Window Treatments ~ Part Two

Here are 3 super simple valances that could be modified mistreated in a gazillion different ways. (There are more than a gazillion different fabrics, right?)

Come back next week for “Window Treatments: Part Three” for some simple curtain ideas!

Kimm @ Reinvented posted the How-to for this couldn't-be-simpler valance...something about folding and hanging...no sewing involved. For her precise directions - in two whole sentences! - click on the picture. I'm going to keep this in mind for sure because sometimes I like to change my valances, and this technique allows you to reuse the fabric for other projects because it remains intact with no seams to rip out or glue to cut around. Thanks, Kimm!

This beauty from Make and Takes (I saw this on Nester’s site) is another simple project that could easily be done without sewing. Click on the pic to hop over to the tutorial.

Now, if you have a child who loves sports, this “mistreatment” might be for you! This adorable bedroom caught my eye on Rate My Space; click on the picture to bounce on over where she explains how she made this window topper with balls from her roof – what a hoot! Talk about recycling at its best!

---------------------

It’s “A Beautiful Life” Friday at The Inspired Room. Fly over there for more beautiful inspirations from Melissa and her bloggy friends!

Technorati Tags: Home Decorating,window mistreatments

One thing I would never borrow from my husband

While waiting at son Steve’s orthodontist office, I flipped through the February 2009 issue of Hallmark Magazine to pass the time. 

(Last month I tried to sit and clear my mind without doing or thinking about anything – it was a relaxation exercise recommended in an article I read at the dentist’s office the day before.  After ten seconds, I wound up creating my menu for the week in my head.  And made a grocery list in my head.  And wrote an email to my mom.  And visually cleaned the back bathroom.  I think I am ADD because I cannot just sit and NOT think.)  Anyway, I digress – proving my ADD point….

Thumbing through the mag, I saw a title that caught my eye:  What Do You Steal From the Guys?  It was a list, I think based on a survey, of what women typically steal from their man to make their own.  I found most of the ideas to be kind of interesting, but then…whoa…got to the last idea and I just can’t shake the image in my head.  Here’s the list:

• Moxie for Men 
• Tree shoes
• Men’s razor
• Cologne for men
• Using a combo of antiperspirant and Bold Bond Medicated Powder for working out
• WEARING HUSBAND’S UNDERWEAR DURING PREGNANCY

 

Do you have the same image in YOUR head??  My youngest was born 6 weeks early unexpectantly after frantically making plans to get to the hospital, and I can only imagine the shock and subsequent snickers of the nurses who would be helping me into my hospital clothes.  But I really can’t imagine the reaction from the real owner of the undies – he would have either killed me or, worse, never let me live it down.

 

So…I gotta know.  Have YOU or A LADY YOU KNOW ever worn MEN’S UNDERWEAR?  If so, WHY?  Were they comfortable?  Were you scared that you’d be in an accident and your secret would be revealed in the ER for all to discover?   Or, am I the silly one and it’s really not a big deal?  What do you think?

I dare you to leave a comment below.  If I get ten of you to reply, I’ll steal a pair of Hubby’s for a day and report back to you.  [My comments are low and I’m so desperate to raise them, I’m willing to contradict this blog post title. Ha!]

I discovered a new way to blog!

Windows Live Writer is my new BFF

Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of time right now to play with my new toy, but you know I will make the time very soon! I’ve been feeling a little envious when I see what others are doing on their blogs—using really cool fonts, an endless array of colors, and eye-catching layouts. Now I know their secret! USE SOMETHING ELSE BESIDES BLOGGER – LIKE WLW!! I can even do this. It seems to be a lot like using Word. I’ll be back soon. Yea!

IF YOU USE WINDOWS LIVE ALREADY, JUST FIND IT WITH YOUR START BUTTON AND DOWNLOAD IT TO LINK TO YOUR BLOG

IF YOU ARE NOT YET A BLOGGER OR NOT USING WINDOWS LIVE, JUST GOOGLE IT AND DOWNLOAD IT FOR FREE!

A meal planning survey

Many of us are having to cut back on our eating-out habits and fix more of our meals at home. If you enjoy cooking for your family and want to make changes in how you plan your meals, do yourself a big favor and check out My First Kitchen. Kendra has posted a survey so she can learn more about our eating and cooking habits. Then, armed with our information, she's going to come up with ways to help us be more efficient in our meal planning. Yippee!!

*****************************************************

To encourage us to complete the survey, she is offering a giveaway contest! One of us lucky winners will receive a set of her spices. Yummy!

