50 feet to craft utopia.

some girls drove 30 min.
some girls drove hundreds of miles.
some girls even flew thousands of miles.
me?  i walked 50 feet across the street.
for what you ask?

for this.

i am still on a crazy high from all the amazing women i got to
craft with.

laugh with.

 (we were laughing with you waffle, not at you)

catch up with.

eat with.

antique with.

& chat with.

all of these girls are bloggers, minus two of them....but that might change (right jana & cindy?)
to some people i know it sounds a little sketchy to be hanging out with people you meet on the internet,
but they were all awesome...like we had known each other for years.

my neighbor meg hosted all of us for a three-day crafting extravaganza.
it was a giant slumber party...
funny stories, crafting in PJ's, eating all the wrong (but delish) stuff, staying up super late, sleeping in.
this needs to be my job. :)

we made 3 different crafts...
julie taught us how to make these awesome flower necklaces.

i ended up making 2 because i was instantly addicted.
a rainbow one...

and a goes with anything (gray) one.

craft # 2 was taught by ashleyann.
they were these uber cute artsy embroidery hoops.
this was mine.

usually when i start a craft project i have a vision of what it's going to look like.
not this time...i probably sat for 30 minutes just staring at all the fabrics and felt.
i felt very overwhelmed, which is SO not me.
i finally just kept throwing stuff together til i liked it.
for once i felt a little out of my comfort zone of crafting...which turned out to be good for me.
i love how everyone's came out completely different.

craft project #3 was ruffled pillows, taught by heather.

we were buried in ruffles.
this is the one i made.

i felt very at ease with this project...i love sewing.
i was lucky enough to have a mom who taught me when i was super little.  thanks mom!
jess gave everyone ruffled pillow envy when we saw hers.
it was so full and so soft.

believe it or not, these were all made with a men's button down shirt (the back) and t-shirts cut into strips and ruffled 
(meg's blog has links to all the tutorials)
i have a feeling i will be adding ruffles to everything around here.
i'm sure craig will just love that. :)

we even took a field trip to a great antiques store that even has a huge barn full of goodness.

the little lady working there was all dressed up for "kansas day" (the day we officially became a state)
she was so stink'n adorable in her dress and bonnet.
i just wanted to make sure you out of staters didn't think that's how us kansas folk dress everyday. :)
everyone found lots of goodies to take home.
how could you not?  look at all this stuff.

little baby cole may be pre-disposed to crafting and antiques (or silverware hoarding) after spending all weekend with us.

meg's dinning room  hall, was turned into craft central.

 it looked like meg was running a sweat shop. haha.

 faster julie, faster!!!

waffle didn't seem to mind being surrounded by girls.

or being denied the use of the glue guns.

-to all the fabulous women who were there... jess, kimberlee, heather, julie, meg, amy, ashleyann, cindy, & jana.

thank you for the fun weekend.

it is something i will never forget.

i feel as though i have been blessed by meeting each and everyone of you.

you were all awesome,

and you are all so wonderfully creative & kind.

thanks to all of you, i am officially addicted to crafting retreats & enrolling in space camp.

..so when's the next one?

right now.

i just got back from an amazing weekend.
meeting new friends.
hanging with local girlfriends.
sewing.
glueing.
laughing.
eating.
creative-ness out the wazoo!

i will tell you all about it really soon,
but first i need to catch up on some sleep and tackle my neglected house before i lose my mind.

before & after {den/office}

it's almost been a whole year since we started the backroom/den/office re-do.
it has actually been done for awhile...(well almost done)
i just keep forgetting to blog it.

let me warn you, the "before" is awful, horrible and so disgusting i can't believe i am actually going to show you.
this poor room was the catch all, junk, computer room.
but before i show you those pics, you should know this room has had 6 different paint colors since we moved in. 
my decorating styles have changed dramatically over the years
when we first moved in 13 years ago we used it as a tv room.
i was going for the "patriotic country look"
unfortunately, i think i nailed it.

this was the only room that had carpet in the whole house.

blue carpet.
mini blinds.
popcorn ceiling.
border.
country plaid.
oh please make it stop!

we abandoned the tv room once we had the living room painted and the tv room just digressed from there.
it just became known as the backroom.
"what do you want me to do with this?" 
"throw it in the backroom"
you get the drift.
so here's the before pics...don't judge.

 southeast wall

 southwest wall

 northeast wall

 i told you it was bad!!!!!

