Playhouse Party

DIY playhouse going up. I'll take more pics and keep you updated as the hubs has time to build. Following this little plan for inspiration. We have a narrow space so we have to improvise and change it up a bit. Super excited for my kiddos to have a little place to hang. We are putting in a bottom floor and top floor. Bottom floor is in! (Follow my Instagram for quicker updates).

via 

Thank you for the inspiration The Handmade Home.

  cheers

DIY Playdough

Need a weekend activity for the kiddos? Homemade playdough. Check. Gather, blend, stir & play. Easy.

Ingredients
1/2 c of salt
1 c of water
2 tbsp of cream of tartar
1 c of flour
1 tbsp of oil
Food coloring

Directions
Mix flour, salt, tartar and oil in a pan
Mix water with the food coloring
Add water/color mixture to other ingredients and stir
Cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes, constantly stirring
When it becomes doughy, remove from heat and start kneading (hot, be careful)
When texture is achieved, time to play!
Store in container or ziplock

(apologies for the low quality phone pics)...

Easy clean up and lots of fun!

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Fixture Fun

So, I love this blog... Copy Cat Chic. Check it out if you've never stopped by. Today I found this light over there. It's somewhat similar to the one my dad help me make for Roan's room. Very cute!! Go get it! OR the wired one is cool too! (see pics below)

Roan's light created a fun element to his room since it was the original study of our house. Yes, I know I haven't shared much of the house yet; on my to do list. Pictures and lighting is hard...house is dark with all of the wood. (The picture below is courtesy of Meghan Hochgesang.)

I bought the sphere for Roan's light here and the light kit here. I LOVE the geo light though. If this would have been out before I made ours I would have snatched it up quickly.

Roan's light

geo

wire

I saw this on CCC's blog too. I'm super tempted. What do you think? hmmm, could be cool in my kitchen...

chandelier

Fun DIY. Happy thursday! It's my favorite day of the week! 

   cheers

Little pieces

Kiddos room coming together. Still so much to do and cannot fully be done until basement is ready for toys and such. But will share a few things I've thrown in their sweet tiny space...

Yep, changed my mind on Rory's bedding (what's new and the other was dry clean only. NOoooo thx)

Pretty ivory ruffles for a very girly girl

pink for the lady

grey for the boy

Framed the prints up. Added the dresser (the finish is still not done, but it looks good the way it is for now).

wood bins

touch of blue

little pattern

some fur

   

Some blue, some grey, some pink, lots of naturals. An old leather suitcase for storage. Gold vintage mirror. Velvet curtains. More later....will share pics when we're able to finish.

plush blanket

Basement first, then I can make some progress. 'Bean' will sleep in his bassinet for a bit anyways. Surprisingly, I'm not in panic mode. We make do with our little bungalow and Rory is very excited to share her space. AND.... baby boy has arrived!!! I wrote this last week to post on Wednesday but baby came in the middle of the night, finally home on Friday, but then sick husband, another disaster in the house (what's new) and now sick Rory. :(  Will share more soon! For now, we all need rest.

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So....

Sorry so m.i.a. Been nesting, yoga, working to get ahead, cleaning, busy, busy, busy. Tired. Any day now. Come on bean! This lil' one is comfy I guess.

Rory has been helping Daddy in the basement and playing outside in this crazy early spring weather. Moving along. Basement ready, baby ready... soonish...


Rory helping Daddy drywall...in her tutu of course!



Keep you posted!


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DIY Dresser

What would you do? Bought this oak dresser on craigslist for the kid's room. (Also using as changing table).

Before

After stripped & sanded

Sorry, not best light

In bedroom, different lighting, with knobs that I found. (it's a bit lighter than the picture appears here)

We were going to do this with it ...

Design Sponge

 ...but I'm not sure painting it is the best idea on such a great piece? Thoughts? It's oak so we won't get it to look exactly like the above.

Bedroom is painted BM classic grey, so very pale/neutral. Stone curtains with white layered curtain behind them. Gold vintage mirror will hang above the dresser. Rory's bedding below. Both beds are a vintage white.

What do you think? Paint, stain, oil? Go with our original plan and see how it comes out? I hate to paint it and then regret b/c my husband spent so much time sanding it. The top is a bit marked up so I even thought of just painting the top. I'm torn. If our floors were darker I'd probably just oil it and leave as is b/c the rustic look is kinda cool. I do love the above painted dresser though. Have you worked with oak before? Feedback please...

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Head spinning

I have some serious catching up to do. Blog reading, writing, pinning, networking, socializing... it's been busy. Basement remodel moving along, painting, decisions, ordering stuff, organizing, cleaning, errands, chasing waddling around the cutest, most stubborn tot in the world. And on top of that my paid work world is busier than EVER and this little bean kicks at night and will not allow me to sleep. My good husband is trying to do it all. Husband, father, cook, teacher, contractor, plumber, electrician and I even got a foot and neck massage out of him this past weekend. We're both wiped.

Basement is dry (that was scary; I couldn't even look at it), water heater moved, duct in crawl space, holes in concrete floor for plumbing, electrical for laundry, laundry framed. Laundry room: old reclaimed wood floors or tile or redo concrete? Basement stairs: wood, stained or painted? Carpet will be in main/play room only, maybe? Basement ceiling, drop (for easy access) or drywall or wood? Home is 1920's, it's small and old and not as easy to work with, especially when DIY'ing. The upgrade is for resale purposes (whenever that may be) and extra play/living space obviously. We want to make it nice, but not necessarily spend like we would on our 'forever' home. Decisions!!! Digging this floor...

Stairs...

