The One with the Nursery Mobile

Hi it's me again! I'm currently 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant.
Awkward & uncomfortable?
Yup, that's me!
But I'm so excited to meet my little boy &
I'm told all this is worth it.
It's worth it, right???

Anyway, I'm just now getting around to posting the photos of the mobile for the nursery. Everything that I had seen online or in stores was either

A. too expensive
or
B. Ugly.

That's where Martha comes in.
(we are on a first name basis)
I found THIS handy dandy bird mobile that was just my style.
Cheap & cute. I also needed something light weight
because the walls of the old house aren't that strong.
I was going to go with the whole thing from Martha's site,
but my energy level just hasn't been there. Go figure. :)
So I decided to go with THIS awesome clip mobile thing instead.
And there you have it.
A cheap mobile that is custom for the nursery (& very easy).

*update:
I just checked the link for the photo clip mobile
& they no longer have the one I bought.
Now they have one that looks even cooler.

***Update #2:
Thanks to one of our readers for finding the photo clip mobile even cheaper!
Go HERE to check out a few options

xoxo,

Taking the Heat

Remember this?

Look what sunshine does????



FAIL....

A few garage sell sea shells should get us through the summer!! Say that fast 3x's

        That should take heat!!!!

Changes Are Coming

"It is a truth universally acknowleged that a newly emptied room must be in want of a major makeover."Esther Bennett (Elizabeth Bennett's lesser known sister) Pride and Prejudice.


Here is the room: 



This room has functioned as a bedroom six different times  (Okay, I have only 5 kids, so not sure how that happened... but it did....never was good with math!!!!)  Anyway when the baby (19) moved out....I found myself in possession of this SPACE. ....it is time for a makeover!!!! This room will be my sewing/craft and sometimes guest floor bedroom.

 Here is the deal: 

 My  feelings about this room move between two extremes: Fear and Excitement. ( remember, I am describing the room not me!!) Sooooo....I can't don't want to do this alone....would you... um....join me....hold my hand when I make some mistakes....wipe a tear or two and most of all encourage me in this journey??? please, purrrty please?????

Here is the plan:

I want to have this done by the end of summer... did I say that out loud?? I said it out loud....I picked a time frame!!!!!.. but what IF I don't make by then????....a week with Cierra in Idaho when she has the baby,  moving my elderly parents here from California next month...... working full time..... cleaning the house....... doing the yard work...walking the dog.....teaching Sunday School.....see that's the FEAR!!! NO TIME....EVER!!!!! Wait Deb, you got 5 months....you can get something done by then...right?

Here's the story:
We have lived in this  home for the last nine years. It is our miracle home. After renting for five years and living with renter's white walls we painted  all the walls in our home with deep, rich color  Every wall has some shade of green on it now. I love color see:

 Guess what? Me. The woman who hates walls that look remotely white has picked a color for this bedroom and it's not green. Nope!!!  Guess. When I showed my family my color choice, they were speechless (a nearly impossible state in this family.) My  friends' comments went something like this "Your painting again?" 'The walls are so thick with paint your square footage is shrinking!" That color? Are you kidding me?" Fear.  See why I need you?

So here is the new color:    

  It is  not renter's white. Yummmm... spiced sugar.... that's gotta go with chocoate. Excitement!   I am going over to the lightside.    I'm scared of the lightside!!! Normal people fear the  darkside!!!  Not me. I am not normal!! Oh, you knew that?See why I need you.




Okay...deep breath ...now.... take a look at our step by step "to do' list.  One at a time. Step by step. We can do this!!! 




Here are the steps:

First: paint the bed room and the adjoining bathroom walls with spiced sugar.
Second:  um I can't decide.... yet.. ...commitment issues.  If I type it makes it real. Right?

Anyway....deep breath..... and do step #1.

 After that,  there will be more paintin', bulletin board makin', hairpullin', re-upholsterin', loud  yellin', curtain makin', beadboard cuttin' (maybe), makeoverin' here!!

So buckle your seat belts, Ladies....... it's gonna be a bumpy ride!!!

All Things Rusted

So as I mentioned before we called my Mom "Goldfinger".... anything that didn't move was painted gold.  Yep.... child of the 60's and 70's (groovy) and the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

My color of choice 'Rusted Metal Patina' (haven't seen it in the Crayola box yet.) 

Can't always find the perfect rust so here is how I fake it: 

I use these 2 products: Sophisticated Finishes. I get mime at Michael's or Robert's Craft (Utah). Make sure you used your 40% coupons. They also have copper and other metal finishes.  You need both bottles.

For the switch plate covers I lightly sanded the plastic. Wipe the dust off and dry. Next paint the switch plate cover with this:       
























It has real iron filings in it. Let dry and paint a second coat. I also did the screws.         

 Then paint this on and watch the rusting begin.  

 No two items have turned out the same which makes it soooo fun. When it is completely dry I seal it with a matte sealer. The sealer will darken the finish and tone down the orange.

 My switch plate covers are about 4-5 years old and have held up really well.








 Here are some other things I used my 'Rustfinger' on: 

The top photo is the backside. This had hideous blue and gold plastic beads.  I changed the beads to wooden ones and used jute to hang it with.

I got this plastic P when our local Walmart was being remodeled. It was part of the "One Hour Photo' sign. Now I wonder why I didn't take all the letters!!!!!

This mirror had a golden bronze finish....couldn't leave it be!!!!  

So go forth and let the Rusting begin.....my Mom will be so proud!!!

Urban Renewal

I have a favorite little store in town that I blogged about yesterday. {Remember that OAR I bought?}

If you are ever in Southern Utah.....{ On your way to the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Zion} or just passing through, and you are a decorating junkie (like me) then you HAVE to go to this store! It's a one of a kind consignment/decor/vintage clothes shop.

see for yourself......

Look at that lobster trap!!! and the shipping crate mounted to the wall used as a shelf!!!

not to mention all that rusty old furniture!

I'll take this entire section, thank you!

And look at this "vintage" section!!! I'll take all the maps... the bedding, the wire baskets, the chairs.....

And look at how they mounted 3 shelves in front of some rusted tin and then hung a pic frame in the middle! Loving that fabric on the left too!

They are in the process of getting their store online. Check it out HERE.

Every time I go there they have something new. It's like eye candy for the decorjunkie's soul :) Right now they have a hand-carved morracan wood sofa (that's as big/deep as a twin bed) on sale for $700!) so the prices are right too!! -although obviously that is waaay out of my price range but I know a good deal when I see one! My OAR was $20!

FYI- I was not paid/coersed into mentioning this store. I simply LOVE IT and wanted to give you a local tip/secret if you're ever in the neighborhood :)

*I want to go to there*

- Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Yes Oar No

I know.... can you believe it? I jumped on the "oar" bandwagon.

Now I know this idea is nothing new and quite frankly I hardly EVER jump on the trend-bandwagon. But when I saw this 6 1/2 foot  oar at Urban Renewal  I HAD to have it. I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I HAD to have it! I mean, look at it! The age, the stenciling, the size.... [sweet sigh]

At first it ended up in a corner of my living room standing upright. But it came with these awesome chains already in place so I knew eventually I would want it hung somewhere.

After a bit of pleading to my lovely hubby it was finally hung!!! (more than a month ago)

yes, that is how long it has taken me to blog about this :)

I've been so busy over at SYTYCD I accidently abandoned you all over here!

Later this week I'll zoom out of this photo and show you how it looks from a far and tied into the rest of my decor