After the Before

So, last week I started this project. Here, ladies and gentlemen - is the "Before" picture....

.....And this is the "After."

                                                  I'm so excited about how it turned out!

An', no. I still can't take pictures to save my life - but you get the idea;)

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After the Before

Before the After

 "Hey, Kara. Can I use your camera to take "before" pictures?"

"I dunno. Can you?              ...Sure. But only if you promise not to get one. speck. of paint on it."

((Oh, but I love having a photographer in the family.))

Yup. This is my new project. I was super excited when I saw this old thing sitting at Goodwill. It's scratched, decidedly cheap and even comes with a perfectly disgusting gum-and-toothpaste collection stuck on the side of it. But it was only $40.00 and I'd been dying to re-vamp an old dresser - how could I say no?

Somehow, I managed to put all the van seats down, chauffer my treasure all the way home, then muscle the ugly, heavy thing into our basement where it now resides - trying on a new coat of primer.

My Tuesday and Wednesday have now been completely devoted to old clothes, Gospel music and paint (on my clothes, my hair, my fingers, my arms, the old sheet that I spread out over the floor, the floor (in spite of it all) ... and my dresser.  But it's ON THE DRESSER, TOO; So it's okay.)

This is going to be awesome. I'd been praying for just such an old, ugly dresser as this.

....an' now I'm just waiting for the primer to dry.

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Before the After

If you happen to find an ugly lampshade lying around...

So, once upon a time, there was a very small boy who wanted to turn his lamp into a friend. Struck by a moment of pure genius, he grabbed a pen and drew a face...right on the lampshade.

A few years later, the boy's older sister found the forgotten "friend" and, out of pure compassion decided to re-vamp the lonely creature. ((Mostly because it looked downright awful. *ahem))

So, she found an old, stained tablecloth from yesteryear, cut out four inch circles and...

...pretty muchly, just glued that poor lamp into perfection. (Did you know you can glue about 3/4s of a linen tablecloth into one, small lampshade? Yeah. Me neither.)

And now "lampy" sits proudly atop the older sisters' dresser, forever to stay. ((Or something like that.))

Whadaya think?

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If you happen to find an ugly lampshade lying around...

Bread of Idleness.

High school was over. I wasn't sure what He had in store for me - but, while I prayed hard and waited for His leadership, I knew this was no time to be idle. Honestly, I don't think God ever meant for his children to feel fulfilled, unless they were involved with some decent, honest form of work. Even in the garden of Eden, the Lord commissioned Adam to tend the Garden.

Wasting my time was the last thing I wanted to do, and I decided to make myself a schedule full of things that were important to me. It wasn't a staggering load, but I was excited to find my days suddenly full and meaningful. I was excited to get up in the morning and get busy on my to-do list. I was doing something worth-while.

People often think that stay-at-home wives and mothers sit around on the couch and eat chocolate all day. Playing with the kids, folding an occasional load of laundry or two, but, in general, just being lazy.

Heh. They must never have tried it - Mom let me take over the house for an extended period of time once and, really, I hardly had any free time at all. (And when I did have some, I was busy thinking about what was waiting for me when my "break" was up!) I was shocked at the workload she carried constantly. But there was a rigid schedule full of all the priorities - the "goals" for that day.

What kind of goals ought a single girl to have, these days? Your life is different from mine, and mine is different from yours. You'll have a different list - but here's a few ideas.

• Devotions. Go ahead and set aside half an hour of your day to read the Bible and pray. One chapter as soon as you get up, and one chapter before you go to bed is also a great idea.
• Exercise. I know - I hate it, too. But it is very important. Start small, though; you won't be able to do 30 push ups the first day.
• Read/Research. If you're not learning something new (vocabulary words, recipes, you name it!) your ideas can get stagnant. A good biography would be a nice start.
• Create. Look around your room, or even your whole house and look for things to spruce up. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest. Skirts to make, walls to paint, cards to design, gifts to create...
• Be sure to do something fun with at least one of your siblings every day. How do you want them to think of you? The busy grump who never had time to read a bedtime story? or the fun older sister who has spur-of-the-moment Nerf wars at 9:00 in the morning??
• Make a point to find someone to encourage/help besides your immediate family. People are so busy these days, and the number of folks who actually take time to say "I care" is growing increasingly few.
  
  The possibilities are endless - but remember not to build a schedule so heavy that you become burned out after the first two days. Keep it light and fun - and remember that it's okay to miss a day every now and again.
  
  
  What things would you add to your list?

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Bread of Idleness.

Good Housekeeping.

I'm a dreamer. I've been planning how I will decorate my house since I was fourteen. Warm colors, cozy candlelight, the coffee-themed kitchen - you know, that kinda stuff.

The other day it occurred to me that, quite possibly, the way a girl treats her room is a good reflection of how she's going to treat her house. Cringing, I eyed up the woeful paint job that splashed up onto the ceiling ((in my defense, that was a couple years ago)) and noticed all the well, um, potential for improvement. Oh, boy...

Unfortunately, my schedule is rather full, so none of this stuff will be happening until somewhere around January. Which means I get to enjoy the "visionary stage."

Yes...

That means...

PINTEREST!!!!

Everybody is crowing about how easy it is to repaint vintage furniture... but it would be a gazillion times easier if I could just find one on craigslist for oooooh, about $0.50

Gotta love swirly, pink letters.

Yes, yes, I know. I'm 18 years old. But Becca sleeps in my room, too . . . we can just blame all those gorgeous ruffles on her, right....?

Polka dots. 'Nuff said.

