Empty Nest Craft Room

The Empty Nest Syndrome has been complicated in our nest. The first "bird" flew away in the traditional way and on schedule. But the "baby bird" has taken a much less straight line out of the nest. There has been heartache and confusion...and it hasn't been easy.

When that bird lived here, he chose dark wall colors for his room. He asked me to paint his school mascot on one wall. Then it appeared that he was ready to move on. And so the room emptied out.

It was time for this Momma bird to "move on" too...emotionally.

So, when the time finally felt right, I began the process of turning that room into a craft room/office for myself. And do I have a vision for this space!

Here is a glimpse of the direction I'm going with it.

Stenciled wall - finished! And I'm really happy with it.

Stenciling is an inexpensive and relatively easy way to transform a plain wall. There is some math, time and patience necessary, but otherwise it's pretty simple.

So far my wall art is a collection of tag sale, antique store and TJ Maxx finds. I plan to expand the collection over time.

Stay tuned for more updates.

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French Country Cottage
Common Ground
Living Well Spending Less
Lamberts Lately
Revisionary Life
Life in Velvet
Simple Details

Bathroom Facelift and a Mirror Makeover

My husband likes to tell people that all of the rooms in our house are smaller than they were when we moved in...because I paint so often. He has a point, I suppose.

He gave me a new tub/shower for Christmas.

Odd gift, you say? Well I was pretty excited about it, actually. Our old tub was the original to the house (about 20 years old) and was just grungy. No matter what amount of elbow grease or products I tried, I just couldn't bring back the sparkle. And it was jetted, which in this family meant less "ahhh" and more "gross, there's gunk in those jets". Sorry for the visual, but I can't lie.

Soooooo...the new tub/shower led to a new paint color (what was I thinking with that shade of blue anyway?) and a bathroom facelift. It's still a work in progress, but here is phase one of the project.

I absolutely loved these mirrors when I bought them years ago. But they don't fit the new vision for the room...so with a little creativity they will still work nicely.
Black paint to the rescue! I love a little (or a lot of) black in every room. It's both neutral and dramatic.
So I took a small brush which fit nicely into a groove of the mirror and I didn't have to tape anything off. I wanted to keep the beaded inside edge the silvery color. Just a careful sweep around the frame and voila!

I also found a home for the architectural plaque I created by antique-ing and embellishing a tag sale find. It's like
jewelry for the room, not to mention I applied an old piece of jewelry to it for bling!

Cozy Little House, StoneGable

U*S*A!! U*S*A!!

Who loves the Olympics?

I am proof that a person can have not one single athletic gene and still sit in front of the tv, enthralled, for two weeks straight watching sports.

What is this phenomenon? Is it admiration for people who have talents I could never hope to possess? Is it a dormant sense of patriotism that comes flooding out? Is it the personal stories of athletes who have given their blood, sweat and tears to their sport since they were children? I suppose it's all of these things.

To celebrate the spirit of the games, here are some healthy Olympic Rings snacks that are on the menu at my house this week.

I used blueberries, olives, tomatoes, strawberries, cheese, pineapple, broccoli and cucumbers. You can substitute your favorite items for each ring. Some examples might be:
Blue - purple grapes, blue corn chips
Black - black raspberries, raisins
Red - cherries, red pepper, red raspberries
Yellow - yellow pepper, bananas, tortilla chips
Green - celery, green pepper, sugar snap peas, kiwi

And of course, you could always go the not-so-healthy route with candy, where the options abound.
Have fun, and cheer on our athletes!

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Upcycled Frame and Fun Wall Vases

This post is dedicated to a friend/sorority sister, who encouraged me to begin this cyber-journey and to share this project.
In my house, there isn’t a good place for seasonal décor. The entryway is practically non-existent and there are no built-ins. So I really wanted to create an area where I could change things up for the holidays and seasons. My hearth room seemed to be the best place, because it has a fireplace mantle for decorating, and it opens to the kitchen.
So, the project all began with (not surprisingly) a garage sale find. I scored this 52"x31" frame for $5 and barely got it into the back seat of my car, after quite a wrestling match.

Frame before facelift














Then I painted it the cream that I have used on the fireplace brick and chair rail moulding. I found some awesome wall vases online (Wayfair) and carefully measured and installed them inside the frame. I am loving them for their versatility! Each season, they challenge my creativity to find just the right stems to add.

Here they are wearing their Christmas and winter finery. Stay tuned for a new look if when spring comes around again.

Christmas greenery

Winter style














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