The Laundry Project

I've recently been working hard on getting back into a routine of blogging again.  Social media became kind of a distraction by allowing me to share quick thoughts here and there, but lately it just hasn't been cutting it for me.  I've missed blogging.

A couple months back (February), I finally had reached the point of HATE for my laundry room.  It just wasn't working for me!

After living here for three years in this home, I had enough time to know that something had to change.  I just ignored it because for the first year and half of that time I thought we were moving and our house was for sale.  It wasn't worth making any effort.

That is not longer the case.

One week Jarom had to travel for work, taking him away from the home for three days.  I had finally sold some stuff on Craigslist to get some money to do something.  I told Jarom that I really wanted and needed to repaint the laundry room.  And I did. 

I also decided that it was time for the change.

My plan wasn't fully thought through, other than I had to get this done before Jarom got home so he didn't kill me.

I first ripped out the original counter top and cabinet that was there.  I got it removed from the wall and then stuck with 6 feet of cabinetry and counter top I wasn't sure how I was going to get out of the house into the garage.  My mother came and saved the day.  I didn't have time to think about a before picture.

Check.

Now I had this large empty space with no tile just sub floor.  Uhm, I don't know how to tile, especially not with the special stone that had been laid on the floor and I didn't have any colored grout.  Nor the time.  Plan B?  I needed a leveled floor, so I bought ply wood and had it cut to the dimensions to level the space.  Tacky, but it will do.  I bought two door rugs and duct taped them together to cover the floor change.

Check.

Now I needed to paint.  I've got a four year old and 1 year old, no biggy, I've done this one plenty of times before.  No other one year old has been like Bret.  My dear mother-in-law, had sympathy on my enthusiasm to do this project, and came to help clean my house, watch the boys and do errands for all the little things I would realize I forgot.  Did I mention  I had not thoroughly thought this thru? 

Oh, and I forgot my visiting teachers were come as well.  The shared a great message and supported my craziness.  What more can you ask for!?

Oh, and I was coaching soccer and the boys soccer practices as well.  My time frame was becoming crunch time!

Check.  Check.  Check.

Paint dry.  So, SO happy that I repainted with an eggshell over the hideous flat paint.  Fingerprints are practically unheard of now.

Now the final part, the most important part, putting in a better laundry/back entry/mudroom than before.  I knew I needed more space, so that when you walked in the door, laundry wasn't in the way, backpacks, shoes, cleats all weren't in the way of the walking area.  I needed to be able to freely walk into the back door without hitting or tripping over something.
I knew I wanted a bench, with space beneath for baskets.  I needed more shelving that I could actually reach and hooks to hang bags, jackets, etc.  I also needed a place to sort my laundry since that was completely gone.  After thousands of Pinterest pictures, I created my own design and took it to Lowe's.
At Lowe's the guys there helped me stay in my budget, showed me the best way to build supports, and cut all my wood to the size I needed.  They saved me!
The process began and Voila!  I now have five feet of space instead of three...major difference.

It's not pretty or perfect but I love it.  It does all the things I need.

I didn't finish before Jarom got home, because he came home early.  But I was close enough. 

He never commented, but I can tell you 7 months later, I haven't heard a single complaint.  There is no doubt he enjoys the space.

So the budget break down:
I sold $120 worth of tile.
That bought--a gallon of paint for the walls, a quart of paint for the shelving, two rugs, and all the wood and some hooks.
Over budget I spent $30 more dollars to buy the rest of the hooks, supports for shelves, and the laundry sorter.  Which I could spare from my grocery budget, since it was the month of February.
And I did it three days.

I love my new space.

Feeling Crafty

I did another letter for my old school friend Amy.  I hadn't done anything for her since she bought her new house and I thought this would be something fun to give her.  She's trendy and I was worried that this might be too cutesy for her but I went with it anyway.

 

I'm not quite sure how I feel about the burlap in that place.  I tried hanging it up to see how it looked.  it's OK.  I'll let Amy figure out what she wants to do with that, she's good at those kind of things.

Better Late Than Never

My life seems to be backing up, piling up and I'm somewhere lost in all the mess.  I admire all those super punctual, organized people who have it together and they have these wonderful systems to get through life without lacking behind.
 I'm not one of those people. 
Not even close.
A matter of fact, my mind runs so fast I can't even keep up with my own thoughts.  This may be a sign of a mental issue, it may be normal, regardless it's me.  I'm pretty sure the world of technology and ideas for just about anything at my fingertips, does not help my case.  Maybe one day it will get better.
Until then, I will remain a gazillion days behind on all my thoughts and projects and hope that my duty of motherhood is a fair enough excuse for all the lagging.