For us bloggers, she is offering a chance to quadruple our entries! Just post her survey link on your blog - but do it NOW because she's ending it at the Cinderella hour of midnight on Monday, March 16.

I {heart} my newest Goodwill find

Look what I found at the Goodwill!

I glanced at my friend sitting on the floor as I first walked over to the home goods wall but didn't give it much thought. So I kept on walking to peruse the baskets, glassware, vases, etc. displayed on the shelving which spans a good forty feet. But each time I stopped to take a closer look at something, I felt a pull to glance back at my lonely friend on the floor. I think it was calling my name!

Finally, after finding a couple of lonely baskets, I headed toward the registers. One last time, I looked down at my friend, it looked up at me, and it was love at tenth sight! In an instant, I imagined it cleaned up with a new coat of white paint. I {heart} lattice work and am in the planning stages of decorating my living room and entry way with an outdoorsy feel (see my March 3rd post). So I adopted my $6 friend!

I believe it's homemade, which really makes it a unique piece.

On Sunday I'll post the "after" picture!

I really want to thank Kimm @ Reinvented for inspiring me. I already bought four cans of Heirloom White, as recommended by this very crafty lady. Yippee!!

[Oh, yikes, I just realized upon looking at my picture that this is red primer! What am I thinking? You know where I'll be tomorrow.....]

The Nester's profound question

The Nester @ Nesting Place posted a serious question this evening: How Is The Economy Affecting You? She is asking people to share their personal experiences. You'll find some mighty thoughtful responses. Thank you, Nester, for asking the question we should all be asking. Those who are fortunate to have stable jobs are still being affected in important ways and we need to remember to support our neighbors who are not so fortunate.

Window dressings that catch my eye~ Part One

I enjoy looking at unique window treatments that I might be able to recreate myself. I am usually attracted to the fabric and other materials that make up the treatment, as well as the architecture of the window itself and its surroundings. Big, foo-foo treatments -professional dressings or amateur "mistreatments" (as Nester calls them - love that term!) can look gorgeous as the main attraction in the right environment. But since my home is neither big nor foo-foo, I prefer simple. I plan my window treatments to complement my decor and often find they pull everything together to create a finished, cohesive look.

********************************************
.

Here are a few professionally designed window dressings that I find to be pretty, practical, fun, and unique. (Don't forget to click to enlarge.) Enjoy!

Country Living

Boy, there's a lot going on here. But I'm a sucker for plaid (leftover from my 70s upbringing??). I never thought to use pom poms with plaid, but I'm thinking about it now!

Country Living
More pom poms. A simple swag will never go out of style for me.

Country Living
I wish I could see more of this knotted treatment. How easy is that?! I've been contemplating what to do with our home office windows for a long time...now I know!

Country Living
This is medium weight paper hung on a rod. Bunnies were made by tracing around a cookie cutter. You could let your imagination flow with this one. How about changing it with the seasons?




Country Living
I really, really love this idea! They painted and installed these wood trim pieces on the outside of the windows. I'm thinking it would be more practical to somehow hang them from the inside so they could be removed for easy window cleaning. Neat, huh?

The End.

Stay tuned for Part Two!

A new perspective in working with color

Melissa from The Inspired Room posted this lovely dresser from Country Living in her Feb. 2 post Inspiration: Decorating With Red

Melissa suggests that when we use red, we can BE the adjectives this color evokes:

Bold... Romantic... Dramatic... Sweet and Subtle... Brave... Cozy... Unique...

I love this perspective! So...on my quest to spread cheer around my house, I'll be thinking of the ways I want my family, my guests, and myself to BE when they are in my home!

Please check out this and her other posts for additional lovely ideas.Thanks for the inspiration, Melissa!

Goodbye, Backyard Living

I'm sad. The crummy economy has taken away one of my favorite magazines, Backyard Living. Anybody else disappointed over losing their favorite mag? I love their colorful pictures, ideas, and NO ADs. I'm sure it's hard in this age of instant gratification (aka Internet) for media like magazines to compete for readers. I know so many people are losing their jobs, and subsequently their homes, and the loss of a magazine subscription does not in any way compare to that kind of devastation. I am so lucky to be living a stable life full of hope for the future. At least, so far. But still, I'm a little sad. What else is this economy going to kill?

A new weekly series is headed our way!!

Kimm @ Reinvented has started a new series called Trash to Treasure Tuesday!!! I am so excited because I just know she's gonna give us all kinds of cool and fun ideas! She's really good at giving new life to Goodwill, garage sale, and thrift store finds. And she's funny to boot!

