Painting Tips

So with our remodel underway I have been really studying what to do and what not to do with paint. Normally I am one that would run out and buy paint and buy a bunch of it at one time. But after doing a little research I found that that is not what I should be doing! Some painting Do's and Don'ts I found were from HGTV and some important things to remember when painting are: The most important is to only but one quart of paint to start, if you buy a bunch of it to finish the whole project and than you don't like it than you are stuck with it......good point!! Take the time to prep your area you are planning on painting, wipe down walls and tape any areas you don't want painted, make sure that you move or cover any furniture.

One of my biggest mess ups when painting, is that when I remove the hardware I usually put it in a bowl, the bowl gets spilled and the pieces get lost. A great tip I learned is to put all hardware in a plastic zip-loc bag. Gather all your supplies and put them in one area before starting, that way you aren't stopping half way through to go find something.

For more great tips on how to paint head over to HGTV and learn more. I love the Behr Process Corporation where you can view a virtual site using the colors you choose. There are so many great colors, how does one choose? 

Remodeling Our Home

We have made the first step to remodeling our house, my husband drew up some plans on what we are going to be doing, the timeline and how long it will take, what bedrooms we are moving, when the house will be lifted off of it's foundation and were we are going to moving some of the rooms.  I have been trying to figure out what colors to paint and what flooring we are looking to go with. Paint is an easy way to change up a look to any room. The people that owned our house before us loved the color green, I repainted most of the rooms that were green, so I am looking to stay away from that color this time again too. 

I would love to do something like this on either side of the mirror. Any thoughts?? Please share.

We like to do a lot of the work ourselves, not only does it save us on money, but it is really nice to be able to work with my husband and spend some time with him. I love to search the web and find different ideas, on Pinterest as well as on the HGTV website. The room I am working on now is our bathroom, {the new one that is} trying to find some new things to update it, since we will be using the same double sink vanity that is in our current bathroom. Storage will be key in our next bathroom, and well the whole remodel of the home, our house in it's current state does not have much storage at all.  I found some great ideas on HGTV website that I have posted below.  Are you doing any remodeling in your house? Do you have any great tips you want to share with me?

Or something built in like this would be nice too!! All photos are from HGTV

Decorating with a Primitive Ladder

I have had a small primitive ladder in my living room for about a year now, I was really using in for hanging blankets on. That was until my four year old would climb up on it and jump off. Fearing it was going to get broken, I had to come up with something new to use it for. After much thought I decided to hang it on the wall and add our families photos to it. See photo below.

I hung it on my wall horizontally and started arranging my pictures I wanted on there. Pictures of my family, my kids playing there sports and even a picture of my uncle Paul, who is our family HERO. He is in the United States Army and has been deployed to Afghanistan for the past 12 months. We just learned that he and his unit has arrived safely back on US soil! We are very supportive of him and his family, he leaves behind my aunt who is the ROCK of the family while her husband is gone, and five children.

I like the way this ladder looks so I have been on the hunt to find more great ladders like this one. Now that Spring is under way, garage sale season is just around the corner. I am hoping to score some great deals at the garage sales this year. I did happen to find a ladder on Etsy that would work great if anyone is interested in decorating with a little primitive ladder.

Canvas Utility Basket

With three kids, a cat, a dog and a husband in the house there is bound to be some toys of some sort laying around. I like to try to find baskets that will match my decor, this usually does not include bright colored kid bins! I found this Canvas Utility Basket that will be perfect for toys, books, magazines or even blankets. The canvas utility basket comes in two different sizes to suit your needs. 

This woven canvas utility basket has two handles, making it easy to move the basket around the room. This would also make a great laundry hamper in a kids room. Available in two sizes you can get the smaller one for the kids room, making it easy for your child to bring to the laundry room when full. I would love to hear what you would use the canvas utility basket for, please share your ideas and I will post them!

I love the look of this Montgomery Daybed

I absolutely love the look of this Montgomery Daybed, sleek and clean.  This is the perfect addition to a spare bedroom, you can use it as a couch, lining pillows against the back or use it as a place to sleep.  This will work great as a piece by itself. Fully functioning as a place for guests to sleep, and it won't take up as much space as a bed.

If I lived in a small apartment I would use this as my couch, and spare bed! Two functions in one. Affordable apartment living does not always allow for extra bedrooms, so using this Montgomery Daybed as a couch will give you the comfort as well as an extra sleep space. I am hoping to have a little extra space when we start our remodeling, and would love to have this in my home.

Shabby Cottage Chic Wood Memo Chalk Board

 I found this totally awesome shabby chic wood memo chalk board with decorative chicken wire. This would be great for in your kitchen to write down your grocery list, messages, or just using it to communicate with the rest of the family writing notes and sayings. When I was a child growing up my mom had a little chalk board that she used to write what was for dinner on.

The chicken wire and clothes pins are a great way to hang and display your favorite pictures of your family, cooking recipes or a shopping list. This would also work great in your office, using it as a bill pay station. Putting the dates your bills are due on the chalk board and pin the bills to the clothes pins. This is a fun unique piece that could have multiple uses, creating several options of functionality. How would you use this fun chalk memo board? I have some fun chalkboard contact paper on my refrigerator that I like to write my shopping list on, however this is fun too! I would love to hear what you all use?

Who say's decorating is only for indoors?

