Needing a Bit of Something

The other day I decided I needed some new rugs around the house so off I went to spend a little money. I also wanted some new plates, not expensive china but some melamine lightweight in some new colors. I'm getting tired of eating off china everyday. Can you imagine that? Well, I was. So, I hit Target and looked what I picked up for the laundry room! Fuchsia or magenta cotton rug. Drool.


While I was really looking for some polka dot plates (Yep, I broke my #1 rule of buying something when I saw it, being glad I'd have it instead of sad because I didn't grab it while it was there). Anyway, I found these darling pink and white plates and this bright red one. They're almost square scallop-y but look round because of the center white being round. Remember now, these are lightweight melamine. Darling!

Also recently, I told Love Bunny that I was tired of washing plastic forks and spoons. They're plastic, for pete's sake, throw them out! I told him to just buy a large box of them next time we were at WM and then throw them out when he's eating lunch on the days he teaches. He's always liked taking lunch more than buying it at a restaurant. Bite your tongue!!! Me? I'd prefer to buy it out.

So, as we're going through the little plastic tumbler that holds his stash of plastic forks and spoons, I came across this purple one and just couldn't throw it out. I mean, how many times do you come across a purple plastic spoon?

I then thought I needed to spruce up the little clay pot in the laundry room so I painted it pink, decoupaged it and put lace around the top. Whooooole different look.



Yep, much better, especially with the lace on the shelf also. That lace is just a left over from a cut-up curtain. So never, ever throw any lace away. There is always a use for it somewhere in the house.
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Mosaic Monday 3/8/2010

My lovely laundry room has these letters I made from wood and fabric. If you would like some, get in contact with me.
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Family Room Refurbishing Part 4

Last post for the family room.

This corner here is where I've framed 2 pretty cards and fun-tacked 5 other cards that were sent to me for helping someone with their computer. (Just something I know a bit about and can help with sometimes.) She's a very famous painter and I'm not going to name drop.

You'll notice I am not a bit afraid of painting the mats "wild" colors. I love the vivid green and the caribbean blue I came up with after mixing several different colors with white for the 2 mats in this room. It adds a bit of a tropical feel to it with the little pink starfish on the ladder. I love color and am lavish in its use in my home.

The mantel contains some darling little birdhouse ornaments made by Rhea of sweetnshabbyroses and isn't doing very well physically right now. I added some white garland and bright pink and green balls to the mantel along with a little roses vase on the left and some more cupcakes on a rose plate on the far left. The little ballerina I made out of a matchbox and decorated with papers and garland. I had it for sell but it didn't sell so I get to keep it. I'll be making some more simply because I love having that kind of thing around my home. Beauty!

Here is the faux fireplace screen closer. (Click for a better view.) I added the paper roses, leaves and ribbons along with 2 small decals on the sides after painting the whole thing white.

On the right side I have a most unusual little tree I found at Goodwill but it is quite heavy and is done with wire. I have no clue what it was made for but I bought it home, painted it white and added little fabric covered eggs I bought last year after Easter when they were on sale. The roses in the little tin pot are my foray into coffee filter roses. Those are very labor intensive to do and hard to get them to look right. It wasn't worth the effort although I eventually did get a good looking one that you can see on the left of my sidebar.

On the left side of the mantel I have some more faux plants with little roses stuck in the middle. As I said, I don't care what other people think; I do what I like. I have to live in this house and that's what is important to me—what I and my hubby think of it. He thinks we need more model trains in it but that's beside the point. *Wink*

I made the one quilted ecru roses pillow on the left but the plaid one I got at JCPenney for a steal and the 2 blue toile I got at TJMaxx for $25.00 for the 2 of them and they're feather pillows. Squeeeeeeeal.

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Family Room Refurbishing Part 1

Several women have emailed and asked to see the refurbishing of the family room since we painted all the walls in the house pink and, since many of you are new to my blog, I thought I'd do it again. I've changed things around a bit. I've also added a tour of it to my sidebar which you can see also.

Most of you know I love decorating my home and doing different things occasionally....OCCASIONALLY?!?!....ok, a lot then. Sheesh, calm down, chicks. It's my lot in life, ya know. Gotta keep Love Bunny guessing where he sits each morning.

Anyway, here is the first round of the redo.

I had hubs make the faux fireplace screen and then I went to work decorating it with fabric. A plaid and a roses barkcloth fabric. I love how it turned out even though I wouldn't want to lift it very often as it's plywood. Clicking any photo will enlarge it for greater detail.

