Christmas In Review {The Project Side}

 

This was the first Christmas in 3 years that we haven't been on the move.  Over the last few years I've collected a few decor pieces from Hobby Lobby's 80/90% off sale.  There were a few things still in the original box or still with tags on it.  The last few years I've also collected quite a few ideas, thanks to Pinterest.  Here's what we made this year....

 

  

1.  Wooden Nativity Sign - I originally pinned this a year or two ago.  There is a wife here that owns a Silhouette machine and we (my friend, Marque, and I) paid her $10 to print the scene for us.  We bought the wood and painted it for less than $6 and she came over and put the vinyl on the board for us, and wa-la! 

 

2.  Wooden Merry Christmas Sign - Back in the beginning of November I set up a Mini Christmas Photo Shoot for 5 clients.  Inspired by the link above I made this sign as one of my props to use.  I figured if I made it well enough I could use it as decor as well, so I made it out of wood.  Unfortunately, I didn't have strong enough hooks to hold it this year and it fell down after about a week of hanging across our big living room window. 

 

 

 

 

 3.  Wooden JOY Sign - Not quite the same as the inspiration piece, but I had some extra wood from the "Merry Christmas" sign so I decided to put it to good use.

4.  Fingerprint Ornament - I'm sure you've seen this floating around Pinterest.  The fingerprints don't really come out looking like the fingerprints on the inspiration piece, but it still works.



 

5.  Stamped Salt Dough Ornaments - Who knew?!!  Some stamps and colored ink?!  The possibilities are endless!  Thanks to Tim's Grandma and the box of stamps and ink she sent me a few months back we had plenty to choose from.  We made a good amount of the above ornament and handed them out as gifts to friends this year along with our annual cookie tins and bread loafs.  Ryan and his friend, Liam, also had a great time making these!  The following is one of Ryan's!

  

 

Side Note:  I compared two or three salt-dough recipes and had trouble with the first batch.  I ended up having to add 3 to 4 more cups of flour.  After we were done with those, we still wanted to make a few more and the next recipe I tried turned out great!  I had it mixed, rolled out, stamped, and in the oven within 10/15 minutes!  Just in case you are looking for a good recipe..and just so I don't forget...

*1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 of water. Place on a baking sheet lined with Parchment Paper.  Bake at 250 for 2 hours; turning every 30 minutes to keep flat.

 

6.  Cinnamon Ornaments - No picture for these.  ( I think there's one in the background two pics up.)  I tried making these last year and they were a complete failure.  I had trouble with the consistency in the dough and I ended up chiseling them off the pan.  I searched for a different recipe and I figured you can't go wrong with Martha.  I was right!  The boys were even able to help with them as well.  The above link takes you to her recipe. 

 

 

7.  Subway Art Printable - I have two frames that I kept out and just added a Christmas themed printable to them.  I printed the Subway Art from the above link and cut it to a 4x6 and it is a bit squishy.  If you have a 5x7 frame it would probably work better.

 

For this second frame, I just played with a font and size on Word and printed out "NOEL". 

 

8.  Pine Cone Tree - At some point in the last few years Target had this gorgeous pine cone tree for around $25...if I remember right.  In some after season sale at Walmart I came across small boxes of mini pine cones.  I bought them and stored them away.  This year I found the tutorial linked above and made my own; also getting the worst hot glue gun burn to date!  If you are up close and personal there are some obvious holes, but from a general view, it looks great!

 

 

 

9. Scrap Paper Tree - I'm sure most of you have seen this on Pinterest.  At first I just had the boys make one for themselves and they decorated the trees with stickers and such.  I still had a ton of paper left and had this grand idea to make our Christmas cards this year based on that idea.  The boys helped make a few of them, but I was left to the other 40 by myself.  :)

10.  Ruffled Tree Skirt - My biggest project!  I just finished it yesterday.  The original tutorial is a no-sew project, but of course my crazy brain decided that it be better long term if I could make it more permanent and washable.  About $15 worth of broadcloth fabric and 10-12 hours of labor and I have this beauty!  Finishing this tree skirt concludes my Christmas projects for this year and I'm so excited to put it all away and move on!

 

 

Next year new stockings!  Someone hit up the sales at Hobby Lobby for me!!!!



