I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar!

I feel so empowered! My dad taught me to cut and install baseboards this week. Two days ago we did Jared's bedroom. He made most of the cuts, with me doing some by the end. Today he came over again and we did baseboards in the hallway and kitchen. I made almost all the cuts and did most of the measuring. At 4:00 he went home and I finished up a bunch of small cuts around a corner and doorway by myself.

By today I was quite comfortable using the compound miter saw. I've used it once or twice before with hubby standing right by, for straight cuts, but today, I was using it all by my little self! Of course I wasn't home alone. People were within screaming distance...no screams today though :)

Keeping in mind that everything still has to be caulked and painted, lookee what I did:

I need to do a little wall repair around that register.

Please try not to gag at the ugly walls, floors and trim.  It's all going to go away someday in the near future.  I hope to paint the walls a much more neutral color in the next few months.  I rag rolled these walls years ago and really loved them, and so did everyone who came to visit.  They look like wallpaper, but I'm really tired of them now and tired of the colors too.

Eventually we want tile floors here and in the school room.  It's right by the back door and gets tracked in constantly.  But the floors will have to get in line.  There's a lot of projects ahead of them.

Hubby put Jared's bed back together today, so he can sleep in his room tonight.  There's not another stitch of furniture in there yet.  I'm too pooped to do anymore tonight, besides I need time to further develop my bloggy butt.  Cheers!

Fall Color & Another Bedroom Update

The baseboards are in...yay! They've been caulked and painted. There are still some we didn't nail down around the doors, because we need to add trim around the doors and window, but that may have to come a little later.

I've also got one coat of paint on his bed, and plan to finish it today, so it can get put back together and moved back in his room tomorrow! Several items have been painted for his room, but the biggy left to paint are two bookshelves. Hoping to get primer and maybe a coat of paint on those yet today. We've been doing school this morning, but it's done now and I can move on to projects.

I stopped to smell the roses...so to speak, a couple of days ago, and snapped a few quick pictures to capture a bit of fall color here. It's been cold and wet, and we've had the plague here, so I'd been feeling a bit cooped up. So after a quick trip to the barn for some primer, I noticed these and decided to snap some pictures and take a breather. Take a moment and enjoy a little breather yourself.

Partial harvest:  Red potatoes, onions and green tomatoes...yum!

PB Inspired Bulletin Board (Sort of)

When I saw this PB Bulletin board, I fell in love. So with it in mind, I went to work. As I went along, it morphed into something quite a bit different, but I like my version just as well.

I started with some really weathered old wood, that I snatched from my hubby's burn pile.  He had several old wood boxspring frames that had sat outside and weathered to the perfect patina.  He called them rotted; I called them perfect.  I got the look. o_0

I hammered those old frames apart and hammered tons of old staples out of them, then stacked them in the barn.  I knew I'd better use these up soon, or hubs would sneak them off to the burn pile and  light a match quick LOL!

Not wanting to take off the patina, I hand sanded very lightly, just to remove any splinters and a little roughness.  The board on top is unsanded.  Then I sprayed a matte acrylic sealer on it.

As luck would have it, I had a faded old bulletin board stashed away, just the perfect size.

First I stapled burlap to the front, folding under the edges about an inch.

Those boards with the curved edges fit along the sides perfectly.  I just had to trim down the top and bottom rails to fit, then I screwed them all to the bulletin board from the back.

 So far, so good.  Here's the fun part.  While shopping for my son's room (soon to be revealed), I found a cool metal plaque with the Eiffel Tower attached to it.  Well, not THE Eiffel Tower, but...yeah anyway, I detached it and saved the back for a project for Jared's room.

The tower had flat head screws welded onto the back, with nuts to fasten it.  I thought I could just drill holes and refasten it to my  bulletin board, but they weren't long enough.  So I just used Gorilla glue in the holes and set some heavy books on it.  Love that stuff!

Next I used a make-up sponge and black craft paint to stencil some fleur de lis on to the burlap.  I dipped the sponge into the paint, then dabbed most of it back off before using it.  I wanted a faded look.  As you can see, I taped off around my stencil to prevent mistakes...which I'm really good at.

I used a ruler more as a rough guide.  I wasn't looking for perfect line up.

I think it needs something, but I like it.  Maybe it will come to me...or maybe someone will suggest something hint, hint.

I do want to make or buy some of those cute frenchy looking tacks I've seen somewhere on Etsy.

