A BULLETIN BOARD REVAMPED

HI there! I am so super excited to show you what has been going on here in our humble abode.  I have been slowing working on little things for the past two months to redecorate The Boo's (our daughter) bedroom. 

I like to purchase everything, have everything ready and then, in one weekend, totally transform a room.  It's tons of prep work, but the result is stupendous.  I feel like I'm on an episode of Trading Spaces.  (I was SO addicted to that show!)  Plus, the element of surprise for our kids is fun too!

We redid her room from a baby nursery to a big girl room... sniff..sniff... a bit verclempt.  A big girl bed, no more crib for our 2 year old little girl going on 16.  I have been dreaming of doing her room with ladybugs ever since we found out we were having a girl.   

But you will have to wait in suspense for the final pictures!  For now, I'm going to show you some of the projects that went into her new room.  The first was a bulletin board for pictures and such. 

I started with a large bulletin board I had received on a trade for a large poster frame.  I just love a good trade - thanks Dylan! 

It even came with leftover tacks!  I took off the outside frame and covered the board with a layer of batting.  I just stapled it to the back.  White fabric went over that - I just made sure to stretch it tightly.

I added additional trim to the bottom, again using staples, and also added fabric flowers to the tacks so she had something pretty to hold things up.  Here's the before and after of the flower tacks.

I just cut flower shapes out of some leftover sparkly red satin I had from Boo's Wonder Woman Halloween costume last year.  To make the flower you singe the edges over a flame.  Let's not talk about my affliction of burning myself... I piled the layers together and sewed them together, added a few beads and hot glued the tack on the back.

This is the board.  The more I looked at it, I knew it needed a frame around it.  My original plan was to add a ribbon for it to hang from, but a frame would keep it up better. 

I also added some additional pushpins by putting buttons on the front of the tack including one ladybug one of course!  I purchased a piece of molding and a 1X2 for a frame. 

The scrumptious hubby made a box around the outside of the board with the 1X2 and then attached the frame to that.  I offered to do it, but for some reason he does not trust me with the miter saw.  WHAT?!?! Go figure.  Let me just say that I could do it, but he secretly loves making this stuff, but plays it off like he's "helping" me.  He cannot fool me.  Guys, humph.  Here is the final result of her board.

I couldn't resist adding some pictures of us for the big reveal!  OOOOO... I cannot wait for you to see it!  SOON!  I promise.  Have a great weekend folks!

A TRIP TO GRANDMA'S HOUSE

Howdy.  Hope you are having a great day...

There has been a list of things to do this summer, some of them have been completed (WHOOPIE!) and others not so much (Wah..Whan..)  Something that I have been talking about doing for so long was going on a scavenger hunt.  No, this isn't your typical game, but more of a walk/climb/crawl through memories and a super old home:  My great-grandmother's. 

The house is empty of people at the moment, but all of the "things" inside have remained as they were when the last family member moved on.  Most of my great-grandmother's possessions are still on the property and in the home.  (Too much of a long family story to get into but you get the idea here, right? House. FULL. Great.grandmother's things.)

Well, for a crafty person as well as a sentimental one -not hoarding sentimental, but awwww that's so neat, let's frame it or trash it kind of sentimental - its a gold mine of amazing decor pieces and super cool older items.  My Mom2 and I have been talking about going there to find cool stuff for ages.  Finally, we set a time to go.

She warned me that it would be super dirty.. let's not talk about the black cobwebs... but I couldn't wait to see everything.  I remember going there as a kid for holidays and such.  This is what we were in for...

This is a picture of the chicken coop (right) and shed.  As you can see, it wasn't going to be easy to get in and out, but we knew there had to be cool old stuff.  I think the best part of the day was watching my grandfather's face as we pulled things out.  He was excited to find his "apple picker" and showed us how a manual seed planter worked.  What an amazing day! 

(If you are now thinking, just how old are you, Cheryl!?! Just know I'm thirty-something and yes, I have 3 grandparents still living.  We have a lot of longevity here, people.  This blog could go on until I'm 90-something. lol.)

Ok, so are you ready to see what I brought home?  We found so many cool things... some got vetoed because of things like lead paint.  I also only had my cell phone for pics, so please forgive some of the quality.

In the shed and coop I pulled out this really cool crate:

  And check out this pulley, oil can and fleur de lis ceramic pot (that one is hard to see)

Going into the house, it was amazing to see all the same things I remember from being a kid.  I was able to take home some pieces of silverware that will make wonderful bracelets, napkin rings and oh! my mind is swirling with all the possibilities.  Just look at this hall tree.  (No, I don't get to take that one home, but what a cool piece of furniture!)

We found these trunks in the attic and they are full!  We couldn't pull them out ourselves, but I will be excited to see what is in them.

One item that I brought home is this copper pot.  It's huge and the story is that my great-grandma would put water in it and then put it on the coal stove to heat the water for their baths.  It's so COOL.

Not sure if you can see the iron in the top right corner of the pic above.  It will make a great accent piece - without the cord of course.  I also brought home this cool pink milk glass.  This is the before clean-up picture:

And check out the amazing after!

It is so beautiful!  I cannot wait to display them in my home.  The really UNBELIEVABLE part though, I saved for last.  Are you ready to be jealous?  I almost died when I saw this and if there was more light than just our flashlights I would have a better picture for you. 

In the basement, which is a stone foundation and dirt floor, I was in for a surprise.  First, I must say, CREEPY with no lights.  Totally horror movie, creepy setting.  EEK.  But when I got down the steps and turned around with my flashlight I saw this....

O.M.G. Yes, you are seeing that correctly.  Go ahead, blink.  really. 

Those are ALL blue mason jars... just hanging out waiting for me.  All different sizes. I was in heaven... well, creepy basement heaven.  So much history... so many memories.  It was truly a wonderful experience.  I brought home more (her apron collection!! WHAT!) and I'm sure they will show up in posts to come. 

Have you done any digging in your family heirlooms?  Any neat outings this summer?  I would love to hear about them!  Have a great weekend y'all!