{Practically} Finished!!!!

As of today, our Homeschool Room/Craft Room/Cleaning Storage Room is {practically} complete!!  This room is about 10 feet x 10 feet.  Not the smallest bedroom in the house, but it holds mulitple functions that carry multiple materials with it!  This is the room that also started "The Project of Epic Proportions" and an overall effort to get more organized!  Back in June I started focusing most of my extra time/energy/and spending money into this room.   It is now September.

 

The only two things left to make this room functional are...

1. A new trash can. The one that's in there now is a light weight, funny shaped, plastic one and anytime is gets slightly knocked it falls over and all the trash falls out.

2. Some file folders to go inside my wall files to keep papers from falling out and to help organize them a little bit more.

 

I have to say my friend, Marque, was a huge asset for this project!  I got stuck multiple times and she came over and talked through ideas with me.  She spent one afternoon working with me on moving things around, and sorting, painting, stapling, etc.  Sometimes it's SO helpful to have a second pair of eyes, ideas, and hands!  My second biggest asset on this room....IKEA.  :)  A year ago I had only briefly walked thru an IKEA once.  While it's been a blessing in many ways...I am tired of going to IKEA!!!  Crazy, right?!

 

I thought I had already taken some before photos at one point, then I couldn't find them..so this is at the very beginning...probably after my 1st project.  The walls were barren all the way around.

 

{Fair warning..the before photos are hideous!}

Yes, it seriously looked like that.  No wonder why it stressed me out just walking in there.  My floor probably looked like this at three different points between March and June.  I kept cleaning it up..then sorting through it all and organizing it again.  This room was pretty much off-limits, and really useless, for the first three/four months after our stuff arrived.

More clutter..and no organization...

 

 

Three months later it now looks like this...

This side of the room is specifically for our Homeschooling, but also a place for the boys to come and color, do a craft, etc.  The chest that was in the corner was moved into Blaine's room in anticipation of using it as a changing table and additional storage for baby #4.  Underneath the easel, also from IKEA, are two small rubbermaid bins that hold the boy's play-doh and their bean tub.  I got the chairs, 3 total, at our Thrift Store for $8 a piece.  They are solid wood, so I eventually hope to paint them.  As of now the seat cushions have just been recovered with the same fabric I used for the curtains that I got at IKEA, for about $8/yard.  I also purchased the table from IKEA for about $70.  It is solid wood, but unfinished.  I would like to turn it into a project/art piece in itself.  I have a few ideas floating around in my head, but not sure when I'll be able to decide.  As of now though, the chairs and table are functionable, so they are staying as is.  I would love to hear your ideas on the table!  As soon as I finish the other need "functional" projects in the house, I hope to be coming back to this!

I've had four canvases for a year now with the intention of repainting them somehow.  I originally had wanted an "adult led painting project" that the kids could do...that would still come out looking like decent art.  I could never get beyond that though.  I finally decided to make our own version of "Home is Where the Army Sends Us".  These canvases are large so if I continue this idea I'd like to put them on smaller canvases.  You can normally get the small ones at the Dollar Store and they would be great for this!


Back in May/June someone had set out a metal bed frame and the wood slats that hold up the mattress by our recycling center.  I scooped up those wood slats knowing I could use them for something.  I was originally going to try and make some shelves out of them, but I ended up using them for an art display and a supply rack for the boys.  I just paid no more than $10 for all the giant clothespins and white hooks (the clothespins were the most expensive part) and I got the buckets on sale for about $0.60 a piece.  The boys still have to stand up in their chair to get a bucket down, but it's tall enough to where Blaine can't reach them....unless he climbs on the table.

This next pic is one of the closets in the room.  Over the last few years I have had a lot of homeschool books/resources given to me.  They were always on a shelf together but not necessarily organized.  I decided to invest in the magazine files from IKEA.  They are currently in the closet backwards so it allows me to see what is in each box for easy access.  They are sorted by subject and/or grade.  If we move and I don't have a closet to put these in and have to invest in a book shelf, then I can turn them around, label them, and everything will still look presentable.

