You are here: Home / 2011 / Archives for August 2011

Gold Digger

August 31, 2011

Hello friends. I’ve been a busy little beaver around here the past few days but unfortunately I have nothing to show you, yet. Soon though if everything goes according to plan, which it almost never does.
While talking with my mom on the phone and describing something I am going to be doing soon, she said “I thought gold/brass wasn’t in style anymore?”
Well, I think it’s coming back in a big way and even more fun is mixing it in with other metals. Here are some examples of gold and brass I’ve pinned recently and I have to say, I’m loving it!

So what do you think?  Is gold coming back?  Have you used it in your house recently?

By 8 Comments Filed Under: pinterest

RoomspirationLink Party & Blog Hop Announcement

August 29, 2011

Good Monday Morning to you all, I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I have something I am really excited about that I want to share with you today, I’ve had to keep it under wraps but finally the time has come and I can let the cat out of the bag.
A few weeks ago I was thinking how fun it would be to do a link party/ blog hop that would feature each room in a house but they would be done by different bloggers who also have different styles.  I also wanted a chance for readers and followers of blogs to be able to link up their room(s),  as well as find inspiration for a room they may be working on in the near future. 
So after emailing a few great fellow bloggers and friends, having my hubby think up a cool name for the party and Elizabeth design us this super sweet graphic, Roomspiration is born!  

 


abode love: a man\View Along the Way
  Involving Color
{ All Things Bright and Beautiful }  Touch of Gray
The Blooming Hydrangea  The Mustard Ceiling
 The DIY Show Off

 I would really  love and appreciate if you would help spread the word by your blog, fb, twitter or email!  Then, get your rooms ready to link up starting on Sept. 12th.  I am so excited for you to meet these amazing bloggers and their rooms!  You are going to be so inspired and that’s before anyone else even links up!   I can’t wait to see all your rooms and all the inspiration out there!  Hope you have a beautiful Monday!

By 6 Comments Filed Under: roomspiration

Stripping Furniture Part 1

August 25, 2011

I’m sure my husband was a tad bit excited when he saw the first word of this blog title. Well today is about stripping but it’s furniture and not myself. At least not on the blog.
Anyways, I received an email from a friend the other day asking if I’ve ever stripped furniture. Until recently, the answer would have been no. I did attempt to strip the paint around our front door on The Colonial and that was hard work.
I’ve been working on taking all the black paint off of my kitchen table and chairs but sanding that was hard work. The table top just about put me over the edge so I finally went to Home Depot with the intention of buying some stripper.  I had no clue what I was looking for as this was a spur of the moment decision like most things in my life tend to be.  I knew that I wanted something that wasn’t harmful to breathe in yet still would do the job.  I ended up purchasing  Citristrip, a pair of heavy duty stripping gloves, a cheapo brush and this stripping tool that looks like a mini shovel.

On a side note, I’m really hoping to have a new camera in my hands by January. Maybe Santa will bring me a nice Christmas present? (hint, hint.)

Anyways, back to stripping. The back of the Citristrip says to place it in a metal container so I found our old chalk bucket from the dollar Target section and used that.

I poured the Citristrip into the bucket and  dipped the brush in and then brushed it on the table.  The nice thing with this product is,  I didn’t have to worry about this smelling yucky or stinking up my garage because it has a nice light orange smell, which I didn’t mind at all.

I applied some stripper last night around maybe 7pm. It was about 2pm the following day when I went out and tried stripping some off for this post. It came off really nice and easy, hardly needed to use any force or pressure with the scarping tool as you can see where the table is showing through nicely in the photo.

The other part of the table that still has residue is from where I tried stripping it after only letting the Citristrip sit for about thirty minutes. I think letting it sit longer is the key here. As with most things, a little patience and usually less work in the long run.

Here is what the paint looks like as it is coming off the furniture, a big gooey mess.

I haven’t tried this on anything with curves or intricate detail yet.  I do need to strip the chairs as well so I will give an update on that soon.  I am not a professional and this is strictly my opinion and what works for me.  If you have used other strippers that you know work well, feel free to comment below or send me an e-mail.  I am also not being paid or endorsed by Citristrip, this is strictly my personal experience and review of this product. 

I just can’t help but sign off with this:
Happy Stripping!!!!

By 3 Comments Filed Under: projects

The Front Entryway

August 24, 2011

I am hoping to slowly post pictures of all the rooms/places in The New Place over the next few months and then update them as we make changes. So here is the one and only picture I have of the front entryway door area.

And here it is after a coat of black paint, excuse the bad night photo:

I then added this mirror which used to be white but I thought maybe some blingy gold would help brighten up this dull entryway.  I also for now painted this little side table the same color as the tv console. 

