You Win Some, You Lose Some Part I

I began the long weekend with 4 projects in mind. Actually, I always have a million projects in mind...this weekend I followed through with 4. If you've been reading, then you know two were successful. My new door numbers and my skirted kitchen sink rock my socks. The other two are equivalent to poop in my pants. Seriously.

Last week I worked on some pillows for Marlene. She's trying to brighten up her living room and instead of replacing the sofa, she's replacing the pillows. Actually, she's clicking on the computer and ordering fabric. I'm replacing the pillows. She demanded kindly told me that she wanted 6 pillows: two from Target, two yellow ikat, one navy and white chevron, and one solid navy. She bought the Target pillows, ordered ikat fabric (shipped it to me) and told me she would buy a navy one. The yellow ikat pillows turned out great! The chevron...well...

Marlene never found a navy and white chevron fabric that she liked. She got the bright idea i could sew stripes together and create a chevron...no thanks. I found a great white linen and thought maybe, just maybe, I could paint a chevron pattern on it. I was wrong. Boo. I cut the fabric, then cut 64 pieces of tape to put over the white. I then painted in between the tape with navy fabric paint. I thought it would be genius until I pulled the tape off and discovered the paint had bled underneath. I then sent Marlene a text that said, "I hate you and your chevron pillows." I didn't hear from her for two days which is like ten years in our world. While she was out living up her childless 3 day weekend, I was at home laboring over labor day. Laboring over her pillows...see the following...

Perhaps I should have titled this posted, "how to make crappy drippy chevron pillows"...tomorrow I'll follow up with my other poop in the pants project.

Rachel :(

I'm supposed to photograph fruit for todays challenge, but have none in the house. Seriously. Not even canned oranges. I'll post again tonight...

House Numbers

Have I mentioned how much I heart Pinterest? And blue doors? And Pinterest? And house numbers? Ok, so I probably haven't mention that I like house numbers. But, with my love for anything numbered, it's a given. It's  funny the order that things happen sometimes...

Yesterday I went to Lowe's to scout out a few things. While somethings didn't pan out, a few did. Ever since I painted our backdoor blue, I've been on the lookout for a nickel kick plate and numbers. The kick plate we need...it's amazing how dirty the bottom of a door can get...and the numbers I want. It's our backdoor, so I wasn't looking to spend a lot. I've found it hard (and expensive) to find a 30" kick plate and numbers can get pricey. But, to make a long story short, I found the numbers yesterday at Lowe's. They were $4 each and my total came to $17 and some change. I also found the kick plate but wasn't ready to spend $40 on backdoor accessories. And we have two backdoors, so really I would need two kick plates which would bring the total closer to $60...no thanks...

Anyway...I came home with the numbers, straightened up a bit, cooked dinner, got the Smurfs ready for bed, and checked Pinterest. Probably not in that order...it was probably more like I came home, checked Pinterest, put away a shoe, checked Pinterest, put away the other shoe, checked Pinterest, made rice, checked Pinterest, made peas, checked Pinterest...you get the idea...

At some point during my Pinterest addiction I saw this...

via Pinterest

Ok, some serious door number love going on there. But, to my surprise, when I clicked to read about it I discovered she had painted the numbers on her door...seriously! Why didn't I think of something so simple? Turns out I already had silver paint...so guess what...I went to work. Here's how it went down...

1. printed off the numbers from Microsoft Works.

2. cut out the numbers

3. taped the homemade stencil to the door

4. traced the numbers

5. filled them in

Here are the pictures:

  

For the record, Mr. T wasn't crazy about the "no." part of this project. I thought it looked cute though, a litttle different, and not something you see everyday. These pictures pretty much stink...it's rainy and foggy and I still don't know how to work my camera. When the weather is nicer and I've put out some fall decor I'll have to take some more. Today's picture has to be taken from a low angle. I'm assuming that mean from the ground shooting up...? Maybe?...

This project went from being almost $20 to free!! I love it when that happens!!

Rachel :)

many thanks to Mrs. Limestone and Rachel from Pencil Shavings for sharing this great project with the rest of us who can come up with no good ideas on our own...

 

Skirted Sink

Did you read this post about my most favorite of all time kitchen? Here's another picture...

for the love of a house

Oh how I heart the linen skirt under her kitchen sink. Such an easy fix to break up lots of bottom cabinetry...genius! I pulled out the sewing machine (technically it was out because of these...) and got to work...before...

and after...

This was a cheap and simple project...the best kind! I removed the cabinet doors, sewed a rectangle from 2 yards of burlap with a hem at the top to thread a tension rod through. The burlap was $7.20 (I had a 40% off coupon from Hancock Fabric) and the tension rod was $5.99 from Kmart. I could have gotten one for $2.99, but wanted one a little more sturdy. I'll let you know how it holds up. The shot today for the Photography Challenge has to be from a high angle. One more of the kitchen...

Happy Sunday!!

Rachel :)



 

  

Photography Challenge Day 3

Today was Day 3 of the Photography Challenge. Clouds. Great. Of all days, there were no clouds in the sky. Zip. Zero. Nada. So, I skipped to Day 4 and when the clouds make an appearance, I'll go back to them. I ordered a set of filters for outdoor photography and they haven't been delivered yet. Hopefully, they will show up when the clouds do. Until then...let's move on to something green...

I took this picture tonight at dusk, so it was starting to get dark. Automatic setting with the flash. I LOVE how I can focus in on something while having the background blurry. That's a major advantage of having a nice camera. I'm starting to understanding the settings a little better and can work some of the options. See you tomorrow!

Rachel :)

Friday's Find and More!

Our local Habitat ReStore is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I try to go once a week, but sometimes we get so busy the days fly by and its Sunday before I realize I never made it. Last week I took a girlfriend for her very first ReStore experience. $10 later, I walked out with these...

My goal is to make them look like this:

Pottery Barn

I know they are not beautiful yet, but I love their size and shape. Mr. T said we needed more lamps (can't you hear the sarcasm?!?) So, for now, they are hanging out in the attic but I have a feeling they will make an appearance sooner rather than later.

On another note, I was able to get a bunch accomplished yesterday, including whipping up these two cuties for my very favorite BFF. A little bright for me (I am still scared of color) I think they will be just what she's looking for.

And last...the Photography Challenge. Day 2. What You Wore Today. Hear you go...

Seriously. I can't take pictures of myself forever. I managed to figure out the self timer. And I managed to cut my head off. Maybe I'll find it before Monday. Have a GREAT weekend!

Rachel :)

Day 1 Self-Portrait

Yup...that's me! Here is my Day 1 self-portrait. I thought about trying to figure out the self timer, but I didn't want to get crazy fancy on you. I did learn a lot... how to turn the camera and flash on and off. I experimented with a few of the settings. In the end, I used the automatic setting with the flash turned off. And something was set to soft...? So maybe it wasn't the automatic setting I used...hmmmm The most important things I learned about a self-portrait: if you aim at your mouth, your head is centered...woohoo! And...what fun is it to take a gazillion pictures of yourself if you can't be a little silly...

ok...I also learned how to use the continuous shot! I ordered Photography for Dummies and I am hoping it will help me a ton. This is my last week in kindergarten, but I happen to have today off. Tomorrow I will be back with Friday's Find (a super one!), Day 2 of the Photography Challenge, and maybe a project or something with some interest. I've got my sights set high...have a GREAT day!!!

Rachel :)