A little DIY Action

So I've always been told "Courtney, you're so crafty!" by friends and family, especially through high school and college. I will admit I love a good craft or three, and I'm a paper & pen junkie, but I'm really just beginning to dip my toes into the whole DIY world. Mr. Bee is pretty darn good at getting his hands dirty and producing wonderful results. Just within the past two weeks, he has constructed a storage building in our backyard for our lawnmower and tools he doesn't frequently use. {*More on that later, this is about MY project!* :)}

Some time ago we were out perusing flea markets and yard sales, and my eyes spied a lovely little footstool. (Yes, we sometimes feel like Grandma and Gramps, looking at flea markets! Mos of the time, we are the younges LOL) My wallet smiled too, because if memory serves correctly, I believe I only shelled out about $5.00-$7.00 for the thing. It's been so long ago that I don't have or just can't find a picture of how she originally looked in all her circa 1992 glory. I will say she had a dark cherry stain and country blue cushion.

Here's a picture of the cushion, a' la Home Interior 1992:

In other words, "it ain't my style!"

So what's a DIY girlie to do? I grabbed a can of spray paint and a yard of much cuter fabric and got to work!

Step 1: PAINT-

My weapon of choice: Krylon Indoor/Outdoor White Gloss. Simple as that. I will say that I had previously painted the legs with a different type of spraypaint, and it was an ugly flat color. So I guess it sort of served as my primer, ha! So really this was my second go-round with getting this footstool back into action!

Step 2: FABRIC-
Next, I began to cover the cushion with my new fabric while I waited on the paint to dry. I completed this project on my front porch while my daughter played nearby. The sky was overcas, so the pics are a little blueish. I basically layed the cushion over my lap and wrapped the fabric around it. I then used Mr. Bee's staple gun to staple the fabric to the bottom of the cushion.

Stapled around the corners:

The newly re-covered cushion with my handy staple gun:

~Voila!~

The finished project:

(So proud I actually started and finished a project, even a small one like this, ha!)

I have the perfect spot for this little jewel...our home office/treadmill room :)

Have a great Wednesday! :)

Two months later, and the office project is basically complete!

We painted, moved furniture out, moved "new" furniture in, re-used window treatments that were originally used in a different room, and I tried to organize my books, school stuff, magazines, etc. I'm pretty pleased with how it all turned out! I still have a little left to do, but I am in love with the paint color and my curtains. I need to get some wall art up, but for the most part, it is a huge improvement from the "before." This room, as an office, suits our needs better than a guest bedroom. I'm in grad school currently, to become an elementary teacher, so this is where I take my night classes, do my homework, etc.

Outdoor Upgrades, Part II

Our Friday holiday was spent updating the front landscaping...I say the term "our" very loosely, as I was basically the ice water runner...LOL. Nick's BFF Matt came over to help, and baby girl and I watched from the side-lines. They started by ripping out the scraggly boxwoods that were barely hanging on...

The before-before: {This was before we installed the concrete curbing.}

In progress: the new yellow bushes are in the ground, and our weeping cherry white snowfall tree is hanging out on the corner... next up: more lava rock!

This was mine and Ava's view at one point...LOL:

{Just hangin' out with Mom...} I kinda <3> her!

Before:

After:



More pictures to come later! :)

Outdoor Upgrades...Part 1

In an effort to beautify our home, we decided to go with concrete curbing to add to our "curb appeal." LOL The man who owns this curbing company actually lives in the next subdivision over, so it was really convenient for the both of us! Here are some pics of the project in progress, after the curbing was complete. This weekend, we'll be filling in with more lava rock and hopefully some more greenery and pretty flowers! :)

This area needs the most help...the boxwoods need to be removed, as well as the unknown dark purple bush in the middle. The curb man suggested something taller, such as a weeping cherry tree, over there on the corner of the house where he brought the curb around. Any suggestions on what else we can put there in front of the big window?

This tree will also have some pretty lava rock put down around it as well.

I sense sore backs and blistered fingers this weekend! We'll have to be sure to slather on the sunscreen! Ouch!

Any big 4th of July plans for you all?

Weekend Warriors-Part I, cont'd

As promised...here are the before and afters of our little weekend landscaping project!


Wow, these are kind of embarassing! Last years mulch had faded soooo much!

The damn weeds had totally taken over the place...you can't get rid of 'em!

And...drum roll please...a few boxwoods, grass, and Zinnia's later...plus a couple Bobcat scoops of mulch...

Our edging needs a little "neatening" up, and we need some grass seed in places, as well as cleaning up *under* the top level of the deck, {hence the concrete blocks} but I think it's a big improvement from before! (As do my sunburnt and painful shoulders. *tear*)

Budget breakdown may or may not follow...lol.

