Bathroom Rehab

This home improvement project was supposed to be a quick and simple task but it turned into a huge ordeal. Don't they all seem to go that way?

Since we moved into this house 3.5 years ago, the half bath has been a dark shade of grey with chinsy black fixtures. The paint the prior owners used was textured with grains of sand. Even though I hated this room, we never got to it because we weren't really sure how to deal with the textured paint. Being the super savvy home decorators that we are (not), we decided that the best way to handle it would be to put more textured paint over it. I mean, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em right? No, not right.

We ended up with a huge, gloppy textured mess. See below.

I stopped Brian midway through and told him to put the brush down and walk away. Upon doing some research on the dreaded textured paint, I decided that the best plan would be to prime the walls with 2 coats of heavy duty primer and then do 2 coats of flat paint. Small job turns to huge job.

Here is the old color with the new textured paint on top. Yeeew...no double yeeeew!

After putting the new plan in action, we completed the job. The new half bath is light and airy. The light fixture makes the room literally glow. I found the mirror at the Hobby Lobby on clearance ($45.00). I made the curtain from fabric in my stash, whooo hooo! Nothing like decorating while stash busting. I'm glad that I found a place to use this fabric because I simply adore it!

Once I got the sewing machine humming again, I couldn't stop. I just had to make a cute hand towel. I made the towel out of a thrifted table cloth and embroidered a little humming bird and flower. Do you ever color with your kids? It's really soothing and mindless. I feel the same way about these simple embroidery projects. Soothes the soul.

Project complete, thank goodness. Even the kids can't get over the transformation. They keep wanting to go potty in the "new" bathroom. Can't say that I blame them.

My First Wearable Knit

Think fall baseball games, think trick or treating, think date night on a cold and snowy evening. I think this cowl/hood will be quite useful.


When the wind begins to blow and the rain/sleat/snow begins to fall, just pull up the hood and the hair is protected....without being smashed.
I used a cotton/wool blend for this project. It is super light weight yet soft and warm. I am happy with my very first completed knit project. On to the next!

Gearing Up for Colder Weather

I have been toiling away on this cowl/hood for the last few days. You would not believe the hours I have into this project because I have frogged it twice. I am a beginning knitter and I don't know how to fix mistakes so I just end up taking it all apart and starting over.

After doing that 2 times, I decided to get smart and look for a video tutorial for recapturing dropped stitches. Kelsey is my girl and has pretty much taught me how to knit. What a woman! No more frogging now. This puppy is going to be finished if it kills me!

Hopefully it will look a little like this when I am finished. Cozy!

This is a free pattern from lion brand yarn. All you have to do it join and you're in.

Taking a Crafty Break

I get on kicks - sewing kicks, crocheting kicks, blogging kicks, cleaning kicks...you know what I mean. It seems that when a kick has kicked in, I am unable to focus on anything else. I try to remain well-balanced with a little of everything each week but something new has come into my life and well, its kicked me in the butt. Photoshop has entered and all else, it seems, has exited. Not sure how long this kick will last but I'm going to ride it out for a while. So I'm not creating much in the way of clothing or accessories but I am creating some cool images and bloggy bling!

Art Smocks

Here was our problem.

More paint on the child than on the paper. But we love to paint.

Here is the solution. Art smocks made of wipe-able oil cloth. Good for painting, cooking, water table play or any other messy endeavor.

Pockets to hold all of those necessary supplies...or whatever else strikes your fancy.

The clothes are looking good. Mission accomplished!

I used a shirt pattern that I had for the basic shape. The oil cloth is a bit scratchy at the edges so I bound it with bias tape. It goes over the head and ties with ribbon at the sides.

Gotta Give a Shout Out...

To a great mama-crafter. Amber is a kindred spirit in that she is a work-at-home mommy of 2 and she loves to craft. What makes her even more special is that her first love is crochet...a woman after my own heart! I found Amber through Etsy.I was looking for some fun leggings for my girls. So much of their fall wardrobe is going to include leggings, at least that's what I have in my head. Thankfully, I came across Knotty Legs. I have already purchased 4 pair and I am pretty sure that I will need some more. The girls love to wear them and mommy loves the way they look.





Amber makes more than Knotty Legs. All of her items are absolutely adorable! If you are looking for some unique and things for your kiddos this fall, stop by Knotty Baby Wear!

Another FAB Tutorial!

Do you ever have this problem?

Those great hooded towels that you get for your baby shower just get too small. When taking 3 kids out of the bath, the hood is really handy for keeping them warm as they wait patiently for their turn to get dressed but the towel hardly gets the drying job done.

Problem solved. A full sized, warm and cuddly towel with a hood. (The girls are sleeping so Sammy agreed to model the pink towel.)

Check out that full coverage. No more chilly toddlers around my house!


I owe it all to Skip to My Lou's fantastic tutorial. I am telling you, I have basically learned to sew using tutorials. What did we do before the internet?

So here's a very grateful shout out to all you generous people out there who take the time to show us how to do stuff. Hopefully someday I will come up with something worthy of a tutorial so I can give back for all I have gained.