Decorating

My New Blog Design!!!!!

May 14, 2012 By Stacy 46 Comments

Hey! Have you noticed anything different around here??? If you are reading from your phone or a reader get your rear ends over and check out my new header and blog design :P

Carly from Playful Pickle Designs rocked my socks with the header she made me. I love it so much! Doesn’t yellow just make you happy? Carly was such a trooper. I had her tweek and retweek it to death. It is hard for me to have the idea in my mind but not have the know how to actually create it. And I don’t explain things very well sometimes. Carly was so patient and went above and beyond so I sent her a thank you in the mail. . . . . my favorite treat ever, Utah Truffles. So thank you Carly!!! I hope you enjoy your chocolate as much as I enjoy my new header :)

Just like whenever you decorate a room, there are always little things you move and change until it becomes perfect. I am sure I will be doing the same with my blog. But for the most part it is done and I am happy. I had Aaron from RFE Hosting widen the blog for me and add the new header and then I DIYed the rest. It took forever since I had to learn all the css stuff. I emailed Aaron in a panic a couple of times :P WordPress can be so complicated for someone not very computer savvy :)

I have so many things to do this week. I am hoping to finish up my side yard transformation too. I am torn about when to reveal it though. I kind of want to give the plants a chance to get over the transplant shock and fill in a little. But I am also antsy to show you what I have been up to!

Tomorrow I will be going on Fresh Living with Bruce from Minwax. I am excited to meet him and chat about staining :)

See you tomorrow for the linky party!!!

Filed Under: Decorating 46 Comments

Closet Organization

April 12, 2012 By Stacy 12 Comments

As you know, I have four little boys. And they all share one room together. The room is about 20 feet by 10 feet so there is plenty of room to play and run around. But the one place that doesn’t have enough room is the closet. Three of the four boys have to share it so I need to maximize the space. Here is the before…….. ( do you want to see the after????)

Bedding Style $250 Giveaway!!!!

April 9, 2012 By Stacy 290 Comments

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

When I built these bunk beds for my boys 4 years ago I knew I wanted blue comforters. I went to a…..um… certain chain store that will remain nameless…. and picked up a few very cheap bead spreads. It didn’t take long for them to get holes. The side seam split on all of them. They were thin and not warm enough in the winter to they didn’t even get used for a third of the year. I have wanted to get them new bedding but it was near the bottom of a very long list of thing we needed.

Beddingstyle.com contacted me and asked if I would like to review some bedding and host a giveaway. I was thrilled :)

I picked out some denim comforters. I needed something durable to withstand all the washing. Between little boy funk, and sickness, these babies are going to get washed A LOT!!! I also picked them because they had a 5 star rating from the customers who bought them. The price on beddingstyle.com was$79.99. When I got them, the original sticker price was on the packaging and it said $135.00. Holy savings batman! If you are in the market for bedding I would check them out.

P.S. On a side note……. I get a lot of things online. So I have had my fare share of issues/contacting customer support. When only 2 out of 3 of the comforters showed up I emailed the good people at Bedding Style. I got a response right away and they tracked my order, and the third one was at my how the next day! I don’t find that as the outcome very often when dealing with companies online. So I kind of heart them :)

We got three. One for the top, one for the bottom, and one for the trundle. My boys have been using them for a couple of weeks now and LOVE them. I was seriously surprised how excited they got. Lets just say bedtime was SUPER easy for that first week. In fact, my kids were saying things like “Is it time for bed yet?” at 3:00 in the afternoon!

So here is how you can win a $250 gift certificate to Beddingstyle.com

Mandatory entry:

*Visit their website and have a look around. Then come back here and leave a comment about what you would want if you win the Gift card.