One of my favorite other things to organize the boys things are the plastic wipe tubs.  They store our markers, crayons, puzzles, finger paints, magnets, counting bears, etc, etc.  It's just an added bonus that they now print them in cute designs!  I love their current floral print with green and blue (barely visible on the bottom shelf).  I am also using some of the shelf risers, which you can normally find in the kitchen section, to create some more space as well.

This is, more or less, my side of the room...

I managed to fit pretty much all of my craft supplies in these storage boxes from IKEA.  I was considering using the wipe boxes as well, but the price was only about $0.50 difference and I liked the look of these out on a shelf better than the wipe cases.  I don't have a lot of excess fabric, but what I do have folded up perfectly into these boxes.  If you were to turn the box sideways, stack them, it then allows you to see all the fabric you have when you take the lid off (if that makes sense).  The other boxes have my stamps, ink pads, acrylic paint (great size for these!), ribbon, hot glue gun, embossing tools, etc, etc.

Over above the printer is half of our office stuff...tape, blank cds and sleeves, extra ink, etc.  Some of our office supplies are too bulky for the boxes, ie whole punch, so they are in the desk.  The clock I scored for FREE at a yard sale!  The second hand has fallen off and sits at the bottom of the clock..but it still works!  The wall files I got on sale from IKEA.  They were 5 for about $6.  They are made to interlock, but I found there was little space left to actually add any papers, so Marque helped me come up with the idea to hang them individually.  For the last few weeks I've been bothered by the off white files on the white walls.  My brain finally came up with a plan that was cost effective and quick.  I took a paint marker and drew on them.  :)

I was beyond excited to finally getting arount to this thread storage board!!!  Something that duals as storage and is just darn cute!  What could be better!  It took me a while to find some trim around here that would work...and it was on the pricey side, but I love it!  The only nails I could seem to find around here have a larger head on them (I have no idea what the technical term is.).  I was afraid they wouldn't fit throught the spool, but they ended up working great and they hold the spools of thread on so nothing falls off accidentally.  I was able to utilize the frame/wood shop on post to help me get the frame cut and glued together.  For the most part I followed this tutorial from Grey Luster Girl.  Another idea that I originally pinned almost a year ago!

 

 

I scored this mail sorter from a friend for FREE, about two weeks ago!  It's perfect!  I was hoping it would fit on that first floating shelf, but it was just a tad too tall.  Next time we move, I'll have to keep that in mind.  I've considered wall mounting it, but it seems to be working fine here for now.  I really wanted a section that was a go-to for cards/letters.  I have some of my homemade cards in the front ready to be written in and sent out.  It's much easier than having to dig in the tub underneath my bed and I'm hoping the easy access will be an encouragement (to myself) to send an old-fashioned hand written note every now and then.  The boys are also loving the easy access to the envelopes.  They probably color something everyday and want to send it to someone.  I feel like the mail sorter is missing something though.  I feel like, since I painted it, it's a little bland.  It's obviously bright and blue...but I'm brainstorming on doing something to it.  And ideas?!

 

 

And that's it!!!  I'm so excited that it is {practically} done!!  The best part is I don't get stressed out any more when I walk in this room!

 

 

 I'll be moving on to making the boys' room more funtional next!  Hoping to buys some wood this week!!  I'm trying my best to focus on what needs to be done to organize and make our home run more smoothly and set some of the more "fun" projects to the side.  Sometimes, as in some projects in this room, they colide.

 

(Please share any ideas for my table or the mail sorter with me!!!)

 

 

 

Curtains {Kitchen}

I finished the kitchen curtains!!!!  Yay!! 

The idea process was a little more difficult. I knew I wanted something other than regular panels and I love the look of Roman Shades. Also, there is a track system above these windows, as in the rest of the house, but when speaking with a friend she brought up the fact that if I used the track the curtains would hang down and out to about mid-way of the sink. I couldn't use a tension bar inside the window sill because it wouldn't allow the windows to open. I remembered in Texas that we had a magnetic curtain rod on our front door. I thought I had it figured out and was ready to order one off of Amazon until I went over and stuck and magnet on the window frame and it fell off. My friend, Marque, and I made a trip to Schweinfurt one day and she spotted some sticky back curtain rods. $3.00 for one set! Yes please!! Now the stickies it came with didn't hold well, so I replaced them with the ones you use for the Command Hooks and they seem to be doing great!

