Hallway Love and 2 Projects

We are going on a little more house tour today!  I LOVE this area. It is the entrance to our home.  From the front door one walks into a nice size area with a crazy 2 story foyer height.  It's open to the den, dining and a sneaky peak of the kitchen.  I'd always wanted a very open floor plan, and we got it with this home.  The walls are of course the khaki pants color (blogged about this before...).  Eventually I will be painting this area a cool gray to match the FABULOUS chandelier we received for Christmas from Dad and B.  It will get it's own post, and perhaps even a video blog about the installation.  Billy is a whippersnapper at light changing, but this changing will literally require scaffolding!  And since the scaffolding will be in place, I will probably paint then.  woohooo!!

I had trouble at first decided how to lay the area out.  This skinny area below actually originally led to a library, the door behind the giant birdcage leads to this.  But the prior owners turned that into a closet in the master bedroom.  Um....yes, you would think you'd died and gone to closet heaven like me when you see it (yes, I will be showing it off...I just have to.  It is fabulous.)  So I wanted to close the area off.  The birdcage needs a little something inside....I am thinking about piling it with my old books.  I recently saw this done in the Pottery Barn Catalogue.

The black hand painted sign is a favorite purchase at Marist this year.  Under this I felt I needed to show our family in some way (since the sign talks about our family).  AHA!  A bulletin board.  So here's how I made it:

1-  ran to the basement and chose a frame from the pile

2- strung twine back and forth attaching with a staple gun

3-  strung a few fabulous turquoise buttons on the twine

4-  selected a family photo and other trinkets that meant something to our family

5-  attached a saw tooth hanger

6-  ran back upstairs and hung it up!  tops...15 minutes  You could do this with any type of frame really.

Now below is another fun project, and yes those are hands...my children's hands actually.  We made the sculptures in art camp a few years back.  It's a very cool project to do. Just follow these steps:

1-  purchase plaster gauze rolls at the craft store.  at my store it's where the fimo clay and stuff is located.

2-  have your child lather their hand in good old fashion Vaseline and then saran wrap

3-  pose the hand as you want it.  Not too complicated though, it is a little tricky getting this off!

4-  according to the plaster gauze instructions wet the strips and wrap on your child's hand loooooosely.  seriously.  this is not a cast!

5-  allow to set.  warn your child it gets warm(not hot) as it is setting.  it's how you know it's working.

6-  using scissors cut a slit so your child can slip their hand out of the casting

7-  use more plaster gauze to band-aid where you cut the slit

8-  you may have to trim the bottom to get it to stand up

And that's it!  What a wonderful way to preserve your sweet child's hands.

So that's all for today.  A peek into a favorite new vignette in our home.  We continue to nest away.  Loving it more as each day passes.

The Power of the Prefix RE...

I found this great page in Martha Stewart the other day and thought how appropriate for my nesting habit. As stated a couple of posts ago, "nesting" as I call it, is something I enjoy doing regularly. It occasionally begins as a simple cleaning. However, sometimes the nesting is quite deliberate and much needed. I'm supposed to be on hand/arm rest for two weeks. Hmmmmm...what to do during this time? Well, it all started with a garbage bag in my bathroom. You see, my make-up needed cleaning out. And then this happened........

Billy, would it be okay if I re-did the bathroom? Sure Jenni. I then set out to renew, refresh, revitalize my bathroom, in one day. I really wish I'd remembered to take pictures of the before. I can give you a bit of a run down though. The walls are chartreuse green, and have been for awhile. The shape of this bath meant I still liked the green and absolutely was not going to repaint it. The Radiant grate was found at a local flea market several years ago, the vintage glass towel bar at The Vintage-Fea today!

The cabinet.....this was the trigger for the painting. It was a wonderful pumpkin color I'd painted a few years ago. But it was definitely time for an upgrade. And I love it, the cool gray makes the whole room feel much richer! The other element I painted gray was the wall that divides the shower and toilet area. It was pumpkin as well. The creamy linoleum will be torn out as soon as I have the energy. My plan is to stain the concrete like I did in William's room.

On my side of the vanity I hung a vintage tool sales stand I found at a flea market years ago to hold all my necklaces. I LOVE to wear necklaces, and this way I can see them all, and they are no longer tangled. The window towel bar has been up for about 10 years. I believe that it is now permanently attached to the wall.

One of the other big changes was the potty area. I added the two shelves over the toilet for more linen storage. I also added a Valerie original. Yep, Valerie it is now in the bath. But I am in there quite often, and it really gives my new bath a Domino appeal. The other accessories were either in my house already or in the storage unit. The only expenses in this upgrade were the new switch plates, new light fixture, new towels, shelving, and a gallon of paint. I think the bills total under $200. What a great upgrade! I plan to share more parts of our home over the summer as my painting slows down. Our house is such a fun family home, but there is always a need to revitalize. Let's see what's next........

Legend of the Christmas Nest

I realize that these nests did not come from a real tree, but rather were made by my little fingers. But what an amazing treat for your Christmas Tree these little birds would make! So many of us have the artificial trees adorning our homes during the holidays, myself included. And although I can't promise these will bring you a year of prosperity, they will bring you joy, which can only help lead you to prosper in the coming year.

Sweet Mornings

I've not been painting much these days. Tisk...Tisk...We've been playing musical beds in our house, which for some reason led to major clean outs and clean ups. I try so hard to stay organized, but alas, I feel there is no hope. My constant need for change makes staying organized impossible. We've lived in our home for almost 13 years now. This is the longest I've ever lived in one home. Growing up, by the time I was in first grade I think we'd moved 4 times before landing in Homewood, Alabama. After that there were 4 houses in Homewood, an apartment during that time as well while building, a house in Vestavia, an apartment in Mtn. Brook, 2 fabulous townhouses in Southside of B'ham, and well, I should probably count the 4 years at Auburn, each year in a different apartment. So I always had change in my home growing up....so there goes the story behind my constant "nesting". I did however, paint this sweetie last week before the major clean up. The leaves are made from vintage check registry. I really like playing with collage in my canvases these days and have big plans for some fabric soon! "Sweet Mornings"

16" x 16" acrylic on canvas