THE CURTAINS

Ah yes, my curtains.  It is now referred to our in our house as "the project".  To tell this story I have to start in the beginning.

It all started with my walls.  We rent our house and therefore my husband was opposed, I mean opposed to painting and the cost of it.  But I pushed because we had been there for 4 years and the walls needed SOMETHING!.  Since his biggest gripe was the cost of paint I had the brilliant idea, yes, all me, to contact our landlord and simply ask, "hey nice landlord, if we paint the walls in the house all one neutral color will you pay for the paint?".  What was that nice landlord? You will! Oh what joy you have brought to me and my plain white walls!!  You are marvelous.  (OK, so I embellished the story a bit)

We were off, set the day husband, get rid of the toddler, we are painting!!! And all I have to say about that experience, was Ouch, my body aches.  But its done, all except for the mess ups on the ceiling and the baseboards, and now the door that leads to the garage because apparently it needed a pen design on it.  Thanks toddler.

And now since my walls were not a plain white I can now change my furniture color.  Insert inspiration here.

Oh sooo pretty.  So I was off.  First step was to find those curtains.  That was my first heartbreak.  If you are just tuning in and didn't really read the title of my blog spot it has the word "poor" in it.  Yes, poor.  Not a play on words, truly we do not have the money for $100 panels, especially when I have 2 windows in my living area.  So ok, I said, I will make them.  Yeah, did I mention I don't sew and would have to enlist the help of my already loaded down pinterest pinner friends?  Well...yep.  I even went as to look into the material to see how much it would cost.  I found this beautiful work of art.

But sadly, It was still $10 a yard on sale.  And keep in mind, 2 windows = 4 panels, = alot of yards.  Equals out of our budget.  SO!  Don't loose heart blog buddies, I had another idea!  Insert another reason why I love pinterest! I thought, "hmmm...wonder if you can paint material, like paint your own curtains?" I typed in "DIY curtains" and to my lovely surprise my pinterest buddies had made a tutorial just for me as if they knew I would one day need or want to in fact, paint my own curtains.  Oh they made it look so easy.  I did my research and found a 2 panel pack at Walmart for $9. each = to $18.00.  They were 84' long but not as wide as the normal curtains ( i do not have the measurements) but it didn't matter too much for me because my windows were not wide and these would fit perfectly.  I did look online for quite a while and never once found these until I actually went to the store.  It was walmart brand, I think Mainstays.

Here are my supplies, minus the brush I used, which is actually kind of important, so I will add that later. I found the orange paint at walmart, I had to buy 4 bottles at 3.27 each and the fabric medium at Michaels for $6.  The black paint, painters tape, tape measure and pencil I already had. So I am not about to begin to write a how to paint your curtains, my buddies at pinterest have already done that, but I wanted to share my mistakes and what NOT to do.  My first to tries were a bust.  I was ready to give up the project all together until something in me said "NO, you can do this!" So I did more research.

My first panel. I did only one to see what it was about, how hard, etc.  Not too hard to tape the curtains, I used the ironing board so I could stand.  I then laid down some paper in the playroom over a sheet for the bleed through, because there will be bleed through.  Which proves to I think be your biggest challenge.  I mixed the paint to my desired color and added the medium.  I later discovered that I did not add enough medium so be sure if you want to do this, that you follow those direction and measure.

So here is my first panel

Yeah, those marks are from where the panel stuck to the paper and I had to rip it free.  You need to let the curtains dry overnight so i DID, not thinking that it would stick to the paper and rip! Probably usually goes without saying with most people, but I am slow.  So don't do this!

So I researched again and found someone used a tarp. I thought, I have a tarp, I will try that.  Here is my second panel.

Yeah, the crinkle in my tarp made the bleed through dry with a weird gunky pattern.  Once again, I don't think I used enough medium, so maybe if I had this wouldn't have happened, but I still wanted to cry.  This project that was suppose to save me money was failing and fast.  My husband still told me they looked good, but lets face it, he was lying.  lol.  This is when I told myself I can do this, this project will NOT get the best of me.

