The big, fat blank wall....

I've been looking for inspiration for this big {fat} blank wall for three years now....THREE YEARS....we've been in this house since July 2007 and I've never once put anything up on this wall. I don't know why....I think I've been waiting for the perfect idea?? The perfect wall hanging?? Something large...or a few somethings small? I don't think I'll hang a ton of small picture frames...

I'm afraid that they'll get all wonky and I'll end up fixing it 17 times a day {stinkin' OCD}!

So....I've waited patiently. Played with ideas...I really wanted to do a ginormous family tree. Like this one but painted on a large piece of wood...that way it's movable. I was inspired by my sister Laura's husband's grandma's house {did you get that? sisters aunts mothers brothers grandmother?? kidding} I  wish I had taken a picture of the one she has on her wall! I remember it in my mind, tho...a big painted tree, with a small framed picture for each family member....going back generations, so there were really cool older pictures of family, too. I've been trying to start my collection of small gaudy frames from the thrift store. Ü

I may have to do some sort of silhouette collection?? Wouldn't that be cute??

And while we're here, I might as well mention this awesome little creation. And a modern family tree, I especially love the rectangle one at the bottom. I may just have to recreate THIS, too. Yikes. I need to stop browsing....the wall might become a mish-mosh of random things....

I actually did buy a few large black plate to decorate and hang...my inspiration coming from this plate montage.....my first love.

A few weeks ago...I got lucky {giggle} when I spotted this in my neighbors trash. Yes, that's right....I dumpster dove. Well, not really....but I did stop my car in the middle of the street {not really, but that's more dramatic, yes? so just picture that} and grab save this baby from the depths of despair.....errr....the dump. I love me some swirly, gaudy frames. I've been drooling of the UNG DRILL frame from IKEA, but I can't fathom paying $30 for it! So when I found this baby for FREE, I seriously teared up a bit.

Even with a big ole crack...I still love it. I spray-painted it black {of course...still may switch that to another color, maybe a teal? or purple?? }....and removed the mirror part, which I thought about getting a replacement for...buuuut....I think I'm going to hang it from a ribbon with a K in the middle.

I was trying to find a picture of it spray-painted black...and ummm, this is the only one I could find...yikes. I wanted to post this picture anyways. At first glance, you may think "oh crap, Sarah's hoarder genes have finally emerged"....yes, hoarding runs in my family. But just like Grandpa Sargent probably said when people looked at his office....I must say, this is organized chaos.

Starting from the top left....frames, needing to be painted and filled with lovely pictures...down to the felt, waiting to be made into quiet books....zig-zag back up to the Jolly Roger shirt I need to make another of and send to my friend Tanya....down to the journal project I talked about yesterday....back up to the small picture albums that need to be made into a Proclamation on the Family Book for my visiting teaching ladies....back down to the Steam-A-Stitch which was supposed to be used at the baby shower last week to make applique'd onesies {but didnt because I ran out of time}....to the Pray decoration that needs to find a home on my bookshelf...and the pirate hat that needs dreads for Jaxson's halloween costume, which is resting on the towel fabric I bought to make more burp cloths! Sheesh...that's not including the extra Prophet magnet set I made for our seminary teacher, the pair of ladies socks I bought to make baby leg warmers, the stack of t-shirts to applique...aaaaand the stack of bags I need to put a CTR on for my primary teachers!

Wowza...I should probably get started instead of blogging, don't you think? Ü

I think I'm officially a project-aholic.

Newest addition to our family....

{other than Jax, of course!}

....is this lovely side table. For the longest time, we've been using a tray table, and well...that's just ghetto (add it to the list...). So, I've been keeping an eye out when I go thrifting for the perfect table. I found one once a few months ago....and of course, passed it up! I thought about that durn table for WEEKS! (Just like the frame I passed up last week...sigh...shoulda bought it!!) But finally, for $5.99 I found one! Thanks to my thrifting friend, I didn't pass this one up! It was a normal shade of brown....so, of course, I busted out the spray paint and gave it some new life!!

