Turn Memories into Material

This image has been percolating in my brain ever since I ripped this page out of the March 2012 issue of Country Living magazine over two years ago.  Every now and then I panic and think, "Where the heck did I put that picture - I hope I didn't lose it?!"  So, I thought I had better snap a photo of it so I have an electronic copy, especially since I haven't been able to locate the image on line.  Here's the text from the article:

"If you can upload a file, you can design you own textiles, thanks to spoonflower.com.  The website lets folks put anything on fabric, from artwork and photos to old family letters (the one we used for the upholstery dates from 1882).  Simply adjust the image size and select the type of cloth ($18 to $38 per yard).  Spoonflower will handle the rest, mailing the finished material within 10 days - allowing you to transform a plain piece of furniture into an heirloom.

I'm itchy to place an order....

:)

Another Project Finished!

I finally got back to mounting my freshly-painted living room curtain rods today.  I had taken the day off work last week to finish painting them (what a way to spend a vacation day!) since I never get around to this kind of stuff on the weekend, then needed to let them dry for a few days before mounting them.  Since it's been way too cold to be painting outside, I finished painting them with a brush and some leftover trim paint instead of spray painting them like I had intended.  I should have brush painted them instead of spray painting from the beginning - what a mess!  I ended up with a very fine mist of white paint dust all over the garage.  Thankfully it cleaned up fine.  Those do-it-yourselfers may sing the praises of spray paint, but I have yet to be convinced - I always end up with more paint everywhere else (sorry, atmosphere!) than I do on the item I'm trying to paint.  Even my nostril hairs were white at the end of the day; I hate to think how much paint I ingested - ugh!!

I like how they match instead of contrasting with the crown moulding,

and also like how they tie in with the office curtain rods now. 

I could have bought new rods for the living room, but figured it would be cheaper (and hopefully greener) to repaint them.  (I had gotten the office rods and rings for a steal of a deal - 90% off at Sears back when I made the curtains, and have always felt the mismatched look of the rings and rods was worth it - they didn't have any white rings left, so I settled for the pale green, but I'm happy with the look.)

Anyway, glad to cross this project off the to-do list!

Today...

This was a project I should have tackled before the weather cooled, but of course I didn't get to it until now.  I've been wanting to update my living room curtain rods with a creamy white shade of paint.  Although it was a lovely day and warm enough, it was too windy to spray paint outside.  So, I got started, but then had to clean up and head to my sister's for Thanksgiving dinner before I finished.  AAAHHH - another unfinished project - the story of my life!!

Auditioning...

New Look for Outdated Chandelier

I had been wanting to replace the outdated brass chandelier that hangs over my kitchen table for quite a while now, but hadn't been able to find anything that felt right.  I finally ordered a new fixture through a local lighting store (not cheap!), paid a contractor to have it hung, only to decide I didn't like it.  Ugh, UGH, UGH!!  It was the wrong style, and it just didn't distribute enough light over the table area.  I was sick.... What to do now?!  I couldn't justify the expense of another fixture, and besides that, I couldn't find any other styles I liked.  So, I ended up doing what I should have done in the FIRST place (why, oh why is the learning curve SO expensive??!!) - I bought some paint...

... and spray painted it.  I wasn't quite sure how to go about it, so I read this gal's blog for some tips first.

$8.00 plus some change later...

... I have a totally new chandelier.

I'm pleased, and it was a good lesson for me to remember that sometimes it's better to make do with what you have vs. shelling out money for something new.  I just hope someone out there is thrilled with the expensive light fixture they stumbled across for a deal at the Habitat for Humanity Restore (where I donated my all-wrong fixture)!

New Living Room Curtains

I finally have vacation time to use for something other than medical appointments, so today I took the day off (the first possible day in 2009!) to sew some more curtains for myself.

I was so pleased with how the silk panels turned out for my office that I decided to do the same window treatment in the living room, only with another color of silk.  This gives a nice uniform look to the front of the house.  Again, I allowed them to puddle on the floor to avoid the tedious process of making sure the length is precise.  I hand tacked a strip of floral fabric along the side hems to give the appearance of another layer of curtain underneath.  I'm not completely satisfied with the sheer Roman Shades - I couldn't find sheer fabric in 100% cotton, so I settled for a polyester; it just doesn't drape well.  But for now they'll do, especially since the fabric was only $3.00 per yard.  :)

Birthday Window Treatments

What better way to spend a birthday than stitching new kitchen curtains!

I was tickled to find this 100% silk fabric at the Calico Corners outlet in Lancaster for only $5.00 per yard!!  It was the perfect match for my kitchen wallpaper, and coordinates nicely with the new laundry room paint.  There was just enough to do three Roman Shades.  Silk is a wonderful fabric for window treatments - I love it!!  These are basically stationary Roman Shades.  They can raised and  lowered, but the pleated design makes it tricky to lower them, then get the folds back in place neatly, so I'm content to leave them be.

 

Laundry Room Makeover

I'm so pleased with how the wainscoting turned out in my laundry room! I wasn't sure just how high it should go. We chose to use the rule of thirds and ran it 64" high, which worked out perfect - 64" is 2/3 of the standard 8 foot (84") ceiling height as well as 1/3 of the cabinet height. I wish I had a before picture of the papered walls to show you - this is a huge improvement! I love wainscoting - the glossy finish is so much easier to care for than painted walls with a satin finish, and it certainly looks better than wallpaper. I also love the coral color - I wanted a fun burst of color, and knew it wouldn't be a big deal to paint over it if I tired of the color at some point.