Uh no, Pinterest.

Y’all, it’s been exactly ONE month since we had an “Uh no, Pinterest” discussion. And when I say discussion, I mean, I (or Heather) talked and y’all laughed. That’s how this relationship works sometimes. I think it’s great.

Are you ready? I guarantee you’re going to think “uh no” as well.

Source: thekitchn.com via Tarah @ on Pinterest

 

If you have lego decor in your home, you might … need to rethink your decor. Legos are kids toys, not for your kitchen utensils. Also, the beer bottle opener? Yeah. THAT goes with your legos.

Source: oddee.com via Tarah @ on Pinterest

 

This might be the most uncomfortable looking chair I’ve ever seen. And really, does anyone still have “those useless tapes” laying around? I know I don’t, and let me tell you I had my share of those bad boys. Milli Vanilli, New Kids on the Block, all the best of course.

Source: paulagold.tumblr.com via Tarah @ on Pinterest

 

I’m all for redecorating. I love me a good furniture makeover. Note – a GOOD furniture makeover. This looks like it belongs in Rainbow Brite’s bedroom, or a what I’m sure someone sees during a good high. And don’t act like you don’t know what kind of “high” I’m talking about. 😉

Source: designlike.com via Tarah @ on Pinterest

 

I simply have no words. Really. I don’t. I can’t even think of something nice to say about this pin.

I changed my mind. I do have words. Uh no. Just don’t do it. Your family will look like Chia pets mated with pineapples.

Source: thebestwallpaperplace.com via Tarah @ on Pinterest

 

Let’s rehash my thoughts on glitter. First its glitter pantyhose, now a wall … in your child’s nursery? Look at that crib right against the craft herpes wall. Your kid could eat that right off the wall. Kids do things you would never imagine. They touch everything. They lick things. Your little girl is going to grab some glitter off that wall and put that in places … I shudder to think. Just don’t do the “awesome” wall (shout out to my BFF, who finds this AWESOME).

I think we needed an easy going post today. Not much thinking, gives you laughter.

DIY Nursery Decor

This last Pinterest Party was really more of an ‘Operation Get Benjamin’s Nursery Decor Done’ party for me. And I got it all done! I love all of it and I think his room is going to be modern, bright, and cheery–just what I was going for. And it really didn’t cost me anything, other than the cost of a few sheets of scrapbook paper, some spray paint, and some DIY knowledge. Remember this post and the sneak peeks I gave? Well, here you go!

This sign was in my son’s old nursery at our previous house, but it just didn’t go with this nursery. I tried to sell it but I guess it was just meant for bigger and better things. So, it got re-purposed.

A couple coats of ASCP Napoleonic Blue and it was good to go for it’s new plan!
And ta-da! All done. Scrapbook paper, the trusty Silhouette, some mod podge, and a clear coat of spray paint and it was a brand new piece.

I found this huge B at the Hob Lob and immediately knew what I wanted to do with it. I love the name Benjamin, but it is a *little* long to put up on a wall. The space on this B would allow me to put his name on there without taking up an entire wall. Problem solved. (I was so proud of myself and my craftiness this weekend…you guys don’t even know.)

Again, more Napoleonic Blue, Silhouette letters, and a frame found in Aunt Toni’s attic (which I spray painted orange), and we have decor for above the crib.

Now, this little beauty (ha) started out as a plant stand when my sister was going through a Mary Engelbreit-ish stage. I needed a small table for beside the glider and this was just sitting in her garage collecting dust.

You guessed it–Napoleonic Blue, some scrapbook paper and mod podge and it’s a cute table to hold my phone/water/bottle/etc. I LOVE it!

Now, this next project took the most time. More time than it probably should have but it was SO worth it in the end.

I had these old framed picture of herbs hanging in my old house, but was over them by the time we moved. Again, tried to sell them but couldn’t.

We took them apart (which took quite a bit of effort–thanks Aunt Toni) and got to work. A little spray paint, some cute pictures and sayings from the Silhouette, scrapbook paper, and posterboard for matting and they have a whole new life.

Can you even believe it? So much better, right? These will look adorable above his dresser/changing table.

I got the idea for the ABC canvas off Pinterest (I know, imagine that).

Source: blackflipflops.blogspot.com via Whitney on Pinterest

 

My version (thanks to Heather for helping me out with this):
It took a lot of effort to line them up and make the patterns “random” enough and then I *still* ended up spacing them wrong, which is why you see the 2 stars placed in odd spots. Oh, well. Still works.