This will take you to her blog, too.

Hop over to her first Tuesday post to see what it's all about. She's got a GIVEAWAY going on, too!!

(If I used too many exclamation points, it's because I really am excited. {smile!!!!!!!!} )

This former "beauty" was given new life by Kimm @ Reinvented. Go there now to see its metamorphosis. :)

A Tiny Bit of Cheer to Jumpstart Spring

It's coming!!
Praise God!!

New Challenge: Decorating my living room & entryway

Ok, we painted the living room/entry way last October and I STILL have bare walls! I think I think too much about what I want to go where. I plan it in my head, draw it on paper, make lists, and then when something new or unique comes along, I think "Hey, I can incorporate that if I just tweak this and change that..." and the next thing I know my original plans get so twisted that I wind up confused and excited at the same time. Am I normal or am I weird? I've lived with me all these years, and I should know by now that I'm not really going to change! Ha!

**********************************************************

So...here is my new challenge for the week...

How can I tie the living room and entry way together on a shoestring budget?

I want to finish decorating my living room and entry way walls with a natural outdoorsy kind of feel. Three of the living room walls are Pittsburgh Paint Whippet and the fireplace wall is one shade down the paint chip called Earl Gray. During the day, it looks like shades of stone. At night, it has a hint of mossy green. That was a surprise and has really grown on me!

Pretty non-descriptive mantle. I'd like to dress it up a bit. I can shop around my house.



This shows the two shades. The ceiling is the same as the wall on the right.



Borrrring! But I have an idea. Actually about 8, so I HAVE to narrow it down to one if I'm going to meet my challenge!

Ugh. That's all I can say. Ugh! Our old TV used to sit on this corner unit, which completely blocked the window. Now the TV hangs/swivels/tilts from the wall, but we need to tame those cords and video game! The corner piece doesn't work there anymore, but funds are limited right now. (Good thing my imagination is free!!) My pots, which I moved from the dining room (left) sit on the corner thing, waiting for new friends to fill them.



I have never known what to do with these windows. I recently made these valances...I wanted something simple. The red/orange-ish fabric is actually a swag from Penney's. It was pricey, but the color was perfect. I still have about 4 1/2 yards of it, but I have not decided what to do with it. Yet. Any ideas?



In the entry way, I mixed the two colors and came up with a color for below the chair rail that is only slightly darker than the color above it. The space is small with no natural light except for the door when it is open, so I try to keep it as light as possible.



I have fantasized about painting this door for about 5 years. (What the heck has been stopping me?) This bench has quite a story ~ I bought it several years ago at a huge craft show at a festival. It is an old church pew that sat in a man's barn for about 50 years! His wife started throwing them away, and he dug them out of the garbage heap, which she was going to set fire to! He agreed to clean, sand, and stain them if she would recover them. They had about 5 on display and after they told me the story, I asked if she would cover one with my own fabric. (They had another 40 of them!) She was delighted, and so was I. This fabric no longer works for me, so I am anxious to recover it and give it new life once again. Maybe the leftover swag fabric? Hmmm....


Well, wish me luck. Stay tuned...I'll post as I complete each space. Yippee! HEY, if you have any ideas, PLEASE leave me a comment!!!

20 Little Things to Look Forward to in Spring

Melissa at The Inspired Room has challenged us to create our list of 20 things we are looking forward to this Spring. Hop over to her blog here to see what other posters are anticipating. I hope you enjoy Spring wherever you are!

*************************************

For we "northerners" who have dealt with a harsher-than-usual pounding of winter, we are especially delighted to look toward the delights of warmer weather, bright sunshine, and longer days!! Here is my Top 20.

*green grass

*the sound of lawn mowers

*the honking of geese flying to our neighborhood pond

*sunshiny days

*watching daffodils and tulips go from peeking bits of green life to waiting buds to full-blown showy flowers

*no more winter coats, gloves, hats, boots

*stepping outside, throwing my arms wide open, and sighing "Ahh"

*cleaning/straightening my garage with just a sweater on

*thunderstorms

*rainbows

*kites

*laughter of kids playing outside & riding bikes

*flowering trees

*drooling over outdoor goods in Sunday newspaper ads

*window shopping the outdoor goods at Target, Meijer, Walmart, Home Depot, Menards

*planning my flower beds

*shopping for my flower beds

*spending time with my college boys on their Spring break - if they spend time at home, that is!

*watching baseball with my husband on his new widescreen T.V.

*the opening of our brand spanking new YMCA on May 4th!!