Stars and Stripes

This weekend I decided to fill in the space between the kitchen window shades and the crown molding. It's such a small space that it was hard to find little frames that fit in it. I came up with an idea.

I decided to use 4" sewing hoops, the left over fabric from the curtains I took down, and starfish. You'll notice in the next picture I have a helper. We'll talk about him later.




The hoops were 2/$1.00, the spray paint was $2.99, and the starfish packs were $3.99 a piece. Everything came from Michael's. If you look at the left packet of starfish you'll see that one of the little one's is broken. If you buy something damaged at Michael's they will give you 15% off. I wasn't planning on using the small ones so it was OK.

I spray painted the hoops and starfish while this little guy supervised (and plotted).




I left everything out to dry and when I went back to check on them one of the starfish was missing! I talked to my husband and he confirmed that he found the dog with a starfish in his mouth. He ate it! How gross! So now I was all screwed up. I now had 4 hoops and only 3 starfish. Grrrrrrrrrr.......

I had one little starfish and one broken starfish still in the back. I decided to superglue the damaged one back to life and then put two in one hoop. If threw off the symmetry, but I wasn't about to spend another $4!

So this is the odd duck.





This is what it looks like all together.










I think I may change the fabric down the road. We'll see. Something about this combination seems very country, wood panelling, and 70's to me. I'll keep my eyes out for a remnant with a more modern print. But for now, I think it works.

Free and Motivational

Remember those prints I took down in the kitchen? Well, I finally figured out what to do with the frames.


I got my inspiration from here and here. As soon as I saw the quotes I knew they would be perfect with a little modification.








I hung them up on the wall between the girls' rooms. This is the view going out of the little one's room.





The project was basically free because I already had everything. I had the frames and the mat. I used wrapping paper to cover both mats. And I printed the quotes out on our home printer.


I think these quotes capture perfectly the feelings I have for my little girls.

No more faux-mans

I made these faux-man shades (non-functional roman shades) about 3 months ago. They never grew on me. I think the vertical stripes clashed with the horizontal pattern of the tile. Plus, the color was just too light. I decided to go in a different direction.





When I pulled the shades down I had a little bit off a mess. The velcro tape pulled the paint off the wall. Since I've never liked the kitchen color I took this opportunity to repaint.




I sanded where the paint was missing and then re-painted in a blue/gray color. We hung up the bamboo shades and here we are. I plan on putting something on the wall between the window and the crown molding, but I'm not quite sure what. It will either be little frames across the top or maybe some stenciled wording. It will come to me.

It's Spring

I am loving the weather and the fact that everything is coming back to life out in the yard.
The one plant that I didn't think would make it actually looks great. These knock out roses were just brown sticks all winter. Now look at them!





One plant that never makes it and I have to re-buy every year is the bougainvillea. I think we are a little too far north for it to last. I can see from this picture that I need to hit the driveway with some weed killer. Even the weeds are blooming!





This is a wreath I had my eye on for a long time at Target. It's from Smith and Hawken and finally went on sale last month. I think it looks great on our dark door. That ribbon came from a floral arrangement I got for my anniversary and can easily be changed out depending on the holiday. With Easter around the corner, pink is perfect.