Stripes and Laundry

My project this weekend was to tackle my laundry room. It had become a junk/storage room with no character or style. I decided I could do something out of the ordinary here because who really looks in the laundry room. I painted horizontal stripes on the wall and I am so in love with this room now. It came out better than I ever imagined!!!!

The wall color was already White Linen from Benjamin Moore, for the stripes I went with Manchester Tan. The room is small and I wanted a calm nautical look so I picked some light colors and went horizontal . Cause everyone knows horizontal stripes make you look fat, and I needed this room to be fat. I planned on working on this project all day Saturday but it surprising only took me about 4 hours with an 1 hour break for drying time!!!

List of things you will need:

long level

painters tape

measuring tape

paint brush

small roller

paint

Step 1 - TAPE: I decided on 9" stripes so I got my tape measure out and started measuring from the ceiling down. I used small pieces of tape to mark off every 9 inches (I did not want to deal with pencil marks on the wall). The hardest part was remembering that the tape goes on the outside of the stripes you are painting and inside on the part you are leaving alone. Basically the stripe part you are painting will measure 9" and the stripe part you are not painting will measure smaller (I used 1" tape so my "don't paint" stripe was 7"). And now I have confused all of you - I promise that is the most thinking you will have to do for this project. Use your long level when taping the wall so you will have a nice clean, even stripe!!! Once you have all your tape on the wall I used a credit card and passed it over all the tape to make sure in was stuck on the wall and to smooth out any bubbles in the tape.

Step 2 - BRUSH: Take out your brush before the roller. Use the brush for the areas near the ceiling, trim or adjacent wall where you need to paint a straight line. Then use an almost dry brush and paint along the edges of the tape. This will help you prevent any bleeding through the tape.

Step 3 - ROLLER: I waited about 30 minutes for the brushed edges to dry then I took my roller out and got to rolling on the stripe. I went with an eggshell finish and almost wish I would have picked up a satin finish paint to give the room a little depth with the different finishes. After waiting an hour I rolled a second coat of paint on my stripes.

Step 4 - TAPE OFF - It is very important that you take the tape off as soon as you finish rolling. Do not wait till the paint has dried, pull that tape off the minute you finish rolling the second coat. If you wait till it is dry the paint will peel and mess up your pretty straight lines.

And here you go, a before and after picture......

Who Needs Picasso?

This is the new custom art hanging in my bedroom for only $25 bucks each. I'll let you in on how I scored such a great deal.

First I went to the digital gallery of the NY public library and found these two cool prints.

Chairs 1

Chairs 2

Then I made my way down to Office Depot to get some thick nice paper to print my old chairs on. After looking through all the paper I came home with this....

I printed the art on my new paper on the best quality that my little deskjet printer could handle. I brought my "art" to Hobby Lobby to see what kinda deal I could find to get these babies in a frame. Low and behold they had a 50% off sale for all backless frames. I found this rustic looking frame for $27.99 and since it was half off I got the other for free!!! I got an 11x17 mat that fit my 8x10 art (also 1/2 off at $2.99) and two pieces of plexiglass for $6.54.

And for 10 bucks and a 10 minutes waiting time I had the nice girl in the framing department put it together for me....

I dished out my $51.32 to the cashier, got home with my hammer and nails and volia!!!!

Finally we have some art hanging in our bedroom, and it did not break the bank account!!!!

The Letter E

Wool Flower Monogram Letter

This was my big project this week, making my little niece Emily a flower letter to hang in her room. It was a very daunting task but it was worth every little square I cut out. I found the idea on this blog and had to try it out myself.

First let me start with how I made the letter. I tried to buy a paper mache letter already made at the craft store but could not find one big enough and I did not have the patience to order one online. So I made my own. I used cardboard, straight razor, and a pencil for this part of the project.

1. Start with a thick piece of cardboard and trace or draw you letter, and using a razor or heavy duty scissors cut out 2 letters.

2. I found some little plastic cups we had in the cabinet and glued them to one of the letters. When it dried I added glue to the edge of the cups making a sandwich with the second letter. Make sure the letters are aligned.

