tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81337780252545944202024-03-13T16:34:01.526-04:00Thrifty ShopaholicIf you have to be a shopaholic, you may as well be a thrifty one! Join me in my adventures of shopping for bargains to decorate my home and other fun stuff!Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-12211284296291980862013-07-10T22:13:00.000-04:002013-07-12T10:17:31.386-04:00IKEA Playroom MakeoverThe playroom has been a project we kept putting off. Mainly because there is just so much <strike>crap</strike> stuff in there. In it, there were 2 canvas toy boxes filled with stuffed animals, a stair step IKEA shelving system and an old garage cabinet without the doors on it for storage. The rest of the toys were either in laundry baskets or placed around the perimeter of the room.<br />
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Here are a few pictures of what it looked like before.<br />
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Here are the elements we wanted in this room:<br />
<ul><li>Lots of storage off the ground so they could have some space to play</li>
<li>Desks for the girls to do projects and homework</li>
<li>Space on a wall to draw and be creative</li>
<li>Area to display their artwork</li>
</ul>I looked for months on Craigslist for matching wooden desks and some large storage unit. Never found what I was looking for. We were planning a trip up to Northern Virginia one weekend to see SteveSongs with the girls so I asked Hubs if we could just pop in to IKEA. He knew there was just no "popping" in, but being the awesome husband that he is, he agreed. As luck would have it, we found everything we were looking for! We picked up 2 bookshelves, 2 sets of hanging wall buckets, a picture hanging kit with clips and several other goodies that were not play room related. ;) We had to make another trip up there to pick up the desks and chairs. <br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Hubs built the bookshelves and secured them to the wall side by side. I had some canvas cubes that used to hold baby items on the changing table so I dusted those off and arranged them on the bookshelf. I had tons and tons of unorganized toys so I went to Michaels to pick up some more canvas cubes. That still wasn't enough storage for all the little sets of toys so I went to Walmart and picked up 32 Sterilite clear storage boxes. I organized, and organized, and organized until all the toys had a home. I have separate bins for tiaras, jewelry, magnetic dolls, cars, Play Doh accessories, balls, wands, figures, etc. The canvas cubes hold the larger toys like Barbies, My Little Ponies, Play Doh, stuffed animals, etc. Now the girls can take one bin out, play with it, put it back in and store it away before getting more stuff out. I left the top and bottom shelves for the toys and games that would not fit into the bins. The IKEA storage shelf next to the 2 bookcases acts as a mini divider to the desks and additional toy storage. <br />
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We mounted a mirror along the bookcase so they could look at themselves when they got dressed up. Their dress-up clothes are neatly tucked away in the walk-in closet.<br />
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We moved the book sling next to the closet. I need to move the growth chart but haven't gotten around to that yet!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We put the desks side by side along one wall and mounted a wire system to hang their artwork. Using the Silhouette, we cut out vinyl stickers to say "Masterpieces! by Avery and Riley". We also cut out princess crowns and the girls' names to put on the back of their chairs. Mounted below the wires are pink and purple cup holders which contain crayons, colored pencils, markers, pens, pencils, glue sticks and scissors. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Along the other side wall is where we created a dry erase crown board. You can see how we did it in the <a href="http://thrifyshopaholic.blogspot.com/2013/06/princess-crown-dry-erase-board.html"><span style="color: #0e7d75;">Princess Crown Dry Erase Board</span></a> post. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6zk6M1HPbI8/Ud2a2FHS_zI/AAAAAAAAAY8/lEPd5sqlqFg/s1600/crown+wall_MG_9515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6zk6M1HPbI8/Ud2a2FHS_zI/AAAAAAAAAY8/lEPd5sqlqFg/s320/crown+wall_MG_9515.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The girls are totally loving their new playroom. Things actually stay organized and I am LOVING that! </div><br />
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Linking to:<br />
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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/before-after-diy-contest-2013/" title="The Humble Brag Supporting Habitat for Humanity"><img src="http://cdn.oneprojectcloser.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/H4Hbutton2013.jpg" alt="The Humble Brag Supporting Habitat for Humanity" style="border:none;" /></a></div>Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-11847340540004385402013-06-21T00:16:00.000-04:002013-06-21T00:16:39.553-04:00Princess Crown Dry Erase BoardThe girls love to draw so I wanted to incorporate a large drawing space in the playroom for them to express themselves. First I thought of doing a chalkboard with chalkboard paint, but my youngest daughter has allergies and I didn't want to take a chance that all the dust from the chalk would make it worse. After doing some research, I decided on a dry erase space. I didn't want just a plain old rectangle, so I started playing with some designs. I wanted something to cover a large amount of space to draw on but also something fun. I decided on a princess crown. I wanted to paint the base and cut out some white gloss vinyl balls to put on top of the crown. Hubs cut out the 3 circles with the Silhouette.<br />
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I purchased a pint of Rust-Oleum Specialty 27-oz. Specialty White Gloss Dry Erase paint from Home Depot for $19.98. The rest of the stuff I had on hand from previous projects. First Hubs took all the wall plates off. Then he measured the area to paint and marked the points of the crown. I taped the outside edges of the crown using blue painter's tape. <br />
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Once the tape was secure, Hubs and I took turns rolling the paint on with a small foam roller. It was very thin paint. We could still see some green from the wall after the recommended 2 to 3 coats so we decided to use the entire can. 6 coats later, we have this shining beauty!! <br />
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When we began this project, I didn't think we would be putting 6 coats of paint on. With 6 coats of paint, the crown is raised off the wall slightly so if you run your finger along the outside of the crown, you can feel the painted edge. We stuck the balls on, but since it is slightly raised, you can see the indention of the pointed part of the crown.We could razor cut around it, but it's not that big of a deal for us. In hindsight, I would have cut circle stencils out with the Silhouette, stuck them on and painted the balls on. <br />
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I am not sure why I didn't take a picture of the crown after we stuck the balls on. I certainly had enough time since we had to wait 3 days for it to dry completely per the instructions. There was a lot of "Mommy, is it ready yet?" and "Mommy, has it been 3 days???"<br />
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Here is what the crown looks like today after <i><b>many</b></i> uses. <br />
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Your wall around the dry erase board will get smudged, but it's well worth it when your little ones show you their masterpieces! My 5 year old loves to draw this picture. We showed it to her on the Internet one evening and she laughed hysterically. It shows up every now and again on the drawing board. ;) I have to admit, it is pretty funny!<br />
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Here are some things we learned that I hope will be helpful to you.<br />
<ol>
<li>Test your dry erase markers out on a small area before using it. The girls have had portable dry erase boards in the past where some markers they used left permanent marks. We tested ours along the outlet edges, so if by chance they left permanent marks, they would be hidden by the outlet covers. If you don't want to test it on the wall, any dry erase board will work to test the markers. The dollar stores usually sell cheapo ones. </li>
<li>Using a dry eraser does not remove the ink very well. We remove our ink with rubbing alcohol in a mini sprayer. Be sure to keep it out of reach of small children. We just spritz the area we want to clean before using our dry erasers. This leaves a lot of ink behind but the girls don't mind it for everyday use. When I want to really clean it, I spray with alcohol and use an old cotton t-shirt to wipe it off. This gets the ink off pretty good with not a lot of elbow grease. </li>
<li>Ask the kids BEFORE you erase their artwork. </li>
<li>Most of all, have some fun family time. We like to play a game where one person starts a picture, then we take turns adding to it and guessing what the drawing will be. We have used it to do math problems, sight words, spelling, Tic Tac Toe, and the list goes on. </li>
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<br />Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-17052198057784013792013-04-01T23:44:00.000-04:002013-04-01T23:44:43.263-04:00Decorating my Coastal BookcaseThis was the fun part. After my coastal bookcase makeover, I started working on filling it. I had been using Pinterest to get ideas so I just went through and sifted through many pins.<br />
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First up was this amazing <a href="http://theletteredcottage.net/coastal-style-distressed-wood-flag-tutorial/" target="_blank">coastal wooden flag</a> that I just HAD to make. I still had some left over wood from when I disassembled 2 Adirondack ottomans. Here is the where the wood came from.<br />
