I'm Moving Out!!

Hope I didn't scare anyone! I'm only moving into the basement... not to live, but to craft. Everything is great around here! :)

I'll save those of you who don't want to read all about it, and post my pics first. Keep in mind, this is the first stage of my new hang-out. This is basically a pic of right after the brief clean-up, and after I've moved some of my things downstairs and attempted to organize some of it. I think it's one of those places where I'll need to work in it first to see if any tweaks need to be made, and if anything needs to be moved around. Or, it may be perfect the way it is now...we'll see!

I am loving putting to use this vintage Coca-Cola crate from my grandmother's! It still has all of the compartments, so it keeps all of my paints & supplies separate.

I am also putting to use my little painted chalkboard tray.

This will be a good way to keep my list of projects-in-working-order handy.

To give you an idea of what this area looked like
before I got started...

This pic shows the table with some of my crafting goodies, right after I moved them to the basement...I know- yikes!...

The table, now cleaned off...getting a little better now...

I found this awesome shelf paper at Dollar General. I had to have this cute black & white pattern!

It was so easy to apply, and now I have a cute, covered workspace...

I found the perfect place for my little knob that I scored super cheap at Hob Lob. I plan on using it to hang my ribbons...

Part of my spray paint collection is now in a neat organizer from
the Dollar Tree (Keep in mind- all these items were already purchased. I'm still sticking to No-Spend July)...

I used the few nails & hooks that were already up to hang my wreath forms & tape. My sweetie is going to help me install more soon...

I also used cheap-o baskets from Dollar Tree for more quick organizing. I already had these too!

 These water & juice jars are also from my grandmother's. They will be used for rinsing water when I'm painting...

It is totally crazy to think that my new favorite hang-out is our basement, but it is. I never would have thought to take this place-that-I-never-think-about-and-don't-want-to-think-about and turn it into a place-that-I-want-to-spend-my-time-in-ALL-the-time. And it was all my sweetie's idea- he gets all the credit for this one. I did do a lot of the work in the transformation process, but it never would have happened if he hadn't suggested the basement
as my new crafting "lair".

It is so practical, too. I have been wanting a place to permanently house my crafting accoutrements. For the past year, just since I've really gotten into crafting, I've used our kitchen table for that. Not a very good use of our table, and plus, I miss having a face-to-face meal at home with my sweetie. Not that we don't have a (very nice) heirloom dining room table for that, but we never use that when it's just the two of us. So, it was time to start thinking of

other options.

I had the idea of maybe moving my computer desk from the living room corner to our guest room, and making that my crafting area. Two negatives in that: 1.) we kinda' need the desk in the living room, to fill up the corner that it's in, and 2.) we don't really have the room to squeeze it into our guest room. So, I kept thinking,

but to no avail.

Then, came the day when Zach just casually mentioned in conversation the idea of using a part of the basement. It was one of those moments where the little light bulb must have appeared above our heads. It was a brilliant idea. Yes, brilliant-

I don't use that word often enough.

It is actually very comfortable year-round- not really hot or cold, just an in-between comfortable. Zach also still has to have his area of the basement. He needs it for all of the yard stuff- mower, leaf blower, weed eater, etc. Those things take up a lot of room. And, we also have the shelves (it is SO wonderful to have shelving in our basement) that are occupied by many a plastic bin, filled with things from our childhood bedrooms, Christmas things,
and others.

For the move, I started the organization of the set-up by first carrying my little copper pails down to the basement
with me...

...and it just blossomed from there!

 I then was able to clean out a huge chunk of the guest room floor, piece by piece, by taking things to the basement. Everything else left in the guest room now (besides the furniture!) is yard sale-ready. Woohoo!

I am so happy I was able to revamp this area and make it look not-so-basement-like. There is not much you can do without dipping into a lot of cash, so I'm not too concerned about it just yet. I am just so very excited that I now have a place to unwind, focus on my crafting & creating, and be away from the noise of the house. I know Zach's happy not having to look at all of my paints & brushes & glues, and everything else I have accumulated
over the last year or so.

A few ideas I have for this crafting area swirling around in my head so far include:

- A Pinterest craft checklist hung up
- Several more hooks & knobs hung on the pegboard
- A separate painting area and hot-gluing area- (already working on this one)

I am really hoping that my creativity will flow freely in this new area. Being away from the TV has gotta' help! I carry my iPhone down with me, so I have my music. Now, every time I see something in the house that I could use for a craft, I will go ahead and set it aside to take with me on my next trip to the basement. That way, I can hopefully start dwindling down my collection of knick-knacks above-ground.

A less cluttery home is a happy home. :)

Oh, and speaking of clutter- we now have a clean kitchen table...

...(ahem)... that we still won't use. :)

Sweet, Sleeping Girl

Just wanted to make a quick post and then I will hopefully follow it with a BIG post! :)

Our weekend was GREAT!! We got up off of the couch (because we didn't want another wasted, lazy weekend), and we got things done!! I moved a lot more of my crafting things into the basement & organized it (thus my BIG post coming up... bad teaser, I know), and my sweetie got a lot of yard work done. We also went out into the backyard together and cleaned off our deck, deck furniture, and back door framing & sidelights. We were so proud of ourselves to get these dreaded tasks done. My sweetie also grilled out a good bit over the weekend, so that was a wonderful treat.

