Under a Blue Moon

Friday’s Favorites

1. Horses all lined up, 2. Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail., 3. Untitled, 4. sweet dahlias, 5. laundry day, 6. Green, Green Grass of Home, 7. Happy Friday!, 8. Bonjour, 9. leaving a mark

Isn't this a splendid idea for a party: Bar menu
I seriously need to learn how to crochet. Pretty crochet garland. And another one.
Simple, yet pretty (and blingy!) gift wrapping idea
Templates for itty bitty gift boxes (keeping with the gift wrapping theme)
I know I kind of drifted off into necklaces and bracelets for a bit. Back with a pair of sweet mint and gold heart studs

Happy Friday!

This week just flew by. We have so many little projects (and some HUGE ones) that we are working on in the evenings it just makes the time go so quickly.

This week has been all about plumbing. We knew when we bought the house that repiping it was in our future. We were just hoping to put it off for a few years. Not to be. So we have had a couple of plumbing contractors give us bids on repiping the entire house. Ouch. That's all I'm going to say about that. There goes most of our bathroom remodel budget.

It will be nice to have water pressure though. The pipes are so old and filled with gunk that it takes 10 or 15 minutes for the water in the main bath (the one we want to remodel) to get hot.

This weekend will be spent building shelves (What? I can help hand out nails or something) and getting the garage a little more organized.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

4.25.13

I promise to move out of the kitchen soon. We have been setting up other parts of the house but they aren't ready for their close up yet. I just wanted to quickly share my shade fiasco.

So a week ago I asked about washing fabric roller shades. I took the shades down and unrolled them and could see they were just attached to the roller mechanism by masking tape. It also had the manufacturer stamped on the roller. I looked online to see if I could find the exact shades (and the fabric content of the shades). I didn't find them but most of their fabric shades were a cotton/poly blend so I figured it was pretty safe to wash them.

Turns out not so much. They shrunk in width about three or four inches. There was no stretching them back to shape. So I hopped in my car and hit up the local fabric store and found regular old shade material on deep discount. I also found some beaded trim that I threw in my basket.

It couldn't have been easier to put them together. I just cut the material to size and then sewed a pocket for the hem bar and glued on the beaded trim. I finished it off with a bit of grosgrain ribbon on top of the beaded trim for a neater look. The trickiest part was getting them taped back on the roller mechanism straight. The teeniest bit crooked and the shade doesn't roll up properly.

I spent about $20 and a hour of my time to put them together.

Next time I promise to show you another room in the house. I was thinking of a big, long, boring post with all the before pictures so you can see what the entire house looks like and get a sense of the layout.

I also need to show you the garden. The previous owners loved their garden and roses in particular. We have 60 rose bushes, last count, and they are all in riotous bloom right now.

4.23.13

I'm slowly getting my office/craft room set up. Most of the boxes are unpacked. I can't say it is entirely organized but at least things are being put in the general vicinity of where they belong.

One of the things I always felt was lacking in my last few office spaces was a white board or chalk board. A standard whiteboard is a bit too boring so I hacked an Ikea frame to make a chalk board. I've seen this hack all over Pinterest so it's not an original idea.

The frame cost $25 and is made out of molded plastic. It was a little too Barbie Dream House looking so I sprayed it with flat white paint to give a more chalky appearance. Then I spray painted the glass with chalkboard paint.

Warning – if you get chalkboard paint on your person (or your favorite jeans) well then you are just going to have to live with it for the rest of your life because that stuff does NOT want to come off.

It looks a bit twee against the pink wall paint but that will be changing. I've picked a cream color that is bright and provides some contrast against the white trim and beadboard in the room.

Ikea Expedit shelving is all set up too. I want to get the desk attachment that goes with it but Ikea no longer carries it in two sizes. The one size they do carry is too short. I may have to MacGyver something to work.

Right now I'm using our old eating area table that is pushed up under the window. I want to replace it with a shallower work table for spreading projects on and then have the (new) desk for my computer/work related stuff.

That pink is really starting to annoy me. This room was a baby girl's nursery. The painted branches had Tinkerbell and butterfly stickers on them. I probably should have painted before unpacking and putting stuff away but who knows when that will happen.

Please ignore all the packing boxes in the background. Sigh. They are everywhere.