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I painted all the pieces first, lightly sanded the edges and parts of the front for a distressed look, then had the hubs cut the sides off where there were previous screw holes and attach them all together using 2 other scrap pieces of wood. I'm really not sure why one of the boards didn't get paint on the back side, or even why I painted the back of any of them in the first place. I blame it on painting at 2am!<br />
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I only needed 9 starfish, but I ordered a lot of 25 (1 inch) from <a href="https://northfloridashells.3dcartstores.com/" target="_blank">North Florida Shells</a>. Who can't use some extra little starfish around the house?? I stuck them on with super glue and there you have it! <br />
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I need to get a larger easel to display it on though. It's a little wobbly. I'll display this proudly for all the patriotic holidays.... or year round. ;)<br />
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Next, I wanted to place books on it, but didn't like the mismatched nature of them. I saw that people had used maps to cover books with, so I found an old atlas I had collecting dust to cover the books. I really liked the blues and greens in them. I used mostly pages with places we have visited, and then a few other ones just because I liked the way the maps looked. <br />
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The pictures, candle, coral and seashells were on the bookshelf prior to the makeover, so I just added them back on. The letter was purchased from AC Moore some time ago, just didn't have a place to put it. Now it has a home!<br />
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Decorating for Easter:<br />
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For Easter, I added some mini birdhouses that I purchased from Joann's last year from their dollar bin. I just gave them a few coats of white paint, then sanded the edges a bit. I found the bunny at a thrift store last year for .89. The eggs are just those plastic Easter eggs wrapped in some twine using hot glue. <br />
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I will add a few little accents for all the holidays!Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-19590517919267798462013-04-01T23:39:00.002-04:002013-06-20T23:32:22.759-04:00China Cabinet Goes CoastalI loved how the bookcase turned out so much I decided to give the china cabinet a similar makeover since new china cabinets are so expensive. My mom left the china cabinet here when she moved as it was way too large for her new home. It is Asian-inspired so it was tricky turning it into something coastal. Here is what it looked like before.<br />
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First we scraped off the Asian pin striping on all the glass doors. It came off really easily!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We took all the doors off and removed all the gold hardware. Unfortunately, it left a ton of holes in the doors. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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I happened to have some dowel rods that fit perfectly in the large holes so we cut them to size and tapped them in.<br />
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We filled the rest in with putty and sanded them down.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next, using the same wainscoting from the bookcase remodel, Hubs measured and cut them to fit into the door.</div><br />
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He used liquid nails to secure them and reinforced them with nails. More holes to fill in with putty. Yay. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Primed the doors and cabinet with 2 coats of Zinsser's primer, then 2 coats of satin finish white. </div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Taping the mirror was ridiculous!</div><br />
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Yes, I painted right in the dining room! These pieces were too heavy to move into the garage. <br />
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After days of painting and sanding and painting, it was ready to be put back together again!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LV68e6_OKDc/UJlHHL2hb-I/AAAAAAAAATE/A13SMcwJH8w/s1600/IMG_0630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LV68e6_OKDc/UJlHHL2hb-I/AAAAAAAAATE/A13SMcwJH8w/s320/IMG_0630.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Almost complete!! Just have to put the new hardware pulls on and fill it up!<br />
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Here is what it looks like today...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wZ8iQwl0Tsc/UV2yV2JSK1I/AAAAAAAAAWo/72qVnrekXpk/s1600/chinacabinetsideviewIMG_2137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wZ8iQwl0Tsc/UV2yV2JSK1I/AAAAAAAAAWo/72qVnrekXpk/s320/chinacabinetsideviewIMG_2137.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-euRv5P_2VIY/UVpSsnA_fgI/AAAAAAAAAVw/Wcj2DigeAyc/s1600/FinishedIMG_2124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qEzWicRS4r8/UV20ipW_4uI/AAAAAAAAAWw/iqPeb95r93s/s1600/before+and+after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qEzWicRS4r8/UV20ipW_4uI/AAAAAAAAAWw/iqPeb95r93s/s320/before+and+after.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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We absolutely love how it turned out!<br />
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Linking up to:<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/before-after-link-party-2013/" title="The Humble Brag Supporting Habitat for Humanity"><img src="http://cdn.oneprojectcloser.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/H4Hbutton2013.jpg" alt="The Humble Brag Supporting Habitat for Humanity" style="border:none;" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.the36thavenue.com/" title="The 36th AVENUE"><img alt="The 36th AVENUE" src="http://www.the36thavenue.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/250button150.png" style="border: currentColor;" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ed4jjEwjQ24/URwoFhU59aI/AAAAAAAAQ10/ff_266BGokk/s200/TT+logo.png" style="border: 0px solid rgb(95, 95, 95); padding: 3px;" width="200" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/search/label/show%20and%20tell"><img border="0" src="http://www.rememberthemoments.com/images/blog/satbutton.gif" /></a> Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-62851310740499190532012-03-09T00:12:00.001-05:002013-07-05T00:15:06.559-04:00Country Bookcase Goes CoastalThe dining room is our next room overhaul. Mom left her Asian-inspired dining room set and an old country style bookcase here when she moved since her new dining room was smaller. The bookcase has been a good dumping ground for stuff that doesn't have a place because I could just close it up. <br />
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I was getting tired of looking at it and was going to post it on Craigslist. Then I got to looking around on Pinterest, my new <strike>obsession</strike> place for ideas. I was inspired to transform this dated piece into something coastal. It is laminate and wood and I wasn't sure about painting it so after some digging, I found a post by <a href="http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/04/go-right-ahead-and-paint-that-laminate/" target="_blank">Centsational Girl</a> on painting laminate furniture. Well, that was that. I didn't like the hanging leaf trim at the top and I thought I could just unscrew it off but it was tacked and glued. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WVZpXne7ghU/T1gl9dNd4JI/AAAAAAAAAOo/fKQS8GKnWPA/s1600/IMG_0472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WVZpXne7ghU/T1gl9dNd4JI/AAAAAAAAAOo/fKQS8GKnWPA/s320/IMG_0472.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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I took it off and asked Hubs if he could just cut it off. Sure enough, that is what he did. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Xp48cG-p-g/T1gmk9wxo4I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/ng7M_CaZi7w/s1600/IMG_0491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Xp48cG-p-g/T1gmk9wxo4I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/ng7M_CaZi7w/s320/IMG_0491.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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I liked the floral carving on the doors, but they weren't very beachy. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AjLzNmIaMQE/T1gmJWZIATI/AAAAAAAAAO4/UrKx3XmToEs/s1600/IMG_0473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AjLzNmIaMQE/T1gmJWZIATI/AAAAAAAAAO4/UrKx3XmToEs/s320/IMG_0473.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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I decided to buy some wainscoting to put over them. Hubs cut 2 pieces out so that they fit right over the carved wood door. We attached them with some brad nails and wood glue, filled in and sanded the nail holes, caulked around the edges and the wainscoting was ready to be primed and painted!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DRRpRiKstR4/T1gmw6J76sI/AAAAAAAAAPY/MaVUSH_SNok/s1600/IMG_0493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DRRpRiKstR4/T1gmw6J76sI/AAAAAAAAAPY/MaVUSH_SNok/s320/IMG_0493.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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The door you see above the double doors used to be a pull down desk. I had intended to put it back on but after taking it off to paint, I decided I liked it better without. We had to fill in the hardware holes and sand it down. <br />
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Rather than getting new hardware, I just primed and spray painted them with some Satin Nickel spray paint I had left over from another project.<br />
