Think Green!

We’re teetering on the edge of spring here in Montana.  Just a few weeks ago we had sunny filled skies and near 70 degree temperatures.  So far this week (and most of last) we’re lucky to reach the 40’s while the snow falls.  Welcome to Montana, I suppose.  Minnesota and Wisconsin folks, I feel for you.  In an effort to usher spring sooner than later, I’m adding fresh green to our house.  The more, the merrier, starting with this mint, cream, and emerald-green color block pillow from Jillian Rene Decor.

Jillian-Rene-Decor-Spring-Pillow

Jillian was sweet enough to make me a custom pillow.  So wonderful and perfect.  Everything in her shop is so great, so check it out.  Next to the sofa, I’m trying to green up my thumb with a grass-like succulent and a few clay critters.

Succulent-Spring-Plant

More greenery on the mantel, this time a planter from Wal-Mart with two bunches of fake succulents.

Green-Planter-on-Mantle

And finally, my newest art obsession, right in my home; “Heavenly” by Annie Bailey of MT Photo Journal.

MT-Photo-Journal-Art

Annie lives in Montana and takes beautiful photos of our state.  Most Montana photography is wildlife, not my style.  Or taken in Glacier National Park or some other mountain area.  Which is pretty, don’t get me wrong.  To me, that’s not what Montana is really about.  This is Big Sky Country after all.

MT-Photo-Journal-Art-Toward-Fireplace

(Ignore the unfinished ceiling, please)  Annie captures the essence of Montana, with interesting compositions and vivid colors.

MT-Photo-Journal-Art-from-Back-Door

Immediately upon opening the package, I popped it in this cheap frame.  Soon, hopefully, I’ll convince Ben to make me a beautiful wooden frame, but I can admire this lovely until then.

MT-Photo-Journal-Art-Toward-Kitchen

So there you have it, two of my favorite Etsy shops.  Now, let’s get to spring, shall we?  Any new art you’re loving lately?

Quick Quilt

So, I made a quilt.  And it didn’t take that long.  About 10 total hours, from cutting to using.  After trying and disliking a small patterned bedding, I searched the internet for a more simple, but still colorful quilt.  This Pia Wallen Cross Blanket is awesome, but also expensive.

Then I saw this Polly blanket.

Perfect colors to tie in with the elements of the guest room.  White like the trim, gray to match the doors, yellow for the walls, blue like the headboard and dresser, and green accents.  But I couldn’t find a price or a place in the US selling it.  Instead, I used this as inspiration to make my own fabric quilt.

Quilt-on-Guest-Bed

I bought a half yard of six different colored linen fabrics.  Light gray, dark gray, mustard, white, teal, moss, and used navy I bought for the headboard.  To maximize the fabric, I cut nine 6 by 16 rectangles of each color, keeping the left over ends.

Sewing-Quilt-Cut-Pieces

With all pieces cut, I started randomly arranging the colors, sewing the short ends together to make a strip.

Sewing-Quilt-Ironed-Strip

Then I ironed each strip before sewing two together.

Sewing-Quilt-Strips

I continued sewing two strips together, then sewed those strips to form the front.  Once I made the front large enough, I laid an ironed flat twin sheet (five bucks at Wal-Mart) on the floor right side up.  Then my patchwork piece on top, right side down.  For a little more weight and warmth, I added a layer of white flannel on top of my patched sheet.

Sewing-Quilt-Layers

Before sewing, I marked my lines, then stitched along all three sides and part of the bottom.  Basically, I treated it just like an over sized pillow cover.  Once I turned it right side out, I had and front, back, and inner liner with a small hole at the bottom.  I hand stitched it shut and called it done.

Patch-Quilt-on-Guest-Bed

Folded at the foot of the bed it adds pattern and color, and functions as a throw or a summer blanket for one person.  Handy Sammy and I are both super happy with the results.  Bonus, I’ve finally sewn a full quilt.  Every time before, I’ve made way too small pieces for my patience and skill level.  Turns out, making large pieces makes the process quicker.  Who woulda thunk it?  How about you, have you ever made a quilt?

