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Hello dear readers!
Please follow me on to my new and improved design blog, House of Chic and Penoche. My co-contributor Stacey and I met in college where we got our  degrees in Interior Design, and worked at the same granite/tile showroom after graduation.  If you like what you've seen here, wait till you see the fun projects we've been working on lately.  Come check us out for double the design at www.houseofchicandpenoche.blogspot.com and fill your home with the yummy stuff!

Shoulda Used Mod Podge Project

Instead of throwing out used formula containers, I thought they would be great to help me organize the kids stuff.  Why buy a cute can for $4 or so when you can make one for free?  I just got some scrapbook paper and cut to size and glued it around this container and voila, we have a craft container.  I was too lazy to find my mod podge, but when I make more I will so they will be cute without the bubbles. Luckily my kids don't even notice. This could work with any can that isn't sharp around the edges after you take the top off.

Before & After:

DIY Baby Carrier Wrap Whatever

Is that a baby in there?*

[Note to self: apply make-up first, take photo after.]  

I saw these online, and thought it might be more comfortable than my previous baby wearing apparatus.   But did I want to pay the $45+ price tag? No way Jose.  I found a bunch of handy videos on You Tub e about how to wrap them, and then how to make them. Uh, ridiculously easy!! I couldn't take it anymore.  I went to Jo Ann's to buy my 5 1/2 yards of Jersey knit.  Well, did I luck out, because what is usually $12.99/yard was on sale for 50% off! (lucky because I really really really wanted to get it THAT Day!)  So, at $6.50/yard later, I got home and sewed up this baby wrap.  Just kidding- you don't even need to sew it.  It's just one looong piece of fabric.  Actually, I want to sew on some cute fabric to mark the center, but I haven't gotten that far, and none of my fabric scraps were quite large enough.  Anyhoo, I used this flower pin to mark the center so I'd know where to put it on.  [Maybe a blue flower would be more appropriate :-)]

  I didn't think I'd go back to "mom-doesn't-always-get-ready-when-I-don't-leave-the-house-baby-mode" but there is no avoiding it.  All my pics looked as scary as this spotty mirror, guess that needs some cleanin!

 If any of my local pals want one, I'd be happy to sell you the fabric at my cost ($12), since I have extra, (it takes 1/3rd of the yardage,but I had to buy that much to get the length). This baby wrap has come in handy when I've gone on places that dragging a stroller along isn't convenient (like when we took a tour of Historic Kirtland, and toured told homes with a lot of stairs).   And, YES, your husband can wear it if you don't make it too girly. There's a great You Tub e video that some gal's husband is demonstrating tie-ing it on.  Photos to come later after I sew on the pretty center panel cover to fancy it up.

*Babies can be forward facing in this as well.

Quick Chair Cover

I got 6 of these old chairs from the Radisson hotel from the Schriners club. (You know, the old guys that wear red hats in parades and drive the mini-cars in them, and Schriners Hospital?). They were $8 a piece, and since they were used commercially, they are very well-made.  We were living in good ol' Wyoming at the time, (6 years ago)  and these were our current dining chairs::

That's right, cheapo outdoor  plastic chairs from Lowes!  Haha, nothing like roughin' it when you're first married.  

My original plan was to reupholster and paint them. But, I found this toile fabric on clearance at Hobby Lobby, and decided to slipcover them instead.  The seat came off and I used it as a pattern, and then pinned pieces all together to mark where to sew, and hence, the toile chair covers were born.  I love quick fixes like slipcovers that really change up the look of your chairs, and they go right in the wash.

Entry Way Chandelier Update

Previous Light Fixture:

(This is sitting in the garage, but I had to show you so you could appreciate the after::-)

Wandering through the lighting department at Lowes while the manager is trying to get rid of their floor models is a GOOD THING!  We walked out of the store with this little pretty at over 50% off!  I was pretty stoked at the deal, because I am really over the cheap lights that the builder put in.  

Not only did we save $$ on the fixture, but instead of paying an electrician approx $150 to hang it from our 18ft ceiling, the hubster  and father-in-law rented scaffolding from HD and installed it  for only $18!  It's supposed to be $25 for 4 hours, but we rented it at 8pm, and got to use it overnight, which gave us more time, and since they open at 6am, we got to take it back at 8am the next day.  It did take a little while to hang..... like a few hours because we have 3 different switches  that connect to that fixture, so that was a major puzzle to figure out which wires went where, but I'm definitely glad to have saved the money (and that I wasn't up there on that scaffolding, since I'm afraid of heights, and cats--weird I know!)

The chain is a little short, since it was the floor model, but it looks good from the street, and I didn't want to be looking down on the light bulbs when I was on my second floor, and so there it is.  Goodbye Ugly Cheap Fixture, hello Classy Lassie!