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I used 2 coats of Zinsser's primer, 2 coats of leftover paint from our kitchen/dining room for the back of the bookcase and 2 coats of leftover flat white ceiling paint for the rest of the bookcase, then followed it up with 2 coats of sealer. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mwWMYTiwstA/T1gnFKUgDCI/AAAAAAAAAPo/4dtJqULEnJw/s1600/IMG_0483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mwWMYTiwstA/T1gnFKUgDCI/AAAAAAAAAPo/4dtJqULEnJw/s320/IMG_0483.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vlWZRZW7NCo/T1gnOiAs6lI/AAAAAAAAAPw/H-f5CXc1znU/s1600/IMG_0529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vlWZRZW7NCo/T1gnOiAs6lI/AAAAAAAAAPw/H-f5CXc1znU/s320/IMG_0529.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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Here is what it looks like now. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7D8hiuy2IGA/T1gkJULAyfI/AAAAAAAAAOg/pmeGnHfGhck/s1600/IMG_0471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7D8hiuy2IGA/T1gkJULAyfI/AAAAAAAAAOg/pmeGnHfGhck/s200/IMG_0471.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Fq_yIvHfWA/T1mPw6Fh65I/AAAAAAAAAQE/2uHgd4ukoMs/s1600/IMG_0543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Fq_yIvHfWA/T1mPw6Fh65I/AAAAAAAAAQE/2uHgd4ukoMs/s200/IMG_0543.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Fq_yIvHfWA/T1mPw6Fh65I/AAAAAAAAAQE/2uHgd4ukoMs/s1600/IMG_0543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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BEFORE AFTER<br />
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See it decorated in the <a href="http://thrifyshopaholic.blogspot.com/2013/04/decorating-my-coastal-bookcase.html" target="_blank">Decorating My Coastal Bookcase</a> post.<br />
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Linking up to: <br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/before-after-diy-contest-2013/" title="The Humble Brag Supporting Habitat for Humanity"><img alt="The Humble Brag Supporting Habitat for Humanity" src="http://cdn.oneprojectcloser.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/H4Hbutton2013.jpg" style="border: currentColor;" /></a></div>
Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-30705558803567719262011-10-23T01:13:00.000-04:002013-04-01T00:40:18.516-04:00Switch Flops - Best Thing Since Sliced BreadLast year, I walked into a home and garden store and discovered <a href="http://www.lindsay-phillips.com/switch-flops.aspx?utm_medium=reprise&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Brand+Switchflops|Brand+Switchflops&utm_term=switch%20-flops&utm_content=sX1kb3n72_pcrid_7262304327">Switch Flops</a>. If you haven't heard of these before, I insist you check them out!<br />
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WARNING: You will want to buy these. Many, many pairs of these.<br />
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It's basically a shoe with interchangeable straps or buttons. Genius! I started my new obsession around my birthday, so Hubs bought me 3 pairs (black Lulu, tan Lulu, and black Lily) with a few extra straps. Then the store I got them from had a sale a few months later and I picked up the cork Emma and a few more straps. <br />
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I'm not quite sure how I ended up with so many straps (ahem), but I got tired of sifting through them in a pile on my shoe shelf. I decided I needed an organizer for them. They sell them online, but I wanted something really pretty to display my collection. I found a pattern for a wrapping paper organizer and modified it slightly to the size I needed and added strips of Velcro instead of pockets. I think it turned out really well. I have it hanging in my closet, but it also folds up easily for travel.<br />
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This is the front with a large pocket made out of coordinating scraps.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YLOpo_2S6Ss/TqOgId7iiGI/AAAAAAAAANk/l7jDMucYl_Y/s1600/frontfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YLOpo_2S6Ss/TqOgId7iiGI/AAAAAAAAANk/l7jDMucYl_Y/s320/frontfront.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Here is the organizer opened up with some of my Switch Flop straps.</div>
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This is the back.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B_aa_4Gkkv0/TqOg1FJyikI/AAAAAAAAAN8/taJHqv6GnLU/s1600/front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B_aa_4Gkkv0/TqOg1FJyikI/AAAAAAAAAN8/taJHqv6GnLU/s320/front.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I love how it turned out! Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-63744456281071651012011-10-21T00:18:00.004-04:002013-04-01T00:39:20.425-04:00Living Room UpdateI decided a few weeks ago that I want to bring some beachy-ness to my living room. It's currently decorated with tropical accents, which I love, but I want to brighten it up and go coastal. <br />
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I started with the easy stuff like updating the pillows on the couch. I went to Joann Fabrics and found some indoor/outdoor fabric for half off in a pretty turquoise with a subtle stripe pattern. Then I found some fabric called Sportswear Twill, also half off, in an off white. I measured my existing tropical pillows and got to work. I made a total of 4 pillowcases, 2 in the turquoise fabric and 2 in the off white fabric with some accents and bling (rhinestones). Oh, how I love bling! ;) <br />
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While browsing the Internet, I found some really pretty turquoise coral pillows, but all the ones I wanted were over $50! So rather than spend that much on pillows, I made pillowcase covers to go over my existing pillows. I Googled a coral outline that would not be too difficult to cut out, copied/pasted it into Paint, printed it, then cut it out. I pinned it to a scrap piece of turquoise fabric and cut it out. After I cut it out, I used Fray Check around the edges. It needed a little something extra, so I added the rhinestones to some tips of the coral. I then used Liquid Stitch to adhere it to one of the off white pillows I made. I wanted to add a real starfish to the other pillow (something I saw in another blog), but Hubs said he didn't want to lay on a starfish. After I explained to him that they were not to be used (blank stare), I went ahead and cut a starfish out of the off white fabric and added some bling to it as well. I used Liquid Stitch to adhere it to my turquoise and off white pillow. <br />
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Before:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZoqsoDCOx84/TpUVrGG2FjI/AAAAAAAAAME/y68cdTfIMlw/s1600/original+pillows+on+couch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" kca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZoqsoDCOx84/TpUVrGG2FjI/AAAAAAAAAME/y68cdTfIMlw/s320/original+pillows+on+couch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After: <br />
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I really love the way they turned out. <br />
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Next, Hubs and I worked on creating some wall art. Back sometime this summer, while spending countless hours looking through blogs, I came across an awesome piece of artwork that Kari from <a href="http://thesunsetlane.blogspot.com/2011/05/twinkle-twinkle-little-seahorse.html">The Sunset Lane</a> created using pallet wood and paint.<br />
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We wanted to make 2 of them, with the seahorses facing each other, which would go on both sides of the mirror over the couch.</div>
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I spotted some pallet wood outside a warehouse a few weeks back, but after reading some warnings on them, I decided to pass and go for some cheap pine planks from Home Depot. I bought 4 planks, 4x8 feet long each for a little over $16. I had Hubs cut them down to 3 feet each, use the remaining pieces for the backing, and put them together for me. I used black stain that I had left over from the porch furniture. I only used 1 coat to give it a somewhat aged look. I copied and cut out the seahorse image that was on Kari's blog, but it was too small so I basically traced an inch or so outside the pattern using chalk. For the second one, I traced the seahorse from the first one with tissue paper, flipped it around and made it a tad bigger, one to symbolize Hubs and the other myself. ;) I used left over paint from the garage for the seahorses, which is a light turquoise. Hubs added some hooks and wire to the back and up they went!</div>
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Here is what it looked like before with the tropical wall art. </div>
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Here is what it looks like now.</div>
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If you look in the mirror, you will see the existing mantle. I'll be working on updating that next.Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-42764293782835859842011-10-08T09:35:00.000-04:002013-04-01T00:37:33.249-04:00Still Here!Wow, it's been almost 5 months since my last post. I'm such a slacker! I had a wonderful summer off from house updating and sewing, but it's time to get back into the swing of things. We still have a few things to finish up on the garage, but hopefully this month, we will be done and can move on to something else. Hubs cut all the baseboards and shoe molding but still has to install them. He is having an issue with the trim work around the doors and windows because nothing is ever as easy as it should be. We may have to get a carpenter friend of ours to come over and finish that up for us. Most of the curtains are made and just have to be hemmed. <br />
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I decided I want to turn the living room from tropical to beachy. There is a lot of black furniture in there, but I figure if I can make a billiard room with dark furniture look beachy, I can do the same for the living room. I will start another post on my progress soon.Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-70124989115637431592011-05-31T21:16:00.043-04:002013-04-01T00:37:10.305-04:00Our Home - Exterior TransformationsI have lived in this house since 1989 when my mom and I moved here from Utica, NY. In 1999, I bought this house from her and she bought one 4 houses down the street. Since then, I have been turning the house into my own. I'll take you through some of the transformations.<br />
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Here is the front of our house when Mom and I first moved in.<br />
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Here is the front of our house just after Mom moved out.<br />
