Small House Updates

I am gearing up to share some bigger projects we have been working on here, but for now I am going to catch up some older stuff.

First, I made a quick toile valance for our laundry room out of a remnant. I just hemmed the edges put in one pleat and pinned it up hiding the pins. It is kind of silly, but it really makes my laundry room feel more fancy, or cute, or workable, or just more of a part of the house and not the garage. I love it.

Another simple change we made was purchasing this mail sorter (from Hobby Lobby) that I had been eyeing. The bottom has six small drawers and we use them for common "junk drawer" items freeing up one very valuable kitchen drawer. YAY.

And, in our entry, where there once was a calendar is now a dry erase board/key rack. It is great to have a place to hang our keys when we are carrying a million things into the house. Okay, maybe not a million, but on most nights I carry: a purse, a lunch box, a diaper bag, mail, a sippy, a water bottle, keys and an almost two year old. In one trip. Really. I have often thought that I should get someone to take a picture, but if there were someone here to do so - I would make them help. :P

Oh, and this board is also useful for the hubs and I to communicate one very important thing.

Dishes are: CLEAN!

Wrong Color!? No Problem.

Today I have a quick change for you. A while ago, I posted a picture of this wall art arrangement on my personal blog. I loved how everything looked on this red wall, but it just wasn't working for the layout of my house.

The red wall is a definite focal point from many angles, but the corner where this arrangement got stuffed was not. And, since I wanted this arrangement to be a major focal point. I moved it. Err... I asked the hubs to move it for me! :) But, I could of done it if I wanted to...

Problem!?

It is all blah. And Bland.

I mulled over this problem for a while. Even before the actual move.

A painted box? Horizontal Stripes? Hmm..

I ultimately decided that the easiest solutions was to paint the words.

So I did.

I used the leftover house paint from the red wall.

It took some patience with the small curves and angle of the words, but eventually, I got it.

I didn't prime them, but I should have. I think that was my biggest mistake. I put a lot of coats on these puppies because of it!

Spray painting would have been another good option. However, I already had this paint thus equalling a cheaper option. I like cheap!

I called Ace Hardware though to see what the cost is for them to make my house paint into a spray. Did you know they did that? I just saw it advertised in their store! Really exciting. Anyway, it is 10$. Not a bad idea for any future projects that I am willing to spend the money!

So, if you feel like you have a piece of, well, almost anything and you want to use it but the color is wrong. Paint, paint, paint!