{Post 1,389} The Day in Pictures

Well, this is PART of the day in pictures.  I have done a few more little projects.  On some of them I have procrastinated a long time, only to find out they only took a few minutes!  That's how it is with me.  You're chuckling because you NEVER do that, right?  

I touched up paint from our remodeling in January and in our guest room.  Kimi came around 7 PM.  We are fast friends already.  It seems like I've known her for years and years.

Here is my scrap wallet for my Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks.  I keep this in my wallet so I can see what fabrics I have and which one I need more of.  I don't think I need any more at all.  This is very full.  The box of fabrics will probable make more than one quilt.  I guess if I use up the fabrics making another quilt I can call it the great-Grandmother's blocks or something!

Here is Elisabeth with Timmy dressed in overalls.  And I thought little boys couldn't possibly be as cute as little girls.

I spray-painted my new stools this afternoon.  They need to cure for a little while, but they turned out soooo lovely.  I think I've admired them out loud about 100 times already.  They add so much charm to our kitchen.  I used up paint from 3 different cans.  They were relatively close to each other in color!!  All shades of tan.  I used the two with the least amount to put on the first coat, then used the most full can to do the last coat.  These were a steal for $8 each.

{Post 1,384} A Long-Awaited Project

I am getting our guest room ready for some special company.  I need to patch and paint a portion of the main wall one sees upon awakening.  I wanted to get a sign that had meaningful words.  I looked and looked, but could not come up with something that I liked and that would match the room.  The walls in there are a light lavender.

Here's what I am doing to make a sign.  I have the text and paint colors selected.  Just waiting for the paint to dry.  I actually have 4 painting projects in the works today.  All have been painted.  I am at various stages of waiting-to-dry with all of them.  More pictures later.

I had my son take apart a pallet that had been forgotten weathering in our driveway behind the roll-out trash cans.  I cut some boards to length (I think 17") and used my brad gun to attach a thin piece of trim along the back in two places to keep the whole thing intact.

To paint them, I stuck 4 thumbtacks in the back to elevate it off the edge of the drop cloth.

I painted black only on the edges so that when I distress the white (sand it lightly), the black will show through.

I have looked for white chalk paint at 4 local stores.  My last stop was at my Lowe's.  The paint guy told me how to mix up my own from "ingredients" I already had on hand.  I tried it this AM.  Above is the result.  I'm sure I'm going to have to apply another coat of white before distressing and painting my text on.  The text will read, "Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing."  It is I Thessalonians 5:16-17.

The littlest things tickle me.  I figured out how to flip then print the text using Photoshop so I can easily transfer it to the sign.  I am doing "Rejoice" and "pray" in purple and the rest in black.  

Going to a wedding shower today that I predict will be fun, Fun, FUN!!  Leaving in 90 minutes, so back to the projects. 

{Post 1,291} Little Project Today

I asked my husband if he would please put up our baby gate brackets today.  They are going to be on the walls at "this" end of the ladder.  He agreed.  Then I got this hairbrained idea to paint the stairwell to match the living room before he put them up.  The gate is essential to my sanity.  Not only is my grandson coming later this month (and he is in the toddler/just learning to walk phase), but I can't relax when we have company with toddlers because I am sure they are going to tumble down the steps to their death.  We opted for wooden strips that are shaped on both edges like a fancy trim.  We painted them to match the walls and drilled holes for the gate bumpers to fit into to give it extra stability.

Here is a very recent picture of the pseudo intellectual.  He is only 9 months old.  He has always looked older than his age:

Wes rigged the ladder in the bottom picture and told me not to bounce around a lot while I did the cutting in along the ceiling edge and in the corners.  The piece of wood is only being held in place by the ladder.  There was not a whole lot of incline.  But the drop would only be about 12 feet.

I went out a couple ladder rungs, but then I couldn't do it.  You know how you hear people say "don't look down" when they are trying to get someone down from a height?  I looked down!  I froze.  I was the only one upstairs.  I literally could not move.  So I sweetly asked my dear husband to do the cutting in.  Here it is when he was finished.  You can see the color better here.

The back wall is two stories high.  That is NOT the same ladder as in the top pictures.  So I found our extension handle for the roller and away I went.  The top picture is the finished product.  I LOVE this color.

Now I'm off to paint the inside of my soon-to-move-in-with-us daughter's closet and wallbed cubby.

{Post 1,275} Two Long-Term Projects Finished

                             

This quilt is washed and dried, and ready for the next time we see Emily.

Here is the finally finished living room.  The new quilt is on a new hanger (a decorative curtain rod with faceted glass finials on the ends).  The quilt measures about 44" square.  Wes is going to trim down the weighted bar in the bottom sleeve.  Patience, patience!

Our fireplace works like new since it's been cleaned, the screen has been cleaned, and it looks mah-vel-ous!!

{Post 1,117} Painting Update

Here's Rachel's room.  I got the paint mixed early this AM at Lowe's.  I cut in and rolled the first wall.  It looked great.  

When I added paint to my roller tray and paint cup, it looked like a different color...pinker than the grape popsicle color I used earlier.  Hmmm...was it just my imagination?  Unfortunately, no.  I did the second wall.  

When I got to the third, I had to add more to the paint cup but not the roller tray.  Now there was a definite difference.  I was very discouraged as I had been painting for 5 hours already.  So I went to Lowe's and had them mix up a quart of grape popsicle and add it to what I had left in the gallon container and mix that.  I did the fourth wall (the one with the air conditioning ducts on it if you know the room).  That one has lots of cutting in.  I painted the whole small walls around the ducts with a brush.  Arm yelling ouch!  

I will repaint the whole wall with the different color cutting in and walls on Monday.  Right now my arms and neck are aching.  I just can't stop when I'm doing a huge job.  I should have.  I'm eager for Rachel to set the room to rights.  It looks like several natural disasters happened in there.  See the pics for evidence.

The first one is just the primer color so you can see the difference the paint makes (the paint looks a lot darker in person):

{Post 1,115} Changes and Painting

Another one of my chicks flew the nest earlier this week.  I wish her well.  Things are really a-changin' around these parts.  

I'm sure many of you have heart failure just thinking about having 8 children at home at the same time.  That was my everyday life for years and years and years.  Now I have 3 sons and 1 daughter.  

As the rooms changed hands so to speak, it ends up that my poor, lonely, left-behind daughter gets a huge bedroom.  

Her sister who just left did the cutting in on the new paint job (thank you!).  Today I painted all the grooves (it was paneled ages ago) and rolled the primer on.  I had Kilz tinted.  It wasn't the color of the chip we agreed on, but it was pretty close. Rachel decided she liked the color of the primer better than the sample of paint we picked, so I'll take the paint stirrer in to have wall paint matched to it soon.  I am kinda sore.  A sign of my advanced age. 

Here are some before and after shots.  I can hardly wait to help her get everything back in a semblance of order.