Kelby's Room--Check. Living Room...well, almost

So, I am finally getting around to posting pics of Kelby's finished room! I actually still want to make a paper airplane mobile to hang from the ceiling, but I don't know when I'll get to it, with Thanksgiving coming up and all (I'm hosting a big holiday for the first time, yikes!) So, I'll show you what I have, and it's awesome, if I may say so myself :)

I saw this map outline idea in a Pottery Barn magazine.  I borrowed a projector from church and made it happen. Turned out great, thanks to my lovely cousin Jordan's help :)

I picked up a linen shower curtain from a thrift store, maybe a year ago, thinking it would make a great window treatment.  I cut it in fourths, because I needed four panels and then added trims to make it big enough.  I LOVE how these turned out.  I threaded twine through the holes in the top, rather than buying rings or making tabs.  The license plates are something we've had lying around, well, since we lived in Georgia, obviously :)  They fit in great in his room.

These vintage car prints were my grandfather's.  My mom remembers her mother ordering them when she was a kid and she offered them to me several years ago.  I think I only had Natalie at the time, so boys weren't even on my radar, but I'm SO glad I kept them! They're one of my favorite things and Kelby loves pointing out the truck and the one he thinks is a Jeep.  That's what my parents drive and he points out Jeeps everywhere. The wooden shelves were already in the room, but were covered in white contact paper.  When I started peeling it off, I thought they looked kinda cool just as exposed wood, so I left them. (Or, I just didn't want another thing to paint, hahaha.)

This is pretty cool because it was Casey's army trunk.  I cleaned it off, painted it inside and out and made a cushion out of some boat flannel I'd bought for a baby blanket, but cut wrong.  Turned out to be a perfect toy box after Casey put the non-finger-squishing hinges on it :)

And there ya have it! This room cost very little--the paint was the main expense.  I got the lamp at a yard sale for less than a dollar, then painted the base white and covered the shade in fabric that a friend gave me (The same fabric on the curtains).  The curtains may have cost $5. Even the rods were given to me.  (If people know you've just moved, they start pawning all their stuff on you, it's awesome :) The little four-section white shelf was built by my Father-in-Law. (I know, I'm a lucky gal).

Since I was taking pictures, I went ahead and took some of the almost-finished living room.  I made new curtains yesterday, after going to Denver Fabrics and getting all the fabric and ribbon for $26!!! They have the best deals on home dec stuff, let me tell ya.  I like this room soooo much better now!

I got a quote on reupholstering my $10 sofa...$1700.00!!!!!! Yeah, it's gonna stay green.  My color wheel quilt looks right at home there, don't you think?

And here's the view from the stairway landing:

We keep the toy box and a corner of toys with the play kitchen in the living room.  Makes it much easier to keep the mess under control than when they were all kept in the girls' room! It's more fun for kids who come visit too.

Can you believe I scored this rug on Craigslist?? It's Pottery Barn and costs $750.  I got it for $130--the same amount I'd made from selling some other things on Craiglist and was saving for a big rug.  I had my eye on this exact one, but was just looking for something similar.  The fact that I found THE rug on Craigslist is kind of an anomaly.  The lady didn't know it was Pottery Barn until Casey told her and she checked the tag and said, "Man! I could've gotten sooo much more money for this!!" I love it. Can't you picture a distressed-white-salvaged-door-turned-coffee-table there in the middle???? I can. Finding said door, though, in the right size, takes a lot of patient searching, as it turns out.

I hope you all have a fabulous week! Thanksgiving is right around the corner!! Anyone wanna calm my nerves about hosting "The Meal"???? Anyone?

in the Christmas mood...

I told you that the tree skirt Jenn made for my birthday sparked a Christmas quilt idea for me, remember?  Casey has been gone these last 8 days (we expect him back in the next hour or so, yay!) and so I spent my days sewing whenever I had a spare moment.  My sewing machine is a pretty good remedy for loneliness, it turns out, haha.  As is my little sewing buddy:

I am so grateful for kids who get along very well together and it really makes me glad they are all so close together--the girls pretty much entertain themselves all the time together now.  Kelby plays with them sometimes, but he generally likes to be in the big middle of whatever I am doing, which is okay by me :)  For this reason, I recently parked my sewing machine on the dining room table, which is working out pretty well.  There will come a season when my upstairs sewing room actually gets used, right?

Anyway, for my tree skirt,  Jenn used the red version of a fabric that I had bought three years ago now in white. It's one of those that I love so much, I was hesitant to cut into it.  Last year, I started adding some other Christmas fabrics to my stash, with every intention of someday making a Christmas quilt.  This week, I decided that if I keep waiting for some un-busy November in the future to make said quilt, it will never get done.  So I dug in :) By today, I had this...

