Here we go AGAIN!

Here we are off onto another adventure!  Today we signed the papers on a tiny little house in Texas.  We just couldn't stand renting because, well, it was making us crazy not having house projects!!!  To be completely honest, it's nothing that we were necessarily looking for as far as houses go.  If you know Kurt and I, then you know how much we love old, historical homes with quirky spaces and surprises around every corner.
Well, you can't ALWAYS get what you want, so you just gotta make the best of it!  We had a certain area we needed to stay in that was close to where Kurt is working and found this tiny, 900ish square foot home that is going to be perfect for the 2 of us and a visiting college student.

 

It's about as basic as you can get, so you know I'm itching to get rid of all the "run of the mill" light fixtures and baseboards.  The big bridge in the living room is interesting (haha) so I have a few ideas for changing that!We were in the place about 20 minutes after the closing and managed to get a few projects started. First was the awful carpet...bye bye!! 

We are going to put hardwood flooring throughout the house.  Hopefully all one flooring will make the space feel less chopped up.  I don't know if you can tell, but the ceilings have a really obnoxious plaster stippling effect on them.  Not looking forward to removing that, but not sure if I can handle the textured ceiling.  My neck is hurting thinking about it...YUCK!!!!!!

Next thing on the list was the fireplace.  It's ok, but could be a lot better, especially with the high ceilings.  I'm on Pinterest every night looking for ideas on that one.  We knew we at least needed to get the tile up for the installation of the wood floors.

The final project for the day was removing the island in the kitchen.  The space is not that big to begin with and this island took up almost the whole entire room.  Plus, it wasn't anything to write home about anyway.  I'm sure I can come up with something cuter!!

Oh, and you KNOW those light fixtures are heading to Goodwill!!  The cabinets are going to get a makeover as well.

So that's it for today.  I'll be back often to keep you updated on our progress as long as I'm not too sore to get to the computer to type!

How to make Flower Garlands

If you know me, then you know I LOVE the details!!  Here is a project that will make you look like an absolute pro for your next event.  It's the simplest of crafts, yet makes such a great impact when used for decorating a party or used in the background in a photo shoot.  The basis for this one, coffee filters!!  Yup, cheap ol coffee filters and few tea bags (if you want yours to have that soft cream color)

The basic supplies needed are:
Stapler
Scissors
Some ribbon (I make mine 10 feet long)
5 tea bags (will make about 10 or more garlands)
Glue gun
and of course, coffee filters!

Step 1: take 3 coffee filters and stack them up
Step 2: Fold them in half
Step 3: Fold over again into quarters
Step 4: Fold one last time

Step 5: You don't need to be perfect on this one, or even really draw the shape in.  I just wanted you to see how the tops should to be cut off.
Step 6: Showing what it looks like after the layers have been cut through.
Step 7: Take the layers and separate them.  You don't want to have the edges matched back perfectly.  Stack them back up together.
Step 8: Pinch the back together and staple it.

If you're going to make a 10 foot garland like mine, then you will need 24 of these flowers made up.  Step 9: Dip the ends (about half an inch to an inch) into the tea and then lay on their sides to dry.This is the worst part of the whole process, waiting for the flowers to dry.  I usually dip mine at night before bed and when I get up the next morning they are ready to open.

Open up all the flowers carefully.  Step 10: take your cut ribbon and lay it across one flat side of the flower half.  Apply some glue and press another flower to it and VOILA, the start of your flower paper garland!!

I use 12 full flowers for each garland....but of course you can make yours any size you like!

Building A Creatively Made Business

I Know HER!!!! Hey, my dear friend Jen is sharing all of her business expertise along with other talented artists, dreamers and doers! If you've ever thought about starting your own business, check this out!

http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/2014/04/building-a-creatively-made-business-2-0.html