Missing our old Kentucky Home

The first Saturday in May is a BIG day if you live in Kentucky.

We don't live there anymore (although some days my heart still seems to) but we wanted to do something to remember Kentucky on their big day so we made hats...

Derby Hats.

We wore our hats and we watched the race and we cheered... and we remembered our old Kentucky home.

Details on My Craft Room

Alright, first things first.

The paint color.

I knew immediately I wanted an icy blue that was lighter in tone than the beige on the wall since this room has no windows (it's meant to be a home theatre). The color I chose was

Valspar Sea Breath.

I left the ceiling the original beige because the ceilings are high and I wanted it to still feel warm. We bought our cabinets at Home Depot off the shelf. They were having a 20%off sale which saved us a lot of $$$. I knew I wanted an island with lots of counter space and then some "desk" areas on the back wall. On the left is where I have my sewing machine and on the right is the area for my girls to do their crafts.

PEG BOARD: We found that you need about 1/2 in space behind the peg board to slide the hooks in and out without scratching up the wall behind it. We cut up some extra wood we had into appro. 2in squares and used those behind the peg board along with a washer in front to keep the screws from going through the soft peg board material. We used 3 sheets of 2ftx4ft pegboard. Starting with the middle sheet then doing the sides (lots and lots of measuring and leveling to get it all right).

I knew I wanted a peg board to help organize but also to bring color and purpose to the wall. The only problem with peg board is that it has to sit away from the wall which looks tacky so I bought and painted this wide and thick molding Behr's Banana Split to make the peg board pop and give it a clean and finished look.

Make sure your molding is thick enough to cover the gap and put the thickest edge up against the peg board.

And there you have it!

Next up: The island counter top and how we saved $400+ and the "K" monogram.

Excuses, excuses, excuses... excuses

I know, I know... I promised details on the craft room a month ago.

What can I say... I have a lot of good excuses starting with:

Computer on the fritz... grrrr. I consider myself a pretty rational and calm person so why is it when my computer doesn't do what I tell it to do I go completely M-A-D. So, I finally gave up and decided to "walk away from the computer" to save my sanity.

(My honey tried to fix it yesterday by completely wiping it clean and I totally forgot to have him save all my fonts!!!!! )

Excuse 2:

Ummm.... yes, I am pregnant (read: tired, ornery, sleepy, sick, unmotivated, moody, exhausted, nauseated, you get the point). Can I just say the 1st trimester totally STINKS. You feel like crud and you can't fit into anything but you don't look pregnant you just look like you've eaten way too many Reese's pieces, chocolate chip cookies, and nachos... which I have.

Can't wait to get to the 2nd trimester and the "nesting stage" which is usually when I decide to donate everything I own to Goodwill and remodel the whole house top to bottom... love that stage.

Final excuse- my sweet sister Melissa came to visit me for 2 weeks this month with her little girlies. In the past our visits were full of crafting, cooking, sewing, and shopping. Now that we have 6 kids between the 2 of us it was more like cooking, cleaning, laundry, and sleeping. Our 2 year-olds kept us on our toes. It's amazing what ideas they come up with when they put there heads together.... little stinkers.

We had a great time together and although its fun to craft 24/7 we are in a different stage in our lives now and all we can do is let go of our "to-do list" sometimes and enjoy these little ones while they're still little.

So there you have it. My list of "good" excuses. I'm ready to get posting again with details on my favorite things in my craft room (like the pegboard, LOVE it) soon. Well, as soon as I can get my photoshop elements running (darn computer!)

My Craft Room Reveal!

Well, it is pretty much done... pretty much.

I could wait to post pictures until it is completely done but lets be honest that probably won't be for several more months. We are burnt out!

So, here is a reminder of the

BEFORE:

And some shots of the

DURING:

And finally the

AFTER:

We still have hardware to install and I need to finish organizing the peg board (which I LOVE) and add the trim to the bottom of the cabinets.

But, you get the idea. :)

So fun to see my vision come to life...

Makes my heart skip a beat!

(I post details and how-tos soon)

Linked to:

Show and Share at Just a Girl
Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick
Tatertots and jello

Pom Pom Topiary Centerpiece

CHALLENGE: Create a centerpiece for 10 tables with a budget of $25 for the "Relief Society Birthday Dinner".

This is what we came up with...

I made the tissue paper pom poms and then cut up some dowels and painted them green.

We bought the clay pots at the dollar store and spray painted them white.

Only thing left to do is add some moss... and some ribbon??? Maybe not.

Only nine more to go. :)

My Craft room and a little inspiration

When we bought this house we originally planned to use the extra basement room as "the bat cave" for my hubby to sleep in when he worked the night shifts at the hospital.

But, we were surprised to find that a large closet off the hall would fit a queen size bed and would be a much quieter place for him to sleep.

So, that meant we had an extra room we hadn't planned on...

you can imagine my excitement when my husband surprised me a few weeks ago and took me to Home Depot to pick out "stuff for your craft room."

YIPEEEE!!!!!

I literally couldn't sleep for days after.

I would lay in bed and imagine what I wanted to do with MY CRAFT ROOM.

I've never had one before... Just a bunch of boxes in a closet that I had to pull out every time I wanted to craft anything and I have a CRAFT BLOG so you can imagine how often I was digging in that darn closet! So here is what my craft room looked like a few months ago...

It looks very different today

but I'm waiting for a few major items before I show you the "AFTER" shot.
I've been searching the Internet for inspiration and I thought I'd share some of my favorite craft rooms with you.

Sandra from sawdust and paperscraps MADE everything in her craft room with her own two hands! The island is my favorite. Beautiful.
She is currently doing a house tour on her blog.

You have to check it out. You will be amazed by her talents.

Ever wonder what Martha Stewart's craft room looks like?

I did, so I looked it up and here it is. Very simple and VERY clean and organized.

A little too perfect for my taste but lovely none the less.
This craft room comes from one of my old Kentucky friends, Melissa at The Polkadot Chair.

Melissa has amazing talent. I have been in her home many times and I swear every corner of it is beautifully decorated. I love that her craft room is busy with all the things she needs out in the open. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this room gets used every-single-day. She is always creating something new and wonderful.

Yep, Heather Bailey's studio. Breathtaking isn't it?!

My craft room will NOT look like this but a girl can dream right? :)

I can't wait to show you what we've done.

Here are a few hints...

We've been busy.

I don't think I have EVER been as excited about a room before.

It's like a dream come true!!