Easy Burlap Memo Board

I wanted to share this memo board I made, inspired by this cute gal.  I found a regular old cork bulletin board at Wallyworld on clearance for $5.  I had some old green burlap lying around from 6 years ago when I was in college, and stretched and used trusty glue gun to glue it around the back.  Then I did the same thing with the ivory ribbon.  Then I tied the bow and glued that on the top.  I love the textured look of the burlap and the feminine-ness (making up words here) of the satin ribbon.

I made the flower push pin by glueing some dollar store flowers and a jewel type button from JoAnns, and then hot glued it onto an extra large pushpin. (I think I will change out my pushpins with the seasons, this one will be for spring/summer.) I put a dot of glue in the center where the ribbons overlap for stability. I like being able to tuck photos, important mail, recipes, etc in there.  Also, it's hard to tell, but I have some gift cards hanging  on the bottom ribbon.  I really enjoy having my things organized prettily over my Mac.  How do you organize your desk pretties?

Strip Skirt

s**This is a repost from 2009, there may be a few repeats as I try to get all my craft/decorating posts together on this one blog.

There's nothing like giving up an old hobby to master a new one. Well, maybe not so much master as tinker around with one. After my bunny fiasco I had  foregone gardening for the rest of the year (although I have pondered planting daffodil bulbs since they were the only thing that didn't get eaten) and turned on my sewing machine. I ordered some cute Amy Butler fabric on etsy, and got this Pink Fig girls stripwork skirt pattern and went to work. I wish I would have timed the project, but I'd probably say somewhere around 5 hours, since I had finished all the edges (so it wasn't "scratchy" and my daughter might actually wear it) and I'm a pretty slow, novice sewer. It actually turned out really cute (and she was happy to wear it to church- success!)

I've also gotten addicted to many cute crafty blogs, and have been inspired. Hopefully I'll have more projects to post soon.

Drab to Fab

*This is  a re-post  from 2008. I'm compiling all my decorating/crafty posts into this blog, so there may be a few re-runs as I get them all together.

I thought you could get a better idea of how the house looks from these pics. Here's the "before" and "after" kitchen pics of our house in Logan. The white laminate countertop had cracks and bubbles in it and was stained, so after alot of M's hard work, the countertops and backsplash look amazing. We also got new hardware for the cabinets, new faucet and stainless appliances to match the dishwasher, New light fixtures in the kitchen and dining. Hopefully the next owner will appreciate our hard work:-)

We got a new gas stove and refrigerator at the scratch'n'dent store, (you can't even tell) to match our stainless dishwasher in December, they are all staying when we move, especially after we completely squeezed the fridge in there, there's no way its coming out- I miss you stainless appliances!

Dresser Makeover

About 2 years ago my mom gave me this dresser (mine when I was a kid) circa 1988 or so.  I knew it would be perfect for my daughters room.  Nothing a little paint can't fix.  At first I thought of getting new hardware, but then decided to spray paint the brass pulls nickel instead.

 Free furniture is in my budget, so I got out the paint and went to work.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, although I did have one mis-hap... I managed to loose one of the drawer pulls! whoops.  I think I may have thrown it away when I thought I was going to buy new hardware... [note to self, don't throw anything away until project is completed] It's easy to change my mind over the course of a makeover-- just wait until you see how many times I painted my bathroom in 2 weeks! (let's just say the hubster was not thrilled with that:-)).  I got some cute place mats on clearance at Dillard's for the top of the dresser. The lamp I got at TJ's HG.  Frames were purchase a long time ago at wallyworld. I'd really like to find a great big mirror to hang on the wall above it [I need to go garage-sale-ing].  I'm mostly happy I don't have to spend money on a new dresser when this one works just fine, Thanks mom!

I'm linking this post up at Beneath My Heart- check out all the great projects here!

DIY Nursing Cover

I ordered more Amy Butler fabric and made myself this Hooter Hider/nursing cover, since I'm so tired of those darn blankets falling off, and I like my privacy! 

 I got this free pattern here, and it only took an hour and a half. It has corset boning in the neck to make it stiff. I also made a matching burp rag out of this old cloth diaper. My cute SIL Lindsay made some of these for her baby, and I found this great tutorial here, and it was soo stinkin easy, why would anyone use something that is not cute when they can have these? I used Amy Butlers fabric that came in fat quarters, they are the perfect size to make the front and back coverings for the burp rags. I had more fabric left over from L's skirt, so I made a few more.

Front and Back Views

Laundry/Mud Room DIY Lockers

There's one big thing in our house, and its the laundry room! Our first project for this room was to get all our coats, shoes, backpacks, etc., in order. These hooks were cute, but just not cutting it for our family of 5.