Insert my last 2 panels.

Oh so pretty!!! HOW?  Well, it takes work.  Be ready for your knees to hurt and to give alot of patience.  Because you have to watch those white stripes and your orange fingers. Sometimes you want to lean in or move your brush over them, YOU CAN'T!  If you are ready, read on.

I used the same supplies listed above, with correct medium this time.  Laid a sheet down on the floor.  I then took Freezer paper, yes I had it on hand for another project.  It can be bought at Walmart on the foil and plastic wrap isle.  The box is huge and usually overlooked, it was by me.  It has only one shiny side so I laid that shiny side down across my floor , about 5 panels. and ducked taped the together. Then turned the whole thing over onto my sheet. and that was my working area.  I took the last two panels and laid them side to side and went to work.  I tried several different brushes but only one small paint brushed gave me the right stroke consistency.  I will try to take a picture of it and post later.  I let them dry overnight and they stuck to the paper but it was easily removed, with no streaks!!!  Here is the semi finished product.  (I feel like my son always manages to get into the pic.) I just wished he had on pants!!

MONDAY

Yes, It is Monday. That is the saying I tell myself throughout the day.  Hoping that I can get over the stereotypical blues that come along with that word.  And Notes to self:  Coffee, 2 or 3 cups helps.

So this weekend was rainy which with anyone that knows me knows that usually depresses me.  I love Florida and the sunny days.  I am one of the few Floridians that looks forward to Summer.  I love the smell of sunscreen and burning flesh. haha, no but I do love the smell of sunscreen.   But this weekend was the opposite. So I spent it indoors with the husband and toddler.  Yes, they are still alive. I know that is what your asking yourself. lol.   I spent my time working on my living room project and using the husbands time to hang a few things while telling him to keep his opinions to himself.  It is coming along nicely but the lack of funds has brought it to a slow halt. Here is a teaser picture.  Disclaimer  Not the best lighting and not the best picture taken. The final ones will be a bit better. 


Before:

After

Also I wish I had a picture of my bright red ottoman to show you.  Funny story.  So I want to use my ottoman in the playroom and as extra seating when family is over but the red with just not go with anything that I have in my house now so I went looking for slipcovers last week.  So far I found one at Walmart for just the right price but was going to wait to get it until the other changes were done.  WELL..my wonderful son had other plans.  Just so happens that since he is already 3ft TALL, he can in fact reach alot of things that the normal toddler cannot.  That is a very useful fact mothers of tall children might like to know.  He discovered our pin jar on top of computer desk.  Yes, you know where this is going.  As I remain in the living room painting away while he plays in his room with his toys (so I thought) discovered a wonderful wand that produces a design when its tip touches objects.  Such as my door that leads to the garage and my bright red ottoman.  Also Notes to self: Make sure new slipcover at Walmart is washable and maybe ink resistant.  lol.

Happy Monday Friends!

I'M BACK!

Alot has happened since I last posted something on my blog.  But that really shouldn't be surprising since alot of stuff usually does happen in 3years!!!!  lol.

Well we had a baby, an awesome boy.  He shall be called Jackson or "tank" as some people call him.  That will have to be a story I share some other time.

What brings me back to my blog you ask?  Well that shall be called Pinterest!!!  My second or third love, depends on if I love my husband on the day that you ask.  And that usually depends on if he remembered to take the trash out...why is that so hard?  Anyways....Pinterest.  The place where I can make all my DIY projects come true.  Right now I am working on my living room, painting and converting dark colors into light colors.  Picture will hopefully come soon and that my friends depends on when I complete said project.  With working full time, a busy toddler and a husband that is not home during the week, painting and crafting at 11pm is not ideal, but it is what I have resorted too.

Don't write me off yet....stay tuned!!

Bring The Rain

Goodness, it’s been a long week and its only Wednesday!!!! ;)

I have to share my boating story with a few of my readers. Last week Will traded his motorcycle for a boat (McKee craft 2001), in essence a fishing boat. We were really excited but a little sad to see the bike go. So to celebrate this grand thing we decided to have a picnic on an island. We figured we could spend some time alone and break in the new toy. So Sunday was the day.

