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Marriage Monday: Introduction & The Five Love Languages

April 30, 2012

Hello!  The Blooming Hydrangea is beginning a new weekly series this week entitled “Marriage Mondays”.  We (more on this in a minute) are so excited to bring you a weekly blog post involving all things related to marriages, and it is our hope that your marriages (or soon-to-be marriages) are blessed as you learn and laugh with us.  We have felt a strong calling to talk about marriages because we have been richly blessed with an amazing one, but we know that there are many out there who have struggling marriages or have already been divorced and have felt the pain in this area of life.  Certainly our culture doesn’t make things any easier in this area, and the pain of divorce weighs heavy in almost everyone’s life at one point or another. either through your own experience of those of friends and/or famiy.    But it is our hope that you can find true JOY in your marriage, and that we can help you out just a little with our series.

On the subject of “we”, these posts will be co-authored by Ange of course and joined by husband Alex (whom you may previously only know as “The Blooming Hubs”) for a dual approach to this subject.  After all it takes both of us to make our marriage work, so talking about it should involve both of us as well so we can each represent our own sides of the story.

And along the way we’ll be opening up the lines of communication with all of you and  allow you to submit questions (either publicly or privately if you wish to remain anonymous) for us to answer, directed to either Ange, Alex, or both of us.  When we communicate in these posts we will use colors to differentiate who is talking so that you can know which perspective you are getting.  In honor of the “Blue and Pink” alluded  to by Love and Respect Ministries, we will use those colors to represent us so Ange will post her comments in Pink and Alex will post in Blue.

So let’s start by sharing a bit with you where we started from so you can know a bit more about our marriage.  We have been together for nearly 18 years (wow, has it been that long?? Makes me feel old)(ummm, no comment?)  and married for nearly 14.  We met in high school in our senior year and both knew right away that we had something special, although it took a few weeks for us to get our relationship going (Ange will quickly remind you that SHE was the one who had to call me for the first date and if she hadn’t she’d still be waiting!!).  (If you don’t know this already babe, I am kind of quick to act on things, when I like something, I go for it!)   Right after high school we were engaged, and married towards the end of college.

 

Within 6 months of our marriage, we said goodbye to our mutual home town and moved away on our own to our neighboring state where Alex started a new job out of school.  Soon after, children came into the picture (four in all from 2001 to 2009) and just last year we uprooted our now family of six and moved to another state.

As far as our marriage goes, we have had our share of ups and downs, but overall we feel that we get along great and are in the process of making our marriage something really special.  Neither of us really knew what marriage was all about when we first started (who does really?) but we have taken our vows seriously and grown even closer today then we were when we started.  We have been careful to not let life get in the way of our marriage, not even allowing the blessings of children to interfere with our relationship with each other.  A few years into our marriage we watched the Love and Respect videos together with a small group and our marriage has really been transformed from that experience.  It helped us really make sense out of our disagreements and work towards unity in a way we hadn’t been able to do before.  Since that time we have helped share the Love and Respect message with many couples from our church as well as dozens of couples with some local marriage conferences we helped organize.  We have seen firsthand the transformative power of those videos on marriages, (check out this blog post)  making nearly hopeless marriages able to survive and making so-so marriages into great ones.  We will draw on some of that material as we present this series.

We would love to hear from you, maybe you have a question or two that we can TRY to answer?  Any topics of interest you’d like us to make sure we cover in this series?  Please give us your feedback so that we can tailor this series to your liking!  Email us and we promise that these questions will remain anonymous on the blog and kept in the strictest of confidence!

Next week we’ll be talking about the book The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman.  Many of you maybe familiar with this book and we are going to encourage you to read it again to freshen up on your love language skills.  If you have never read this book before, ask around and see if you can borrow a copy from your friends, your church or the library.   It’s sometimes at Wal-mart for around $5. Your homework for next week is to find a copy of this book.

