Fun with Photoshop

I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to redecorate a stranger's home.  I looked online for a listed house that was unfurnished (easier to edit) and found this 1980 Texas split-level with amazing Mexican hex tile.  The same tile was used throughout the ground floor of my dad's hotel when I was growing up, and I always thought it was so cool.

Here are the original pics of the listing followed by my magic!

This would be such an inexpensive update!  Paint the walls a warm white, paint the built-ins (I had to just grab some image online because I couldn't figure out how to change the color of the wood), remove the mirrored wall and replace with some accent wall paper that mimics the geometric floor, replace the two ceiling fans with Mediterranean-style lighting and keep the stained molding.  I actually would totally keep the molding around the window too but it was too difficult to keep it in the edit.  I love the nailhead trim on the club chairs but the leather ottoman is weird in the light of day.  Maybe a big barn wood coffee table would be great.

 

Can't tell what you're seeing up there?  That weird wrought iron thing next to the stairs actually looks through to the floor of the kitchen.  I wonder if that was original to the house?  It's so strange.  Cover it up with a big ol' vintage map of Texas and maybe some wainscoting on the other side in the kitchen.

How great is the existing woodwork and the tiling on the wet bar?  I added the same geo wall paper to the inside of the bar and replaced the mirrored back with more decorative tile.  It's a little much but I had fun playing with it.  Maybe some colorful glass tiles with some metallics mixed in to mirror the aluminum bull skull on the opposite wall... I keep forgetting this isn't real life! :)

I just did this to pass time but it turned out so pretty that I had to share it!  Of course it's completely wonky and the later the night went on the more sloppy I got with the editing, but I'm so into this style that I just invented!  Does it have a name?

In love with my nursery!

BEFORE

AFTER!

It's funny – in some ways it's similar to the virtual nursery I made a while ago, but in other ways it's completely different.

I didn't put the finishing touches in there until a couple weeks after the baby came home.  I took a look around and instantly thought, "vintage!"  It wasn't really my goal, but it totally worked out that way and I love it.

Shall we take a tour?

This mirror came from my grandma's house.  My aunts gave it to me when she passed away.  It's made out of plastic.  I love the gaudy gold pop it gives the room.

The craft hoops are filled with leftover fabric I had after making the birds you'll see below.  The silhouette is of my mother-in-law at the age of 6, I believe.  I used a stamp to paint the face of that hamper, which I've had for a long time. If you can see the ivory pillow on the bed, that's made with with two Pier 1 napkins sewn together.  The little white shelf holds a bud vase of my mom's and my dad's silver baby cup and rattle.  The infamous sewing table sits beside the bed and is normally stacked with dirty bottles!

I spy a baby below!  Above her hangs my homemade mobile.  It turned out completely different than I intended, but I like the dimension that the branches add to the room.  I found the pattern for the birds here.

Like the crib skirt?  The look was inspired (stolen) from this website, but the pattern on that site made no sense to me.  A gal from high school emailed me a step-by-step of how she made hers, and I found that much simpler.  Not simple, but simpler.

This hand-stitched quilt is more than 60 years old!  It was my dad's.  It's pretty worn, but it's (mostly) clean and soft and has held together beautifully.

Here we have a gift from Kate's great-grandma, an owl from Pier 1 that I am obsessed with, and a little lamb from my friend that prays "Now I lay me down to sleep" when you squeeze it.  Kate doesn't sleep in the crib often.  Once she starts, I'll clear this stuff out.

 Here are my beloved grandparent photos!  I love the way the concept turned out, even though we're still missing one.  Workin' on that!

Austin made the little K above the dresser.  Before she was born I handed him a wooden block, a wooden K, fabric swatches, scrap paper, Mod Podge, paint, a staple gun and more.  He was instructed to do something -- anything -- to contribute a personal touch to the nursery. (Other than replacing that awful brass ceiling fan. PTL!)  He chose a sparkly gold knit to cover the block and painted the K yellow and gold.  Cute!  I wish the lampshade showed up in the photos.  It's killer.