Now that I've got that out of the way. . . refocus. 

Last school year I decided to attempt my teacher bags again.  I wasn't quite as enthused but they turned out.  Several things had piled up into this last week of school.  One was our house had officially gone under contract and we were in the process of possibly moving with a very close deadline.  Then we decided this may not be the right decision.  I was emotional stressed and distracted.
On the bright side of things,  I was more involved and got to know the teachers a bit better this year.  This helped in the process.  I cannot make a bag without some inspiration from the actual person.

SHARP
She was an outgoing and easy going person.  She loved Liam.  He loved her.  She loved bright colors I could tell just from being around her.  Then she said her favorite colors were pink, red and lime green.  When I saw this fabric I couldn't resist.  I lined it with lime green.  The front I added some 3-D effects that flowed with the flowers.  I loved this bag so much I almost kept it for myself!

DAVIS

This one was easy.  Mrs. Davis is the perfect example of Southern, classy lady.  Sweet demeanor, soft spoken, always smiling and stylish.  Favorite color was a teal green.  I saw this beautiful material with all the soft colors, BINGO.  I made this tote smaller than my normal bags.  Enough to hold a book or two but not large.  The bottom was something new That I tried.  It wasn't going together as smoothly as I envisioned, but it ended up with the result I wanted.  Chevron is a beast to work with, I might add.  I chose a flower with points instead of round like the previous bag to flow with the bohemian pattern. The sash was something I decided at the last minute to throw in to create a simple finishing touch.  I couldn't decide which side to put it on.  What do you think?

 

CHRISTOL
This bag just turned out cute and the response from the teacher was worth every minute put into the bag!  This is probably the simplest bag I have ever put together.  Not ruffles, flowers, or 3-D extras.  This was plain and simple.  This bag was large because I knew the teacher still had little children.  We need large bags with small kids!  Her favorite colors were the school colors--red and blue.  I had to be very careful to avoid a patriotic bag.  I also have a rule to never use just two colors-- never.  I needed a third color.
She decorated her class with Snoopy and I kept thinking of the yellow bird like things on the cartoons.  Mrs. Christol is also one of those people you meet and know she teaches elementary school.  So, when I came across this awesome gold polka dot fabric I knew I had to use it with something.  Her bag.  I was pleased with how it turned out.

Jane

This is my most recent diaper tote:  JANE.

Can you tell there are a lot of babies being born in my circle of friends?

I had a hard time picking out just the right style for this friend.  She loves blue I can tell simply because she wears it all the time.  I could find nothing blue that would satisfy what I was looking for for her.  Black, white, damask. . . they all seemed very classic, traditional and timeless.  I also know that her kids are like Strausburg clothing advertisements.  She's a true Southern classic.  I was going to have to pull my sister-in-law Celeste in for this one because this were her style to a tee.  I was afraid to go too whimsical.  She helped decide on pink and even some green.  I wasn't going there but I'm glad I did.

Then I found some pink gingham ribbon in my stash and I was finally satisfied with taking on the pink.  I think it is sooooo my friend (and I hope I'm right).  It was just what I needed, another pattern to break it up. 

 

 But then, to complete it I had to throw in a little green.  You can't be more Southern than initialling your things.  I thought I would just make a little tag to hang from the back.  I stitched the "J" because my embroidery doesn't make letters that big.  That's okay because I actually kind of enjoyed the stitching.  I was surprised it turned out as well as it did.  I think I might start tagging all the items I make.  Like my own little touch to know it was made by me.

BOO

There is nothing more flattering than someone asking you where you a bought an item only to tell them you made it.  Okay, there are a few more flattering things but that is definitely in the top five.  Especially, when that compliment comes from a male.

Now that I am living closer to my mom and she has unfortunately lost her job, we have been able to spend more time together and do a few things.  One of those was to make "BOO" signs to put up for decoration during Halloween. 

I was hesitant about this project because I felt the "crafty" look wasn't going to look so swell in my house and the scrapbooking-patchwork-kind-of-cutesy-items just weren't my thing anymore.  Halloween is one of those holidays I kind of skip when it comes to decorating.  I could come up with lots of excuses, but I thought I would give it a try anyway.

It was pleased with the result.  I got kind of excited and now have made plans to add to the setting next year.  And you can't really see but there is a vase full of sticks on the right side.  I had seen several "trees" like this on Pinterest and in the store.  I decide to create my own version and collect some sticks from the backyard and spray paint them black.  Total cost on that project, $1!  I've decided spray paint is a staple around the house when it comes to crafts.