This is the sofa with the slipcover I purchased for $300.00 about 3 years ago and it still looks like new after several washings. I decorate my lamps with roses, lace and ribbon and anything else I want to throw on it. I'm adventuresome. Also, notice the pictures in the background that aren't in frames. I just painted some old mats and fun-tacked them to the wall around the little pictures when I decided that frames were out of sight in price.

I've covered these chairs that are about 25 years old and still in great shape, although, the upholstery is sort of a kilim looking fabric and not truly shabby chic. No, that's not true; I think they'd definitely fit in with the shabby chic romantic look, but I was tired of the fabric and there is no way Love Bunny would let me get them upholstered yet another time. I had the extra quilts as I stopped trying to compete on eBay with my items, and I think they are cozier for the house.

The little footstool is still the same but I've been thinking of doing it over again. Who knows? *Wink*

I found the little ladder at Goodwill....squeeeeeeal.....for $2.00 and painted it pink not knowing what in the world I'd do with it. This is it. I like the juxtaposition of the vintage finials and starfish that I painted pink and added "sparkle" glitter. More wall fluff either given to me or found at thrift shops was given a fresh coat of white paint and hung on the wall. I am a FIRM believer in hanging things low on the wall, such as the mirror, and even propping it up against the wall on the floor as seen in the photos of my living room and the architectural renderings of our home that I had framed and brought with me. I wasn't about to leave them there for the new owners!

I think that's all I'll show for today. I'll put more on later.
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Lace and Roses in the Bathroom for Pink Saturday

Thank you to Beverly of howsweetthesound for having Pink Saturday. Please go visit the others for a delightful display of pink! And Happy Pink Saturday to all of you.
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This guest bathroom needed something while waiting for the painter to give it its coat of pink paint. I saw this idea over on Myrna's blog the other day and thought I'd try it. Her bathroom is lovelier than mine but it looks a bit better until I can get around to fluffing it up a bit more. I simply took a long scarf, tied it in certain places with pink ribbon and foofed up the bundle of fabric and made a rosette out of each one. Then I put that vintage doily on it because I've been trying to figure out what in the world to do with it! After it's painted pink I'll add some paper roses and more snippets of lace to it I think.

Me, trying to take a picture and getting caught in the mirror.

Chandelier Redo for Pink Saturday 5/16/09

The chandelier top fell out of the thing-a-ma-bob that holds it up there the other day. Hubs said the long screw "tube" was too short so it pulled away from the ceiling but was still held up there by the electrical cord. (What is it with my ceiling fixtures lately?! I tell ya!!) We ran to Home Depot to get a longer one and while it was hanging down there I thought it would be a good time to dust........yeah, I know, I know, I don't do dust, but this was the time to do it if I was EVER going to do it. So I decided to take down the pink chiffon and silk red/yellow roses and put up some netting with pink roses.

Now, hubs is out of town down in California with our son, Keith, to give him and his wife and 2 boys a blessing for all they've been going through. We alllllllll know it's a bad time for this ol' lady to be on a ladder, right?! Yep, you betcha!! However, I'm going to surprise you and tell you that I did NOT fall off the ladder or try to set the kitchen on fire. I took 5 pictures because I wanted you to see it from all angles and how it looks in relation to all the rooms around it. I do love it.

I tied it at the very tippy top (isn't that a cute way of describing it?!) and tied it off tightly with ribbon and then went down every 15-20" and foofed it out and tied it on 5 times to the chain. It is foofed out less at the top and with each successive tie-on the "foof" is bigger. Then I just cut it and let the ends of the netting hang out. The roses are pink paper ones about 3" across on a stem and I just stuck them in there and let the netting hold them. I'll then be able to recycle them again should I wish to do so. This is such a simple, inexpensive (cheap, for those of you in Rio Linda) and beautiful way to cover the chain and make it lovely.

I may try to find some long garlands of faux ivy to twist around it also. Not sure yet. We'll see.

Family Room Entry Redo

Yep, when hubs leaves town I have to do something to keep busy, and I've had this idea in my head for a long time. Actually, our home in California had this in our living room entry into the dining room also. I've got sooooo many panels of lace that I won't need to shop for the next 20 years anyway, gals. I put these gorgeous lace panels with scalloped edges on my entry into the family room on the dining room side. I put them up with upholstery tacks, screwed cup hooks into the wall on each side, tied the curtains with grosgrain ribbon and hung them. The panels are 95" long so I had to tie them back to get them out of the way a bit. I like the effect. It's a very romantic feel to the area now. I'm never ever done with this home. Sheeeesh......... Don't fret; hubs is used to it now!