This is one of the easier patterns in Material Obsession, called Retro Starburst.  It goes together quickly and I love, love, love how it turned out.  In case you're wondering, I will not be hand quilting this one--I do want it done this year, after all ;)

But, speaking of hand quilting, I cannot believe I am actually putting the binding on this beauty:

I will finish the hand sewing tonight and it will be d-o-n-e. Finally! I love it all the more though for all the time I've spent with it--we're emotionally connected now, ha!

At the risk of sounding like I have tons of free time and all I do is sew (please know this is not the case--I do have 3 little kids after all--we just stay home a lot and Casey being gone gives me more extra time, somehow ;),  I also made this little dress for myself last week:

It was not my intention to cut my head off, but it's hard getting a picture of yourself like this--I took a bazillion, and this is as good as it's gonna get.  This is one of the fabrics the blessed older lady at church gave me--I think it's from the 60's maybe? It had a tag on it from K-Mart for 58 cents.  58 CENTS! I like the pattern of this dress a lot, I will probably make it again.  I don't feel like going upstairs to see which number it is, but it's a Simplicity.  If you really want to know, tell me in the comments and I'll check for you :)

In other news, it's snowing here today for the first time!! We usually get snow long before now, but this has been a wonderfully-long Fall.  Here's a pic of our backyard--I will never tire of this view from my kitchen window:

And, signing off...

So sweet :)

29

I had my last 20-something birthday this week.  Even though Casey is out of town with the army, I have some amazing friends that made sure I didn't have a lonely birthday :)  I got my hair done (thanks, Becky, it's fabulous!)

Melissa made me a cake. (yum!)

And, Becky made me these scarves and Melissa gave me this necklace!

Not only did they come bearing gifts, they came with lunch :) Thanks, girls!

My sister sent me these in the mail:

I loooove tea towels and this one is beautiful! (And matches my kitchen :)  And I also love these Barnes & Noble classics, of which I have a nicely-growing collection.  I can't wait to start reading this one!

Remember how I told you my friend Jenn was visiting? (I'm so glad she was here over my birthday, with Casey gone and all.  I would not liked to have been alone! Jenn made me this AMAZING Christmas tree skirt!!

In case you're curious, she used the tutorial at Tallgrass Prairie Studio.  I am super impressed with Jenn's free-motioning.  Mine is not that good compared to this :)  Jenn, I absolutely love this! It inspired me to start a Christmas quilt, which I will share in the next couple of days :) I cannot wait to put it under our tree--our BIG tree in our new house, after several years of a tiny tree (which we loved anyway and have fond memories of :)

My parents and my in-laws both gave me money--what birthday girl doesn't like a little cash?? ;)  I bought some dresses, some boots and these little cuties from, you guessed it, Anthropologie, who so kindly sends me a coupon every year for my birthday, haha!

They look so adorable in my open cupboard.

I had an amazing birthday and felt so loved. I am so very thankful for my particular set of close friends and my loving family, both mine and Casey's, and grow more thankful for all of you with each passing year!

Blogger's Quilt Festival!!

I missed out on the Spring festival because...well, I was moving, enough said :)  But, I've made such great progress on this current quilt, that I definitely want to participate in the Fall Festival!! So, if you're here from the Blogger's Quilt Festival, welcome :)  I can't wait to peruse all of your beautiful work too!

I am so excited to be able to finally share this quilt with you all (almost) in it's entirety!!!!!  I finished the main part of the hand quilting last night and have only the borders left to do, then the binding, obviously.  I started this quilt for my oldest daughter, who's five, after completing this quilt for my other daughter, who's three.  I suppose now I need to get working on one for the little guy :)  So, without further ado...

This is the Strawberry Fields pattern from the book, Material Obsession, which I absolutely love and would like to make every single quilt out of :) It's the first ever quilt that I've quilted completely by hand and I really love the effect.  Thankfully, Natalie has been very patient with me ;)  Here is a close up of the star quilting in the middle of each block:

And there is a heart in the middle of each corner piece.  (Don't inspect too closely--it's not perfect :)

So, what makes this quilt even more special, is the fact that my dear friend Jenn is visiting me this week for my birthday (yes, I'm 29 today!) and we are both making this same quilt!! Jenn and I met 9 years ago in Georgia, just before both our husbands left for Iraq.  It was a God-ordained friendship, we are both convinced.  9 years and 5 kids between the two of us later, we still try to see each other once or twice a year.  This is the two of us at our Harvest party at church last Friday (no, I don't usually dress in pig tails and a clown costume, hahaha)

Anyway, Jenn brought her quilt with her to work on the hand quilting (she is making this for her oldest daughter too!) Today, we hung them side by side.  I can't believe how different they look!!