And that's it.  What do you think?

Nursery update!

I don't have a lot of time to post right now but here's the crib skirt that my friends helped me tackle on Sunday!  We also painted the walls of the baby room and got a few other projects done.  I'm so grateful to them for making the 180-mile trip in the rain just to help a girl out!

I'll take better pics with my real camera asap... This grainy one was taken late into the dark hours on Sunday so it's really hard to make out how crisp and bright this baby is!

Free stuff free stuff free stuff!

Valspar is giving away 1,000 free paint sample kits each morning, starting at 9 a.m. CST.  I signed up for mine on Thursday or Friday and the FedEx truck just showed up!

I got so excited I attempted my first stop-motion movie.

I'm a sucker for pretty much any free stuff, but this might take the cake.  You get an 8 oz. sample of any color of paint (and don't think I didn't break out into mini-hives when it came time to choose), a miniature tray, roller and replacement roller head, and a $5 coupon for a gallon of Valspar at Lowe's.  They also sent an envelope with a bunch of complimentary paint colors.

I decided on a warm Birchwood White and the included paint chip looks really pretty!  The gob on my favorite pair of black pants, however, does not.  I wasn't being careful.  I was trying to hurry up and finish the stop-motion because the sun had already set and because I was sitting on the floor.  I'm too old to sit on the floor!

You'll also notice that the camera accidentally caught my hand a couple of times, and apparently my dog was standing there for a while and I didn't notice!  I thought about removing the snafus in Photoshop but that's just too much work.

According to my timestamps, I started taking photos at 5:54 and stopped at 6:09.  See?  Too long to be sitting on the floor.

Enjoy!

Abracadabra....It's a Nursery!

One of my favorite design blogs, The Lettered Cottage, often posts before-and-after pictures of virtual remodels and calls them "presto changos." 

Not to be confused with "illusions."  We'll leave those up to Gob.



Recently, the beautifully talented designer at TLC decided to let people submit photos of their home for a free virtual makeover in a series called Pick My Presto.

A "presto" by Layla Palmer

A chance to have a professional give me ideas for my own home for free sounded awesome, but there isn't any space in our house that really needs redecorating.

Oh, wait.  

There's that whole, bringing home a baby thing. 

So I did some straightening up and took this photo of our guest bedroom and submitted it.  This room is a perfect snapshot of my 2004 tastes.  These used to be our master bedroom furniture and accessories.  And yes, we have a queen comforter on a double bed.  That's not nearly as shocking as knowing that KellerMan and I shared that full bed for more than a year!

 Guest room/craft storage

Then I realized that I have a working knowledge of Photoshop and I could attempt to presto my own chango!  I'm artistic in my own way, but still-life trips me up.  I definitely don't understand angles and perspective, so please excuse the eye-crossing moments going on here.

My attempt at being gender-neutral has its flaws :)

As you can tell, I bleed neutrals and don't care for themes.  No butterflies or outer space baby room for our kiddo!

However, our home office has a very cool baseball-slash-pop art feel to it that could easily be relocated into a boys' room.

Let's walk through the room, shall we?  First, I must say that while I tried to be reasonable and only add/change elements that I would add/change in real life, I started to realize that worrying about real life was stupid while having fun with a virtual makeover!

Okay, my numbering is totally off here...