So that’s the entryway for now.  I plan on replacing the blue table with something that fits the space better under the mirror like the one I found on pinterest:

  On the wall with the stairs, I am hoping to make some sort of place to hang coats.  Maybe like this, once again the idea is from pinterest:

The last thing I hope to add is a nice big rug, like this:

And of course with the new Cloffice project in the beginning stages, there will be changes coming sooner rather than later to the front entryway.  All I can say, this project is going to start a snowball effect of painting trim in the entire house!  Stay tuned!!!

By 3 Comments Filed Under: front entryway NP, newplace

Two Months Ago Today

August 24, 2011

On June 23rd, 2011 we were packing up our hotel room at the Holiday Inn, heading off to sign the papers over for The Colonial and then driving three hours to sign papers for  The New Place.    I was driving our vehicle with four children, one hamster, one dog and one puppy plus whatever else we could fit in our vehicle that we couldn’t shove fit in the moving truck.  Hubby was driving the moving truck in peaceful, blissful, lonely silence.  We  mae it here just in time for the closing and then managed to unload the moving truck that evening with a little help from a friend!  We also had a giant pan of assorted delicious desserts awaiting us along with a beautiful flower arrangement from friends!

My parents also made the eight hour drive to come help us move in that weekend as well.  We are so blessed and thankful for all the help loading up the moving truck, unloading the truck, the gifts, well wishes and goodbye parties!

It does not feel like it’s only been two months since we moved.  Oddly enough, we feel like we’ve lived here forever.  The kids have enjoyed the summer playing with friends and neighbors, going to the park almost daily, exploring the new city, checking out some new zoos, swimming pools and biking trails, games of kickball in the backyard and fires at night.  We have also had some friends and family come and visit us, which has been a real treat for us!!!

The hubby is enjoying working from home and the kids don’t bother him, at all.  It’s kind of weird but we’re not complaining.  It’s been so nice having him here for an occasional quick 15 minute lunch on the back deck or even lunch just around the table.   We have enjoyed some nice date nights downtown and for our anniversary even went somewhere a little more upscale than B’dubs, although I prefer B’dubs over most anything!

And of course with moving come the harder parts, like finding out where to shop for food and also a new church home.  I must admit it was exciting to try out some different places and also somewhat surprising to see what’s out there but we have found a new church home and are going to start settling in there as well.

We know that this summer is more like a sabbatical for our family than what normal life will be like here. If anything, I think we’ve learned a few lessons and we will be very carefully considering all our time commitments and even how much we serve.  We want to use our God given gifts and talents wisely but we also know that we only have a short time with our children before they are out into the world on their own.  There is with all things, balance to be found and that is what we are taking with us from our past and hoping to apply here and now.

So all in all, we would rate this moving experience an A+ for our family!  School starts in a few short weeks and then it’s into a routine again.   But for now, we are going to enjoy these last few weeks of “The Best Summer, Ever” as my husband has dubbed it.  This time together for our family has been priceless!!!

I hope your summer has been a great time for you and your family as well!!!

By 4 Comments Filed Under: family

Fun in the Sun and Sand

August 16, 2011

Summer is drawing to a close and it’s almost time for back to school. This summer has been a bit different for our family with moving to a new city. We spent most of June packing and the beginning of July unpacking. So we knew that this summer probably wouldn’t be the summer where we went on a family vacation to somewhere like Florida, the Carolinas or out West. We knew that we didn’t need to go anywhere exotic or far to have fun as a family so we ended up going to our favorite place, Wisconsin Dells. We’ve lived very close to the Dells for thirteen years and we end up here at least twice a year, sometimes more. In the past we’ve spent some time at the Wilderness Resort, Chula Vista and a few other places. This year, we’ve changed it up and are at a resort right on Lake Delton.

This was only the first day of fun!  Lots more to come!

By 3 Comments Filed Under: family

Cloffice Inspiration

August 12, 2011

The New Place has a lot more room than the Colonial which is great with four kids and the hubby working from home. We have doubled the amount of bathrooms here and increased the bedrooms by 2. The one thing I really miss from the Colonial is the cloffice. The hubby has his work office but we don’t want to mix work with pleasure so we need another space for all our papers, bills, owners manuals, etc.
I have convinced the hubby we won’t use the front closet and that it should be the cloffice. So here is some inspiration I’ve pinned for the cloffice. Instead of just building some shelves and using a deeper shelf for the desktop I think I want a real desk. I am really liking the wood on these but then I am always drawn to the white too!

And this time instead of tracing the stencil on the wall myself, I think I might actually buy one. Not sure what one but these caught my eye.

I think I might have already found a desk on CL and it’s only $15!  I’m sure the hubby loves that we are starting date night off with a trip to look at a desk.  Or maybe he really does, it’s only $15 and all he has to do is load and unload it and I’ll take care of the rest.
I also am working on something fun that will be happening in mid-September so stay tuned for more details!!!!

