Project Challenge 2016: Spindles, Molding, or Trim

Morning!

It's Project Challenge time again.

The first of the year and I am very excited to show you what I've come up with.

This months theme is spindles, molding or trim.

For my project I decided to use screen molding to build myself a rustic looking Red Cross Sign.

I really like how it turned out!

Every now and then I come across a Red Cross sign used as an accent in some beautifully styled home and I have always thought they were lovely.

I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make one from my house.

I wanted it to look somewhat rustic so I decided on a pieced together look.

To do this I cut small pieces of screen molding at random until I had the design filled in.

Rather a labor intensive project but in the end it was so worth it.  The project as a whole turned out better than I could have hoped for!

I am sure to love it for years to come.

The supplies needed for the project were very basic and all things I had on hand already.

If your interested in a tutorial on how to make your own just watch the video tutorial below and I will walk you through the steps I took.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now lets catch up with the other talented ladies in the Project Challenge group and see what inspiring projects they have come up with this month.

Michele at Shelstring

Tammy at One More Time Events

Robin at ReDo It Yourself Inspirations

Jill at Sew A Fine Seam

Lucy at Patina Paradise

Jeanette at Country Design Style

Christine at Little Brags

Looks like some amazing projects this month!

Follow the link-up below to check them all out.

And while your there make sure to say Hi!

An InLinkz Link-up

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A Hutch In Black and White

Morning!

I have been spending my spare time the past couple of days trying to give my Living Room a little style and character that has been lacking since I've removed all the Christmas sparkle.

As I finish up the room, I thought I'd share with you the display I've created for the hutch.  It will give you an idea of where I'm heading with the whole room.

During the first few months of the new year I like the rooms in my home to have an uncluttered, fresh look to them.  

For me the perfect color combo that achieves the look I crave is black and white.

Simple, Stylish, Classic

Something about a single color paired with white has always been a look that I have been drawn to.  

I think the major appeal for me is the simplicity of it.

The way my color of choice 'pops' out at from the background of white is just so beautiful to me.

Black and white seems like the perfect way to mix together the three types of decorating styles that I love the most:  Farmhouse, Cottage, and Nordic.

All three styles have roots in simplicity and put a high premium on a mixture style and functionality.

Which is the aspects that drawn me in the most I feel.

Regardless of the colors I choose to use, the mixture of styles is like a breathe of fresh air.

For now, 

I'll concentrate on this particular pairing since it's making me feel oh so happy and cheerful!

I've have some more work to do on the Living Room itself, but soon I'll be sure to show off my new "happy place".

Talk to you soon,

Robin

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Plaid Pillow Covers

Good Morning!

Today I thought I'd share with you my newest sewing project.

A quick and easy pillow cover sewn from some warm, snugly flannel.

I adore this particular plaid so much.

You may remember a while back I shared a tutorial on how to sew a 

flannel blanket.

 (you can see the post here if you'd like).

Well lucky me, I had just enough fabric leftover for the front side of two pillow covers.

On the back side I used white fleece from my fabric stash to keep things all cozy and comfy.

These new pillow covers are working out perfectly in my Living Room.

They add just a touch of red, which I can never seem to be without.

And at the same time they add a healthy dose of white and black.

Perfect for the look I am attempting to create for my winter decor.

I've shown a tutorial on this type of pillow cover before, so I won't bore you with the details again but in case you missed it you can watch it below.

This type of cover is by far still my favorite.  

Simple and easy to sew together, but still has a clean, stylish look.

That's it for me today,

Bye Now,

Robin

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How To Update A Basic Bedskirt

Good Morning!

Today I'm checking a project off the old to-do list and I thought I'd share with all of you!

I've had the same skimpy bed skirt on my bed for years.  It's a cheap one from some big box store or another, I really can't remember - - it's done it job successfully for years but it's never been exactly what I wanted it to be.

After a quick trip to the fabric store for supplies and an hour or so of work I now have a new looking, full bed skirt that seems worthy of excitement.

To get the new look I gathered up a whole bunch of fabric I cut to size and then sewed it right onto my old skimpy bed skirt.

Turned out perfectly and I couldn't be more happy about it.

Makes me wonder why it took me so long to get this project done!

If you'd like to see how I revamped my bed skirt I have a video tutorial below you can check out!

Have a great day now,

Robin

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Fun Finds

With how crazy busy the past month has been my thrift store shopping time has been seriously diminished.

But never fear - - I managed to work in one trip early last week and found some fun stuff.

First up, this adorable bunny. . . I think he's cute . . . the rest of the family is shaking their head in shame over my blow-mold obsession.

I on the other hand, I am tickled by the find.  

She's become a bit of a joke around here since the day I brought her home everyone and I mean EVERYONE was giving me such a hard time.

So being the nice mom that I am, I starting stashing her away in weird spots around the house, like in the shower, tucked into someone's bed with just the ears poking out, inside the pantry cupboard, on a stool next to the kitchen sink - - you know, stuff like that.

The family, grudgingly, has now accepted her!