This time...I used a primer! I've never used it before on any other projects...but now I know the error of my ways...cause this table turned out so much smoother!

I had to add a little "me" factor to it, too...just couldn't help myself! I've never used Mod Podge before on fabric...but I've seen it done time and time again over on Mod Podge Rocks, so I had to give it a try! James doubted me...that I wouldn't be able to close the drawer....but alas! It closes! For now... Ü

All it needs now is some new knobs....or spray painting the old ones?? White or black, people? Feedback would be nice!

I actually use Mod Podge for MANY of my crafts...it's such cool stuff. I used it to make a burlap flag, just in time for the 4th! I'll have to blog about that later because.....
I need to go and get ready...it's almost time for.....
ECLIPSE!!!!!
{squeallllllllllllll}

Can a child really have too much applique??

I mean, really??

I found this adorable black romper at a thrift store a few weeks ago...and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it the minute I saw it! The template can be found over at Crap I've Made (Isn't that the best blog name, makes me smile Ü). Every little boy wants to be a pirate, right?!

And don't forget the ties....OH! the ties!! This kid is going to be stocked up on ties for church!
I'm trying to figure out a way to make a missionary tag for the black tie onesie. Ü

The next question: Can anyone tell me why I am up at midnight blogging? So absurd. I do this every night, tho....11:30/12 o'clock rolls around and I'm STILL AWAKE. Why? I should have been asleep 2 hours ago when Jax went down. He tends to not wake up (hopefully) until 2:30-3am...but these babies are just so unreliable.

Just stuff....

If I let her, Bella would have all the walls covered with her artwork...seriously. The girl loves to draw...and she loves tape and post-its...in fact, I have to keep the post-its out of sight, or they will end up all over the wall, too. And it's a good thing I only buy cheap tape, or I'd be doing paint touch-ups weekly Ü.

Don't get me wrong...I love her drawings. She does such a lovely job...it's really hard sometimes deciding which ones to keep and which to throw away. Except that one... you see it....lower left hand corner. The stick person with the flippy hair and frowny face with the X thru it. Yeah...thats me. There was a sign she made and taped up to her door that looked just like that...I asked her what it was and she said "Mommy can't come in my room" (which really, just fine with me...I don't want to clean it anyways.) Niiiice.

At first her drawing that picture was funny, haha we all know mommy is mean.....but now I'll catch her drawing it when she is mad at me and she gets a little scolding. I get little glimpses here and there that remind me how difficult teenage years with these girls are going to be! (Sorry mom!! lol.)

So, to save my walls a bit...I hung up another ribbon with clips to help her display her works of art. This will make two...one in their (Pepto) bedroom and another in the kitchen. I love her drawings!! And I want them displayed so she knows how proud I am of her for these beautiful expressions of her feelings (most of which portray her marrying her daddy...so sweet)...just maybe not ALL over my walls Ü.

Another thing I've been obsessed with lately...well, for awhile...are scrabble tiles. Ever since I made the Scrabble wall art for my friend, Ashley's nursery (which I can't find a blog post or a link for, darnit...but believe me, it was cute!) I've been looking for different ways to use Scrabble tiles. I had about 100 left over from a previous project and wanted to put them to cute use.

This "Love You" frame was an idea I found around Valentine's day. I wanted to send one of these to EVERY ONE of our relatives as a gift...but unfortunately, even tho there are 100 Scrabble tiles sitting on my desk...there are only 2 V's and maybe 2 Y's. Bummer.

Another Scrabble project is this magnet board...I am going to post about it better soon (because I'm awfully proud of  it) I found the tutorial on a fantastic blog and I'll have to share what she did one day...mine is just a fraction of what hers is...but I love having it up. I've actually already changed the inside paper...and added more magnetic scrabble tiles. It's fun having it up, and spelling out different words...reminds me of the days when James and I would play Scrabble and watch movies...he beat me 365 games to none. lol.

Little things...

