Jewelry Board

Wall-hanging jewelry board organizer! Copy and paste this url in your browser to find it on my etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/113283889/hanging-jewelry-board

Christmas Yarn Wreath

Pigeon Shirt (Mo Willems)

We love Mo Willems! My son has asked and asked for a "pigeon" shirt. Unable to find an official one anywhere, I grabbed some art supplies I had on hand, pulled out an undershirt from his drawer, and made my own! It was so simple. First, I placed a magazine inside the shirt so that my marker/paint wouldn't bleed through. I then free handed the pigeon outline with a Sharpie, using the cover picture as reference. I filled in the color with the two paints shown. Done! And still looks great after washing!

Quick and Easy Appetizer

I really don't have a name for this appetizer. I got the recipe from a lady I worked with over a decade ago and have been making it since. It is my go-to easy appetizer for any function. Everyone loves it!

Only three ingredients: crescent rolls, block of cream cheese, and dill weed (spice)

Preheat your oven to 375,

                              

put a crescent layer on the bottom of an oven-safe dish,

                                         

place the cream cheese block on top of the crescent layer,

cover it in dill weed,

place the other crescent layer on top and pinch the crescent rolls together all around,

                           

and top it off with another dash or two of dill weed.

 It's now ready to bake! However, you are still left with four crescent rolls (depending on the size you bought). You can buy just the two pack, but those are becoming harder and harder to find. So, I cut the remaining rolls in half, sprinkle them with dill weed, and bake them along with the cream cheese crescent.

Bake according to the directions on the crescent roll package (usually 10 minutes).

Once finished, slice with a knife and serve with crackers and your small crescents!

                                       

I promise it will be a hit!

Fall Wreath

So simple! I bought a foam wreath, cut small strips of burlap, wrapped the strips around the wreath a few times, secured the strips with wreath pins, added some "flair" (acorns, fall harvest sign, and burlap bow) that I picked up at a craft store, attached a ribbon, and wah-lah! An easy fall wreath!

Basement Playroom

Looks like super fun, right? We think so! 
However, it didn't start this way!

When we purchased our house, this basement room was finished in drywall, a drop ceiling, tile floor, and one coat of white paint. For years, it sufficed as a "second family room", used mainly when we had to be downstairs to do laundry and during bad weather. We supplied it with a secondhand couch and our old tv stand, bookshelf, and table. See below...

When our toddler's toys outgrew the first floor of our home we decided it was time to do something about the basement room - turn it into a perfect playroom! I started by doing tons of "research" on Pinterest to get ideas. I made lists, drew sketches, measured, and spent a lot of time envisioning. After I had decided on exactly what I wanted, my first task was to do something about that hideous drop ceiling. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against a good drop ceiling, I think they can look quite nice, actually. But our drop ceiling was a do-it-yourself job done by the previous owners and you could tell that he really COULDN'T do it himself! It was horrible. The tiles were stained and uneven and the frames were cut so poorly that they didn't match up. So, I got an estimate on getting a new, professional drop ceiling installed. The price was almost $700. Not in the budget! I asked the same contractor how much it would be to just drywall it. Much better - only $300. That I could do. Probably not the absolute best idea to drywall your basement ceiling, but it was only a small section of the basement. The rest of the basement had plenty of access to upstairs wiring. So, after conferring with my father, who assured me it would be fine, I decided to have the ceiling drywalled.

Once that was done, it was time to paint! Years ago, I had torn out a page from Better Homes and Gardens that featured a paint color scheme. I loved the colors and knew that I wanted to use them someday. That someday was now! I took my torn page up to Sherwin Williams and bought my paint. I was good to go!

 Almost there...

 Cleaning up...

Ready to go!

All done!

 My son wasn't playing with his train table much anymore, so I put all of the track and trains in a bin under the train table, turned the boards over, and put Legos in a basket on top of the table.

 

One of my favorite parts: Animal alphabet flashcards designed by Jenn Ski, bought on Amazon,
applied to the walls with masking tape

 I bought two framed cork boards at TJ Maxx to display my son's artwork.

 This is the opposite-end of the playroom that serves as a "create" area. The bookshelf was painted a darker blue than the walls and houses art supplies. The basket next to the easel holds large pieces of drawing paper. Toward the corner on the walls are canvases featuring my son's paintings. On the wall is a $9.99 oil-drip pan bought at Wal-Mart to be used for magnets or holding paper for drawing. Above the oil-drop pan you can see drawings hung on wire, attached by clothespins. Small table and stackable stools (bought on Amazon) are perfect for the space. The door that you see goes into an unused room. The doorknob actually used to be brass. I took it off, spray painted it with oil-rubbed bronze colored spray paint, and then reinstalled. Looks great and hasn't chipped yet!

 The basket below the mirror holds costumes and dress-up supplies.

I bought both the 100 Acre Wood map and the world map on Amazon. They are peel and sticks. Very simple to do! The large L I got at a local craft store and painted it the same color as the ceiling. 

 

Thanks for looking!

Kitchen Makeover

When we first moved into our house, I decided that I wanted a bright yellow kitchen. I thought that yellow would always make us feel cheery, remind us of sunshine on gloomy days, and welcome guests. Ignoring everyone else's comments ("Are you sure?"), I bought the brightest yellow paint that I could and turned our kitchen into a giant legal pad. At least that's the feeling you'd get when you were in there. Literally, your eyes would get sore. I loved retro food signs and plastered many of them on the walls. My mom and I found yellow and red printed fabric and made our own curtains. At first, I was proud of our little yellow kitchen. Soon though, I grew tired of it. However, I wouldn't admit this to anyone else for a long, long time (I'm kinda prideful). When I couldn't stand the glow coming from the west end of the house any longer, I admitted to my husband that I was ready for a change. Saint that he is, he never commented on the fact that he thought the yellow was a little much as well and happily went along with my new "project". Here's a view of our old yellow kitchen:

I wanted a simpler, earthy color scheme. So, I went with sage and brown. The first thing we did was replace the counter tops.  Next was a fresh coat of paint (or should I say three coats to cover the yellow!). We put in a new sink and faucet and I found the perfect solid brown curtains for contrast. I kept with the white cabinets leftover from the yellow kitchen because I just love them! I also think that white gives a very crisp and clean feeling. I'm still not crazy about the gray-checkered floor. But, that just wasn't in the budget this time. It's on my list to replace, though!

Here's a tour of our kitchen now:

 Lucy's station:

Our family is big on having a "message" board. So, I turned our old HAMBURGERS sign over and spray painted it brown. Hanging back where it was, it's the perfect magnetic 

central message station!

 I love having a lamp in the kitchen. I think it provides the perfect amount of soft light 

and makes the room feel more homey. 

Thanks for looking!

Countertops: Home Depot

Before and After (bedroom to study)

This is my study:

The room used to look like this:

The above picture is actually how the previous owners had the room. We took this picture (and many others) while we were trying to decide to make an offer on the house.

After the home was ours, we didn't need this additional bedroom, so I turned it into my study. We painted, added carpet, and changed out the closet door and wood trim, 

among other things. 

I just love the before and after picture of this room - such contrast!

 Above my desk is this:

I bought an inexpensive cork board, covered it in the gold fabric, and added pictures! 

The decorative G above it adds some flair!

Thanks for looking!