The Big Reveal…the dining room

Are you ready???  I know it has taken me FOREVER to get these photos posted.  I got sucked in and just kept going.  I’m on a roll around here.  Since my last post I have switched things around in the office and the entry way and now I am in the middle of the family room, which has involved paint.  I will have to share photos of it all soon.  I don’t know why I am nesting like this.  I told my sister the other day that I was nesting for her.  She is having a baby in the next week and I haven’t gotten to see her pregnant once during this whole pregnancy!  That’s what happens when we live far away. 

Anyway, I am ripping my house apart.  I am purging, organizing, decorating and deep cleaning every room, one room at a time.  I have to say that it feels so good.  I haven’t played like this in my house in a really long time.  I have started plenty of projects, but haven’t finished them and now is the time! 

Ok.  Now for the real reason of this post.  Here is the dining room before:

Red, red and more red.

Here is the after:

 

I am in love.

I try to find any reason at all to come to the front of the house just so I can get a glimpse of it.

I am not a blue person at all so I took a risk with the color.  Taking risks is scary but it pays off.  I was ready to switch up my pallet a bit.  Actually these photos make the color look really blue but in real life it doesn’t look quite this brilliant.

When you are in the room the color looks more like the next few photos.  Which is what I was going for.

Grey with a blue undertone.  The color is Homberg Gray by Sherwin Williams.

 

I really didn’t have to buy much for this room.  I had the white plates already.  I love the clean and simple look of this wall.

I love the simple centerpiece of white flowers. I already had the vase but purchased the flowers at Hobby Lobby.

The curtains were in this room before.  I still love them and did not want to replace them.  Curtains are my nemeses.  I hate shopping for them and I hate making them. I wanted them to be a part of my neutral color scheme.

The chandelier was a MUST!  It totally makes the room for me.  Actually every single thing makes the room for me, but it would not be the same with out this piece.  I looked all over and I had a price range for myself which of course makes it tricky with chandeliers, but I found this one at Lowes.  It is perfect.

I had all of these frames as well.  I took the large one down from above my fireplace, since it is getting a makeover of its own.  Then I hunted the house for some other frames.  I had antique family photos in most of them.  I took them out and did something different them, which I will have to share soon because I love the idea of it.  Anyway, I had the silver platter in this room before.  I like the silver and gold together.  I have a lot of warm tones through out my house and I am trying to mix some cool tones in with them.  Lets not forget about the trim that Casey put up for me.  We should have had this in the room a long time ago!

I think it worked perfectly in here!  My favorite part is how simple and timeless it is.

If you want to see my inspiration photos, scroll down to the next post.  Pinterest is awesome…seriously!

 

Right Now…

We are in a huge mess over here.  You could call us the Weekend Warriors.  Our dining room is getting a makeover.  I couldn’t handle it another day.

Let’s just say I am sick of red.  Or at least this much red.

Casey put trim around the bottom half of the room.  He is just starting to paint the top in this photo. 

This mess isn’t even driving me crazy because I know it will be so worth it.  Everytime I have walked by this room for the last year at least I feel antsy.  Like I am ready to rip it apart and start over, but I had no motivation to dive into a project and no inspiration that made me giddy.  This week I finally decided I just needed to do it already!  I searched for inspiration and thought long and hard about what I wanted. 

Here are my inspiration photos. (Not the one on the left, the one on the right.)

 

 

and this one. 

I am in love.  These rooms make me feel so happy and peaceful.  It is the timeless look I had in mind. 

Now you have to wait and see the after.  It’s not done yet.  I can’t wait to finish it!

Our Summer To - Do List

I did it!  Our Summer List is framed and hanging on our laundry room door for all to see.

I took the idea from here and made it work for us (see post below for other links).  The only thing I had to buy was the frame.  I purchased mine from Target.  I gathered up my scrapbook paper and chose about 6 different patterns that I liked together.  They were 12x12 sheets of paper and the frame was 12 inches in width, so I cut the paper into 1 inch squares to fit across the frame.  I used the paper that came with the frame as a template to glue all of my strips onto.  I used my kids lined paper for the background of the header. I made my title in Photoshop and printed it on a scrap of one of the papers I used.  I was planning on using some of my old scrapbooking embellishments, but my supply has ran out since I switched to digital.  If you have some, this would be a fun place to use them.  I also don’t have colored ink right now so I went with a black title, but I am happy with how it turned out.  This was one project that I was not picky with and just enjoyed putting it together.  Once I had all of my paper pieces glued on and inside my frame, I wrote out our list.  I wrote on the glass because I want the kids to be able to check off the things we do.  The only problem is, it isn’t glass, it is Plexiglas, so the ink doesn’t come off.  It should come off with Windex if you are using real glass.  I had to be very careful while writing because of this!  I really don’t like my handwriting, but I’m over it. :)

I think it is such a fun summer addition!  The kids love it and can’t wait to start marking things off. 

