I did something!

I know, right?!  My project list is still growing all the time, and lately I've knocked out some big yard landscaping stuff (and by "I," I mean my family), but I'm waiting for that to be ready for some dramatic after pictures before I blog about it.
Anyway, I was inspired Saturday by the awesome weather to get out and get one of my little projects done that I thought of a long time ago.  It also helped seeing all those painted rugs out there in blogland.  My front door mat before:

 Yeah, I just got the cheapest one there was when I bought them 3 years ago.
But now:

 It's much better.  I was going to do a multi-layer stencil, with leafy branch stencils in the background, but I thought I better keep it simple to make sure it would even work.  I used my Silhouette to make a vinyl stencil and just used spray paint.  I was worried that I would get lots of seepage around the edges because of the texture of the rug, but it turned out ok.  It probably helped that I stepped on the stencil once it was positioned, to really seal the vinyl to the rug.  I'll have to see how it holds up, but even if it doesn't last the summer, it's not like I'm out anything.

Here it is in position.  I like it.  You'll have to imagine some bright flowers in the planter and some sweet potato vine coming down on the other side, where I have another planter you can't see in the photo.  Looking at this picture makes me want to go paint my other outdoor mat right now, but alas, it is raining like crazy.

Open kitchen shelving

I have a dilemma.  Here's the setup:  I love white kitchen cabinets, but mine aren't.  I would have no problem sanding them down and painting them up if they were crappy old ugly cabinets, but they're not.  They're solid oak.  And not that old.  See?

Definitely dated, though.  For my temporary, non-committal solution, I took the cupboard doors off to see what it would look like.

It was just to give me an idea of how much more open the kitchen would be if there was less oak.  I kind of like the open shelving, though.  If I do put doors back on, they'll be ones with glass panes.


So besides my painting/not painting dilemma, I have a question.  Is it weird to just have this one section of cupboards with no doors?  Should I remove more doors?

A great PB knockoff

Almost a year ago, Sir Johnson and I went to IKEA to purchase this lovely thing:

We were desperate for more clothing storage and this one (plus its tallboy cousin) made it happen.  I loved the farmhouse style and the color (it's really not just straight up black like it appears in the picture) and the price was just right (we got it in the as-is for $250, it's normally $300), and it's solid wood.


Given all that, I was pretty happy when I cracked open my spring PB catalog and saw this:

 It was even the same color as the IKEA one in the catalog.  So, the happiness came when I realized I had inadvertently gotten myself an excellent knockoff for 1/5 (one fifth!) of the price.  Few things give me the happiness and satisfaction of an excellent bargain/deal/sale.

Another oldie but goodie

First, some good news- I  feel better sometimes!  I may, in the near future, do actual crafty things again.


The post title is referring to my St. Patrick's day from last year.  Maybe I posted about it then, but I don't remember.  And I'm so lazy I'm not going to check.

Anyway, I seriously love it.  It's so tacky.  I figure St. Patrick's day is a good holiday for gaudy kitschy awesomeness. 



Coming up: organizing the basement.  Oh man, it's such a mess.

Ta-Da!

So, my big project?



GESTATING!


This is only my second pregnancy, but looks like I'm not going to be much luckier with this one than I was with the first- I get hit HARD with morning sickness.

So that's why nothing much has been happening here.  I haven't been down to my sewing machine in the basement for about 2 months now.  I have done a few things with my brand new lovely Silhouette, but nothing too big.

Hello, new followers!  I was so surprised the other day when I saw that I had made some new friends.  I thought pretty much everybody would have abandoned me by now. 

So for Valentine's I did one of the most awesome/worst things ever for decorating.  My husband even commented on how much he liked it, and he never notices anything home decor related (which I'm totally cool with, by the way).

Yeah, I decorated with candy.  You can already see how it's not awesome- that hurricane on the far left had been full of peanut butter M&M's.  Like the day before.  And in this picture they're almost gone.  Nice.

I did stuff with my Silhouette, too.  My favorite was this:

Just vinyl and paper.  Heck yes.

And because the awesomeness of this picture makes me laugh and because I actually do have big project plans coming up in the spring, when I might actually feel better.

These are my Paint skillz.  We'll also be putting in a lawn (thank heavens, I can't wait to let my little bug play outside).  As you can see, I have big yard plans that I'll probably be posting pretty often about on here.  TONS of diy opportunities, that's for sure.  If you have any tips for balancing a big yard with a little house that's situated in one corner of that big yard, feel free to let me know.  Because really.

Also, please note the tree that I erased by using blue and white squiggly lines.  It's my husband's favorite part.


Well, until next time.  Maybe by then I'll have done something.  Maybe.