When renting and you want color....

Since I'm on vacation right now, and don't have easy access to a computer, I thought I would do a little "looking back" at some of my favorite projects!  This is a repost from a few months ago when we first moved into our house.  This is one of those projects that I love so much that when I walk past it, I just have to take a second look at it and smile!! 

Oh....by the way - - I had a great time with Beckie!  Monday I am going to show you the chairs we did, so make sure to check back!!

As you know, we are renting our home in Virginia.  Since we don't know how long we will be here and I still break out in hives just thinking about our last homeowning adventure, renting was the best option.  We have a great home here, but I do find it hard not owning our home because I can't do everything that my creative mind thinks up.  It is the same when you are living in military housing, there is only so much you can do and still be able to "return" it in it's original condition! 

Since we don't know how long we are going to be here, hubby declared this home a  "No Painting Zone."  Meaning....blah white walls :(  It is so hard for me to have white walls.  I love color, I love texture, I love patterns... what is a girl to do?  Pull out the fabric of course!!  I figure a few holes in the wall is no worse than a few holes from hanging pictures and curtains - - right?  Right!

Sooo.... here is a before picture of our dining room.

See, plain -  old - boring beigh walls.  Uck! 

Enter beautiful fabric bought knowing that something great was going to happen with it, but no exact plans!

 I bought up a ton (more like a moving crates worth) of fabric before we moved.  I had the best source in CA for fabric and I have yet to find anything even remotely like it around here.  In fact, I am even thinking of flying back to CA just to stock up on fabric again and fill my suitcases and utilize UPS to get it all home.  It would still be cheaper than the prices I am finding out here.  And the the selection was WAAAAAAYYYY better!  It's hard once you have been spoiled by something to find anything that can compare!

Anyway, back to the walls - - I didn't have enough fabric to cover the entire wall all the way around the room and to be honest with you, I think that would have been too much pattern for the room.  So I only put it on the top 4 ft of the room, then added a chair rail and some trim along the top.  Much better!  Now all I have to do is get moving on the slipcovers for my chairs because the burnt orange floral on them is really not working with the red birds!!

So... if you wanted to do this, how would you go about it?  Well, I will give you my version - - remembering that I am doing this in a rental home, so I am trying to make as few marks on the walls as possible... if I were doing this in my own home, I probably would have done it way different.

First, I measured the repeat of the pattern on the fabric.  It was just at 24".  Perfect!  I cut my fabric at exactly the same spot in the design every other repeat (or in my case every 4 feet).  Then, starting at the far right side of my room, with furniture tacks I tacked the first piece of fabric along the top edge, then starting at the middle of the bottom edge I tacked the bottom, then the right side, finishing with the left side.  By doing this, you keep the fabric from bunching and you can keep the pattern fairly straight.  My fabric was printed right off the selvage edge so I just overlapped the right edge of my next piece of fabric matching up the design.  Since my furniture tacks were going to show along the edge, I decided to make them part of the design and placed one every 4 inches or so - - nothing exact.

After I put the fabric up all the way around the room, I needed to cover the rough edges along the top.  I did that easily with ribbon and since I want to be able to take everything down with minimal damage, I just put the ribbon up with doublesided - removable - poster tape.  So far it seems to be working.

Next, I needed to cover up all the rough bottom edges.  Again, remebering minimal damage - I put plastic anchors in the wall in a straight line every 4 feet.  I painted my trim red (before putting it on the wall) then drilled through my trim and screwed it onto the wall using the anchors.  Then went back over the screws wtih some red paint to touch it up!  This would be where if it were my house, I would just pull out the nail gun and use as many nails as necessary, or even easier, just pull out the liquid nails and slap that baby up there for the rest of eternity!

Here's where I need your opinions - - If you have actually read through all of this! - - I'm thinking that the red might be too much and maybe I should repaint all the trim white and replace the red ribbon with white - - for a cleaner, "lighter and brighter" look.  What do you think?

Now, all I have to do is figure out exactly what I am going to put along the "picture shelf" and of course, get on those slipcovers!!

So much to write about and So little Time!!

I have so much to tell you and so much to show you, but I just don't have the time to post!!  I'm still in the middle of my whirlwind vacation/tour.  Since I last posted, we have gotten to my Mom's in Ohio, driven to my brothers in Wisconsin to play in the snow, drove back to Ohio, met with a friend from highschool last night - - -we had a great time and sat and talked for 5 1/2 hours!  I'm sure the people at Panera Bread were trying to figure out how they were going to get us out of there!!

Today we are taking off again.  This time to Indiana.  I am going to drop the kids off at Grandpa and Grandma's, then I am going to keep driving and go on an exciting adventure.  I am doing something I have never done, and meeting with someone I met over the internet. - -- Doesn't that sound mysterious?  Actually, I'm getting together with Beckie from Infarrantly Creative!!!!  I am so excited!  I wonder if she is wigged out having a complete stranger coming to her house?

