as it helps me be creative.




2. Work TableBehind my DIY Desk and Computer is my IKEA Table where I put together orders and  pack + get orders prepped for mailing. The table height is much taller than my desk - a great height for crafting. On the shelves I keep packing materials organized in handy clear boxes to see what is inside. Running an online shop requires a lot of little things, so organization is really key in my space.

3. Lounge I love this area as I think it will be a spot where Oscar can come chill when he is older. With a casual couch covered in a slipcover, and wall mounted TV  - it is the perfect space to take a break from work. Unique artwork hangs in this area - I've framed my art that I sell in my shop, as well as pieces like Oscar's first bow tie, and also his awesome moustache on a stick that was wandering around the house looking for a home. Instead of it getting lost, I framed it. New pillows and a great coffee table make this space comfy.



Little Nook By the stairs to the main floor I fit a little vintage desk, where we've put Aubrey's laptop. Aubrey needed a space to work, so this area was perfect as it is separate from my space. This desk was $25 and I updated it by painting it white and adding in new knobs. For seating, you may recognize this chair as the same as in our dining room. Since we had 2 extra chairs from the dining room we put one down here for Aubrey - and if we need it for a dinner party we bring it back upstairs.


 
There are other areas down here that are worth mentioning. Our Washroom, and Washer + Dryer area. There you have it. A few unique awesome spaces developed over the course of decorating this area. It is kind of nice to look around and not have blank walls that keep screaming for something to be on them. And it is the perfect space to be creative. For those of you just joining my blog --- this is what we started with....


 
I am sooo proud of this space. And the fact that we did it 99% all on our own, is kind of crazy. :)