I have had several people that thought I bought the signs and then some proceeded to tell me that I could sell them.  My ego hit a high that day.

LB

I finally got around to doing a little sewing (I still have several things in process).  This is my version of a diaper tote.  Take it out when you don't want to have to haul the whole diaper bag but able to keep the diaper, wipes, and changing pad all together.  I can't claim it as my idea but I've tried to make some adjustments to make it my own.
This one I call LB.
I couldn't resist.  The mommy's name started with "L," the baby's name started with "B," and those are my initials.

Thank goodness for pinterest so that I can better stalk people to make something that is just for them.  It's my favorite part of making things.  This happen to be my sister-in-law, who is stylish, chic, LOVES color, fun, likes homemade things, and now I know has a things for flowers.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do the moment I saw the fabric.  This was going to be easy.

I should know by now to NEVER say "this will be easy."  In my mind I know exactly how I want things and actually doing it is ALWAYS a different story.  Chevron is a beast.  Trying to line the pattern up and making sure the pattern was straight added more time than I had anticipated.  However, this was still a very simple and quick project.
I'm still thrilled with how it turned out and hope that Linda enjoys it. 
I feel I am slowly getting better at my sewing skills.

Dad's Quilt

Every year for Christmas since I was child my siblings and me havedrawn names to exchange gifts.  As we have moved around, gotten older, and all married we've added spouses and my parents into the exchange. 
This year I got my dad.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do. 
I wasn't sure that I could pull it off but I was going to attempt regardless.  How hard could it be?
Quilting, math, measuring. . .they all work together.
There is a reason why people take quilting classes.  I understand this now.

I had my brother Doug's t-shirts. It wasn't tons but the one's that my sister-in-law wanted and needed to clear out.  Somehow, they all ended up at my house.

The original plan was to make her a throw blanket of his old shirts.  We decided this may not be the best idea. 

So they sat at my house.

Once I found out I had Dad's name for a gift this year.  I immediately thought this is something he would love more than anyone else.

I wish I could have been there to give it to him personally.  I knew he would love it no matter how bad it might turn out.

He did call and thank me.  I knew he would love it.  I could tell that it really touched him and he was really surprised to have such a gift.  It made me feel so good.  It was probably my favorite gift I've been able to give in a long time.

I'm so glad I had Dad's name this year.

Queen Jen

This bag was for one of the "Bonus Brother" wives.  She's such a fun person that just amazes me.  And she laughs at my jokes.  Bless her soul.  Her original pet name was She-Diddy (long story) but considering that can be a mouthful, for obvious reasons I renamed her "Queen Jen." 

Purple is her favorite color.  That's perfectly suitable for a queen since purple represents royalty.  I couldn't just go with purple though so I coordinated a few other colors that I thought were attractive on her and made the bag mature looking.  Unfortunately, the bag was a surprise and I didn't have time to take a picture earlier and so while trying to hide and get a pic at her house, I couldn't manage to get a decent one.  These will just have to do.

It didn't turn out quite as I would have liked, though I still like it.  However, Jen I'm more than happy to make you another one.  This wasn't my best work, I felt.

My Tree and Me Remakes

{It's way past my bedtime. I should be getting all the rest I can, but I can't. I don't sleep well when my hubby's out of town. I seem to lose all security. I don't eat as well, I don't get much done, and I don't sleep. The only advantage is I get to update my blog. It's crazy how much I need him. How I can hardly function in some areas without him. He really does keep me going. When I think about it he gives me a reason to do certain things. Even though I have kids, it's him that's my main source of energy. How do people do it alone?}

BUT that's not what I'm blogging about. I've recently been called to serve in the Young Women's presidency and loving it. Tonight was a personal progress night. We had been talking about genealogy and our heritage and such for a couple of Sundays now. I thought it would be nice to do something genealogy related and make a family tree. Sounds boring until you check this site out. I have several of these "trees" on my wish list.

I decided that three of these family trees were do-able. I thought they turned out pretty well.

Hot and Cold

So I guess I've kind of started a tradition by making bags for my kids' teachers. This year I decided to take the boys with me and let them pick out the fabric. I told them to pick out what made them think of their teacher the most.

Lesson #1: Do not go fabric shopping with four boys.

Lesson #2: I love that my boys have a love for color as I do. But arguing with an 8 year old over what matches best can be exhausting.

Over all they both had a great eye for what looked good and suited their teacher best. Their teachers were both excited and loved their bags. (It was also a nice report to get from last year's teacher that she still uses her bag, has washed it, and it's still going strong. That's a relief. I always worry about them falling apart.)

