Getting my craft on...
Perhaps eventually I'll get around to posting the rest of our pictures from our So. Cal trip we took back in August... life's been busy for us. I know, you're probably thinking you've read that on here a time or two before huh? It's true. While it sounds so cliche though, it's 100% true. I've been telling myself that things would slow down in the Fall or "once school starts"... it's done nothing of the sort... life's only gotten busier!!! It took an epiphany a couple weeks back for me to understand that I'll always probably be busy- heck I've got 5 boys! and it's probably only going to get even busier as they age. If I want to have some free time alone, or to do those things I've been hoping/wanting to get done, I've got to pencil it in, just like our doctor appointments and soccer games. So that's exactly what I did last week!
For months, alright, for the entire past year, I've been telling myself I need to clean out the basement... I finally did it, and when I finished I felt so relieved! I've also been trying to talk myself into cleaning out and organizing the garage and our car--- guess what?! Yep, I did both! Of course Spencer helped out with the work in the garage. Actually, I was feeling quite ambitious the day I cleaned out the car so I also washed all 5 cars seats!!! b.t.w. is it just me or does it take everyone an hour to take the car seat cover OFF of their child's car seat?! Keep in mind I did this 5x! AND it takes twice as long to put the covers back on!!! I finally organized all of my cupboards and cleaned out my pantry... Now I'm just trying to muster up the energy and will to do some touch ups on our walls and doors through out the house... I have some nail holes on my walls from last Christmas that have been bothering the bejeebees out of me! I came home at the end of August to a garden full of weeds- both in the front AND the back yard... my only complaint about now owning a yard is that I have to weed it every now and then too! It sucks! I spent 11 hours last Monday weeding like a maniac--- the yard looks awesome for now- I'm just praying for an early winter so I don't have to waste anymore time weeding. Or maybe next time I'm at the store I ought to just purchase some Round Up weed killer... that could also spare me a lot of labor.
The boys were eager to put up Halloween decorations this year... they were begging me the last week of September to pull them off the storage shelf and help them hang them up--- I tried to hold out for a few weeks, but by the end of the 2ND session in Sunday's General Conference all of our decorations were hung. My door wreath is black and sort of gets lost hung on our front door which is brown, so I'd been looking recently in stores and on the web for a new Halloween/Fall wreath to buy or for an idea of something to make... that's when I came across the following wreath listed on the Williams-Sonoma store website...
It was LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!!! It's cute, it's festive, its colors would POP on my front door and it's SIMPLE!!! The only prob--- it was $99.95! Um, YEAH!!! Like I have the $$$ like that to spend on something for my front door--- what REALLY baffles me is it even WORTH nearly $100?! NO!!! I spent some time studying the picture and decided that the wreath looked simple enough that I could recreate it for just a fraction of the original price. The following is what I made for just a 1/4 of the original sale cost.
Another item I'm proud of is this lampshade in the picture below.
I'd been looking for MONTHS for a new lampshade to replace the boring ol' burgundy one I own... I've seen a variety of shades online and at stores--- most haven't suited my liking and for those that have, they've always been just so darn expensive... so, one day, while shopping at Hobby Lobby, I stumbled upon this adorable black and white print... It was on sale and it was exactly the right color and print I was hoping to have a new lampshade made out of--- that's when the idea hit me that I should buy a yard of it and reupholster my old lampshade with it... of course I'm not a seamstress, but hey how hard could it be??? Well, it took me a couple of hours to do--- I suppose with some practice I could get faster, but it really wasn't that difficult. I was honestly surprised! I just wrapped the yard of fabric around the lampshade like wrapping paper and secured it with a stitch here and a stitch there. I LOVE it! Just PLEASE, don't look at the mess INSIDE of the shade! After finishing this sort of project, it really does make me wish I knew how to sew... I have all sorts of FABULOUS ideas for sewing projects lurking around inside my brain... if only I had the KNOW HOW! Maybe one day I'll schedule in some sewing lessons for myself!
There you have it--- the projects around the home that have kept me busy. If I owned a radio arm saw and some lumber, perhaps you'd see me building some built in bookshelves for our front family room--- Spencer and I have this totally AMAZING idea for a library nook/loft in the family room- it's going to be INCREDIBLE once it's built, but then again that will probably be a couple of years down the line... we need to come up with the $$$ for it first. It never ceases to AMAZE me how every time I finish one project, it seems as though I've thought up and added another dozen to my "to do list" for around the house.
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