Check out this fun website I found, I was looking for outdoor lighting for our American Flag that we are putting up. We are a military family, many have served several tours over seas. Family members both past and present are service members of all branches. My uncle is on his second 12-14 month tour in three years in Afghanistan. My husband and I love to support him and his family as much as possible so we frequently have his children at our house, or I am having dinners with his wife. 

We had a flag before that was located in our front yard, only having a few solar lights around it's base to light it up. With the help of some family, and my husband's mad skills operating a chainsaw, we have removed several trees around the area of the pole. Now we have a clear area for the flag to fly. Our last flag we got from Menards, in the wind the flag would catch on the nearby branches, causing the flag to weather more quickly. 

Now with the trees cleared around the flag pole we are waiting for our big 4 foot by 6 foot American Flag to come that we ordered from Amazon. Now the next thing on our list is to get some Solar Uplights. Who says decorating is only for indoors? With great lighting from Front Gate we will be able to fly Old Glory under a spotlight!

Calling all friends, Check out this Backyard Splash Pad

I am stuck in a winter wonderland and needed a little pick me up! As I look out my window I can only hope that Spring makes it's way here soon!! We have had snow, ice and wind that is not conducive with my hairdo. I am tired of cold, flu, and just plain old sick of winter. I was searching the internet world for ideas for our backyard. We live in the country and we have a lot of yard! What better way to fill our yard space with great fun, a Splash Pad is just what we need!!

I would have to say that we love to entertain, especially in the summer. We have a full swing set with rope ladder and climbing wall, slide, two swings, monkey bars and more. We also upgraded from our three foot by twelve foot pool to a 20 foot by 4 foot deep pool, creating lots of fun time outside. We live in the country as I said so driving anywhere to swim in a pool or lake is a 40 minute round trip. Not exactly what I call fun. Plus you are paying to use an area pool, swimming at a lake, where if you have small children who nap, well they can't, making them extremely crabby, fussy, usually ending the fun way to early only to go home to put the baby to bed. 

Now I have not looked into the price of this Splash Pad {pretty sure you have to call a representative details} but it seriously looks like tons of fun.! This would be fun for all ages, especially for the little kids who can't swim in deep pools. How much fun would entertaining be with this! My kids would always be having friends over!

Another fun Do It Yourself Idea!! Great Storage!

I love when I come across projects that I can create myself. There is nothing sweeter than making something and calling it your own. After all there is less expense if you already have the items and all you need is a little muscle, sweat and time.  My mom and I are in love with re-purposing furniture as well as other items, creating functional pieces. Here I found a great idea from Better Homes & Garden, a Bench & Front Entry Storage.

Turning an old side board table or buffet style table into a useful bench with storage is a great idea. I am hoping I find a piece like this to re-purpose this summer while shopping at garage sales or thrift shops. All you need is the furniture piece, cut the legs off and sand the bottom. I would of course add some chair floor protectors to the bottom to protect my floor, they can be found on Amazon.

I have to find one of these to re-purpose, using a laundry basket and a folding chair just isn't very decorative. I love that you still have storage space for hats, mittens, and scarves, without all the baskets sitting out. You don't need to have this in just your front entry either, this can be set in a quiet space for reading or used in the living room for magazine & book storage as well as extra seating. The ideas are endless, please share with me where you would add this great piece??

Revamp an old table and turn it into a freestanding island work space

Oh my gosh I cannot believe I did not think of this on my own! Who would have thought that you could take an old table and turn it into a work space! I was surfing through all the ideas on the Better Homtes & Garden website and found this Revamped Table and thought to myself, what a clever idea.

This revamped table can serve as extra work space as well as a place to entertain, serve food, prep, and have snacks! I think the part that I love the best is that you can easily tuck bar stools under the table and out of the walk way when they are not being used. I love the idea of having extra space for the kids to help out cooking as well as using it for breakfast as well as doing homework.

No I am on a mission to find an old table that I can revamp into this great work station. It is now time to head out to the local thrift stores and flea markets in search of the perfect table! This super find makes me really excited for Garage Sale season!! Maybe I can hold off my search till I head to our annual 100 mile garage sale that my sisters, my mom, a couple of my cousins, my Nana, and my aunts attend each May!! Last year we had so many great finds we ended up renting a Uhaul to get home with!

This picture is of my sister Mollie, and her had to have child's play crib! There was seriously no more room left for any treasures so she had to sit in the front seat with it. We usually take three pick ups to the 100 mile garage sale and last year we had to rent the Uhaul to bring everything back!! We always have so much fun! I can't wait for this year!!

Three Silverplate Silverware Fork Wall Hooks For Towels, Pot Holders

Are you looking for a fun way to hang your hand towels in your kitchen or bathroom? Check out these crazy fun Three Silverplate Silverware Fork Wall Hooks for Towels, Pot Holders.  This is such a fun and unique way to display your towels, hot pads, pictures or other kitchen decorations. I have to admit that I would have to buy a couple sets because I love how they look. This is such a fun house warming gift, wedding shower, or hostess gift.

People will love the looks of them and will be a great conversation piece while enjoying morning coffee with friends.  These fork wall hooks are way more decorative and fun than your traditional towel hook! You can hang one above the sink and the other two by the stove holding your hot pads.  There is no worrying about poking holes in your towels or pot holders because the seller has curled up the ends, so there will be no puncturing your hand towels.