im not washing any more glasses.

now i don't mean that im never washing another glass, like ever.  but im not washing 13 glasses for only the 5 of us who live here.  this is how im going to solve the problem.  while browsing pinterest this morning i found this.

brilliant.  not my idea.  but brilliant.  so i scrounged around my house to see what i had that i could make something like this but more my style.  hers is nice but a little too nice for me.  and i wanted to use what i already have here.  spend no money.  so this is what i came up with.

i collect old cutting boards.  don't ask me why.  i just like the way they look.  but sometimes im nervous to actually use them for food.  ya know.  so i have this old one that i really like.  i found some glass knobs to use as feet.  then i found some scrapbook paper that i used in place of where she has coasters. 

see the old cutting board.  then i gorilla glued the knobs to the bottom.

 then i cut squares the size i liked out of paper.  no measuring, just eye balled it.  glued them down with my glue stick and put a layer of modge podge on top to make it water proof. 

i found this name plate thingy and tacked it on with a scrap of paper behind.  this making a cute label and just kind of finishing it off.  not necessary but cute. 

so here it is all finished.  Baby's cup sits out on the counter all the time.  he uses it off and on all day.  so now it at least looks like i meant for it to be there and less messy.  my boys are old enough to remember which patterned square they put their cup on.  but you could also do letters or numbers or names.  make this yours.  its fun to see a "pin" come to life.  give it a try!

we now have a pillar.

pillars.  can't say that i have ever thought about them.  im not much into architecture.  it's fine.  i can take it or leave it.  our house was built in 1969.  it was super plain.  being the young couple we were when we bought it we just wanted a decent place to live.  we have done our share of sprucing up.  tore out carpet, put in hard wood floors.  took out cabinetry and put in open shelving.  built a privacy fence for the backyard and a picket fence for the front.  but the bones of the house have stayed the same.

bring in friendly and talented woodworker neighbor/friend Tim.  his wife had wanted 2 pillars she thought.  after he built them she decided she only wanted one.  so they asked us if we wanted a pillar.  hmm. i guess im not sure.  but i am always willing to save good projects from the burn pile.  so i went over and had a look at hers and decided that maybe we also could use a pillar.  hers has a lot of molding on it.  ours is more simple.  more our style.  their decor is a little more refined than ours.  one free pillar, free trim and leftover paint and i now have myself a bit of architecture.  go figure.

this is the view from the living room.

this is the view from the kitchen.

this is the view from the hallway.

note i did not pick up

one thing before taking

this picture.

there are cleats in the floor.

toys all over.

real life people.

this is the view coming in the front door.

i actually quite like it.  especially for something i never thought of before.  WorkinMan really likes it so that makes me happy.  so never be afraid to think outside your box a little bit.  for me bright colors are the norm for you pillars might be.  you can blend styles very easily if you make the item your own.  

little mama.

$3 mud room redo.

yes, you read that correctly.  $3.  that is all i spent on this redo.  i re-used everything i already had.  yep, i'm green like that.  oh yeah, and on a tight budget.  like no budget.  i will not even show you what this little room looked like this morning.  you might not want to be my friend, it was that bad.  picture this: shoes(many), muddy baseball stuff, tupperware(no idea), dirt, lots and lots of dirt, dog dishes,dog food container, random jackets and mittens.  everything ends up in this tiny dump all space.  this is our main entry as a family.  all guests use the front door with the nice entry so we can fool you that we are clean and organized. :)  but our family got the crap spot.  this mudroom is in our basement so to me it always feels icky and dark.  i needed to brighten it up and make it happy, like the rest of our home.  ready?......

this is as "before" as i am willing to show.  i am all about keeping in real, but honestly.  the room has workable tile, oak trim-not my favorite but fine, and builder beige walls.  which to me just look like dirty white.  yuck. it did have a weird corner bench built in all the way to the left.  a few whacks of my hammer later and it is history.  oh yeah, WorkinMan is also out of town!  hi sweetie!   and there is Baby in his mismatched socks, that yes indeed, he did wear to school, helping me paint. 

shazam!  isn't it amazing what a little paint will do!  i went to my local hardware store and got a can of "oops" paint.  $3 a quart at my place.  it is a robins egg blue color.  horrible photos in this dark basement with a cloudy rainy day outside but you get the idea.  like i said, everything i already had.  the bench was a crib at one point.  someone fashioned it into a bench and it has sat in my shed for years with not the right spot for it.  now it has a home.  the rug is from ikea, few years ago.  the mirror is made with old red barn wood.  mama gave it to me years ago, and it has hung here but not looked so cute. 

the bookcase was mine.  gave it to mama.  she used it for awhile and now i have it back.  she didn't need it anymore and i never pass up a bookshelf.  i use them everywhere!  this one holds everyday shoes.  and in the bins are hats and mittens.  it seems like we need them year round here, so ours just stay out.  on top are some of my favorite accessories that have been stashed away with no great place to display them.  now they also have a home. 

this is one of my favorite old signs.  now i see it everyday.  under it are simple white hooks for jackets.  hard to see.  and that door leads to the garage. 

so there you have it.  i just wanted to show you that with a couple hours, less than $5, and some workable stuff, you can make a cute and functional space for your family.  hope you all have a lovely day!

little mama.

peeps and updated coffee table pictures.

hello all.  wanted to show you a little banner i made yesterday.  can't remember where i saw a picture of it, if you know, let me know and i will link to them.  just know this was not my idea.  i went the simple route.  using glue and string.  the one i saw was sewn and had fancy ribbon.  i just wanted simple and easy.  modify this craft to your liking.  on with the pictures....