Keep checking back, because Beckie and I have a big project up our sleeves!! - - By the way, have you been missing seeing furniture re-do projects?  I've been missing doing them!!  But I have a couple things in the works even while on vacation, so be patient, as soon as I can get my camera hooked up to a computer, there will be some good "stuff" for you to look at!!

OK, off to start my new adventure....If you don't ever hear from me again - - check with Beckie!! :)

Robe aka Jedi Knight Garb (Deployment Project #34)

My son, Cameron, doesn't ask for much.  When it comes to sewing, there aren't a lot of things that are super fun to make for boys.  So, when he asked me to make him a robe, what could I do but say "yes!"  Of all the different fun fleeces that are out there, he chose - BLACK.  Try as I might, I could not convince him to choose someting more fun, so black it was.

After I finished making it, I understood.  this was not a robe for keeping warm in the morning.  This was not a robe to wrap around yourself after taking a shower.  No, this was a Jedi robe.  It's magical.  When you put this robe on, you are instantly transformed into a Jedi Knight with all the Jedi powers you can imagine and the ability to wield a lightsaber like no other!

I thought making a robe would be complicated, but honestly, it was probably one of the easiest clothing items I have ever sewn.  

All these extra pictures are just for daddy!!

A Great Big Thankyou!!!

Last Friday, I had a great little package waiting for me when I checked my mail!  What was it?  It was a fabulous personalized charm necklace from Janelle at Sewblessed.  She makes fabulous charms using your photos or any image you want.  Her shop is Sodderbug You have to jump over to her shop and check out what she has made!!!  I know once you look, you are going to want to order one for yourself!!

How did I get to be the fabulous new owner of this personalized piece?

There's always a story....

It all started when I left a comment on Infarrantly Creatives Blog when she was having a giveaway for a personalized charm neckalce from Sodderbug.   She told us to leave a comment and tell what we would put on our charm if we won.

My comment:  "No doubt in my mind, I would put a picture of my handsome soldier husband who I miss so much right now.  Then I would always have him close to my heart!"

That night I received an email from Janelle

"Hey! this is janelle from www.sodderbug.com i would be honored to make you a charm with a pic of your deployed hubby and kids! i grew up an air force brat and love to do things for those serving!!! we can call it your valentine's day present that your hubby is not here to buy for you! XOXO"

She made me cry!

 There are some sacrafices that those who are not associated with the military will never understand - - - not getting a hand-picked gift and a kiss from hubby on valentines is one of them.  So I emailed her my pictures and just a few days later - - just in time for Valentines - - -I got my fabulous charm necklace.  I love it!!!!

the back side - - it is actually a clear picture, but my photography skills were not up to par when I took this one!

Janelle attached this sweet note:

Dear Wife,


Happy Valentine's Day! I love you and miss you and wish I was with you to give you this present!!! XOXOXOXO


Love, Your Husband

Thanks so much Janelle.  It is absolutely perfect and I have worn it every day since I got it!!!  Now, I'm not telling you all that you have to go and purchase something from her, but as a thanks would you go over and check out her stuff?  Your going to love it!  They would make great Mother's Day gifts (hint hint!!) - - I'm thinking of having one made as a medic alert -- then I could make sure all the important information is on the back side!!

Things Don's Always Go As Planned (Deployment Project #33)

Sometimes, you have a good plan, but things just don't work out the way you planned.  This would be one of those times.  I've been planning a trip to Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin for awhile now. 

The original plan was to leave Sunday after church - - then the head cold struck with a vengence. 

Plan B - leave Monday morning - - -then more snow struck. 

Plan C - leave Tuesday morning - - we did....now we are sitting in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia waiting on the snow to stop and the roads to be clear - - it's not looking good.  The weather man says they are supposed to have up to 12" tonight.

Here's the current view from my hotel room.

 The good news for you is that I can catch up on my blog - - I've been working on some projects, but just haven't had time to post them. 

The bad news for me is that I'm sitting here at the mercy of the weather with two kiddos in a small hotel room with no access to even a restraunt.  It's also mighty cold in this room - - I have the heat on high, but I'm still sitting here in my winter coat and the kids are huddled in blankets because we are cold.  Hmmm.... wonder how all this is going to work out! 

See, their going crazy already!!!

My sewing machine is out in the truck, so I guess if I get too bored, I could run out there and grab it - - -wouldn't it be funny, me sitting in my hotel room sewing away?

This first project is a really simple but super useful one!  It seems everytime I use my camera, I lose the lens cap - - I set it down somewhere in my excitement and then forget where I put it.  This handy little strap with a lens cap pocket solves this problem!

