Living Room Reno-need help!

Hello favorite people! My husband got his bonus this Christmas (Yeah to my fella!!!!). He worked so hard this year and I'm so glad, because he earned this. When he was getting close, we tentatively brainstormed how we would spend it. Which can be very dangerous but I had total confidence in him.  One of the first things we decided to get was a Sa-weet new refrigerator!! I know this has nothing to do with a LR reno but since my kitchen reno will probably never happen, I have a need to savor this one a bit.

 Ours was 15 years old and just about everything was broken on it. None of the drawers were still on their runners and the freezer door guard was being held together with string and paperclips. yes, it can be done!  I feel weird saying I love my new fridge as in love, love. I am sure it is wrong but I L.O.V.E. my new refrigerator! We got it at Home Depot and it was a return that had no price on it. Right across from it was the same exact model only, new. It was marked at $1500. My husband has mad negotiating skills and offered $1000 cash! And they took it! Scott, the manager for our Home Depot was so amazing and generous. He didn't have to do this but he did. There is still good in the world of appliances.  Scott was another stellar employee who helped get it wrapped and ready to be loaded into our vintage '78 Ford Pickup.

Isn't she a beauty! We got home took the cab off and hurried back to the HD so we could get it inside before daylight ran out. Cuz' we all know that is when the zombies come out. That sentence was solely intended for the reading pleasure of my living dead son, Jake! Just kidding about the reading pleasure part....

I can now see all my food and I am sure you do not need or want to see all of my food but it will never be this clean again, so I am cherishing the moment.

Okay so the next thing we decided to purchase was new LR furniture. Our sofa and love seat are 13 years old and although really not structurally too bad, I ummm, washed the seat covers and they fell apart. Hence the slip covers. Which I am seriously tired of straightening. Seriously. 

So as I was regaling my fella with all the ideas I had for new furniture and new placement, he says words that every woman loves to hear. "Let's do the whole LR over and tear down the ceiling".

Okay maybe not you but sweeter words were never spoken to me. 

I can surely wait a few weeks more for furniture if it means this nasty ceiling will be gone foreva.  

water damage!

Okay so I need your help! I am showing you the before pictures so you can see that I have no complete walls to work with. And I need advice on what furniture to buy to replace the sofa and love seat. I need pieces that are flexible because the TV may go in a corner but it may also go over the fireplace. I am thinking sofa and two chairs or sofa with a chaise at one end and one or two chairs. Tell me what you think???

When emptying a room, beware of what lurks under the couches....

a skirt? really? I guess when your 4 year old is perpetually undressing then this is bound to happen.

This Friday I emptied the room and here are some pictures if that will help you help me....because that is what this post is really all about!

Oh look!  One photo with clothes on! Rare...

And here are a few projects that will also be tackled along with the ceiling and walls.....

I want to maybe paint a cool picture frame around this grouping of old photos. Always take a picture before removing, or don't if you enjoy spending hours figuring out a layout for a second time.

I know, why Kim are you thinking of redoing this lovely 4x4 tile that was not only painted a hideous shade of poop but does not nothing for the beautiful mantel? 

Can. Not. Wait. to re-tile this and we also have a surprise for this fireplace as well, but you gotta check back! 

Curtains will hopefully get a face lift. But not sure in what direction I want to go.

Any suggestions?

Paint?

Fabric? 

So bring it on and let me know what furniture suggestions you may have and curtain suggestions. And while your at it tell me what you think about grey for the walls.

Always being renewed,

Please see the link party page to see where I link arms with those blissfully beautiful bloggers that host every week. So gracious they are along with these other sweet ladies!      

 

 

Rolled Rose Tutorial

So I know I was supposed to show you how to do one of these this like three days ago!  But we decided to rip into our Living Room ceiling and I got sidetracked!  But if you want to follow along on our LR Reno, please check back every few days and hopefully you'll enjoy the journey better than we will. Yeah, since we will be doing all of the work. And you might learn a valuable lesson.....Ceiling Tile is for sissies! 

Back to the task at hand which is how do you make simple rolled roses from drop cloth.

If you did not see the first step in this series, please click here and you will learn how I cut and dyed the drop cloth using SODA! Then you are ready to try your hand at these roses. 

You will need:

Drop cloth strips, natural and dyed if you like

Thread and needle

silver glitter glue

hot glue and glue gun

 You will need a strip about 1.5" wide and about 15" long. To get the frayed edge, pull loose threads on just one side of the strip. I pulled about 3-4 threads off. Add a straightish line of glitter glue to the top of the frayed edge. This does not need to be perfect and in fact, it should not be perfect. Just rub the tip across back and forth as you run the glitter the length of the strip. When you scroll down to the third picture you can see the glitter a bit better.

Once dry, about 30 minutes, thread your needle with a piece of thread about 5"longer than the strip. Tie a knot in the thread and start sewing, up, down, up, down until you get to the opposite end. 

Here is it up close. Do not remove your needle but holding the needle, start to gather your strip of material. Not sure how to gather? Hold your thread and push your material down away from your hand holding the needle. Gently push your gathers to the knotted end. When you have gathered the material as tightly as you like, use your needle and thread to sew off the end with the needle to keep the gathering secure.

This is mine. I prefer to gather loosely but just know that the looser you gather the fuller the rose, the tighter you gather the smaller the rose. You can also adjust the size of the rose when you begin by having a shorter piece of drop cloth to begin with. All preference. We are willy nilly crafters here so if your aim is perfection, you will need to start reading another blog. I ain't that girl. Not that there is anything wrong with perfection.....

All you have to do now is start rolling one end. When you have rolled just the beginning, secure it with a dot of hot glue. Then continue to roll the strip around and around until it looks like this. Make sure that you keep the inside rolls even with the outside rolls or they will be loose when you go on to the next step.

This is what it looks like when you flip it over. 

Cut a small circle of drop cloth the diameter of the base and hot glue the rose onto the circle. Push down the middle rolls to make sure they catch the glue. If you want a more ruffly rose or something approaching a carnation just pull more threads! 

One rose takes about 15 minutes tops, to make, not including drying time for the glitter glue. I know, crazy good!

You could make a whole doorknob posy of these are add the flower on the bottom for some pizazz!

The next tutorial will be the teacup rose on the bottom so stop back!

Also don't forget to stop by to see how the Living Room reno is coming along.........

Always being renewed,

Please see the link party page to see where I link arms with those blissfully beautiful bloggers that host every week. So gracious they are along with these other sweet ladies!