Redoing the Redone My Final Kicthen Makeover

It's been awhile (I've got to stop starting it out this way)...

So... My  kitchen.  I redid my kitchen two years ago.  You may remember we started out with this: 

And then we went to this: 

Then it happened... I dreamed...  Of farmhouse sinks, a reclaimed wood vent, butcherblock countertops, and of course... white subway tile backsplash.  AND more countertop space!

So... I began tearing out the perfectly good kitchen :) I feel sorta bad about doing it but when I see the finished project, the guilt melts away!

So here are some progress photos.  We tore out plaster and lathe, a small pantry, reran return air duct work.  Tore up tile, replaced tile, put in new lower cabinets where the old pantry use to be... anyway, to the pictures! 

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Then came THE sink...  Oh beauty and trying to pick a new cabinet color!

Enough Mess.  Here's how it basically turned out! 

Not nearly done but I'm in love!  

Let me know what you think or what I should add!  Thanks for visiting with me! 

Pillows, Chairs, and Chevrons - OH MY!

I'm a little stir crazy and so very ready to spring!  Cabin Fever in overdrive!  So, I figured why not do a few projects that would be better (and cleaner) if done outside - INSIDE! That and I really am trying to infuse some character and charm into my house.  I'm game!

First off, I had these gross chairs... Don't judge me,  I got them off of craigslist.com and they were sorta trashed.  Yes, we didn't help the situation by allowing them to sit in the machine shed to deteriorate and I'm not confirming or denying the cats might have been sleeping on these which is why all of the material and batting/foam was removed. 

 After taking off the fabric and foam I found the chairs had actually been altered and someone had put luan on the chairs to cover the backs.  We removed the luan and got to work.  I will blog later on how to paint surfaces without it pealing or scratching  but that will be a project for another day.   I sanded them, painted them white, then distressed them for a farmhouse, worn look.  

For now, here is the after!

Here you can see why this is an outside job!  Distressing and sanding never is the best idea indoors but I couldn't help it!

 


I love these chairs and unlike the cloth version, these are easily cleanable and bleachable.  AND they add character to the room!

Now for the new pillows!  I got a single panel curtain at 'Home Goods' on sale for $3. I loved the fabric.  It's a wonderful color, loved the stripes, and was super thick.   You couldn't come close to getting 80+ inches of this thick, quality fabric at any Craft Store for that!  Now, I don't use pillow inserts in my pillows-  I'm not a take the cover off to launder my throw pillows sort of gal (is that lazy?).  I also make sure to use quality filling in my pillows and I've never had them bunch in the wash.  Anyhow, here they are.

I simply love this fabric and am more than pleased with the farmhouse cottage feeling they will lend to the room.  Not sure which room that'll be yet.  :)  But either way, they are totes ADORB!

Lastly I wanted a few large chevrons for my living room and although I think I made them too large I do love the look of them.  Anyone interested in a tutorial for these?  Let me know and I will work one up for ya!  These only took about 5 minutes each and although I used materials I already had on hand they would literally cost a few $ to make.  A lot of interest for very little money.  That's speaking my language!

So there are a few of my projects from the last few weeks!  Any more ideas for me to help deter my cabin fever - shoot them on over in the comments section!!!!  Lots more projects to come and tutorials too!  Have a Good Friday!

Brandy

Guest Bathroom Reveal! - Before and After Photos!

Well, it's done, well, mostly, sort of... okay, not really but at least it's livable for the time being.   Being that we are now home with our twins (yeah, it's been awhile since I posted, sorry!) it's gonna have to do for now!  

The guest bathroom, although functional was well, a bit embarrassing and very out of date. It had once been a porch and when our little farmhouse was added onto, the old window trim was left there by the previous owners.   

 Anyway, here are the 'before' photos!

The light fixture in here was the oddest I had ever seen.  It looked like it could have been from an airplane or submarine.    Not exactly what we had in mind!  The toilet, oh the toilet...  It was an elongated one that was so inefficient that water never filled to the front portion of the toilet. My littles had this problem of sitting way forward on the toilet seat which made for some problems when they... I will stop there.  Feel free to use your imagination!

 Behind the vanity was a long narrow closet that wasn't functional.  We tore out that wall and replaced a teeny tiny baby storm window with one more appropriate.  

 Out came the pocket door here!  This is where, in the 'after' photos, is now the water closet (toilet area). 

My poor husband had to work on the plumbing almost completely by himself... I was super pregnant and very sick so I provided very little 'plumbing' help for the guy!  Everything had to be rerun and re plumbed so it was about a month worth of work down in the crawl space.  Once I felt better, which was nearing the end of my pregnancy, I was able to do my normal 'activities' and helped finish up the plumbing (Insert funny story here about being pregnant with twins, almost due, and a very small crawl space... yeah) and all the regular rehab work for the rest of the bathroom.   I got the floor and shower tiled just a week before our babies were to arrive.  I had a visit from my sweet neighbors as I was laying the tile... they think I'm crazy ;) Not sure I blame them!  