What "potential" awaits in your room these days?

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Good Housekeeping.

Revisiting The Closet

 It's a jungle in there. Scary and dusty and dangerous. For realz.

The other day my dear brother Isaac fixed the light in my closet. Before that, who really cared if the closet was a mess - nobody could see it, anyway! But, eh, today was my day off ((ironically)), and the population of spiders {have I mentioned my phobia of spiders?} + the mountain of "abunchofunclassifiedjunk" that obstructed all ease of access...  I tackled it.

Again. ((I do this once a year.))

See, besides just a place for clothes, my closet has been a great variety of things. In the past, it was my hideout. {Long past, by the way.} Now, it serves as hope chest storage, home to my ginormous memorabilia collection, special gift wrap and, then - and only then - my clothes.

Here's the creative "wall paper" I put up when I was fourteen. {Yes, Kaitlin Sanger - that's you!}

Finally. The serenity of a nice, organized closet.  I'm gonna go have some coffee now...

I think this award is a little better suited now...I hung it smack in the middle of my closet wall. lol!

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Revisiting The Closet

Scrapbooking is good because....

 That's right! I finally got around to putting together my graduation scrapbook. ((Well, *aherkm* almost. There are only a few pages left to design.))

My layouts are, I am forced to admit, are very humble. But, still. I love doing this kind of thing.

People gave me so many beautiful cards, I just hated to waste them. A couple pages are just different cards {taken apart and put back together in complimenting collages}. I felt like a genius.

Big moments....

Yes, it's true. I'm a terrible photographer. *hangs head.

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Scrapbooking is good because....

Because It Isn't Summer Anymore.

I was getting the creativity itch. Partly from my mother, who has a few projects in the works, partly from Elisabeth Wallace, who is always doing something crafty over at her blog, and partly from way to much Pinterest. (Hey. Confession is good for the soul!!)

I was in the mood for some fresh, fall decor in my room. After awhile you just need to do something different. I thought I'd wait until I got around to visiting Walmart's craft aisles, but...then... well...

I found:

•  A few mini burlap bags in the basement. (Two of which I cut/ripped into four squares.)
• A couple pretty buttons
• A polka-dotted scrap of fabric 
• A vintage paper bag that came with my purchase at a gift shop in Montana four years ago. (So many memories :)
• Lastly, I stole a leaf from the wreath in our living room. 

Then, this happened.

I'm pretty sure, now that I'm done, that I don't like that flower....oh, well...

Overall I loved putting it together :) My room is officially ready for fall. 

That is, unless I changed the vignette on the dresser....hmm....    ;)

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Because It Isn't Summer Anymore.

Reasons To Be Thankful {Our Very First Thankfulness Tree}

We did it. And it actually turned out. 

I asked everyone to write down (on the little "leaves" that I made") something special, something they were looking forward to, something that cheered them up and one of their favorite things that they were thankful for. It was fun :)

Isaac was thankful for: Sugar, friends and matchbox cars, among other things :)

Becca wrote down that she loved: Kittens, dogs and her family...

Kara added: Peanut butter and coffee {And refused to allow me to post any of the pictures I'd taken of her, save one..and it was of very poor quality. }

Mom was thankful for her loving husband, piano music and hot tea, among other things :)

Then came the assembling party.

Problem 1: Branches sticking out everywhere.

Problem 2: The "Canned Tomatoes" label on my mason jar. 

Solution 1: Use a hair scrunchie to hold your "tree" together.

Solution 2: Prune the "tree"

Solution 3: Cover up the jar with this parchment paper.

Haven't a clue why I look so sleepy; I was having fun, I promise!

Then, I added a band of paper around the top (after cutting the yarn, so nobody can see it) and tied a ribbon around it.

*Tadum

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Reasons To Be Thankful {Our Very First Thankfulness Tree}

A Peak Into My Room

After much thinking, hoping and praying, my room is not finished, but very, very,very much farther along on the journey. :) It's been a really fun project.  I picked yellow for the walls and did my painting somewhere around the end of August.

A few days later I found a comforter at Goodwill (love that store!) and the little yellow pillow, too. This took  about twelve dollars. (I kid you not.)

These serve as a centerpiece for my dresser (which we girls have had for...as long as I've been born. So, at least 16 1/2 years. :D). I bought the jewelry box quite a few years ago and the lantern was a gift for my 14th birthday. You can't see it, but I've also thrown some "memory" into the mix by putting three rocks from the shore of Lake Superior on top of the jewelry box. 

I love lace curtains. (Becca, Kara and I made snowflakes for Art class - they make great decorations!)

Kara bought me this hair accessory board. It works very well - I hung it on the back of my door (between both mirrors in my room) where I like to fix my hair. 

I was super excited to finally put pictures in the frame one of my friends had given me for my 15th birthday. (Thanks Maria!)

I bought a bulletin board at the beginning of the school year to post Becca's accomplishments on...but, eh, it turned into a plain ol' bulletin board for whatever happens to need a spot on the wall. 

My hope chest doubles as a bookshelf :)

Gotta love bunk-beds!

                                            

Sorry 'bout the quality, *cough* but this is the photo collage for the main wall in our bedroom. Isaac knew I would love this sticker and bought the perfect gift for me. :) I bought the photo frames at Walmart for three dollars each. (Awesome, right?)

Anyway, that's a peak into my room. I have yet to find a mattress for the top bunk and would like to make the quilt to go on top of it. I really should paint the ceiling and trim, and the wall on the other side of our bed needs a second coat of paint. (I ran out.) But, all in good time. :) 

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A Peak Into My Room