These bags I call HOT and COLD. One, the boys are polar opposites in everything they do and their teachers pretty much are too. But I also chose these names because the colors of the fabric that were chosen.

HOT--Ms. Sherrod

This was picked out by Tipton. His teacher loves all colors but Tipton said she loves Tennessee football. What's more appropriate, right? I almost wouldn't mind having this bag for myself considering my favorite color is orange. Especially the fabric on the strip and handles. . .I need to find a place for that fabric in my house. I loved it! Tipton approved my design and requested that it have a ribbon. I randomly came across this hot pink gingham ribbon on my counter. He thought it looked great and I have to say I liked it myself. But it was still standing plain so I decided to add a simple pink flower to finish it off. Normally, I like to add some cool colors to balance things out but the two purple strips were just going to have to do I felt nothing else was needed. So we loaded it up with some chocolates, and card and story written by Tipton. He could not WAIT to give her her present. COLD--Mrs. Ownby

Blue's her favorite color. She and her husband are TN football season ticket owners. I knew just where to go with this bag after Liam and me finally came to an agreement on fabric. Liam put a lot of thought into these fabrics. He thought of her lunch sack and clothes that she wears. He was very pleased when he found this fabric. I think it's quite beautiful myself. His teacher is a little more frilly, traditional, reserved. I wanted to put all that in this bag. She also loves to read and scrapbook so I knew that I needed this to be a deep bag to fit all her goodies. I couldn't resist adding some purple just because and I needed just a little pop of warmth to be satisfied with this bag. . . surprise! I chose orange. It just seemed fitting.

Little Projects

Since I've decide that it's all a joke and this baby is never coming, I mine as well get a few things done, right? Nothing major but gotta stayed occupied.
Recently, my little niece was baptized. I want to make her a little scripture tote for her new scriptures. I wanted to do something a little different than your normal tote. I knew her scriptures would be the small kind and so I made the bag to hold them upright not the sideways option. I wanted to do this for Liam but it's kind of hard to come up with a "manly" bag. I'm gonna have to get more creative. Back to the subject. . . I had some fabric left over and thought it might work. Then I decided I wanted to make it more girly and it needed flowers, not ruffles. I was pretty pleased how they turned out. Thanks Cally for your tutorial. The buttons I just happen to have around the house. I actually enjoyed sitting down and making the tote. It took my mind off of having this baby for once.

This project is posted pretty late. I had been trying to think of what to do with the food storage #10 cans when I finished with the food. I just couldn't throw them away. At the time it was football season and I finally got inspired. . . bean bag toss. On the back of the cans are points for them to toss the bean bags into. It will be great for tailgating next year. They aren't beautiful, but I already had the spray paint and we made the stencil ourselves. This was 100% FREE. Can't beat that! Plus, the kids think they are awesome. Unfortunately, I don't have a great place to store them so now they have become storage for other things. One holds socks that have lost their match decoratively sitting in the laundry room. I love double purpose items.
I've also decided that my extra cans next time I will use to give as gift items. They would be great to fill with sports things, sweet treats or whatever!

Fireplace. . . complete

It's FINALLY done! This project went longer than planned, as all projects due. However, not doing this one myself I really can't complain.

I was excited to see this project through and the contractor was great about letting me be involved. He knew that I knew what I wanted. I learned a lot in the process of things that work and don't work.

The best part is even if I didn't get to do it by myself it is still MY design and to see it completed from my head, to paper, to finish is pretty awesome.

Funny story, well it is now. If you want to avoid possible marriage counseling get your measurements right. Jarom has been so patient with my projects throughout the years and kindly funds most of them. This one he agreed to as long as I had a place for all the "equipment." I clarified that it was covered, not to worry. After measuring a gazillion things when the project was complete I had measured my cabinets not deep enough. I'm still baffled by how I was so off on those measurements. And when Jarom went to put everything together just to find that none of it fit. . .let's just it was not a happy moment. He was LIVID!

On a happier note, despite the fact that I ended up over budget because I had to have my shelves replaced I was able to incorporate a little more design without demolishing the shelves altogether. The contractor was kind and on board with my idea. In the end, Jarom liked the new design better.

I had the shelves curved to extend the depth 3 1/2 more inches without looking weird.

I'm still in debate on my color choices (there is always something, right?). . .my cabinets should probably be more of an off-white than pure white, and I'm not crazy about my yellow with the tile. I do LOVE the tile and it was one of those last minute changes (when I realized my budget allowed) but the paint had already been purchased. Nothing I can't change down the road.

Overall, I'm really happy with the outcome. The TV still remains GINORMOUS but it's not uncomfortable for us to watch and I've gained about 3'x8' in my living room.

