Other Painting Projects

I painted the schoolroom wall in our living room "Dark Cherry" after I saw a friend's home with this color in the living room and loved it.  I moved the clock over to the left a bit after I took this pic because it bugged me that it wasn't centered right.

Jeremiah's favorite color has always been green and Justus' has always been blue so I wasn't a bit surprised when they requested their color for their room.  So, they each got what they wanted, with some brown thrown in.

I got this lovely blue off the clearance "oops" section at Ace.  It's called Soft Serenity.

The green is Elm Valley which I also used on Kate's room to save on money.

Grammy painted two walls in Ali's room last summer a soft pink.  But after I did the other kid's rooms I realized that Ali, our most vibrant child, had the least-colorful room.  So, I took some paint leftovers from the siblings rooms (and a $3 can of yellow from the oops shelf) and made her room more vibrant.  It turns out that the quilt her great-grandma made her matches the walls perfectly!  I mixed Soft Serenity with Heavenly Sands for the turquoise-like color in here. 

She has a clothesline for art in her room since she is constantly making pictures.

We also have one in the dining room.

On my craft day, I had sudden inspiration to use the colorful, cool fabric scraps in my stash to make this large poster for Alathia.  Alathia is the Greek word for truth so that is why I chose this word.  I used scissors, a glue stick, and a large frame from Family Dollar.  It only took about an hour, and it totally fits Ali's personality.

I didn't get the dining room, upstairs hallway, and living room finished like I'd hoped, but I will work on those in the next couple of weeks before we start school.

My Stay-Cation

The second week in August was bliss for me!  Josiah took the 3 oldest kids on a road trip/vacation to his parent's house in MN for 8 full days!  They had a WONDERFUL time with family and cousins and riding in Grandpa's speedboat and on his 4-wheelers and even got to go to Reptile Gardens (my boys' dream vacation) on the drive home.  I knew they were in great hands with their Daddy, so I wasn't worried about them at all.  I had the house to myself for 8 days!  Yes, Kate was here, but she is at a very easy stage and she sleeps 18 hours a day (and no, she doesn't have a heart condition) so I got a LOT of quiet time.  It was my first time with only one kid in 5 years and my first vacation lasting longer than a day away from the 3 older kids.

What did I do?
*Went to breakfast with a friend one day.
*My brother took me out for dinner one day and my parents for lunch another day.
*I hosted an all-day craft day and got most of Katri's scrapbook done and lots of fun time chatting with my friends and eating pizza.
*I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and did not cook for an entire week!  I did a load of dishes once or twice.
*I painted for at least 30 hours and got my schoolroom wall done, Ali's room, the boys' room, and Katri's room done.
*Read for 2-3 hours a day
*Babysat my nephew a couple of times and hung out with my sis-in-law while she did laundry at our house (she helped paint for an hour too)
*Hosted a fiesta for my brother and his family after church where 15 people came and ate a taco/nacho lunch at my house
*Watched 6 chick flicks
*Listened to at least 20 hours of sermons/Focus on the Family broadcasts while I painted.  I find audio messages to be SOOOOOOO encouraging and I think this was the highlight of my time.  It was so encouraging!  I almost never listen to music when the kids are in the house just because they are soooo noisy and disruptive and loud that I can't handle it.  When I'm alone, I enjoy music again!

Here's Katrielle's room!

Rebecca (purple), Elm Valley (green) and Heavenly Sands (white)

A vintage print of girls in a garden from the thrift shop

I made the hat and flower pot decoration for her Garden Tea Party room using materials from yard sales or the dollar store.  The other decorations were yard sale finds.

I painted this frame and then put pretty fabric in it and then glued a teapot cookie cutter into it for a wall decoration

I got the cute "I'm a Little Teapot" decal from a friend's etsy shop.  It matched the colors I picked PERFECTLY!

I'll show you the other rooms I painted in the next post.....

Bathroom Remodel

We spent about 6-8 hours cleaning this bathroom before we moved into our home last summer.  It was icky, let's just leave it at that! 

The shower was grungy, and duct-taped together on the side.  When Josiah's folks came out in August, his dad worked on our shower and got it sealed for us.

There were about 13 plastic hooks stuck all over the walls and doors.

There was a hole in the wall and many staples.  There was also a crooked shelf and junky towel bar I took down and a manilla envelope duct-taped to the wall over the hole with some ugly wallpaper stuck on top of it.

It's hard to see but there were streaks and grime all over the walls, in spite of our cleaning and scrubbing.

THE RESULTS.....

I painted the bathroom with a smoky blue called, "Cameron's Eyes."

I hung some of my favorite photos I recently took of the boys

My mom helped me put a new toilet seat on as the old one was kinda nasty!  Josiah put this new toilet paper dispenser in and I put silver outlet and switch covers on.

I went with brick red accents since the bathroom shower is that color.

We put a towel bar and clock on the wall.

To make one of the walls more fun I dipped a few different round kitchen sponges in white paint and made "bubbles" all over the wall.

The shower is all cleaned up and has a nice, clean shower mat in it!

We have a little basket with washcloths and toiletries for guests on this little cabinet shelf.

Since our guest room is downstairs, our guests use this bathroom. 

(This photo was taken without a flash and looks a little dull!)

I love the results!  Now, instead of dreading going into the kid's downstairs bathroom I find myself going in there more often to tidy it up and enjoy the new look!

Total cost of the bathroom renovation, including switch plate covers, paint, frames, photos, spackle, sponges, rug, towel bar, etc. is about $52.

Pretty and Unique Table Decor

We recently visited our beloved friends who moved back to Kansas.  You may remember an interview I did on my blog a couple of years ago with my friend Shiloh, who is the world's tidiest housekeeper on how she manages to keep her house perfect with twin preschoolers.  Now those twins are 5 1/2 and they also have a 2 year old.  Her house is still the cleanest I've ever seen and not only that, but one of the most tastefully decorated homes too.  My husband and I concluded, after staying in their home, which they decorate on a budget, that we are country bumpkins that know nothing about style and elegance in home decor.  Maybe when Shiloh visits us this summer we will ask her for tips on how she would decorate our home if it was hers.  I thought this simple, but interesting centerpiece was worthy of a blog post. 

 While you could probably make these paper balls from scrap newspapers and modge podge, she purchased them from Pier 1.  I absolutely LOVE that store, but don't get the opportunity to shop in one very often.

Fun, artsy, and modern!

Cheap, Cute,and Simple Decor

These cute little wooden animals were 58 cents each at the nearest Walmart. They have felt accents and are painted well. You could glue them to a sign or a large photo frame or buy enough to stretch in a line around the whole room. They had about 10 animals to choose from. Cute, but simple, frugal decor for kid's bedrooms and they work for boys or girls or for brothers and sisters who share a room, like ours!

Window Markers

Alathia begged me to come and draw with her using her new window markers

from Grandpa and Grandma. I didn't realize how much fun they could be!

Don't have a chalkboard in your kitchen like Monica
that you can write fun messages on for visiting company?
Try window markers instead--sold at Walmart.

Uses for Artwork

Much of the kids' artwork

will end up

as wrapping paper this year.

But it's also just the right size for placemats.

Adding Beauty

Pretty candle holder from the thrift store (5 cents), candles, $2
Bouquet from hubby, "just because."



I've been making a more concentrated effort to add beauty to my kid's lives, especially around the table. While I love simplicity, I want our home to reflect warmth, personality, art, and beauty, in appreciation for and reflection on our great God.