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Mom had the large tree in the front cut down, replaced it with some perennials and planted 2 maple trees. I added the willow tree to the middle of the garden box (it was only about 4 feet tall in the picture above, but grew to be about 15 feet tall) I had gotten from a trade on GardenWeb. She also replaced all the windows and shutters and had a concrete patio poured on the front porch where it used to be a mini garden.<br />
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After the willow tree in the front died for some unknown reason to me, I removed it and the surrounding garden box. <br />
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We had our first daughter in 2007 and decided we needed more space. Rather than moving, we decided to expand. We thought about building up, but the cost was extremely high, so we decided to expand out. We drew up a plan to add an additional 6 feet to our den, 2 bedrooms, a linen closet and a wiring closet. When we got our addition done in 2008 (there will a post later on that), we also got a new roof, new siding, black shutters and replaced all the brown trim with white. In 2009, we decided to expand our driveway to a double and replace the concrete porches and walkways with pavers. We also replaced all the chain link fence with a wood fence. <br />
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I wanted an additional walkway from the driveway to the front porch and a seat wall on the back patio, so we had the same company come out and do that in 2010. <br />
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In the front of the house, after the new driveway and pavers were installed, I removed the existing garden wall (I installed them in 2002) that bordered the front garden and changed the shape. I also created a new garden bed between the porch and new walkway.<br />
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Here is what the front looks like today.<br />
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Here is a picture of the back of the house when we first moved here from New York. Plain Jane, right?<br />
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Here is a picture of the back yard a few years after Mom moved out. <br />
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Mom planted 2 fig trees in the back and I added the mini patio. When we got our addition, we had to remove the fig trees. That was a very sad day, however, the contractor we hired lives out in the country and was able to save one of the trees for his property. I sure miss those figs, but I don't miss the flies that constantly hung around them.</div>
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Here are some pictures of the back yard right before the addition went up.<br />
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Here is a picture of a fallen fig tree. (sniff sniff) <br />
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Here are some pictures of the back yard today. Much better, eh?<br />
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We added the play area for the girls last year. Even though it is small, they love playing out there.</div>
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See the red barn looking shed in the back corner? Total eye sore, isn't it?? Well, we are hoping to have a larger shed built that matches the exterior of our house sometime this year if we can ever finish up the garage. </div>
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Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-10189170770485077952011-05-22T22:30:00.003-04:002013-04-01T00:36:07.951-04:00Funky Matilda Jane Knock Off Ruffle PantsA girl that goes to school with my daughter had on some adorable clothes one day so I asked her mom where she got them. She told me it was ordered from a <a href="http://www.matildajaneclothing.com/shop.php">Matilda Jane</a> trunk show. I Googled it when I got home and found some impressive clothes with even more impressive price tags! I fell in love with these pants. Aren't they the cutest pants EVER???<br />
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My mother-in-law had been teaching me how to sew recently, so I sent her an email to see if she thought we could make these. Her answer was, "Absolutely!" The fabric on the Matilda Jane pants appear to be a knit cotton, but I wanted something fun and colorful, so I picked out some adorable seersucker fabric from the Tutti Fruitti collection at Hancock Fabrics. I made a pair for each of my daughters, and I'm making another one for my cousin's daughter. <br />
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Basically, I just followed a pants pattern and cut off about 4 1/2 inches from the bottom of the pattern to make room for the ruffle. <br />
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In order to create a poofy ruffle, rather than one that just laid flat, I cut a rectangular piece of coordinating material that was 10 inches by 20 inches, then folded the material lengthwise to be 5 inches by 20 inches.<br />
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I sewed the two ends together, then I sewed it together lengthwise so the fabric would not move while I was hand ruffling.<br />
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I pinned the seam of the ruffle to the inner seam of the pant leg, then pinned the folded edge to the outer edge of the pant leg, right side to right side. I had to pull the ruffle through the pant leg so that I could manage the fabric of the ruffle better.<br />
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I gathered and pinned each ruffle.<br />
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After hand ruffling, I sewed the pant leg to the ruffle.<br />
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Repeat for the other leg and VOILA!!<br />
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Here are my princesses wearing their new ruffle pants with matching tops! What do you think??</div>
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I wonder if I could pull off this look... ;)</div>
Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-49523530107853882972011-05-10T08:44:00.000-04:002013-04-01T00:34:51.950-04:00Baker's Rack RefreshI refreshed my Baker's Rack in the kitchen on Mother's Day while Hubs and the girls were napping. <br />
Here is what the baker's rack looked like before:<br />
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The justice scales are really distracting! I picked it up for $5 from a garage sale during one of my <a href="http://thrifyshopaholic.blogspot.com/2011/04/bargain-hunting-weekend.html">bargain hunting weekends</a>, but I decided to take it apart and use it for parts! I used one of the scales as a bowl, then turned the other upside down to give some height to one of my seashell jars. Since the scales were black, I used 2 coats of RUS<span style="background-color: white;">T</span>-OLEUM Primer, then spray painted them with Heirloom White. I still haven't decided what to use the base or balance of the justice scale for, but I'm sure I'll think of something. <br />
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I added the Beach frame, which is a new frame I received for Mother's Day. I already had the 3 candle holder/vases, the starfish and shell. The bowl with the seashell on it is from the justice scales. I really like the wood texture on the bowls.<br />
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And this is the other bowl turned upside down.<br />
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I found a box of sand dollars I had found a long time ago in a beach in Florida. I had to spray paint them white because I tried to bleach them at one time and they turned a nasty yellow. I used one of the larger sand dollars with sand from a local beach in an apothecary jar I picked up at a thrift store for .55. The other jar pictured is a pickle jar with twine wrapped around the top and a seashell I found tied to it. It has other shells/coral bits that I found once upon a time. The small square frame is one I had purchased a while ago with a picture of St. Thomas from one of the many cruises we have been on.<br />
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This large apothecary jar was also from a thrift store and was only $1.49! I found a shell necklace to wrap around the top and filled it with the remaining coral bits I had.</div>
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I made this shadow box frame from a Melissa and Doug zoo magnet box. I painted the top edge with white acrylic paint, then glued some shells I had to the bottom. Then I placed a Photoshopped picture that Hubs made with the Footprints poem and our daughter running on the beach in Kitty Hawk, NC.</div>
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I got this fan from EBay to put in my garage/laundry room. Hubs still hasn't replaced the cord on it, but I'm really in no hurry, as the room is NEVER going to be complete. I picked up the handheld antique mixer at an Antique Mall for $2.95. I just thought it was cool.<br />
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Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-21461496189113034872011-05-07T00:00:00.101-04:002013-04-01T00:33:13.084-04:00Garage MakeoverHubs has been complaining that the garage is just a dumping ground and unfortunately, he's right. I'm really embarrassed to even post pictures, but here it goes. <br />
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Everything that didn't have a place in the house or that Hubs leaves laying around gets put in the garage. When we remodeled the kitchen, we moved the laundry room into the garage to gain more room for our kitchen, so it's more like a garage/storage/laundry room. They had to install a pump to push water over the garage and kitchen into the drain. It was either that or bust up part of our garage and driveway. So we lived with these ugly pipes coming out of the wall for all this time. Look under the left cabinet above the washing machine and you'll see 2 huge pipes coming out of the wall at a 45 degree angle. The pump is "hidden" inside a makeshift cabinet.<br />
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We put our heads together and came up with a plan to hide all the pumps and pipes. We decided that it would also be a good idea to install a sink for convenience. We drew up a plan and got to work. <br />
