Pro-CRAFT-ination. Do you have it?

I tweeted earlier today that I had 'pro-CRAFT-ination' and it really got me thinking. I have a LOT of projects 'in process' right now and I can't seem to finish them before starting a new one.

I once heard that procrastination is the worst form of perfectionism- it's the paralyzing fear that if it's not going to be perfect why even start? Or you are too nervous it won't turnout perfect you can't even start. I believe I have pro-CRAFT-ination because I'm not afraid to start a new craft project but once it is underway I can't finish it because of this underlying fear that it won't turn out exactly as I envisioned it- aka: perfectly.

Yeah totally realized all that from a tweet.

SO I've decided to list all my unfinished projects here in a post and I hope to check in with you all weekly and be able to cross a project off! I need motivation to get 'er done! (ok that was totally lame and cheesy but I'm leaving it in!)

Here is my monstrous list:

1. Bathroom floor to be painted & sealed
2. Completely empty old craft room & put it into windowless room.
3. Move Lil Man into old craft room
4. Strip & repaint nursery room door & frame (lead paint detected)
5. Paint nursery walls.
6. Lay nursery floor. (currently plywood)
7. Try to reconfigure crib.
8. Make curtains for nursery
9. Make mobile.
10. Make Lil Man curtains
11. Finish lining living room curtains
12. Make playroom curtains
13. Finish fabric storage for playroom
14. Sew Velcro to play kitchen curtains to hang them.
15. Tank top refashion
16. Maxi dress refashion
17. Doggie door painting & install
18. Train table
19. Old window into craft room storage
20. Paint new countertop to match my painted laminate counters.
21. Finish sanding & sealing kitchen floor.
22. Paint trim, stair risers, & railings in dining room
23. Paint kitchen
24. Paint new light for dining room & hang
25. Make Miss E some dresses
26. Strip wallpaper & paint on hallway.
27. Type up & digi-scrap my recipes.

Ok there is more than that but I can't make you read forever. Just a note- most of the curtain projects & paint projects I haven't started yet so maybe I don't have pro-craft-ination on those.
Do you ever have pro-craft-ination? What one project have you been putting off just finishing??

Alright that's all I can type out on my iPhone right now lol! Sorry for the lack of photo- it wouldn't let me add one because I'm using a phone. Hopefully I'll remember to log onto my computer tomorrow to add links & pictures!


Oh and in case you noticed the slow down of posts: I took an unofficial and unplanned bloggy break & rested up while enjoying my babies!!

Have a happy Day,

Project Organization

Hi all! I'm over at Sherbet Blossom today guest posting for Hannah's "Project Organization" series! Please go check it out & read back through the series! (She started on August 2) There have been some really good tips so far!






Have a Happy day,

From built-in to pantry

My house was built in 1932. For me this means amazing trim work which I showed you here but it also means lack of adequate closets, one bathroom located on the 2nd floor that is the size of my thumb which I showed you a little here, and a built in in the kitchen which was perfectly charming but really un-useable.
We were using the top part as a coat closet of sorts but it wasn’t deep enough for hangers so everything had to be smooshed in there to close the doors. Also it had 3 drawers on the bottom which we used for flashlights, batteries, etc. but they were hard to pull out and put back in. I wanted a place to put my vacuum and trash can away. I was tired of having my cleaning supplies sitting out. I was also very very tired of my dog emptying the contents of my trash can every time I left the house if I didn’t remember to put it outside before I left.
SO. Handsome Hubby took my vision of an actual floor to ceiling closet/pantry and helped me make it possible.
Here is what we started with once we removed the drawers:

Then we proceeded to use a reciprocating saw- my Dad’s by the way, he lends me all sorts of things totally LOVE my Dad!- (Hubs would like to point out that some people call it a ‘saws-all’ because it saws everything but I prefer to use the proper names thankyouverymuch) to cut the drawer supports and the dividing shelf out.

