Where I'm at...

...I love the post below. It explains everything. Oh yea, and I had a baby last week. More to come ;-)

Nesting Place

Finally completed something!

Apparently, February 15th was a Tuesday...not a Saturday. It also seems that it flew past me. BUT, good news! I actually made something today. Lila's room is sort of in the midst of planning still. We have to pull the carpet out and I can't do much until that happens. So, in an effort to not overwhelm myself I made something that did not have to be sewn. If I'm being honest, I made this solely because I couldn't believe that it was as easy as the tutorial made it sound. And I found some inspiration at TJMaxx Home Goods. As with all future tutorials I will attempt to complete, the link will come first and pictures of my efforts will follow. I'm not going to give too much step by step because the tutorials speak for themselves.

Roman Shade Tutorial

I have to start by saying that I actually purchased a shower curtain at TJMaxx for $8 to make this. I already had the muslin (backing fabric) which I think was $1 at Walmart. In the pictures I show craft glue, but for the sake of time I chose to go with hot glue instead. The blinds came with our house which should tell you they are older than old.

Supplies:

Steps:

The results (it's not perfect by any stretch, but I love it :-)

Two suggestions:

*It's supposed to fit more recessed in the window...make sure your blinds fit the window correctly.

*Maybe don't do this while 7 months pregnant. It's a lot of moving around on the floor...my back is killing me.

Let me know what you think!

This is what happens

I haven't given up. If you actually check this brand new blog I'm sorry to disappoint with my now three week hiatus. I got the fabric I mentioned and it is in my "to do" basket. This is what I do in regards to decorating! I get overwhelmed and nervous. I put it aside and hope some really stylish person will swoop in and save the day (any takers?). I second guess my choices and freak out about spending money on something that could totally suck once I make it. Whine, whine, whine!

Anyway, I have a diaper bag to finish and then I am going to my dad's next weekend. Therefore, I am setting a goal. I will complete one decorative item by Saturday, February 15th. It may or may not be related to Lila's room, but hopefully it will be :-)

Until then, please don't give up on me. I have a feeling once I finish one decorative project I will be on a roll. That's typically how I work. I do something, see that it can be fantastic (sometimes), and get all jazzed up to keep going. Wish me luck!

Steps taken...in my head

I haven't actually done anything yet :-) But, I decided that in an effort not to rush Lila sleeping in a big girl bed we will probably buy the mattress later. And, I am going to try really hard to keep tabs on the Target sheets and not buy them until they go on sale to make the duvet cover. I mean, for both sets of sheets It will cost close to $50 as of now and I could buy a nice duvet cover and save time making one for that price. But homemade is what I'm going for here!

I am struggling (again, in my head) with window treatments. I love the idea of a high curtain rod to make the room look bigger, but long curtains to serve that purpose seem very impractical for a toddler.

SO, while I decide on the window treatments and wait for the "bedding" to go on sale, I am plotting more accessory type items. I have taken a leap of faith here in ordering fabric for these items and hoping they work! Here's the plan as of this moment...

I am going to make:

1) The book slings....

...using these fabrics...

2) These Land of Nod inspired floor cushions...

...using this fabric...

More thoughts coming soon as I hash them out!

Room Project #1

The best way I can come up with to organize this blog is by rooms (projects) and then by crafts (random). Here goes my attempt at "creating" an entire room!

Kids rooms are filled with endless possibilities. My daughter is still so young and this will be a very emotional step for me. But, it has to be done. So I want to do it in a way that will suit her completely at this age and stage in her life.

I created my first mood board out of my thoughts and ideas for this room. Young House Love introduced me to mood boards. The only problem is knowing when to stop the virtual decorating and begin the real life work! My mood board is rough. And, like my lists, it will probably change. Here it is in all it's glory...

Let's analyze it shall we? There is no furniture because I either have it or don't know what I want to get yet. What you see is all textiles excluding the green lamp I probably won't buy. I have a lamp that will be used to recreate the one you see.