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First we went to hhgregg and ordered a new stackable washer/dryer so that we could gain more storage space. Next, we went to Home Depot to order the cabinets. Then the hard part.. clearing the garage. Ugh. We started putting stuff in the attic and shed and left all the large storage cabinets. We only had 1 month to get the garage prepped and painted because the washer/dryer were scheduled to be delivered a month from the purchase date. It was as far out as we could have it come. <br />
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Hubs decided to just take down all the drywall because he had to relocate some outlets/switches and redo the well water pump system to fit it under the counter top I wanted. Look at this well pump configuration. Awful, right??<br />
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Here is that wall after all the drywall came out. <br />
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After he completed the wiring, we found a plumber (Dean) based on a friend's recommendation to come in and run lines for the sink and also lower the pump and do something about the weird angle of the pipes. Dean came by to assess the situation with another plumber and left the work to him because he was furiously working on meeting a deadline on a house that is going to grace the cover of Coastal Living magazine. How cool is that?? <br />
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After the plumbing was complete, Hubs decided it would be a good opportunity to insulate the wall. He's such a smarty pants! <br />
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We had 2 weeks left for someone to drywall. I called the guy who scraped the ceilings in our billiard room and hallways. He said he would be available to do it the following week, which was last week. We called last week and he said this week for sure. We figured we could at least paint the floor and knock that out of the way. Since we have so much crap, we had to move everything to one side, paint, let it dry overnight, then move everything to the other side and paint the rest. <br />
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See the half painted floor? <br />
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Okay, so we finished that up on Monday. When I called the drywall guy to ask when he was coming, I explained to him that we had to get the drywall up no later than Wednesday because we had a washer and dryer coming Friday and we still had to prime and paint. AND that if he thought he couldn't do it, to let us know so we can get someone else. He said he could do it on Wednesday. Okay, well, we gave him the benefit of the doubt because he did a great job for us before and was cheap. Big mistake. Yesterday, he was supposed to come. We called, no answer. We left several messages. By 5:00pm, I'm fuming. I called the friend who recommended him to ask if he knew of anyone else that we could get at the last minute. Luckily he did and he came over today. I was hoping they would finish today but no such luck. I called hhgregg to see if there was any way they could deliver on Monday instead. They said it would be fine. Happy dance! Luckily my mother-in-law is taking the girls this weekend so we'll be painting all night tomorrow and probably into Saturday. Saturday will be our day of rest as we have a tee time at 11:08am. It's supposed to be 80 and cloudy so it should be perfect. Check back soon for more on the garage makeover.<br />
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b>4/24/11 - We've got color!!</b></span><br />
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Happy Easter!! What a wonderful weekend it turned out to be despite the painting marathon we had. We started painting right after work at 5:00pm on Friday. Hubs rolls and I do the trim work. We put on 2 coats of flat white ceiling paint. We were painting over semi-gloss so it kind of smeared on rather than rolled on the first coat. Then we put 1 coat of Behr Aqua Smoke semi-gloss on the right side of the garage. We are still working on half the garage at a time because of all the <strike>piles of crap</strike> stuff we have in there. We were hoping to put the 2nd coat on but it just wasn't drying. It was about 50 degrees outside, so I imagine the temperature had something to do with it. We finally called it a night at 3:00am. After looking at it in the morning, we reluctantly agreed the ceiling needed 1 more coat. So after a fun-filled weekend, we put the girls to bed and started painting again. We finished the ceiling and put another coat on the right-hand wall. I'm really liking the color. Hubs was a bit skeptical at first, calling it a Care Bear Green, but it's growing on him. <br />
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Hubs also sealed some cracks around the perimeter of the garage and under the door. He used this really cool foam sealer called Great Stuff. You spray it in a crack, it foams up, then you just cut the excess off with a serrated knife when it dries. How cool is that?? Check it out!</div>
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The new washing machine and dryer come tomorrow! Woo Hoo! </div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>4/27/11 - Frustrated</b></span> </div>
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Okay, so hhgregg calls on Monday to say they don't have the side dryer vent kit we ordered and it would be there on Tuesday. We told them to go ahead and deliver the washer/dryer Monday and come back to install the dryer vent kit on Tuesday. Somehow wires got crossed and they did not come by. They came by Tuesday to set up the washer/dryer, but still no vent kit. Hmmm. When Hubs called the store, he was informed that it was back-ordered for 3 to 4 weeks. She said, "I told your wife yesterday that it was back-ordered... didn't she tell you?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? So not only am I irritated that I ordered this a month ago and they waited until now to let us know, but they lied to us twice! Nice. So Hubs went to Home Depot and found another contraption to use that would end up giving us the same configuration as if we went with the side vent kit. We needed it to be close to the wall since we are surrounding it with cabinets. The side vent kit was $49.99 and it cost Hubs $13.00 to create the new one. I'll be going to hhgregg tomorrow to get my money back for the vent kit. </div>
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Didn't he do a good job?? </div>
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So Home Depot said the expected delivery date for our cabinets was Monday. Monday came and went, no call. I called Tuesday and they said the new expected delivery date would be that day, Tuesday. No call back. We called them back around 8:00pm and they told us it would be leaving the warehouse in Michigan the following day. What is up with these places?? So now we are not expected to get the cabinets until Friday. Is this project ever going to be over? Ugh.</div>
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I guess the good news is that we can start working on the 15 piles of laundry sitting on our bedroom floor. <sigh></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">5/7/11 - Slow and Steady</span></b></div>
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Well, Home Depot finally called on Thursday to let us know our cabinets were in. Hubs went to go pick one up that night and no one was available to assist him. No surprise there. They said it would be about 45 minutes until someone could get it for him. He couldn't wait because I had to leave for volleyball finals, which by the way, my Diving Divas took the championship for the third straight season in a row! ;) </div>
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So he went up Friday after work and got the first pantry cabinet. He had to do a hack job on it since that ridiculous pump was going in it. Oh, and did I mention there is a concrete "ledge" along the bottom of that wall? Not sure what that is all about other than being another reason to annoy me. So he had to cut the bottom to accommodate that as well so our cabinets would be flush against the wall. He did a pretty good job considering! </div>
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Today, he went back to get the other pantry cabinet. Then while the girls were napping, Hubs worked on cutting holes in our other pantry cabinet for the dryer hose while I made 3 trips to Home Depot to pick up the sink base and all 3 wall cabinets. Not surprising, our 36 inch base cabinet was sold out, even though they showed 2 in stock. So, I had to go to another store and get it. Good times! </div>
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I love this picture of Roo watching her daddy cut holes in the pantry cabinet. </div>
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Here are the holes cut out!<br />
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And the dryer hose hooked back up.<br />
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After the second pantry went up, Hubs set up the sink base. I feel like we finally made some progress today!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e06666;">5/17/2011 - Leaking Washer.... GRRRRR</span></b></div>
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We went on vacation last week and when we got home, we noticed a pool of water in front of our washer. Great!! So we did a load of laundry and there was no leak until well after the washer had stopped. So, I guess Hubs is going to have to take one of the pantry cabinets down and investigate. Another setback. ;( We are still pushing forward though. We will go pick out counter tops tomorrow. I wonder what kind of issues we will run in to there. Stay tuned....</div>
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<span style="color: #93c47d;"><b>5/17/2011 (continued) - Cool</b></span></div>
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Well, Hubs investigated and found out that the dryer water supply line for steam was not tight. Who'd a thought it was the dryer causing the leak? Any who, hopefully that was the only issue and we won't have any more mystery leaks. The doors to the cabinets are on and we're going counter top shopping tomorrow. </div>
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I am bringing a sample piece of fabric with me to try and find a counter top that will match. Here is the fabric I picked out for the curtains. I just love stripes!!<br />