It's a Peeps banner ya'll!  love.  i made mine pink.  made a yellow one for my mama.  it's just felt, a simple bunny shape, yarn and sharpie for eyes and nose.  super easy.  i did 5 bunnies, because i have a doll house size mantel.  you could do more.  the bunnies are double sided so it can hang in a window.  easy peasy.



mine is far from perfect.  perfection is not what i am striving for.  cute and fast is.  so it is lovely for us.  like i said you could sew around each bunny, use cute ribbon.  whatev.  use what you already have at home. 

you might remember a while back i sanded down my coffee table.  when doing so i revealed many colors underneath.  nice.  but one of those colors, the main color was forest green.  i really am not fond of forest green.  we don't play well together.   i kept it that way for a bit, like 2 weeks, to see if it would grow on me.  it did not.  so i decided on the first nice day here in minnesota i would strip it.  here is a reminder of what the before looked like....

and here she is all stripped down...

the wood was previously stained a dark color almost black.  so i stripped it down to where the black and the oak show through.  beautiful.  i love how simple it looks now.  too busy before.  the child size windsor chairs also got an update with white spray paint.

so there ya have it.  if you don't like it the first time, try again.  it's only your time.  hope you have a great day.  the sun is shining here so that is a bonus! 

little mama.

details.

are you a detail person or a bigger picture type?  myself, i am a details person.  i think about accessories first before the outfit.  accessories in a room before the furniture.  i notice hands, sparkle in eyes, the shape of lips, and dewiness in skin before i notice the shape of a persons body.  details.  i want to know all the details of my mama's chemo.  where she will go, how long it will take to administer, what kind of chair will she sit in, all. the. details.  WorkinMan is a bigger picture person.  we balance each other out. 
when i was young my mama had this type box.  at least i think that is what it is called.  she would put all these little items in it.  little houses.  tiny little things she found neat or important.  it's one of the things i really remember in our house growing up.  i love teeny tiny little things.   i have been looking for one and finally found one at an antique store in a near by town.  it was a great price and so he came home with me.  ever notice how men call their things she...weird.  most of my things are he.  is that because i am a girl?  is that because i have boys?  anyway, where was i?......

i took down the map in the kitchen.  it was giving us bad vibes. do you ever have that?  something that you once loved, now doesn't fit?   we had put little tacks on where we had been or where loved ones live.  we had a tack in Amsterdam, where my parents used to live, and where my mom was diagnosed with cancer.  it was a constant reminder that we were once apart.  we don't need that every time we eat dinner.  so down the map came.  it was relocated to the hallway going to the basement.  minus the tacks.  and it brings some much needed color down there.  and the boys can use it for homework since in is right outside their bedroom doors.  win, win.  so the type box is hanging over the kitchen table.  we will slowly fill it with treasures and bits that are important to us.  we have already put in tiny little special things.  my original Yoda from growing up, a lego robot, a clay owl handmade by SportsBoy and other little things we love to look at.  you know, priceless treasures.

that long brown tube holds toothpicks.  it belonged to my dad's best friend Royce.  greatest guy ever.  and there is my glass Shamu the whale from california when i was in kindergarten.  i was obsessed with him. 

so there you have it.  my newest find.  i am really excited to see what little details we kind find to house in here.  super fun!

little mama.

magnet project.

hello there.  how was your weekend?  hopefully better than ours.  Baby was sick all weekend.  coughing, strep and wheezing.  high fevers.  motrin.  antibiotics.  two trips to the dr.  one shot in the hiney.  four days later and the fever has finally broke.  his voice has started to come back.   he is finally starting to act like himself.  thank you Lord that it was not more serious than it was.  on to the fun stuff....

i came up with this simple project years ago(at least i think i did.  if this is your project, please don't bust my little bubble here.  just let me think it is mine.)  and have been using it all around our home.  it takes no skill and is cheap!  yay!  you can use this in any room of your house.  i especially love it in kids rooms.  here i am using it in our living room.

 the first step is to find a window type screen.  i found ours at a salvage yard.  i think it cost $2.  it has chippy white paint and a metal screen.  the second step is to hang it.  i used a nail and a hammer.  i know it's getting complicated.  just hang on. 

then, you find some cute magnets.  now if this is going in your child's room please make sure the magnets cant be small enough to be swallowed.  i'm sure you can take care of your own children but i just need to clear my conscience ok. :)   and that is all.  now you can put up all your favorite little notes or pictures, whatev.  right now Baby is really enjoying just playing with the magnets.

so there ya have it.  quite possibly the easiest project right!   fun.  fun.  thanks for stoppin by.  have a healthy, happy, drama free week!  much love.

little mama.

