Out to Pasture {Easy Art Piece}

While I loved my horse art.... I am kinda over it now for my family room. I am going for a whole new vibe. And the horses weren't feeling it.

I am desperately trying to bring some WHITE and CREAMS in to the family room. So I took it upon myself to come up with some new artwork.  I have seen a few inspiration pieces that looked pretty easy to replicate {can't find any sources right now, but I've seen them!}.

White on white. Subtle.

Here's what I did:

I left it hanging there for a whole 24 hours before we all (the kids and I) decided it was not right. The concept is cute, but it was just "too modern," my daughter said.

So, I gave it a 5 minute makeover. Literally, it took about 5 minutes and some of that canvas/burlap ribbon I scored at Hobby Lobby, a little Plaid paint, 6 pushpins and 1 fake flower, destemmed.  All of which I had on hand.

Much better, me thinks.
The peanut gallery agreed.

I have it hanging up again...

There's still a lot of work to do in that room, but I am going to tackle it one little thing at a time. Keep in mind, this is just a temp piece... I am still scouring my local junk yards for THE PERFECT old window to hang there. Until then....

Stay tuned for a reveal in like 20 years! ;)

The 7 Most Important Documents

As I typed that title, I realize there *could* be a few more to add to the list, if some of them existed {note to self: Must Update Will}.

But for now, there are 7 important documents that I hold near and dear to my heart. And now, for some, even closer than that. As in my office wall.

While cleaning out my office and going thru tons of file folders, I came across an OFFICIAL COPY {not sure where the real thing is} of our marriage license. We were just kids. /sigh  I just hung that sweetie above one of the bookcases in my O/CR (short for Office/CraftRoom - it's too long to type out). It's above the bookcase that doesn't have the license plate. You're welcome.

#2 is my High School diploma. Which I know I have a copy of somewhere. Again, not sure where the original went. On my To-Do list to find.

#3 - #5 The birth certificates of my three babies. They are in a very important accordion folder that also houses their shot records, etc. I've been carrying that thing around since Alex was a baby!! It goes with me to every one of their doc appoints and when I need to register them for school.

I had some free time during a conference call yesterday - I was multi-tasking. I took my diplomas out of their big, black, bulky frames and put them into new, old frames I made-over on Sunday afternoon.

I had three of the same picture frames, all dark brown in color. My neighbor Jen gave them to me.

I originally sprayed them Bauhaus Gold (which really looks like Pencil yellow), using Krylon. I am not a fan. I think I've mentioned this before. It doesn't spray well and always bubbles up on me. Now, it might have something to do with the fact that I refused to sand the frames ahead of time, but WHO wants to do that?!

So, after bubbling, etc... I sprayed them with Rustoleom basic white. Of course, I didn't wait until the gold had dried... which is a great thing. Some of the gold overtook the white and I ended up with an aged look that I simply love.

I think picture frames are one of the easiest things to makeover. They are generally cheap to purchase (I've found some good ones at Goodwill and the Dollar store) and easy to spray. I also like to add embellishments or use a ribbon to hang them with.

Really, the possibilities are endless.

Impulse Buy

I have a problem. An addiction, if you will.
But you all know about it already.  ---> Goodwill.

There's me... at a Goodwill, shopping. I swear it's not Photoshopped.
Hmm.

While at Goodwill with my Sister-Cousin, Bri and my Aunt Anita, I came across these lovelies:

 Aren't they just that?! LOVELY?

What the heck was I thinking?! They are each about 6" tall and are made out of porcelain. Or whatever plates are made out of.  They don't have a hook on the back or anything to hang them with, so I have NO IDEA what they are for. But I thought they were cute, so I bought them. Not that I'd ever hang them in my kitchen. I don't think.

And now I am stuck with them.
Unless YOU want them.

Look at that, impulse buy = give away.

=)

I must find my strength at Goodwill.
You must email me your address so I can send them on.
You must email me your address so I can send them on.
You must email me your address so I can send them on.
You must email me your address so I can send them on.
Wonder if that worked [my mad hypnotist skills]... off to check my email.

Ta-Daaaa [Office/CraftRoom Reveal]

I am very excited to share my new, beautiful space. It was a labor of...

But that is okay, because it is so totally worth all of the hours, the crying, the swearing, etc etc. Actually, I found out - as this was our first big project of our doing - that the husband and I work really well together. Love that man.

As a reminder, here was the mood board I shared a few weeks back:

You can find the credits here: http://www.queenofthecreek.com/2012/02/moodboard-officecraft-room.html

And here is yesterday's BEFORE post.

While I did not use the six shelves I bought, I did end up purchasing more bookcases from IKEA. So for now, I have PLENTY of storage space and I am no longer taking up space in other parts of the house (e.g. formal dining room!).

I think I stayed pretty true to my mood board... but I will let you be the judge.

Of course the day I decide to take reveal pictures, the Mr. Sun is playing hide-n-seek. Durn him.

The real before picture of the room does the room no justice. As in, it was CROWDED and bad. And messy and chaotic. I knew I didn't want to fill the space up with too much furniture. Although, I am considering a crafting table for the south side of the room, where there is basically an empty wall.

Now that I've given you the big picture, let's hone in on some of the pretties that pulled it all together.

The license plate is a Antique Store find...$5. It's a 1976 (or bicentennial) plate from Illinois, where I was born!