Sunday started out grand! Wonderful sermon at church and beautiful day, what more could you ask for? We got out to the island about 1:30 and enjoyed our packed lunch. As we were eating, I noticed in the distance some clouds along with some rain, but it was in the distance. So we finished eating and were packing up and I looked up and said to Will "that storm is moving in REALLY quickly, what should we do?" Through some deliberation we decide to head back, not wanting to risk getting caught in it. Well, we did. It was so bad we couldn't see in front of us, rain was quickly coming into the boat and the seas were high. I just kept praying that God would steer us out. We made it to the bridge for some covering meeting 10 other boats there as well. I took off my hat and started shoveling out water. Eventually we made it back and when we got home, took a nap.

Well, I was anxious to get out on the boat again for another try at it, hoping I wasn't bad luck. I may have been wrong.

Last night............About 8:00pm, Will: I am going to take the boat out for some quick fishing. Me: Wait, I wanna go! Will: C'mon!

We get out there, beautiful night but no fish, so we decided to cruise for a bit. Then it happens, the motor just stops working. Ugh! My heart is racing as I ask Will, "What are we going to do?" He is calm, as he starts working at it, quickly goes to the trolling motor and assures me that we can get back on that it will just take awhile. Now for some that might not know, the troller motor moves at a snail speed and is hooked up to a battery. Now my concern at the time was that the battery would not get us the whole way home. We were not out too far, but you have to go around islands to get back which makes it seem longer.
During this time it was mostly quite on the boat as me and Will just prayed and had our own thoughts. We tried not to be irritated with each other, but ya know that’s hard. Then of course some of my thoughts went to "why?" And thought God was trying to use this to show us something. The only thing I came up with was, no more boat trips for me! I remember one thought in both circumstances where I was thinking, "Bring it on!" Give me your best! Bring the rain!" Sometimes when looking back we can see how we truly were strengthened in our marriage and ourselves by one event in our lives. God is just kinda cool that way.

So, it took us 4 hrs to get home. And then we didn't even make it to the dock. Will was quick to think of a place at the edge of the bridge that drops off into the water that we can get to and then walk to the truck. So we went this route. We made it home. I still don't believe that this actually happened.

Weak Moments

I don't know where else to post this because I have to get it out. I would go outside and scream it if I thought no one would think I was crazy.

I really want a baby.

Permanent Cruise Control

If only God used signs like these to direct us in the way He wants us to go. I think Will and I are in a place right now of just not knowing, which is probably a place that a lot of people find themselves in, just coasting through. Its hard to sit and write of the things that are happening in your life, especially when nothing of any consequence is happening. I have felt for some time that we are just coasting through our life and not really fulfilling any dream of God’s or ours for that matter. Like the feeling of survival took over and that is all that is left.

How do you get the want for something more back?

The Last 2 Months

So I keep feeling like we are still in the month of March. Where does time go? Time is flying by faster every year I get older especially if that year is filled with some tuff times. Its like we somehow miss out on life happening because we are focused on one specific life event. For me it was our miscarriage. March and April had a lot stuff happening in them, but seem to have flown by the fastest. Funny, I guess that is why God is always telling me to keep my eyes focused on Him. So we can appreciate our days a little more and let him worry about what the future will bring.

Speaking of future.......Will and I are busy working these days getting ready for our friends wedding in Pittsburgh on June 19. We are really excited to be a part of it and I am also excited to see that area especially where Will grew up.

We have also been busy excersing since we turned our guest bedroom into a work out room. Will has been busy with p90x and I with my ellipitcal. I am not so much enjoying this process and having to admit to ourselves that since we got married we let ourselves go a little. blah! But I want to look and feel better by my 30th bday in July, so I will keep at it!!! Hello bathing suit season, goodbye baggy hoodies, you will be missed.

~Steph