(all pictures taken with Instagram since my camera and I aren't currently getting along. If you want to follow me on Instagram I'm @andreajp135)

Friday’s Favorites

1. debee – 4, 2. IMG_8200, 3. by the window, 4. for trifle, 5. my new cards!, 6. Cure for the Winter Blues, 7. Pretty Inspiration, 8. "Candy" Necklaces, 9. ❤

Here's a cheerful bit of bling for your neck. Or if that is too much (or you want a matching set) here are a pair of earrings for just a bit of color and sparkle
Okay I may be rushing the season but these watermelon stacks look so cute and refreshing. Can't wait to make them
I was looking for 40's interior paint colors when I came across this kitchen renovation. I love it! That they kept the original cabinets and any new addition or change was selected to fit into the 40's esthetic. I also love the colors. I would do the reverse though (color on the walls with white cabinets)
We need a clock for our 40's kitchen and I was thinking this one would do nicely
This has been all over the interwebs this week but in case you missed it – How women see themselves vs. how others see them (we are always our worst critics, aren't we?)

Happy Friday everyone! I'm still buried in boxes but there is light at the end of the tunnel. We are kind of picking at little projects and identifying the bigger ones. Plumber is due to arrive any minute (which I fear will be a BIG project).

So I answered my own question about washing fabric roll-up shades. It doesn't work out so well! Ha! I took one down and unrolled it and the fabric is just taped to the rod with masking tape. Well this should be easy, I thought. I removed the fabric, tossed them in the washing machine and they shrunk in width by three or four inches! Whoops. I did go online and research the manufacturer and even though I couldn't find the exact shade all their other fabric shades seemed to be a poly/cotton blend so I thought I was safe.

I popped on over to our local JoAnns who was clearing out their stock in preparation for moving to a new location and bought roller shade material for about $8. I also bought some beaded trim to finish it off and made new shades for both windows in just a couple of hours. I'll try to post a picture next week. Wasn't a project I was planning on undertaking but it was way easier and cheaper than I thought it would be.

Hope everyone has a marvelous weekend!

Edited to add: The "Home Sweet Home" print in today's photo mosaic is available on this Etsy site: One Little Bird Studio I just found it online!

4.15.13

Here is a before picture of our kitchen. All pictures in today's post are from my iPhone so sorry about the quality. I have some on my regular camera but I haven't loaded them onto my pc yet. I feel so out of practice with the camera.

Anyway – this shot was taken just mere minutes after we took possession of our new home. The sellers left all the window coverings as part of the contract (so we wouldn't be scrambling to buy new coverings the first day we moved in) but my plan is to eventually replace them all.

I did remove the valances but left the fabric shades. Which actually aren't bad. Just dirty. Since they are fabric I'm thinking they can be washed but they are the roller shade type. Anyone ever take one of those apart to launder the shade and successfully put it back together?

I have new valances on order. White. Sheer. Modest amount of crocheted lace.

I also removed the curtain under the sink. Of course I don't want my garbage can and jumbo sized bottle of dishwashing detergent on display so I whipped up a new curtain to replace it.

A year or so ago I bought a pair of vintage French pillow cases from a vendor at the Alameda Antique Faire. The lace is beautifully and the pillowcase seemed sturdy and in good shape. Until I washed them and they kind of disinigrated. I salvaged the hems with the lace on it, figuring I would just sew them onto new pillow cases.

I found another use for them instead. They became part of my new undersink curtain. I had a scrap of Kona cotton in white what was the perfect size and I hemmed all the edges, added a pocket for the curtain rod and then added the lace hem to the top and the bottom.

Not bad for salvaged pillowcases and leftover scraps of fabric. And much more my style.

Friday’s Favorites (weekend edition)

1. Bird hooks, 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. I love Washi tape, 5. Day 79 • A • Handwritten Letters, 6. Delicate Dreams, 7. One of a Pair, 8. Papoila, 9. Untitled

A friend of mine gave me a set of sweet clothespins similar to this for closing up chip bags and the like
Ha! Isn't this the truth. As is this
Sweet, simple earrings. My favorite kind
Has anyone seen this book: At My Grandmother's Table? Looks like it might be a good one
Very moving video about lost love

Unpacking is coming along. I don't mind the unpacking part so much – it's the putting away that bedevils me. I don't have the same amount of storage space in the new house and I can't quite decorate like I did in the old house. Not that I wanted to just replicate what we had before but I'm struggling with where to put things.

I know it will all come together eventually but I kind of like things to be DONE. Right now I feel like I'm just haphazardly slapping things into drawers and cupboards and I'll never find them when I need them.

I'm kind of wishing we painted before moving in but I wasn't ready to decide on colors nor did I want to wait another minute to move in. Our bedroom is this weird greyish/taupe color that turns lavendarish in late afternoon and evening. The room is on the North East corner of the house and it really needs a warmer color on the walls. Right now it is very gloomy to me. That just might be the first room to get painted.

I hope everyone is having a splendid weekend!

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