favorite projects of 2011

this past year was a very fun one for me....but it didn't start out that way....

when i lost my job one week before christmas in 2010, i was angry and scared.  

then i was just angry.

but i used the experience to do some of the things i never had before.

i was able to do way more than i ever had been able to do in the past when i had a full time job....

i feel lucky that i had the opportunity to experience being a full time mama...

having more time for my photography

doing things i never thought i would ever do, like making a quilt,

and for all of the fun furniture thrifting and refurbishing.  

i also had time to spend redecorating some of the rooms in my house. 

and i am proud that i was able to do most of them for pennies on the dollar.

here are my top ten favorite projects of 2011:

10.  the goodwill coffee table

9.  the ugly bench

8.  the entertainment cabinet turned pantry

7.  my first handmade quilt

6. the diy camera bag 

5.  the twin tables

4.  a sofa slipcover from a dropcloth

3. trying my hand at canning

2.  the kitchen makeover

 and my favorite (and most popular) post of 2011

1.  the laundry room redo

i have also had the opportunity this year to experience washington dc with my son on his 8th grade class trip and go to every one of his baseball and football games.  thankfully i was also able to get him to  his practices all spring, summer and fall long with their crazy schedules and times....

i want to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year.....

see you in 2012.....

xoxo

handmade christmas gifts.....

i thought that i would share a few gifts that i made for christmas this year.  now that the gifts have been given, i can post pictures of them here....

the girls each got a quilt this year

scarlett's

and tessa's.

both were strip quilts made with my ever growing stash of vintage sheets.

the girls share a bedroom but are getting separate rooms soon.  scarlett's is going to be pink and gray with   

this bedding with comforter, shams, sheet set and dust ruffle, that i scored at target for $7.59 for the entire set.....yes, $7.59.  it was an online purchase that was returned to the store and never sold.  it retails for $59.99 and is still available...

score!!

tessa's room is going to be painted lilac so she got this bedding.  it came with a sheet set, sham and dust ruffle and i got it at goodwill, brand new and in the package for $30.00.  not quite the same bargain as scarlett's but still a great deal....

i was totally excited when i found a vintage pillowcase that (sort of) matched and was used when i made her quilt.  

she also got a little chair that i got from goodwill and refurbished for her new room.  

the veneer on the harp was broken so i used filler on it....

 and recovered the seat in another vintage pillowcase that i also used for her quilt....

  she loved it....

the girls also each got these doll beds

which i neglected to take pictures of with the bedding that i made for each one.  

my parents got this.... 

 i forgot to take a picture before i started painting it, but it was copper metal with dark wood ugliness....

 yukka.....

my parents have a beautiful wooded backyard with some very whimsical garden art. 

this screamed bird feeder to me.....

 i collected teacups and saucers from thrift stores and 

don glued them on for me.  

my mom loved it.....but my dad didn't know what to think and it rendered him speechless while he tried to figure it out....

 i'm still hoping that it will grow on him....   :)

i made a few other gifts but i was so busy trying to finish them up that i didn't take pictures of them...

but they were cool.  i will try and get pics and post them soon...

the laundry room revisited....

i think that this room has to be the one i am most proud of in my little diy portfolio.....

the before: 

yuk!!! 

(and i am the one who painted it like that in the first place....

i can't even blame it on the previous owners of the home because we bought it new).

i had ideas for the room swirling around in my brain for a long time.  i just wanted light and bright...i considered painting the room white.  that was a fleeting thought...what would my family and friends say....the girl with the easter egg house.....(so named because of the bright colors we painted when when we first moved into the house).  then i fell in love with turquoise.  hard.  i am sure that the inspiration for the paint came from the blue mason jars i love so much.

so i mixed the color myself from a can of  $5.00 oops paint.

when i started redoing the room, more ideas kept popping into my head and i just went with them.  

a chandelier in the laundry room???  who does that? 

i do..

(look at that bling bling)

tiffany blue walls in the laundry room??? who does that?

i do...

mason jars styled, photographed as art and framed?? who does that?

i do....

board and batten treatment in the laundry room??  who does that?

well, i saw lots of people who had done that in their houses so i figured i could do that too, so, 

i did....

and i did it all by myself...

well........almost.

don hung the chandelier 

because ever since i stuck a butter knife into a lamp socket when i was about 9 years old,  

i am afraid of electricity...

even if the power is off.  

and he helped me use the nail gun for the board and batten ledge 

because that thing is scary, 

especially when it blew the air into my face when i pulled the trigger.....

it scared the bejeebers outta me....

 i am, however, very proud of the fact that 95% of the work was done by yours truly.....

the planning, the painting, the woodwork and the decor....

 i love the room.  everyone that has come over to the house loves the room.  

it makes you want to do the laundry.

sigh......

there have been a few changes in the room since it was first transformed.  

most have been cosmetic changes, changing out the decor and adding other girly touches...

glass containers to hold detergent and oxyclean....

a wire basket to hold towels

and more of my favorite blue mason jars.

i made a little cover from a vintage sheet for the shoe storage cube. 

    the picnic basket holds gloves, scarves and hats for winter. 

i had an old half circle table cloth with lace trim that i added to the roman shade.

my friend lisa's parents have an old barn where i found this window.  the glass was so dirty that i thought it was opaque....when i washed it i realized that the glass was perfect.  the paint is original.  it was turquoise.  i didn't have to do anything to this window to get it to look like it does.  

the patina and rust on this frame is gorgeous and they let me take the window for free....

(thanks walt and penny)  

the one thing that i don't like rust and patina on is my washing machine.  

especially one that is only about 9 years old.  

of course, don tried to fix it. using caulk . which as you can see didn't work very well.

that lovely orange below??  rust!!  

i know that 9 years is a long time for appliances nowadays but it drives me crazy that the lid of my washer rusted.  

so i am entering a contest to win PartSelect’s $5000 GE Giveaway contest for new appliances

because a new washer and dryer would be the icing on the cake in this beautiful laundry room!
and
because my dishwasher is on it's last leg.....

i am keeping my fingers crossed to win. someone has to win, right?  why not me??

wish me luck!!!!