Picture Ledges (from scrap wood--so basically free!)

David and I are nearly finished with a huge project in the basement family room, which I will show you very soonish. I'm very excited about it and I will give you a clue--it's made out of wood. Soon, my friends, soon.

Anyway, we had some scrap pieces, so I commissioned David to build me some picture ledges out of the scraps. Which apparently annoyed him, as I wanted him to do it while he was building the other thing he was building. I was helping with the other thing he was building here and there, but I was also sitting around sometimes, so I thought it would give me something to paint.

He built them out of MDF and cut the groove in them with the table saw. Then it was a matter of nailgunning the pieces together.

Then I painted quite a few coats.

Then I bugged him again to help me hang them. Apparently, David is a methodical builder who likes to do one project at a time, finish it, and then move onto the next project. I didn't realize that. Technically, I was asking him to help when he wasn't working on the other thing he was building, but oh well. He was nice about it, but he usually doesn't betray that much annoyance with me.

Which reminds me of this morning, actually. I got up when he did (I usually get up right as he leaves for work) and he was in the shower) and I knocked to get into the bathroom. I drank too much water last night right before bed, so I had a bladder about the size and approximate weight of a bowling ball; I hate getting up at night and I probably should have anyway. He was definitely annoyed when he asked what I wanted (we don't technically have a master bathroom--it's across the hall). I said I wanted to use the bathroom and he told me to go downstairs. No way was I using that pit. I make the kids clean it unless we are expecting company (then I double clean it and use highly concentrated cleaners before I will touch it), and I'm not sure when the last time I made them clean it was anyway. We have three boys. Enough said. The bowling ball was staying until he got out the shower.

Apparently he thought I was Maxton.

Anyway, here's some of the stuff I put on it. You can see how I made the dragonfly frame here. The tree and the monogram letters (they are hard to make out in the bottom left corner; I need to set them on something) are from Hobby Lobby. The bird is from Dollar Tree. The frame near the monograms is getting an ampersand and the other two frames will get photos of David and me as soon as I figure out a way to scan our wedding negatives. I never could get my negative scanner to work and I got rid of it.

I don't particularly want to take it to a developer, as it's a medium format negative and I'd like to get them all done and I've only seen 35mm offered. I'm sure I could have it done for a fortune. I'd rather do it myself, but I'd like a negative scanner that would work with my existing scanner and would work with my medium format negatives and I have no idea where to find one. Our photographer let us have the negatives after 5 years--how awesome is that! Just need to have them digitized to make them really useful.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

A Little Vanity Makeover

I know I'm on a serious home decor kick lately. I haven't done much crafting lately. Mostly it's school, school and oh, more school, so when I get some free time, I want to move and not sit down.

I actually painted my bathroom vanity a while ago, and I thought I would save it for a whole series on my bathroom makeover, but eh, I feel like showing it to you now.

It used to be this lovely oak. This is a photo from the first day we moved in, so excuse the random toilet paper rolls on the bathroom cabinet. Toilet paper is one of the first things you need to install when you enter a new house. It's not good to forget. Personal experience after moving 8 times since my marriage.

Then, after a lot of sanding and a lot of patient painting, here's the finished product. Or near finished product. I'd like to replace the top sometime and the faucet (obviously).

I took out the bottom two drawers, because we weren't using them anyway, and found a basket that fit the space. It's where my blow dryer and flat iron go, which is nice, because after I'm finished, I just toss them down there. That's the only way anything ever gets put away at my house. Tossing. I'd like to paint the inside of that area black, but half finished projects are how I like to do things. It's more exciting that way. The mystery of never knowing when I will actually be all the way done with something is so intriguing.

I really, really like the black and the new drawer pulls from Home Depot! I also painted the bathroom gray (I will post pictures eventually) and it looks so good with the walls!

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Where Are the X-Box and DVD Player?

One of the reservations I had about putting a TV in our bedroom was that it usually comes with a lot of accoutrements. Accoutrements that usually have little lights that glow and clutter up the area about the TV. The above photo is missing the little lights and clutter. So, where did we put all that clutter?

Well, this is not my idea. My friend, Natalie, from Get Scatty, had this idea for her own house, but she ended up not using it.

We hid it in the top drawer of one of the dressers. First, we reinforced the particle board of the dresser with a board behind drawer supports/slat/trim between the drawers (whatever that part is called), because it wasn't exactly strong. We used a long piano hinge that turned out to be the exact correct length. I'm planning on painting it to match, but it's still fairly unobtrusive. I was hoping we could hide it, but with the way the drawer is situated, it didn't work.

Then David put in a sliding drawer and magnet closure. The cords go up through a hole in the back of the dresser.

I always think these are going to be quick projects, but this took a good part of a Saturday. David did most of the work, although I helped. It's so worth it though and the cool part is that the X-Box controls work through the drawer, so we don't even have to leave it down! You can even turn it on without flipping it down. We use the X-Box as a DVD player and watch Netflix instantly through it, so that is very convenient.

Even though I had to give up a drawer, it's so worth it for the clean surface of the top of the dresser.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

I Added a Chair (I need to work on these titles)

You may have noticed that I've been focusing mostly on home decor lately. I have done a few crafty things lately. I knitted a project I'm pretty excited to show you, but I think I have the itch to make my bedroom pretty because I feel trapped in it. I spend most of my time in it, working on my college work. There are parts of it that look really good, and then parts of it that don't. For instance, somehow none of the closet doors in this house are fully functional. So, in the master bedroom, I get a nice view of my clothes nearly constantly. I hate looking at my clothes all day.

But that really has nothing to do with what I'm about to show you. My brain does tangents well.

I went to IKEA and bought a chair. I'm hoping that I will sit in it occasionally. Chairs are functional like that.

The corner of the room it hangs out in how looks like this. It's sort of drab, but I think it has potential. It needs pops of yellow and a lamp and something on the wall.

So, I had a lot of fun playing with Photoshop and picking out accessories to go in my reading nook. I might actually end up with that lamp ($20 from IKEA), but everything else is an approximation. The pillow I'll most likely make myself. Same with the art. The ottoman I like, but it's too bright a yellow when it's not hanging out in fantasy land (I messed with the saturation in Photoshop) and it costs three times as much as the chair. Therefore, ottoman situation to be determined. The vases I like--also from IKEA, but who knows (I paid no attention to scale--they could be three inches tall for all I know). I think I want something more cylindrical. Plus, I believe I'm going to mount the TV on the wall, leaving more room for accessories.

 Woah, that yellow makes a serious difference! Drab gone!

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.