Loved the way it has turned out so far Now for some 'after' photos! Please keep in mind, nothing is 'done'.  Not the caulking, putty-ing, trim, nothing.  There is still a lot to do but for now... it is my version of done.  

New Jacuzzi tub.  Loving it!

Built this table last year and it doesn't actually belong in there but when I get a minute I will build one like it (but smaller) for that area.  The table will hold apothecary jars for cotton balls and q-tips.  You know, things my kids will get into and string throughout the house ;) 

Tub surround still needs to be painted and finished.  

 Look Ma!  NO TRIM!  

In case you were wondering, we used 100 year old doors and tried to match the trim as closely as possible to that in the original parts of the house.   I really need to get in there and get some farmhouse 'character' infused.  Still working over that in my mind and really hoping to get to it!  Any suggestions??

Peace out Ya'll!  Thanks for checking on us!

Brandy 

Pregnancy: The Good, The Bad, and the REALLY UGLY

With each pregnancy I have always enjoyed looking through maternity magazines, reading all the insightful articles, the oh so cute pics of babies, and glowing mamas!!  Pregnancy, what a joyous time of fluttery kicks and movements.  Those moments that take your breathe away as you feel your wee one growing inside your womb.  Beautiful!

YEAH, OKAY!  Now don't get me wrong, pregnancy is a blessing and quite beautiful but with the great comes the, well, less than beautiful aspects.  Let me elaborate...

I've been pregnant 9 times and although I 'enjoyed' each and every pregnancy, each one possessed some very interesting side effects.  For instance, these two babes I am currently carrying at 22 weeks, just made me throw up in my mouth.  Oh, and not due to morning sickness either!  These two combined are large enough to be pushed up against my stomach and just the slightest pressure causes them to snuggle WITH my stomach.  Bleck!!  Gotta go brush my teeth, again.  (yeah right, one of the kids used my toothbrush last night and dropped it on the bathroom floor - time to  burn that thing!)  Speaking of the bathroom... it brings me to another glorious thing pregnancy does to the body.

  

MY BOWELS HAVE STOPPED FLAT IN THEIR TRACKS!  I MEAN HOLY COW! HAVE YOU EVER NOT BEEN ABLE TO POOP FOR 3 DAYS???  JUST THE AMOUNT OF CRAMPING THAT GOES ON COULD BRING YOU TO YOUR KNEES (that is if my belly wasn't so big and getting to my knees is almost an impossibility)!!  Ahem, my apologize.  As I was saying, for some reason the ability to have a bowel movement is greatly inhibited during this season of maternity.  Sigh.  Bring on a pot of coffee will ya? You know, for it's laxative qualities. 

Oh yes, and coffee.  Coffee, beautiful coffee.  Never have I adored, loved, coveted coffee the way I have since being pregnant again.  The need, NO, NEED for coffee due to nights of no sleep thanks to the babes sleeping on my internal organs.  About the time I'm exhausted, baby boy gives my stomach to his baby sister so that he might go after my lungs to snuggle with.  I don't know if it's fluffiness of my lungs that draws him in or if the wheezing sounds my lungs make when he holds them close is comforting to him. Any how, sleeping is highly over rated.  Maybe I can catch some ZZZZ's after homeschooling Luke, Hannah, Micah, Grace, Josh, and Isaiah, then cleaning, cooking, and rehabbing the house.  Who needs sleep anyways!!!

Which brings me to cleaning.  Ever tried to pick up a crayon or bend over for any amount of time while pregnant?  God forbid you actually have to get ON the ground!  You have to do this contortion like dance to get down there and if by chance after your 15 swipes at the darn thing you actually pick it up then you've got to endure the pain of lugging yourself and the babes back into the standing position.  Only to look down and see another crayon.  Oh snap.

  

Oh SNAP is right.   Something that you feel has happened to your tail bone after sitting for any length of time at all at church on those 'comfy' pews.   Yeah.  Then comes the hot poker, standing very quickly, jump to your feet, so to minimize, and successfully hide the fact you butt hurts from everyone else at church.  Lovely, just lovely.  

I won't even get into the nausea over the smallest of things.  For me it was one of the dogs throwing up a fully intact chicken foot they had eaten that morning.  Was it the gagging noises or the fact for some strange reason I couldn't just turn away.  Oh yes.  One of my favs. 

The one that has to take first place for me is, the children coming over to hug, kiss, and rub my stomach.  They will talk to the babies and ask to feel their movements.  It truly is precious that they care for these two whom they have never met.   They pray for them and help when I feel sick. They ask when we will get 'our' babies!  They are excited to add to our family and that makes me so very happy indeed!

You can get this at: https://www.etsy.com/listing/197299217/if-you-think-my-hands-are-full-you?ref=market

Oddly with all of these children I have carried and all the not fun things I have gone through, I don't really remember them once I have my children.  Even while going through it, I am so happy to be able to endure those things because it means my babies are healthy!  What a blessing!!!!

 I think that is why the Bible tells us in John 16:21 that: "Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world." When we hold what we have worked so hard to keep safe, we see those precious little faces, suddenly everything else disappears.  