As for the things on our list, I wrote all or our Alphabet Summer Activities (see post below for more details), some projects we (me) needs (wants) to finish and other summery things.  Like:

Water balloon fights, sleeping in, family movie nights, tissue paper craft, making treats and dinners with mom, sleep- overs, pool trips, library trips, re-doing the game room, late nights, pick berries, scrapbook, go to the temple, celebrate Fathers Day, celebrate birthdays, read a chapter book together, play in sprinklers, exercise regularly, explore Old Town Spring, Children’s Museum, make birthday party gifts for next year, back to school shopping, organize food storage closet, go to Arkansas, Waterway Square, do a puzzle, 4th of July, have a picnic under the trampoline, print my 365 book, and have a bike wash. 

We are ready to go!

We have survived our first day and a half of Summer.  We have been to a 4th grade pool party, had a sleep over, taken Ady to the dr. because I thought she broke her wrist.  She is fine but… is now in a big girl bed.  Made a trip to the pool, eaten at Chic-fil-A, been to another pool party, went on a photo shoot, watched movies and still have had time to bicker, nag and tattle tale!  Welcome Summer!!!! :)

Giving Thanks

I couldn’t let this holiday season pass me by with out giving thanks for the many blessings I have.  We were able to go to Arkansas and spend Thanksgiving with our very best friends.  Just like family, friendship is an amazing blessing.  Andrea and I and our families are so lucky to have each other while we are away from our extended families.  We live 7 hours apart but really the distance doesn’t feel that far. We make every effort to get together and with each of us having 4 kids and busy husbands, it is a HUGE  effort from each of us, but words can’t even explain how worth it  it is when we are together.  It just feels like home.  Exactly the way it should.  I don’t know why Heavenly Father blessed us both so much but it is not something that is taken for granted!  It is a blessing to have a friendship where you know that you are  understood completely on every single level.  Where our husbands love hanging out together and have the same goals for their families and ideas about  fatherhood.  Where our children think of each other as cousins and even call the other mom “mom”.  Yes, Tessa called me mom.  More than once.  It totally melted my heart!  It’s kind of funny because Andrea and I always laugh at how Ady and Tessa could seriously be twins, in looks and mannerisms.  I guess they think that about us too because each of them is attached to the other mom.  That is also a blessing.  To love your friends children as your own.  That is rare! :)

We had so much fun and enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend.  It went something like this:

A family photo shoot done by Andrea.   

 

I loved the red barn.  Especially for Christmas.  She did a wonderful job!  If you want to see more go here.

Thanksgiving dinner, of course.  Which included festively decorated tables for the adults and the kids.

Lots and lots of food.   My mouth is watering again looking at this picture.  It was delicious!

On the menu: Turkey, Mashed Potatoes and gravy, Stuffing, Sweet Potato Souffle`, Corn, Pistachio pudding and homemade rolls.  Dessert was Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream and Pecan Pie Bars with icecream.

It was enjoyed by all!    (Photos taken by Andrea)

Our Thanksgiving night ended with us getting all crazy and rushing out the door to hit the movie Tangled.  It felt like we were on Home Alone and ready to miss our plane!  It made for some good laughs and a great show.  Then we came home, tucked the kids in bed, played cards and started scheming a plan.  Because that’s how we roll.  Our minds never turn off, especially when we are all together.  Casey and I started talking about our remodel of the boys bedroom, which led Andrea to mention what she wanted for Christmas.  Casey pulled out a tape measure and the rest is history! 

Here is the after picture of her dinning room.  The board and batten is her Christmas present from Jonathan.  

  

To read the whole story and see some beautiful pictures of this room that I am COMPLETELY jealous of go here.  It is definitely worth the click.  You will be jealous too!

And  because re-doing a dinning room just doesn’t seem to be enough for us, we threw in another project.

Isn’t it cute?  We made a ton of these as Christmas gifts.  I really shouldn’t be showing these since it is a gift and all, but I’m not naming names, so it will still be a surprise.  You don’t know who you are!  Finding a home for mine was one of the first things I did when I got home. 

I can’t forget to mention how Thankful I am to our husbands.  They make all of the behind the scenes things possible.  With out their support, encouragement and help all of the fun extra’s that we do really wouldn’t be possible.  A supportive husband is a wonderful blessing.  I love you my husband!  Thank you for putting up with all of these hair brained ideas that just don’t quit!

