Wednesday, June 30, 2010

One Project Closer ~ A Winning Entry



One Project Closer has started their third annual Before and After contest to benefit and bring awareness for Habitat For Humanity.  Every week they choose a winning entry.  If picked, you receive a gift card for either Lowes, Home Depot, or Amazon.  A hundred dollar donation is also made to Habitat for Humanity! What a great deal.  At the end of the summer, all the entries are posted and the community votes for the best project.  The winner receives an additional $150 gift card!



Olive and Love's Shutter project was fortunate to win last week's contest!  Please check back later this summer for a link to vote!

Check out One Project Closer! Maybe you'll win next!

And FYI....Yes I finally finished attaching all the shutters....well, "I" translates to my father in law, brother in law, husband and "I" finished!  I still need to touch up the screw holes with paint and then I'll take some pictures and post away!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Wedding Picture Display

What I appreciate most about photography is the stories it can tell.  When presented with our wedding photos 9 years ago, we really couldn't pick just one and sure didn't want to plaster the walls with them.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Paint My Chandelier Or Wait For Other Inspiration?

Paint my chandelier or get something new?


Here's a reminder of my dining room with shutter wall and current gigantor chandelier:
Various lighting concepts have crossed my mind for my dining room.  Some require lots of shopping, some are hair ripper outers, and one is just a simple click at Pottery Barn dot com but eats away at my empty pocket book.  You may remember my Moroccan lantern idea or my sisal hanging lamp idea? All fun, but just not in the current cards.


Please excuse my half a** picture....I've been gardening all day and I'm feeling a bit lazy.  My thought now is that perhaps, at least for the interim, I could use what I already have with a chandelier makeover.  The curtain rod in this room is black so I'm considering hauling the chandelier outside and spraying it black.  The shades I am thinking of painting blue with an acrylic and fabric medium mix.  This room has always given me issues for some reason and I'm feeling uninspired as to what lighting may compliment my shutters.  What do you think?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Lamp Rewire and Makeover Complete!

I'm finally finished painting and rewiring my thrift store lamp.  Now I'm addicted to lamps and have since rewired four additional lamps!   ...so easy.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Ice Cube Tray Snacks

I'm always trying to think of new ways to get healthy food into my kids' bellies.  Here is an idea I probably read about in some parenting magazine years ago.  My kids love having snacks or lunch out of ice-cube trays!

Grapes, beans, cheese cubes... raisins, nuts, seeds, ....frozen water... it all works and makes eating fun!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Sunday, June 13, 2010

More Shutters...



The Shutter Wall *que music* dun Dun DUN!!!  And the painting continues...  I stopped by my local Habitat for Humanity Thrift Shop in search of shutters.   I found a few traditional shutters and two long louvered doors.  I plan on using the louvered doors to fill in the space between the larger shutters when nothing else will fit quite right.  I'm tempted to attach everything to the wall in it's spot and THEN paint.  This way I can make sure the colors are just right.


Habitat for Humanity has all sorts of random items.  I found this glass light globe and I think it could work perfect for a hanging votive candle or flower vase like I saw at Anthropologie.

I also picked up a few cabinet doors.  I think these have endless possibilities.  Chalkboards, magnet boards, frame for artwork using a clip or magnets... I could go on and on....and you know I will!

In fact I started painting one already.  Because for some reason I don't feel complete unless I have at least 23 incomplete projects.   doh!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Suburban Farming

My friend Rachel from Suburban Farming, shared with me her reclaimed wood raised vegetable gardens.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Playroom Fabric Choices




Which fabric should I use in my playroom as a table skirt and a shower curtain?

I declared that it was time to bump up our play room from 'room I'd like to avoid' to comfortable living area. Sometimes we refer to it as our romper room. We don't keep toys in the play room, it's more of an area for the kids to run around, wrestle and watch the occasional movie.
Here's a BEFORE shot:
I dismantled the jungle gym and am putting it back outside. The kids don't play on it enough to take up half the room. I brought in an old white kitchen table that has been outside over the winter and actually gained a little character. I'm planning on adding a skirt around the base of the table to create a fun fort. I'd like to add curtains to the window, and a curtain to the shower room in the attached bathroom. My husband is also working on creating a loft in the walk in closet. (I think we're living out our own childhood dreams with this one).
This room can be seen from our family room.   The curtains I choose will need to be solid print as the family room curtains are pretty funky.
I'm thinking a fun aqua blue and perhaps I'll attach tabs at the top with the same fabric I choose for the bathroom shower curtain and table skirt.
The only art I have in this room was made for my room by my mother.  I might update them with a fresh coat of glossy paint on their frames.

Here's the question:

Do I go with a fun gender neutral blue and green tree and bird print?  I love this print and I love blue and green.  I could even hand paint a giant tree on the wall that matches the print.
or......  Perhaps I should have something with more color.  Do you think this floral print is too girly in a house with two boys and one girl?  I could still paint the fun tree from the other print.  (Definitely wouldn't paint flowers all over the walls but that would be cute for all girls wouldn't it?)

Please take the poll and I'd appreciate any comments you have for me.

