practice

So before I take on some "permanent" projects, I would like to practice a few small ones.. getting some inspiration here I thought to myself, "hey! I can do that!" and I didn't even need to run to the store for supplies. I had some scrap fabric, some old picture frames, and even a glue gun, with one single stick of glue. The baby was taking a nap, which is usually my chance to clean around the house a little bit, but I decided to put off cleaning the house and concentrate on making something pretty! Excitedly, I gathered the supplies:

1 picture frame
1 purple/white piece of pretty fabric that a set of sheets came in
1 brown piece of fabric that ripped off the bottom of a long skirt
1 hot glue gun
1 glue stick
1 pair of scissors

I decided the purple/white was going to be the background so I cut out a piece a little bigger than the back of the frame and started gluing:

Perfect!

Next, I (rather sloppily) cut out a long piece from the brown fabric (I really need to invest in a pair of fabric cutting scissors):


Next, I glued the top of the brown piece and tied a loose knot. Then I starting wrapping it around the knot. I started to fold the fabric long ways and glue it to itself to make it look nicer, but I gave up half way through (hopefully I develop some patience as I continue with this crafty stuff):


Sorry about the blurry picture, but you get the idea:


I cut out a piece of cardboard and glued the flower to it, then I glued that to the picture frame. There were still some loose parts of the flower coming up from the frame so I just glued it all around the bottom.


Viola! I did it! It's actually really cute and I want to make more! The flower is a little smaller than I anticipated and it sticks out a little too far, but hey, for a spur of the moment project, using only things I had in my house, it's not too bad at all (if I do say so myself):


I still had enough fabric to make 2 more, but as I started to gather things together I realized I was out of glue. Oh well. Guess it's time to clean.

Things I've learned:
1. I need better scissors.
2. I need one spot to do this in. I had pieces of fabric on my living room floor and strings of hot glue on my counter.

funky mirror

One of the projects I started before we moved was painting a mirror that my mom gave me. She told me that she bought it from home interiors like 20 years ago. I thought it was pretty cool but the color was ugly. I wanted to paint it, so i just decided to have at it. I had in my mind 'pink and green' so i sent my husband to get me some paint and paintbrushes, which he did because he's good like that. this is the result of that:


Looking back, there are a few things I would have done differently. First, I probably would have invested in some kind of painting tape to use between the different colors. Second, I probably would have avoided the whole carved floral area and made that a different color. I still plan on painting over that in a different color, but now I have to paint over the green which might be annoying. I think it turned out pretty cool though.
The mirror also has a little shelf which I think is neat. The green color on the bottom part of the shelf is the original color of the mirror as well:


Kind of ugly, right? It's also made out of some weird plastic, it's not even wood. I will be painting that too..... eventually.

Lily's room part 1

One of the only rooms in the house that I feel is somewhat "completed" is Lily's "hangout" area, which basically takes up half of her ginormous room. Yes my 5 year old (almost 6 year old!) gets a hangout area complete with cable TV and a VCR. If only I could have been so lucky! ha! Anyway is a picture taken a few days ago:



and here is a picture I just took a few minutes ago:

I would still like to put a few things on the walls, paint, and get some little curtains for the window on the right, but overall I feel pretty good about it. The TV and table were both from craigslist. The rug we got on clearance at home depot. The couch is a donation from my mom (which was actually originally a donation from us to her.) It has legs that go on it but I figured it would be better to leave them off as to avoid the dust and toys that would have definitely make their way underneath it. The bookshelf, shelves on the right, and clock are all from our old place. The curtains are the only new thing we bought, and I got them at walmart. Yes, walmart. I really do buy a decent amount of stuff from there, I know a lot of you blog readers will hate to hear it!
A lot of those toys made their way downstairs to the toyroom, which is still needing some organization, but that is for another day.

Blogging for the first time

Hello, my name is Joy and I am joining the blogging world. I just moved into a new house and have been relying heavily on blogs to get some great and cheap decorating ideas. Since this is a widely popular topic for bloggers, I decided to join blogspot and document my progress. I have never painted a wall, stained a piece of furniture, or really decorated a room before, so this will be lots of trial and error. Hopefully I can help people or maybe give some ideas along the way. I have tons of great "new" stuff I've been getting off of craigslist and some stuff people have donated to me (mostly my mom) that I would like to refinish. The house has really come a long way in the past 2 weeks, going from all boxes and misplaced furniture to looking like a home. Since this is the first time I'm really decorating a house, and since we don't have much extra money, I would like to do this as cheaply, and as fabulously as possible. Oh and I'm attempting to do all this while raising 3 young girls! I have an *almost* 6 year old named Lily, a 3 year old named Mya, and a 6 month old named Stella. It's summer time so that means there's barely enough extra time to breathe, let alone furnish a house, take pictures, and blog about it but i am determined! This is such a cheesy first post but I will get better, I promise!