Showing posts with label home decor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home decor. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Taking back the basement!

It's on!  I am in the throes taking back my basement and craft closet from heaps of unorganized stuff that has claimed residence.  In a 1200 square foot house that is home to 6 people (4 of whom are under 7) every inch counts!  There are toys, storage totes, art supplies, homeschool materials, craft supplies, not to mention the mountains of unorganized fabric that has been unceremoniously dumped in to totes in a weak effort at organization, all wreaking havoc in my precious basement square footage.  Well... NO MORE!

I have plans for that precious real estate!  There is a great open area for the kids (unfinished but great in that it exists :) ), a storage area, and a wonderful walk in craft closet.  Again I use the word wonderful loosely.  Wonderful to me because it is there and I see a great future for it!

So while you may think I am lazily eating bon bons avoiding blogging I am in actuality doing battle with my basement!  I have spent hours and hours since Friday attacking the mountains of clutter, folding and refolding yardages of fabric, unboxing and repacking storage items in labeled totes, filling bags of trash, thrift store donations and even food bank boxes of food from the pantry that would be more likely to get used elsewhere.  I have taken some before photos.  Actually, they are photos taken midway through the demucking process that are horrifying and embarrassing.  I DARE NOT POST THEM TILL A BEAUTIFUL "AFTER" PHOTO FOLLOWS!!

However, I thought I would pass on some inspiring photos of basement or craft space make overs that might just help you take the plunge needed to get your overrun space back, and help me in my search for basement greatness!

This amazing basement was designed and created by Candice Olson from HGTV's Divine Design
I have no delusions that my basement will EVER look like this however in case anyone else out there has the money and time necessary to make this happen.. BE INSPIRED!

This beauty is from finehomebuilding.com. BEAUTIFUL!  I love this color and have it as an accent wall surrounding our fireplace upstairs.

I have kids though so I am looking for a basement that is a homeschool room, supremely organized craft closet, play room and crafty space for sewing and creating all in one!  I know that is a tall order, but it could happen!

This beautiful functional homeschool area from The Heartfelt Home (although not a basement) is great inspiration for what I want in a schoolroom area.

Last year for Christmas I talked my husband in to creating this crafty area for the kids on an almost nonexistent budget , but am hoping to add to it and really create a great workable area for homeschooling.

My instructions for how to create this DIY art station are HERE.  I am thinking thought that after looking at the above photo of the homeschool space with cupboards above that I would like to add two simple cupboards above each side and a shelf in between them that can be filled with our overload of books and curriculum.  I could dream up all kinds of things here but I am working with a realistic very very limited budget.  If I want to have any hope of talking the husband into it it has to be limited work and very inexpensive.

Now as far as my crafty sewing area goes I would love something like this... (from Sew Many ways)

or this.. (from one little word)
RP Craftroom 3 small
Reality dictates a slightly smaller and less expensive dream like this sewing armoire from BHG
Love how they utilized the vertical and door space!
I had better call it quits and head to bed since it is almost one in the morning! I need to have the energy to homeschool, be mom to 4 little ones plus the 2 year old we babysit, and find time to get on with the basement project while they nap.  Let me know about your homeschool or craft space make over.  We would love to see your photos!
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at 11:58 PM 2 comments

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

How to PRINT on fabric with your inkjet printer!

This time of year there are a million and one reasons to craft...gifts, decor, etc.. So I wanted to share some fun tutorials on printing on fabric.  There are so many things you can do with this.  You can even print on paper bags using the same guidelines for fun personalized lunch sacks or birthday or other gift bags.  Another fun thing to do is use this to print on a panel that will go into a quilt to add personal info (make sure to heat seal it with an iron for added durability).  You can also print on a fun patterned fabric and frame with your family's initial and a phrase below for some fun personalized decor or as a gift.  The options are endless so here are the tutorials....

This is a great tutorial that totally lays it all out for you.

How to print on fabric using freezer paper backing from limelady


Here is a great use of printing on fabric...

A tutorial for a burlap laundry sign from domestically-speaking


How to print on fabric with card stock, spray adhesive and fabric with your printer

You can also use this knowledge to help you make sew in tags for gifts you make or other items you sew and sell like modern day moms did.

 She also used this skill to print right onto t shirt material!

If using this info for a washable project please heat set with a hot iron to make sure your ink will last as long as possible.  These projects are done with an ink jet printer, as laser printers do not work for these projects.  Happy printing and crafting!! I am planning on using this in some of my holiday gifts this year!  Let me know what you are gonna make!  I would love to hear some new great ideas.
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at 12:28 PM 1 comments

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Cheap and easy DIY Firepit!

We have been working on back yard recently.  We installed sod as it was a small back lawn and it is so late in the season.  To add usability and interest we are adding two 1/3 circles of rock and cement patio into the back two corners of the yard.  In one corner we are placing the table and chairs with umbrella, and on the other we want to create a fire pit surrounded by seating.  So I have been looking online for ideas and I found this fire pit on.... you guessed it PINTEREST.