3. Next I wrap the letter with a layer of the wool to make it look like a box letter. Trace the letter onto the wool twice and add an extra 2" for it to wrap around. Cut the fabric, wrap letter, and glue with a hot glue gun. Turn and do it to the other side. Bottom line - just wrap it like a big Christmas present.

4. Once my letter E was ready I began cutting and tracing out literally hundreds of little flowers. I made a cardboard cutout of a flower with six petals and traced it on the wool.

5. The fun part is actually gluing the flowers on the letter. All you need is scissors and a hot glue gun. Fold the flower in half and then in half again and cut off the tip. Put some hot glue to the bottom and apply. I took pics of my sister making a pin with some red wool so you could see how easy it is............

This is 100 flowers, so I had to get back to tracing and cutting flowers again. I think total I used about 150-170 little flowers - wowsers!!!

For the finished product I got a 1/2 yard of hot pink ribbon and hot glued it to the back of the letter to hang it on the wall.

And voila - the happy little girl with the wool flower hanging on her wall!!!!!

In total the project only cost me $7.50 for the fabric and $1 for the ribbon, but I put in about 8 hours of work.

Peonies on a Monday

I bought some fresh flowers at the grocery store today, they are my all time favorite - Pink Peonies!!!!

They are making my Monday a little more bearable.

I finally got my shelf up on the wall this weekend. I found an old 60" wooden board in the garage, had it cut right down the middle, and slapped some leftover white paint on the wood. I found these iron brackets at Hobby Lobby at 50% off, and for a grand total of $17.22 we have two new shelves in the kitchen.

Around the House

Just some randomness around our house!!!

Living room windows

Dresser I found in the garage and re-painted

Old Westinghouse fan

New faucet (that I installed myself)!!

Antique wire basket for magazines

About a Girl

I love lots of things, and the color pink would have to be one of the top 10 things I love, probably right below coffee. And nothing in this world says "girl" more than pink.

When my dear friend Kim was put on bed rest with the pregnancy of her second child my help was beckoned to fix up the nursery. My only stipulation was we had to use pink. When she showed me her color choice for the room, this Pristine pink paint swatch from Benjamin Moore, I was smitten. I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into making this room happen (actually their was no blood or tears, just a little sweat and lots of time).

I have to say it has turned out amazing!!! Kim has such an eye for mixing and matching antiques with a modern elegant flare.

Cuteness to the max!!!!!

I can hardly stand it, waiting for Miss Baby to see this big wide world, but she still needs to bake for a few more weeks in mommy's belly!!!

A Gallon of Moonshine

I just picked up a gallon of moonshine from my local Benjamin Moore store (that's the name of the paint color - silly). And I plan on spending my weekend with the ipod blaring and painting Britt's spare bedroom. While I do realize that most of you cringe at the thought of spending your weekend painting I actually find it very therapeutic. I can not wait to move my bedroom furniture into this space (only 106 days till "i do"), and just look how calm and beautiful the color is......

Moonshine

A few more of my favorite Benjamin Moore colors are painted upstairs in his master bedroom and hallway with the bottom wainscoting in Manchester Tan and the top walls in a crisp Linen White.

Linen White

Manchester Tan

And the master bath is this rich gray color......

Rockport Gray

I love paint colors, enjoy your weekend!!! I know I will......

Dear Ikea,

Please make yourself available to us Southern folk who live in the beautiful state of Louisiana. Pretty please!!!! We spent a few days in Houston over the holidays and I got to take a little trip to Ikea. I fell in love all over again, and here are a few Ikea/cheaper alternatives to those expensive designer pieces. Fingers crossed I think the mirror may be coming home with us in the near future!!!

Norden glass-door cabinet $399 (Right image via emmas desgin blog)

Ikea Mongstad mirror $99 (Right image via apartment therapy)

Ikea Ektorp: chair $199, footstool cover $69, sofa $399, and Egeby rug $149

Image from the movie set "The Holiday"