By 2 Comments Filed Under: cloffice, newplace

The Living Room a work in progress

August 10, 2011

So we have been at the new place for almost three months and I figured I should probably start posting some pictures of our rooms even though they aren’t close to being done. The formal living room is actually the farthest along out of all the rooms right now. I wish I had a picture of the room before we moved in but my camera didn’t feel like working the entire week of moving, just my luck. I originally had the IKEA furniture in there with the black buffet from the old dining room but the room felt really empty. Hubby loves his leather furniture so we purchased a leather sofa and love seat for the family room. It was really too big for the area so I convinced him to switch out the furniture.

I found the cute trunk on CL for $15 and the tray was from Wal-Mart on clearance for $1.   I am on the lookout for some cute fabric to redo the big pillow with and also plan on adding some more artwork to the walls.  Maybe like this minus the tv:

 I really want to paint the piano a fun color but I don’t know what the hub would think of that, maybe I should surprise him one day! 

Wouldn’t it look so much better painted like this:

And now for the sad part of the room, the undecorated bookshelf.  I need some more books for the bookshelf and maybe some other fun things that I’ll find at Goodwill or Homegoods. 

Hoping to have it look more like this soon:

  Not bad for being here since the end of June.   I am on the hunt for fabric for window treatments and pillows to brighten up the space and de-brownify this room some.  Is that even a word?  Well if it’s not I just made it one. So there you have it, our formal and unused living room.I’m linking up with Kelly at View Along the Way for the Roomspirations Living Room Link up Party!  I hope you’ll join me as there is inspiration abounding there!  Also go check out some high caliber entryways at Abode Love with Laurel-Dawn.
You can also link up until Oct. 14th so if your room isn’t ready yet, no worries! 

Roomspiration
<div align="center"><a href="http://themustardceiling.blogspot.com" title="Roomspiration"><img src="http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd408/lizzygal18/orangebackgroundbutton.jpg" alt="Roomspiration" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

By 8 Comments Filed Under: Living room NP, newplace

Project Success!!!!

August 8, 2011

Remember the other week when I posted this post, Project Fail!!!? Well I am here to say

After the chalk wouldn’t erase even with a damp cloth from the wall and it was all bumpy and weird looking, I went back to the wall, sanded it down so it wasn’t so bumpy from the texture and then put two more coats of chalkboard paint on
it and then somewhat patiently waited three days before I could test it out. You need to season the wall with chalk before you use it the first time and I think I went through 4 pieces of chalk because I “seasoned” the stink out of it. I even made the hubs help me on his lunch break. I am sure he loved helping. Ok, maybe he didn’t love helping me but he did leave me a cute little note of encouragement on the chalkboard wall.

I also painted the light switch plate with chalkboard paint, added a cute little hook to hang the chalk bucket from and also hung a cute little clock on the wall. Here it is with kid scribble on it, just the way I like it!

I’m so glad I went back and redid the wall.  The kids have loved drawing all over it, the bubs especially wants us to “play chalk, me?”  translated “play chalk with me?”  It’s been handy to write phone numbers and other information on it as well.  So, thankfully I turned project fail into project success! 

I’m linking up here:

and getting ready for this:

By 8 Comments Filed Under: painting, projects

Craigslist & Thrifting Finds Link Party

August 7, 2011

I have been finding such great treasures on Craigslist and around town in different places that I thought it might be fun to do a little linky party! So if you have found some great treasures this summer at Yard Sales, Resale Shops, Antique Stores, Craigslist, the side of the road, the garbage dump, wherever, link it up! It can be something you’ve re-purposed or transformed or maybe something you are hoping to redo, anything goes! So come show off your finds and see what other people have found as well. I even made a little blog button for the party! I am thinking maybe we can do this once a month and see how it goes.
Since moving to a bigger city a few weeks ago, I have become a CL junky.  I stalk that thing and I’ve found some great things!  So today, I am sharing two of my finds with you.  The first one is actually from my friend, she was going to “get rid” of these side tables, possibly putting them out on the curb.  I came to their rescue and thought maybe they would like it at my house.  Here is the before:

 
After a light sanding, some primer and a few coats of Dark Walnut by Rustoleum, this is what they look like:

Just pretend you can’t see the lamp sitting on the floor in the background, it’s late and I had to take the picture in the dining room because the living room needs lamps that actually work and don’t just look cute.  Soon and very soon, I will have some light in there!  But I’m hopping down a rabbit trail, let’s get back to business!

So here are the rules to link up:

1.  Copy and paste the party button and add it to your post. The party button is on the right side of the blog.
2.  Please visit at least one other person’s link at the party and leave a comment. It’s fun to see what other people have found and share in their excitement too!

Ok, I’m really excited to see what you link up, so ready, set, go!

 

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
By 4 Comments Filed Under: painting, thrifting
«Older Posts