1. Gray walls: Beautiful and gender-neutral.* 
2.  Crown moulding: We probably wouldn't bother with it in real life because we are cheap and not too handy.
3. Stencil: I love the idea of tree/branch stencils in nurseries!  It's a trend I've admired for a few years.
4. Furniture: There are three dressers/cabinets and two night stands in the room.  They match and are all empty.  I'm not opposed to painting them but probably won't.  I want to make adjustments to use the bureau as a changing table.**
5. Silhouette:  That's a random one I found online, but we do have a beautiful one of my mother-in-law as a child, and I really want to use it in a girls' room!
6. Curtains: We don't have any window treatments in the house because of the pretty plantation shutters.  But now, after more than two years, I'm thinking drapes are a go.
7. Rug: I would LOVE to make a braided rug for the nursery.  Heck, I should start on it now!  And since this is my virtual makeover, I decided to make it niiiiiiiiice and big. :)
8. Baby photos:  I've always thought black and white photos of grandparents as babies would look so sweet.  I haven't found any big prints of my own parents, though. 
9. Mobile:  I'd like to make my own mobile.  That one shown is from an Etsy seller.  It has grey and yellow birds made out of felt.***
10. Crib and chair:  We aren't too picky.  I'm not really into bedding "sets" but maybe that's because I haven't found one I like. 
11. What's not pictured: About half of the room :)  Bookshelf, toy baskets, overpriced but adorable elephant hamper...

*I am--and have remained--completely unapologetic about my love for the color gray for at least 15 years.  So don't try to talk me out of it!  We even picked two tones of gray for the dining room!

**I don't need a lecture on making it child-safe, thankyouverymuch. I've had years to research these things.

***I was more into the "bird" theme until I saw this video.  Hilarious if you read decorating blogs or shop Etsy often!

 

We need your help!

"They're cousins... identical cousins..."

The lovely lady on the right is Rachael, my incredibly creative cousin.  I'd say she's the Patty and I'm the Cathy.

Rachael and I don't get a chance to work on projects together since we live about 200 miles apart, so we decided to start a blog series where we work on the same type of design project and compare results when we're finished.

I'll write more about how it will work later, but for now we need to decide on a name! 

Please pick your favorite title for our blog series in the poll on the right.

Call me strange...

Nearly every time I walk into the ladies' bathroom at work I get these Ke$ha lyrics stuck in my head:

I've got a sick obsession / I'm seein' it in my dreams

Why?  Because I have a sick obsession with this amazing piece of furniture sitting in the two-stall bathroom.  It's filthy – covered in dust (and who knows what else) but it's so beautiful!

It would be perfect in a hallway or even as a small sofa table, because it's only about 10 inches wide.  I do have enough personal restraint that I have not measured it.  I did open the doors (by pulling on the mismatched hardware, mind you) to see what kind of storage it offers, and my oh my do I regret that decision.  Let me tell you, Ke$ha probably has some creative lyrics about that kind of pot o' gold, too.  Not only does it seem that someone was tired of wearing her undergarment, it seems she decided to store it in the public bathroom for safe keeping.  I think I also spotted some hygiene products that aren't even in production any more.

But, moving past the Ugly of this Ugly Duckling...here's how I imagine it blossoming into a beautiful swan!  Can't you just imagine?  I can.  Remember, I'm seein' it in my dreams.

 

From Less-Than-Perfect Life of Bliss

Mom, meet my new love interest...

We met each other online last night. I was bold enough to ask for his measurements, and he confided that he's been lonely in his storage unit for the last few years.

Sewing Machine Cabinet and I plan to meet in person soon. I'm nervous, but excited!

I've been telling the girls in my church's youth group that it's bad news to expect your boyfriend to change. You should be with someone for who they are today, not for who they'll be tomorrow.

Do as I say, not as I do, girls. Because I don't love SMC for who he is today.

But his new-hardware, re-covered (or pleated-slip-covered? ooh la la!), possibly-painted future is looking bright!

Think the ex will mind?

For the birds

I hate real birds. I think they're pretty gross. It might have something to do with the terrible grackle infestation at my college and the abatement process that had me dodging 7-8 bird carcasses every morning on my way from Mozart Hall to the GAB.