Stellar Embroiderery

Constellations.  They’re just so…cool.  In elementary school, we had a special week with the Star Lab, a big, inflatable dome with a star projector.  It was awesome.  And who doesn’t like star-gazing?  That’s what I thought.  So, I made two stellar embroidered art pieces for the boys’ bedroom.  I started by drawing a constellation map on navy fabric I bought for the guest room headboard (but didn’t use).

Embroidered-Constellation-Template

Using white embroidery floss, I made stars and connected the constellations together.  A large embroidery hoop kept my fabric tight while I worked in sections.

Embroidered-Constallations

Not sure why, but I thought this would be a relatively quick project.  I was wrong.  It took several hours to make each 16 by 20 piece.  But, it was worth it.  After stitching every star,  I stretched centered the fabric over an old canvas, then stapled it to the back, pulling tightly as I worked around.

Embroidered-Constellation-Detail

A few areas didn’t stay tight, but that’s okay.

Embroidered-Constellation-Loose-Detail

Now the boys can learn the constellations of the northern and southern hemispheres.

Embroidered-Constellation-Art

Like upside down Orion at the top, holding his bow.

Northern-Hemisphere-Constellation

And look!  There’s his lower half in the upper left corner.

Southern-Hemisphere-Constellation

Getting one small thing done always makes me want to start/finish/fix other things in a room.  Like painting the walls a solid color (popcorn, I’ll get to you one of these days!) and maybe spruce up this little hand me down play kitchen.

Embroidered-Constellations-with-Kitchen

Do you think these are stellar?  (Pun intended).  Have you recovered or repurposed old canvases?

Rock Wall, Waterfall

About that waterfall I mentioned last week.  How’s about a little more info?  Getting a finished patio in the back yard is a priority for this spring/summer.  Getting all heavy lifting done is key.  The waterfall was all Ben’s idea.  He has a knack for coming up with awesome ideas to complicate his life.  But they’re worth it in the end.  Here’s our rough landscape plan:

Back-Yard-Landscape-Plan-Sept-2012

The waterfall is made up of linear-ish stones we pulled from our property.  A meandering rubber backed stream filled with river rock (also taken from our property) meets the rock cliff.

Testing-Waterfall

Below, a hidden pond collects the water.  Hidden pond, what?  I’m glad you asked.  Ben dug a hole, lined it with a thick rubber, then placed plastic containers inside.  The containers have holes, allowing water to circulate and river rock fills the gaps, but the rubber liner holds water in the whole area.  The uncovered box will hold a submersible pump (to get the water up the hill).  Three other boxes store water, which we covered with flat stones before covering with crushed limestone.

Covering-Waterfall-Hidden-Pond

After living with the fountain that was in the back yard, we realized an open pond would quickly get filled with dirt, leaves, sticks, and rocks.  Some naturally landing in, other tossed in by the boys.  An open pond is also a safety hazard with two young kids around.

Waterfall-Stream-and-Filling-Pond

Instead, we’ve got a pond you can walk on.  As you can see, we’ve got more rock to haul up, but we’ve made tons of progress already.

Waterfall-Stream-and-Hidden-Pond

After the rock we can add plantings, pour a patio, and carry on with the rest of our plans, including a fire pit and pergola.  Grrrr, baby.  Very grrr.

Where Are They Now?

This weekend marked our first house-iversary here.  So I thought it’d be fun to take a side by side then and now tour.  Think of this as a child celeb where are they now special E! special.  Everyone loves those, right?  If you don’t, think of this as an updated house tour.

Let’s start at the front door.  Here’s the entry on move in day:

New-House-Entry April 13 2012

Add a rug, small table, a few prints, and here we are today:

Entry-One-Year-Later

The living and dining rooms one year ago:

New-House-Living-and-Dining-April-13-2012

And now:

Living-Room-to-Dining-One-Year-Later

Our furniture makes a big difference.  The rocker has to go back down stairs, but my dad needs his rocker when they visit.

Living-Room-One-Year-Later

Other than moving furniture in, painting over the red accent wall (which might change-see the swatches?), and building an entertainment center, this room hasn’t gotten much attention.