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<span style="color: #e06666;"><b>Update: 5/31/2011 - Well pump installed and hardware attached</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="color: black;">Well, we decided on a counter top, but have not ordered it yet. Apparently the wall at the end of our garage is not level at all. The wall varies by 1 inch where the counter top will be. We will have to ask if the company can cut the counter top accordingly. We hope to do that tomorrow. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #93c47d;"><span style="color: black;">Hubs finished installing the well pump in a new configuration that takes up far less space. He lowered the PVC pipes, got a smaller tank and mounted the control panel under where the counter top will be.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Here is what it looked like before.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">And this is what it looks like now! </span></div>
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Hubs picked out this hardware for the cabinets and installed them. <br />
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<b><span style="color: lime;">Update: 10/13/2011 - Almost done</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: black;">We finally got around to ordering our counter tops midway through summer, only to pick them up almost 4 weeks after we ordered them. They said it would take a week, but we never got a call back from them. When we called about 3 weeks later, they said they were done. A phone call would have been nice, ya think? So we made arrangements to pick it up the following week. The counter top that went over the cabinet next to the house door was perfect. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">The other counter top, which had to be cut at an angle on one end due to a crooked wall was cut straight, despite us providing exact measurements of how it should be cut and them saying that was not a problem. Of course we didn't notice it until we got home. We debated taking it back, but it would have been too much of a hassle trying to arrange another truck pickup and drop-off. Hubs made it work by using some shims and cutting an extra piece of the laminate back splash to cover the gap. He installed the sink with no problems. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I finished the curtains that go below the counter top to hide the well pump and other miscellaneous stuff we want to put under there. </span></div>
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Only a few more things to do before it's complete! </div>
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Install and paint trim around the door.</div>
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Install and paint trim around window. (We may have to get our carpenter friend to help with that. The window is jacked up, to say the least.)</div>
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Install and paint foot boards and shoe molding.</div>
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Change out the remaining light switches and plugs.</div>
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Finish curtains for the door and window.</div>
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Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-72759574157758296402011-05-06T01:04:00.004-04:002013-04-01T00:26:17.383-04:00Beachy Wall GalleryFor the other large wall in my billiard room, I decided I wanted to do a wall gallery with family beach pictures in a sepia tone. I love the wall gallery we have in our hallway, but I didn't want another perfectly symmetrical gallery with matching frames. I knew it would take some really awesome gallery samples to convince Hubs to agree with me on this one. He is a symmetrical kinda guy. Everything has to be even or symmetrical. Lucky for me, that means 2 kids, even if they are both girls! Okay, so I searched and searched and found these inspiration galleries to show him. <br />
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He actually liked these, but he only agreed after I told him we could do a symmetrical border. ;) I went though the house and only found a few frames. I decided to hit the thrift stores to see what I could find. Amazingly, I found 6 frames and spent about $5 on all of them. I was looking for some square frames and only found 1 large one that held a picture of some apples. The frame was an ugly oak color and was just nasty. I'm sure I pulled out my hand sanitizer 3 times in the store... 2 more times in the car and a full scrub down in the sink when I got home. I quarantined all the frames in a sealed plastic bag in the garage until I was able to give them a good disinfecting. <br />
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Any who, I stopped by the Dollar Store and picked up a few small plastic square frames and 5x7 frames. I really wish I would have taken pictures of before and of me painting them, but again, BB (before blogging). ;( Also, it would have been nice if I had some info about painting on plastic. P-R-I-M-E-R. So after about 15 coats of semi-gloss white paint on all the frames, I laid them out and arranged them on the floor until we decided on a layout we liked. Then it was time for Hubs to start measuring and hanging. He had a scribble sheet with all kinds of calculations. I just let him do his thing and he did an amazing job!<br />
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We added our beach photos and voila!! <br />
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After the frames went up, it just looked a bit lacking. My mom got me a gift certificate from Uppercase Living way back when and I purchased a vinyl saying to put in my hallway, but I never got around to it. Good thing because it was just what my gallery needed! They saying reads, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away."<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M__IlYYK1YA/TcN7cPlrpvI/AAAAAAAAAHk/qwYfROaN_2s/s1600/Beach_WallPhotos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M__IlYYK1YA/TcN7cPlrpvI/AAAAAAAAAHk/qwYfROaN_2s/s320/Beach_WallPhotos.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.songbirdisnesting.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss66/Songbirdisnesting/Blog%20items/Buttoncopy.png" /></a>Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-76317389625100188052011-04-29T23:25:00.001-04:002013-04-01T00:24:51.292-04:00Wash Your Worries Away SignI was flipping though the online Uppercase Living catalog and just loved this one:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ELUO4O37G4U/TbtvuWK81BI/AAAAAAAAAF0/Ff2uItoYfKI/s1600/wash+worries+away+vinyl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ELUO4O37G4U/TbtvuWK81BI/AAAAAAAAAF0/Ff2uItoYfKI/s1600/wash+worries+away+vinyl.jpg" /></a></div>
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I thought it would look great in my new laundry room, well, if it ever gets done! I didn't really want to spend more money since I'd just purchased a new washer and dryer, cabinets, counter tops, etc. <br />
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Hubs has been bugging me about getting rid of these ottomans that went with our Adirondack chairs because they weren't all that sturdy and we never really felt the need to put our legs up while rocking in the chairs. We would always just set them aside and they just kept cluttering up our front porch.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s_TOt5Arbbo/TbtwQ1ZOhHI/AAAAAAAAAGA/EJIz4dDT_NQ/s1600/IMG_7702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s_TOt5Arbbo/TbtwQ1ZOhHI/AAAAAAAAAGA/EJIz4dDT_NQ/s320/IMG_7702.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I decided I was going to paint a sign instead of ordering the vinyl letters. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DSRzlXxaGCs/TbtwKgWr-ZI/AAAAAAAAAF8/iKOZn-7ONmU/s1600/IMG_7672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DSRzlXxaGCs/TbtwKgWr-ZI/AAAAAAAAAF8/iKOZn-7ONmU/s320/IMG_7672.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I unscrewed 4 wood slats from my Adirondack ottoman for the sign, then cut 1 piece in half to size to secure the sign to on the back. I mixed acrylic paints in Bonnie Blue, Forest Green and White and painted the sign, then let it dry overnight.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KHBHFVCJc-8/TbtwVCKbdxI/AAAAAAAAAGE/do2EuQjdKIo/s1600/IMG_7699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KHBHFVCJc-8/TbtwVCKbdxI/AAAAAAAAAGE/do2EuQjdKIo/s320/IMG_7699.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I used Microsoft Word to search for fonts that were close to the Uppercase Living ones. Rage Halic and Andalus were similar. I typed <b>wash your</b> in Rage Halic (size 280) and <b>WORRIES AWAY</b> in Andalus (size 150), then printed them out. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jHQGz3m0kyw/TbtvweeXCXI/AAAAAAAAAF4/nsA882vm2rc/s1600/wash+worries+away+word.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jHQGz3m0kyw/TbtvweeXCXI/AAAAAAAAAF4/nsA882vm2rc/s320/wash+worries+away+word.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was looking for carbon paper to trace the letters onto my sign, but couldn't find any. I ended up cutting the words out and taping the paper to my sign.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I4rVF27ZiH8/Tbt94N0HGBI/AAAAAAAAAGM/EW29z7BY7-Y/s1600/IMG_7784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I4rVF27ZiH8/Tbt94N0HGBI/AAAAAAAAAGM/EW29z7BY7-Y/s320/IMG_7784.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Using my stylus tool, I then traced out the letters, pressing firmly as I went. The wood was sort of "soft", so I was able to imprint the letters onto the wood.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNZngdifQQk/Tbt98ydZmaI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/jHURITVCB-k/s1600/IMG_7785.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNZngdifQQk/Tbt98ydZmaI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/jHURITVCB-k/s320/IMG_7785.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then I just took white paint and a small paintbrush to fill in the letters.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mC3uChR2TY0/Tbt-BsKV2iI/AAAAAAAAAGU/pv_WDqmesdY/s1600/IMG_7787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mC3uChR2TY0/Tbt-BsKV2iI/AAAAAAAAAGU/pv_WDqmesdY/s320/IMG_7787.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I think I'll keep it here for now until my laundry room is complete. <br />
