Laundry Room / Sewing Room Fix Up

I'm crazy excited about my new "sewing room/station." Ever since we moved into our home, last February, I haven't been able to find a permanent place to set my sewing machine. I sew constantly. I am mending holes in pants, fixing dresses, taking in shirts, and making pillows for us, family and friends. Seriously I use my sewing machine ALL the time! I've needed to find a set spot for my sewing machine that wasn't in the way but functional at the same time.

I went into my laundry room the other day and I looked at the small counter and cabinets next to my washer and dryer with new light. I don't fold my laundry in the laundry room, I fold it on the couch so I can watch a show and sit comfortably while I do a chore I sincerely dislike VERY much. 

The counter top and cabinets have been very under used. The drawers were empty and the cabinets held a few books. Nothing that couldn't easily be moved. 

(My brain conversation)

"Why have I not thought of this before!?! 

This will be PERFECT! I can put my presser foot into the large cabinet and sit up at the counter top. YES! 

Oh man, the blue cabinets. I am not a fan of these blue cabinets. The cabinets aren't the worst color though, someone took quality time to paint these, they're not that bad. Mixed with other colors, they could be nice... hmmm.... what could I do to bring in more color? I love blues and greens together... I could make a pallet that had this cabinet blue in it. But what could I do to fill the wall space? I want something fun, I want something cute to look at while I sew.... WAIT.... I HAVE IT! GIANT PAPER FLOWERS!"

(exit brain conversation)

I have been LOVING the pins on pinterest of "giant paper flowers!" They are GORGEOUS! I was in SHOCK at how easy they are to make! Just paper, hot glue and some time, then you have a wall to WOW at! Seriously! 

I am BEAMING at how I took something I already had and made a totally new space with supplies on hand! Look around your home and see things differently. Look for new options you may have not seen before. It took me 8 months to see this one. Possibilities in every home are endless!

My niece Maren and I made these fun paper flowers. She was a great help and loved getting crazy crafty with me. I simply looked at the great tutorials on Pinterest of how to make these giant paper flowers and just went for it! They were so easy! Just about an hour of time and we had 6 fun flowers to make my sewing station fun! 

Click HERE to see the Pinterest page of tutorials.

*Thanks for your help Mare-Bear!

Linking up here

2 Ingredient Strawberry Fruit Dip

This summer my dear friend Jenn, got our family hooked on this recipe. I was FLOORED when she told me it was only 2 ingredients?! SAY WHAT??!!! 

Oh yes, only 2 ingredients make this perfect, delicious, smooth fruit dip! 

(You may drop your jaw)

This is a MUST at any party! Whip it up in 1 minute and serve! PERFECTION! 

Our little girl calls it "frosting!" So here it is, "Strawberry Fruit Frosting!"

2 Ingredient Strawberry Fruit Dip

1 small container Strawberry Cream Cheese (room temperature)

1 small container Marshmallow Cream

Place both ingredients in a bowl and whip with a mixer until smooth. 

Serve with fruit. Delish!

Linking up here

My Kitchen Makeover

I was talking to my cousins one day and had mentioned that we painted our kitchen when we first moved into our new home and they wanted to see pictures. I didn't have any side by side pictures at the time so here they are. I have honestly been putting off this post because I didn't want to have to explain in detail the true trial it was! This was a HARD. This was a very long challenging undertaking for us. I will not sugar coat it as some people may do. It took us a VERY long time. Many tears, sweat and sore muscles went into our house makeover.
Was it worth it?
YES, of course, in the long run, I am SOOO happy with how it turned out, but man it was ROUGH getting there! One of the longest months of my life!

We purchased our home and loved the layout and everything it had to offer. It was truly the perfect house for us. We were very fortunate to get it so quickly. I knew I would wanted to paint the walls and cupboards. They were very nice, but just not my style. The walls were creamy-gold and olive green. I am more of a "cool color" person instead of "warm tones." 

We painted the walls before we redid the floor, in case any paint got on the floor. If it did, it was okay, we were going to sand it off anyway. We still used drop cloths, but we weren't as careful. Our family in town helped us paint basically the whole house! We painted the whole upstairs the same color, so we purchased a 5 gal. bucket of paint. THANK YOU FAMILY FOR YOUR HELP! WE LOVE YOU! It helped so much to have a painting buddies! It goes faster and is way more fun! 

(I am a "master painter" if anyone needs a painting buddy, you know who to call!)

The hardwood floor needed to be refinished before we moved in. Just average wear and tear from the family and their dog before us. So we decided to stain the floor and refinish it ourselves. I can TOTALLY see why people PAY others to do it, and why it costs so much! PHEWPH! SERIOUSLY! Sanding the whole floor, sweeping and mopping for days (literally DAYS) because every speck of dust or dirt had to be off before you stain and seal it! I never thought I could get blisters from sweeping and mopping, boy was I wrong! 

I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT MY FLOOR! I wouldn't change a thing about it! 

Bless my husband's soul for giving me my dream floor, cupboards, and walls! He is the BEST!

We purchased a paint sprayer and my husband sprayed the cabinet doors. We tinted our primer and primed the doors 2 times, then painted 2 coats of paint. I primed and painted the cupboard edges. The hardware store now knows us by first name. One of us was in there almost every day for over a month. 

After painting, we needed to add hardware! I am a handle/knob person. I like to have handles on my cabinet doors. I've broken too many nails on cabinets and drawers that didn't have knobs or handles, so I made it a point that we were going to have hardware this time! I am very pleased with our choice. The only thing negative about the handles we chose is that the corners are SHARP! I wanted a very crisp line/edge on our handles but with little kids, they are not very forgivable. We have been scratched a few times from pointy corners of the handles, and learned fast to keep a safe distance. So my advice, if buying hardware for your kitchen or bathroom, check the corners to see if they are smooth or sharp.

(In the bottom left picture, you see my husband's can of spray on texture exploded!)

BIGGGG Note to self:

If anyone you know is moving in, or redoing any part of their house, take them a meal! They are beyond exhausted and do NOT want to cook dinner after a long day. 

-A simple meat tray and rolls

-Fried chicken and potatoes

-Deli sandwiches

ANYTHING

etc.

I broke down in tears when my sister came by out of the blue and brought us a rotisserie chicken and bakery cookies. It was a crazy long day and I had had it with EVERYTHING! She was truly a heaven send. It wasn't much to her, but to me it was everything that day. She was at the grocery store anyway and simply added two more things to her list. When you are at the end of your rope and someone gives you a hand, it makes the bad days turn good. 

Hardwood stain color: Harbor Mist (grey stain)

Cabinet Color: Late Night Serenade

Halloween Witch Workbench

I am so excited about my Halloween display this year! I have ALWAYS wanted a spell book, so I finally buckled down and made one! Thanks to Pinterest I found some free printable spell pages at "g*rated" and it was easy! I printed off the pages, glued them in an old empty journal and burned the edges. 

(click HERE for the spell book printables)

My daughter was obsessed with old "paint with water" coloring books and painted this picture last year. I kept it and put it on display! 

(click HERE for a snow white witch coloring page)

I painted a faux apple to look like the poison apple then added some old candles and old decorative keys... HELLO HALLOWEEN!