Wave of Craftiness

Hey Everyone!!

Duane and I have had a totally fun couple of months of summer! But one of my goals for June and July was to get my house TOGETHER!! When we hit our 2 year anniversary mark (it has flown!!) on June 20-- it hit me that I had also been living in my home for nearly 2 years and NOT ONE ROOM WAS FINISHED! Now that was depressing. We've had a LOT of huge life transitions this past year-- so I'll blame it on that....but I decided NO MORE EXCUSES. I have had several moments of feeling like my world was in chaos over the last couple of months and I attribute a lot of that to not having a comfortable, relaxing place to come home to and rest. Everytime I stepped in the door, my first thoughts were, "Oh my stars we have so much to do."

So I'll start at the beginning. Duane bought our home a couple of months after we started dating. It was a foreclosure- so he got a great deal for the size of home we got! So that was a blessing, but the downfall was that it was a di.sas.ter. There was so much to be done. So I helped with a little here and there as a girlfriend and then a fiance-- but let's just say it was the ultimate bachelor pad. So as a newlywed couple we made a LOT of changes. Completely ripped out the bathroom to the floorboards, literally pulled all the walls of the kitchen and put up new, painted every room over all the old panelling, new flooring, new appliances, etc. So I sound like a complaining brat when I say I hated coming home to an undone house- when we really HAD done a ton of improvements. But being a lover of all things design-- it was not what I wanted. Duane knew I had big plans but not a lot of time, and not wanting to spend a lot of money. SO-- this summer we have made huge strides in finishing a couple of things and putting some "Blomberg" touches on our little project. :) We still have a LONG way to go and I plan on doing a "home tour" post once I get it somewhere close to where I want it. But here are a couple fun projects I've tackled over the summer.

(Also I've recently become obsessed with Pinterest.....thanks to my darling sister....so for my fellow pinterest users-- some of these projects may look familiar since a lot of inspiration comes from that fabulous little app!)

I needed a curtain for my one kitchen window. So I got the fabulous idea from Hobby Lobby to hot glue ribbon to a curtain rod and use for a make-shift curtain! I love how it turned out as it added a splash of color to the black cabinets and silver backsplash!

Here's another angle with them tied back!

Duane and I painted stripes on my back kitchen wall because it was GINORMOUS and I had no idea how to fill it. So I painted this big fork and spoon to give it some personality. Not completely sure I'm 100% in love with them yet. But they work for now!

Here's a great idea I got from pinterest. Bought some half off frames from Hobby Lobby, some 30% off fabric from HL, and some 25 cent silver from a thrift store-- painted them and glued the silver on the fabric. Took me about 20 minutes and cost about $20 for all 4! Don't have them hanging yet, but love them for my kitchen.

This is my FAVORITE project so far!! I LOVE this piece in my living room. It's our "new" coffee table made out of pallets. We got the left over pallets from a friend, bought a little paint-- and there ya go-- shabby chic coffee table! Love it!

All three of these pieces were glass that had tucked in a closet and never used. Grabbed some flat white spray paint and gave them a faux porcelain look. Love it on the pallets.

Another angle. I'm obsessed. More fun with pallets in this room to come :)

Last but not least....my office. I am going to be a National Sales Director with my company. I am so thrilled to be setting big goals and moving up the career path. But I have been working cramped in our little guest bedroom feeling like the walls are caving in on me. SO-- if I'm going to be a national...I needed a National office. So this is JUST the first of really fun pictures of my office. A whole post coming soon about my office. Hand painted wallpaper wall...

This is a fun gift I made for a friend. All the flowers are made out of fabric or tulle (sp?). It was fun to think of new designs for each flower!

Also a gift made for a friend. It's a jewelry holder with chicken wire for earrings and knobs on the bottom to hang necklaces. (missing one knob because it wasn't quite finished yet. and of course I didn't get a picture of the finished product!)

Next are a couple of fun pictures of things my sister and I created to decorate my mom's brand new First Grade classroom. She made a big transition to a new school this year so we wanted her to have the cutest room in the whole school. These projects are the result of about three 12 hour days making sure our mom ruled the school :)

Crayon wreath for the door

The kid's faces will go in the middle of each flower. Mrs. Wilson's First Grade Flower Garden Board

Computer area, listening area, and library

Her podium

Flowers made from rulers and felt

SHHHH! Don't BUG us we're reading! We hand made all these bugs! (My favorite is the big one flying in the middle!)

Ruler decorated lamp

Cork boards made out of fabric and canvas

This is just the start of my new found love of design, crafts, and DIY projects. My goal for my home is to thrift and absolutely spend bottom dollar on these rooms. I won't pay full price for anything when I can try it myself! Can't wait to keep improving and can't wait to get these rooms knocked out!

Thanks for letting me record this fun process! Can't wait to share my office post!

Love, Whit