The PB version retails for $149 smackaroos.  Mine cost me about $1.00 for some burlap.  The Eiffel Tower was a bonus, because I bought that for my son' room and didn't have a use for the tower at the time, but the plaque cost $9.00, so I could add half that onto my cost if you want to get technical.  I already had everything else.  ChaChing!

I've entered this project in The DIY Club Give Away Party!  Go check it out.

I've linked to the following parties. Check them out for tons of great ideas!

The Diy Club

Funky Junk - Saturday Night Special

Under the Table and Dreaming - Sunday Showcase Party
I Heart Naptime Sundae Scoop -  Weekend Wrap Up Party
The DIY Showoff
Kuzak's Closet - Sister Sister Sunday
Happy to Design - Sunday Favorites
Between Naps on the Porch - Metamorphosis Monday
Tools are for Women too
All Thinz Related - Anything Related
French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday
The Romantic Home - Show and Tell Friday

French Flower Pot for Obelisk and Hoya

First, I want to thank those who left suggestions for the color to use on the baseboards and trim in my son's room.  Opinions were all over the place, but it was a great help to me in reasoning out what I wanted and why.  In the end, I mixed the darker gray floor paint with white (half and half).  I was afraid if I did the trim the same color as the walls, the stripes would look as if I just randomly stopped them.  But I didn't want such a dark contrast as the floor color either.  I appreciate each and every comment very much!

Now on to a little project that I started a couple of weeks ago.  I had the pot all painted, but was missing a saucer.  My mom came to the rescue, as I could not find any left in town.  It's finished, my Obelisk and Hoya are planted, and I'm a happy camper.

This was a fun and easy project. I had a big clay pot in the barn that I hauled outside to paint. This puppy is heavy without dirt and a plant in it...don't think I'll be moving it around much! I do have a rolling plant stand I think I'll paint and use underneath it.

I plunked it down on the grass, then plunked myself down beside it, and almost sat on this guy:

I think he was getting ready to hibernate.  He was moving really slow and couldn't fly.  I gave him his space. 

First I sprayed it with white primer, the pot...not the bee, then hit it with a couple coats of heirloom white. I used Fusion because that's what I had. Maybe it will stick better than regular paint...I hope. I didn't get pictures of that, but I think you can picture a white pot.

It already looked better, but not the look I was going for...yet. I whipped out my palm sander and gave it the once over. Now we're getting somewhere.

But it still didn't thrill me. After some hem-hawing about what to do, I remembered the fleur-de-lis foam stamp I bought earlier this summer when I was downstate at a Michael's store. Those of you who live near a Michaels don't know how lucky you are!

 First I painted the rim black, using a foam brush with most of the paint squeezed out of it.

I wanted a worn look, with some white showing through.  I did a small section at a time, then quickly, before the paint dried, dabbed some back off with a paper towel. 

It was a little too light, so I did a second coat.  Ooooh...I like, I like!

Next I used the same brush to put paint on the stamp.  I used the paper towel to dab some back off the stamp, then pressed it onto the pot, rolling it side to side a little and pressing hard because of the curved shape of the pot.  Even so, I had to realign a couple of times to get a spot that didn't print.

After it dried, I used the palm sander once again, but with a very light touch, to go over the black areas, giving it a worn, aged look.

Here it is all finished with the saucer:

 

 Now with the Hoya planted and the Obelisk doing it's job:

I think it has a French vibe.  My Hoya and I are lovin' it.

I'm also working on a very cool (I think) bulletin board.  After installing baseboards tomorrow, I hope to get if finished.  So ya'll come back now, ya hear?

I've linked to these great parties.  Go explore and enjoy!

French Country Cottage

Help! Advise Needed

I need some quick advise from my bloggy friends. We are heading out to Home Depot to pick up the baseboards. I want to get it painted this afternoon so we can install them tomorrow.

Now that I am to this point, I'm stuck. Do I paint the baseboards the color of the floor or the walls. I could paint another color (I have black or red, but I don't think I want that much of a contrast, especially as I will be painting the trim around windows and doors the same color (when I eventually get trim up).

I'm leaning toward the floor color. I could add some white to that color and get a color in between, which might look really nice. Even the floor color might be too dark for trim on the walls. So I need you to tell me what you think. Here are some pictures of the room. I need to start painting this afternoon, so let me know what you think please, please, please...and thank you!