Picture Perfect Room (the “before”)

During this first month of the new year, Donna from Funky Junk Interiors has issued a challenge: concentrate on one room in your house that you want to make “picture perfect” and then do it.

(click on the picture perfect button to read about the challenge)

This challenge would apply to every room in my house, but for the purposes of this project and in keeping my sanity, I chose to focus on the playroom.

The playroom started life as Jessica’s bedroom, then playroom, then Bradley’s nursery, and is now back to being the playroom. The original incarnation as a playroom was more of a small-scale preschool room with “centers”, thus the word labels on the walls. Those will be covered up since the room has evolved a bit.

I have not picked up in there after Christmas yet, so here’s the view when you open the door:

Not horrible, but it doesn’t really invite play, does it? I feel like it more invites chaos – dumping and tossing and general mayhem. The reason I haven’t picked up yet is because:

a. Bradley pretty much just brings the toys to the living room to play unless there is someone in there to play with.

b. There was still some of Jessica’s stuff stored in here – her Little Tykes desk, the big keyboard, some big boxes of blocks, and a big Hot Wheels storage container full of tracks and accessories. (She and Scott and the boys have moved into a big house now, so that stuff is moved, too.)

c. I knew I wanted to re-work this room, and I was procrastinating…

True confession time over, lets go around the room and see what we want to do. First of all remember, this will be a “make do”/no-$pend makeover, with the exception of some paint and perhaps a rug. Also, this room will be gender-neutral, and baby-friendly as well as fun for toddlers and preschoolers (and who are we kidding – even my elementary-aged niece and nephews like to play in here).

1.) This photo is of the North wall, Northeast corner of the room. Right now there are stacked shelves for toy storage. I’m going to take at least the top set down and put it in the closet (now that there is room in the closet…). This gets rid of some of the cluttered look in the room and gives me a little more wall space to decorate. Totes and baskets will be labeled as well so everyone knows what toys go in which container.

The quilt will be altered to work as a bedcovering on the old iron crib. It was made by my great grandmother and is badly stained and worn around the edges. I’m just going to remove the outer section all the way around and bind it with a colorful trim. Yes, it’s an old quilt. Yes, I’m okay with altering it.

The M.E. poster is pretty much the color inspiration for the room. The walls will stay light blue, but the furniture is in brights, and the wall decor will be, too.

The side rail for the old crib needs to be painted cherry red to go along with the rest. I originally didn’t plan to use it, but Aunt Jan confirmed for me that it would look better to have a back rail on the bed. This will be a reading spot, so the body pillow will be covered and a couple more pillows added so it will be a snuggly place. It also will be a guest bed for little ones who come stay here, and I will use a safety rail for the open side of the crib when someone is sleeping in it.

I also have fabric to make a bed skirt since I will use the space under the crib for storage.

The Northwest corner: The closet door will be painted white.

The spot on the wall where I tried magnet paint will be covered over in chalk board paint. (That magnet paint was an expen$ive disappointment.) Above the light fixture I’ll hang a shelf to house some of the stuffed animals.

The small bookshelf will be painted – color yet to be decided – and the sweet little display shelf that is currently sitting on top will be hung above. I have some antique toys that will go there.

The Southeast corner: the valance is constructed of a cardboard box, covered in batting and a colorful plaid fabric. There is a plain white shade at the window. That will all stay. No curtains to entice little ones to wrap themselves up in or pull off the wall. I will install a hook for the shade pull. Right now I drape it on the hardware holding the valance.

Greg built that sweet little table last summer, and the chairs were $1 each at a garage sale. The chairs are a strong hardwood and I sanded and painted them that bright yellow, knowing I wanted to use that bright color scheme.

The vinyl skull and crossbones is on the wall above where we had Bradley’s changing table. I know a nursery doesn’t usually have such a motif, but Jess was going for kind of a “rocker” theme, and it worked for us. I guess it’s time to remove it, huh?

That full-length mirror is hung horizontally and has some peg hooks beneath it. I used those hooks for different hats for the kids to use for dress-up. I’ll re-hang the mirror vertically and I have something different for hooks.

As you can see, this corner is currently the “Art Display” area. That will stay, but will be better.