I have several websites and blogs that I pull ideas from. I'm SO thankful for these blogs...I think the people that come up with stuff to help with Sharing Times, Primary ideas, etc...are just angels! I seriously would be lacking inspiration (and probably bored without a project) without these lovely ladies....it's one of the reasons, too, that I love the blog-o-sphere. I don't know any of these crafty chicks personally and without their blogs I would probably never come across them in my lifetime. They make their wonderful ideas so readily available, I wish I DID know them so I could give them a hug and thank them!

So, over on Beehive Messages....she posted about an idea for a Relief Society "Getting to Know You" activity (which sounds way cool, by the way). They played a bunch of getting to know you games...and then at the end, the RS President gave them each a notebook and challenged them to "Get to Know" the Savior. I love this challenge! I feel like all the different auxillaries are giving us such a chance this year to step up and REALLY get to know our Savior. And to get to know Him through the power of the scriptures. President Monson said:

“I know from personal experience, the spiritual power that can flow into your life if you follow this practice (scripture study). You will feel the love of God and a cleansing, purifying regeneration of your spirit. You will experience moments of revelation, when the Spirit whispers to your spirit to be a better father, a better mother, a better son or daughter, a better disciple of Jesus Christ.”

So, here is my version of the notebook. The scripture reading schedule started the week of January 17th...and ends the week of Easter (perfect, no?). Which also happens to be the week of Jaxson's birth... couldn't think of a better way to bring a new spirit into the world than to do everything I can to become a better mother.

On the inside of the notebook, I pasted the scripture schedule and a list of questions to ponder.

You take the scripture and read it the whole week...then switch to a new one each Sunday. Ponder what the scriptures means to you.

12 Week Scripture Reading Schedule…

January 17-23 Helaman 5:12

January 24-30 St. John 14:23-27

Jan 31-Feb 6 3 Nephi 13:14-21

February 7-13 Alma 5:14-16

Feb 14-20 Proverbs 31:30-31

Feb 21-27 D & C 8:2-3 & 9:7-9

Feb 28-Mar 6 Moroni 10:18-23

March 7-13 Matthew 7:7-8

March 14-20 D & C 6:14-16

March 21-27 D & C 88:118-119

Mar 28-Apr 3 Revelations 7:15-17

April 4-8 Mosiah 4:9-12

Onto another idea....I came across this one on Sugardoodle.net. Usually we give out pencils and stickers in Primary for birthdays...but I wanted to do something else this year. And this picture block was just perfect! It's like a 2x4 or maybe a 3x4 with a passalong picture of Christ on it. The kids seems to love them so far.

I added the Articles of Faith to the back....just as a little nudge and reminder. Ü

See? All these little projects I have to do. Like I really HAVE to do them....but they clog up my mind until I get them done!

My favorite kind of makeover....

Seriously...I think that if I was ever given an actual REAL makeover, it wouldn't do much or I wouldn't know what to do with it! lol. Ü And since I'll probably never be privy to a makeover....I'll stick to making over furniture! I really love to re-create things...add a little spray paint and maybe some fabric and voila!

I looked around our house the other day and could only count 4 things that we have ever bought new....a bookshelf (present from James 8 years ago), our bed, tv and a desk. Do I wish we had brand new everything? Yes. Do I want to pay a brand new price? No. Ü We recently bought a new-to-us couch from a friend and I couldn't be happier! I guess it's just learning to be happy with what we have till it can be something different, right?

A few weeks ago, we were driving to church and noticed that our neighbor had a bunch of furniture in his front yard with a big "FREE" sign. So, I made  asked James to go and check out the stuff and bring it home. Our neighbor nicely agreed to take the sign down and to wait till after church to help James bring it over to the house....this way James wouldn't get his pretty white shirt dirty. None of it was in the best condition (the 4 chairs, table and recliner)...and really, the chairs were just downright gross. So...what to do? Spray paint and re-cover!

I had to take them apart and clean them...and TRY to sand them down. Sanding didn't work too well, I just don't have the patience for it...so the spray painting looks kinda funky...plus, I did the first ones when it was cold outside...whoops. I read the directions on the can...yeah...you're supposed to spray paint in temps from 60-80 degrees. But since I still have 2 more chairs to do, the first ones are going to have to be re-spray painted at a later (warmer) date.