Optional entries:

*Follow Beddingstyle.com on twitter

*Like Beddingstyle.com on Facebook

This giveaway will close on April 16th at midnight (MST)

Filed Under: Decorating 290 Comments

Decorating someone else’s house: Part 3 (building an entryway bench)

March 26, 2012 By Stacy 21 Comments

I built a bench for the entryway of my brother-in-law’s new home while we were there. I kind of loved it and wanted to strap it to the top of the van to bring it home! I wish I could have seen it all finished. You see there is this thing about the Northwest…….

It is humid! I was all in love with how green it was and almost wanted to move there until I realized that the chilly humid air made stain take FOREVER to dry!!! I am use to dry Utah air that allows things to dry quickly. I did not factor in the extra dry time. So I was not able to seal it with the wipe-on poly and see it with the pillows and other decor. You can even see the little pieces of cardboard under the legs of the bench since it was still tacky when we brought it inside.

My sister-in-law loves red ( ME TOO!) so I went shopping in her office where all the boxes of her things from the old house were. The cheapest way to decorate is to go shopping in your own home :) I grabbed some things to use in the entry.

When my sister-in-law and I were shopping at antique stores, we came across an old church pew. We both loved it, but not the price tag. It was very simple in its design. So when we decided to have me build one instead of buying one, I decided to make it similar to the antique pew we had seen.

When I build things I do not follow any plans other than my own sketch. I think of what I want it to look like first and then decided how big I want it to be. Because of this, I measure and cut as I go. I do not cut all my wood at once and then assemble. I have found that even when you are following a set of professional plans, that sometimes things can be a little “off” here and there and it is better to measure along the way before cutting. I always end up with really solid pieces of furniture without gaps and other issues because of this.

One of the main reasons I build furniture is because I need something to be a certain size to fit a certain space. So when I show tutorials I don’t generally share each and every measurement of every single piece of wood I cut. The point of the tutorial is to show you HOW. Then you can take it and make it to fit your size of space. You can make it custom to fit your needs :)

This bench was 47 inches long, 22 inches deep, and 39 inches tall. It was built using:

(3) 8ft 2×4′s

(5) 8ft 1×4′s

(1) 8ft 1×3

a box of 2 1/2″ wood screws

stainable paintable sandable wood putty (I recommend Elmers)

I also bought a quart of Minwax oil based wood stain in Walnut, wipe-on Poly (also Minwax) and foam brushes. This project was between $50 and $60 to make.

Before we get started I have to give a big shout out to my Sis-in-law and Brother-in-law’s neighbors who graciously let me use not only their tools, but their garage. I took it over for a couple of days :) It was a very nice place to work.

Remember when I said I don’t cut out everything ahead of time and then assemble? Well, I kind of broke that “rule” here at first because it made sense to cut all the slats that would become the seat and back. That is BECAUSE they all needed to be exactly the same and they were on top. So I went ahead and cut them to be 47 inches. Why not 48 since that is half of the eight feet that the board started out as? The blade when it cuts, shaves off part of the board. So you wouldn’t have an exact 48 inches anyway. Plus, the ends of 2×4′s can be rough so I cut them off.

Then I cut the four legs. Two at 39 inches and the other 2 were 17 inches. The shorter ones you cut to whatever height you want the seat to be at. You can adjust that to be higher or lower depending on what you feel is comfortable.

The piece that you attach them with determines the depth of the bench. I wanted the bench seat to be about 18 inches deep so I cut it it to be 22 inches because as you can see in the picture above, about 4 inches are attached to what will be part of the back.

Also remember to make the 2 sides of the bench opposites of each other. You want the piece that attaches to 2 legs to be on the inside (see below).

I attached the front slats first to hold it together. I had to call my husband to run over for a second to help hold it up while I screwed it together. This was a crucial step to making sure the whole bench was square and set straight so it helps to have another person. It also helps if they are cute and patient :)

The board on top is the first one of the seat and the one on the front covers up the joints.