The second part I had to figure out was how to get them to go up & down.  All of the DIY Roman Shade tutorials I found required a different rod at the top.  I threw a few ideas around in my head, but again, with the help of my friend Marque, ended up going with sew-on snaps.  I had some other snaps that requires a hammer, but since I didn't want them showing on the front side and I already sewed up all my hems, I went with the sew-on.  I found a small craft store in town and picked these up.

It's not the most convenient way; especially getting the top snaps hooked, but it works!  My MIL also told me about some type of bias-like tape I could add to the back that would allow me to pull them up & down.  I looked at one store and wasn't able to find what she was describing.  That same night I was sweating in my kitchen as I was cooking dinner and the sun was beating through and I became determined to just use what I had and get them hung! 

I didn't get any pics of the back/process.  If you have any questions though, let me know and I will do my best to explain it!  I think they are super cute and they were really easy.

I also used part of flat sheet to add a back to these curtains giving it that finished look!  Just in case you missed the tutorial I linked to earlier this week, here it is again!

Here they are all the way down!  It's so nice to be able to block that sun out while cooking dinner!!!

One snap up....

Two snaps/all the way up!

I'm excited to have done something a little different than just panels!  I'm also excited to have now two more projects done!  (Although, I'm pretty sure I've added about six more to my list!)


Make sure you check back Monday for the start of a MAJOR project that I'm hoping a few of you will join me in!

Curtains {Dining Room}

I finally got our dining room curtains done!!!  They not only look great but it's wonderful to be able to close them to keep the afternoon sun out to help keep the house cool.  When pulled open I can just tuck them to the side of the window sill/radiator; which will come in great in the winter.

You can see I still have empty frames.  Still on the extensive project list.

Just so you can see the pattern a bit more...

I am VERY grateful to my MIL who made a Walmart run for me to get some cheap 200 count cotton sheets!! She mailed them to me so that I could add a backing to the curtains that really gives them a more finished/professional look!!  I had run across this idea a few years ago, but so glad I came upon it again just in time for this project!  It was super easy and this was a great tutorial on how it's done. 

I used one King size flat sheet for both of the panels in the dining room.  The only thing that I did different was adjust some of the hem measurements a bit.  You can always buy special material made for curtain backing, but if you need a cheap alternative that still gives it a finished look, this is definitely worth it!  I've also read/heard, at one time, that if you use a higher count black sheet it will also help keep the light out.

 

 

If you have any curtain making on your to-do list, take the little extra time and add the backing!  You won't regret it!

Home Tour Grand Finale

I know I kept you in suspense this whole time.  I kept sharing pictures of the living room, and the bedrooms, but I know what you have really been wanting to see is the kitchen and the bathrooms!  NOT.  All the same.  This is the last of it.  I'm sure I'll post more pics when I get curtains hung or make a big change; but this should complete the overall picture.

The full bath...

We are very thankful to have the cabinets, double sink, and counter space.  A lot of European style homes, including some of the ones on post, just have a wall mounted sink...no counter or storage space at all.

And this is the heater in the bathroom.  I had to share b/c it's really a ladder in disguise.  :)  Ask any little boy.

And finally our 1/2 bath.  This one is located at the end of the hall, between the boys bedroom and our bedroom.  Within days of moving in we dubbed it as the boys bathroom that they use for brushing their teeth, etc.  Most of the time it also presents itself with a weird odor.  It almost smells like something inside the furnace is burning.  I keep the furnace as low as possible and that seems to help along with keeping the window open.  Having a second toilet is a huge blessing though!  One of my answered prayers for this house!

 

Nothing all that exciting, but that is it!  I will definitely share pics of the curtains when I get them up.  My goal is within 3 months from now!

Master Bedroom & Craft Room

This is our room!!!

As most other things..still a work in progress.  We are 100% grateful we fit our bed!!!  With a few hooks I was able to covert our standing mirror to a hanging mirror.   I have a few empty frames that need some pictures.  I would love to replace our nightstands and our lamps.  Which by the way I saw the perfect lamps the other day, minus the fact that they were $55.00, A PIECE!!! I can't decide if I want to build a bed frame or make an upholstered headboard.  And I still need to decide on curtains so we can remove the trash bags from our windows.  (Makes me miss all those mini blinds.)  Most of the things that need to be done in this room though are more wish items.  Not sure when they will actually make it onto "the to do list".  :) 

And...the craft room....