Now, a quick pic post about my girl...

It's not very often that I can sneak up on Daisy girl and catch a pic of her still asleep. I can catch her lying around being lazy at just about any time, but to get a pic with her eyes closed is rare. Just wanted to post two quick shots I took of her over the weekend...

This is as close as I could get before she opened her eyes...

I just love my little girl and her handsome big brother. :)

Yard Facelift Update!

This is a quick follow-up post on my Yard Facelift- Part 1 post from back in April. I still hope to post Part 2 some time in the future. My sweetie is still in the thinking & planning phase of that one. He is such a good planner, and wants the border around our mulch beds to be perfect, just as our landscape wall now is. It will be worth the wait when it's done, I know!

I just wanted to share a few pics I took the other day of what the stone wall looks like now, after just two short months of up-keep. My sweetie still tests it out every now & then, just to make sure it can still uphold weight & won't topple. He can walk on the top all the way around, and none of the stones shift.
That's work done right, people. :)

We already had the Nandina bushes there, from when Zach bought the house. He adds new flowers every year, and they are always absolutely beautiful & popping with color. They add so much to our front yard!

Zach has already planted some new grass plugs since I took the above photos, so here is a quick pic to show that progress...

He said it will spread like crazy soon. It's so fresh and green right now! He's been working himself crazy to keep the plugs watered, since we haven't had much rain lately.
(That changed last night though! Yay!)

Also, I wanted to share a pic of our back yard, after its simple transformation. I mentioned back in this post, also posted in April, where Zach began laying out mulch for our back yard. Since he moved in, he had a chain-link fence installed in the back yard, but there were no mulched islands there, only grass and a few trees. So...

...he planned out one big island right off from the deck.

Here is the finished mulched island, complete with my new "J" flag from my recent thrifting trip. It adds a little feminine touch to the yard. :)

And here are two cute babies that happened to make it into the pic...

I also took a picture of the hydrangea I planted from a pick off someone else's plant. I was so surprised at how it easy it was to transplant, and how great it has been doing since!

It adds a lot of color to our back deck.

Hope you all are enjoying your week. I hope to make this weekend a good work weekend around the house. I got into a cleaning mood one night this week, so if I can keep that frame of mind going, I may have the house clean for the weekend.

That, hopefully, means more project time!

Goings On

We've had a lot going on lately, so I just thought I would post a run-down, mainly for my benefit. Never fear- I also have some new pics to share too, so it won't be all boring.

We'll start with this weekend...

We spent mostly all day Saturday in Chattanooga. We shopped, and speaking of, I guess I have a confession to make. I am not being as strict on myself with the No-Spend July as I was last year. I bought some clothes Saturday (which I didn't have to have, but I'm telling myself I do, you know, for vacation...you gotta' have cute clothes for Disney, right?), but I am still sticking to my guns & refraining from buying anything crafting-related. And that part is hard. There are a few things I need for upcoming projects, but I didn't get them. I simply avoided Hobby Lobby altogether-

it's just easier that way. 

We had a yummy dinner that night at Zach's mom's for his sister's birthday. We always have such a great time catching up

with them and their two sweet girlies. :)

On Sunday morning, I had nursery duty, and I loved every minute of it! Who doesn't enjoy getting a baby fix

every now & then?

On Monday night, we got a crew (like the best crew ever) together & moved my grandmother into a different building of her assisted living facility. This building gives her more specialized care, which is what they recommend for her now, and we feel better having her there. She visited with friends while we disassembled, loaded up, hauled, and reassembled her furniture. We actually finished it all- bedding smoothed out, pictures up & draperies hung- in about 2 hours. Yep, that's how we roll.

We feel like a big burden has been lifted off of our shoulders with that being done. Two of the women there had also once lived in her last building, and they let us know she was part of "their clique"- that also makes us feel good about the move. :) 

I am now hoping to focus on my little checklist for the Summer. I have almost ALL of my crafting things moved to the basement now, so all that's left is to get to organizing. Then, once that area is done, I can get back to crafting. I miss it! I have been on Pinterest a lot lately too (good thing or bad thing, I still haven't decided yet), and I want to start tackling those projects too.

My sweetie & I have been on top of our joint To Do list already, and it makes me want to dive even more into it. We took a quick trip to a local store last weekend, and ended up coming home with a brand-spanking-new stainless steel sink & faucet. We'll be going from a scratched, stained white sink to polished stainless steel! Woohoo! It will soon be installed, and I can't wait to see how this transforms our kitchen. I will more than likely do a post on that when it's done, so be on the lookout.