I am obviously using the term ‘we’ very loosely here. But in my defense I did swing the hammer a few times and broke out the shelf! Just not all the way, obviously by the following picture…..plus I was 6+ months pregnant at the time!

 

This is what we were left with once all the supports/shelves were removed:

Here is when we noticed that one of the previous owners had put sheetrock over the plaster in the top portion so when the shelf was removed we had un even walls. So I did what any resourceful girl would do….I called Dad. I knew he had to have enough sheetrock in his garage/basement/somewhere to give me.

Who was right? :) Thanks Dad!

So the parts I don’t have pictures of are the mudding/taping the new sheetrock, the caulking of seams/gaps/imperfections all over and then the painting. I just used the rest of a quart sized can I had previously used in Little Man’s nursery. It is a shocking lime-ish green. I thought it was an unexpected surprise when you opened the pantry door….plus it would make it lighter in there since there is no light source.

I also had Military Man (aka Handsome Hubby aka Hubs) cut down a glass panel door that we had removed from the playroom last year to fit the opening. I sprayed one side of the glass inserts with frost spray so you wouldn’t see all my junk.

Here is what the door looks like in place

 

I still need to ‘finish’ this project by painting out the door and trim but if I didn’t post this now who knows when it’ll get finished….I do have a one month old & almost 3 year old…projects for me now include potty training and spit up catching ;) he he.

I added some command hooks to hold my cloth shopping bags (above left) & my homemade plastic bag holder-tutorial found here- (below right). I also added those wire shelves (that I got at Lowe’s) to hold Ziplocs, parchment paper, cans, rice, etc. (and by ‘I added’ I really mean I added- not taking credit for Military Man’s hard work here…I did it myself!)

Below you will see my much longed for storage of trashcan & vacuum! YAY!!


So that’s how I added storage to my older home only spending money on the shelving, command hooks & a dishtowel for the bag holder!

What cheap-o projects are you most proud of?


Linking up to:

Prepared.

Hi all! I'm back! This is my first post since having my baby girl "E" on June 6, 2010! She was born at 6:02am weighing a TINY 6lbs. 9oz. (My son was 9lbs. 4oz so she is tiny tiny to me!) she came into the world after only two pushes and only 6 hours of contractions that hurt (I was contracting all day the day before but they just were tight-not painful) She is healthy & D and Hubby both love and adore her!

Ok! Now onto the blog post! First a thank you to all the ladies who helped me out and did guests posts for me these last few weeks! Please go visit them soon & thank them! Kaleena @ Top Notch Eats, Birdie @ A Chirp in the Forest & Karen @ Saving the Family Money. Thanks so much ladies!

So a few weeks ago I decided that I wanted a bag in my vehicle that would allow D & I to just go to the playground or somewhere fun without any planning (an example would be: we were out running errands and just decided to stop by the playground). So I pulled out a tote bag I had and started to throw some things together. Here's what I ended up with in the back of my suv:

and here are a few pictures of what I included:

This is the full bag (above). The bag on top is the 'emergency supplies' bag which has band-aids, tissues, neosporin, bug spray, sunscreen, anti-itch spray, and travel sizes of advil and purell.

Then I added a bag of toys which as you can see included Mr. Potato Head. It also has bubbles, chalk & a small playground ball.

Then in the bottom is a change of clothes for him, a sweatshirt (in case it's colder all of a sudden), an empty sippy cup, two beach towels (one to wipe off the wet slides if it's a rainy day) and 1 washcloth. 

Then not pictured is a folding camping chair, a flashlight, our folding travel potty and my picnic blanket that is waterproof on one side.
I am going to have to add in clothes & diapers for little miss E now but other than that we are all prepared for those spur of the moment 'let's go have fun' times! Another bonus is that I don't have to worry my new 'mommy brain' will have me forget something important!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Baby Time Guest Post: Saving the Family Money

Today we have a fun tutorial from Karen at Saving the Family Money! Please be sure to visit her site because she has a ton of informative posts and plenty of great reading for you to do! Here she is:

Simple and easy steps to turn old picture frames into beautiful fabric covered bulletin boards.