Aren't they beautiful????? I can't wait to finish it and put it on Natlie's bed and see what it looks like with Layla's!  Maybe that will inspire me to paint and finally decorate their room! (By the way, Kelby's room is all done and awesome! I'll share pics later this week, I can't wait to show you :)

Fallish things

I am up early today! I'm very excited because my fabulous friend Jenn and the younger of her two daughters is flying in in a few hours for a visit!!!  So, yesterday, I spent the whole day cleaning my house from top to bottom, since I know it may not get cleaned while she'd here--we'll be having too much fun :)  AND, my cousin Jordan came over two days this week and helped me paint Kelby's room. I have a few finishing touches to do, then I'll share pictures, it reallllllly turned out cute.  For now, though, I have lots of pic from our trip to Nick's Garden Center last week! Oh, first, though, here's one of the gorgeous tree in our front yard:

haha! Love that one :)

And, my favorite:

If you live in the Denver area, this Pumpkin Fest is worth the trip!!! It's free to get in--you only pay two dollars to ride the train, a dollar to jump on the bouncy castles and for your pumpkins if you want some.  There are hay mazes, beanbag toss games, sandboxes filled with dried corn and Tonka trucks, a hayride and much more.  It's tons of fun and you still have time! f

family pics, the easy version

My favorite photographer, the lovely Angela, has been busy, busy and I wasn't on the ball enough to schedule family pictures far enough in advance to get them into my parents' Christmas box to Mongolia by mid-November. SO, we had some dear friends over last weekend and I asked my friend Becky if she'd snap some pictures of us in front of our house with my camera if I had the settings all right and everything. While we were at it, I took some of her family and some of Melissa's family! It was fast, fun, and we all got some good family pics out of it, so I am happy! And, I'm thrilled that our house is in the pics this year, since it was a huge part of our year. Here's the one we're going with for Christmas cards:

And a few good ones of the kids, too:

Nice work, Bucky!!!!! I hope you guys don't mind me posting your pictures on my blog, because here they come, hahaha.

Here's some I got of Becky's family (baby girl due in January, yay!)

And then of Melissa's family:

Then, out came baby Liliana (SO PRECIOUS!)

Love this next one, soooo sweet :)

And, of course, there were plenty of out takes!

Boys throwing leaves--the only thing little boys would do with piles of leaves, of course.

And, my all-time personal favorite:

When we went back inside, I got a couple more of the baby.  Isn't she soooooo sweet and adorable??

Whew! I know that was a lot. But, if you stuck it out and are reading the rest of this, I have a great idea for you:  no matter what kind of camera you have, or what kind of photography skills you possess, grab another family or two and take some pics for each other! You will all be glad you did it, I promise :)

costume progress and more house snippets

I have had a very productive three days!! I don't know why this sudden burst of energy, but I hope it sticks around :)  After being sick last week, I was extra motivated to get my house back from the hurricane that had devoured it, hahaha, then I moved on de-wallpapering our hall bathroom, which is getting painted and bead-boarded this weekend, yay! And, I've managed to whip out the boy costumes. Here's Obi-Wan:

It turned out pretty awesome.  We just need to find gray pants at black boots at a thrift store and Casey is good to go.  Oh, and see that pretty stair case to the right?  I finally painted those risers yesterday and I can't prove it, but they look so much better than the patched-up mess they were before!

I took the easy way out on Kelby's Yoda costume.  The only good cloak pattern I could find was two sizes too big and required a whopping 6 yards of fabric (more than Casey's! What????) So I bought an extra small women's v-neck, long-sleeved shirt and cut it up until it resembled a toddler's Yoda robe, hahaha.  A black ribbon and a flannel designed-by-yours-truly Yoda hat later, and we had this:
(terrible picture, I know)

So, it turns out I have time to make my clown costume after all!  Thankfully, I was able to use several pieces of the fabric a dear lady at church gave me, otherwise I probably couldn't have afforded to make all the pieces involved!

Since there was a rare moment this week when this media wall in our house was not a complete disaster, I went ahead and snapped a picture.  Let's face it, though, technology is ugly and not everyone's book spines are the same color (ahem, Crate & Barrell catalog), but this is where our family spends a lot of time and this is also the room in our house that required one of the greatest amounts of work, so I will show it off even if it doesn't look like a magazine!  Here is what this side of the family room looked like before:


And here it is now:

The wood panelling was around the entire perimeter of this room and we removed and retextured everything except for this area.  We didn't want to destroy the built-ins so we simply painted the paneling and the fire place white.  Even though there's a sliding door to the left, this room doesn't get a lot of light, so the changes we made made a huge different in the brightness.
Here's another before view:

And here's this door after:

This door used to be brown (to match the lovely paneling!) and so I painted it white and made a Roman shade (my first attempt, not bad!)  So there you have it :)