The next board I screwed on was the board up against the back of the bench. This way, I can evenly space the seat boards in between and I don’t have to stress over the math of how big each gap will be. I totally eyeballed it but you can do the math if it makes you feel better. :)

I am going to talk for a minute about screws. I originally didn’t buy wood screws when I bought the lumber because the friends who let me barrow their tools thought they had some. It turned out they were drywall screws. I was dropped off at the house and then everyone left. So I was stuck there for the first part of the project without the right screws and no way to get new ones. I went ahead and started because the first screws wouldn’t show in the final project and therefore wouldn’t need to be puttied. But MAN IT SUCKED trying to use those coated screws.

If you have the right screws they will automatically sink into the wood making it easy to fill them over with putty for a finished look. Be careful when using soft wood like pine that you don’t sink them too far.

This next step would have been easier had I done it BEFORE assembling the bench. But because I had never made this bench before and I made up the plans, there are always little things along the way that I learn from. So if you make this, I recommend cutting this at the beginning when you could clamp it to a flat surface. If I would have done it from the beginning I would have measured about 20 inches up from the bottom (to start the line).

I wanted the back slanted. I drew the line to be cut and used my jigsaw to cut it.

I used the same concept on the back of the bench as I did on the seat. I started with the top one. I made sure it was flush and pretty. Then I screwed on the bottom one. Then I eyeballed the ones in between.

Now it was time to add a little support in the center below the seat. It can be argued that it is not needed, but it never hurts to have added support. The first step was to add a board in the back (underneath). Cut a board that is the width between the two 22 inch boards ( the ones that connected the legs together in the first step). You can see where the board was added in this next picture.

I screwed this support board in from the side of the bench. That is why it is set in a bit. I had to put it past the legs or else I would have had to of used a VERY long screw :)

Then I flipped the bench upside down.

I cut a board to fit right in the middle. This board is right smack dab in the center of the seat running perpendicular to the boards of the seat. It will prevent the boards from sagging when sat on. You can see in the picture where I screwed it together.

Here is a side shot of the bench so far.

If this bench were going outside I probably would not have worried about doing anything else with the side. But this was for an entryway and I wanted a more finished look so I added a piece.

You need to measure in between the two legs and cut a 2×4 that size.

I do not have pictures of this next step. I sometimes get caught up in trying to finish and forget to take pictures. So hopefully these arrows help me explain.

This is where the 1×3 boards come into play. In order to have a gap between the seat board that is up against the back legs and not have it overhang, you need a 1×3 for the last seat board. It will also be shorter than the other seat boards since it goes in between the back legs.

I also added a 1×3 board to the top to make it look more finished.

Here it is all stained! I did two coats of the walnut oil based stain.

Like I said before, I wish I could have been able to seal it before I left. I felt bad leaving a job for them to do after I left. But I love how it turned out :)

Filed Under: Decorating, Furniture, Power Tools, Projects, Tutorials 21 Comments

Decorating Someone Else’s House: Part TWO

March 14, 2012 By Stacy 15 Comments

If you missed Part ONE you can read it HERE.

I have helped a ton of people with projects in their home. I have painted kitchen cabinets, built things, painted rooms, helped pick out things, given advice,etc. But I have never helped with a whole house. I think that decorating is very personal. I also think that a room evolves over time as you add, take away, and move things. My goal was to give them a good start, and then they can add their own touches over time.

Here is the family room that I did a lot of the work while I was there.

Like I mentioned before, we did not buy very many things for their new house. I was able to work with what they had. I went “shopping” in their office where all the boxes of their belongings were :) The only things in this room we bought were the books, the topiary, the rug, and some paint for the fireplace.

I stenciled the fireplace using the stencil I originally used in my hall. It is called Alessa Scroll from Cutting Edge Stencils.

I need to apologize and explain the before shots. I totally forgot to take any before shots. I am kicking myself!!! Here is one that was taken by my brother-in-law when it was dark…..