Entertainment-Center-One-Year-Later

Same goes for the dining room.  Here it is before:

Dining-Room-After-Move-In-April-30

And now:

Dining-Room-One-Year-Later

Yes, that’s a folding table in there, but it’s better than nothing.  We’ve got plans that could change the flow of the room, so we’re waiting to buy/build a table to decide the size and shape.

One big change has happened in the kitchen.  Check out how it looked then:

New-House-Kitchen-from-Breakfast-Nook-April-13-2012

Now, the dark wall paper is gone.  Soon, I plan to finish the walls and paint.

Kitchen-and-BN-One-Year-Later

Of course we still want to rework the kitchen.

Breakfast-Nook-One-Year-Later

The dark wallpaper wrapped around to my office, too:

New-House-Office-April-13

It’s amazing how much brighter the room is without the dark walls.

Office-One-Year-Later

One of the rooms we’re nearly finished with is the family room.  On move in day, it was a blank canvas with a 70’s moss rock fireplace.

New-House-Family-Room-April-13-2012

The previous owner added some too traditional for our liking elements, like the sconces and arches.

Square-Pattern-Rug-in-Family-Room

Here’s the room after covering the fireplace, adding a bar/wood storage, painting the walls, re-arranging furniture, and squaring the arched doors:

Family-Room-Fireplace-One-Year-Later

Clearly the ceiling isn’t finished.  We’re fixing a few small cracks.  It’s on my to do list this week.  But the room itself is nearly complete, just have to shop around for furniture we like.

Family-Room-One-Year-Later

Along with the arches, the previous owner updated the main bathroom:

New-House-Main-Bathroom April 13 2012

Main-Bathroom-Sink-Before

Despite being the most recently finished room in the house, it was the first we remodeled.  More storage and a shower were necessary for our family.  And here it is now:

Main-Bathroom-Finished-from-Door

Light walls, a colored vanity, and coral accents make us smile.

Main-Bathroom-Finished-Vanity

The smallest bedroom, our guest/Handy Sammy’s room just got a make over, too.  Here it is on closing day:

New-House-Guest-Bedroom April 13 2012

Today the room is bright and sunny thanks to a larger window and happy yellow paint:

Guest-Bedroom-Painted-Safari-Overall

Reconfigured bookshelves allow more floor space while giving the bed a cozy nook.

Guest-Room-Headboard-One-Year-Later

Guest-Room-Closet-Side-One-Year-Later

Guest-Room-Door-Side-One-Year-Later

Our boys share the second bedroom, which was a plain box before:

New-House-Boys-Bedroom-April-13-2012

New-House-Boys-Bedroom-to-Hall-April-13-2012

And it still kind of is:

Boys'-Bedroom-One-Year-Later

Before we can do much else, the popcorn ceiling has to come down.  Then we can add trim and paint the walls.  Until then, we’re living with swatches on the walls.

Boys'-Bedroom-Door-Side-One-Year-Later

Same story in our bedroom.  Popcorn ceilings are preventing us from working on the room.  I can’t wait to paint over the cobalt blue walls:

New-House-Master-Bedroom-Front-April-13-2012

New-House-Master-Bedroom-April-13-2012

We have built a bed (though it’s not finished) and added art:

Master-Bedroom-from-Door-One-Year-Later

I guess that’s something.  Ha!

Master-Bedroom-One-Year-Later

Before, our master bath was a burgundy cave:

New-House-Master-Bathroom-Toilet-April-13-2012

A coat of green paint lightened things up, but we want to remodel this bath to include the claw foot tub we removed from the other bathroom.

Master-Bath-One-Year-Later

Most of the basement is unchanged, so I’ll just share the laundry room.  Ben pulled pet stained carpet out right after signing the papers:

New-House-Laundry-Room-April-13-2012

For now we’ve got an old rug in place:

Laundry-Room-from-Door

Gotta make things work, at least until we can really tackle each room.  So there it is, our house one year ago versus our house today.  It’s nice to take a look back, because sometimes it feels like we’ve barely scratched the surface of this remodel project we call home.  But, we’ve actually got three finished (or allllmost finished) rooms with lots of changes in others.  Slowly but surely, we’re making progress.  One day, weekend, and project at a time.