It still needs more sorting/organization, but this is really clean compared to what it was last week.  I would love to get another small table to fit against the empty wall that allows a space for the boys to come and color/paint/etc. 

One closet full of puzzles, games, homeschool books, and other activities for the boys.  Still needs some good organization.  The drawer is currently broke, but I'm hoping they will be able to fix it this coming week.  It will open up a whole shelf if they can.

And the other closet was made into our cleaning/utility closet.

The Boys' Rooms

 This is currently Ryan and Colin's room!

 Tim and I are taking the Wood Shop class on post this weekend (couldn't be more excited!!!!!!!) and one of the first things on my list to build is a shelf for the boy's room to store all of their toys and books.  It has been on my "wish list" for probably a good two years now and it's getting so close to actually happening I can get kind-of giddy about it.

This is currently Blaine's room.  I drove to Vilseck (a different Post) about two weeks ago and bought the mattresses for the bunk beds and we have a safety rail on it's way from our good friend Amazon. :)  Tim's block leave is coming up in about a week and we plan to get a good start on switching him over to his big boy bed!  The room is SUPER tiny as is, so it will be nice once we can put the playpen away. 

 

Once we have Blaine pretty well "bed trained" we are entertaining the idea of switching him into the other room with Colin and letting Ryan have this room to himself (for now).  I'm excited with a whole new room to decorate and I already have a grand idea in my head, but it will most likely fall towards the end of the list of priorities.

Coming Together

One month from getting our things and we are, for the most part, in working order!  There is still some organization left to do, but mainly decor.  These pics are from last Saturday and we've already had some additional changes.  The sideways DVD case has been removed and is now empty space that will hopefully, eventually be filled by some chair.  

I've let the curtains out to floor length; it just looks better to me.  I've been told they will eventually turn off the furnaces so it won't matter if they are covered or not.  In the mean time, they are open most of the time and if I do close them I can pick them up and set them in the window sill.  I'm still experimenting with the floating shelves, trying to figure out where to place everything, and trying to locate the spray paint I want so I can repaint a few things.

 

I was so excited to finally get this mirror hung!  I bought it at an Estate Sale in Oklahoma back in June for $25.00!  I just never rearranged our things in Texas to make it fit.  (This picture doesn't do it justice!)  The boxes in the back corner were dropped off at the Thrift Store yesterday and now stands a book shelf with all of our books and movies.  I still have to hem the curtains in this picture and find something to cover the door.  I also have plans for a bench under the mirror and possible a sofa table behind the couch for extra storage (mainly for all our photo albums).  I also need to find something that will work as an end table.

I went back and forth on what to do with the wall space in the dining room.  I really wanted to put the floating shelves in there and I new it would look really nice, but I was afraid they would create more trouble.  I envisioned the boys turning around in their chairs and trying to hang from the shelves.  :)

So gallery wall it is!  I still have about 10 pictures that I need to re-mat, and if you look close enough some that I need to print pictures for.  I love my book page wreath that my friend, Sarah, made me right before we left.  I was a little down-hearted when I pulled it out of the box and it seemed that pages were falling all over the place and it's shape was a little more oval than round, but with a little love it looks great.  It was also the first thing that I hung up in our new house!!!  I had to pull our only side table from the living room over to the dining room so I would have something to put our modem and phone on, since that is where the only jack is.

I am in the process of deciding on curtains for the dining room.  Most of the curtains in store here seem to be sheer.  I even bought some; one is hanging up now actually.  I just don't like it.  I do need curtains though!  A lot of the German houses, and some of the military housing have built in shutters that you can open and close.  For those it makes sense as to why most of the curtains are sheer, but we don't have those.  The sun comes through those windows between 4 and 5 PM and it's blinding!  I'm open to suggestions!!  For those of you who follow me on Pinterest, go to my 'For the Home' Board and look at what I've pinned and tell me what you like!  I was debating something with some red or blue, but with the 'beige' color of the walls (that seem to have a peachy tone) I'm leaning more towards something brown with a bold pattern.

More rooms to come!!