                                                                                                                           Source: garychapman.org via Ange@thebloominghydrangea on Pinterest

 

Then head over to this link and take the 5 Love Languages quiz, please take the quiz even if you’ve done it before, you might be surprised by your answers.  If your spouse is willing, have them take the quiz as well and hopefully this will stir up some good conversation between the two of you.  We will be back next week to talk more about the Five Love Languages.
Linking Up here:

Photobucket


By 11 Comments Filed Under: marriage monday, Uncategorized

Before and After: The Hallway and Stairway

April 27, 2012

Here’s a little refresher on life in our home.  We purchased this house in late June of 2011.  There was pretty much oak and beige covering all the walls and trim/cabinets.  Quite possibly we were a test site for a Sherwin Williams beige collection, I’m not sure but the cans in the basement give me reason to believe this.  The only room not beige were the bub’s bedroom, it was forest green and the main floor powder room which was mint green.  I’ve slowly been eradicating the beige and the oak, in the process we also have decided to switch out the flat oak doors for six panel white ones, still hollow but much better looking in my opinion.   Take a look and see what you think, we just finished painting the stairway and upstairs hallway Owl Gray by Benjamin Moore and switched out all the doors.  I painted the trim when I was working on Little A’s room so the only place left to paint trim is in the basement.  Let’s pretend I don’t have to do that for now.

Here are the before and after shots together.   Can see how much lighter and brighter the hallway is?  It even feels wider and larger in the hallway.

 

This was a tricky space to photograph, the lighting was hard to deal with but I think I captured for the most part the difference!  All that’s left to do is change out the boob lights and maybe hang a few pictures in the hallway.   Ok well and ripping carpeting off the stairs and having lovely wood stairs and flooring all throughout the house but that might be years from now.  I’m loving the light and neutral wall colors with the white trim and doors.

Details:
Trim & Door Paint: Ace Cabinet and Trim Paint in High Hiding White  and also the banister is Ace Cabinet and Trim Paint mixed in India Ink

Wall Color: Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore

Doors: $19 a slab at Home Depot.

Handsome hubby had to make the hinge sets on the doors along with drilling for the knob and shaving  maybe half an inch off each door to get them to fit.  For $19 plus the cost of some tools, it was worth it!  I did have to paint the doors as well.  We reused the brass handles that were on the oak doors.  Hubby wants to replace them and I actually don’t mind them.  Stay tuned for the winner of the door handle battle.

I’m linking up here:


Making Lemonade

By 23 Comments Filed Under: Before and After, newplace, Our Home, Uncategorized

Blooming Blogger: Suzy from Saved by Suzy

April 27, 2012

It’s Friday, the weekend is here!  Woot Woot!  (Does anyone say that anymore?)  We are heading out of town this weekend to hang with our besties.  The guys are hitting up a twins game and the girls are shopping and getting some pedicures!  Let’s hope we don’t end up with foot fungus like our last pedicure experience 5 years ago!  What will the 7 kids be doing you ask?  Good question.  Hopefully playing together nicely.

You may have noticed that the Blooming Blogger series is now being posted on Fridays.  Mondays are now reserved for a new series called Marriage Mondays where the hubby and I will be posting on all things marital.     But today is all about The Blooming Blogger and I’d love for you to meet Suzy from Saved by Suzy!  We met just a few short months ago when our friend Cassie from Primitive and Proper introduced us to each other.  Cassie thought we had a lot in common and we sure do!  Sometimes I think Suzy and I could be on the show Seperated at Birth.  (Is that a real show?  I don’t watch tv but for some reason I think that’s a real show).  We both have goldendoodles, have painted our houses with Gray Owl, used embroidery hoops and fabric in our daughter’s rooms and have many more things in common.  Read on to learn more about my twin and one of my favorite bloggers.


How did you come up with your blog name? 
My husband is the wordsmith in our house and he actually came up with it.  I used to have a custom emboridery business called “SewSuzy,” which my husband came up with.  So, I knew I wanted to use my name and the “saved” part was inspired by me “saving” old furniture from the dump or a thrift store.  I save furniture by giving it a makeover and a new life. 

What is your favorite food?

Hmmmm, this is a tough one!  I don’t think I’ve met a food I don’t like!  I have a huge sweet tooth and love baked goods and candy, but my favorite would have to be ice cream.

If you could vacation anywhere, where would you go and why?I used to loved to travel, but as I’ve gotten older and now have three children and two dogs,  I’ve become much more of a homebody.  Being so busy in my daily life right now, I don’t have a huge desire to visit a new city and sightsee.  I would much rather sit on a beach and relax.  We went to Kauai for our honeymoon and I would love to go back.

