eclectic bathroom design by portland interior designer Donna DuFresne Interior Design

traditional kitchen design by interior designer Glen Vale Group

ntil Next Time! Marie

Happy Birthday To ME!

Yesterday was my birthday - Happy Birthday to ME!

I told my hubby that I didn't want anything from him since I've just ordered myself a few new Nestie dies and a Tim Holtz stamp set.  That seemed like enough to me...

But apparently my generous Hubby thought I should have a little something extra.

This is what was waiting for me when I made my morning coffee.

I was very happy to find a new Coach Travel Purse and Makeup Bag!

I won't tell you how old I am but I am very happy to be having another birthday. 

After the year I've had - battling breast cancer - I deserve a little "extra".

Coffee Cup Cozies

I saw these on Card a la Carte and just had to make some up for Christmas gifts.

I had some leftover felt snowflakes so I made a Winter themed one too!

Yes I am getting ready for Christmas - already done my back to school shopping - and happy to get ahead this year!

More New Craft Cubbies!

Just finished another batch of Craft Cubbies!

Pink Polka Dots with Black Ribbon

Pink Polka Dots with White Ribbon

Black Wide Dots with Black Ribbon

Black Random Dots with White Ribbon

Black Wide Dots with Lilac Ribbon

Black Wide Dots with White Ribbon

Black Wide Dots with Red Ribbon

Black Wide Dots with Hot Pink Ribbon

If you're interested in purchasing these or any of the cubbies on the cubby page please contact me at mkirkwood2002@yahoo.com!

A new stool?

Nope it's not new!

It started out as this:

I remembered the BEFORE this time!

And now it looks like this!

Not sure I like the red -

I still have 1 can of black spray paint leftover so you may see this "new" stool post again!

A new bench?

After the success of spray painting my kitchen chairs (see THIS POST)  I've been itching to do something else.

Yesterday the urge to spray paint something was too overwhelming....so  I spray painted this wooden Ikea bench. 

Sorry I really suck at taking BEFORE photos!  But the AFTER photos are coming out really nice aren't they?

We've had this IKEA bench forever (maybe you have one too?) and because we kept it inside we never bothered to finish it.  I think we bought it in 1995 and it's been in our front hallway for the last 14 years!

I'm very pleased with how it turned out....seriously I'm looking at everything around my house with renewed interest!

I still have 1 can of spray paint left and my husband has already warned the kids not to sit still for too long or else I might spray paint them!
 

Never give up hope!

I like to think that I am a patient, positive and hopeful person and today I was rewarded!

This is my mother's engagement ring and it has been missing for 9 years until today!

My mother died in December 2000 and I was given her ring.  In the beginning I wore it all the time on my right hand but took it off at night and for other reasons.

It was September 2001 when I realized that I hadn't seem my mother's ring for a while and even though I looked all over the house for it I could not find it.  I didn't even have a photo of it.

The last time I remember wearing it was to a business dinner in late June 2001.

But June to September 2001 there was a lot going on.   I was taking golf lessons  (taking the ring off to wear my golf glove) and I even remember leaving it in the glove box of my husband's rented car one time.  At night I'd often put it on the bathroom vanity which I realized after I lost the ring was very close to the edge and an easy drop to the garbage can!

I tried to think of what could have happened to it - did it fall in the garbage or did it fall off my nightstand and get vacuumed up?  Did I lose it outside or did someone take it?  I'd hate to think that but the thought did cross my mind since we'd had a new one-time babysitter and used a new cleaning service during that time.

After a couple of years I considered calling one of those pyschics to see if I could get a clue to it's whereabouts.

After 6 years and for our 15 wedding anniversary my husband had a ring made for me in a similiar style to my mother's ring and it was even a Topaz (which was her birthstone).

Every once and a while we'd talk about Grandma Maria's missing ring and wonder where it could be.

Since we hadn't moved house I figured that one day it might show up again.  To be on the safe side I always checked pockets, purses, and drawers before giving anything away!

Today I was preparing for a garage sale and needed to clean out my golf clubs to sell. 

And I found my mother's ring buried under a bunch of change in one of the pockets!

I know what you're thinking - didn't I look in my golf bag?  Of course I did - it was the first place I looked -  but I never actually EMPTIED it before today.

New Chairs?

I took a break from sewing and did some stuff on my "honey do" list that my honey hasn't done for me this summer.

First up on the list I had to spray paint these mexican bar stools we have in our outside bar area.  I just paint them with Rustoleum Rust Proofing spray in Rust colour to hide the rust!

I also needed to spray paint these Japanese lanterns to "freshen" them up.

BUT while in the spray paint aisle at Home Depot I grabbed some black satin spray for a little experiment.

You see since my flooring reno I have been very slow to bring stuff back into my house (you should see my garage!). 

I was thinking that I would buy new kitchen chairs to go with our antique oak table but I couldn't find any I liked for under $400 each!  Yikes!

So I decided to spray paint them - of course I started with the broken one first just in case!

I think they turned out very nice!  Not to mention the "recycling" factor.  Don't you agree?

Yes I also spray painted the Ikea lazy susan too! 

Once I started spray painting I found it very hard to stop and found myself looking at everything in my house with renewed interest.

Alter it with Vinyl Clings!

I recently "redid" my kids' upstairs homework area. 

This is how it looks now - I always forget to take Before photos - sorry about that!

I bought an Ikea black table top and brushed stainless legs but had a hard time deciding which drawer unit to buy. 

I really liked THIS ONE but felt it would take up too much space and I wanted something that would fit under the table.

I decided on Micke from Ikea (no longer available) but I hated the white drawers and I really wanted something that was all dark brown or black.

So to "funk" it up I decided to add some vinyl clings to the drawer fronts to take away some of the "white".

I'm really happy with how it turned out:

Stampin' Up! has a whole line of Definitely Decorative vinyl that would be suitable for this kind of "redecorating" as well you can find lots of these wall art clings at various stores. 

If you can't find what you're looking for you might want to consider buying the vinyl and making your own with a Cricut cutting machine or cutting out shapes with some dies and a Big Shot.

Flooring Reno Phase 1 complete....

Sorry !

I know all my cardmaking friends will be disappointed but I'm so tied up with this flooring reno that I cannot do anything until it is done.

BUT if you are looking for photos of my flooring reno (Anita and Yvonne) here they are:

Our kitchen eating area - yes the baseboards are going in this week and the walls will be repainted:

Front Entrance - the carpet on the stairs is being changed on Tuesday!

These are our back stairs - yes we even tiled the stairs.  They will have oak nosings when the baseboard guy comes this week.  We will change out the mudroom flooring to a ceramic tile that is very similiar to this slate at a later time.

Powder room - again in need of baseboards!

Getting there....

Well the demolition has finished and the tiling has begun!  I'm going out in a bit so I don't get boxed in.

Here are some more during photos:

These tiles were just laid on Friday and they have not been washed or sealed yet.

It's hard to tell from these photos but the slate tiles are being laid in a pattern using 24x24, 12x24 and 12x12 inch tiles

The workmen have just arrived so I better get packing up my COPICs and some images and head off to ScrapArts to colour in peace!