The 2 picture frames and the gold shelf above I purchased at a garage sale for super cheap. I took out the pictures and glass and spray painted the frames and shelf black. This is the same wall that I took the before picture on, but I have since painted over the thin coat of builders paint. This is the hallway between the kitchen and the garage where everyone passes when coming and going. It will be a great place to put reminders and schedules!

Ok are you ready for me to tell you how easy it is to do? I decided I wanted to do a magnetic board because a cork board would mean I'd be putting holes in the fabric and I didn't want to do that. I went to JoAnn Fabric to look for inspiration fabric. I found these 2 coordinating fabrics and the best part is I was able to use a coupon on one of them and the other was a remnant fabric so it was discounted. I wanted it to look like artwork even if there was nothing displayed on it. Then I headed out to my favorite Home Depot where they accept competitor coupons, and got my supplies. You will need a piece of zinc-coated steel (aluminum and stainless steel will not hold magnets). I took a few magnets with me and the fabric so I could make sure it was going to work. You'll need heavy duty magnets and you should be able to buy these at the hardware store as well. My husband thinks it's funny that the Manager who was assisting me, didn't even know they carried magnets. I graciously showed him where they were..hehe. Now I chose a large piece that I could cut to size at home. It was cheaper than buying 2 smaller ones. Your hardware store might cut it to size for you if you take in your measurements or even the frame you will be using. If you do it yourself, you'll need a pair of scissors that will cut metal. They sell these for about $10 or you can borrow a pair from your sister. Thanks sis! I laid out the cardboard backing to the original picture frames and used them as a template to measure the cuts. Now you can begin your cuts. Remember it's always better to cut a piece too big and trim later, than cut it too small and waste a piece. You may want to use gloves for this part. Cut metal is sharp and I for one didn't want a cut! Once it's cut you'll want to place it inside your frame to make sure it fits. Mine was a little large so I had to trim some off of one side. Cut your fabric so you have about a 1-2 inch overhang all around the metal. I used spray adhesive to adhere the fabric. I started with a small piece on the back to get it lined up exactly the way I wanted it. Then I flipped it over and sprayed about 5 inches of metal at a time and laid down the fabric. This is where you have to be very careful because the adhesive is strong and you don't want any air bubbles or wrinkles. You might get someone to help you if you are working with a large piece. The only thing left is to place it inside the frame, secure it, then hang! I'm so excited about how well it turned out. I have not decided what to put on the shelf yet. Please let me know if you have any questions. I've also made cute teacher appreciation gifts that were a BIG hit.

Aren't those great? And EASY! Thanks so much Karen! 

A little time for organizing....

Sorry I haven't been posting as much lately. I'm in full on nesting mode & some things around the house have been bugging me.....

Ok a lot of things have been bugging me and I'm trying to fix them all in a short amount of time because that's how I roll. Pressure, overload, time crunch. I do my best work that way. Trust me.

Anyway here are a couple 'before' pictures of what I'm tackling today. My 'office' in an hutch.

This is the bottom shelf (my computer sits on the middle shelf):

 

And here is the top shelf:

 Let's play I-spy shall we? I spy: 4 messages, rubber stamp, Christmas ornament, two rolls of tape, hole punch, ribbon, misc. cords, a paper score mat. 

Don't worry if you can't find all those things...I usually can't either. ha. ha. 

Anyway the great paper purge is on in my house. If I really didn't care about what you thought I'd show you my 'craft' and 'catch-all' rooms. But you might be too frightened to sleep. 

So anyway that's what I'm doing this wonderful Monday...what are you up to? Do you get the urge to purge around this time of year too? 

How about a little poll: What is the messiest room in your house? 

Talk soon,