ready to sew, my closet is complete

Rainy weather calls for indoor projects, and I have plenty of them! I caulked and painted the desk we made for my sewing closet, and then put all my stuff away. Here's the space...

Yes, I have 2 sewing machines, the one on the desk top is my Brother embroidery sewing machine. I love it!

 There's storage for my patterns, and all the little "stuff" that comes with a sewing machine. 

 This side is for trims, elastic, velcro, etc... and a couple empty bins for what comes along.

I added cork board (from Hobby Lobby) to the back wall to pin my patterns to. The seam where the two boards meet was staring back at me, so I decided to trim it out. Looking for a piece of trim, I found a yardstick so I chopped that to fit. Pretty and useful!

  Here's the fabrics from my current project... the bumpers and another minky sheet.

All organized and ready to go! I love organization... don't you?!

baby boy board and batten (say that 3 times fast!)

A nursery is such a fun room to decorate! With endless color and fabric possibilities... 

how do you decide on a palette? Well, my daughter decided on bright yellow, gray and navy blue for her baby boy's room. She also wanted the walls to be board and batten. This was our first time doing that wall treatment and I have to say, the result looks great! 

The first order was to choose a gray paint 

We marked around the room with my trusty laser level (great for this) 

and painted the top 1/3 of the walls Sabre Gray by Benjamin Moore, 

and the bottom Brilliant White semi-gloss by Behr.

We primed all the boards with 2 coats, and painted them with one coat before putting them up. We started by applying the top 3 1/2 inch trim board using a nail gun. Next we measured around the room and added the 2" battens every 13" or so, because that's what came out evenly on the walls. We leveled each board to make sure they were straight. The last step was adding the 2 1/2 " top trim piece. 

We caulked around the entire room and then painted all the boards one final time.

Then we got to "dress" the room and put the furniture in place. 

Here's the baby bedding I made... stripe dust ruffle, gray minky sheet 

and one bumper section (still finishing the bumpers)

This fabulous bookcase in the perfect shade of yellow was a shower gift from 

my Golf Gal Pals, don't they have great taste!

Changing table dresser and navy blue rocker/recliner with a handmade lumbar pillow. 

I couldn't decide so I made one side giraffe print and one side stripe. The yellow blanket was hand knit by Nathan's Great-Grammy.

And our last project of the weekend... cornice boxes for the two windows. I made the boxes out of 8" wide pine, having them come out 4" from the wall. I added batting around the entire thing and covered them in the gray graphic fabric that's on the outside of the bumpers. Simple and tailored for a boy!

So that's the baby boy board and batten bedroom! 
All ready and waiting for my grandson due in May.

sharing at Wow us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

sewing room in a closet!

 I don't have a designated craft or sewing room. I usually set-up on the dining room table, but that's not the greatest for keeping the house neat and clean, especially since it's the first room off the front door.

Since my youngest daughter now lives in her own condo, I decided to turn her closet into my new sewing space. 
I love the idea of leaving the machine set up and just closing the door on the mess. 

 Here's the empty closet with a new light installed above the doors

 We had these cubes from something else (?) that were the perfect height.  
We decided to use them as end supports. We added a board across the back, 
one on each side and one across the front of the doors to support the table top. 

Here it is, all level and perfect!

 I still need to trim out the top with some 1/4 round and paint it all with semi-gloss white...

but, the sewing machine fits!

And here's the best part... the doors close on any mess I leave behind for the day... hooray! 
The other best part... my dining room is perfectly neat and clean.

linking to:

DIY Showoff Project Parade

Metamorphosis Monday

Just Something I Whipped up
Centsational Girl linky party

it's never too early to start...

Tennis is a big game in our family, everybody plays. Carter loves to play with balls and was having a tough time with his Momma's large tennis racquet, so today I bought him his very own kid sized racquet. 

Still a bit oversized for a 1 year old, who's not quite walking yet, but he loves it just the same!

"okay Hattie... your serve"

Just wait until he can stand on his own.... T2 here comes Carter!

baby bumpers!

This is a first for me! I bought the Nu-foam bumper foam from Joann's, with the 50% off coupon of course, and it comes with instructions. I added a small navy blue cording at the top for contrast. One end section is done, with one more and the two sides to go. I thought it turned out great and wanted to share it with you!

One side is the yellow giraffes and the other the gray graphic.

 Which side do you think Baby Nathan wants to look at?

yellow and gray

I'm taking a break from my own home projects to sew my new grandbaby's nursery bedding. 
The colors are yellow and gray with navy blue as trim. Here are the fabrics:

This stripe is for the dust ruffle

This geometric will be on one side of the bumpers and...

this cute giraffe print on the other side.

 The gray minky is for the sheet, so soft and cozy!

The dust ruffle is almost done... next I'll sew the the sheet. 
In the meantime we'll be painting the nursery this weekend. So much to do!


sharing at Somewhat Simple

Big Reveal: a month of home improvements!

Our month of renovations started with a bang, a chisel and a lot of dust!

We ripped up the original marble foyer tile...

and replaced it with granite and travertine limestone.

Our 21 year old white kitchen was replaced with...

stained cabinets and granite counter tops,

black appliances turned to stainless steel,

we added new knobs and handles,

and a porcelain tile back splash.

Our 9 year old red sofa got a face lift...

and turned a soft sage green.

Our faded red striped chair and ottoman...

was reupholstered to a bright blue stripe.

The "new" keeping room!

I've got fabric to re-do my red kitchen chairs and desk chair too.

The white spindles and carpet were removed...

oak treads were installed and stained...

and wrought iron balusters added.

My desk alcove became...

an empty space, and then...

our new wine bar!

We also had the entire downstairs painted

"Tobacco Leaf" by Martha Stewart.

There were days I had 4 crews working at the same time. It was crowded, chaotic and dusty. Five weeks of contractors and mess... and we're finally done!

I love everything and feel like I'm living in a new house!

So yes... it was worth it!

linking to:

Metamorphosis Monday

Amaze me Monday

SavvySouthernStyle

TheGirlCreative

and Remodelaholics Anonymous