 

Okay, long post, lots of ideas, lots of work ahead. The Funky Junk challenge is to post the completed room (or progress if not finished) by the end of the month. I’d like to get the majority of it done this weekend since my little nieces are coming to stay the last week of January.

I guess I better get busy. Wish me luck!

Hot Drinks

Inspired by the many hot cocoa bars I saw online and in my email, I decided to set up a “hot drinks station” for Christmas.

I used part of my collection of antique Santa mugs, and set it up for coffee, hot tea, and hot cocoa.

Those two mugs in front were made by my mom in 1969. One has my name on the bottom, the other is Arlan’s.

Even though it’s been a very mild winter, I thought this sign was fun. The script is vinyl, cut with the Cricut and adhered to the glass. Then I just added scrapbook paper for the background.

We enjoyed this spot over the holidays with company here. I plan to set it up each year as a new tradition.

Now that the holidays are over, I put away the Santa mugs, but wanted to keep the hot drinks stuff set up – you know, just in case we get some winter weather yet.

So I replaced the Santa cups with the ones from my white stoneware, added the sugar bowl and creamer from that set, and a set of snowman salt and pepper shakers – those aren’t filled, but would be good for cinnamon or sprinkles for the hot chocolate. The tea bags and marshmallows are now in apothecary jars.

Some vinyl snowflakes on the wall, the cocoa jar, and the marshmallow jar add to the theme, as well as a wooden snowman wall hanging.

I love this fun little spot, and hope you will consider this an invitation to join me for a hot beverage!

Year in Review and Wishes for the New Year

It’s New Year’s Day and time to look ahead to a fresh new year. Before we do that, though, let’s take a look back at 2011. I have a lot of pictures to share, and I didn’t get Christmas cards or a letter done, so if you don’t mind...

January found us moving Jessica and Bradley into their own home about 15 miles away after living with us for over a year. Jessica found out in late November 2010 that she and her boyfriend were expecting a baby, so they started building their new life together. We have enjoyed getting to know Scott and he’s an amazing partner for Jessica as well as father to Bradley.

I still kept Brad during the day while Jess worked full-time. I must’ve blinked, because all of a sudden, he grew from a baby to toddler.

  

   

At the end of April, I left my early morning job in preparation for caring for Bradley and the new grandboy we were expecting. It took a few weeks for me to sleep past 4 a.m., but it’s all good now.

In May, our son Nick was hospitalized suddenly after becoming quite ill. He’s doing great and living a healthier lifestyle now.  He was able to join us for Halloween this year, in costume even. Don’t ask who he was supposed to be – just a generic character from a video game – I can’t be more specific than that…

Greg and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in May, and I turned 50 in July. We celebrated by attending the  Bob Seger concert in Omaha. It was a great show! 

I’d like to say I’m none the worse for wear at 50 years old, but in May I fell down the deck steps, landing on my knee, and I’ve been hobbling about ever since. That, combined with the arthritis, has slowed me down a bit.

The injury kept me in my chair for a few weeks, and I wanted to be productive, so I dug out my crochet needle, invested in some yarn, and turned on YouTube for instruction. Many hours spent over several weeks found me with a pile of dishcloths for Christmas gifts, a blanket for Silas, and some winter scarves. My nephew Wyatt saw the yarn and things I was working on, and asked me to teach him, so with a few quick crochet lessons, he was on his way.

We had a fun week in June when my nieces from Sioux City visited. Tay got to go to Vacation Bible School with Randy’s kids, Reese and Brad became friends, and we enjoyed a day at the zoo.

The last day of July, at 3:26 in the morning, Jess and Scott welcomed their baby boy, Silas Paul. He’s our sweet love-bug.

    

 

In September, Jessica, the boys, and I went to Sioux City for a visit. One of the fun things we did was visit at the shop where Alan works. Bradley saw all the motorcycles in the window, yelled “GO!” and ran to the door. He wanted to sit on every bike, and was thrilled when Uncle Alan finally let him on one.

Bradley had his second birthday at the end of September. He’s a big fan of Cat in the Hat, so Jess constructed a giant hat for his cake.

Halloween was our usual fun time with Randy’s family joining us for a quick supper then trick or treating. The weather was awesome and it didn’t take Bradley long to figure out the whole “trick or treat” scheme!