My final two projects weren’t even in the original plans, but they sure did turn out cute! When scouring my aunt’s attic for other goodies, we came across this lamp. Old and brass, but would work great in the nursery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That other cute sign? Totally last minute. I had this rustic sign from my old house and it wasn’t getting used, so I figured–why not paint it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I figure I can hang it on his door or on the front door during naptime or something. Better than letting a good piece of wood go to waste! Oh, wow, how I have changed. A year ago, I swear I wouldn’t have looked at any of this stuff twice.

I can’t wait to get it all hung up this weekend and of course, I will share the pictures once it is all completed!

So what have you re-purposed? Or are you more of a ‘start fresh’ kind of person?

Pinterest Party – April edition

I’m sure we all have a Pinterest Party hangover …or better yet, a craft hangover. That’s a thing, you know? Much like Whitney’s new term she coined “#craftworldproblems”. And yes, before you ask, we DO find ourselves very entertaining.

Facebook fans – you should recognize this picture of the Pinterest Party – April edition sneak peek!

We made the trip down to Heather/Whitney’s aunt’s house again. It’s just such a pretty house and we can all spread out. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure if I was going to go, but alas, my husband was able to “make it happen”. I brought some half-started projects, 2 projects to start and then 2 little baskets to paint. Whitney has a whole nursery to decorate and Heather is a our Silhouette bitc…. I mean, worker. She didn’t really have a list of crafts after she just came off of a big week of meetings for work out of town. She did make everyone some really cute name plaques after she went outside to the “scraps pile” from the house remodel that was going on.

These two beauties were made by Paige and Ashley.

Paige was having her sweet fiancé paint their front door black this weekend while she was gone. She knew she was going to be returning with a yellow wreath so the door color needed to showcase. Heather showed her how to make the cute little fabric flowers, then we helped her with the idea of stringing “HELLO” across the center. Its just too cute!

Ashley’s wreath is the oval shape. HobLob has these cool oval shapes, in case you want one. This wreath has a super sweet story behind it. Those little rosettes down the side? Paige made those for Ashley’s wedding last year for her table number frames. Ashley spent Saturday morning ripping them off the frames so she could continue to use them in her house on the wreath. Add on that green burlap ribbon and she has a winner!

Remember that field trip to Maison Blanche Paint Company? This is Heather’s take home door. It was painted with wrought iron, then Aunt Toni took the silver leaf to it. (Note – AT is a fan of this silver leaf. This is the second time she has used it and it gets EVERY.WHERE) The leaves were there glacaged part of the piece. I think it’s beautiful, even if it is that pesky silver leaf.

SPEAKING of silver leaf – Aunt Toni’s project. These letters are the cardboard/chipboard material that you can get at HobLob and JoAnn Fabric. She used some Maison Blanche Robin’s Egg to paint the letters, then took the silver leaf to them, followed by some Maison Blanche dark brown wax. If you look closely, you can see the Robin’s Egg color peeking through. Also, note the little “specks” in front of the letters. It’s glitter’s ugly cousin – silver leaf. Its floats in the air and gets every thing it touches.

Paige recycled a can that Aunt Toni had saved. She painted the can Annie Sloan’s Old White, added some ribbon then added this really cute fabric flower. Very simple!

ANNNNNND these fabric flowers. Oh these fabric flowers. They became “the craft” that everyone had to do (like these). Well, everyone but me, you know because they’re made of fabric and I don’t “do” fabric. Anyhow, I watched these little flowers become a quick addiction for them. As you can see there was quite a few made, and that’s not counting the ones on Paige’s wreath and can, or the ones on the “name” plaques that Heather made us all (you can see those in the very first picture collage).

Stay tuned for the Pinterest Party recipe post and Whitney will be showcasing all of the nursery goodies she made. Baby Benjamin is most definitely going to sleep in a super cute room!

Any thing you see in the collage you want to see more of? Let us know!

Barcelona Orange Nursery Dresser

Only a little over 9 weeks to go and I FINALLY got the nursery dresser painted!

Remember this:

My $30 Canton steal? It sat in our bedroom for WAY too long and I was finally motivated/energetic enough to get started on it. I knew it would be a longer process–I have learned this with Barcelona Orange. But if you can’t put a bright orange dresser in a young boys’ room (or craft room), where can you put one?

From our previous experience with this color of paint, I knew it was going to take several coats. For some reason, it just doesn’t cover as well. Now, I think I know the reason, thanks to the ladies at Maison Blanche! Apparently, some colors (usually darker ones, but not always) have a deep base (when you look at the paint cans in the big box stores, they will say deep/medium base, etc.) and that means it isn’t going to cover as well. The way to overcome that is NOT to use white primer, but rather a gray color as a base coat. Wish I had known that BEFORE I started painting this beast (5 coats later!). Oh well, lesson learned.