Kitchen Home Tour

Kitchen
Since forever, I've been tearing out pages of magazines and organizing them in three ring notebooks.  When it came time to go to the design center, I brought it with me for inspiration.  Hardwood floors, black granite counter tops, white cabinets and subway tile.  I'd love for my shiny granite to by honed and if I had it all over to do again I would probably pick green glass subway tiles instead of white.  But hey, talk to me in like three more years and I'd probably have some completely new opinion.



We bought our extra large fridge and trash compactor (on craigslist) after moving in, and re-built our cabinets a bit smaller.  I opted to leave open shelves up top where I store my cook books.  We have a small fish tank on one counter and above the kid table you can see my Flowers In Vase project.  The four stools were bought many years ago from pottery barn on clearance and I would love to get my hands on two more.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

My Baby's Getting Big

They grow up so fast as I'm sure you all know.  Almost two years ago we set the tripod up in our bathroom and took a family photo:

Today I took another one of the little boy that once was the 9lb 4 oz bump in my belly:



Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Courtyard Maintenance - Stucco Patch & Elastomeric Paint




The stucco on our courtyard wall has cracked and flaked due to the snow and ice over the last few winters. 

Sunday, June 6, 2010

I Found My Perfect Curtain Rod!

My three kids and I drove up to South Lake Tahoe on Friday to visit with my Brother's family.  My husband was off at a bachelor party in Austin, Texas for three nights, but no worries, I had plenty of fun at the bachelorette party.  Saturday felt like the first day of summer.  It's been such a cold spring that we all jumped at the idea of a little hike in the sunshine through their property to a creek.  In the back of my mind (I can't start any more projects till I finish my shutter wall), I've been thinking about adding curtains to my bedroom, and love the look of using branches as curtain rods.  One wall, however would need a super long branch and living in the high desert, we don't come across such treasures very easily.  My brother (who envisioned my upside down lamps in my kitchen), carried this beauty from our hike on his property and tied it to my car.  It's part of an aspen tree, gnawed down by a beaver.  

Now I just have to decide on curtains!


My duvet is the Ogee from Pottery Barn.
I'm considering the Aina curtains from Ikea in light green.  Tabbed curtains would work better with the branch so I'd probably have to sew some on using a different fabric.  In fact I've had my eye on these for years but every time I go IKEA (2.5 hour drive) I've forgotten the printed bag my duvet came in so I could test the colors.  At 50 bucks for two they're not expensive but they're not IKEA cheap either.  Next time I WILL REMEMBER.  

What do you think?  I'd love to hear comments!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Salvage Lamp, Rolled Paper Decor, and Flowing Fabric & Lights

Stop talking about your trip to Las Vegas already!  Okay....last time.  With out the distraction of raising three other human beings, it's amazing how much you can observe in one weekend!  I just have a couple more observations from recent time spent at the Anthropologie at The District in Las Vegas.
I love the arms and legs on this leather sofa.  It's a complementary balance of feminine and masculine design elements.  The colorful throw blanket and weaved ottoman coffee table are cheery.  Couldn't you imagine finding a coffee table like this at a thrift store and weaving the top with thrift store found men's ties?


I've been into lamps recently with my thrift store lamp redo and my upside down lamps in my kitchen.  When I saw this lamp I had visions of finding a piece of architectural salvage and drilling into it and installing a lamp kit.
Have you made a lamp before?  What have you used?


Look at this labor intensive paper decoration.  I interviewed the sales clerk to get the scoop.

They took water color paper and rolled it around various objects with varying circumferences and used a staple to hold the shape.  The paper was then dipped into blue water colors and then stapled to 2x4s that were attached securely to the wall.  Cute huh?


I'm wishing I had taken a picture of the fantastic round metal lanterns hanging from the ceiling at Gardunos at The Palms Casino in Las Vegas.  Although they would be too large for any home I've ever been in (okay, maybe Hurst Castle would be okay) they are a great inspiration for some fun lighting.  Assuming I could find pictures online, I didn't get a good shot (or picture.....shots were plentiful all weekend), but if you are ever in the area, be sure to look up.  They're awesome.


This bouncer lady was standing in front of the VIP section at this small lounge where we were dancing at Mandalay Bay.  I stood near her, looking up at this chandelier with flowing fabric.  Whipping out my camera I asked if I could take a picture.  She puffed up her chest feathers and pretty much told me off.  Instead of huffing and rolling my eyes like I wanted, I decided to smile and say nicely, "It's so pretty I thought it would look great hanging over my bed.  What do you think?"  Her whole face changed shape, she relaxed and said, "It is nice isn't it?"  It was interesting how being nice can change someone's whole attitude.  

Short story long, she let me take pictures if I angled the camera up.  And it would look romantic over a bed, wouldn't it?




Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Upside Down Table Lamp Pendants part 2

Continued from Part 1


Memorial Day Baseboard Patching

I hope you had a wonderful three day weekend!  We flew our flag outside and spent our windy Memorial Day touching up those irritating spots in the base board that haunt you when you walk down the hall.  We let the kids ride indoor scooters and cars through the house.  They can get up to a pretty high speed and my 22 month old has even learned to lean into the turns.  Sometimes it's like a race track in our house but they love it.  Our baseboards however aren't big fans.  I believe that in a house with three kids, this is bound to happen, cars or no cars.