 

How did you meet your husband?
After I graduated from college, I moved to Aspen with a bunch of friends.  I worked as a waitress at a restaurant in the Hotel Jerome.  My husband was the restaurant manager.  He was always so nice and had a smile on his face, that I immediately had a crush on him.  When I found out that he lived in an old farmhouse with seven dogs (not all his!), I invited myself over to bring the dogs on a hike.  I am a HUGE dog lover.  The rest is history and we were married at the Hotel Jerome a year and a half later.  That was thirteen years ago!


Best book you have read lately?

Reading is one of my all-time favorite activities.  When I’m not busy catching up on all of my favorite blogs, I’m reading a book.  Historical fiction is my favorite.  The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is great!


Show us your favorite room or project you’ve completed.
I love my daughter Mary’s orange and pink room.
What is your favorite board on your Pinterest page?
Right now I have two favorite boards on my Pinterest page.  My “DIY projects” is filled with great ideas that I’ve found on other blogs that I want to try myself…someday!  I also like my “Living Room” board.  I’m in the process of changing things up in the living room so I’ve pinned lots of great inspiration pics to this board recently.  Oh, how can I forget my “Food” board?!?!?  There are so many delicious recipes on Pinterest.  I don’t love cooking and I’m not a very good cook.  But, I love to find new recipes to try…as long as they are easy, quick and don’t take tons of ingredients!
What was the first piece of furniture you ever painted?
I had been reading design and furniture refinishing blogs for a while before I jumped in and painted my own piece.  I found a dresser at a yardsale that I passed by as I drove my daughters to school.  It was marked $40 and I didn’t even haggle on price.  This was about 1.5 years ago.  Since then, I’ve become a huge thrifter and garage sale addict.  The dresser is in my daughter’s room.
Thank you so much Ange for having me as today’s Blooming Blogger!
Thank you Suzy for stopping by and introducing yourself to us!  I just love Mary’s room, if only Little A had liked pink and orange.  sigh.  Head over to Saved by Suzy and check out her new navy wall she’s doing for the Color My World Challenge.   I’ll be back on Monday hopefully without foot fungus, ready to kick off the marriage series!
By 6 Comments Filed Under: blooming blogger series

The Blooming Hubs shares his thoughts on some Decor & Design

April 26, 2012

 

My friend Jessamie at Bird & Branch Redesigns is hosting a link party today.  She posted some cool design pics and had her hubby comment on them and it turned out to be one of her favorite posts, you can read it here.   So Jessamie decided to let us have a turn at it with our handsome men as well.  I had a hard time picking pictures for this and I did pick a few on the crazier side of design just to see what he would say.  Some made me laugh and maybe you’ll enjoy a chuckle or two as well.  Take it away Blooming hubs!

 

OK, cool space here, save for the giant descending spider on the upper left – hello arachnophobia!! Big clock is definitely cool with all the checkers or small pebbles all around

 

…and here’s the spider web where the other spider above came from, how nice!  And a nice touch of broccoli or possibly asparagus in the foreground, I’m sure that comes in handy in the kitchen.  And that table (?) looks like something a magician would use to saw someone in half, but maybe that’s just me.  On the plus side, cool molding and nice stove!

Definitely getting a sense that creepy lighting is the theme of these pictures, now we’re going for a sea urchin look here or perhaps a Medusa tribute piece or something like that.  Wall, color, gold shelving, brown chairs, and a sweet rug, however almost make up for that weird piece above.

And here’s the bird cage, how nice.  The bird ate the spider that wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her….is that how the song goes?  My other thought here, on the bird theme?  Looks like a giant cracked egg has landed here, with the yolk on top of the chair and the egg whites on that other…thing…there to the right.

At ease, pink poodle soldiers!  Feel like I just stepped out of an Austin Powers movie or something

And here’s their little friend, the rarely photographed white long-necked labrador.  But hey, some props on those couches and the cool boat in the corner

Ummmm….OK then.   First off, what’s with the posing toddler above the mantle?  Kinda weird.  Looks like the kind of picture you give to your grandma as a 2×3 wallet, not turn into a 80 x 120 gallery-ready centerpiece?  Things get a little awkward at the photo studio perhaps?  Now that I’ve recovered from that I can see nice archways, a pretty cool table and of course some HYDRANGEAS (that remind me of my bride!)