For some reason, I always go with black....I guess it started with the black couches (which are now no more! yay! I have a RED couch now...*SIGH*). But I love this damask print, which looks so lovely with a red table cloth!

I can't say I really know how to recover anything...I just cut the fabric to the right size and staple away. I love my staple gun...it's so handy. And it scares my girls.... which is funny all in itself!

And the after picture....well, pre-after, since as you can see...the spray paint job stunk and needs to be redone...but I'm living with it for now and moving on to one the other 100 projects I have to do Ü! I think they look quite snazzy...have I mentioned I LOVE this print...totally using it in one of those other projects mentioned.

Before and After...

Totally excited to show these pictures (cause it means I actually FINISHED a project):

My goal has been to have black, semi-mismatched (in a matching sort of way) chairs around my kitchen table. And thanks to Kelli, I am 2 chairs closer to my goal! She donated some of her old chair to my cause. I'm so excited that the black turned out so well...I really love that I was able to re-cover the seat with this fabric:

Because I love it so much!!! It was first a tablecloth I made....but then it shrunk, darn it...and I was totally devastated that I wouldn't be able to use it!!
One project down....a million to go! Ü

{DO OVER}

Well, we have been in this house for a year now. Last year, before we had even moved in, I had big plans for this big wall in the girls room. I searched and searched on the 'net....trying to find ideas and found this awesome site called WallNutz. I debated and debated what to do, what the THEME should be...and decided on this cute beach mural. I fell IN LOVE with it, actually. I went a little crazy buying up bedding and sheets from Pottery Barn in the Pink Island patchwork theme (which I am selling by the way, if anyone is interested)....along with knicknacks and pictures that were never hung! A year later...this is how far I got:
Not too shabby, but not complete at all....and of course...I am SO over it! Can you believe that? All the work that went into it (though obviously not enough since its NOT DONE) and I give up.
But I do have a good reason. I saw this room:

And fell in love with the TREE! I want to paint a tree on their wall, and have bedding like this or like this! (*Warning...the PBK's website is addictive, and should be used wisely*)
So...now I've started over on THE WALL... how sad!

And now I have been searching and searching again....trying to find the right tree to paint (or TRY to paint) on the wall. Here are some that I have come up with so far, along with other little details that would be nice to put in the room. These are the two tree's I love.

Though the one on the bottom is my favorite so far. Mainly b/c of the idea of the actual SWING hanging from the ceiling! How rad would that be???
On an adjacent wall, I would like to have this castle:



Bella flipped out when she spied these pictures on the computer screen! And no...these won't be painted, I found a rub-on decal at WM for a decent price!
And it wouldn't be complete with out a small field of daisies.

I guess I should have jotted down the blog that I found this fantastic creation on, so I could give props! But I thought it is just the most fabulous thing I've seen!! Too cute!

And...thru out all of this, I really want to paint the ceiling to look like the sky.

If I was really talented, I would try and re-create this masterpiece (though we will be lucky if the tree looks halfway decent.) Could you even imagine???

You ask me? WHY SARAH WHY? Why did you paint over the beach mural, waste all that? Well...what fun is a beach for a little girl obsessed with princesses, tutu's, castle's and fairy godmothers? Yes...what fun?

In my searching, I came across more fabulous ideas than I knew what to do with! There are some extremely creative people out there. Could you imagine having room like this:

No matter that the brightness of that green would give me a headache....too cool.
And I fell in love with this lady and her creative ladder:

Other then my search for tree's for the girl's room, I try here and there to find myself a "family tree"...and this would be perfect, with attached pictures of ancestors and all....

Swoon...

Of course, I put myself on a deadline for painting this wall, too. I would like to have it DONE by the time family visits next weekend. But that seems a bit much....as always, I leave it all to the last minute! So, it looks like when my MOM GETS TO VISIT (in 13 days, 3 hours, 27 minutes and 34 seconds) she may be put to the task of helping me complete my project!