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<br />Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-70308130560648996302011-04-17T15:24:00.004-04:002013-04-01T00:23:39.952-04:00Happy Easter Egg Decoration Inspired by Pottery BarnI just love the Happy Easter eggs hung from cherry blossom branches that I found while browsing on the Pottery Barn website. Everything in the image is sold out so I set out to make my own.<br />
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I found this Antique Mall while I was out and about last weekend and came across this bird wire basket with really cool eggs that already had hooks and fishing line tied to them for $8.00. I thought it was a bit much, but they already had hooks and string. Some eggs were mismatched and didn't have the hooks on them so I made sure to count the good ones and had enough to spell out Happy Easter. I really could have done without the bird wire thingie, but maybe I can spray paint it or figure out something cute to do with it. Any ideas?? <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M7zRkjNjXWI/TaiEH4papKI/AAAAAAAAADY/_QIA-nfFeVA/s1600/IMG_7521_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M7zRkjNjXWI/TaiEH4papKI/AAAAAAAAADY/_QIA-nfFeVA/s320/IMG_7521_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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When I got it home and took the eggs out, I really didn't like the look of the fishing line so I cut them off and used my Stampin' Up! silver cord. After that was complete, I started going through my scrap booking supplies looking for alphabet stickers but I didn't find any I liked. I really didn't want to spend anymore money on the eggs since I still had to buy the cherry blossom branches. I decided to use a black permanent marker and freehand the letters on. I looked for fonts on Microsoft Word and liked the look of Viner Hand ITC. I spelled it out and blew up the font so that I could see it, then used that to freehand the letters on.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2-TKwBUogZ8/TayEhWsR2aI/AAAAAAAAADo/kHSR0bILDEM/s1600/HAPPY+EASTER+FONT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2-TKwBUogZ8/TayEhWsR2aI/AAAAAAAAADo/kHSR0bILDEM/s320/HAPPY+EASTER+FONT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I tried to get it as close as possible, and I think I accomplished it. Close, not perfect, but it will do!<br />
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I printed out a 40% off AC Moore coupon with the hopes of finding some cherry blossom branches. They had them, but they were $4.99 each. I only picked up one because I knew I could print out a few more coupons and save myself some more money. I printed out 2 more coupons and went back the next day with Hubs so that we could each use a coupon. We walked up there with the girls to save even more money in gas! Good thing we are only 2 blocks away. Or maybe it's not a good thing. I frequent that place a little too often.<br />
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I found a tall white vase I had hiding under my sink and stuck the branches in it after putting my eggs on the branches. It kind of flapped around so I had to stuff plastic bags down in it to hold it in place. I filled the top portion of the vase with left over Easter grass from last year to hide the plastic bags. Here is the finished product.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FrdwSpDVIE4/TaiYo_WWh2I/AAAAAAAAADk/zX94Od4xq9Q/s1600/Happy+Easter+vase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FrdwSpDVIE4/TaiYo_WWh2I/AAAAAAAAADk/zX94Od4xq9Q/s320/Happy+Easter+vase.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
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What do you think?? Now I just need to find some bunny statues to go under it...</div>
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Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-51069856499997714032011-04-15T13:36:00.075-04:002011-04-27T15:07:33.503-04:00Inspired Art by Pier 1I recently remodeled our billiard room and needed a large canvas painting to fill a wall. I found the most beautiful canvas painting at Pier 1 with an impressive price tag ($350)! So, I went to Michaels with a 50% coupon, bought a canvas for $20 and raided my mom's acrylic paint cabinets. Here is the one from Pier 1:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QfW7DRAK3Mo/Tab0zXVkJTI/AAAAAAAAADE/sOnYPEMS99g/s1600/Pier%2B1%2BSea%2BGlass%2BWall%2BArt.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QfW7DRAK3Mo/Tab0zXVkJTI/AAAAAAAAADE/sOnYPEMS99g/s320/Pier%2B1%2BSea%2BGlass%2BWall%2BArt.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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And here is mine:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nMZiKNsXG24/TaiAz1hmQvI/AAAAAAAAADM/D8p5JL83pDY/s1600/Beach_Abstract_Photo_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nMZiKNsXG24/TaiAz1hmQvI/AAAAAAAAADM/D8p5JL83pDY/s320/Beach_Abstract_Photo_resize.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I didn't take any pictures while I was painting this since it was BB (before blogging). ;) I re-created a similar picture on a piece of scrap paper to illustrate how I did this. <br />
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You will need:<br />
Canvas<br />
Paint <br />
Fan brush<br />
Flat brush<br />
Round brush<br />
Sea sponge<br />
Paper plates<br />
Scrap paper<br />
Painter's tape<br />
Measuring tape<br />
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I measured and taped a rectangle in the center of my canvas. I also used the tape to create a few horizontal lines inside the painting as a guide. In my re-creation, I only used one horizontal line inside the painting.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8hy-0680f-M/TbYsmgf6HLI/AAAAAAAAAEY/SpvFJiQJhZU/s1600/IMG_7677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8hy-0680f-M/TbYsmgf6HLI/AAAAAAAAAEY/SpvFJiQJhZU/s320/IMG_7677.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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On a paper plate, I squeezed out the colors I needed and left enough space in between to mix colors right on my "pallet" with the sponge. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WACQysT_R8w/TbYwElwk2rI/AAAAAAAAAEg/-A1OOdeVCw8/s1600/IMG_7683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WACQysT_R8w/TbYwElwk2rI/AAAAAAAAAEg/-A1OOdeVCw8/s320/IMG_7683.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I always practice on a sheet of scrap paper to make sure there are no funky sponge marks. If your sponge is making a funky mark, turn the sponge until you get good dab marks. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XvKTc5ZhKwo/TbYwBOlQ2bI/AAAAAAAAAEc/FwMsW81PTZs/s1600/IMG_7693.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XvKTc5ZhKwo/TbYwBOlQ2bI/AAAAAAAAAEc/FwMsW81PTZs/s320/IMG_7693.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I started on the bottom by drawing a wave with my sponge by dragging it across the canvas as a guide. Then, I started dabbing paint on until the entire abstract wave was covered. Here is a picture of the 2nd abstract wave drawn with the sponge before I dabbed paint in to fill it.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gdSPCeAZRVs/TbYwMoHS2BI/AAAAAAAAAEo/QPLnM_T6ZjE/s1600/IMG_7682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gdSPCeAZRVs/TbYwMoHS2BI/AAAAAAAAAEo/QPLnM_T6ZjE/s320/IMG_7682.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The white layer was done by loading the sponge with white paint and dragging it across the canvas in a wave pattern. <br />
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I loaded some blue and white paint on my flat brush without blending it too well and just brushed it across the top of the rectangle to make the sky. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aemk0JAupsA/TbYwTc-MsaI/AAAAAAAAAEw/pRxvu7saeJc/s1600/IMG_7685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aemk0JAupsA/TbYwTc-MsaI/AAAAAAAAAEw/pRxvu7saeJc/s320/IMG_7685.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I allowed the paint to dry, then I removed the horizontal tape and placed it at the bottom of where the sky would be. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zso_F7wZltw/TbYwY-jI3bI/AAAAAAAAAE0/0wRslpcwl-w/s1600/IMG_7686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zso_F7wZltw/TbYwY-jI3bI/AAAAAAAAAE0/0wRslpcwl-w/s320/IMG_7686.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Repeat the previous step again to finish the sky.<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xcpbEE8R8cw/TbYwe2fZMFI/AAAAAAAAAE4/DUjZsz1u-f4/s1600/IMG_7688.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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I removed all the tape after the paint was dry to the touch. </div>
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I used painter's tape to get make the stems of my sea oats. I tore a few pieces down the center, then placed them on the canvas to create a stem. This is time consuming because you have to work at getting the painter's tape to "bend". I could have just free handed them, but I just felt more comfortable taping it. I used brown paint to fill in the stem. Be sure the painter's tape is firmly pressed down or your paint will bleed through.<br />
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I practiced making the sea oats on a scrap piece of paper until I felt comfortable using my fan brush. <br />
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I removed the tape, then added the fuzzy oats.<br />
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I used brown paint to create the oats, then reloaded my brush with some white paint to add some depth to them. I used the same technique to create the other 3 oats.<br />
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Along the edges of the canvas, I used my sponge and brown paint to get that "aged" look. I also dabbed a little brown paint in the white section and blended it so it was not so stark white.<br />
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Here are some more pictures of my painting:</div>
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I am really happy at how it turned out and even happier that I only spent $22 for the canvas and the hardware to hang it!<br />