In November, Jess and Scott put a bid on a house here in Benedict, and closed on it a few days before Christmas. They moved enough things to be in their house for the holiday, and the past few days have been spent painting, packing and unpacking boxes, and getting settled into their new home.

That pretty much sums up the past year for us. What do we look forward to in 2012? We know we’ll enjoy those grandboys who live just down the street from us now. They grow so fast and we don’t want to miss a minute of it. I have a list of craft/sewing/decorating projects to tackle. Greg plans to build a covered patio in the backyard. (He’ll be building lots more things if I can give him part of my list, but I’ll have to be sneaky…)

We are incredibly blessed with a happy healthy family and more, and we thank God daily. We wish you many blessings also in 2012, and if the world doesn’t end on December 21 like the Mayans say it will, we’ll try to get real Christmas cards done!

Season’s Greetings on the Front Porch

After hanging garland and a wreath on the front of the deck, I pretty much blew off any more outside decorating for awhile. I got back to it yesterday, but it’s taken more than 24 hours to come up with the final display to greet visitors. In case you can’t stop by and say hi this holiday season, I’ll show you how it ended up.

It started with a few evenings of perusing the interwebs, looking at blog posts and photos on Pinterest for inspiration. I was really liking the simple, natural displays.

I gathered an old window that had been tucked away in a corner in the den, a faux greenery wreath, and the old high chair I painted and put on the porch last summer. This afternoon I shopped the house and was happy to find Dad’s ice skates hanging by a nail on the closet wall. There was a wire basket from Goodwill, a bag of pinecones the in-laws brought back from Texas in the Fall, and some random decorative “stuff”, and I was set. I love the layers, yet it’s simple and, I hope, welcoming: 

From our house to yours:

Merry Christmas!

(This post is a Make Do and Mend Monday project!)

Popcorn Ornaments

I made these fun glass popcorn-filled ornaments a few years ago to hang on the Christmas tree on the ticket counter at our local movie theater. The theater manager donated some boxes of old candy to add some color. This will be the fourth year they use them – they’re holding up wonderfully.

The customers just love them, and each year several of them ask what the secret is to getting the popcorn inside.

I'm going to share that secret here with you:

 

Supplies:

clear glass ball ornaments

unpopped popcorn (don't use the pre-packaged microwave corn that includes grease)

microwavable dishes

hot pads

First remove the metal top on the ornament and set aside. I rinsed the glass balls with vinegar and water and let dry overnight.

Put popcorn kernels in the ball - the amounts I used varied with the size of the balls. I think I counted out between 40-60 kernels per ornament.

Set the glass ball inside the microwavable dish. (Some instructions I've read say to use a paper bag, but that didn't work so well for me. Plus, I like being able to see the ornament and monitor the popping of the corn.)
Microwave on high until the kernels no longer pop. Each microwave is different, so I hesitate to put a length of time in my instructions. I just watched and listened, and when there was a count of 10 after the last pop I heard, I removed the ornament.

Keep in mind that these dishes and ornaments will be HOT when you remove them from the microwave. Use the hot pads and let everything cool before you handle them. I also had to take a few breaks and let my microwave cool off. Be warned, also, I did have a few of the glass balls break. Have some extras handy and please HANDLE WITH CARE.

Once they're cool you can shake out any unpopped kernels, then put the metal hanger back on and embellish as you desire. We added colorful candies from the theater concession stand, and hung them using ribbons.

These are an easy way to have somewhat old-fashioned decorations on your holiday tree, with a modern-day twist. Enjoy!

 

Decking the, um, Deck (Make Do and Mend)

I did this project on Monday, which was Make Do and Mend day. Some of my other online friends post their projects, too. Just check Heidi’s blog for a list.

This one was easy and (almost) a no-brainer. While Greg’s niece Hannah was in high school, she sold greenery every year for band fundraiser. I always bought a large evergreen wreath. Now that she’s graduated, I don’t get my pretty wreath each year. I was thinking about that the other day, and remembered that I’ve kept a couple of the wire forms from them.

I dug one out of the garage at great risk to my well-being since it was hanging on the garage wall, under pieces of chicken wire and the rotisserie for the grill – all of this behind the bicycles – it was a trick to get the wreath form down without everything falling on me!

