Painting Party!!!

So today is the day,

Day one of painting our bedroom.

We've been here one year and eight months and I've wanted to paint our room the day after we put up the blue paint.

It wasn't what I thought it would be and we didn't have time to run to the paint store to pick out different paint color, we had to get this done.

So today is the day to finally get the color that I think I will love, I better because DH won't be happy if we have to paint again after this.

I also spent the whole day yesterday putting together 3 pieces of furniture we purchased from IKEA.

Unfinished dressers that I will be painting along with two pieces we already have in the room.

So this week will be a busy week and I'm anxious to get started.

I will post the before and after when it's all done,

till then,

have a great week!!!!!



Thinking of Gardening

I am really irritated with how Blogger has changed things. I want to revert back to the Classic Templates and when I do they do not allow you to make changes, or add anything to the site. Either I'm doing something wrong or

they're being irritating. I really don't like how my blog looks and I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong

and I don't have time to sit here for a few hours trying to figure it out. UGH!!!

Anyway

So we did a lot of backyard clean up, removing English ivy that was taking over,

pulled up dead bushes

power washed the decks

and raked lots and lots of leaves and there are still lots more to rake up.

We have this old shed that came with the property

It has mold on the outside so it needs to be scrubbed down.

Some trim has become rotten so they need to be replaced,

the windows are in good shape, not broken.

The door needs to be fixed as well.

Because the property sits on a slope, when it rains it just runs down and so the soil gets caught in front of the shed so we have to do something to keep that from happening.

I want to paint the shed,

trying to figure out what colors, I found some inspiration online through Google

OK this is adorable!!!! I love the colors. Our little gingerbread shed is the exact style as this one, but certainly needs a lot of work to look this way, but isn't it the sweetest thing you've seen?

I even love the chimney, I'm sure it's just decorative but what a nice idea.

This ones a bit more rustic but cute.

So many ideas on the Internet.

But we first have to deal with the water run off before we do anything to our shed, otherwise it'll just continue to rot with the water going into it.

So I'll have the winter to come up with paint colors, landscaping and what shrubs and flowers I want to plant.
That's where Pinterest comes in for all kinds of fun ideas.

 



Kitchen Remodel Before and After

I can't believe that it'll be two years in January that we sold our last home and moved here.

It'll be two years that we purchased our town home in April and there is still always something to do.

We've done all the major remodeling, we still have those small tedious projects to do, I guess we're waiting for a good snow storm the kind that you can't go anywhere and you're stuck at home. Hopefully then we can finish those small, time consuming projects.

But our kitchen although not completely done, is for the most part finished.

When we first walked in to this home, the first thing you see to your left is the kitchen, it was not impressive.

UGH, the last homeowners removed the original cabinets which were oak, you know the 1980's oak cabinets so not so pretty but workable, they could of been repainted and all we would have to do is replace the appliances, flooring, lights and new counter tops. But no, they had to do their version of a remodel and it looked like this

 

They put in the type of cabinets you may see in a Doctor's office. I did not like them at all. Then add the high gloss blue paint for a back splash.

The only working appliance was the refrigerator and I had to get out hot bleach water to clean it down so it could be used while we remodeled our home.

At least the floors matched the blue and white color scheme but it was not for me.

Light fixture was hanging lopsided and too modern for my taste.

It all needed to be warmed up.

The window had to be replaced, and I've always wanted a greenhouse window and our contractor got a good deal on a new one.

So we tore everything out, EVERYTHING,

New cabinets with a creamy finish and bronze rubbed edges. Bronze hardware from Ebay and new lighting which was added by an electrician, there was no light over the sink.

 Need to get a stainless steal trashcan but why are they so expensive???

 

 

 

 Removed the bi-fold doors that were very awkward at the pantry and I sewed a curtain instead.

We also added this section to the kitchen, there weren't any cabinets on this side so I needed more hiding space for my collection of pots and pans and other fun cook ware.

And we can't forget the overhead lighting. Saw this at Lowe's and I had to have it, it's my bling for the kitchen. 

The only thing left to do is a back splash and I am having a very hard time choosing, or more like committing to something.

Tile is so permanent and not cheap and I found some at Lowe's that I really like, it's just making the decision.

I also like wainscoting as well.

I found several ideas on the Internet like these

I like that this homeowner used a tin tile for behind the stove to change it up a bit.

 

It gives the kitchen a cottage charm and I like how that looks so as you see I can't decide,

Tile or Wainscoting??

 



Herbs de Provence

I've been playing with paints and stamps and it was so much fun!

I got this idea from www.goodideasforyou.com saw it on Pinterest and loved the idea.

I've seen painted Terra cotta pots but I liked how hers turned out.

Now I didn't have the transfer image papers on hand so I thought I'd use stamps, which I have plenty of.

It wasn't easy to stamp them, so it's not perfect, plus perfect wouldn't be real right?

So I started with plain pots

And I had some sample paints that I purchased for our bedroom, although I won't be using those colors for the room, I thought they'd look nice on these pots

I painted the first coat in green, which I watered down a little

Then put one coat on, not too heavy since I like the Terra cotta color as well and wanted it to show through a little

Let them dry then added the cream color on top of that, I watered that paint down a bit more than the green and used a sponge brush then used a paper towel and rubbed off any excess

Loved how it turned out, then had to let that dry before stamping

Not perfect but that's OK with me.

But I learned a critical thing, the stamp ink takes quite awhile to dry and I thought they were dry enough and started to rub a brown paint that I watered down a bit, over the stamped areas and it smudged some of the ink after that was done, I then waited till they were completely dry to them spray seal them

It was so much fun that I think I'm addicted now.

I planted English Thyme and Rosemary and hope I can grow them indoors with no problem.

OK, so my window is pretty full I know, but I love it!

If you'd like the paint color's just post your message and I'll let you know, I forgot to look and it's downstairs and I don't feel like going back down there AGAIN....

 

 



Cake Pedestals into Plant Pedestal

I've been searching for cake stands for some time now, since we moved into this home.

We have this large greenhouse window, I've always wanted one and living in a Community if we replaced any thing on the exterior it had to be of the same style which meant we had to replace the old greenhouse window with a new one.

(I say we had to because it was a very old window and not efficient)

Thankfully we got it for a decent price, about half of what we would of paid, it still was not cheap but I

LOVE

this window and I have lots of plants to show it.

So as I was saying, I was trying to find cake stands so I can use them to put smaller plants on, give some height as well, but I was not going to pay more than $10 for a plate, even went to Marshall's and TJ Maxx, still nothing that was reasonable enough for me.

So I went to Target and saw these

 



Plates were a Dollar each and candlesticks were $4.00 each, so $5.00 per "cake stand".

Pulled out my trusty glue gun and started gluing, and I had to be quick, as soon as the glue hit that candlestick it wanted to harden fast.

They turned out cute, I may find something I like better down the road but for now it does just fine.

Yes I have a lot of plants and I bought two more today,

I purchased herbs to grow indoors over the winter, now I need to figure out where to place them in that window.

Oh well, not a big problem to have.

Hope you have a great weekend!