Well... before I take down the Internet by adding any more pics... I will finish up here. =)
Besides, I haven't been able to do anything crafty in a few weeks now... and I am itching to get my Modge-Podge on. Working on re-doing the downstairs guest bath next. I plan on making homemade art for the walls!

Okay, one more look.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Finally... a before

I have been in and out and gone and missing...
all for a very good reason.

My office is FINALLY done. And I LOVE it.
I cannot believe we did this...
Although, it took about 8 days longer than the 48 hours I first thought.
*SMH*

I need to take pictures tomorrow in the light of day, so tonight I will go ahead and post the BEFOREs.

Sooo embarrassed at what this office was before. As a reminder, Marcos and I shared it, and then he moved out. He was sick of my mess. ;)  And quite frankly, I needed a space to work and craft. I work from home full time, so I do need a dedicated office space.

It was Dancing Green  by Sherwin Williams... my dad painted it for us shortly after we moved in.  I loved the color, but decided that I wanted to do with something softer.

Here is the room the day the husband was moving out...

Here it is a few days later, empty. Isabel was my helper during this part of the process.

Measured where I needed the Dolphin Gray (from Martha Stewart matched to Glidden Duo) to stop on the walls.  Glidden Duo has both a primer and paint. Loved it! Coverage was awesome.

I know it kind of looks blue, but in real life, it's a very soft gray.

Here is a during shot of the board and batten being installed. We went with 65" high, and 19" in between vertical boards. I didn't want to make the room appear smaller by making the boards closer together. I know most people do 10-13".  Between the top and the middle boards, I did 12".

I say I, but I did have some help in the form of a very studly handyman. ;)

Tune in tomorrow for the AFTER reveal of my new Office / CraftRoom!!

Spring Fever Diaries [Entry #1]

Ladies and Gentlemen…. Let’s get ready to rrrrrrrumble!! It’s Spring Fever Smack Down.

In my most recent posts, I talked about this being the time of the year where I am seeing green. I’d like to point out that this is also the time of year where I am seeing RED.

I love my kids and niece mucho mucho… but I think they are starting to really get a case of Spring Fever (as they do every year).

I am not going to lie… I am too. Know how I know?! I am starting to let things slide a little. Punishments are cut short. Cell phones are still out. Bedtime is being ignored. Chores are done half-…. wait, they aren’t being done. Sure, if I give someone a direct order, they will whine Why me?! and eventually do as I ask (after the 18th time).

Around this time, the last two years, the husband and I successfully implemented “Ayala Family: Unplugged.” That is where we unplug the electronics and make the kids GO OUTSIDE.

We will be doing something quite similar this time around, but add a bit more to it. From getting the kids reattached to their chore lists, to purging unwanted or unnecessary things – we are going to make this March a month to remember.

Starting today!

Effective immediately, there will be no idle TV watching. I will allow time for learning opportunities, such as the History Channel or NatGeo. However, I will not allow all 4 TVs to be on at the same time, killing our brain cells.

There is to be a major cell phone policy change towards the middle of the month. One of our lines (we have 5) has its contract up. We are cancelling that line and that phone. Which so happens to be Alex’s. He and Isabel will share her line/phone. I will change the # so that it becomes THEIR phone, not hers that he borrows. I am doing this for several reasons… I am tired of seeing Alex’s phone. In his hands. All of the time. And I am tired of the added expense. Ohhh. They are going to hate us.

The husband and I figure that if they are BOTH going out, then I can loan them my phone, so they each have one. While this practice is starting this month, just in time for Spring Fever, it’s one practice that will certainly remain come April 1st and so on.

Effective today, the Wii and PS3 are on strike. I mean it. 31 days of nothing coming from those boxes.

I have a ton more things planned… everything from cracking the whip on school/homework to spending quality family time together.

I really want to focus on this Spring Fever smack down / crack down, but I will only be sharing updates once a week, on Thursdays.

It is my hope that this year proves as successful as the last two years. Our focus will be shifted for at least the next 31 days. We are going to focus on family, preparedness, responsibilities and attitude. The whole lot of us.

* * * *

One of the things I wanted to get started on right away is my 31 bags in 31 days. I spend so much time shopping and buying at Goodwill, I need to give back. Really, I do! ;) But when it comes to donating clothes, I want to look for other organizations that could really use the clothes, that provide them to people for free.

With my office makeover still in progress (sheesh!), I have so much stuff to go through before I start loading up the new space. I will not be bringing everything back in, that’s for sure! Since that’s the project we are working on now, the first four days of 31 Bags will be focused on clearing out office and craft room stuff that I do not need. That includes SHREDDING (groan!!), recycling, donating, etc.

After that, it’s all about the rest of our humble and chaotic abode.



Hobby Lobby Shelf Clearer

I admit. I cleared a shelf yesterday evening at the Hob Lob.
I couldn't help myself.

They were beautiful.
They were 50% off.
Crazy them for considering it an Easter item.

Look!

I meant it when I said I cleared the shelf. It was already quite bare... I bought the last 5 of them.
It's a canvas-burlap type of ribbon and I am already having so much fun trying to decide what I should do with them.

Don't you love it when you find a great find?!
Don't you hate shelf-clearers?!

Sorry!

xoxo,
me