Master Bathroom Re-do

My absolute favorite project thus far was the dramatic difference with how our master bathroom turned out. First off, we started with TWO different "fruit" wall paper patterns. That's not all though-- to top it off there was a pink heart border over the top of the wall paper. With a good soaking of water/white vinegar and a WHOLE LOT of scraping with our sore arms- that was  all removed in a flash. 
                                                            


             paper 1:     paper 2:

Following the paper removal we did a WHOLE LOT OF NASTY WALLPAPER GLUE REMOVAL!  ugh-- that's the worst part in my opinion. It seems like the more you wash the walls, the more it smears the glue around. 

A few days later it was time for the gold shower tear out! (BEST PART!) This was a project that the hubs and I attacked together. He did the tear out and removal of the shower frame and I was his handy helper "side-kick" that helped with tools and holding the shower doors when needed. 

Next, we added a curved shower rod to add a little more space to the shower. Then we hooked up the lovely shower head that will allow my 6ft tall husband to finally fit under the water (he was most excited for this part)!

   BEFORE:            AFTER: 

TA-DA!  Welcome to our new master bathroom! Stop back by tomorrow for another re-do! 

home SWEET home

WE HAVE MOVED! The hubs and I OFFICIALLY own our FIRST HOME! :) 


The moving process was "quick and easy"...or at least it seemed like it. Moving from a two bedroom apartment to a large house seems so simple yet oh so hard to gather and pack everything up that we had stored in the extra closet spaces of our tiny place.  What made it easier is that we were only moving a mile from the apartment to the house. I seriously couldn't have done it without the help of my wonderful family members from both sides! Lots of moving boxes and hundreds of trips up three flights of stairs, the apartment was empty finally. Memorial day was officially the first time we spent overnight in the house. It felt peaceful to finally fall asleep in our very own home :)

Here is where the day began: boxes, boxes and more boxes.. 

And this is where it ended:

HOMEOWNERS! 

More to come... 

next step

Why why why has it been so long since I have updated or posted anything?! I would love to blame it on fun vacations and lots of down time spent with hubby and friends. 
Truth is --- {{drum roll please}}---  WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! So all that "down time" lately has been spent packing, picking out paint colors, and preparing our "plan of attack" for the house :D It truly is very exciting (or at least I am telling myself that as it's very overwhelming too). This is a totally new step for my hubby and I to take. 
Closing on the house and moving will be this week (crossing our fingers)!!! It really has been one roller coaster of a ride during the last three months - picking a house, working with the realtors, many hours spent dealing with the bank and SIGNING OUR NAMES 100,000 times- {ok.. exaggeration a tiny bit, but still felt like it}.
The best part about this house is that almost every room needs a facelift. Which means lots of neat ideas floating around in this little head of mine. Thank goodness for the internet, including pinterest.com (if you haven't seen this site yet check it out------> here!) 
My goal (cough cough.."goal") is to have this blog devoted to "BEFORE & AFTERS"of the house so that I can keep track for myself (memories to look back on later) and to share with you! :) 
Stay tuned for lots of posts about our long haul of house projects :)


catch up with you later - (sooner than last time, I promise)




L

letters.

For the baby shower I hosted a few weeks ago (see it here), one of the things I made for the cute momma-to-be were yarn covered cardboard initials for baby Theo. 

I got the idea from this source: way to go pinterest idea!

I started with purchasing the letters and yarn from a local craft store. Then found an "investment tool" at my in-laws house (WHOOO for my "new" used glue gun of my VERY OWN!!-- LOVE IT!!) 

I started by hot glueing the end of the string to the base of the shortest side of each letter. Then by wrapping (in smooth lines) I continued to wrap all the way around each side evenly. It takes time... lots and lots of time to get each one to line up properly. 

*********

Best piece of advice is to hot glue tiny dots (on the back of the letter only) every so often, this way you are securing the smooth lines you just created.  For the round 'B' letter, you have to cut the string off the yarn ball (I cut about 5 feet at a time) and weave it in and out of the inner circle of the letter. 

Here is the next trick.... LAYER! .. layer.. and then layer again!  I'm pretty sure my final outcome has four layers on it. The layering really helps hide spots that may be hard to cover- like corners!  Sometimes, no matter how hard you try or how much glue you use, it still shows... so last and finally just paint those spots that you just can not cover.

TA-DA:

So there ya' have it folks! 

Gotta love craft days- no matter how long they take :)

again.. forgive me and the cell phone pictures

(I MUST GET BETTER ABOUT USING A REAL CAMERA FOR MY PHOTOS) 

check this out.

Do we ever stop to fully think about what Jesus did for US? What suffering he went through to truly devote his life to save the world!?

These lyrics really struck me today:

Seated above, enthroned in the Father's LOVE

Destined to die, poured out for all mankind

God's only son, perfect and spotless one

He NEVER sinned, but SUFFERED as if he did

All authority, every victory is Yours

Savior, worthy of honor and glory, worthy of 

all our praise, 

You overcame!!

song and lyrics by: Jeremy Camp

Baby Shower Edition

One of my best friends in the entire world is having her FIRST baby!  We are all so excited to welcome baby Theo into the world sometime in March.

Here are some photos from the shower I threw for her and baby Theo

 The excitement started the night before as this crazy crew helped me hang up streamers for the party. 

 Yes, even my crazy father helped out - we had a blast setting up!

This is a glimpse of what the treats looked like. I tried to keep it simple because it was an afternoon shower.

  Food included a layered taco dip, strawberries stuff with creamy cheesecake, salad, and a layered fruit dish for dessert.

 For drinks I made mint water, sangria, and punch. 

I hung a clothesline across a section of our apartment and hung little outfits from the line.

 just a little extra decoration :) 

I asked each of the girls to bring a book for baby Theo instead of a card. The idea turned out so cute! I love that he will have books with personal notes in the front to keep for years to come. (She was so excited to add to his book collection too) 

These lovely ladies have been through so many good times together! We are all so eager to welcome a new bundle of joy to the world soon! Baby Theo will hear lots of fun stories of his mom from these ladies.

Congrats Hannah and Cody! May God bless you as you teach Theo all there is to learn and watch as he grows in your love. I can't wait to meet this little man soon! 

Crafty day off! :)

These are the best days-- days you can stay in your pj's as long as possible, rent a movie and not worry about the world. Leaving work, house chores and cleaning aside and just CRAFT!! whooo!


I just ordered these beauties from my photographer (Valerie Ott Photography). I couldn't wait to get them up on the walls of our boring cute apartment :)


Supplies:
Velcro
Nails
Hammer
Ribbon


Here is what I did to get them up. 

First, I measured the length of ribbon I wanted and laid out the pattern for the wall

Then I attached the velcro straight to the back of the photos and ribbon. 

 A few nails later,  our hallway looks fresh with wedding photos! :)