Birthday goodies comin' up next! :) (I'm now officially 24!)

Weekend Warriors-Part I

This weekend was alllll about the landscaping in our backyard...

Last summer, the hubby built an addition onto our back deck, which extended it to a whole other level...so nice and roomy. We did minimal landscaping around it, basically just throwing down some mulch, a few stepping stones, a few azalea bushes and called it a day.

Not for long! We started by pulling out the old and dead bushes, and then putting down a fresh layer of landscaping paper over that old layer of mulch to further help keep the weeds out. We layed fresh black mulch bought from a local family owned landscaping company. (They only sell mulch and rock, so then we headed to rusty trusty Lowe's.) We bought several Winter Gem Boxwoods, some "grassy" plants, and two other bushes, can't remember their name right now! What a difference they make! I also bought several hot pink Zinnia plants to add some color to our predominately green color scheme. We then re-laid the stepping stones coming off the bottom of our deck...and let me tell you, this took 2 days! We both have the sunburn to prove it, even after SPF 50 applied several times over!

I'll have a list and a budget break down as well as before and after pictures in a later post, so stay tuned!

Hope ya'll had a great weekend!

Master Cleanse: Pt. 1

And no, I'm not talking about the "diet." lol After flipping through TYH and Bower Power, and seeing their incredibly awesome renovations, I thought I'd post how far our humble abode has come. Way back when, it was just a sad little abandoned foreclosure.

Exhibit A: The Living Room

Well well well...what have we got here...maroon carpet circa 1992, builder basic brass ceiling fan, and boring white walls. Another view, looking into the dining room from the front door:
And then, voila, we had some color! And notice, we are in the middle of putting down some shiny new hardwood floors...

Done! (well, not really.) But at least the floors and walls were finished...

Now, as of 5/11/09, we are pretty much complete!

• New Couch
• Wall decor, all of which were painted by my dear ol Dad...and I think one is crooked...hmmm...
• Doggie stairs, (see noted doggie, in the cushion that's all mashed down.)
• Token Grandpa chair...uh. It's an eyesore for sure, but really comfy!
• Hardwood floors
• Fresh wall paint
• New light fixture
• New tv and console

DH's pride and joy, the 42" flat screen...and he even picked out the tv console all by himself! He was really proud...and actually, I was too! LOL Notice my Mom's Day cards? Too cute. And that pink floof on the floor is above said doggie's other bed.

Quite comfy all around...but I'm getting bored...I want some new pillows, window treatments, something!

More of the Master Cleanse to come later...gotta spend some quality time with Baby A...

Before & After: Master Bedroom!

We painted, installed new carpet, and put in a new ceiling fan/light fixture. And then later bought new furniture! Whoo hoo!

Before:

As you can see, the maroon carpet also made an appearance in this room...and this is really the only before picture I have of our room...

After, but before the new furniture...

And Ta-Da!

It's amazing what an actual bedroom suite will do to a room...LOL.
And we actually have more on the walls, particularly above the bed, now.

Another view:

The door on the left is our closet, and you can see out through the hall into the now-nursery.

I still don't feel like our room is "finished," but it's definitely come a long way!

Before & After: Round 1

The most recent room re-do we just finished is our baby girl's nursery! Before, this was basically the "office/catch-all/junk/least-worked-on" room in the entire house...We were more concerned with the more lived in areas of our home...and therefore this pitiful room fell to the back burner, maroon carpet be danged...(Which, as you will see in later posts, was not only in this room, but also the living room, master bedroom, hallway, and guest bedroom...*shudder*) So, you can imagine my immense joy when that hideous excuse for flooring was replaced! Basically, we slapped on some random blue color and threw some curtains on the window and presto! We were officially finished with that room...for at least a year and couple of months...sad, I know...but we had better things to do...like make babies...LOL.

Hideous maroon carpet is barely visible in this picture...but trust me, it's there!

Ahhh...that's better! Pretty pink and light cream walls with a little chair rail...there is nothing paint cannot fix! Not to mention new carpet! (Baseboards are now down, in case you were wondering...)


Her bedding that I just had to have...which was also a *deal* found at TJ Maxx in Cincinnati...Wendy Bellissimo's "Floral Patchwork", which originally retailed for $229.99, and was even on sale at BRU for $129.99...yeah, we paid $79.99 for the set! I love a good deal! It's adorable...I couldn't have lived with myself if I had passed this up..


My mom and I after the shower...we are so blessed! You can kind of see a little more of the room and decor...we've since added more to the walls, etc. I'll post a better picture later...