Practicing Thriftcraft!

Hello All!

We are working on the craft room but it's a process!  The crown molding is up and the flooring will go in this weekend if the weather cooperates.  In the meantime, I wanted to share the light fixture that's going in there.  A few weeks ago, I saw this at Class and Trash:

It's the kind that has glass arms!  It was taken out of a home in Northern Virginia during demolition.  It needed a good cleaning, new wiring, a little paint, and new crystals.  Dan and I got busy and took it apart:

It made me a little anxious to take it all apart.  Look at all those glass pieces!

Plus, all the hardware pieces:

My part was easy--cleaning and painting--but Dan took on the task of rewiring it.  He showed me how it's done.  Yeah, I'll need a few more classes before I'll feel comfortable doing it on my own ;)  Here it is now:

The champagne-colored crystals came from Shabby Elegant Designs.  I kept the vintage prisms and will use them either on another project or as ornaments on my Christmas tree.  I love the look of blue opaline also and gave those a try:

Also gorgeous!  But when I painted the room --Bravo Blue by Sherwin Williams--the blue just blended into the walls.  Based on the other color/design choices for the room made the champagne crystals my next choice.  Once I saw the on the chandelier, there just wasn't any other choice!  (sneak peak alert! :)

I'm linking up!

Coastal Charm, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday No. 201
Elizabeth & Co., Be Inspired Features and Link Party #107
From My Front Porch to Yours, Treasure Hunt Thursday, #145

Have a great week,
Lisa

Out of the Closet!

The master bedroom closet is finally finished!

In an effort to make the most of the time we were sidelined due to the Government shutdown, Dan and I gutted our closet!  When we did our bedroom makeover, we bought enough flooring to do the closet too but hadn't gotten to it.  I was totally dragging my feet because the thought of cleaning out the closet and temporarily relocating all the junk contents while the floor was going in just seemed like wayyyyy too much work.  Umm, I was right - LOL!  But, in the end, it was totally worth it!

*Caution* - this is extremely pic heavy!  Here are some before pictures:

The model home of the house plan we chose had recessed shelving right inside the doorway of the master bedroom closet.  They were swoon-worthy.  I *loved* those shelves and couldn't wait to have some of my very own.  Unfortunately, and during the final walk-through, I discovered the builder left out (forgot?) my shelves completely - UGH.  So, they crammed some shelving in.  I never loved them like the recessed ones.  This is why:

Open the door and BOOM!  shelves in your face.  Grrrr.  It's awkward and difficult to photograph.  The opening to the closet isn't as small as it appears in this picture but still, they jutted out AND the light switch was on the inside of the shelving so you would have to walk into the closet, and stick your hand into the shelves to get the light switch.  FAIL.  We had the light switch relocated before we moved in and that helped ease the pain...a little.   Here's a shot of the doorway from a different angle:

Not horrible but not the sleek and chic of recessed shelves!  I snapped these pictures during the renovation of our room and we used the closet to pile up stuff from the room too (my excuse for the clutter!).  

The closet was outfitted with two rows of bars and there were shelves above each row of bars.  Beige walls, beige carpet.  We cleared it out and then removed all the hardware.

The shoe shelves --GONE!  Laaaaaa (signifies heavenly singing.  Ha ha).  The light fixtures needed to go too.  I never realized until I started DIYing and reading decorating blogs that these were "boob" lights.  Now that I have learned, I can't see them any other way - LOL!

Some of the brackets were GLUED on --which I think is outrageous!  Talk about shortcuts!  Unfortunately, that time-saving trick for the builder wreaked havoc on the drywall and took days for us to repair.

So much damage to the walls - unbelievable!

Don't mind the General Contractor there. LOL!  He's making sure there's no more gluing of things.
Finally, we could paint.  We used Glidden "White Lagoon".  It's a very pale blue/green - beautiful with the gray in the bedroom.  The second it was dry, up went the lights :) 

We painted the ceiling white.  It is amazing to me what a white ceiling does for light!  Look how bright it is in there - love it!

The light fixtures came from Home Depot and I am proud to say they were particularly inexpensive.  I had picked fixtures that were going for about $140/ea.  They were lovely, but not budget friendly.  I went back to the drawing board and when I saw these:

A clear glass bubble with a frosted glass shade - definitely appealing to a glass hound like me - ah, but the $49.95 sealed the deal.  The paint in here is very pale and very tricky to photograph!  The pic below shows more the true color (around the door).

Uh oh, the GC is back - look busy - LOL!  Next the floor went in; then the closet organizers and last, all the trim.  Here it is finished:

These pieces are for my accessories.  The picture is one that my step daughter took for her photography class in high school.  She took her favorite purses and borrowed my favorite purses and then took a series of photos of them and their different features.  Then she created a collage.

She got an A+ on the project and then, gifted it to me!  I had it framed at Michaels several years ago and always pictured it in the closet.  Now, my treasured gift hangs in its rightful place :)

All the organizer pieces are by Closet Maid; the bench is Martha Stewart.  Everything, including the mirror, came from Home Depot.  The rug is from Ikea.

And finally, finally --the clothes & stuff went in:

I did a major purge on the contents of the closet and am still going through some bins.  I also pulled out any summer or spring clothing and will keep those in storage until it's time to switch it out.  It's so funny, going through clothes, I ask myself, is it closet-worthy - LOL!  I hope that attitude lasts; it will sure help me keep it looking this neat!

Ahhhh.  It's wonderful to have this project DONE.  My craft room is next on the agenda but I think we'll take a little break with Christmas right around the corner.