Then I found this wall hanging!

It's really big and heavy and I can't wait to give it a makeover.

I think it will look really nice centered over a couple of prints on the wall.

I couldn't pass up this tiny gold mirror, which I will give a face-lift and these black and gold candlesticks which I thought were pretty and will be a great addition to my black and white themed living room that I like to use during the winter months.

White, ironstone soup tureens are always on my "must have list".

You can bet that I was thrilled with this find.

Right now I have it sitting on my kitchen windowsill so I can enjoy it's beauty while I'm washing dishes.

And last but not least, I found this lone salt/pepper shaker that I thought was adorable and the perfect filler for a shelf in the kitchen.

Just look at that face - - so sweet!

There you have it!

How about you, any great finds of your own?

Robin

Organizing My Life - A New Life Planner

Does anyone besides me get excited about a brand-spank'n new calendar?

Something about it gets me excited for the possibilities to come!

This year I splurged on an Erin Condren Life Planner!

Lucky Me!

You can check out the website I ordered it from here.

I've been impatiently awaiting it's arrival for a couple weeks now until the glorious day when it finally arrived.

Ever since I've been in planning heaven!

If your unfamiliar with Erin Condren planners you have a choice from loads of different cover types and colors.  Plus you can pick between a horizontal or vertical layout for your weekly layout pages.

I picked the "Paint It Plaid" cover in red - surprise, surprise

With a vertical layout for the weekly pages.

In anticipation for the arrival of my new calendar, I also bought myself some pretty pens and a new package of post-it notes.

As soon as I had the new calendar in my grubby little hands I couldn't wait to sit down and start filling it up!

I thought giving you a quick tour about how I've set up the calendar might be fun but first let me explain what's got me so excited about this calendar.

In the past to keep myself organized I've used a combination of a simple monthly spread calendar, a notebook and a scratch pad to keep track of family appointments, blog posts, projects, etc.  It worked well, but I have not been very fond of having multiple items to keep track of and flip through when I was looking for something specific.

Enter my new Life Planner.  

I now have space to plan out family activities, blog posts, and meal plans, plus room for monthly and weekly to-do lists and misc. items I want to remember.

All in one handy-dandy space!

Can you see why I'm so excited!

Lets get to that tour . . . 

First up, the monthly layout spread. . . 

Each month has a heavy duty tab, to help me flip from month to month quickly.

  Plus each month has a different color scheme which I love - makes me think I have a brand new calendar each month!

This layout is perfect for giving me a quick glance at the month as a whole.

But the thing I love most is that there is space for me to list out all the projects I'd like to get done throughout the month too!

After each monthly layout page, the weeks are divided up into a two page weekly layouts.

With the vertical layout I picked, each day has three blank boxes to use however you'd like, plus a small lined area at the bottom for extra notes and such as you can see in the photos above and below.

Here is how I've decided to use the weekly layout to keep me organized.

The top box will keep track of any household or family activities planned for the day.

The second box is used to list our evening dinner meal.

The third box will list any blog post I have planned for the day.

Below the boxes I will keep track of any vlogging video's or photo's I take throughout the week to make it easier when I put together videos or make weekly photo collages.

Off to the left is a space to list the projects I want to complete for the week.

Wow, do I feel organized now!

What a great feeling!

How about you, have you got your new 2016 calendar all ready for the year!

Would love to hear how you keep track of things.

Robin

DIY Cozy Area Rug

Morning!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Here in Minnesota we had a very cold weekend making us very thankful for the mild winter we've had so far.

The family and I snuggled in and stayed home the whole weekend which was wonderful!

And speaking of snuggling in, today I'd like to share a DIY project I finished last month but never had the time to post about.

I've been wanting a really cozy looking rug for my living room but have not had any luck finding something I like in the price range I wanted to spend.

While at the fabric store I stumbled upon some fabric that had the look I wanted in the faux fur section.  It was on sale and right then and there I decided to try to make a rug.

Just winging it, I picked up four yards of the fur fabric and four yards of a coordinating fleece fabric (also on sale) to use as a backing.  

In total I spent just over forty dollars - not too shabby for a rug!

It turned out better than I could have hoped for.

I love how soft it is, and the texture it gives the room is wonderful.

As soon as I rolled it out onto the floor it made the space seem so much more cozy.

I have been using it for over a months now and it works great.  The kiddos sometimes flip up the edges, but straightening it up is no big deal.

For me, sewing a DIY rug was a great option and one that I am happy to have attempted since it turned out so nicely.

Not sure how this would work on a floor without carpet but for me the fleece laid down on top of carpet sort of works like a piece of Velcro and the rug lays nice and flat.

For detailed instructions on how I sewed together this area rug, please watch the video below - - Enjoy!

Have a great day and I'll talk to you soon,

Robin


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6th of January and I'm Behind Already!

Morning!

Hope your all doing well!

I was hoping to announce today that I'm back from the mini blogging break I've taken over the holidays but sadly, that is not the case.

Let me explain . . .

