Zig Zag drapes

I finished the simple drapery panels , really simple , I just hem all the edges and use clip rings , what could be easier , I don't need fussy drapes

Check out this pillow , while painting doors yesterday I was listening to the Steven and Chris Show and they were talking about bedrooms and said you can put multiple duvets into a duvet cover .....hmmm , yes I thought I will try that , and why not jam two pillows into a sham as well , it looks so much better now , full and luscious

Here is the list for this bedroom;

finish all trim

paint trim

paint walls

paint lots of little storage units black or white

find storage for millions of stuffed animals

make long pillow for bed

bring up black chair and recover seat

fill millions of holes in the wall

that's it , I think , so we are getting close then

There is no going back now , the door painting has begun , SO MANY COATS of paint , about 3 per door , that's a lot of painting , but I am loving the look , so polished ...now I need to spruce up all the other already painted black doors to the semi gloss fresh coat.

I also started and finished Mason's drapes late last night , I love them , I will show you those later , they look so good.

Going to work on a custom bench today and make some cupcakes later as well , busy busy these days...

Have I ever shown you this view of my upper hall, I don't think so but this is the view from Mason's room.

My plan is to paint these white doors black , I don't know why I am hesitating...

I pulled out my old kitchen patio door drapes , I washed them in the washing machine , even though they are dry clean only , in cold water and I hung them to dry , they shrunk a foot... but I needed to add a panel anyway just to cover some damage at the bottom and I like an interesting drape any way .

Have you met Mason , my spirited child , oh they both are very interesting girls , very feisty , like their mom for sure , yesterday we picked up some costumes for Halloween, Mason is an 80's diva and Sophie will be a witch , with lots of pink and a little ballet detail thrown in , its pretty cute , I took a cheap Walmart costume and altered it a little to fit much better .

Sophie and I re-vamped a large memo board for Mason's room , I up cycled some fabric formerly used on my settee cushion cover , the ribbon is black velvet , nearly free make-over

Here is the new seating I added , isn't it nice , I love it too , it has storage , love her cute pink phone ....now I can find her any where , ha ha ha ! she thought it was for her .....

As you can see I will have some painting to do , gotta get those drawers all painted black.

Another busy week ahead , so much to do ...

Soccer balls

I am still making cupcakes and cakes most weekends , these were for my lovely cousin , she has three little boys , they are all so cute and friendly , these were for an awesome soccer party in the park on a cool fall day , Samuel chose chocolate yummy , I made all these soccer balls out of dark and white chocolate , they sit a top of a pile of fluffy butter cream and are encircled with grassy green , adorable.

I am busily working on my daughters bedroom makeover too , it is becoming a lovely room , I have a great deal of painting to do , yesterday I re-designed her large memo board and I found the best seating for her desk at the grocery store , that's right , it has storage how perfect is that seating and storage combined with style ....today I plan on completing our little front walkway and ripping out my daughters window trim it has got to go.

Yesterday I made new bedroom drapes , winter drapes for my bedroom , I used a pair of old velvet drapes that had seen better days thanks to my two dogs and I dared to wash them in my machine , they are dry clean only , they shrunk about a foot , but I needed to add a panel of fabric to the bottom anyway to cover the fading and damage from my pooches , they turned out just as I had hoped , warm and cozy now , just in time for cooler weather , I used the vintage looking bold floral I used on a small chair and on my lamp slipcovers , I will have to get on taking photos and showing you all the new things around , I have a full list of improvement to complete before the holiday house tour .

Painting the last remaining interior doors black

Re-painting the front door , done!

Paint Mason's bedroom

Upgrade Mason's trim

Paint Mason's curtain rod

Make Mason new drapes

Cover the girls bathroom wall with v-groove

Finish trim work in powder room

Add cap piece to all main floor wainscoting

Update tv cabinet and painting it black

that's all I can think of right now ......

Back later with photos , I'm sure...

Good news

I am working on an all black and white wall ,it will have decorative accessories , mirrors , art and photographs , the wall behind will also be black chalkboard paint , why don't they sell that in larger cans and why is it so expensive , I don't have time to make it ....I wish I could have found a second candle holder it is so stunning. There is a lot of spray painting going on , the stop sign , the ruffled plates , so easy to take what we have and make it work ...

And great news Mason likes the ruffled duvet, it was from Homesense, she wanted bold black and white chevron but I thought it would be hard to clean , dry cleaning is suggested for deep black to maintain its color , she sleeps with one of our dogs , they make a mess, so a soft duvet cover works much better for frequent cleaning , and I think the chevron fabric will look lovely and bold as drapes and I won't have to worry about them getting dirty , can't wait to get that in the mail. I will make a long pillow out of a bold fabric in black and white.