Then I found the tote with the greenery and took off the old and faded bows.

In no time there was a nice, big, albeit fake, wreath for the front deck.

Not one dime spent after I discovered a spool of ribbon in the Christmas decorations and made a fresh new bow instead of spending $5 for one at the store.

This was the beginning of holiday decorating at my house, done on a 60° late-November afternoon. Just in time to welcome the snow coming this weekend – then it will look a lot like Christmas for sure!

A Life of Thanks

Well, I’m not sure how we got to the end of November already, but we’re here. The day we give thanks for our abundant blessings and then feast in gratitude!

 

Our Thanksgiving celebration this year is a bit different than we’ve been used to. It will be a quiet dinner here with Greg’s parents. I’ve been telling people “we’re empty-nesting” this year: Brad’s gone for visitation, Nick has to work, Jess, Scott, and Silas are going to Missouri. We’ll gather on Saturday with the rest of Greg’s family and celebrate together.

I may not have my kids and grands with me today, but to be honest, every day is one of Thanksgiving. Every day I’m thankful that I have my kids close to me and that I get to be a hands-on grandmother, the way I always imagined. Every day I’m thankful for the blessing of a long and happy marriage to a man who has made me a better person. Every day I’m thankful that we have a home and food on the table, we have clothes, and the ability to heat and cool our home. We don’t have a multitude of material things, but we have what we need.

So while today we feast in honor of the abundance in our lives, we say thanks daily for the blessings. There is a quote going around the world-wide-web that I’d like to share:

“What if you woke up today with only the things you gave thanks for yesterday?”

Be thankful today for your joys, your sorrows, and the challenges of life. Be thankful for them every day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Boy with the Tail…

Everyone who knows Bradley or has read this blog, knows how much he enjoys dinosaurs. He’s recently realized that they have tails, as do the stuffed toy puppies and the real kitties, but alas, he does not. We made him a yarn tail one day, just taping it to the back of his pants. He showed the kitties and walked around with it for awhile. It was okay, but didn’t last long.

This morning I was searching the local “buy everything here” store for Halloween Peeps, when I came across an endcap full of masks and tails. No way! The dinosaur mask was ugly, but the tail, it was perfect. It has a little clip at the top to attach to his pants, yet will pull off easily if it gets caught in something (safety first!).

Bradley was here for a short while this evening, and found the tail on the counter almost immediately. He was so excited! I clipped it on and he walked around the room, watching the tail drag behind him.

 

 

It’s just the simplest of things that delight a child. They don’t need to have lots of money spent on them to have fun. This tail was a couple of dollars – but I’ll be copying it to make a few more in different colors, so he can share when playing with a friend, and he can have one at home and one here.

I think I have just as much fun watching his enjoyment!

Making Some Fun

Today’s Make Do & Mend project is one from the garage. Well, kinda sorta. I’ve asked Greg to keep any large pieces of cardboard we can, and we have a small collection of big cardboard. Greg isn’t excited about keeping it, but he humors me. (I’m a lucky girl and I know it!)

Friday of last week was the first time for me to keep both grandboys here all day. I knew I’d need to keep Bradley busy while I tended to the baby, so before leaving to pick them up, I dragged out one of the smaller pieces of cardboard and put it on the back porch. Bradley saw it right away when we came up on the porch, and was excited when I brought it inside.

I drew a quick “map” using a black marker, putting Brad’s house in one top corner, and my house in the opposite bottom corner, then a maze of roads in between. Then came the fun part – a stop sign, a corn field, cows (his request), a pond with fish, trees, shrubs, a bird, and one of my kitties sitting in the window.

I labeled the drawings and Brad started coloring. I helped color a little bit, and I think we’ll be adding things and coloring them for awhile – sort of a continuous project.

Silas laid on the floor, contentedly watching the ceiling fan most of the time, but eventually did need some attention of his own, and some snuggling and rocking to sleep for a nap. To keep his big brother busy, I brought out the little cars and the box of dinosaurs. Brad thought it was great that he had roads to drive his cars, and his dinosaurs moved into my house immediately!

This project cost no money and only a few moments of time, yet we made tons of fun out of it!

 

Tammy