It all started five day's before Christmas when out of the blue, WHAM!  I was hit by the flu bug - not cool.

Then amazingly enough Christmas Eve morning I woke up feeling great!  Yippeee!  

Packed up the car, the kids, the hubby and headed out for a extended stay at my parents place for Christmas.

Five day's later we arrived back home, relaxed and hung out for a couple of days with the family then we had nice low-key New Years Eve at home. . . awwww just what I needed.

New Year's day was looking promising until early evening when all of a sudden the flu was back - - with a vengeance!

Now it's the 6th of January, fingers crossed, I'm finally flue free and I'm trying not to panic about how far I am behind on all the things I normally have done by now!

Not a single Christmas item has been boxed up ...

The urge for my yearly crazy, obsessed cleaning frenzy hasn't hit yet ...

All of which is normally finished by now, and I am enjoying a nicely cleaned house ready to take on the new year!

But NONE of that has happens yet!

Not that I'm complaining, no not that, it's more like I'm sharing my stress by talking about it in hopes that it helps me calm down about it.

If that makes sense,

So anyways, after that long, and lengthy explanation (sorry to talk your ear off) I will not be blogging the rest of the week in hopes of making up some lost time.

Instead I will be back to my regular posting schedule next week.

See you then!

----------------------------

On a side note, I splurged and ordered myself a new Erin Condren Life Planner (link here) which I am impatiently awaiting to arrive.

In the meantime life goes on and I am using this makeshift, quickly drawn calendar in my notebook . . . 

Sad - - so Sad

Anyone else like me and still new calendar-less?

Favorite Projects of 2015

Happy New Year!

This time of the year is always full of such fun and promise.  I love setting goals and watching them become a reality.

I also love looking back over the past year.  Remembering fun times with the family and looking through photos of all the projects I've completed.  I'm always amazed to realize just how much we've packed into one year.

I of course dream of the upcoming year and start making lists (because I'm a list maker) of all I'd like to accomplish during this brand new year.

Because so much of our lives are based on what we've already accomplished, I thought a small round up of my favorite projects of 2015 would set a great tone and get my creative juices rolling for the new year.

I've come up with six projects that turned out better then I could have hoped for and that I enjoy using even now, months later.

Let's get started:

#1:  Tabletop Ironing Board

A very simple project, but one that has because use a great item to have in my studio space and one I reach for time and time again.

You can see the whole post here.


#2:  DIY Rustic Crate

This was one of those projects you hope your able to pull off in the very beginning.  It ended up turning out great and I find it's perfect for holding extra throw blankets in the living room.



The whole post and a tutorial can be found here.




# 3:   Framed Quilt Blocks

This project idea was formed by combining both my love of sewing and the need for some new artwork in the kitchen.  I had a blast sewing up a couple quilt blocks that I've wanted to try for ages.  When the sewing was done, adding the blocks to a simple frame and hanging them above a shelf in the kitchen seemed like such a natural thing to do.

I still love them and can't wait to rehang them after I take my Christmas decor down.  Plus the pop of color they add to my almost all white kitchen is never a bad thing.



The original post can be found here.




#4:  Twin Bed Built-In's

The one big project my husband and I accomplished this year was this set of built-in twin beds for the bedroom of our two youngest girls.

The built-in's made such a difference in the small room by adding some much needed storage and by giving each of the girls their own space within the room.

I truly love how they turned out and the girls do also! 



To check out the whole post visit here.



#5:  DIY Barn Door

This single project changed the whole feel of the living room.  

I have always struggled with the large blank space above the sofa.  Having tried may different options in the past, the addition of the fuax barn door helped set a relaxed, somewhat rustic tone in the room that I love.

So far I have only had it a couple months and the only thing I've hung on it so far has been two different wreaths but I have so many plans for this door - - I am hoping to use a few of them soon. 



Both a tutorial and a video tutorial on how I made this barn door can be found here.




#6:  Sewing a Flannel Blanket

From the very first time I laid this newly sewn blanket over the sofa in the living room it became an instant hit with the whole family.  

I love the gorgeous plaid pattern on it and the cozy, yet lightweight feel of the blanket.  It's perfect for those late night reading sessions on the sofa.  

The rest of the family loves it too, even the dog!  It's been know to be kidnapped into other rooms of the house by various members of the family until I have to go looking for it or I have to snatch it away from a growling not so happy dog whenever I want to use it.



A quick tutorial can be found here.



And because I'm having so much fun with this round-up of projects I thought I'd add one more just for fun.




Bonus Project:  Sewing IKEA Style Cushion Covers

I have used this type of cushion cover over and over this year.  

It's my go - to cover because it's quick and easy and it's a little more fancy that just a plain cushion without any edging.  

I've become so good at making these covers I can sew together a set of them in under a half hour - they are that easy!


To make your own, follow the tutorial  here.


Sure hope you have enjoyed this year end round up!  Please drop me a note below if you are also doing something similar on your blog so I can come check it out.  I love these type of posts.

Bye now,

Robin


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