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<br /></div>Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-66558083766011182992011-04-11T21:41:00.040-04:002013-04-01T00:20:27.343-04:00Bargain hunting weekendSo after reading through tons of blogs, I was totally inspired to get out and find some junk to transform! I decided I was going to run out for about an hour riding around my neighborhood to see what I could find. I went to 3 yard sales and got some really good loot! At my first stop, I found a brand new oil warmer kit. I have totally been in to burning oils lately. $3<br />
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Next, a set of 3 triangle shaped bottles on a wood platter. Not sure what I'll do with these, but for $3, I couldn't resist. I may be able to squeeze some small shells in there or use them in my pantry. What would you use them for?? <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kJUvZ-ZlDDM/TaSPCce457I/AAAAAAAAABs/HnaisZlf39Y/s1600/IMG_7529_resize.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594753909269260210" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kJUvZ-ZlDDM/TaSPCce457I/AAAAAAAAABs/HnaisZlf39Y/s320/IMG_7529_resize.JPG" style="cursor: hand; height: 320px; width: 240px;" /></a> <br />
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My last purchase at this one was this totally cool scale of justice for $5. It looked like something that might look good on top of my baker's rack. I don't know, too big??? I was thinking of painting it antique white and distressing it. Or should I leave it black and put it somewhere else in the house..... Suggestions????<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bcl9TNSFMZA/TaSP-RTxKyI/AAAAAAAAAB0/1iO6FyaCsbE/s1600/IMG_7524.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594754937061976866" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bcl9TNSFMZA/TaSP-RTxKyI/AAAAAAAAAB0/1iO6FyaCsbE/s320/IMG_7524.JPG" style="cursor: hand; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IpgWu2KlzLw/TaSQhPcnTvI/AAAAAAAAAB8/fubnKyshgg8/s1600/IMG_7525%2B-%2BCopy_resize.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594755537857629938" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IpgWu2KlzLw/TaSQhPcnTvI/AAAAAAAAAB8/fubnKyshgg8/s320/IMG_7525%2B-%2BCopy_resize.JPG" style="cursor: hand; height: 320px; width: 240px;" /></a> <br />
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The 2nd yard sale was a bust but the 3rd, a jackpot! They had a bunch of new items, still in boxes. So I picked up 2 new saxophones for my girls' Easter baskets, a desk organizer and a wire holder thingamajig with 6 storage bottles in it. Everything was marked $5, but I asked if she would give me a discount for buying multiple items and she said, okay, how about all of it for .................... $10! It was really hard for me not to break out my happy dance, but I properly constrained myself. So, I wasn't looking for any of these items, but hey, I would have lost money not buying them! Ya know what I'm sayin'?? <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eIZCW4ZVFXE/TaSRqwTjo5I/AAAAAAAAACM/Xd2uDNPj4T8/s1600/IMG_7541_resize.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594756800808461202" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eIZCW4ZVFXE/TaSRqwTjo5I/AAAAAAAAACM/Xd2uDNPj4T8/s320/IMG_7541_resize.JPG" style="cursor: hand; height: 320px; width: 240px;" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OqQqZi_6XkA/TaSRr2bEW7I/AAAAAAAAACc/aETL95jretI/s1600/IMG_7533_resize.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594756819630447538" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OqQqZi_6XkA/TaSRr2bEW7I/AAAAAAAAACc/aETL95jretI/s320/IMG_7533_resize.JPG" style="cursor: hand; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d4HXX9WKfZw/TaSRrV64mLI/AAAAAAAAACU/364uUQ1NoQg/s1600/IMG_7531_resize.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594756810905524402" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d4HXX9WKfZw/TaSRrV64mLI/AAAAAAAAACU/364uUQ1NoQg/s320/IMG_7531_resize.JPG" style="cursor: hand; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a> <br />
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We went over to spend some time at the In Law's since it was my FIL's birthday weekend. We hadn't gotten him a gift yet so I graciously offered to go to the Outlet Mall and get him a nice polo shirt from IZOD. Great excuse to hit up a few stores while I was already there! Hubs told me to leave no later than 4:30 so I could get back in time for the birthday dinner out. That gave me only about an hour and a half so I booked it. Went to IZOD, found a nice shirt for my FIL and also a nice pink polo for Hubs. Then I made mad dash to White House Black Market. I picked up 2 really cute jackets for $39 each (pictures to come later). A bargain for that store! ;) I stopped into a few other places but didn't find anything so I hopped in the car and headed back. It was like 4:10 and I was ahead of schedule! So I'm cruising down the road and something catches my eye... Antique Mall. Hmmmmm. I've read about those places in other blogs. I just had to stop in for a quickie minute to see what all the hype was about. After all, I was ahead of schedule. I walked in the front door and knew I was in trouble. I couldn't see the end of the store. There were isles and isles of glass displays and so many booths. They were all jam packed with stuff. Cool stuff. I found a little vintage hand mixer for $2.95! All the other ones I looked at were anywhere from $15 to $25, so I figured $2.95 had to be bargain. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nyV-kgPzLII/TaSdLxcQucI/AAAAAAAAACk/7AasgLxXNmo/s1600/IMG_7534_resize.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594769462676994498" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nyV-kgPzLII/TaSdLxcQucI/AAAAAAAAACk/7AasgLxXNmo/s320/IMG_7534_resize.JPG" style="cursor: hand; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a> <br />
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I also came across a bird wire basket filled with eggs that had fishing line attached to them so you could hang them up. I was looking for something like that because of a Pottery Barn picture someone posted with some eggs that spelled out Happy Easter hanging from some cherry blossom branches. It was $8. A bit more than I wanted to spend, but the hooks were already in the eggs and I wasn't sure I would be able to find them elsewhere. Perhaps I could pretty up the bird basket too. Birds really aren't my thing, but hey, I didn't think antique was either until I saw what people have done with them. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XPRXF2z4wGM/TaSdMG9ffLI/AAAAAAAAACs/td4TJbHOVyM/s1600/IMG_7521_resize.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594769468453518514" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XPRXF2z4wGM/TaSdMG9ffLI/AAAAAAAAACs/td4TJbHOVyM/s320/IMG_7521_resize.JPG" style="cursor: hand; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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Ring, ring. I glanced at the time just before answering.... 5:15. How did that happen???? Uh oh. <br />
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"Are you on your way back?" asks Hubs. <br />
"Oh, yes, I stopped by an antique mall, but I am heading to the checkout line now".<br />
"Okay, well we're meeting everyone at 5:30 so I'll see you soon."<br />
"Okay, I'll pick you up shortly." I said. <br />
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There is NO WAY I am making it back by 5:30. I was still about 20 minutes away and I can't find my way back to the front door. Ugh. So I finally get to the front of the store and I see people sitting down on a bench. I asked if there was a line and some lady told me to take a number. WHAT??? <br />
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"But I only need to checkout." I say in a state of panic.<br />
"Yes, ma'am, take a number." <br />
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There were 2 numbers ahead of mine. Okay, well, since I have a few minutes, I wandered down a row that was close to the checkout counter. May as well make the most of my time. I'm about half way down the row when my number is called. I had to shout "I'm coming" because apparently he didn't see me waving my hands frantically as he called my number a second time. 20 minutes from the time Hubs called, I booked it to my car and headed out. Long story short, Hubs called a few additional times and finally decided to dig car seats out of the In Laws' garage and put them in FIL's car (I had the only vehicle with 2 car seats for the girls) because the rest of the family was already waiting at the restaurant. In my mad rush to get back, I took the wrong exit... twice. ;( I was banned from going to the Outlets without Hubs. Whew, at least he didn't mention being banned from the Antique Mall. Muahahhaah!Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133778025254594420.post-15825676764875914802011-04-10T20:48:00.008-04:002011-04-29T23:36:46.538-04:00Hello World!I cannot believe I just discovered this world of bloggers out there who share all their wonderful decorating tips without spending a fortune. A few weeks ago, I was looking for additional seating options for my billiard room and I was going through Craigslist looking at chairs because the rocker/glider I wanted in a store in the Outer Banks was a whopping $699! Oh, but hey, they would deliver for free. Hmmm. Okay, so I was on a mission to find one comparable to the one I saw, but all I found was a bunch of sad looking chairs. I thought, hey, maybe I could make a slipcover for an old worn out chair and make it fabulous! My mother-in-law recently taught me how to sew and I figured I could have her help me out. So I googled making slipcovers and happened upon <a href="http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/">Miss Mustard Seed's</a> blog. O.M.G. After spending a few (I use this term lightly) hours clicking around her site and blog hopping, I was hooked. How did I not know about this?? All this time, I thought I was the thriftiest little shopaholic.... boy was I wrong. I have always been able to find a good bargain, but man, I sure have a lot to learn! I thought I would give this whole blogging thing a whirl. Hopefully I can share some of my ideas and steal some of yours!Mae Lihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13085228636094521017noreply@blogger.com0