The Walls Are Closing In...

Finally, FINALLY, we found some time to work on the hallway in the basement. Yesterday afternoon we decided it was high time we got to work in there. For the first time in weeks, we didn't have anything else going on to take up our Saturday. The kids classes at Lands' End had finished up for the session and we hadn't signed them up for anything else. We spent the morning cleaning the house, then Lincoln and I got to it. We had been dreading trying to hang the ceiling with just the two of us, but we managed just fine. The first two pieces went up pretty easily, but the last ceiling piece threw us off. We have to remove the hardwired smoke detector in order to hang the drywall, and we can't figure out how to take it down. Anybody know? We couldn't find the breaker switch, and hated to flip the main breaker. It looks like the wires should just unplug from the unit, but the connection seems impossible to pull apart. Any ideas?



Since we were stumped, we stopped with the ceiling and decided to hang walls where we had already installed the ceiling drywall.


We got four pieces up and Wow! what a difference!


It makes the basement seem huge with that continuous wall and ceiling. And it makes us excited to get the other bedroom and the bathroom done. It will add sooo much space!


For now, I hope to be able to show you all the drywall up in the hallway by the end of the week. My other goal for the week is to get the caulking done in the girls' room. That should keep me busy! Here's hoping we all have a productive week! What's on your plate this week?

Dropcloth Slipcover---Finally!

Well folks. I did it. And I didn't even swear in the process! I did break two needles on my sewing machine and I did almost break down and cry a time or two, but in the end, I ended up with a decent looking slipcover.
I was inspired by this double ruffle/pleat look I saw over at the home of always inspiring Miss Mustard Seed. I thought there was a chair with a similar look which was truly my inspiration, but I can't find it.

***Edit- I found it!


Gorgeous, right!?


It sure beats what the bench/ottoman looks like without the slipcover!


This is the beginnings of my master bedroom makeover...but I have to finish downstairs first!

This lamp redo is part of the bedroom project as well. I've really been into the deconstructed shade look lately. I decided to rip apart a shade I had, right down to the bones. Once the rest of the bedroom comes together, I'll decide if I want to add any wire and beading to it. Right now, I'm loving the bare bones look of it.


Remember when I found this lamp at Goodwill? A little paint and a nekked shade give it a whole new look!



Go see Miss Mustard Seed and she'll give you some useful tips on making dropcloth slipcovers.


I'm also linking up again to the slipcover Saturday Night Special linky party at Funky Junk Interiors.



http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2011/02/sns-70-brings-you-slipcovers.html
Funky Junk's SNS

Busy Day Ahead

I have a pretty heavy To-Do List today. Last night I pulled a muscle in my back lifting two kids at once. I'm using that as an excuse not to go exercise today. Yesterday I came home with this,



the materials to finish trimming the girls' room. I really have to prioritize right now, so the pulled muscle helps me justify skipping the gym today. This room has GOT to get done. Tomorrow is my day to make the trek to Costco, so I really need to forget about other stuff and just seriously get to it today! So, I'm going to head to the basement and try to work my tail off, because there are a few other things on my list that I'd like to get to today...like finishing that slipcover and making cheese crackers. Several people have asked me to share the cheese cracker recipe, so look for that soon as well.

OK, here I go!

A Few Thoughts Before I Drift Off To Sleep...

I spent a couple hours today fighting with my sewing machine in an attempt to finish up the slipcover for my ottoman in my bedroom. My fingertips are tender, though no longer bleeding, (time to buy a thimble), but still it is unfinished. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a seamstress. I can figure out how to cut out fabric and how to piece it together, but I guess I just don't know the ins and outs of working my machine. Or maybe everyone fights with their machine, I don't know. I'm convinced, though, that there is some secret formula, like tension x stitch length squared = my machine not jamming up. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with working with the heavy dropcloth. Either way, I decided I needed a break. Tomorrow, hopefully, I will attach the skirt and be done.

I've been brainstorming a blog topic idea today. I'm kind of excited about it. I'm thinking of featuring one of my inherited dishes from my grandmothers each week. I've been wanting to document the story behind each piece along with a picture so I'll always remember and be able to tell my kids about them. So why not do that here? And actually, I probably won't just do dishes, I'll also feature things like hankies, aprons, costume jewelry, and any other baubles I inherited from my grandmothers. What do you think? I was actually inspired by Lynn at Cottage and Creek. Her hankies and nostalgic tone got me thinking. Thanks, Lynn!

Tomorrow I'm going to pick up a load of materials for finishing the girls' bedroom. I'm soooo excited to wrap up this eternal project!

Right now, though, it's waaaaay past my bedtime!

Slipcover

Some time ago, like months and months, I mentioned this slipcover that I had made. Today I thought I'd show you a better picture and write a bit of a post about it so I can link it up to this:
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2011/02/sns-70-brings-you-slipcovers.html
(I have been having issues with putting button links in here. Not sure what's going on. Sorry.)



The fabric for the slipcover is actually from a couch slipcover that I bought at Walmart on clearance. From that slipcover I covered these chairs,


this ottoman,


this chair,


and made these valances.



This is kind of an older project, but I am currently working on another slipcover project that I'm not sure if I will complete in time to link up or not.

I did think that in a world of white slipcovers, this might be a nice change. Having said that, my current project is drop cloth slipcovers, like everyone else in the world is making right now. I LOVE them.

I'm also linking up here:

Bib Necklace

I had really been wanting to create one of these for a while, so when we went out to dinner for my friend's birthday, I made her one. Unfortunately, I threw it together in about 2 minutes (literally!), so I wasn't able to be a perfectionist with it. And because I can't create something without taking a picture of the end product, I laid it on my bed and snapped a couple pictures quickly. Sorry, I know they are dark and not very flattering. I can't seem to find the link to the tutorial I used. I'll try to add it later.

The Eternal Project

So here's the thing about DIY. Sometimes a project takes FOR. EVER. Like building the girls' bedroom. Granted, we started almost from scratch. We built walls, put in electrical, we ran a heat run, we drywalled, we taped, we mudded, we primed, we painted, we carpeted, we redid furniture and artwork, we trimmed, and I continue to trim. The trimming is at a standstill at the moment because we need a few more materials. So in the meantime, I decided today to start filling some nail holes with putty and caulking some cracks. And now, here's the thing about caulking. It's time-consuming and a little bit messy, but I really enjoy it. It makes SUCH a huge difference. I looked around the room at the trim I had put up and I thought, "Wow. What a crappy job I did!" BUT, when you start filling in cracks, suddenly it doesn't look so crappy anymore. It gives me hope that once the caulk is all in place and the faux board and batten has all received a final coat of paint, it might not look too bad! Here's hoping!

Uncaulked


Caulked


Uncaulked


Caulked


Uncaulked/Caulked


Uncaulked


Caulked




This project began almost a year ago. My goal is to finish this room before the building permit expires on March 15th. That involves getting the rest of the trim done, finishing up the caulking and puttying, painting, putting in vent covers, trimming out the doorway and putting up a door. Wish me luck!