Like I said yesterday, it's a tiny room so it's not a big 'wowsa' before and after project. But, I am so happy with it's functionality! Yesterday I showed you where it started:

 

 

And then I showed you how I got to here:

 

 

To hang the curtains, I bought an inexpensive cafe curtain rod at Wal-Mart.

 

 

I didn't use the finials and instead just had the rod simply butt into the wall. I bought 3 support brackets and mounted them to the ceiling. I made 2 curtain panels and hung them with simple cafe rod clips.

 

 

My washer/dryer are on pedestal drawers so all of the detergents and cleaning supplies are kept there. And there is still room on top to put a basket of odd socks and some cut greens. It is so fantastic to have a home for everything!

 

 

Now let's move down to the floor. The wonderful company, FLOR, allowed me to select tiles to use to give my ugly stick-on tiles a face-lift. I loved the sisal look of 'Look Both Ways' in Moss.

 

 

 

I have always loved their catalogs and the simplicity of the install so I was excited to finally try them for myself. 

 

 

There is no prep work--they go right on top of whatever you have. You have the option of changing the pattern depending on how you install them. I liked the subtle basketweave pattern created by alternating them parquet style. Their directions are simple to follow and they cut easily with a carpet knife and ruler.  

 

 

What a difference! I love the texture and it has just enough cush to really make a difference when I am folding clothes. I vacuum them just as I do my other floors and if I were to ruin one, I have extras to pop into place. If you are on the fence about purchasing FLOR tiles, I highly recommend them.

Moving up the wall..

 

I spotted this laundry art that Jen had pinned {from a Boden catalog} and thought it was fantastic! I knew I wanted to incorporate this into art for my room. I had a blank wall opposite the washer/dryer that gets sun all day so I didn't want to invest in anything that would cause me to tear up when it eventually fades.  I used a 30" x 40" canvas and painted my mantra.

 

 

 

It's a small room so it's hard to get a good shot!

 

 

  Jen has made her own laundry charts available in several colors if you want to download them and use them yourself. Cute, right?

 

 

 

See the artwork on the right?

 

 

That's my special piece from artist Amy Rice. I painted the frame with the same SW 6439 Greenfield paint that I used on the shelves and my laundry art canvas.    

 

 

I love that I get to enjoy it everyday {sometimes many times a day...}.

 

 

I still want to replace the light with a chandelier and add a cute roman shade, but I am loving the new fresh look. 

 

{FLOR provided me with the tiles but the opinions are all mine and all honest!}

 

 

So this is how my laundry room looked last year. Exactly the way it appeared when we bought the house minus the washer and dryer.

 

It's a very small room but it has great natural light! It's hard to tell, but those tiles on the floor are a glue on linoleum type with pretend grout lines on the edges. These same tiles were in my entrance and in my guest bath and they were replaced years ago. This room is right off of the kitchen and in between the guest room and guest bath so it's got a prominent spot in the house. And the door is almost always open.

 

 

I knew it wouldn't take a lot to make it pretty, but what I really needed was to make it functional. If you have been reading this little blog for a while, you know that I am the mom of 2 athletes. Our games can be hours away so each mom fixes dinner for an away game. Each time it's my turn, I am forever looking for my stash of cups, napkins, plastic silverware, etc. Some items would be in the hall pantry, some would be in the drawers in the dining room, some in the kitchen cabinet...frustrating. Not to mention that my baking items, my tablecloths, my Christmas dishes, were also stored here there and everywhere.

 

 

These cabinets were only inches deep and I couldn't reach the back. They just were not practical to hold all of the big things that I needed to store in here. These are actually the same cabinets that are in my kitchen. if you want to see them all painted up, visit this post. I wanted to take these off and use them in the garage to store tools. Then I could use the entire height and depth above the washer and dryer to create a 'pantry' so everything would be in one spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

          

 

I painted the walls with one of my very favorite whites - Natural Choice. It has a touch of gray and is just warm enough.  

 

 

At this point, I searched for baskets to line the shelves. I needed specific sizes and cheap they were not. I was not willing to drop $100+ on baskets. So, I searched through old plastic storage bins that I had once used in my store. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were lots of these plus others. They were the right depth, there were plenty of them, and they were free! Because they aren't the prettiest things to look at, I decided to hang a curtain that could be pulled to cover them up. This way I could leave the door open to enjoy the great sunlight and not be embarrassed!

 

 

The curtains are a cute coordinating little green check number.  Tomorrow I'll show you how I hung the curtains and a break down of the ton of everything that is now being stored here. Oh, and did I mention that there's a new floor up in here AND that I did a little big painting for the opposing wall?? 

  

I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours! It was a simpler, more handmade and heartfelt celebration at our house. I so hope we continue with this tradition.  

If you and your kids are looking for a fun activity now that the festivities are over, please consider making some snowflakes together and mailing them to Newtown.

 via

'When school resumes for Sandy Hook, it will be in a new building. Parent-volunteers are working to ensure that the students are welcomed back by a winter wonderland with the entire school decorated with as many unique snowflakes as possible. We encourage senders to be as creative as possible, remembering that no two snowflakes are alike. Please make and send snowflakes by January 12, 2013 to the Connecticut PTSA address at the end of this email.