Floor...

Also seeking time for massage, pedicure, date night with my husband and a quality play day with my girl...whew. Baby, please do not come early, love mama. :)

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Mod Podge

Happy New Year! I meant to post the last several days but we've been a sick household. Lazy bed days and catching up on sleep. I took my holiday decorations down early this year. SO thankful I did. Zero energy. AND so grateful to have had a four day weekend.

Have you ever used Mod Podge? This made a fun gift. A friend sent me this link and this one. Mod Podge a photo onto a piece of wood. Or you can use canvas, which is what I'll try next. Super easy, super cute!

DIY:
Mod Podge
Brush or sponge
Wood cut to picture size
Pictures
Medium Gel (if you do the transfer option)
Paint or stain

I knew Grandparents would love it...so I shopped for the materials. Couldn't find the Gel, so we settled to do the Mod Podge only with an actual print. Then of course went to print some pics and the kiosk was down, so I had to go with a smaller picture at a different printer. Loved the size and the way it turned out. Great little xmas side gift.

Grabbed my xmas pic, printed about a 6x9 and had Klint cut pieces of wood to fit. Didn't go too thick with the wood; I wanted less bulky. I had him stain the wood a dark ebony and then I mod podged the picture on. Let it dry, put a hook on back (or little pegs to prop up would work great) and done. I took several pictures while working on this. My smart little child deleted them while playing with my phone. Sorry...but this is what I have left. You get the idea though...check out the links above to get more info.


One drying, one finished



Finished

More DIY work this week. Klint will probably start on a dresser we bought on craigslist for the kid's room. I'm excited for it. (Plus I'm ready to get their room in order). And I'm finishing up a baby crib for Rory's dolls. Will share later.

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Small Spaces

I started organizing, purging, creating ideas in my head for the best possible way to use each space in our home. It's small, if we're not completely organized and things are scattered it feels incredibly cluttered. Adding another child to the mix makes it even more difficult. Kids come with a lot of gear! We shall manage a few more years. "The average American has too much stuff". So I'll keep sticking to those thoughts and convince myself we have enough room to get by. We will be minimalists! Closet space is next to nothing in our bungalow. First thing up...maximize the space. We're having them updated and shelved and all that good stuff. Then we are swapping bedrooms with Rory. Our room is bigger so two kiddos will fit in there nicely. I'm going to reorganize the entire house. Curtains, paint, moving furniture around... it should be interesting, to say the least. Then onto fixing out the basement. Think we can get it all done before this bambino shows up? hmmm, I'm not totally convinced myself. Here's to hoping!!! We can do it!

I've been researching ways to de-clutter and maximize small spaces. Many tricks out there...

Curved furniture! Gives you more room to get from a to b and the perfect solution for eliminating baby/toddler injuries.

Curves

 Elongate a space with stripes. This is great! Not sure I'll use this idea, but love it! Interior decorator Alex Papachristidis recommends creating a glamorous jewel box: “Use larger patterns on the fabrics. Stencil the floors and upholster the walls. With a small room, think grand—I always do.” 

Stripes



White spaces. Really likey crispy whitey rooms. Seem bigger too. Great for natural light areas. Hmm bedroom or living room?

Though, dark walls make a small room look intriguing. Yep, that's the new news peeps...these rooms are pretty sharp! Our hallway is painted dark eggplant. I love the color. A crystal fixture will give it some wow. I might try and paint some accent walls dark. We'll see. I also might change my mind 101 times, but eventually I'll get it right!


Go symmetrical! Pleasing to the eye. Tricks the eye to look more organized. I have to buy a few pieces to make this work in a room or two. I'm not going to be boring and create too much symmetry, but a little will go a long way.

Lamps

Chairs

Mirrors

I just found this blog, Tiny-Ass Apartment. "Wish you had a five-bedroom mansion in the hills and enough money to decorate it with stuff from Anthropologie that's NOT on sale? Face it -- you live in a tiny-ass apartment with only enough cash to buy... nothing. Here's how to still be fabulous."

Awesome! A quick go to place to find ideas for my Tiny-Ass House!

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Clear Stuff

Not sure about you, but for some reason I adore Plexi Furniture. I've been dying for a little desk to hide somewhere in our house for the laptop. And I think the little kid chairs are adorable. Feels good for a small home b/c it's not so bulky and/or showy. It sort of disappears. Expensive though...and could be falling off the market a bit, maybe? Harder to find around town now. Buying something with reclaimed wood might make me feel better, but I can still like clear acrylic a whole lot...

Plexi-Craft

     

CB2 peekaboo console



Lights! Love love love clear glass fixtures. They were impossible to find when I was in search of them last year and/or way out of my price range. Not frosted, not textured, no waves, no color, just plain clear glass people! Now they are showing up in a few more places. Go figure. The traditional style will forever be a part of my home in some form. But I see a lot of industrial and modern looking ones too...which I love. Would buy any of these from West Elm!! 

Industrial Pendant

Globe

Rustic Jars

Some beautiful finds here...several clear glass choices. All hand crafted. Sign up for their catalogue.

Schoolhouse Electric Period Lighting Fixtures

Sundance Pendant Vintage handblown glass



CB2 Firefly Pendant lamp

 

Anthropologie Decanter Lamp



Knobs

Our 1920's home has all the original doorknobs. Would NEVER change them, my fave! They look like this ...

Anthro Diamond-Cut Doorknob

Anthropologie has great hardware! :) Many choices. Can't wait to start shopping them for the old dresser I'm my husband is going to refinish for kids room! 



DIY clear Anthropologie hardware

 

What clear gear do you love? 


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