a little girl's room

The other day my sweet little 3 {going on 13} year old asked me if I could re-paint her room.

Wait, you're asking me to... re-design... your room? OK! What color?

PINK!

Hmm... ok well...

Here's some inspiration I have so far- care to see?

:::

I love the idea of a built in bed. And those drawers? Wonderful- extra storage and even better, no cleaning under the bed! {a MUST for us!}

I love the detail on the bed, although we will need bunk beds unless we can figure out a play room someday soon. 

I love this chandelier {from Pottery Barn Kids}. Don't you think a chandelier would be perfect in a little girls room? Even if it's not a light chandelier, something like this will work just as nice.

Again with the detail. So pretty. {Notice the chandelier?} And paneling? Lovely but I think we're paneled out for now.

Oh and that trundle is a nice touch.

Nothing says princess like pink walls and draped fabric!

I love all the pink, lots of pink, but not on the walls. Also an option.

The style of this one is far from what I want, but how fun are the 4 built in bunk beds??

Or something like this might work... with pink of course!

A very pretty rug!

We're throwing around the idea of putting in a window seat. I love the look of them.

Stripes... love. And that 3/4 wall rail? Perfect.

So here are things that I feel would make a perfect room for my girls:

1. Bunk beds {built ourselves}
2. Storage or trundle under the bed so toys stay out!
3. Window seat
4. Book shelves {aka toy storage}
5. Chandelier
6. Lots of pretty fabric
7. A big beautiful rug

{but we all know this won't happen until mommy can finish her other projects... }

But I can dream and plan!

What do you think? Is there anything I'm missing for a perfect little girl's room?

the all-done desk

I have to confess something.

I'm one of those people who likes to start projects... and then never finish them. It drives my husband nuts.

So with that said I'd like to thank you {yes you} because you read my blog and keep me going on all my projects. It's always so much more motivating to get a project done when I get to share it! So thank you!

Which brings me to my desk, which of course is no exception to any other projects... except I finished it so I can share it... and have it done... and keep my husband happy!



This weekend was perfect weather for dragging my little desk outside and painting it, so I painted while the girls played... and I painted while the girls helped too.

And here it is, all done:

{This is the hardware I used from Hobby Lobby}

Earlier I posted a tutorial on how I decoupaged the top, you can see that post here.

All done, I'm so proud I finished another project! Thank you for keeping me going! What do you think?

my homeschool room will be very happy about this

You know how I'm super psyched about re-designing my homeschool room?

... and more specifically about the chalkboard wall {because they're just too fun}

Source: Roddy and Ginger

Well I'm now even MORE excited because look what Lowes just started carrying:

that's right, DRY ERASE PAINT!

I picked some up, along with some chalkboard paint

It's quite a bit more expensive than chalkboard paint, {$30 for 6 sq ft. compared to $15 for a quart of chalkboard}

But it will be perfect for something adorable like this:

Source: Idea Paint

HOW FUN!! I'm SO excited to get started!

PS... Here's my lemon wreath from yesterday hung up! Love it!

a wreath and a verdict

Did you see a few days ago I was featured on the lovely Centsational Girl? Did you also see the amazing tutorials featured alongside me? Like this lemon wreath from Ordy and Joon...

Well I decided right then and there that I must make one for myself, so I did:

{with a few modifications: a grapevine wreath instead of foam, and smaller lemons}

And incase you were wondering how in the world I managed to make them so perfectly random... I had some help.

What a happy wreath!

{and a really fun project to have kids help with}

...

And on a completely unrelated note... I have a verdict:

Do you recall when I couldn't decide what to do with my desk? I took some of your advise and am going to paint it black.




And will use this adorable hardware from Hobby Lobby:

{50% off for $3 a piece}

Can't wait to see the finished product!

painted floor love {never say never}

I love my painted floor.

So much so... 

That I'm thinking of continuing the trend through my house...

You know how wood floors can be ruined by pet stains? {to the point where you can't even re-finish them to hide the stains?}

Well we have that problem in our upstairs hallway.

lovely huh? {don't get me started on the trim and doors also in need of a giant makeover}

And ideally I'd carpet, but carpet is expensive. Next up I would buy a nice runner, but again, expensive {at least for the big pretty ones} all to say I'm a little scared to paint because I always said I would never paint hardwood floors.

But never say never

This may very well be our next project.

You know I would have already started it but am choosing to honor my husband and getting my other projects done first... it's very hard for me. 

Here are some floors that inspire me.

{sources from left to right} No. 1 Country Living, No. 2 Paisley Wallpaper, No. 3 Hamptons, No. 4 Design Amour {Royal Design Studios}, No. 5 unknown 

I'm thinking of something similar to the yellow one... just for fun! {Keep in mind the trim and doors will all be white soon} What do you think?

our dining room {& panel tutorial}

Remember the 'stay-cation' we took ages ago? {You know, the time when we allotted to start and finish all our house projects?} Well we rolled over some of those projects to our everyday life {doesn't it always happen that way?} Anyway, we've just completed the dining room and I'm so excited to share it! 

{that is- finished minus the decor, curtains, and lighting... next on the agenda}

{I should say long before... this photo was taken when we first moved to the house four years ago}

And here it is now:

{Remember it is still in need of curtains, decor, and quarter round... oh and light switches and outlet covers of course}

But you get the idea...

Here's how we did it: 

First made a line around the room for where to place the boards. I was painfully talked out of making my rail much higher. {Marriage is about compromise, remember} But I am still VERY happy with how it turned out. 

We cut boards as we went using our handy dandy mitre saw we got for Christmas. {Actually Ben got it for Christmas even though I asked for it. He wanted books, but this is way more practical, right?...}

We used little plastic anchors for boards that didn't have a stud behind them {otherwise they would have pulled away from the wall}

The wider boards on top and bottom are 1x4's and the vertical boards are 1x2's

Note too that we took out the existing trim and replaced it with the 1x4.

Filled holes...

Then sanded like crazy! Oh and I forgot to include pictures of the caulking {We lined between the wood and wall with caulk}



And then slapped on some paint... then realized it was the wrong color and tried again.

Despite my initial choosing of gray for our color on the walls, we went with a steel blue instead. {Gray ended up being too close to the living room color and the kitchen floor color when it was on the walls}.

I love it. Totally transformed from the cookie-cutter dining room it once was.

PS... I'm thinking of making some bright curtain panels for the window and door in white and yellow... has anyone seen any amazing fabric I should know about?

a business

You know how I mentioned I love genealogy?

In researching I found out that up to 5 generations back in my family have been entrepreneurs {and I've always wondered why I've been so business-starting minded}.

So in the last few {years, months & days} I've been praying and brainstorming {and praying some more} for business ideas. I have lots. But not a lot I can do right now, or a lot that would be good for me {as a stay-at-home mama} to do. Although I really believe that it's only a matter of time before I get something started.

With all that said I think the best way to start is just to put some hand-made stuff up on the blog. So keep a look out for my blog "shop" and I would be honored if you would support me in my business venture!


PS... If you have any ideas for me  P L E A S E  feel free to shoot them this way! I'm all ears!