these are the days of our lives...

I finished the new calendar! I just hung it up above my desk and I'm pretty darn please with it. The Crayola cling film worked nicely, but there are a few bubbles that were tough to get out. Because it's 8 1/2 x 11, I had to use 4 sheets to create the calendar and so there are seams, but I love the design and although I could have picked from any number of calendars on Etsy, I was able to do this for less and make it mine.

My desk is a little messy right now (when is it not?) But here's a view of what I'm looking at as I blog:
And in case you were wondering, yes, all the bills on the calendar are color coded, because I'm just that geeky.

bathroom renovation, part the 1st

I haven't posted much of late because we're in the early planning stages of redoing our bathroom. It needs it. If you ask our friends it really needs it. If you ask my brother it needs a torch and excellerant.

When we moved into our townhouse almost 8 years ago, the bathroom looked like this:

Pattern, pattern and oh yes, more pattern. The vanity, which matches the kitchen cupboards, was painted very dark navy blue. So was the door. And although you can't see it here, above the door was painted on the wall a sign that read, "The Fish Bowl".

Luckily, we took possession of the house 1 month before our apartment lease was up, so we never lived with all that pattern.

Thanks to my brother, a couple coats of Kilz and LOTS of white paint we turned the bathroom into this more liveable space:

We always planned to "do something" with the bathroom. But as our life changed with unemployment, new business ventures, new jobs and everything else, we never got to it. For 7+ years!

Finally, I'd had enough! I can't take it any more! So, we started plans to redo it. I've spend countless hours on-line searching for beautiful baths as inspiration and found a few really helpful blogs along the way (don't worry I'll share them) and thus it begins.

Plush Nest Bathroom Renovation (insert dramatic music here)
Can they do it?
Can they do it on the cheap?
Stay tuned to see how our heroine (& hero) turn mosaic tile madness into calming bath splendor!

how to make 1 sweet calendar

For the past few nights, I've been attempting to make some old ink jet transparency plastic work for making my dreamy new calendar. Last night, I gave up. It's just not going to happen using materials I already have on hand.

I started researching window clings. I even contemplated having one made at Kinko's or asking sayitwithstyle about just how "custom" she was willing to go, because frankly, I really like the design I came up with.

Enter Ebay!
I just purchased this:

I spent a total of $15. $10 for 2 packs of 4 clings, $4 shipping and a $1 donation to the Red Cross (because it's honestly the easiest way to make a donation ever).

I'll report back once I know how it works...

Meanwhile, I'm painting the frame for this little project with leftover white semi-gloss paint. Nothing special, but since it was a dark sea foam, it's going to take 3-4 coats.

Speaking of coats...Project Runway's on, so I have to go.

everything old is new again

This weekend, I created a couple of new things for the house made from old things.

New from Old Thing # 1:

This started when I saw the sweet calendar the lovely Chris at Just a Girl posted in her year-end recap. I fell in love! Now I haven't ordered the vinyl yet because I strongly suspect that I can make my own in a similar way using Adheisive Ink Jet Film from Joann, but this started my plotting.

That plotting took the form of starting to look around the house for frames. In that search, I found the *perfect* frame, only problem was that it was holding the cork of our bulletin board in the kitchen-bugger!

Then, I had a brainstorm! I had a silver frame that came with a generic floral print inside that was given to me by my mother in-law. I measured and found to my delight that the two frames are the same size! Victory was mine. I figured I could swap out the cork and the glass because the silver frame would look so much more chic in the kitchen and I'd still get the calendar frame I wanted. Perfect!

But then disaster struck. Apparently, at some point in the past, I'd Gorilla Glued the cork into the frame. When I carefully as possible removed the cork, which had been painted to match the frame, some of the cork broke off.

Feeling rather defeated, because I didn't know what I'd do to fix the ugliness. I started looking at other people's bulletin boards online. And as I did this, a light bulb went on: Why not cover the cork in some chic fabric? Perhaps some linen from my stash? So, I went digging and found a piece of linen that was once a part of costume skirt that is a few shades darker than our kitchen cabinets! Redemption!

Here's how it turned out:

I used my office stapler to attach the fabric on the back of the cork board. The silver frame echos the brushed stainless knobs and other accessories in the kitchen.

New from Old Thing #2:

A new lamp for our bedroom has been on my agenda for a while now. Somehow, a raspberry lamp didn't fit into our newly brown and blue decor. So, yesterday in a Goodwill run I found a lamp:

Totally ugly.

I brought it home for $6.99. I knew I could make it look cool. And with some scissors, hot glue and more linen from my stash, I now have a perfectly acceptable lamp:

A great improvement, if I do say so myself!

2010 Color Trends

Each year, various groups of people decide what the trends in fashion, print & home furnishings will be for the coming year. 2010 is no different. This year Burda Style put together a nice little grid of those colors:

Now, of course, it's entirely up to the individual to decide, but it's interesting to pay attention to the colors that are going to be offered in stores in the coming year-esp. for those planning a wedding or other event where it really matters.

welcome to the frozen north

It's ridiculously cold in Minnesota right now. So cold that 6 above sounds like a major heat wave. After my Grandfather's funeral (a balmy -1 at the cemetery) we came home to frozen pipes...again. This happens pretty much every year since the genius who built our townhouse decided that the cold water pipes for our kitchen should run through our tuck-under garage. So, this is what the cabinet under our sink looks like right now:

That's right kids, we're using a heat gun to warm the copper pipes so that the ice will melt and allow the cold water to flow. The price of living where we see all four seasons.

Duty Calls

We're headed to Wisconsin for my grandfather's funeral shortly. The visitation is today and the funeral is Monday morning. I'm not sure what to prepare for, other than COLD! We're going to keep the grave side short, but I'm wearing slacks and my winter boots with my hat and gloves- Grandpa would understand, he was always a function over fashion guy.