I made a basic "tube" with my fabric and added a little pocket with a velcro closure to it and taadaa! Problem Solved!!

It is hard to get a picture of it in use since it is attached to my camera - - but the good part is, that in our hotel room has a wall of mirrors, so I did my best to get a good picture of it on the camera strap.

you see me wearing my winter coat - - yup, that's how cold our room was - - I am now writing from a different room.   They moved us because our heater was broken in the last one!!  good times!

My Sweet Valentine

Since this is Valentines weekend, I thought I would take a break from Deployment Projects and tell you about my sweet Valentine.  We will not be together to celebrate, no romantic date, no babysitter, but I know that if he was here, he take care of all that and more!  He's so good to me.  He thought ahead and sent my Valentines card out 2 weeks before Valentines just so I would have it in time - - it got here in 3 days!  He is so awesome!

We have the best story of how we met...

It was 1996, and I was a freshman in college.  I was 845 miles (or 15 hours however you want to look at it) from home.  I was homesick.  I was completely out of my comfort zone.  And, I was painfully shy.  I had a good group of friends that I hung out with, but on this particular day, none of them were in the dining room when I went in for lunch.  I chose an emptly table and resolved to eat as quickly as I could and get out of there.  I was was about halfway through my meal, when this guy that I did not know came and sat down next to me.  Now a normal person would have introduced themselves at this point, but not handsome hubby!  He sat down next to me, grabbed my arm and promptly bit it - - -not a little nibble - - -a big gung-ho bite!  Then he gave one of his infamously loud laughs, "Ha Ha Ha...Hi my name is Handsome Hubby who are you?"  Scared me to death!  This guy was different -   and to me, he was very scary!  I immediately got out of my seat, picked up my lunch tray, and headed for the door!! 

The next three months were spent with him hanging around with my friends, and me being the meanest I have ever been to someone.  I did not like him.  I did not want to be near him.  If he sat down next to me, I moved seats.  If he tried talking to me, I left.  I was downright mean and nasty!  Finally my friends pulled me aside and told me I needed to at least be civil.  To stay in my seat, at least say, "hi."  And one day soon after that, I did.  I stayed in my seat when he sat next to me.  I talked to him when he asked me a question - -- - and before long, I realized that I had been acting horribly to the best guy on campus.  It didn't take long for the two of us to start dating - - although the jury is still out on when we actually started dating.  I say one thing, he says another!  We started spending all our spare time together.  Before I met Handsome Hubby, I hadn't skipped a day of classes.  Once we started dating, I used every available skip.  It is obvious. if you look at my college transcript, to see exactly when we started dating.  I went from straight A's to B's!  He was worth every skip!

Eight months later, when we were home visiting our families for Christmas, Handsome Hubby proposed and of course I said yes!!  We were married the following July on what I believe was the hottest day that summer!!!  Twelve and a half years later, 2 kiddos, 3 plus deployments, and too many moves to count - he is still the love of my life.

MJP - Sunflower Studios

He's tender and caring.

He's sensative.

He cares about other people and investing in them.

He's handsome!

He sacraficing

He held my hand first!

He's my hero.

He enjoys life.

He's dedicated.

He makes me go to bed on time and when he's not here, I stay up way too late!

MJP - Sunflower Studios

He's my best friend.

He's loyal.

He's the best dad

MJP - Sunflower Studios

He's got a great laugh! 

He's strong. 

MJP - Sunflower Studios

He's who my son wants to mirror.

He's the one I can't wait to spend time with every day

MJP - Sunflower Studios

He's the one I want to get into trouble with

He's my earthly example of God's sacraficial love

He's the best thing that ever bit me!!

MJP - Sunflower Studios

I love you baby -- Happy Valentines Day

All photos with MJP - Sunflower Studios under them are from Missie Jurick Photography - Sunflower Studios...Check out her great site here!!

A Tutorial!! How to make your own BDU Bag!(Deployment Project #32)

Snowy Day Blizzard Bag Tutorial

Since it seems like I have been making a lot of bags lately, and we’ve been getting a lot (that’s an understatement!) of snow also. I thought I would do a fun little tutorial on making your own bag!   I actually found a uniform of handsome hubbys that he left behind - - Oh happy day!!!!  So this bag was just for me.  I decided to do another bag made from the pants because, like all of you who left comments, my favorite was also the pants bag.  My friend Shana was here and her job was to be my assistant and take very detailed instruction and pictures - - Let us know how we did!!

So, here it goes…

First, you need to collect all your supplies:

BDU Pants

Accent/lining fabric

A ruler

Scissors

Pins

A flashlight - - yes, a flashlight!!