 
But for now, I will thank the Lord for my 'little' people, slip my shoes on my swollen feet, and go buy me another tooth brush because the moment I stand up from this computer and the babies put pressure on my stomach, I will throw up a little in my mouth again.

Tata!   Bleck!

I MIGHT just be crazy! We have an announcement to make ;)

Chances are, I am indeed crazy.  I'm not exactly sure if it's 'certifiable' or not but certainly enough for a majority of people to question my sanity at the sight of me...

This is what 22 weeks with twins looks like!  YIKES!

 Yeah, uh huh...  We're pregnant!  Could you tell???  We're expecting bab-IES!  Oh yeah!  Twins!  
 

Baby A is a GIRL!- Baby Ella

Baby B is a BOY! - Baby Dalton

I knew it from the beginning!  YUP!  When you look 5 months pregnant when you are 2 months pregnant that's usually a huge indicator.  Then I have these 'other' kids still following me around, kinda looks crazy.   10 kiddos with these two added in there!  Thinking I might actually be a bit crazy!  Let's add in here (just to prove I'm nuts) we have a mini alphabet going on...  D (Dalton), E (Ella), F (Fiorella), G (Grace), H (Hannah), I (Isaiah), J (Josh), K (Kyler), L (Luke), M (Micah).  That's not strange is it??  Ahem, apparently, it is. 

In all honesty, I couldn't be happier with my 'little family'.  I'm so thankful that the Lord has given us two more blessings and we are excited to welcome them into our family!  Not sure how crazy it's gonna get around here, but should be interesting! 

I will blog a little later on some problems we are facing with the new 'little' people but for now I just wanted to jump on here, shout out the good news, and order my straight jacket unless one of you mamas out there have one I can borrow for the next 18 years??  I guess it's just another pin on my freak banner!  

 

Later, B

Pottery Barn Airplane Knock Off Tutorial.

Remember this????  Oh yeah baby, so do I :)

Remember when I made this?

Remember when I promised a tutorial?  Yeah, sorry... I will skip the excuses and post the tutorial!! So here goes!!!!

First go here:
http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh562/b2_brown/planeleft.jpg 
http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh562/b2_brown/planeleft2.jpg
 http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh562/b2_brown/planeright.jpg
http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh562/b2_brown/planeright2.jpg

and print out the airplane on your inkjet. Make sure you have all 4 parts of the plane.   I've done all the work, you just need to print it out.  It should be set up and ready to be printed.  You might have to fiddle with the printing size but I went as big as I possibly could. Once printed, cut them out.  Cut as close to the outline of the plane as you can.   

1.  You need the wood that you'd like your plane to be made from.  Originally I used wood planks but decided that was too big of a pain.  Though I like the look and it is more like the original from PB, it was a pain to do so.  Anyhow...  pick your wood.  Here I used half inch plywood.  The knottier the better.  SEE here, I said Knottier, not NAUGHTIER.  With that cleared up, go ahead measure you boards, don your safety glasses, and cut that wood to measure.  
 Always remember to treat power tools with the utmost caution and safety.

 Here I cut my wood 10.5 X 7.5.  You'll know better what size wood you'll need after printing your plane.  

Next you'll need to get out the stain you'd like to use.  I use MinWax PolyShades.  It's a stain with Poly included.  Skip steps I always say... Actually I NEVER say that. Well, stain your boards, all four boards.  There is no need to stain the back but if you're feeling a bit feisty, go for it.

Once your stain is dry, you'll need to get out your brush and Modge Podge.  There are some great recipes out there for DIY Modge Podge, though I've never tried them.  For the brush I used 1.5 inch  but you can use whatever you'd like.  Brush the entire surface of one board.  Don't get ahead of yourself and do more... you'll regret it. I'm threatening you here ;)  Put a good coat on there but not super thick either.

Also, I'm sure I don't need to say this but work in a well ventilated area, say, like the deck of your investment property.  I digress...

Once the Modge Podge is tacky (you find this out by a simple finger touch in the corner) You take the first plane that you PRE cut out and line it up with the edge of the board. Lika so...

I'm being a little sneaky here.  That board doesn't actually have the Modge Podge on it yet... we're just going to imagine together.  If Bob Ross can do it...  Ohhhh... look at the bunny, the happy little bunny.

Okay, Okay, here is how it's suppose to look.  Once it stuck on and not coming up anywhere let this dry.  Once completely dry, carefully use your brush to re brush the entire surface (over the plane as well).  Be very careful not to curl the edge of the plane.  BUT if you did what I said, that little plane is stuck down pretty good.  

Repeat all the steps until all 4 pieces are complete.  After all pieces are completely dry you can add another coat of Modge Podge and eventually Poly if you'd like.  I never do and apparently I'm learning to skips steps again.  

Almost completely dry. 

Last step is to add hang tags on back of your pieces.  I used the type that you hammer in.  The creepy claw like ones. 

AND here he is all finished...

ENJOY your new PB knock off Airplane planks!!

You can ask any questions in the comments section!  Thanks!