And here is the picture from the MSL listing……

I painted the inside of the fireplace the same color as the pale yellow walls. Then we picked out a darker shade to paint the rest. I love it so much better than the tan!!! And in the northwest, you can use all the sunny yellow you can get since the skies are grey most of the time :)

They had dark brown couches to work with which was awesome. We bought this rug at a local home improvement store, and the pillows were ones that they ready had (from a bedroom in the old house). I would have loved to have found some other ones to add to them (I love pillows!) but we didn’t have a ton of shopping time. That is something my sister-in-law can look for later and add.

We needed some blue on the fireplace. I was originally thinking a vase, jar, or something like that. We headed to an antique store and the blue book just stood out to me. So I changed my plan and bought a few. The topiary was about from Good Will.

So the whole room was done for the cost of a quart of paint($10), a rug ($150.00), old books ($30), and a topiary ($4). Less than $200!!!

We found aside table table at God Will that we wer thinking of getting and then ran out of time to go back and get it. I suggested she paint it the soft muted turquoise blue from the rug.

We also bought lamp from Good Will that would have gotten spray painted if it had not snowed and got so COLD. The table and lamp would add another $30.00 o the room.

Over all it was a very fun challenge! I loved seeing the family room come together :)

I will share more from their house later this week.

Filed Under: Decorating, Painting, Projects 15 Comments

Decorating someone else’s house: PART ONE

March 12, 2012 By Stacy 9 Comments

I have a ton of pictures from our trip out to help with my husband’s brother’s new house. I debated back and forth about whether to jump to the projects or if it would make more sense to go in chronological order. And then I thought about breaking it up into non-project stuff and project stuff. I did not take before shots because I was planning on using the pictures from the MSL listing. But even though the house is still listed on there, the photos have been removed. I am hoping that my husband’s brother took some. If not, all I have is a video tour they made. I guess I could pause it and take screen shots…… Truth is I was not thinking about blogging when I was working. I was just happy to be there and help.

So that realization made up my mind about the order in which I blog about the trip.

I already blogged about visiting the Utah Truffle factory on our way out of Utah. We stayed the night with my husband’s sister and her family in Boise, Id. They introduced us the the You Tube sensation called Kid History and we laughed and laughed. We hung out for awhile and then drove to Washington state. We went to my husband’s oldest brother’s house where we had dinner with his family, my husband’s parents and his grandma. Grandma Risenmay is one of my favorite people in the WHOLE world. She was the first person in my husband’s family that I met and I told myself that if the rest of the family was half as fun as she was I would marry him in a second. She has red hair and is the spunkiest lady you will ever meet. Some of my favorite stores are Grandma Risenmay stories :)

We spent the night at my in-law’s house which was a high point for my kids. We don’t get to see them enough. The last time we were there was 3 years ago. One of the many fun things about their house are the Go Carts!!!!

We left the next day and had to go through Snoqualmie Pass while it was heavily snowing. We were white knuckled the whole time!!!

We made it through and got to our destination (the NEW house) just in time to paint! They were waiting for us in painting clothes ready to start on the transformation :) In all, three rooms got painted that day/evening.

The next day we went and did a little shopping at thrift stores, antique shops, and home improvement stores. I about died when I saw the prices at this shop:

Things were so much cheaper than here in Utah! It was heart breaking to walk out empty handed. Stupid job loss! I fell in love with a yellow tractor seat. I just know I could have made it into something fab. But I wasn’t there for me (at least that is what I kept telling myself…).

Okay, here are a few sneak peeks cause I can’t handle leaving you completely in the dark!

We picked up these antique books…..

….at this cute little place.

And we picked up this new rug on sale!

We also bought some lamps at a thrift store, some lumber, rolls of metal flashing, some antique drawer knobs, and a topiary from Good Will. And that folks, is all we bought! Like I said, we used what they had already had for the most part.

