{october up 'til now...}

Whooaaa... all of October up 'til now has been filled with seasonal goodness, activities, events, long awaited visits, brushing up on and learning new skills and more.- There's so much that has inspired me throughout this time and all these experiences... My trip to visit my sista and bff Kim was much needed for all of us I think.. it was filled with grittiness & creativity, knitting/crocheting, baking & jewelry making... I was also able to attend the creative *SPARK* event just last weekend with best friends and it exceeded my hopes & wishes of what it might be like by far! 

We took classes and worked on creative projects that I can hardly wait to share. I still need to finish a few.. I did finish my vintage flower makeover on a plain shirt and love it! I'm so excited to create & do much more with this skill. 

I also L-O-V-E-D the photography class and have been experimenting with all the different settings on my camera & taking photos outside of "auto." This is so invigorating to me... I really enjoy capturing what's interesting to me & what I see through the lens. 

We learned a technique called "sunflare" that I really like and have been having fun working with.

Sunday, I looked out the window and saw Syd and her little friend Jade out on her front lawn having a picnic on a blanket, listening to music and playing together. It was that perfect time of day for shooting photos and the setting was so natural that I decided to go out and practice and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out!

{I think I've found it!}

The bedding for the boys room makeover, that is... picture above is the material of the duvet and sham from this much liked site Design Public, I found from another blog that posted about this other really cool product that they offer. {I'll post about that separately}. 

On Design Public they had really cute sheets with the duvet set but they were orange and with the walls being orange I wanted something a little different, I found these green sheets on Walmart.com and they are only $19.99 a set verses $80.00+. I can live with that!!!

I'm thinking I like this quirky ceiling light fixture from Ikea too! Looks kinda space like, right???

Throw pillows and wall decals also from Design Public! I can't wait to order it all and see it put together in their room. 

This is the Blimp Space Light I've known I wanted to use in the room since the beginning. It's also from Ikea, the boys are not so patiently waiting for this one... they keep asking me everyday when I'm going to get it.

In painting the ceiling navy blue {for the outer space effect} its caused a lack of light in the room, which I already knew it would.. so I want a nice bright ceiling fixture that casts the light outward all over the room instead of down in one spot. I also want to add these wall lamps on the wall by the head of their beds for reading at night {and of course more ambience}. The fun Blimp Space light will be just for fun and then I'll probably add a cool track lighting fixture by a shelf or just add lighting to the shelf itself. 

Ooo, the thing that would just shoot right off the GRITTY scale is if I could somehow drill little holes throughout the ceiling and add little twinkle lights like stars. Think how fun it would be to make the design of one of the constellations, like the big or little dipper. Hmm.. I really need to think of a way to do that, this is going to clog my brainwaves for awhile.. I can just tell!

~sandee.

{sneek peek: boy's room makeover in progress}

Okay, so I FINALLY finished the paint job in the boy's new room.. and I thought I'd post a picture! I'm very pleased with the way it turned out, the orange is so vibrant and the navy blue stripe and ceiling were just the look I was going for. Keep in mind though, the room itself is STILL at a very incomplete stage. Now it's time to start looking for the bedding, accessories, lighting, curtains, and to decorate the place. In the meantime, they are still using their old airplanes bedding which is really bugging me because it so doesn't match... AND I'm not to sure about the color of the table that I got for them to build legos, do projects/homework on, now that it's in the newly painted room.. so I now possibly have myself yet ANOTHER project on my list of "to-do's" to change the color of their table. If I do end up wanting to change it, that will be the last thing I do. We'll see... 

The table I got for inside the corner to create that Pottery Barn type setup with the beds works quite perfectly though, so that put a smile on my face and the kids are totally loving it too!!! They think their new room ROCKS and it's not even near being finished yet. The whole set up will look much better once I get the bedding I want, with extra pillows and a bed skirt so you can't see the bottom frame of the bed. One step at a time though, right... 