“Hey Grumpy!  We’ve been looking all over for you!”

So giant wall that is made to look like some sort of exotic flooring meets the baby incubator?  Or maybe they are hatching chicks in the crib perhaps?

Well, this one isn’t my style so much here, but at least I can respect this one, especially after the others that have come before.  I’m not big on mismatched chairs (or really anything not matching, just ask Ange) myself, and the big Roman pillar thing is cool, but just doesn’t fit in here.

“Excuse me – your drain is showing!”

But I do like this room though, very classy and stylish.  Is the running horse supposed to be something to remind you of running water?  Just curious.

Not bad other than the massive beehive hanging above the table.  And exactly what room in the house is this?  I can’t tell what the purpose is here of this space.

Hallelujah! Nothing to critique here, this space has nice soothing colors and a rug that reminds me for some reason of that chart you have when you pick out Jelly Belly jelly beans.  I could just hop in this picture for a nice siesta me thinks.

Kinda looks like a few walls and some random furniture (including some sort of  like hammock chair) were just strewn in the jungle out the window.  Is this some sort of Salvador Dali picture?  Where’s the melting clock?

And last but not least…hey hon, I don’t think you should have put our actual bedroom picture in this set of pictures! (Kidding)  So massive pelt of racoons meets  pink velour headboard with space-age lighting and Chevron flooring!  So nice to see a minimalistic style used so well here, wouldn’t you say?  More is definitely less here…

Thanks babe for being a sport and playing along today!  Props to the hubs for knowing what Chevron is!  He really must listen as I drone on and on about this kind of stuff.  I’m linking up at Bird & Branch Redesign, won’t you come join me and read what other men had to say about design and decor.  We might want to pee first or make sure you are sitting on a oilcloth covered chair first.

By 25 Comments Filed Under: Blogging Fun

Details on Little A’s Vintage Room

April 25, 2012

I shared Little A’s Vintage Room last week on the blog.  Your comments were so sweet and encouraging to me, thank you!  So I thought today I’d share a few of the details and cost breakdown for the room.   Most of my bedroom makeovers that I’ve done, I have tried to do for $200 or less.  The bub’s first room was my first attempt at a children’s bedroom and the total was just under $200.  His second bedroom came in around $170.  This room might come in a little higher but we’ll see how I did!

One of the best changes I made was spray painting the metal bed frame.  Here is a before with the white, chipped look going on after being abused used by my children for the past 5 years.

Using lots of elbow grease to sand down the frame where it was drippy from it’s last paint job (the hubby’s first and last attempt at spray painting), two cans of primer and two cans of Rustoleum warm yellow spray paint, she’s looking sunny and lovely in yellow.

The embroidery hoops were all purchased from Hobby Lobby or Jo-Anns for an average of $1 each.  The fabric inside the hoops is from vintage sheets and was purchased from Shabby Sheets on Etsy for $10 with shipping.  I spray painted the outsides of the hoops white using spray paint I already had on hand and added the two candle wall sconces which I also already owned. Grand total for embroidery hoops and fabric $17

Above the desk I wanted a place for little A to be able to hang up her drawings and maybe pin some fun photos or whatever catches her fancy.  I found this cork board at Savers for $1.99.  I recovered it by stapling some yellow gingham fabric from Hobby Lobby for $3.50.

 

The two smaller boards on each side of the cork board were pictures we had from a previous bedroom.

I recovered both of the pictures by stapling them with left over fabric from the embroidery hoops and then used velcro adhesive to adhere the giant clothespins.  I already owned the clothespins as well so these two picture frame boards were free

 

The lamp and shade came from Target, with a coupon the total was $13.

I added pom-pom trim that was $1 from Hancock Fabrics to the shade with my glue gun, total $14.

The curtains were probably my biggest expense.  The fabric was $30 for four yards from Fabric.com with free shipping.  I used this tutorial from Tip Junkie on making lined curtains.  I purchased two twin size flat sheets from wal-mart for the lining, $10.  Total for curtains, $40.   This is a glimpse of the curtains,  my sewing skills and photographing things near brightly lit windows are less than stellar so I think it’s better if we just go with this photo.