 Fawn of the blog Always Chasing Life created this beautiful fire pit for under $30!  She said the pavers were cheap at Lowes and since we don't plan on using a bowl (we will be building it onto a rock patio space) I think it sounds very doable pricewise!  The best part?  It is almost instantaneous!

diy firepit for $30
From http://alwayschasinglife.blogspot.com/2011/06/diy-fire-pit.html
Check out her blog for the full how to and let me know what you think!  I will get pictures of our back yard in progress up soon.  Happy day!


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at 7:02 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

What is inspiring me on pinterest?

So..? have you checked out pinterest yet?  Yesterday I explained what it is and how to use it.  Any new ideas?  I saw these built in cubicle style beds there and fell in love with them!  I am guessing they are more for vacation homes etc... However, I can picture them in a big playroom/ bedroom for the kiddos or a gutted RV with a smaller version built in?  Great ideas hu?



Google Image Result for http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OpZouKLcfKc/TOwjCcT_2oI/AAAAA     Google Image Result for http://www.thedesignfile.net/.a/6a0112793ddf7b28a40133f   
Google Image Result for http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-CFbPtg81yc/TStZFltR8pI/AAAAA



Or some other awesome DIY ideas for home projects?
 
 From Design Sponge here is a closet with the doors removed.  I am loving it!
 
 What a great book shelf / wall decor idea by:  elizabeth sullivan designs.

 
 Hair ideas?  Also on pinterest from A beautiful Mess.
 
 And 30 hair styles from Life according to Celia

All of this amazing inspiration came from pinterest.  Email me if you need a free invite.  Hope you get over there and get inspired!

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at 10:48 AM 2 comments

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

DIY- Kids art station

I wanted to show you guys my art station we created in the unfinished basement to give the kids a place to craft.  As you know I have 4 kids, but this was made for the two oldest who are now 4 and 6.  I may have been a little off as to how much autonomy they could handle at that age but it is still really fun.  It isn't perfect as we were working with out any kind of budget it had to be from what we already had with just a little elbow grease.  For an unfinished basement though it sure adds some style and fun.
 Here is what we did.  First my husband built a long narrow table from wood scraps we had laying around and painted it black.  Then we mounted it to the back wall with a cleat.  The next thing I did was to create a nice back drop for the back wall with out paint since we were short on money and time.  I simply used a piece of fabric, rolled the edges under till I had a nice clean line and used upholstery tacks I had lying around to attach it to the wall. 
I then added a shelf on each side under a name plaque I created with precut letters and craft store signs.  On the shelf I put jars of glitter, stamps, paper punches, baby food jars filled with beads and a baby food jar full of glitter pens, as well as few other crafty supplies.  
On the table itself I lined up several tin cans that I washed well and covered with scraps of scrapbook paper.  I used cowboy type patters for my son and I used pink girly papers for my daughters.  Inside each can I put colored pencils, pipe cleaners, cotton balls, glue sticks, and paint brushes.  Originally I had in mind to mount a metal strip under the shelf and use magnets attached with a hot glue gun to the cans to attach them to the metal strip.  I haven't found the right thrifted material for that yet.  The magnets are in place, but we are waiting on the metal strip till I see just the right thing.  The board in the middle just acts as a decorative accent and is a left over scrap of paneling cut to size, spray painted and then covered with 4 squares of scrap paper using spray adhesive.  You could add binder clips hung on small nails to  make it a display for their art work.

My kids are thoroughly enjoying this space only it is not quite as clean as it all was this first day.  Looking at this picture inspires me to get on them to get it all organized just so again.  They love it and I love the time it allows me to work on things while they are entertained, and the creativity it fosters.  Let me know if you make one!

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at 10:29 AM 3 comments

Thursday, June 2, 2011

May in review! Don't miss a post, catch them all here.

I painstakingly put a post together of every post this month with a small preview photo for you...but after all that work I accidentally erased it all!! In comes my Google dashboard reader ( a great way to keep up with all your favorite blogspot blogs) to the rescue! I just copied and pasted this months list of posts.  This is what it looks like when you "follow" this blog.

I know I have been so busy this month so I assumed you have too and wanted to post a list of all this months posts so you wouldn't have to miss out.    Problem solved... Hope you enjoy the posts and if you like this blog consider following (just click on the "follow" button on the left) and "liking" it on the facebook link. ENJOY!






If you want to share this blog and spread the word hit the" like" button on the facebook link on the right or bottom of a post.  It is the ultimate form of flattery!  You can always sign up for email updates as well if you are so inclined just look for the link on the left.  Thanks!  Hope you get a chance to be creative and healthy today!  Let me know your favorites, and don't forget to share them with the "like" button.  Thanks for the support!
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at 1:33 PM 0 comments
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