Craft Room Makeover Reveal

I've been going back and forth on whether or not I should reveal the details of this room or the entire room and go over the details next week....  I've already revealed the desk do-over it was a labor of love, so I might as well show you the whole room.

Here are some before shots...  *Disclaimer: these were taken "during" the process...so, naturally there is CRAP all over the place, but I didn't think to take awesome pictures of the before...BEFORE because I was so excited to get the project going.

@ the top of the landing...

Computer "area"?!?

"Craft area/bed for....guests?!?!"

My ribbon problem...

"organized"?!?!

Yep, pretty awful, I know.  First issue: repaint the space...the maroon (while it was pretty) was too dark, and made it impossible to decorate.  Paint choice: Stone Lion from SW...(because I already had a half gallon left from my bathroom, and it's a grayish/brownish...)  Here's some progress....

Here's what the garage looked like....

OOPS!!!

 Once she was painted: next issue: get rid of huge honkin desk that cannot be arranged any other way, or moved to any other wall....then, de-crapify the loft....and organize it....and find another "inexpensive desk"...then, for the fun part...decorate it!

So, let's see this bad boy shall we?!?

Up the stairs that I redid....here.  And at the top of the stairs?  An overweight black lab, our little Rookie.

And yes, my gallery wall is finally done!  But honestly, I've not had time to post about it. You can see the giant picture tutorial here.  And, hopefully next week, I'll let you know what I did for the wall....but here's the loft...and all its awesomeness!

To keep the cost down, I ordered fabric and made my own drapes.  I bought Ikea lights off of Amazon (no Ikea here) ;( and mounted them to the wall and put the middle one "through" the drapes.  I like the effect!  This photo was a "during" photo...getting the new desk in was a debacle in itself, I'll tell you about that later.  AND-pardon the fan, it was HOT up there!

Another "during" photo, after the desk came in and the white curtains were hung behind the stripes.

Another view of the window, and the chunky doggie! 

Guest bed, (I used the left-over material to make a body pillow cover)...some of the pillows are from Etsy, Target, and.PB Teen

Top of landing, another view.  Yes, I re-did furniture, but more on that later...

A view of my "craft area"

(Sorry about the bad pics....luckily I remembered to take them)...I made the lamp(shade) well, actually re-did the entire lamp twice (below), and also added another Ikea light on the wall....(above)

 

Ahhhhh....a "space for me"....and the kids....and the dog, and the cats, and our guests, ahhh, yes, and Mr. A2B!

A shot of our new desk!  And, Big Bertha is still there too.  Read about her transformation here.  And here are some of my favorite details.....I'll explain them later when I get a free minute second...whew!  FINALLY!!!

PB Knockoff...except the Nakedness

It's almost been a year since I began blogging- primarily to keep myself busier than I ever thought possible, and partly to share creations/obstacles/epic failures with all of you.  When I wanted to make some upgrades to the house, I researched a lot of ideas online...then I stumbled across a few honest blogs, and TONS of perfectly fake blogs.  They made me feel bad, like....hello, my "playground" of a house is never going to be that clean...even on its best day.  So, I felt it was necessary to start my blog.

Why am I telling you this?!?  Welp, remember that welcome back to me message from Monday?  You know, the one where I said I was going to share a PB knockoff with you yesterday?!?  Ok...NOW you're following me.  Well, guess what?!?!  No shade = No reveal.  But then I got thinking...look out right?!?  DANGEROUS... Who cares if it's not totally done...it's as done as it's going to get...especially since I'm not really sure where it's going anyway.  I have some great fabric, but until I figure out just how I'm going to do the shade part...you'll just hafta enjoy the nakedness.  And maybe if you go junkin this weekend-you'll remember to look for an old tripod that you can put a lamp kit on and have some nakedness for yourself...for a fraction of Pottery Barn's!

Here she is...Naked Nancy!!

 No shade....just Nancy.  In all her versatile nakedness.  She can be "Tall"

Or...she can be "short and stout".

Either way, she is fun, and I love her.  I'd been wanting one of these since who knows when, but since I've not been junkin' in a while I haven't had the chance to find a tripod.  I went to Target today and bought a plain white lamp shade to cover.  Hopefully, the monsters will allow me some time to get it finished tonight.  If not, so what?!?  I have a "junk" desk and chair to paint up tonight too.  Who wants to start placing bets that neither gets finished tonight?!?  AND...I cropped out so much of the photos because I'm saving it for the big reveal for the 25th.  Sorry!

Under the Stairs BIG Reveal!!!!! The Playhouse fit for Royalty!

CAN I GET A DRUM ROLL PLEASE?!  First, let's start with a good before picture.

Under The Stairs...LAST UPDATE before the big reveal....

Just pics. folks....cause I'm too tired to write...I'm sooooooo over this project.  Unfortunately, one of the accessories will not be here until the 15th of next month... :( I'll show ya when it's put up...but for now....one coat of (yes I know...exciting) one color of paint is all that's left!  And thanks to the gals here at the 9-5....the little clubhouse door got a lil' sumpthin' extra today....Can't wait till Friday!  Here are a few sneak peeks...