Do you see that? Not great coverage like I have come to know and love from my ASCP. But I persevered.

And 4 (or 5–I lost track) coats later, it was finally done to my liking. Well, pretty much. I like my furniture pieces more modern-looking and smooth, rather than chippy and distressed (at least for boys’ bedrooms), so other people may achieve that look quicker if that’s what they’re going for. I also did 2 coats of poly (no wax) since it was going to be in a high-use area and I didn’t want to have to worry about it or re-wax in anytime soon. Plus, I am 7 months pregnant and waxing is pretty labor intensive.

I reused the same hardware (don’t love it, but hardware is expensive!) and just spray painted it chrome.

I still can’t believe I have an orange dresser. I can’t wait to see it with the rest of the room all put together, which we are getting to soon! I will be working on some nursery crafts this weekend at our Pinterest Party, so I will post pics when they are done. But I will leave you with some sneak peeks/hints:

If I can find some fabric I love (Heather might kill me by then), the plan is to recover this. Or attempt it, anyway.

Say bye-bye to the hearts and wood tone.

Old decor will become new again!

And look at the cute whale my aunt found at HomeGoods! Love!!

There is more where this came from–can’t wait to get it all done and put together! And of course, show it off to all of you!

What do you think? Would you paint a dresser orange? What’s the boldest color you have painted a piece of furniture (or anything)?

Have a great week!!

 

Nursery Design Plan…Maybe??

I think last time I posted, I was 16 weeks along…well, now I am 21 weeks. Sorry about that. But my energy seems to have returned (meaning no more daytime naps) at least until around 7:30, then I am headed for bed as soon as Logan is tucked in. So, with that new-found energy I have completed some a project (you saw my coffee table if you follow us on Facebook) and will blog about that when I find the right knobs and can call it officially “done.” We have also found out some big news that has gotten my planning/DIY/nesting instinct going.

IT’S A BOY!

So, while my plans for a ruffled bedskirt and all things pink and turquoise are out the window, I am excited about all the new, cute stuff that is out there for boys…it has been 6 years since my last one, after all.

Onto the point of the post. Heather and I have been scouring the internet and fabric stores for a bedding set that I like. I didn’t want theme-y or babyish or character, but more of a modern look. Not easy to find unless you want to spend big money on a custom set on Etsy. I had an idea in my head and Heather said she could easily sew a crib skirt and maybe even a small quilt/blanket once we found the fabrics. So we found a couple fabric options:

Bright, modern colors and patterns. But I still wasn’t sold. I am not one of those people that can just “visualize” things. So we bought small swatches of the fabric so Heather could sew a sample piece together so I could see it with the crib. But that night, I found this on the Target website:

Source: m.target.com via Whitney on Pinterest

 

It’s brand new because it wasn’t on their website or in their stores last week. They just clearanced out all of their old baby stuff to make room for new stuff and this is the closest thing to my “vision” that I have seen (at least pre-made). And only $70! Can’t beat that with a stick. I think we are still going to add a little trim in orange or green (or both) to the bottom of the crib skirt just to add a little something. I haven’t bought it yet–waiting for it to be in the budget next month.

With all the colors, it will be easy to accessorize. I have a dresser I bought in Canton back in November that will be used for a changing table and it desperately needs a makeover. It was a steal for $30 but it is crying for some ASCP and fun knobs.

Am I crazy for thinking ASCP Barcelona Orange?? The walls will be gray, the crib will stay white, so the room will need another pop of color. When else do you get a chance to paint furniture orange (unless you are Heather and have a craft room all to yourself)?

Other ideas for the nursery that we will probably DIY are from my Pinterest board (and will, of course, be done in coordinating colors):

Source: everythingdesignish.blogspot.se via Whitney on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Whitney on Pinterest

But with the name and birthday instead. And, NO, we don’t have a name yet…it is killing me but I just don’t love one yet.

Source: etsy.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Whitney on Pinterest

This could not be more true for my situation and needs to have a place in this baby’s nursery for sure.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Whitney on Pinterest

 

I want some sort of shelf/storage above the dresser and I like the way this looks, just not sure if that’s what we will go with.

I also want to recover and add some padding to my glider in a bad way. I pinned a tutorial, but I am not sure how easy it will actually be.

So, can you visualize it? I am getting closer but until we clean out the room (which has been my storage/painting room) and start putting things in place, it will be hard for me.

Any other ideas I should add? Seen anything out there that I must have in my nursery? Please share…I have been out of the loop for far too long!