Tomorrow will be the Show Me What Ya Got linky party and then Wednesday I will be able to post about the family room I decorated. It may have a blurry screen shot of the before, but since it was an empty room, I don’t think it will matter that much :)

Filed Under: Decorating, Projects 9 Comments

Free Printable: Make it your own

February 24, 2012 By Stacy 10 Comments

Thank you for all the sweet comments and emails about my last post Loving Your Home. I am so glad that when I feel strongly about something that I am able to say it in a way that you understand and that it was taken the way it was meant to be taken. I have thought a lot about your comments and I decided to create a printable with my favorite part of that post. I didn’t set out to create “quote” or a printable for it but I think it embodies the whole theme of this blog and ME.

The one pictured is not the right size. In order to be able to print it out at the full 8×10 size, you will have todownload the 8×10 print. If you have any questions let me know!

Thank you guys for all your support!!!

Pin It

Filed Under: Decorating 10 Comments

Loving your home

February 22, 2012 By Stacy 58 Comments

My parents built their house 2 weeks before I was born. ALL my childhood memories are from that house. My mom still lives there. The thought of her selling that house make my stomach hurt. And I have often referred to that house as a member of our family. I love everything about that house. The creaky stairs that let my parents know we were home as teenagers, the wall in the kitchen where we marked our growth, and the little stool on the stair landing that I sat on to look out the little window. My mom had a distinct design style. She collected antiques and displayed them beautifully. I felt pride when I had friends over and they commented on how pretty it was. By the way, my dad was a milk man and my mom stayed at home with us. My mother was the perfect example of designing on a dime. She loved our home and it showed.

I sat on the stool ALL the time to read, sing, or daydream while looking out the window. If I couldn’t be outside then then next best thing was to look outside.

We all have different design styles. We all have different ideas of what a home should be and what it should look like. Really it doesn’t matter what your home looks like as long as you love it. I strongly believe that the only opinion that matters is your own. I know that when I post pictures of my house on my blog that not everyone that sees it will be in love with it. I know my own style that has been slowly formed over several years is unique to me and is not for everyone. But even when I read a negative comment somewhere about something in my home it doesn’t really bother me. When I wake up and see the stenciled ceiling in my bedroom, I smile. When I am on my couch in my sunny gold family room watching a movie with my kids I feel cozy. When I am cooking in my french country kitchen, I am happy. I love my home. I love the fact that my style is reflected in every nook and cranny but even more importantly I love the memories made in my home. I even love the nicks in my wood floors cause by hot wheel cars, the “art work” that sometimes appear on my walls, and the word indentations on my kitchen table from my kids doing homework. That means my house is lived in. It means my house is used and loved by my family.

Today I wanted to share with you a few things about my home I grew up in. Like I mentioned before, my dad was a milk man and my mom (a teacher) stayed at home with us 4 kids. We didn’t have a lot of money but you would never have guessed that when you came in our home. She was creative and resourceful. She loved antiques and would save her money (sometimes for a very long time) to buy even one piece. A lot of the things in our home were second hand. This couch came from a thrift store and she had a neighbor recover it.

This turquoise couch is one of the things all my siblings and I want to steal!

Are you dying over how fabulous this huge mirror is???

My mom hung an eclectic picture collage going down the stairs before that was the cool thing to do. Heck, before there was the Internet!

I used to hide “treasures” in this yellow secretary. This is also on my list of things to steal.

This next item has a story…….

My mom had her eye on some antique light switches. They were very expensive and way out of her budget. She brought it up to my dad. Keep in mind that my dad was a big burly (yep, I said burly) man who wore cowboy boots and spent more time in the mountains than most bears. He acted the way that she expected. He said they couldn’t afford them. Little did my mom know that he was scheming. Another thing to know about my dad was that he was very generous and had an amazing sense of humor. (Oh the stories I could tell!!! ) Anyway, one night my mom crawled into bed and she felt something touching her foot. She thought it was my dad’s wallet or something and immediately got irritated. She tore away the bedding and there were her light switches.