I love these glass jars for storing things, aren't they gritty??? This is Marcus' rock collection, he keeps a little magnifying glass in it so he can look at all the crystals and variations in the different rocks. This is sitting as a center piece on their table for now. I still need to get a big set of shelves to display and store a lot of their stuff too.

 

.. And here is one of those two old schoolhouse chairs I was so fortunate to run across to accompany their table. LoVe them...

I have loads of ideas running through my head and am hoping to find everything I want to incorporate into their room and for good deals. Right now the bedding is giving me a bit of a headache, because I've only found two sets that I would really consider and one doesn't come with all the pieces, and they are both much more pricey than I would like. My search goes on.. if I absolutely can't find anything else than I guess I'll just have to delay my instant gratification and save for them. Arrgghhh.... 

~sandee.

{House Beautiful: 101 Makeover Ideas}

There are so many things about the room above that intrigue & excite me, minus the two wooden heads atop the piano, I think they might even scare me at night. Anywho~ I'm always on the look out for ideas.. pieces of inspiration... rooms filled with splendid amounts of grittiness... and I've found some in the new 2009 list of House Beautiful: 101 Makeover Ideas! 

{I've always had a thing for window seats... I think I need to add one, how 'bout you?}

Idea #55

"Make a window seat for a favorite window. Build a plywood box and paint it. Add a cushion and pillows, and you'll have a new spot to furl up and read House Beautiful." -Michael Richman

{I especially like the idea of submitting a personal photo for this idea}

Idea #36

"Photo murals are back. Coloredgevisual.com or duggal.com have a great selection, or you can submit your own photos and they will scale it according to your wall. Do an entrance foyer, the end wall of a long, dreary hallway, or the ceiling of a tiny powder room, just for fun." -Christopher Coleman

{Anyone who knows me, also knows.. rearranging furniture & decor is one of my favorite ways of creating a fresh, new feeling within the spaces of my home}

Idea #48

"What's the best view in your room? Rearrange your furniture in such a way that you can enjoy it. Sometimes that just means pulling a chair out of a dark corner and moving it next to a window. Suddenly, it's your favorite place to sit and relax." -Carl D'Aquino

{LoVed this photo because I'm in the process of looking for great new pillows for my family room at the moment and this particular one would fit in so well}

Idea #51

"I've always collected textiles, and you can make a fast, easy change with bedding, towels, and table linens to creat a different mood. Switch things out seasonally, or for a special event, or whenever you want to play around with a certain color or pattern." -Thomas O'Brien

{Does anyone know if these cast a warm glowing type of light or are they like those ugly new "cold-blue tinted" Christmas lights??? I'm all over ambience lighting everywhere & anywhere I can add it... but I don't really want it to look like the lighting in a morgue}. 

Idea #11

"Buy a bunch of those battery-operated LED Everywhere lights for only $8.99 each. They're like little hockey pucks, with adhesive on the back. Put them under a console table, on top of a bookcase, or use them to backlight some interesting object on a shelf." -Libby Cameron

What ideas out of the "101" have you planning your next makeover? Do share...

~sandee.

p.s. if anyone knows how to get rid of this annoying underline accompanying my text under the last picture on my post, please tell. I've gotten rid of it by accident sometimes...

{so, so excited for Valentines Day!}

I can hardly wait for tomorrow... Don't you just love Valentines Day? A day dedicated specifically towards expressing your LoVe for the ones you dearly heart!!! I don't know about you... but I get all gritty about traditions & I'm always looking for more fun and cute ideas of things to make a celebration more exciting, magical, memorable, etc... this year I've found a few more to make our Valentines Day extra special!~ 

"Hoo" wouldn't love these little owl paper plates I picked up at Target to serve this super yummy heart-y breakfast on in the morning! {breakfast idea came from the Feb. issue of Martha Stewart Living}.

{images via Bakerella}

I'm so, so excited to make these new mouthwatering treats I found over at the famous Bakerella for our after dinner desserts too!!! 

... and I'll probably even try a few of these kisses with my one & only true LoVe... should make for a perfect ending to a very heart-ful Valentines Day...

From my house to yours, Happy Valentines Day too!!!

~sandee.