If I Started Right Quick....

Perhaps I could have one of these lovely blankets draped about by the Fall.

 This pressing idea and inspiring pictures were brought to my attention by Birch and Bird this week.

I can't do much in the way crocheting and patterns are out of the question, but I can crochet a granny square.  So there's hope.  Especially with this most helpful how-to for guidance.

On another note, in my 40 bags in 40 days venture, I didn't quite finish the 40 days, but oh my, did I come up with the bags...so many bags, half a garage's worth.  So tomorrow Sister and I are throwing together a garage sale.  I don't think it will look quite this pretty, but we'll have some good times.

Also want to let you all know that Tuesday Morning in these Colorado parts is having a 50% off Clearance Sale all weekend!  So if there was ever a time to make the trek it would be today...I'm thinking to make it happen even with my three little people in tow - is this wisdom?

One final note:  Sweet Anita at Cedar Hill Ranch featured me on her blog today - bless her heart.  She lives on and blogs about the loveliest ranch.  I could spend all day on those porches.  Thank you, Anita!

Cedar Hill Ranch

Bottle Cap Magnets : A Tutorial

This little idea has been swimming in my head for a while now, and it was so fun to finally make these.  I was delayed a bit as I first had to gather a little collection of bottle caps, enlisting helpfully thirsty people to contribute for a few weeks until I had 10.

 

Then I sorted through the microsoft fonts and decided on this one: SimSun-ExtB for it's simplicity.  I printed several out, trying to get the right size and in the end used some numbers in size 62 and some in 49ish for extra-fun variety.

At this point it would have been neat to have some sort of crafty circle punch, but I have nothing anywhere near that nifty, so I just eye-balled and cut and trimmed a circle that fit and then used that as I guide for the others.

 Then I got out my Mod Podge and the only paintbrush I could find in my kiddos' craft cupboard.

 Brushed some Mod Podge on the bottom of the cap, put the number in and then coated the top.

 Then hot-glue these heavy-duty magnets to the backs, which my favorite Sister picked up for me at Walmarts.

At this point, I decided they looked a bit to crisp and white, so I got out some Old English furniture polish.

Added a bit of the polish to my glue plate, brushed a coat of it on top of the dried Mod Podge, and wiped it mostly off with a paper towel.

So here they are:  sweet-little-antiqued-numbered-bottle-cap-magnets.

And really, since I already had the Mod Podge and furniture polish, the only cost was the magnets, which were $6 for 50/ $1.20 for the 10 I used - woohoo.

Guaranteed to make your fridge (or cute chalkboard) feel extra-special-pretty.

Find other Easy-Peasy, Simple-Lovely Tutorials {HERE}

{Linking to Blue Cricket Design, Remodelholic,
Funky Junk Interiors, Tip Junkie , Just a Girl, & Lettered Cottage}

Wednesday Walkabout

 Loving these kiddos.

 All running towards me.

{Linking to What I Love Wednesday}

Frame on Mirror

So here is an unconventional way I decided pull some color over to the opposite side of the family room.  

I hung a painted thrifted frame on top of my (Ethan Allen thrifted) mirror. 

 Here's the frame before (and my boy's feet).

And gave it coat of spray paint.

Using this purty color from Lowes.

And snipped off the wire on the back.

And isn't this the loveliest ribbon ever?  Hobby Lobby is full of surprises. 

Looped it through the frame and tied it to the wire on the back of the mirror.

Ta-da!  Like I said, it's a little unconventional.  But kind of quirky and interesting.  This area definitely needs some more tweaking.  It's right by our back entry, and I'm having a hard time coming up with a good bowl for keys...

And I'm back with some tweaking.  That old lamp was just kind-of a bummer.  I stole this lamp from my office desk, and it'll need to be returned, but it gives me a good idea of how much a different lamp would help this area.  And I'm thinking a galvanized pail for the key bowl...

 Good times.

See Today's Post {HERE}

{Linking to Bowl Full of Lemons}

Letter Writing: A Daily Opportunity

It remains for me that there are few delights to be compared to that of finding a letter in the mailbox.  And next to receiving a letter, writing one is so pleasant.   Around the age of about fourteen I embraced letter writing with a passion.  I spent all my little earnings on growing my stationary collection and kept up correspondence with friends and family.

In her book Living a Beautiful Life (which I love and will certainly talk more about) Alexandra Stoddard strongly recommends making letter writing "a daily opportunity to communicate with a friend".  It has been years since I have done anything like regular letter writing.   But in my ideal life, there are a few quiet moments each morning where I sit at my little writing desk and dash off a quick note.

Here's a little tour of the desk that waits for me.

This is the middle drawer.  I like using old stationary boxes to divide it up.

 My "thank you" note drawer. Probably the one that still gets the most use.

A little collection of boxed notes.