I'm linking up!

Elizabeth & Co:  Be Inspired Features and Link Party #97

Hope your week is going well!

2012 in Review

Hello Friends!

After seeing a segment on Good Morning America recapping 2012, I thought it might be fun to do the same here.  It's been a year of transformation and discovering new *old* things.

January saw the installation of an antique mantel our living room, putting up our monogram in the foyer, and my term as a card designer for A Day For Daisies ended.  Lessons learned:  Craigslist rules, I love the character something old brings to bland beige rooms, and when one chapter ends, another begins.  (oh, and  Dan and I work great together as long as our tasks are different :)

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

February and March were busy, happy, and exciting months thanks to Rhonda's wedding.  We also added a new fur baby to our family, Sushi the cat.  Lessons learned:  Friends are a treasure and being asked to share in their life's events is truly a blessing and honor.  Two cats are just as much work as one.  

From left:  Rhonda, me, Savannah (Groom's granddaughter) & Allison (Rhonda's Niece)
Bride, Matron of Honor, Flower girl, Bridesmaid

Here's the spread!  Allison and Jenna (far right) are busy discussing the pros and cons of  whether or not to add the feta dip and by unanimous decision, YES, we added it :)   The banner just says "Congratulations".

The bride's mom (in the brown chair), sister-in-law, and family friend.  We are awaiting the arrival of the other guests.

Vanilla butter cream cake with handmade cherry blossoms (Thank you Sweet Edibles from Etsy! )

Such a beautiful ceremony!  From left - Allison, me, Rhonda, Steve, Peter (Rhonda's oldest brother and Steve's best friend) and Steven (Rhonda's youngest brother)

And last but not least, our new fur baby:

April and May were full of thrifting!  Lessons learned:  People discard some AWESOME stuff!  Richmond is full of great thrifts and milk glass soothes the disappointment of NOT winning Mega Millions (ha ha!).

Burberry cashmere scarf

Federal Glass Moon Glow dinnerware and paneled sherbets

lovely milky goodness

By June, I had begun coaxing Rhonda into thrifting and she totally had my back, just like a bff would, when she spied these for me:

I thrifted my first piece of antique glassware:

We painted and decorated the home office/study (= Stoffice?):

and darling Savannah turned 3!!:

Lessons learned:  Thrifting is fun and it's double the fun with your bff --as long as your tastes are different or it could get ugly - LOL!  Antique glass is the bee's knees.  Dan should pick more of the house paint colors because the color in the Stoffice is lovely (Glidden Dusty Miller) and nothing is better than seeing the face of a soon-to-be 3 yr. old light up at the sight of Minnie Mouse.

July, August and September led me to some awesome finds and DIYs for our Master Bedroom makeover.  There's nothing posted for September but that's the crazy busy month at work AND the month I got food poisoning.  Lessons learned:  DIYs are totally gratifying, vintage vinyl tufted chairs rock --umm, literally, mine rocks plus it's totally cool and TRUST NO ONE (well, except yourself or your mom) when it comes to preparing food.  I still have no idea where or from what I got sick but it was remarkably horrible.  By the grace of God I didn't end up in the hospital and for that I am grateful, and that which doesn't kill us, or even turn us inside out, makes us stronger...and uber-paranoid about eating stuff.  If I were to find another positive of being that sick it would be that I spent so much time in the bathroom that it gave me a new perspective of our master bathroom layout and thus, aided me in kicking off a much-needed makeover of that space as well!  *giggle*.  Let's hope that makeover will be something I can share with you in early 2013.

BEFORE

AFTER

October brought improved health (but I still came down with an upper respiratory infection 1 week after returning to work after the food poisoning episode - gahh!) so I was able to get pictures of the bedroom posted.  I made over another one of my thrifty finds and found another treasured piece of antique glass.  And last but not least, I found a Swedish Mora (repro) clock.  Lessons learned:  A chandelier in the bedroom is wayyy romantic, cool thrift finds make super-cool OOAK decorations, finding antique glass in the wild is a total rush and there's a time to thrift and a time to pay retail ;)

Bryce & Higbee teardrop pattern

I started a new job in November which was a blessing from God.  It was a very smooth transition from my former position.  It was a lateral move but it allows me to work directly with customers and help them to maneuver through required processes, etc.  It is a better fit for me and am looking forward to making the most of it.  November also marked a year that my daughter changed her life around.  She is sober, healthy, and back in college to finish her degree (which will take less than a year).  This is huge. Watching her step out in front of  that oncoming train and not listening to our warnings is one of the most frustrating and helpless experiences I have tried to endure.  I couldn't so I laid it down and asked God and He heard me.  He intervened.  This deserves a post all in its own.   For now, I want to acknowledge and testify to it.  I believe and it changes everything.  So, November was all about family.  Lessons learned:  God is in, and has, complete control over everything.  Amen.

Which brings me to December.  Dan spent a good portion of it in California with his parents as his dad had surgery (colon cancer); thank God the surgery was a success.  I stayed home (new job and all) and took care of things here.  Prior to Dan's trip, we did get a local thrift trip in and I found a prize (to me) piece of antique glass and enjoyed decorating the house for Christmas.   Lessons learned:  I still have a lot to learn.  

WHEW!  So that's 2012.  Thank you to all of you who've hung in there with me and to those of you who joined me this year.  Here's to the New Year and I wish you love, happiness, health and wealth --all in generous amounts!

Welcome 2013!