Thank you for a wonderful weekend Swenson family!  I wish it never had to end.  When do we get to be next door neighbors?

Summer Prep – Part 1

  

My kids are counting down until the last day of school.  We are now at 7 days left.  That’s not including the weekend or Memorial Day, just school days, they keep telling me.  Every time I hear them mention it, my heart skips a beat and I start to feel that dreaded panicky feeling and the instant anxiety.  Like I’m getting ready to start a race or something.  Can anyone relate???

Last summer I was pregnant, hot and grumpy.  This summer is different.  I am in a good place right now.  Life is overall really good.  My kids are at fun ages and Ady is easy to take places.  Sure, they keep me running in circles, but they are easy to have fun with.  I want to make the most of this summer; do fun things with my kids, have some good laughs, make memories, be lazy, but be productive too.  To make this happen I knew I had to come up with a plan.  I needed to get all of those thoughts and ideas in my head organized somehow.  So I spent ALL of last week getting prepared for summer.  I call it my  “Summer Prep Week.”  My plan is to share a post each day this week about what I did to get prepared.  Today it’s about getting organized.  You have to start with that first!

*On my regular cleaning day I went through and cleaned extra good.  Because of this, it took me 2 days to clean my house instead of 1.  I went through each room and tore them all apart and then put them back together again.  In the bedrooms I went through closets and drawers.  Everything has a  home again.  I cleaned out and got rid of unwanted or unnecessary things, including toys, papers, clothes etc.  In the 2 T.V. rooms I organized the armoires.  The one upstairs now hosts all of the puzzles, since we have 2 good tables to work on in that room.  That room doesn’t get used very often so it’s a good room to leave a puzzle sitting out.  The one downstairs hosts all of the board games, cards, movies and gaming systems.  What took me the longest was the high traffic areas.  In our house it is the kitchen and the laundry room.  They needed some help.  I knew this is where my kids would spend most of their time.  It’s going to be the messiest room, especially since all of their arts and crafts are stored here.

*First of all, I took inventory.  I pulled out every supply from every nook and cranny in these 2 rooms to see what we had.  Then I threw away old yucky things and made a list for replacements.  I had some projects in mind that I wanted to work on with my kids this summer so I added those to the list.  I am REALLY trying hard not to run too many errands while they are all home, so I thought ahead and planned for some arts and craft projects.  4 kids plus hot humid weather, no thank you!  Here are some pictures of my organizing system in these 2 rooms.

This was their craft cupboard Before.  Yes, I really had a cupboard like this!

Here it is After.

I made a stop at Wal-Mart and picked up some baskets.  Not only do I like the way they look, but it will be so easy for my kids to pull a basket out and then put it away. 

This basket may not look organized, but it really is.  This one sits in the same cupboard in front of the book basket.

It is home to stickers, punches, stamps, paper, envelopes and all sort of misc. crafty things.  I have everything organized in zip lock bags.  Not the cutest thing, but it works. 

Then we’ve got the laundry room.  This is where school bags, shoes, swim supplies, coats and extra school supplies are stored. 

Here is a Before picture of our busy little corner.

 

School supplies at the top, coats and bags on the hooks and shoes in the bin.

Here it is After. 

Now I don’t mind looking into my laundry room from the kitchen anymore.  It just needed some TLC.  I cleaned out the coats, washed them and stored them in individual closets.  We really don’t need them anymore.  Hung up all of the swim bags and got rid of the old school supplies.  I am planning on doing some things with school supplies this summer, so I replaced them while I was out.  Here is a closer look.

   

I found the tins at Target in the dollar isle.  I snatched up 3 of them.  I can’t stand when my kids argue about whose marker is whose and so and so is using my scissors and he broke the glue stick…blah, blah, blah.  So they each got their own, colored pencils, crayons, markers, scissors and glue stick.  I spray painted a square onto the tin with chalkboard paint and wrote their initials.  No arguing allowed!  Next to that is their own writing tablet and art tablet.  Now they are all set!

Then I moved outside.  No pictures here, but I sorted through the sand toys, and all of the toys in the garage.  They all have a home.  The balls are with the balls. The baseball equipment is together, the jump ropes, the ice chests, the sidewalk chalk ect. The wet pool toys that don’t get brought in the house are stored in a pool bag on one of the shelves in the garage.  Now we’ll see if we can keep up on it.  I really believe that being organized makes for more freedom.  You don’t have to spend so much time looking for things and your kids know where things belong.  They can find their toys on there own and help clean up too. That sounds pretty awesome to me!