I spray painted her curtain rod white with spray paint I already owned, total, free.  I found sticking the rods into the ground and spray painting them like this was super easy.  After they dried I then laid them across some cardboard boxes and spray painted the ends that were in the ground.

The chipboard letter A was purchased for $1.50  from Hobby Lobby.   A piece of paper from a vintage Nursery Rhyme Book cut to shape was the perfect vintage look for this letter, cost $1.50.

These wall plaques were $2 each from Savers.  Looking a little dated in brown I knew that some color could really make these cute!

A quick coat of green spray paint in Eden by Rustoleum and voila, fun vintage looking wall plaques for $4!

I debated using the quilt my grandma made as the bed covering and folding up the coverlet at the end of the bed instead, this picture is before all the details were finished up.  What do you think?  Maybe for the winter I can change it up when it gets cold and snowy!

Well that just about covers everything I can think of in her room.  If you aren’t sleeping by now, Congratulations on making it through this post!   As a reward, here’s a look at the finished room one more time.

 

Now it’s time to add it all up and see how I did.

Bedroom Cost Breakdown:

Paint $41

Bedskirt $6

Coverlet $40

Curtains $40

Sewing Desk $7

Drum Stool $20

Pillow TJ Maxx $15

Spray Paint & Primer $15

Lamp $14

Clock $7

Letter A $1

Cork board & fabric $6

Embroidery Hoops & Fabric $17

Picture over Dresser $3

Butterfly placques $4

TOTAL= $236

There you have it, the breakdown and some details on Little A’s vintage bedroom.   I think I covered just about everything I painted, modified or made for her room.  If you have any more questions or want to know about anything else, I would be happy to help you out.

By 7 Comments Filed Under: Before and After, decorating, thrifting, Uncategorized

Color My World Challenge Week 4: Fabric

April 24, 2012

This week I have nothing to show you as the fabric I originally ordered didn’t work out and there wasn’t enough time to order more.  Then I thought I’d be able to find something around here but after visiting 3 fabric stores 65 times in the past few days, I have nothing.  That’s right, a big fat zero.  The good news is I will have something next week for the full reveal.  In the meantime I thought I’d share a few chartreuse fabric options out there in case some of you are really digging this color and want to give it a whirl in your home.  All fabrics are from fabric.com and clicking on the picture should take you to the link at fabric.com.

As you can see there is a range in the color scale for what is considered chartreuse, some is more on the yellow side and others are more green.

  I’ll be back next week for the final reveal and you can join in the fun and link up then as well!  In the meantime check out what everyone else did this week with fabric and their color!

Carmel - Our 5th House
Maury – Life On Mars
Shelley - Crazy Wonderful
Tiffany - Living Savvy
Vashti & Jamie - Like me Some…
By 14 Comments Filed Under: color my world challenge

Blooming Blogger: Kelly from View Along the Way

April 20, 2012

I know the Blooming Blogger posts happen on Mondays but this week is a special Friday edition because Kelly was busy delivering the newest member of their family on Tuesday night and also finishing up her nursery.   (Who looks this cute when they are pregnant?  For real!  I always looked like I escaped a circus and had clowns selling cotton candy from under my tent dress.)  For real, isn’t she gorgeous?

Check out the sweetest nursery that little Mila Jane will get to sleep in.  So gorgeous!

Read on to learn more about Kelly and why you must read her blog!  She is so funny and cute, plus add in her wonderful talent in decorating and DIY and she is a MUST read!

How did you come up with your blog name?

My blog name – View Along the Way – is a beautiful example of how not to name a blog. I started it as a way to document our lives for family and friends, and after we bought our house, it evolved into a DIY blog, but it forgot to evolve its name. Maybe at that time if I’d known what I’d actually be blogging about, I could have snagged an amazing name, like Apartment Therapy or Blooming Hydrangea.

View Along the Way

Favorite thing about blogging?

The fame and fortune? Oh wait, you said blogging, not being a famous rock star. I get those two confused. My favorite thing is the friendships I’ve made with sweet ladies like Ange, and having a creative outlet to spew my thoughts and ideas – unchecked – all over the interwebs. And no one can stop me! MUAHAHAHA!

How did you meet your husband?

We first met under the romantic fluorescent lights of the dining hall during my freshman year in college: a surefire environment for life-long love. We met through a mutual friend, who I thought he was interested in. I spent our initial time together trying to decide if he was good enough for her. He would tell you that he was obviously interested in me the whole time. (All lies!)