My sweetie has been working in the yard like a mad man lately too- I also have a post lined up on that, complete with lovely pictures. I'm so proud of him for the work he puts into our house! :)

We are also planning a big ole' four-family yard sale for this Summer. We are waiting on it to cool off atleast a little, and we are still cleaning out Mamaw Ruth's house. I am also planning on selling a few of my own crafty creations in the sale. We'll see how that goes. I will definitely advertise on here when we set a date!

Now, I will leave you with the best part...PICTURES! These are actually ones posted from my sweet friend Sheena of her wedding. She has posted TONS of these already, and I picked a few that I wanted to share. Enjoy!

Getting ready...

All the girls...

Yours truly...

Love this close-up of my flowers...

And my favorite :) ...

We've Got Mail

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Ours was jam-packed with stuffing ourselves of BBQ ribs (and I can't leave out the potato salad, corn on the cob, and homemade ice cream by yours truly), spending time with Zach's dad & enjoying two awesome fireworks shows (one was our city's and the other was Zach & his dad's). :)

You know when the leftovers look this good,

the meal was yummy!...

It was nice to have a break, even though it cut the week in half. But, now we have a weekend upon us, and that's always a good thing!

So, you know those objects you spot from time to time- you look at it, and you instantly know what you want to transform it into?

This little mail organizer was one of those things for me. It came from my grandmother's house. I knew wanted to keep it, but a little revamping was required. A good start was to remove the golden eagles :) ...

It has 3 compartments & even hooks at the bottom for keys. Awesome!

Close-up of the eagles...

I simply grabbed up a flat-head screwdriver. It was really the first thing I spotted that was on-hand, and it worked beautifully. I just lifted the edges, and the tiny nails popped right out.

This shows the process of removing them...

This is after their removal- it was pretty this way too, but the wood stain was too dark for our house.

This shows a close-up of the raised scalloped detail. Love this!!

I wanted to take advantage of the design, so after spray painting the entire thing white (sorry, I didn't take an after-paint pic, but you get the idea), I knew I wanted to transform the center raised areas into chalkboards for labeling.

I am so glad I did this! It is awesome to be able to change up the labels whenever we need to.

Now, a Before & After for ya'...

BEFORE

AFTER

Some close-ups...

I'm loving the key hooks...

Here it is in use...

  

 We are loving our new mailbox in its new home in our

little command center area of the laundry room!



Hope you all have a good weekend! We will be going to Cnooga...not good for a no-spend July, but I'll make it. I'll just have to put my blinders on when we pass Hobby Lobby...but, I'll make it. :)

Sweet Memories

Just wanted to share a quick post showing my new wall decor. As I've said before, I am a picture frame addict. I have realized just in the last few months how bad it really is. I noticed that I had seven BRAND NEW (never used before- fresh from the store) picture frames in my guest room at one time. That's bad. I can see having a few old ones lying around with no pictures to put in them,
but these are all new. Oh, me.

I found this frame months ago at one of my favorites- Burke's Outlet. I haven't really found any clothes there much- I just always head to the home decor dept. I found this 3-frame set while browsing around, and kept going back to it. I couldn't leave the store without it...

So, it gets home with me & sits for a few days weeks. Then, I can't stand it anymore (it's way too pretty not to be hung up somewhere), and go looking through pictures for something to put in the spots. The pic openings are 3X3, so it was near impossible to find anything.

Then comes the night when I stop by my grandmother's house to go through some things. I looked through all of her albums (and had a good cry), and took many, many pics of my dad home with me. 

The size of the pics I wanted to use were fairly close, but I was NOT going to cut these pictures. So, I headed to the local UPS Store, and had a quick copy made for $1.03. :)

Our first pic together :)

 I am so in love with this frame, but even more in love with the priceless memories these beautiful pictures hold.

What an awesome daddy he was, from the very beginning...

My first Easter, back when we were just a family of three...

Another shot of our first pic...

Here is where my sweetie hung it up on our bedroom wall. It is a small part of the wall that's on my side of the bed, so I can look at it often. :)

Now that we have our wedding photos on CD, we need to order more of those to fill my frames. There is not much else more important to me right now than these memories. :)

I hope everyone has a safe & happy 4th of July! Whatever your plans are, please don't forget to take the time to celebrate the real meaning of this day. Thank a veteran you know, or say a prayer for our nation and service men & women. God bless America!! 

2nd Annual No-Spend July!

I was just driving down the road today, and realized- it's July!
If you remember from last year, I decided to celebrate "No-Spend July". For the second year now, I have again vowed to not spend money on anything extra for the entire month. I hope to do the same as last July, and not spend on anything- not just crafts, but clothes, shoes, etc., too. It's really not as difficult as I thought, and it's a really good thing in some ways. For example, the most obvious positive is that it saves some dough. It also gives me time to catch up on my projects that are lined up... which are MANY as of right now, let me tell 'ya! I hope to be posting projects like a mad woman during this month. That is, as long as the weather will cooperate. I have some things lined up to spray paint, but it is nowhere near spray paint weather right now.

Another advantage is that it lets me realize just how unimportant material things are. I can do without so much. I hope to learn even more during this second time around. I'll keep you posted!

Just a quick post here- I have a following post coming right after this one, so stayed tuned...