Below the lamp are two sets of twin sheets I plan to use to make a reversible duvet cover and below those is the duvet I plan to get from Ikea. Following so far?

The item in the middle with the circles is a rug from Ikea that isn't necessary, but I love that rug. The room is carpeted. While the carpet is old and not pretty we decided not to remove it due to the fact that a tumbly toddler will be living here.

Below the rug is something I plan to make. It's called a book sling and once I make it you will see the full tutorial. I may even make two or three if it actually turns out!

On the far right are a slew of fabric choices. Chances are good I will go with the middle set for most things. My decorative frame of mind unfortunately leads me to stick with just a few colors. As you can see, most things are pink and green. I am trying to branch out, but I am very unsure of the rules and such (if there are rules for color schemes).

Anyway, here are some really horrible pictures of the room as of now. The bed, armoire, wicker chair, and tent stay. The rest goes...

Once items are bought and things are made you will see tutorials and such...until then, thank you for your patience!

It's a start?

Where does one begin on the journey to total home beautification? One way is to pick what you like and rule it out as something that "needs to be done". Everything else goes on the to do list. I should probably give some background on my thoughts and feelings about my particular home before I just jump in with project number one.

I am thankful and appreciative that I have a home. But, this one wouldn't be my first choice. It's old, but not in the quaint and charming way I would prefer. It's old in the multiple layers of wallpaper, dark wood paneling, nasty kitchen cabinets sort of way. However, it is sturdy and cozy. Plus, chances are good we will be here a while being that I recently became a stay at home mom to a 20 month old and am due with our second in May.

Probably more for my own thoughts than anything else, I am going to outline my agenda first. I can be a little OCD with scatter brained tendencies thrown in for good measure. In other words, much could change over time within this list and you will more than likely see more posts telling you how I changed it :-)

Things that I don't plan to change/redecorate/fix:

1) Our entire den. Not long ago someone did that for us due to horrible wood paneling and a rotted hole in the ceiling from a wood burning stove. I may do small cosmetic changes, but this is the one room I am almost 100% happy with...almost.

HA! That's the end of that list.

Things I DO plan to change/redecorate/fix in the short term by room:

1) Kitchen - window treatments

2) Playroom/Office - window treatments, recover old glider, kid's table/arts and crafts area

3) Lila's new "big girl" room - everything

4) Baby's room - once baby comes and we know the sex recreate textiles (window treatments, closet curtain, bedding, rug)

5) Master Bedroom - window treatments, closet curtain or doors, fix duvet cover to actually fit duvet, wall hangings

6) Master bath - window treatment

We have gotten estimates to renovate our hall bathroom, but we are still mulling over it. The kitchen redo seems like a distant dream and the master bath that was renovated is getting some touch ups. We are replacing doors throughout the house as we speak. When I say "we" on all of this, I mean my husband Seth. These are things I will be leaving up to him.

Ok that should do it for now! If I borrow a tutorial for any of this I give credit where credit is due while also showing how I did it. If you are confused or want more info about anything give me shout! I love comments :-)

Welcome

Here begins what could be a lesson in decorating don'ts. Any well meaning person can find wonderfully educational and inspiring do it yourself tutorials on the internet. I happen to have found hundreds. I started using things like mood boards and ordering fabric and before I knew it I started this blog. Again, any well meaning person can believe what they throw together looks amazing. Truth be told, I suppose that's all that matters. But, if I'm being honest, I am desperately seeking some sort of matrimony between what I love and what others view as well thought out decor. I guess we shall see how that goes.

In the mean time, you may borrow ideas (that I probably borrowed). You may laugh at my lame attempts. You may even become a little inspired if I'm not completely off base. Just know that I am not a seamstress. My sewing skills are based on middle/high school home economics. I have zero background in design and rely heavily on the knowledge of others. AND, I have toddler and one on the way. Things may move quickly or they may move VERY slowly. Let the transformation begin!