What do you think any of us think about when we turn on or off a light in the downstairs? We think of the sacrifice my dad made to make my mom happy. And because he passed away from cancer when I was 15, it makes it even more meaningful.

If you wait until you have money to decorate and make your home your own it will never happen. If you wait until you can afford to go buy everything new you are missing the point. It is the old, the new, the made, the hand-me-down, the collected, and the worn out but loved things in your home that make it yours.

So no matter what your home looks like, love it. Love it for the fact that it is the place you share with your loved ones. Love it for the memories that are made there. And if you are reading this and thinking “I DON”T love my home”, then sit down and think about why. Why don’t you love it? And whatever the reason, whether it is the space itself OR your attitude, do something to change that. Because a home should be a place that you love. A place where you feel happy. And you shouldn’t have to wait until you have the money to do it.

Filed Under: Decorating, Furniture 58 Comments

Hallway Colors

February 6, 2012 By Stacy 7 Comments

I meant to post this on Friday but…. life kind of happened. Here are the codes to the paint colors I used in my hallway. The darkest color (wall color) is a custom tint but the way I did it was by spraying Krylon’s Almond spray paint on to a piece of white paper. Then they color matched it for me at Home Depot. The trim color (which it the trim and door color for most of the house) Is a custom tint doing the same thing but with Rustoleum’s Heirloom White. The polka dot color is a mix of the Almond and the Heirloom White. In other words, my two favorite neutrals had a baby! I had these mixed in Behr paint. The wall color and trim are semi-gloss but the polka dots are in a flat paint. So not only are they tone on tone but they have a different finish which I LOVE. It is such a cool affect.

While I was painting the dots I had a cool idea. I was halfway done so I didn’t do it, but I thought I would pass it along in case anyone was interested. What if you did the polka dots in ombre??? You could start out with a heavier contrast at the bottom of the wall and by the time you got to the top you could barely see the dots at all! Wouldn’t that be awesome? If anyone that lives near me wants to try it out I have the stencil you can use ;)

Well, happy Monday! I hope you have a great day and I will see you back here tomorrow for this weeks linky.

Filed Under: Decorating, Painting 7 Comments

Stenciled Lamp Shade

February 2, 2012 By Stacy 13 Comments

I love customizing lamp shades! Whether you use paint, fabric, ribbon or other trims it is a cheap way to make a big impact. Here is my stenciled lamp shade from my hallway I posted about on Monday.

It started out as a JARA lamp shade from IKEA. This is an 18 inch but they have other sizes. I love this shade because the inside flips around depending on how you are going to use it ( hang it or put it on a lamp). Very smart!

This lamp shade is a bright white. I wanted it to match the hallway better so I sprayed it with Krylon’s Almond spray paint. I only recommend painting a shade that is smooth like this one. Now, it is tricky when you paint something that will have light going through it. It needs to be super even or it will look terrible and patchy when you turn the light on. I sprayed a couple thin layers and then hung it and turned on the light. I VERY lightly penciled around the parts that needed more paint and then sprayed it again. It will look hairy when you are done spray painting. The little fibers suddenly show because of the paint. Just take some fine grit sand paper and sand the lamp shade.

As far as the stenciling, I was going to use the same stencil that I used on my ceiling in my bedroom but I could not find it. So I used my Silhouette machine to cut this shape out of vinyl. I was able to stick the vinyl right on the shade and then I used a foam brush to apply the paint. I sprayed some of Rust-Oleum’s Heirloom White on some paper and then got it color matched at Home depot so I could have a quart of regular paint in that color. That is how I painted all the doors, trim and cabinets in my house. I was going to cover the whole shade in the damask pattern but when I got all around the center I decided I really like the look. So I kept it that way :)

This is what the light fixture looked like in my hallway before I added the shade. It is original to the house and very charming. But it seemed pretty small up on the ceiling. I love that you can still see this light fixture when you walk in the hall even though there is a shade on it.