Day after we met
Three favorite blogs to read right now.

I have about four thousand amazing blogs that I read regularly, so how to choose?! A few relatively new-to-me blogs that I can’t get enough of are Thistlewood Farms, Buffalo Roam and Making Lemonade.

Favorite item in your home?

My family? (Total cop-out answer.) And the Chinese Chippendale chairs I found on craigslist. Which rank slightly below my family, because I’m a loving mom and wife.

In a fire, I’d save my family first. But after they were safe…
Favorite new DIY/Home trend that you think might be here to stay?

I’m kinda loving scallops as the next chevron.

Peacock Scallop Pillow by Caitlin Wilson Textiles

By Kelly Oshiro via Design Sponge
If you could vacation anywhere, where would you go and why?
Andy and I honeymooned in Anguilla, which is this tiny island off St. Martin. We got a tiny cottage which sat RIGHT on the sand, and had the resort and the whole bay almost completely to ourselves. It was BLISS. As soon as we got home, we started saving for our next trip, but soon after, they tore down the resort and are now building some multi-bazillion dollar condos there or something. (The nerve!) So I’d go back to Anguilla, and back in time. Any travel agents able to pull that off?

Ange, this was so fun! Thank you for letting me hang out on your blog today!

 

Kelly, thank you for taking time out of snuggling your sweet baby to hang out here today!  You are a rockstar!  Head over and check out Kelly’s blog, View Along the Way!

By 12 Comments Filed Under: blooming blogger series

Little A’s Vintage Inspired Bedroom

April 18, 2012

Remember way back in the beginning of March when I posted about my youngest daughter’s bedroom?   Originally I was thinking an orange and pink look would be really spot on for her but when I asked her what she would pick for her room, she came up with pale pink and pale yellow.  No offense to anyone who has these colors together but it reminded me of some bad 1980s decor.  I was really just stuck  on what to do in her room so I kicked her down to the basement with her sisters, cleared everything out of her room and then used my quilt that my grandma made me a long time ago as my inspiration.  My grandma passed away almost 10 years ago this May so to have a piece of my grandma that I can share with my children and actually even use is special.

 

These two pictures were my main inspiration for this room, the first one was the color palette and the second picture reminded me of my quilt and had a vintage feel, which I liked.

 

Here is a refresher on what her room looked like before I started, lots of stuff taped to the walls, oak trim and doors, black, pink and white color scheme with “puke colored” walls as little A called them.  We moved in last June and she picked out the zebra black and pink theme.  Thankfully she was over it so I could make this room not look like Barbie at the zoo.

First of all, I would like to thank Wal-mart for being open 24 hours a day even though I really don’t like Wally world, buying paint at 11:300 at night did come in handy for this room.   The color is Better Homes and Gardens 10742 Shallow Wading Pool.

The embroidery hoops are from Jo-anns and Hobby Lobby and were all around $1 each.  The fabric in the hoops is from the etsy store Shabby Sheets and was $10 for a few squares of fabric that I used above her desk as well.

The bed frame came from E’s room and was originally white.  A few coats of Rustoleum Warm Yellow gave me the pop of color I was looking for.   The white coverlet is from Springmaid and can be found at Target for $70 but I found this one a bit cheaper on e-bay, $40.  The bed skirt is also Springmaid and was a GW score for $7, currently $40 at Target.  The pillow was $15 and I found it at TJ Maxx.  This was the first purchase I made for this room and was my inspiration with the quilt.

The green table was a thrift store find last summer for $5, originally an ugly brown color nut now sporting this pretty green called Eden by Rustoleum.

The lamp is from Target and with a coupon was $13 for the shade and base.  I bought the pom pom trim from Hancock Fabrics for $1.  The clock is from Hobby Lobby for $7.  Little A painted the cute little inchworm a few years ago.

The curtain fabric is from fabric.com and is by Heather Bailey, Nicey Jane Church Flowers Pink.

The sewing desk is from GW and I picked it up $7.  The cool drum stool is from CL and was $20.

The corkboard is from Savers for $2, the fabric to cover it was $3.50.  The clothespins I had already and used leftover fabric from the hoops to cover up some old pictures we had.