Measure Twice, Cut Once...Nuff' Said!

Welp, yep.  Being a perfectionist really bit me in the be-hind this time....rather than finishing up the project for the big reveal today...I decided I was going to re-frame(in) the door.  Why?  Why not?!?!  There was an issue when I was trimming out the inside.  I thought a few minor adjustments could solve the issue....WRONG!...so what did I decide to do?  Rip it out...do it again!  After measuring everything out...AGAIN....cutting boards to do this door frame...AGAIN...I realized it wasn't me.  Two days wasted because the studs I was framing the door between weren't square...awesomeness.  HOWEVER, I'd already ripped apart the door.  So some of the wasted two days was spent constructing a new door.  Here's where we are now. (and yes...I just now noticed the paint drippings...awesomeness...add an extra 30 minutes.....)

How our House Rolls Christmas Home Tour 2011

Hello there!!!  Thanks for joining for the much anticipated "How our House Rolls; Christmas Home Tour 2011"!!!!  Here's what we're going to do...I'm going to go in a well-thought out path.  Try to keep up...we almost have a whoppin 1400 sq ft to get through here!  :)

Pottery Barn Knock-off!

Hello Everyone!  I've been waiting and waiting to share this with you!  I had to wait until after I shared it over at The Artsy Girl Connection.

Today's tutorial is going to be how to make a Pottery Barn Knockoff Wreath using mostly things you already have.

DIY Chalkboard Labels & Homemade Christmas #4! The Cheese Dome Cloche Tutorial

First, the DIY Chalkboard Labels...I would like to tell you, I have nothing against Velspar's Chalkboard paint.  I think it's great for some things.  HOWEVER, with that being said, I LOVE Krylon's spray paint Chalkboard paint!  And here's why... If I'm painting metal, Velspar tends to chip....So, I thought...hmmmm, how am I gonna do this?  Once I discovered Krylon's spray-on chalkboard paint...the possibilities were endless!

Big Red's Arm Candy...Meet our Christmas Mantle!

Okay, so y'all don't want to read on and on so today's post is just going to be pictures...MOSTLY....I'm excited to introduce to you...Big Red's arm candy, our Mantle!
First, here's last year's mantle...BUT...wait, if you didn't meet Big Red...You REALLY NEED TO...CLICK HERE!  And, YES, I did widen our mantle...that's why I had more room to shove crap decorate this year!  If you missed that post, CLICK HERE!

 It's not that I hated it or anything, but I wanted to do something more "Ballard-Barnesque"...so I stuck lots of twiggy/faux branches into the garland...I'm doing a tutorial on how to achieve that look over at The Artsy Girl Connection on the 14th...so you'll have to wait for that...And, the kids get to pick out a new stocking for their 2nd Christmas.  (We I (PRETTY SURE Mr. A2B couldn't care less what I do) let them keep their Baby's 1st Christmas for their kids...new tradition I started...) So, there's the disclaimer on why their stockings are horrid!!!  Here's Big Red's arm candy...

A Boatload, Sneek Peeks, Goodies!!! TTC#3

Since I'm always talking about things I will post tutorials for later, or projects I've done....I figured for Taming the Chaos this week, I'd do a little post to help all of us.  Me by reminding me to post on this stuff... You by not only reminding you what's coming, but also perhaps give all of you fellow bloggers out there an idea?!?

Here's a list of things to come...

Road Side Rescue!

Thanks to Krylon's Ivy Leaf...my Christmas side table is complete!!!!  I needed something tall...and cheap because well, it's Christmas time...SOOOOOO....to the spray paint cabinet I went...and to the "junk I have that I need to do something with" pile I went...and then to the  "fabric I need to do something with pile" I went...and then to one of my favs....Hobby-to-the-Lobby I went....here's what I did.

Homemade Christmas #3 The Princess Chair ASCP and What?!?!

You may remember the vanity I did for my sister.  Well, since mom gave it to her, it wasn't a Christmas gift...BUT what's a Princess Vanity without a Princess Chair?  I'd been looking for a chair to do-over since I finished the vanity, but nothing struck my fancy.  So, one day, while on my "lunch" break from the 9-5, I spotted this beauty!

Goodwill Lamp "Creation" #2 and a little Bit O Christmas!

FINALLY!!!!!  Here's the second reveal for the Homemade Christmas.  I've already mentioned my bro and family are moving into a "new" house...so, for Christmas I've been making things for their rooms.  Last week, I showed you Goodwill Lamp Do-Over #1 the lamp for my niece.  If you missed it CLICK HERE.  For the boys, this lamp and a table made out of a baseball bat.  Hopefully I'll post that next week?!?  So, this isn't considered a "Do-Over" because it wasn't "done" in the first place.  I CREATED IT.  Here's how it happened...one day during lunch at the 9-5 I frequented one of my favorite places...GOOD-TO-THA-WILL!!!  I spotted this beauty...