The last thing I did was sort through my basket.  It’s pretty organized, but every now and then I like to go through and weed things out.  I pulled out my summer folder and started planning.  

More on that tomorrow!

Random Wednesday…on Thursday night, almost Friday

I thought I would do a quick post on some misc. projects I have been up to. 

Clothespin Magnets.  These were Mother’s Day magnets I had the girls in Activity Days make for their Mothers.  They wrote a nice letter to their moms and then hung them on the fridge with these cute magnets for them to find. 

This was a super easy and fun project.  They look so cute on the fridge!  I have them on mine.  We just wrapped one side of the clothes pin with ribbon, attaching it with a strip of hot glue.  Then cut circles out of 3 different fabrics.  Each circle a different size so you can layer them.  I frayed the edges with my fingertips to give it more of a shabby look and then hot glued a jewel to the center.  When I was done with that I hot glued a magnet to the backside.  I bought good magnets.  I don’t like when you get a home made magnet and you can’t even use it. 

Simple and cute!

 

Armoire Makeover.  When Andrea was here we went crazy re-doing the armoire in my family room.  This has been on my list for a long time.  What a wonderful friend to help me pick out a color and paint while on her vacation!  It turned out great and I so appreciate her help, oh yeah and so does Casey.

Before

and After

 

I love it!  It brightened the family room up so much and added a little bit of fun to it.  I love the unexpected punch of color.

Then there is my Summer Banner.

It is hanging on a mirror in my entryway.

 

Do you see the fabric above the S that says “the joy of”?  I knew I would need a reminder about how much I truly love summer.  It is my favorite time of year.  So I made this banner and put it where we (especially me) will see it often.  I hope it will keep me excited about Summer, even on those days when I’m ready to pull my hair out and dying to see that yellow bus come by!

I have been working my little tail off around here getting all prepared for summer.  I’m going to dedicate the next week to posts about that.  Stay tuned for some summer ideas. 

Mother’s Day Done!

*My two mother’s – Do not look at this post.* 

 

 

 

     These little babies are packaged and in the mail.   

 

  What a great feeling!  A project done AND it will be on time! 

         I made homemade cards inspired from Made.  I sewed  fabric scraps onto cardstalk.  Here are a few of the designs I came up with. 

This was nice for me because I wasn’t following a pattern or stressing out worrying that  I wasn’t doing it just right.  Anything goes with these cards!  I loved them so much that I HAD to make some for me too!

I made coasters inspired from Ruffles and Stuff.  Mine turned out a little different than hers.

I loved the look of the lace, but IT did not love me!  I was ready to seriously pull my hair out and give up.  I really wanted to make these coasters and I already had the muslin part done, so I just grabbed some fabric scraps that were covering my table from the cards and made little squares and sewed those on.  I really like how they turned out.  It was a good mistake for me.  I think they look more like my mom anyway.  I loved these so much that I HAD to make some for me too! 

Happy Mother’s Day to me!!

Besides trying to wrap the lace, this was an easy sewing project for me.  A good one to start with.  I feel a little more confident with that dang machine!  Honestly, it’s the bobbin that freaks me out.  I panic thinking of being in the middle of a project and having something go wrong and I can’t fix it.  So I sew when my husband is home and he’s the fixer! 

Happy Mother’s Day Ladies!!

Random Wednesday

This is my new idea for a weekly post.  Hopefully it will keep me in the routine of posting even when I think there might not be anything worth posting about.  There is always something to blog about, right?  So on Wednesdays anything goes for me.  We’ll see if I can keep it up. :)

I figured out my Mothers Day gifts and I am  EXCITED!!! A little blog reading yesterday and I am set.  I love blogs for that reason.  They are so helpful and inspiring and I love that we women share the goods in our life.  We all have been given talents and this is such a wonderful way to share them, whether it be through our inspiring words and thoughts, our projects and ideas, photography, recipes, our personal goals or sharing our cute families and fun things we do.  Whatever it is.  Blogging is inspiring and such a fun way to learn and grow. 

OK enough of my soap box.  Here is what I’m going to be working on this weekend.  Mothers in my life – do not click on these links.  Unless you don’t want it to be a surprise.  That’s up to you.  I will have them in the mail to you next week. 

This is what I am doing for my Mother-in-Law and This is what I’m doing for my mom.  I’m going to get my sewing machine out!  Can you believe it?  I know they are like super easy sewing projects, but I don’t sew, remember?  I’ll let you know how they turn out.  

Another piece of random…I hobbled along with Drew on his school field trip today. 

                       My foot is paying for it now but he was happy.  I sure love him!