Donating and Organizing Fundraisers for Sandy Hook Elementary School:

Donations will be accepted indefinitely to the Connecticut PTSA “Sandy Hook Fund” to provide ongoing support to the community. Please send checks to the Connecticut PTSA address listed at the end of this email. Group fundraising projects may include walk-a-thons, spirits days, pajama days, etc., which may be scheduled at your convenience.

For student-run coin drives, please submit all donations by February 14, 2012.

The Newtown community has requested only monetary donations at this time. For service or product donation inquiries, please contact newtownboe@gmail.com. To contact Sandy Hook PTA, please email sandyhook@ctpta.org  

Please send all snowflakes and donations to:
Connecticut PTSA
60 Connolly Parkway
Building 12, Suite 103
Hamden, CT 06514

via

If you are a little rusty on your snowflake how-to, you can click here. Imagine the look on these little faces when they nervously walk through new unfamiliar school doors in a few weeks, only to be welcomed with a blizzard of beautiful wintry snowflakes!  

I found this poem written by Holley Gerth, which seems so perfect for this project: 

The Meaning of the Snowflake

Every new snowflake comes to the earth
as a picture of our Saviour’s birth,
because they are sent from up above
and remind us of God’s care and love.

Each one is so intricate and small
because Christ sees the details of us all,
and just as two are never the same
the Lord knows and calls us each by name.

Snowflakes gently cover the world in white
and hide what’s unlovely from our sight,
showing us how He covers our sin
and gives us His grace when we come to Him.

So may every snowflake bring Christ to mind
and in every bit of white may you find
a reason to celebrate anew
and a reminder of His love for you.

Holley Gerth

 

“Snowflakes are some of nature's most fragile things, but just look what happens when they stick together.”  Anonymous

 

 It will be a little quiet here for the next few days. I am with family in Murray, Kentucky. Such wonderful memories here...My sweet uncle passed away this week and we are celebrating his life.  

 

I had a great install yesterday! An awesome client from up North has bought a vacation home in Cashiers {and she may or may not be on TV....:) ....hmmm....} and we have gotten this house ready for her family for Christmas faster than Lindsay Lohan can get herself arrested. It has been the most fun project and while it's not completely finished, her stockings are hung and the fireplace is ready for Santa. She hasn't seen it yet, but she arrives tonight! I'm having some problems uploading pictures to the blog today, so I thought I would repost a Christmas ornament idea from a few years ago. Enjoy!

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One of our local restaurants--Saphire Mountain Brewing Company--invited local businesses to decorate a Christmas tree in their courtyard. I was up for the challenge! What a great fun way to market your business, right?! I love thinking outside the box so I challenged myself to create ornaments that could hold up to being outside for a month...

 

We had collected branches of a few trees that had been damaged by a recent storm. I am always collecting tree branches-I use them for everything! Using the table saw, my husband sliced the branches about 1/2" thick. In order to get 1 clean cut, you need to use branches that are less than 3 1/2" in diameter. We had a variety of different trees. When cut, they looked really different--I liked the effect.

 

 

 

They were really wet so I let them do a little sun-bathing. Unfortunately, they weren't drying fast enough for me so I decided to do a little baking.

 

 

The lowest my oven would go was 170 degrees {if you try this PLEASE don't go any hotter!}
I kept rotating pans for about 20 minutes at a time over several hours. Obviously, if you use dead
branches then you can skip this step. But they have to be dry to continue on.

The next day, I cut a small hole with the drill in the top of each one. This would be for the ornament hanger. And I lightly sanded each one {I didn't sand the bark part--I like it 'barky'}

Since my ornaments were 'design' themed, I did a google image search for 'furniture silhouettes' and loads of great images came up:

{dreamstime}

 

I got out my fine tip and medium tip Sharpie and began drawing the furniture images on each piece. If you are confident with your drawing skills then go for it! If not, there are great rubber stamps or stencils that you could use. Or, you could print out some images and then use transfer paper and a pencil to transfer the outline to your wood.

 

 

I think I ended up with about 75. I watched all my Martha and Nate episodes during this process :)

 

 

 

I thought I would jazz some of them up with a little glitter. Using the wood pieces that had their bark pretty much in tact, I spread some Elmers around the edge. Then I used my finger to really 'work it' in all the grooves.

 

 

I used my collection of Martha glitters and Dollar Store glitters, and shook a little sparkle on.

 

 

I found a package of 50 red pipe cleaners for a dollar at The Dollar Store. I stuck one end through the hole, gave it a twist {so that it faces front} and then made a circle with the ends by twisting them around each other. Because the wood is a little on the heavy side, the pipe cleaner makes a great hanger.

 

 

Then, they got themselves together in a little line-up and waited patiently for their satin spray sealer
{I used Krylon Crystal Clear indoor/outdoor Non-Yellowing}.

Some things I learned:

•If you are going to use your ornaments outside, use wood glue for the glittering part. Elmers washes off in the rain.

•I have no idea if the spray sealer is really necessary--it just makes me feel better.

•This would be a great craft to do with kids--make sure they sign their name and put the year on the back.

And of course, every good designer tree has a Chandelier topper...

 

I made it out of plywood and silver spray paint!