Dreaming of ... planked fireplace walls.

I've been sailing through a few little projects here and there.  Accomplishing something always makes me feel ... accomplished.  Ha.  But I can't help but feel that by finishing the small fun things, I'm putting the bigger ones on the back-burner.  And it turns out, Brian was feeling the same way.

So we decided to sit down and make a list of everything we need and/or want to do in each room in the house.  From there, we'll try to focus on finishing one room at a time.  We are both dying to do the kitchen, but that's going to be expensive so it's going to be last on the list.  To perk ourselves up a bit, we decided to focus on a room that's already come a long way, and that will pack a big punch without too much expense.  

And that room is the family room.  

We spend a lot of time in this room.  And we have already made a decent amount of improvements - Painted walls, new flooring, updated fireplace, curtains.  

But that mirror has been driving us both crazy since Day 1.  And I hate that TV stand with the fire of 1000 suns.  It's huge and has sharp corners and we're itchin' to get rid of it and mount the TV on the wall.  

While we're making plans, I've been gathering inspiration photos from around the web.  Here's what I know - we're definitely doing some kind of white planking where the mirror currently is hanging, we'll definitely mount the TV, and we'll definitely do some kind of box beam mantle.  

via The Lettered Cottage

via Thrifty Decor Chick

via Proverbs 31 Girl

via Classy Clutter

via The Inspired Room

So much eye candy!  It makes me drooley.  I'm currently working on some mockups in Photoshop to show to Bri so that we can make a grand plan.  And then comes figuring out how to get that beast of a mirror off of the wall.  

Project 365: Week 11

I'm 6 for 7 with big-girl camera photos this week!  Between sporting events and blooming flowers, I have had plenty of things to photograph.  

The Brothers are playing soccer, Brennan is playing teeball, and Daddy is coaching both sports.  To say that they're all having fun would be an understatement.  

Have you ever seen 3-year-olds play soccer?  It's like herding cats.  But they are just so, so cute.  And sometimes they actually run after the ball.  

And then there's teeball.  Ohhhhh teeball.  There are a bunch of rowdy boys on the team who would rather wrestle in the gravel than learn how to play teeball, soooooo it's interesting.  Brennan isn't naturally athletic, but he has a really great attitude, and for that I am grateful!  

May 30 - Juggling Daddy.

May 31 - Rainy Sunday activity.

June 1 - Caught.

June 2 - Keeping his eye on the ball.

June 3 - Budding.

June 4 - Shoe-tying lessons

June 5 - Perfect petunias.

Project 365: Week 10

We had a crazy busy week, but also a crazy FUN week.  The nice weather has us soakin' up the sun and fresh air, and burnin' lots of energy!  

May 23 - Silly brothers.

May 24 - My Mr. Beckett.

May 25 - Cell phone pic by Brennan!

May 26 - My heart.

 May 27 - I've never EVER made chocolate chip cookies that look this good!

May 28 - Park fun.

May 29 - First base.

Lamp revamp.

Remember when I mentioned that I had I bunch of projects that were sitting around, waiting for me to finish them?  Well, I've been busting my hump trying to finish them up ... so that I can start something new without making my husband too terribly frustrated.  I decided to start with the quickest one and go from there.  And the quickest was this lamp.  

I previously jazzed up the lamp by adding some ribbon at the bottom and at the top, and it was OK, but after awhile I just wasn't diggin' it anymore.  I wanted to freshen it up, while not straying too far from the "Grandma" feel of the lamp.

I found this floral fabric on the clearance rack at Joann's and loved it instantly.  It's a little bit Grandma and a little bit fun.

I also grabbed some adhesive spray from Joann's.  There are a million different kinds; I just grabbed Aleene's for $5 with a coupon.

First step?  Lay out your fabric so that you have about an inch or so overlay at the top, bottom, and each side.  (Also, how cute is the back of the fabric?  I love reversible things!)  Spray the middle of your shade and plop it down on the middle of the fabric.  Give it a few nice firm rubs to make sure that it sticks.

Spray the next section of the lamp and firmly pull the fabric around to cover the sprayed portion of the lamp.  Again, give it a few good rubs.

Keep on spraying the shade, wrapping the fabric, and rubbing the fabric to get it nice and adhered.

When you've done all sides of the shade, feel around on it to make sure they're all nice and stuck.  If you need to spray and rub a little more, go for it.

Now it's time tackle the edges.  For my lamp, I needed to make a little slit in the fabric in order to wrap it around a piece of the frame.  It was important not to clip it down too far so that the clipped part shows on the finished side of the shade.

The rest of this is a little messy.  Truthfully, I should have gotten out the hot glue gun, but I was feeling lazy.  Anyway, to adhere the edges of the fabric to the inside of the shade, I sprayed both the shade and the fabric.

Then I folded it over and gave it a good squeeze.  This was sticky and took lots of squeezing, hence the reason I should have used the hot glue.  But, it worked!

Then, on to the top and bottom using the same method - spray shade and fabric, fold over, press and hold.

Corners were pretty simple, but definitely would have been easier with hot glue.

Just wrap the corners like a present and secure.  Using spray adhesive, this took a long time.  Again, hot glue would have been way better!

And there she is.  Isn't she pretty?  For a minute I thought I put the fabric upside down on the shade, but I like that the roses look like they're falling down the shade.

You might remember this post, when I said that I was trying to figure out what to do with this lamp.  While I loved the brass finish of the lamp, I wanted to make it feel a little younger, because ... it's a half lamp and it just felt old.  So I gave it a coat of ORB spray paint.  

Put together back on the wall, I love it.  I'm a little sad that I covered the brass, but I love the total package.  Like I said, it's the perfect combo of "Grandma" and "Fun".  

If I decide that this is the place I want to leave the lamp, I might ask Brian to run the cord through the wall.  But truthfully, it doesn't bother me.

It's just so much fun!!

I love how it adds a nice punch of color to the room.  Such an easy project!

And maybe some day we'll actually get some baseboards!  :D

Linking up to:  That DIY Party, Home Stories A to Z, Flamingo Toes, The 36th Avenue, My Fabuless Life, Artsy-Fartsy Mama, A Glimpse Inside, The Chronicles of Home

Project 365: Week 9

This was a very heavy cell phone photo week, but that's better than no photos.  Life this week was chaotic, and I think the photos really reflect that.  That's part of what I love about a Project 365 though -- it reflects life!

May 16 - Soccer star.

May 17 - Wrestles.  Constant wrestles.

May 18 - Donut date.

May 19 - Fancy haircut.

May 20 - Life.  

May 21 - Daddy snuggles.

May 22 - Cedar Point selfie.