What to do for my next project?

Fireplace

There's nothing like a cozy fireplace at the heart of a home. But let's be honest, the kitchen is where my heart really is and the TV. I'm sure I watch way too much. HGTV, for sure! That's why I come up with these crazy ideas.
Long story short. . .my fireplace is abnormally huge and so is our TV. In design, to me it's all about balance. My family room hasn't been balanced since we moved in 5 years back no matter how many times I've rearranged furniture.
This picture is just to show how the fireplace looks. This room actually has already been overhauled. . .wood floors, different furniture, rearranged, etc. Now this is my plan to change. I know they say the TV shouldn't be the FOCUS of a room but how unpractical is that!? Sure it could be covered but why waste my money on doors that will never be closed. I say, "So what!" Let the TV be my focus with the fireplace. I just want balance and use of a currently useless wall.
The illustration doesn't show everything well because most was done in pencil and various cutouts (hence the crooked TV), but there would be the same cabinetry on both sides. This is drawn to scale.
Master Plan:

with TV "A":or TV "B":

I just hope I can really have what I've created in my mind. That's still in process. I'm too scared to attempt myself.

In Over My Head

As always I get into my head a project I want to do and go full force. Most of those projects are not always necessary but I think they need to be done. I know Jarom wishes I would just wash the windows for once. What fun is that project?

This time around I decided our patio needed to be fixed. There was an original patio there that the previous owners laid for their hot tub. They took the hot tub and left a really ugly patio remaining. Each year I just watched it slowly wash away because in my opinion it was done wrong. I needed to fix it. I also needed to add on to it, of course. Make it my own.

I quickly found myself in over my head.

First lesson learned: Just because they say that this project should be done with two men in 3 days doesn't mean you adding 3 more days you can do it yourself. They fail to mention that these men probably have someone else caring for their children, home, and providing their food. And I'm not afraid to admit but probably stronger.

Step 1: The original patio went to the end of the house and I felt it needed to be carried on to the end of the fence and some landscaping needed to be put in. I had the boys help pull up the bricks and I shoveled up all the sand. We reused these bricks and just bought the closest match we could find to fill in the additional space. You'll see how I worked it out to look decent.

Step 2: Then I had to dig down 8 inches. Lesson 2 learned: Red clay is hard. Really hard. I maybe completed a square yard and realized this is impossible. I had already come to a stopping point. Then my neighbor asked another neighbor if I could borrow his tiller. THANK YOU!!!! Lesson 3: Tillers vibrate something terrible and I was sure I used muscles I didn't know existed just trying to control that thing. What would have taken a week was accomplished in about 2 1/2 hours. Then I could dig up the dirt.

Finally I got most of the dirt shovelled up. Lesson 4: Rain and clay don't mix. Though the clay had been tilled after the night rain it clumped a lot of it back together. My tennis shoes where official 3 inch platforms. I already started to cheat at this point and only dug around 6 inches. I ran into tree roots and to make the ground level to those areas. Then I laid the barrier so my bricks won't wash away this time.

The gravel and sand. Ah, what a work out! I slept so well by this time. I guess I was about a week and a half into the project. It felt like day 500.

I had to have the gravel delivered. Cheapest way. Unfortunately, they couldn't get to my back yard and just dumped it in my driveway. . . on the other side of the house. Did I mention that day is was one of those sweltering 90 degree days? Twenty-two wheelbarrow's full later, I had my gravel and I could finally put down the sand. Jarom was getting ency at this point. That tarp and sand had been there a while and the grass was going to die.. . and I was over budget, slightly.

Hyrum would have done anything to play in that sand, even if it meant work.
The sand looks odd because, oh surprise, it rained again. It actually made the levelling easy.

I forgot to mention that before I laid the gravel I realized I needed to work out some drainage issues. See that gutter pipe coming down the house? That water had to go somewhere. I had to dig around an 8 foot trench for drainage to pass through to the other side of the patio. Tree roots again. Lesson 5 learned: Read instruction suggestions before working. Like where it says don't build your patio near a tree.

By this time I had to finish. I had company coming that evening. We were cooking out and having a party outside. Pretty essential. I needed this to be done. By 4pm (guest arriving at 6:30) I had to quite. I ran out of brick!!!! Seven short. It was just going to have to do. I still have a few things I have to take care of but for the most part it is finally done!

This was one of the hardest things I've done, especially by myself! My hands were swollen and I couldn't get normal circulation for about 4 days. I slept like a baby for two weeks. I hope to never work with sand again or brick this small.

The best part is that it's rewarding to finish such a task. We have already enjoyed several days and evenings out there.