Be on the lookout for lots of DIY baby/nursery crafts coming up! Nesting is hitting full force!

PT5~11.17.12 {Baby Edition}

So, if you aren’t friends with me on Facebook or know me in real life, then you don’t know my EXCITING news!! I recently found out I am pregnant, only about 8 weeks, but I have wanted this for so long that I can’t keep it a secret. My husband and I have tried for several years–everything from OPK tests, to Clomid, injections, even IUI (3 times). We stopped treatments back in May just to give ourselves a break. Well, I got a surprise 3 weeks ago. We are over the moon excited, as are both of our families. My son is 5 1/2 years old and long overdue for a sibling. I am hoping for a girl but would certainly be great with a boy as well (of course). So, now that the cat is out of the bag, I can share my Pinterest favorites for the new baby!! It has been 6 years since I have been pregnant, so there is a ton of new stuff/new ideas out there for this time around. I can’t wait!!

Source: momtog.com via Whitney on Pinterest

I love this idea for weekly/monthly maternity pictures. With Logan, I think we only have 2 pictures of me pregnant, 1 of which was at my baby shower. I am determined to take more progression pics this time and I definitely want Logan to be a part of it!

 

Source: natcaronphotography.com via Whitney on Pinterest

I love this picture of the older sibling with their new brother/sister. So many families have kids so close together that our situation is kind of unique in that our kids will be 6 years apart. I want Logan to have a special bond with the new baby and I think this picture illustrates that perfectly!

 

Source: etsy.com via Whitney on Pinterest

This could not be more true for our situation. I am not an outwardly religious person, I tend to keep that part of my life pretty private but I had so many friends praying for us and I spent many a night crying and begging for another child. It truly was not in our timing and I am so very appreciative of this blessing.

 

Source: blog.hannamac.com via Whitney on Pinterest

I love the idea of keeping a weekly/monthly journal of what is going on during the pregnancy. Again, I didn’t keep track of a whole lot with Logan. I was still working full-time and just didn’t think about it much. He has a baby book, of course, and it is filled out completely but lots of the cute little details/cravings/feelings get forgotten about.

 

Source: blog.hannamac.com via Whitney on Pinterest

 

Along the same lines, I love this little book of the monthly happenings for the first year of life. I did take monthly pictures with Logan but just having the extra details would be so great when looking back.

So, any tips for me? Anything I MUST do or MUST have? Or got any other cute ideas for me?? I am a little out of the loop these days so I would love any suggestions!

Monday’s Minute Makeover: Light Switch plate

In my quest for all things Dr. Seuss for the nursery makeover,  I found my inspiration on Etsy, but am waaaay too cheap to pay the $25 asking price. Sooo…..

I paid a few bucks for the metal switch plate.

Then just added a little craft paint. It took about 10 minutes with drying time.

I’ll be revealing the entire nursery later this week.                                                          Happy Monday!

Nursery ABC’s

When my sister asked me to look for ABC’s for my nephew’s nursery, I couldn’t get on the interwebs fast enough!

This is Cash. I’d row a slow boat to China for him.

It never occurred to me that she might just have wanted one little favor…                        Little did she know I was about to take over.

I did let her have input from time to time. Because I’m just nice like that 🙂

After Diane decided the nursery would have a Dr. Suess theme, I was on a mission!

And this is what I found…that I could not have.

Pottery Barn – $30 each and I needed 26 of them. Not happening.                                                          Then I remembered the book Dr. Suess’ ABC’s. Ahh-Haa!

I ran drove to Half Price Books right away.                                                                              I didn’t need to pay full price for a book that I was about to tear up. 

I carefully removed each page then decided what side I wanted to use. Each page does not always have the letter and/or word(s) that belong with the picture. I needed to have some kind of flow throughout 26 individual wallhangings. So, I cut out each letter on a Cricut machine in black at 3 inches. With adhesive spray, I placed the letters where I thought they’d look best on the pages.

Mounting the pages to foam board was the most economical way. I carefully measured off the boards thencut them with a utility knife (not scissors!).

  

Yes, the edges look nasty. Now you can use scissors to clean them up.

Use cheap ($1 per can) spray paint for the edges. I’ll always let you know when you need to drop good $$$ on spray paint. This time is not one of them!

Once the pages are mounted with adhesive spray, brush 2 coats of mod podge on top. I love to hate the stuff but it’s a must. Please don’t ask me to give pointers on applying that crap. Please seek Pinterest instead. I’ve seen tutorials on there.

I know it’s not the Pottery Barn prints, but for about $15, I couldn’t be happier.