And, in case you don’t have enough snow, an ice pack (more on that later!) - - -by the way, I just heard on the news that we are breaking snow records that were set 100 plus years ago!

Alright - - here are step by step instructions for making a bag - - Remember.... my friend Shana was over here and took detailed notes and pictures so that you wouldn’t miss a step!

Cut out your pattern.

Stop and look out the window at the snow that just keeps coming and the strong wind that is blowing it everywhere.

this picture was taken at noon....CRAZY!!!!!

Start assembly.

Take a power outage break

Quickly run upstairs and grab your shower while there is still hot water

Realize after you get out of the shower that you have a gas water heater, so you would have been ok!

Rejoice when the power comes back on!!!

Work on assembly again

Take a spaghetti supper break

you see this, this is how we roll around here...spaghetti, bread and butter to make our own ghetto garlic bread....and the scraps from the uniform that we are making a bag from -- FABULOUS!!

Try to work on assembly again

Take a “child just fell down the stairs and got a huge rug burn down their back” break - - enter Ice Pack!

*Just stop right here and take a Martini break!

Try to continue assembly AGAIN

Look out the window and realize that snow is coming down harder and there is a good chance that you are going to lose power again.

Gather together a, “We live in Virginia and there is just no way they can handle record breaking amounts of snow Emergency Kit” - - - make sure you assemble this kit in the cute bag you made during the snowstorm the day before!

Take another martini break

Finish assembly - - -Finally - - only 7 hours and 4,000 distractions later!

I hope these instructions help you make a fabulous bag for yourself!!  Didn't we do good keeping track of our step by step instuctions and pictures?!!!  It was just one crazy day and I though you might like to be a part of it.  Make sure you follow them step by step. If not followed step by step, you may end up making a bag in just an hour!!

By the way, this is lined with an Amy Butler fabric.  I absolutely love the bright tangerine background with the pale grey/blue flowers.  I know it's hard to see all the details of this bag, but what can I say, it is camoflauge!!!

Enough Already!! (and Deployment Project # 31)

Dear Snow,

Please stop.  Please go away.  Please don't come back.  I don't like you.  You were fun the first day.  Now I am sick of you and ready for you to leave!

Sincerely,

Me

Will it ever stop snowing - - I have not seen this much snow since I was a little girl living in WI.  In Wisconsin, they know how to deal with snow.  They have enough equipment and people to deal with snow.

They do not have either in Virginia.

We've had our fun - - we've played in it as much as we could ever want to.  Now it is just interfering with plans.  I'm supposed to have a good friend coming this weekend - - not sure that is going to happen.  AND - - I'm supposed to be leaving on Monday to go visit family.  The craziest part is that I am supposed to be going to Ohio (snowing there also), Indiana (snowing there too) and Wisconsin (yup - - they are getting snow too!)  I am not going to escape this! 

We are going to Wisconsin to have a snow weekend - - snowmobiles, sledding, snowman building - - all that good stuff.  I'm not so excited about it any more.  I'm excited to see my family, but I'm thinking we should all change our plans and meet up at the beach instead!

Look at the roads, I had to take my camera with me yesterday as I did a quick replenishing run in between storms.  I do have to admit, my first stop was Joanns to get more fabric and sewing supplies.  Next stop was Target....then the grocery store!  There are no snow shovels in any of Northern Virginia - - - no kids gloves either - -  - and at this point I'm beginning to wonder about the essentials:  milk, eggs and bread.  Yesterday the shelves were getting a bit bare!  When I stopped to fill the truck up with gas, the first two stations I stopped at  didn't even have any gas.

This moring we woke up to strong winds - - they say up to 40mph and it is still snowing.  I dont' really know how much snow total we have gotten, but it's way past my knees and just keeps on coming.

I've been working on quite a few projects, but none of them are finished yet, so I can't post them.  That's why I had to run to Joanns yesterday to get final touches and supplies! 

 I did make another BDU bag though.  This one is a completely different pattern.  It uses the pants.  I think I might like this one even better than the last one!

All the pattern pieces are fussy cut from the pants so you use all the pockets. 

This bag has more storage and organization than any purse I have ever owned!  You might not be able to tell from the pictures, but there are four pockets around the outside of the bag.  Two large ones, and two smaller ones - - they even have the little pen holder slots!  All the organization happens on the outside of this bag.  The inside is just one big carrying space.  It would be perfect for filling with snacks and goodies to take the kids to soccer practice.  I was thinking it would make a perfect PWOC bag (Prodestant Women of the Chapel - -that's the military Bible study group I go to).  Large enough to hold all my books, yet still have plenty of pockets for keys, cellphones, pens and gum!!

So, which one do you like better?

Camo Birdy Sling

BDU Pants Bag

Leave a comment telling me your favorite!!