Bedroom Re-dos

My girls.  They never really had a finished room.  Not even a nursery.  We started to do it while I was pregnant and then I was put in the hospital for the second half of the pregnancy.  Hubby did the best he could, but we ended up just settling for some mis-matched furniture and no real theme.  I thought I would re-do it when they moved into toddler beds at 3, but nope....still didn't.

I'm not sure how this all got started.  I think it had something to do with my friend Nancy and I at last month's Fishhawk Garage Sale.  I told her we were thinking of bunk beds for the girls, but they had to be the ones with the stairs (the ladder ones just made me nervous).  So we looked at several that day but didn't find exactly what I had in mind.   But about a week later, Nancy sent an email with the exact bunk beds I was looking for....on Craig's List. In excellent condition.  At a ridiculously good price.  Sold.

I always told BP that I thought - when the time was right - we would give the girls our bedroom furniture and buy new stuff for us.  We paid $200 for our bedroom set at an estate sale in 2002.  It's from 1963 (there's a stamp on the back of the mirror that says so).  It just made more sense to give 4-year-olds furniture that was still nice...but not brand new.  So that meant we had to buy new furniture for us.  (See how I did that??)

Here's some pics of the girls' new room.  I found the bedding and accessories at Target.  It's called Love n' Nature Collection and it's just the cutest.  I was worried Breena wouldn't like it because it wasn't purple, but she actually loves it.

BP really wanted to keep the papasan because he sits there with them at night before bed to read.  I agreed but said I wanted a new cushion.  Then I looked up how much new cushions for those things were.  Yikes.  So I found a DIY papasan cushion slipcover tutorial and I'm going to attempt to make a cover that coordinates with their room much better... and at about a 1/3 of the price of a brand new one.

I still have decorating to do.  I want to frame some pictures to put up and I want to put their names on the wall somehow.  But they love their new room.

And I love mine!

Here's the sage-y green color it was before:

And here's what it looks like now:

The furniture isn't white...it's more of an off-white with a dark wood top.  It's also a distressed, shabby-chic   (BP had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that we bought brand new furniture that looks old and used on purpose.)  I wanted an iron bed.  He wanted wood.  This was our compromise.

Here's some more pics:

We got rid of the awful vertical blinds over the slider and replaced them with grommet topped panels in a deep red to match the bedding. (not sure why this pic is so dark)

The mirror that goes on this dresser was broken during delivery.  We should have the replacement by Friday.

I still have some decorating to do in here, but I love how peaceful and light it now is.  Unlike a lot of homes in Florida, all of our trim and doors are a cherry instead of the usual white.  Putting light colored furniture in this room really brightened it up.

Now....what can I re-do next....????

Whoooooo is ready for fall...??

Details on how to make this cute owl box using Paper Layerz by Megan Elizabeth will be available here starting November 1!

Halloween Decor

I went a little crazy with the October kit from Club Ruby.  I just couldn't stop making Halloween decorations for the house...

Here's the mantle over my fireplace.   I made the framed sign on the left and the Halloween banner.

Then I dressed up the hall tree in my foyer with a paper flower topiary, a scary skull hanging, an upcycled box and vinyl spiders - complete with rhinestone eyes:

Directions for all my projects can be found under my profile on ClubRubyDesigners.com.

Now...go scrap something!

Halloween Cake Pops

Bakerella makes it looks sooooo easy.

This is my first attempt at cake pops.    (Ok, technically my second attempt.  Most of the first batch got pitched. Ok, ok...so I ATE most of them, then threw out the rest.)  Luckily my four-year-olds do not care how lumpy, bumpy and demented my jack-o-lanterns look.  They just say ' You're the best mommy EVER for making us lollipops!'

October Kit *Sneak Peek*!

I am having SO much fun with the October kit from http://www.clubrubydesigners.com.

I just finished up an awesome home decor project that is already pretty-ing up my foyer for the coming season. Here's a pic:

Be sure to check back after October 1 to see how it all turned out!

*WINNER*

The winner of the Gypsy A-Z DVD from the Above Rubies Studios 21 Days of Giveaways is:

The Bradenburgs!


Email me at britten@aboverubiesstudio.com to claim your prize!!

Drippy Goo - Not just for Halloween

When I went in my scrap area today to clean up after yesterday's project, I spotted my Martha Stewart Drippy Goo punch, sitting right where I left it.  And suddenly....I had an idea.

I wasn't in a Halloween-ie mood...more dark...kind of... edgy... (maybe because of my new hair color...? )  Hmmm...so the question was....can I make Drippy Goo --  rock n' roll???

I grabbed my Gypsy and started scrolling through my cartridges, waiting for inspiration to hit.  AH-HA!  Rock Princess!  An obvious choice for a rock n' roll card....but was there something that would work with the Goo??  And then I found the perfect one and some accessories to go with it.  Of course, then I had to select the right paper...

I loved the hot pink, greens and blues on this sheet of Paper Layerz.  And even though these weren't really layered images, Paper Layerz still worked because the colors coordinated so well.  No digging through my scraps or hacking into 12x12 sheets for just a small cut.  Everything I needed was all on one piece of paper.

I cut out the images I wanted, then hit the edges with a little Distress Ink in Black Soot...

I adhered my Rock Princess die cuts to a 5x5 card of black cardstock with my ATG and foam squares, punched some scraps with the Drippy Goo, added a generous amount of Magenta and Lime Green Stickles....and in minutes (not counting the Stickles drying time) I had my Drippy Rock Star Card!

Anyone have any other non-traditional suggestions for Drippy Goo....??   Let me know and I'll try them out and post them here later this week!