 northwest wall.  that door leads into the dining room.
the other doorway to the far right of the photo leads into a bathroom.
part of this room was an addition that previous owners had done in the 70's.
the hardwood floor area is part of the original house and the plywood is the addition.

this is during the construction process.
one of the best things we did was to make the door leading into the dining room into a pocket door.
which meant i got to do some demo :)

my husband does not like the demolition process.
i think he thinks it will never go back the right way.
oh ye of little faith.

 those are the cabinets we had built to go on the southwest wall.

 the box between the cabinets was originally a window seat with storage inside, but then i decided it was wasted space.  so it got tore out and a desk was built into that space.

the biggest change happened to this room when i did this.

i painted all the woodwork white.
it made a dark little room, seem big, bright and open.
we also replaced the super inefficient drafty windows.

ready for the after?
it is quite a change i must say.
i wish my pictures really did it justice.
but you'll get the idea.

 the closet's hold all of craig's work clothes and all the computer stuff like the printer and such.

i love my new pocket door...i want one in every room.
i used vintage crystal knobs and handles on the cabinets.

the cabinets and computer are on the southwest wall.

this is on the northwest wall, directly across from the cabinets. 
the door leads into a bathroom.

this area with my laptop desk is on the south wall.
the door leading to the bathroom is directly across from this desk.

 to the left is the north wall....the sofa sits on the east wall.

the floor is a vinyl tile that you glue down.
it is made by adura luxery flooring.
the color is "seaside boardwalk"
it is super easy to clean and hides dirt like you wouldn't believe.
we bought enough to eventually carry it into the bathroom and the beauty salon.

it's hard to tell the wall color in the photos...
it's a  very light beachy turquoise.

i am so happy with the way it turned out.
i spend a lot of time in that room...because it is so bright and cheery.
it is my beach house room in cold snowy kansas.
...and it has made me want to go on a white woodwork rampage through the rest of my house.
and i never thought i would say that.

:)

nothing really.

so far, 2011 has been pretty uneventful for me.
which is ok.
january usually is a blah month anyway...
the holidays are over.
it's cold and gloomy outside.
you realize what you really spent on Christmas.
your neighbors elliptical is begging you to come back and show it some love.

honestly i have nothing exciting to really blog about...
so i guess i'll blog about me,
it has occurred to me that i really haven't given you the 411 on our little family.
so here are 25 things about me that will probably bore you...or not.  :)

#1  

i live in the same small town i was born in...

#2

i have been married for almost 18 years to my super-cop craig who is 6 years

older than me.

#3 

i am a lover of animals... sometimes even more than some people.

#4

i have been a hairdresser for nearly 19 years and

run a small salon out of my house.

#5

i'm still waiting for that "dream job" ...whatever that is.

(but i will tell you, it has nothing to do with hair!)

#6

we currently have 2 animals...miley the dog & harri the cat.

...at one point we had 3 cats and 3 dogs all at the same time.

#7

i love DIY projects...i will tackle just about anything.

#8 

i am a control freak and a perfectionist....i blame  love my dad for that.

#9

i can cook, i just don't really like too.

i have to be in the right mood and really be hungry.

#10

i  still sew on my sewing machine, standing up.

my mom taught me when i was so little that i had to stand to reach the machine.

my home-ec teachers failed to turn me. 

even the really evil one.

#11

i am only 5 ft tall....

i'm ok with that.  sometimes it has it's advantages.

#12

i love all things "creative"  ..sometimes my mind is so clogged with ideas swirling in my head i can't concentrate.  

is that A.D.D?

#13

i heart flea markets, garage sales, thrift shops and antique stores.

i love a good bargain!

#14

i have one brother that is 6 1/2 years older than me.

#15

40, is getting ever so close.  eeeks.

#16

i love working in the flower garden and on my fish pond.

#17

i DISLIKE WINTER (period, exclamation point, period)

#18

i love my 100 year old house and all it's quirks.

#19

i am no longer frightened of painting furniture or woodwork white.  

that doesn't mean i won't wince at the first brushstroke though. :)

#20

i have owned 2 convertibles, both green.

#21

my favorite place to visit is?  ( fill in the blank )

#22

i own a disgusting amount of boots and flip flops.

#23

i currently have a nasty sinus infection that may kill me this weekend. 

(ok, so maybe that was a little dramatic)

#24

i never go anywhere without my water bottle & lip balm.

#25

i live in the best little neighborhood EVER!


any questions?