Life Made Lovely Monday.

Hello there! So happy you stopped in today.  I do hope you had a lovely weekend.  We did.  It was full of nothing. Bliss.  Perfect.  Friday we all watched a movie together.  Saturday we slept in and then went to Target to spend some gift cards.  The boys got pillow pets and OldestBoy got a yo-yo.  They then spent the rest of the weekend talking about how great said items were.  Sunday we went to church.  Then to my parents home, that is temporarily my brothers bachelor pad, and watched the past episodes of Survivor.  Then home for more relaxing and movies.  Rounding out the weekend with me sitting alone in a quiet living room watching the Oscars.  Just lovely.  Speaking of lovely...


Today I am linking up with Heather at http://www.blessedlittlenest.com/ . She is hosting a Life Made Lovely Monday link up party, as she does every Monday.  This is my first time to join! very excited! 
I have talked about Heather's blog in the past.  It is a wonderful spot to feel at home and to get great decorating ideas. And her kiddos are adorable too! So head on over and see Heather and all the other wonderful blogs for Life Made Lovely. 

Thanks!
Little Mama.

cheap shelving.

A few posts back I mentioned that I would show you what I did to a shelf I found at a thrift store.  Start looking at items not for what they are but for what they could be. It all started with a laptop WorkinMan got for me for Christmas. I did have a small desk in the kitchen area with our family computer on it. When he got the laptop we no longer needed the desk in the kitchen. It was just becoming a catch all for junk. Kid junk! So we took out the small desk/table and moved it, along with the computer, downstairs for the boys. We have a cabinet hanging over where the desk used to be so we needed something to go  under it so we wouldn't be tempted to walk under and hit our heads. Plus more storage is always better. I went out looking for a bookshelf. Could not find one but I did find a cheap metal shelf. Probably used for a garage or something. It looked like this....

Here is is with all my scores from the thrift store that day. That jar was $5!  It is huge, and completes my set. All found at different times.  So as you see it is metal and u.g.l.y.  Nothing a little spray paint can't fix...

Rainbow paint! happy, happy happy! Now I realize this shelf will not last forever. That's not what I am going for. As a family of 5, on 1 income with the way our world is right now....I am looking for things that work for now and a little longer. Not family heirlooms here. :) Its funny tho, most of the items that I have bought have lasted us for years! And my family is hard on stuff. I think they just made things better back then.  I know many of you are in the same boat. We want our nests to be lovely, but also want to eat and be able to put gas in our cars. I don't ever want you to think that we have some kind of big budget for decorating. I am rubbing my nickles together hoping for the best too.  Here it is all tricked out in the kitchen...

This is a great spot for all my cookbooks, and the sippy cups and kids bowls. Extra mugs. And the kids vitamins. I also keep my mixer here. So there you have it. Look beyond the ugly and think of what you could do to something with a little paint and some creativity. Thanks for stoppin in!

Little Mama.

winter change ups. (*edited)

 What happens when you have a stay at home mom who loves to decorate and loves change oh yeah and winter is never ending!?  Well, you get spontaneous changes.  Our coffee table has looked like this for years. Pretty much since I bought it out of the back of some nice lady's pickup. It came to me red with an ugly map decoupaged on it, not well I might add. So I tore that off and painted the whole thing white. I also free handed some sayings about boys around the edge. It was cute but it is winter and I needed a change. Here is a picture of what it looked like before. Baby took this picture of his Papa's Christmas present this year. It is the only picture I could find of the coffee table. :)

I had no idea where I was going with this project or what I wanted the end product to be. Very typical. So I started painting with some paints I had. It wasn't turning out like I wanted, whatever that was. I didn't like it. So I broke out the Orbital Sander. If you do projects and you don't have a sander, get one. My favorite is The Mouse, I believe by Black and Decker. It is the best. Inexpensive, small, and does a great job. We used ours so much that we killed it. Need to get another one. So I borrowed my neighbors Orbital Sander. Thanks Tim!  And I proceeded to sand that bad boy within an inch of it's life. Or for about an hour.

Now it looks like this...

It's a little spotty and a little crazy but I think I like it. I love seeing the green. yellow, black, and red someone painted it before me.

Maybe it needs some more sanding. I think maybe there is too much white showing.  Maybe it needs some tinted glaze, like raw umber. Maybe I should leave it alone. Not sure. Opinions?

Little Mama.

*edited to add that I did do more sanding and added a stain glaze on the whole thing. It is very hard to tell in the pictures but it looks so much better. The stain really helped blend the colors and help it look old.