 The hubster finally gave in and built me some lockers.  I LOVE how they turned out!!! My hubby got the FREE plans to build these lockers here.  Aside from putting up crown molding in our dining and living rooms, this was our first big "we built something" project.  (Well, maybe I did a lot of "helping" and painting/sanding, finishing work.)  We added the molding at the top, and I really love the bead board on the backs, and I sanded and distressed the edges (but it doesn't show much in the picture).

Anyhoo,  it took about 2 months of working on it on the weekends to complete, and around $200 for materials.  I think they turned out just as nice, if not nicer than PB. (Where you could get 1 for the price instead of 2.) We built them in 2 locker sets in case we move to a house that can't accommodate the large size.
Before:


















After:

Of course there are cubbies under the seat, but just ignore all the shoes strewn about, we live here okay :-) There's still plenty more to do in this room, like that obnoxious neon yellow paint color (I love yellow, but not this shade--previous owner's choice) that has to go:-)


All in all I love the new organization for all our stuff.  There is supposed to be a "2 jacket limit" per person, but I think I'm the biggest violator of that rule:-)

Plus, I found a new home for my original hooks, right up next to the front door for guest coats- no more cramming them in the closet or hanging them on the banister.

Mod Podge Washboard

So I've been reading a lot in blogland and found a fun crafty blog called Mod Podge Rocks. I decided to use the inspiration and finally use the leftover modge podge I've had sitting in my craft room for over 5 years. I found this old wash board at Good Will for $12, and decided to turn it into a place to hold keys, and sunglasses (I still have to put nails or ribbon over the fabric for the sunglasses).  I had some leftover paint, and then I mod podged some Heather Bailey fabric onto it.

Better after, no? 

Jewelry Organizer

I  had to share this jewelry organizer I have been pining away for forever and finally found one.  There are many cute styles of jewelry organizers out there, but this one is definitely my favorite. FORM follows FUNCTION baby! In  my experience, the ones where you hang your necklaces on hooks, etc.,  would always get tangled up, and one would fall off as I was trying to get another one off.  Enter the pouch organizer.  I first saw one of these a few years ago in an Avon catalog, then again at Marshalls.... finally I broke down and snatched this one  when I saw it at Steinmart* about a month ago.   I LOVE the pouches.  It makes everything easy to see and locate your accessories for the day. It's easy to put in and take out the one you want without dumping everything out of a jar or pulling open a bunch of jewelry box drawers searching for that black chunky necklace.   As a bonus, there are also pouches on the back, so it holds about 56 items. It comes on a hanger, so if fits right in my closet (or on any hook) and it hardly takes up any space.  The green isn't my favorite color, but they have tons of different cute styles, I just had to get this before they ran out. This little pretty was $19.99, but I have since seen them at Marshalls for $14.99.  Totally worth not having my jewelry in an untidy mess again.

*Steinmart.com usually has coupons you can print out and take to the store, like 20%off your purchase- nice!

Kiddie Apron

I've been having fun making a few more kids aprons. Here's one I made for my niece.  It's a little fancier than my daughters $1 apron.  I used 2 fat quarters from Wally World, black bias tape for the trim, added a zebra stripe ruffle and pocket, and used some ribbon for a bow at the top. Since I was giving it away  I put more effort into getting the seams straight, etc.   I am pretty happy with how it turned out.   These are so easy to make.  My kids love putting their aprons on and mixing up a treat with me.  

Improvising

Window Before:

Window After:

My original plan  included white ruffled panels for the window treatments (but I haven't added the ruffles to some old panels I got on clearance yet).  And I wanted to have something  as a window covering while our grandparents where visiting, so I was lucky my sister sent me these black and white pillow covers a few days earlier.  I just folded 4 of them up over the decorative molding that came with the blinds, and ta-da, instant no-sew window treatment.
*You can see the light blue wall color a little better in this photo under the window.

Much Needed Makeover

A peek at my guest room in progress.

 Blue and I are friends again, after an awful separation dating back from the 80's.  Blue tells me he's changed, and promised he wouldn't get dusty or invite his friend "mauve" around. The paint color is "Salt Glaze" by Martha Stewart (looks gray in the photo but is really a pale blue).  I am sticking to a monochromatic color palette of blue, black & white.  I found the lamp at Marshalls, white pillows with shams at Target. I threw in the two simple accessories before our guests arrived for the weekend. [the clock is from PB for our wedding, and small pitcher came with our dishes].  I purchased a mixed bouquet and nabbed a few of the roses for this mini-pitcher to brighten up the corner.  I threw a yard of fabric I had over an old nightstand.  I think it looks pretty serene.  I love walking by the room, (it's even prettier than my master bedroom) it also serves as my craft and sewing room.  Other projects I am working for this room are: spray painting the other lamp white, a lampshade makeover, paint the desk chair, and ruffling curtains.  More photos to come.