My love affair... with turquoise.

I have so many neutrals in my house that I feel like I should have to go to a meeting:

"Hi, my name is Lynlee and I am addicted to brown..."

 However, there is one other color that I have always been addicted to - turquoise.  I have always had different shades of it in my wardrobe, especially with jewelry.

I love the way that the color is fresh and bright, but still moody and deep.  I know - contradictory crazy talk... But, it's true.

So, I started thinking, if turquoise makes me so happy in jewelry and clothes, why in the world would I not surround myself with it in my home.  It lends itself so well to the western/rustic/shabby chic/country type thingy that we are working toward.  So, I started out with my front door... A cheery and beautiful way to greet visitors and guests.

So, then I walked around the house, just searching for more places to implement this color that makes me so happy.  Everyone knows that anything that stands still in my house is in extreme high danger of getting covered in a coat of paint - if this obsession with blue isn't over by October, my children will definitely be smurfs for Halloween.

So in my ravenous scavenge for something to paint, I found a cabinet that I bought a few months ago from a friend.  At the time, I had no idea how I was going to use it, but it was so cheap that I took it anyway.  I will never be accused of being a girl that passes up a good deal.

I originally H-A-T-E-D the finish, but her legs were beautiful and the hardware was to die for...

So, I got out my handy-dandy paint brush and did something about it.  I used a color called Plumage by Martha Stewart from The Home Depot.  Fabulous.

The results might be a little too rustic for some people but I am in love.

I wiped the whole piece with a stripper (not the high heel wearing kind...) to take the varnish off and then dry brushed with plumage.  Then, I sanded to remove some of the paint and waxed with a tinted wax to finish.  Finally, I replaced the original hardware that I loved so much.

And check out those legs.  This cabinet turned out to be one attractive lady...

Hmmmm... what next?!?!?

Death of the popcorn ceiling...

I have decided to call our new house the "project" house.  That way every time somone points out something we need to change, I can just say it's a project.

Funky arch windows?  No problem, it's a project.

Ugly yellow siding? We can fix that... It's just a project

No grass in the yard?  Yet another project.

I could keep going, but it is depressing me.  Sigh... This list is really long!

..........

However, one thing I could not excuse for later was the popcorn ceilings.  GAG!

If you have ever considered scraping popcorn ceilings, I am here to tell you: GO FOR IT!  This house had dirty, nasty, stained, ugly, outdated, foul ceilings.  I could not stand it.

To scrape these off, you just have to get them wet (we used a garden pump spray bottle) and then scrape them with a long handle scraper. 

This shows the difference in before and after in the living room.  You can't really tell from pictures, but the room looked literally 2 feet taller in the areas where it had been scraped.  It was a beautiful thing!

..........

However, be prepared for a few things:

Number 1:

Your arms will feel like they are going to fall off.  I scraped one small room and then backed away and left it to the professionals.  They were way more buff than I and made it look easy!

Number 2: 

Scraped. Texture. Will. Go. EVERYWHERE.

(by the way, who put their cracker right there?  What kind of mother am I that my kids were stashing their snacks in the midst of 30 year old texture?  That is gross layered right on top of nasty!)

NUMBER 3:

You might not ever eat oatmeal again.

Maybe it won't bother you, but to me this looked like a big pile of really dirty oatmeal.  I was not a huge fan of it before, but now I might not be able to touch the stuff.

NUMBER 4:

Your kids will not be able to stand staying out of the stuff.  Mine were drawn to it like a magnet, so I gave them a broom and let them go to town.  And... they had a little friend to help - many hands make light work!

.........

Pictures of the newly textured and painted ceiling are coming soon.  Trust me, it was so worth the effort and the time. 

Rest In Peace popcorn ceilings...

If you're crafty and you know it...

So this weekend, my entire house has been sick - ugh!  So, I took a break from refinishing furniture, but I could not resist a little bit of organizing...  what a weirdo, huh?!?

So, I tackled a cabinet that we purchased a long time ago.  It has made the rounds in our house, and has temporarily been in every room except the bathrooms.  Today, it made its way to the master bedroom.

See, I am a crafty girl, but what used to be my craft closet has been taken over by Barbies and Zhu Zhu Pets.  So, I had moved all my craft supplies out to a cabinet in the garage.  But, my creativity felt stifled by the absence of paint stained brushes and sewing projects...  So, I decided to turn this confused computer armoire into a craft station...

It now has a handy little area for my sewing machine, thread and other supplies (thanks to my *awesome* hubby who moved the thread holders from a Craigslist sewing cabinet to this one.  We plan to make that sewing cabinet into a computer station for the kids, but more on that later...)

And, it is emberassingly strange how excited I am to have all my paints finally in the same place!  They now reside snugly in one of the drawers...

Also, the shelves on top give lots of storage space for antique pricing guides, how to books, and baskets full of crafting supplies.  My brushes are the most important things to have near-instant access to.

And what would a new arrangement be without a little something quirky... This pig is an ADORED gift from my oldest sister and the perfect place for needles, rulers, and pins that otherwise would be *everywhere*!

Now, if I only had the energy left to go craft something... Oh well, there is always tomorrow...