Little A drew a self portrait for her room and I added this drawing of a dog she did recently.

The letter A is a chipboard letter from Hobby Lobby for $1.50, I covered it with a page from a vintage nursery rhyme book.

The butterfly pictures are from Savers and were $2 each.  I spray painted them with Eden by Rustoleum, same color as the nightstand.

The picture above her dresser was a GW find for $3.

Now for the “unfinished” portion of the room.  The closet needs some work and I didn’t take the time to make it “picture perfect” as I needed to take the bub’s outside to play and he was tired of waiting for me.

Time for a few final pictures.

Her room is rather large and it feels kind of sparse in there but she likes to play with her barbie house and also her dolls so for now having the extra room to play is working out in here.  I may find her a bigger dresser but that depends on how I work out her closet.

Things left to finish:

Gut and Paint the closet, add shelving and curtains or doors on closet

Find a bookshelf and/or bigger dresser

For a cost breakdown and more details on her room, you can check out this post.

Ok, if you made it this far, Congratulations!  This was a long picture heavy post!   While typing up this post, I realized how much of her room was thrifted, ebay, etsy and a small amount came from Target.  I really enjoyed shopping for her room and I am sure I’ll be adding a few more things here and there.   The best part of the whole process is that Little A loves her room!

I’m linking up here:


 

Making Lemonade

 

Thrifty Decor Chick
InvolvingColor
By 52 Comments Filed Under: Before and After, little A's room

Color My World Challenge Week 3: Paint

April 17, 2012

Tuesday, here you are again so soon.  Today I’m introducing some chartreuse in the form of paint into my home.  There was much debate about how to use the paint, do I paint the dining room chairs, the table, how about a wall?   After debating it all I decided to paint some canvases and maybe use a stencil.  After doing two canvases with a stencil and a wash over the top I decided not to use them and went with my abstract piece I made last week.

 

So no big splashes of color anywhere this week.  I do want to say though that I am in LOVE with my Gray Owl  paint color.  So pretty, light, neutral and lovely.  Oh sorry, back to chartreuse.  I really was hoping to use the  color in a much bigger way somehow but I just couldn’t figure it out.  Maybe I’ll surprise us all for the final reveal.

Next week the challenge is fabric and I actually do have a plan for that one!  In the meantime, check out what everyone else did with paint this week.  I’m excited to go see if anyone painted a wall or some furniture!

Carmel - Our 5th House
Maury – Life On Mars
Shelley - Crazy Wonderful
Tiffany - Living Savvy
Vashti & Jamie - Like me Some…
Also get ready to share your color challenge and link up with us on the final reveal day, May 1st.
So there you have it folks, one small piece of art.  The painting is something I actually like in the entryway and  I thought it was fun to just randomly throw paint on the canvas and not really have a plan of what went where.  Have you ever made your own abstract art?  Did you enjoy it?  Is it on display in your home?  I’d love to see it, leave the link in the comment section below so I can come visit you.
By 14 Comments Filed Under: color my world challenge

I’m guest posting today and other randomness

April 13, 2012

Good morning my lovely friends! Today I am guest posting for Spray Painters Anonymous over at my friend Tiffany’s blog Living Savvy.  While you are there check out her master bedroom she recently completed, it’s fabulous!  Tiffany is also joining in the Color My World Challenge with me and the smart girl chose kelly green.  Tiffany is looking for guest posters for her spray paint anonymous Fridays so if you have an addiction like I do to spray painting everything and anything you might want to contact her.

Yesterday after I arrived home from getting my hair did, there were two beautiful packages of fabric on the counter waiting for me to rip them open.  They are perfect for Little A’s room and I must say that I am usually not an internet shopper but these two purchases may have changed my mind on that.  I’d love to show you a sneek peak but I’m seriously revealing her room next week, pink promise on that!

Today I’m cleaning my home like a mad woman, mostly because I spent yesterday hitting up the first garage sales of the season.  I did manage to score a new with tags Gap denim skirt for $3 for myself.  The weather was also quite beautiful so I was able to spray paint a few things too.  Some of my friends are coming to visit me tonight so I’ll be sleeping in the basement with them tonight, having my very own sleepover!    What are you doing this weekend?  Are you a garage sale kind of shopper?

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By 6 Comments Filed Under: guest post, Uncategorized
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