picture wall and sitting area before and after

below is what this wall and the sitting area looked like when we moved in.

both pictures during carpet and parka floor tear out and laminate floor installation. 

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living room before and after

during the laminate floor installation. it was a little chaotic.

here's our living room after new floors, wall color, pillows, furniture and pictures on the wall!

anderson's room

when i found out i was having another boy i was bummed for a very short second then thrilled the next. i love being william's mom so i knew having another boy would only bring more joy and adventure.

later i thought to myself, 'i've used up all of my boy room ideas, how am i going to decorate another one?'... then i found some vintage suitcases and the wheels started turning. i couldn't wait to get to work.

andy's room is small (90 sq ft) so i had very specific size pieces that i needed. the crib was william's and the only piece i started with, everything else was thrifted or handmade.

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here was my inspiration for his room

i fell in love with this gold/mustard bed skirt

and the grouped picture frames and vintage feel

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here is the room before, just shortly after we moved in

and here it is after

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the room was green when we moved in and i painted it three different colors before deciding to just make it white. i painted the fake wood trim around the window and closet white like i did in william's room, which made a big difference. i bought the suitcases at an annual antique show near by for $27. i did nothing to them, just stacked em and now use them for storage.

i bought the black lamp from ikea and the owl print off etsy. the black picture frame i found at an antique store for $8 and had a piece of glass cut for $6. the linen mat board i cut to fit the print myself using a borrowed mat cutting tool.

the most expensive item i bought was the dresser at $70 (i wouldn't have paid it except it was the exact width and height i needed - plus it had legs(!), my one requirement when buying bigger pieces of furniture). the gold mirror ($25) and picture frames ($6 each) above the dresser are from a local consignment shop.

after i saw the gold rouched bed skirt (can't remember where), i knew i had to make it a part of the room. so i made my own. i bought nine yards of mustard colored, linen-like material from joann's using a 40% off coupon, hemmed the bottom and 'ruffled' the top. it was easy and i love how it looks. the extra storage was a necessity.

the united states map is from an estate sale. my friend gave it to me with william's flat globe map hanging above his bed. i mounted it on a thick foam core and used old rope to hang it. the pillows in the crib i made out of fabric i found at yard sales and leftover fabric from his crib skirt.

the last two things in the room are two of my favorite; the curtains and mobile. i made the curtains from fabric i found on etsy. 5.5 yards for $40. i hemmed all four sides and hung them on an ikea curtain rod. their bold, vintage look add so much to the room. the mobile has ten glass slides ($10) that are from the university of idaho, where my husband goes to school. i clipped them into a wire mobile i used in william's nursery. i liked the look of the stickers and writing on some of the slides so i didn't do anything to them. most of the slides are of paris and architecture.

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i really enjoy going into anderson's room, with or without him, to sit in his rocking chair and read. the calm, bright ambiance has made it one of my favorite rooms in our home.

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thank you kate for photographing his nursery

temporary sewing room

after unpacking the important boxes for the last couple weeks i just recently made time to put together a sewing area for myself. it's very temporary so the "box" desk is what i used because i had so many sitting around. it gets the job done right?

here is the before.

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here it is after. nothing fancy as you can tell, just the necessities.

i put an old thrift store basket to use holding my fabrics.

and carved out a few shelves to store my knitting accessories, decorating books and picture frames not currently in use.

a quick dress alteration

i bought an awesome dress a month ago at a great new shopping place in town, the storm cellar. i bought because it fit me well and the older style interested me. after buying it i showed my friend katelyn and asked what she thought of it. right away she said, you have to take off those long pockets in the front, they make your boobs look saggy. i agreed and that was the first change i made just using a seam ripper.

here is the before shot on my new sewing mannequin. my friend told me about it being on clearance at joann's, originally $200, i got it for $25 because the height adjustment was broken.

close up of the pockets, they're actually seven and a half inches long.

here it is pocketless, a very easy and quick change.

next i shortened the sleeves to a little above my elbows. making the sleeves shorter was the trickiest part. i had to make sure they were even and not too tight.

i took the cut off length, measured my biceps and machine sewed two new sleeves.

here it is all finished. i can't wait to wear it.

girly purse

we went to california to spend christmas with my family this year. before leaving i made a purse for my niece mckinsey. i haven't posted until now because i forgot to take a picture of the finished product before wrapping it and giving it to kinsey. anyway, my sister just emailed me pictures and now you can see how easy it is to make.

for easy step by step instructions and items you'll need, go here. purlbee had the original idea, i made my own variation due to a budget.

isn't she cute?

it needed a little frill so i added a fabric flower, which was just as quick and easy as the purse itself. here is the flower pattern i used.

total cost for everything, under $5.00

toddler necktie

i'm a bit picky when it comes to some things, toddler ties are one of those things. i had been looking for a black tie to go with williams new black church shoes but had no luck. until my friend jenny emailed me this tutorial a few weeks ago i was settled on never finding a cute black tie. after reading it i was anxious to make one. i found my tie at the storm cellar for $4.00.

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i didn't follow the directions exactly because i wanted to made a real tie that actually tied like a big boy tie does.

my first attempt at it didn't work too well. i begged karl to try and tie it to fit william. he managed to get it around his neck but the knot was so thick, the tie stuck out and the shorter tail was really short.

here it is on him. notice the larger than normal size knot? i knew it was a little off but i really wanted him to wear it once before giving the tie a rework.

in-between steps

the second and better attempt at his tie.

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horizontal view in case you were wondering what it might look like ; )

girls dress from women's shirt

i bought this shirt last week from goodwill for $1.99 thinking it would make a perfect girls dress. so tonight i pulled it out and did my first clothing refashion in an hour and a half.

i measured, pinned and cut off about 3 inches on both sides of the shirt. also took of the shoulder straps.

here it is with the sides sewn up.

i took the excess fabric that was cut off the shirt to make thicker straps.

here is the finished product.

i brought it to katelyn's place to see if it would fit lauryn. she thinks it may work for brooklyn. if not her than another cute kiddo may sport it for a little while cause i'm anxious to see it on someone soon.

fun, easy and cheap project. just keep your eye out for shirts, either mens or women's, that can be cut smaller to make a shirt or dress. next i would like to refashion something for william.

pillow covers with zippers

the pillows in our living room needed new winter covers back in october; they were too summery. i finally did them this afternoon during william's nap. i bought two 18'' zippers and 1/3 yard of fabric in two designs.

i enjoyed making them because they were much easier than i expected. the second one took me about 25 minutes.

here is the zipper up close

i really like how they turned out.

thank you mom for the gift certificate to stitches & petals.