I adore, however, this new bird silhouette trend that's taking over right now. I'm convinced it's a fleeting trend (groan), but that's not going to stop me from jumping on board. Check out this adorable baby's room chandelier on Living with Lindsay. I can't stand how much I love it.So I got the bird itch this week and flew to Hobby Lobby on my lunch break today (ok, I'll stop) to pick up some scrap book paper and some frames. I had a very specific color and pattern scheme in mind -- butter yellow, gray, stripe, damask -- but the selection just wasn't right. Did that stop me, though? Did I leave with a plan to see what Michael's had on my way home from work? No. I settled. But I think I'm happy with my selections and will leave you with these two inspirations that I plan to turn into something beautiful (well, acceptable at least).Ok, I'm also inspired by the real-life ground nesting bird that set up a nursery in my front yard this season brooding over her four adorable speckled eggs. She's actually pretty sweet, even though I feel she's taunting me. If those things hatch on Mother's Day I will be super peeved.

Son of a bench

"Bench of a relative" would be a better title, but it's just not quite as catchy.
This sturdy bench has been in my dad's family for a long time. I think. I don't know that anyone actually remembers where this thing came from, but I know it's very important. And, should any family members scroll down and be horrified by what I did to it, just keep in mind that it's been given new life, and is no longer serving as a storage shelf in a garage somewhere.
This bench sat on my parents' front porch for about 13 years. A homeless woman made herself comfortable there one summer afternoon, and I watched my mom welcome her and offer her lunch. I remember deliberately doing my homework on it several evenings in a row, for one of those teenage girl reasons. It was always decorated with a life-sized scarecrow for Halloween, and it may have been the only place we ever strung outdoor Christmas lights. Then, we moved into a different house and the bench never made it out of the garage.

My parents recently moved out of that house, and I decided to give it a new home. And a new look. I originally intended to give it a distressed, peeling paint look, and therefore chose this pretty turquoise. That's not how it turned out, but that's okay.

I sanded it down, which didn't take too long. The last time it was varnished was probably when I was in grade school, and the varnish had mostly worn off. Then I used a white primer spray paint that quickly ran out. The old wood soaked it up so fast! I had to go to Lowe's and buy three more cans.
Here's where I messed up. I should have painted the turquoise outdoor latex paint directly on top of the wood. That way the sand paper could have quickly distressed it. Instead, my primer was too thick and didn't easily come off with the sand paper.

Oh well! Trial and error. After I realized my technique wasn't going to work, I went back and painted a second coat. The whole thing took maybe 2/3 of the quart, so I have plenty for touch-ups.

Isn't it cute?!
My brother's first impression when he saw the color was girly, but thought it was awesome that something old had been refurbished and given new life. Awesome feedback! That's exactly what I hoped to hear.

Yarn frames and paper wreaths

I had no idea how many craft and decorating blogs were out there until recently. And many of them make their authors seem like beautiful, barefoot versions of Martha Stewart who happen to have materials like spray adhesive and medium-sized paper doilies on hand. I'll admit, I have a craft closet, but it's not stocked with an assortment of glues and lumber.

I found instructions online this week for a book wreath that required four things: a book, a styrofoam wreath, a hot glue gun, and some paint. Done. I tore up a book that I've had forever called "The Hamptons Diet" (choose your own metaphor). I've never read it, and don't really remember where it came from. I think an author must have sent it to me in a lovely little press kit. I'm sure the shipping cost more than this craft project.

Going back to look at the original inspiration, my wreath isn't as dense... but hey, it took me about 90 minutes and I was done. If I had kept going back to copy what she had done I never would have been satisfied and I'd likely have given up.

The other blog project that inspired me was for yarn-covered picture frames. Of course, this author actually built her own picture frames (ha!), but I totally cheated and used two frames I already had, and the round ones are more styrofoam wreaths.

We really don't have a lot of things hanging on our walls, probably because we've lived in five different places in the last five years and are haunted by nightmares of last-minute hole-filling. But these wreaths weigh next to nothing, so I was able to hang them with push pins. Voila!