I think this duvet was the perfect choice, not to do some more spray painting , going to try and do the drawers of her dresser today , then to rip out the trim around her window and rebuild in the upgraded style , lots more mill work and painting, spray painting the curtain rod too , I better go stock up .

It all started with this black and white zigzag fabric from Tonic Living , it has started a full blown makeover .I ordered it yesterday , this is our drapery fabric, won't that be stunning ....it will also frame the bed. I added black velvet ribbon accents to this beautiful shade , I love velvet ribbon.

Pretty accents.

Graphic black and white design .

The lovely shade of grey , Flagstone Martha Stewart.

This is the most beautiful duvet cover with a little ruffle , I must admit I am torn , I think it will be perfect for my room too .... the duvet is from Home Sense , and it did come with shams as well , and Mason loves it , yeah , and I think it is perfect for her room.

This dresser will be re-painted , the white I thought it was was really a cream , it has never worked , the body will be painted white and the drawers will be painted black.

How pretty is this big drum shade , I found it at Homesense for $19.00 I knew it would be perfect to cover the little chandelier we already had that I painted black.

I am starting another makeover after all I am opening up my home in a few weeks to the Holiday Home Tour and I can not let anyone see my girls room in its current condition , we had to say good bye to Justin Bieber posters , sorry Bieb's , my oldest daughters room has been a real mishmash of everything , the walls right now are green ,which she chose , the carpet is beige and needing to be ripped out , but who would give a tween new carpet , NOT ME , you should see what a 12 year old girl can do to a carpet ......its scary , I am actually considering removing the carpet and painting the subfloor , am I crazy ???????????????

This is the one room that still needs the trim upgraded , she actually wants wainscoting , JOY! and maybe black walls , that's right BLACK , I might just consider it too , just one wall , and it will be chalk board paint , the other walls I am hoping to do in a lovely grey called Flagstone by Martha Stewart.
I love a good makeover , gonna do it on a budget of course and we are going to add some pretty glamour and create a great space for a teen girl.

Before :

I am happy to report that the entry job is finally finished , it took a lot longer that I had figured, but that is fine, it was worth all the work.

I installed a rustic bench I built.

Lots of hooks for coats.

Plenty of room for baskets underneath.

It was a great job for a great family .

want a little pop corn??

This is a cake I made for my cousin's party tonight , an outdoor movie night , what fun . The popcorn is actually mini marshmallows , I cut them cross on top then painted two shade of food coloring for a realistic effect , I was amazed at just how much it looked like popcorn , don't you just love the Internet , full of great information.

Saturday November 27th Station Gallery Holiday House Tour

Mark Saturday November 27th on your calendar.

I have some great news , I am going to be part of the local holiday house , the Station Gallery Holiday House Tour.

I am so pleased to have been selected as one of the 10 participants , I will be thinking Holiday very soon.

I've got to get this place gussied up now...

I would love you to come on over for the tour , it will be great , there are some beautiful homes to tour , $25.00 for a great day out, $20.00 for the early birds and they take Paypal , grab some girlfriends and come on down to Durham for the day .

I am thinking , just a thought I may have a little gathering afterwards.

More progress

Before:

Try as I may , I could not get this reno complete , I tried but there were just too many little details , I had to leave painting , bench install and production as well as hook install to Monday , momma needs a little break...

I love the tall v-groove paneling , it adds such great character .

Just a little sneak peek

Here is what I did Tuesday , that was a floating marble or granite shelf , who thinks of these things..?

And here it is now , I am currently filling and snading and caulking , soon to be priming and painting and installing hooks ...better get back they are coming home soon ...

Isn't it looking pretty, I love it ...

Making an entrance

This is the inspiration for the entry makeover I am in the middle of for a wonderful client, I love the simple tall panelling .

Yesterday was deconstruction day , removing the marble floating shelf , there is no going back now , I removed all of the trim and hundreds of nails , today I will be bringing it all together installing simple v-groove panelling and upgraded door casings as well as a built in bench.

Can't wait to show you how it looks later today .

Sorry I haven't blogged in some time , I have been rather occupied with decorating jobs , today I am starting a very exciting project , I have the car packed with all of my tools of the trade , the miter saw , nail gun , compressor , shop vac , drill , ladder , and lots of of v-groove , this is going to be quite a transformation , today is rip out day , I have to make a mess before I can make it better ....I will try to take you along for the ride after all I know so many of you love a good makeover.

Tall dark and handsome

Before: white and bright , and I like this too but I thought it could be better or just even different. Can you spot all of the changes I have made?

I decided recently that one of my back to school projects was going to be painting all the remaining white doors black , why it has taken me so long I don't know , I think it looks sharp , and a little glamorous too , and here is the nicest part , they look clean longer than white doors, with two small dogs that like to open doors with their faces you can imagine a little mess gets left behind , I apologize.

And the camera hog shot , of course...