 This is a little left-over of the blue Crane stationary I wrote all my love letters to Husband when he lived in Ohio and I in Colorado before we married.

He was completely charmed and amused by this 100% Cotton watermark.

And I did write a little note to send out today.  It was very pleasant, of course.  Will I do it more often?  I certainly hope so.  What about you?
 

See Today's Post {HERE}

{Linking to Life Made Lovely Monday & Lollipops}

My Boy

 His hat.

His dimples.

His sweet mischief.

Love it all.

What I Learned in 40+ Days...

So this is my 40 Days, 40 Bags of UnLoveliness Leaving my House Update.

This challenge was really good for me.  It got me focused and actively doing something about the messy, disorderly, unlovely, no-good-dirty parts of my home.  BUT I didn't meet the challenge.  Along about half-way through tax season hit and I hadn't accounted :) that into the mix.  Suddenly, as a bookkeeper, all my free time needed to be devoted to tax stuff.  HOWEVER, an extra busy life needn't have kept me from organizing one small space a day.  

So, I learned Two Things that I would've done differently.

Thing #1: Break Down Bigger Tasks Into Small 20 Minute or so Tasks. 

I did this with somethings - like when I listed a particular drawer "Cup Drawer" in the kitchen instead of just listing "Kitchen Cabinets".  And those were the fun days.  But I got into trouble when I listed things like "Twin's Closet" and "Pantry", and I got completely bogged down when faced with those tasks.  So break it down, keep it simple, minimal.

Thing #2:  Consider a 20 Day Challenge Instead of 40 Days.  

Forty days is just a stinkin' long time, and it's hard to keep up the momentum and enthusiasm that long.  Obviously, this would mean you'd get 20 fewer spaces cleaned out.  But I'd much rather celebrate having completed a 20 day challenge in 20 days and then start up a fresh spankin' new 20 Day Challenge, rather than hang my head in shame on day 60 of my 40 Day Challenge. ;)

So I will persevere and get these final things done.  But probably they'll be on a new list.
Probably a 20 Bags in 20 Days list.

Until then, let's focus on the positive!  In this process, I learned that what motivated me to maintain a space was not just the fact that it was organized but the fact that it was pretty. I got especially inspired to make the closets in my home lovely, beautiful spaces that I enjoyed maintaining.

So I'm excited to share my closet makeovers and the things I learned with you in -

Coming soon!

Color Perfection

I love everything about this picture.  The colors couldn't be more beautiful - that blue, that green, that pink!  Perfect. Trying to think how I can get these into in my house more.  They definitely would be lovely bedroom colors.  Maybe at least that gray/blue in my closet?

Sigh. So pretty.

{Linking to Lollipops "What I Love Wednesday"}

Mossy Monogram + Book Pages

That equation equals Pretty Lovely in my book just about every time.  Now, get ready for a preetttty long tutorial { I got a little picture happy }

First we have this big frame that used to have a horizontal oil painting in it.  It was fine, but I really needed a vertical painting for a particular space on the family room wall.   So out went the painting and to replace it a cut out a same-size sheet of cardboard.

 Got out my Mod Podge.

 And Mod Podged some more Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Part II.  No lamenting this time - I'm pretty over it.

Then I just pressed it in and switched the wiring on the back so it could hang vertically. 

I actually did the whole book page part last fall, and played around with various adornments, but it became clear to me this Spring that the Book Pages needed some Moss.

 Enter $5 "M" from Hobby Lobby and about $4 (with 40% off coupon) Moss Cloth.

 This was my first encounter with Moss Cloth - look how lovely it is.

Of course every letter would be approached a bit differently, but I started by cutting some strips...

 

 And hot-glued them on, starting at the top and adding more glue and pressing down all the way along the letter.

I made some cuts here and there to allow the cloth to fit about the rounded parts. 

The moss cloth is very forgiving - I simply couldn't mess it up.

Here's the back, which I didn't need to be completely covered, but would have been easy to fill in with left-over scraps.

Just kept adding in strips - are you completely smitten yet?

 Here she is, all done.  I love her dimension, versus a flattish letter.

The back of these letters have holes to hang them on, so I'd thought I'd put thumbtacks in the cardboard and hang the letter on them.

I tried it, but such a job is not one to be eyeballed and I was too much hurry for all-done-gratification to find my measuring tape.   So I hot glued it on.  Three cheers for hot glue!

And.....yes, it's little crooked, proving that tape measuring should always be chosen in lieu must-have-it-done-now-gratification. 

Here, it is hanging in the Family Room.  It's kind-of an awkward angle, but at least you get an idea of where it lives.  This is the wall opposite of the newly curtained window.

See other Lovely Easy-Peasy Tutorials {HERE}

{Linking to Bowl Full of Lemons 
Blue Cricket Design, Just a Girl,, Funky Junk Interiors, & The Lettered Cottage}