Wednesday, February 28, 2018

I Think I Have Bunny Fever

I have just realized that I have a weakness for bunnies (just not for the real kind that wreck havoc in my yard).  Every Spring when all the stores put out their Easter decor I am drawn to the bunnies.  I have a hard time resisting the urge to purchase them.   I recently bought these 4 bunnies and the two topiaries to use this year.  I have them sitting on my buffet in the dining room until I get around to decorating for Spring/Easter in this room (that is why it looks so cluttered). 




I got the 3 tall bunnies at HomeGoods, the jumping bunny and the topiaries at Tuesday Morning.



I think that the large bunnies are going to need some bows around their necks.  I am hoping to get started on my decorating this coming weekend.  I am still working on my wine cork project in the basement.  I was hoping to get that done also.  So many projects, so little time.

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Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Wine cork project almost done

Today I am sharing my progress on the wine cork wall that I am doing in my basement.  This past weekend makes it five days that I have worked on it.  Here is how it looks right now.




I could have gotten it done but on Saturday I cut my left thumb with the utility knife not once but twice.  It was hurting so bad I had to stop for the day.  I was very limited on Sunday as the thumb was still hurting and I was trying to be very careful not to cut anymore fingers.  At least I didn't burn my fingers from the glue gun.

Here is how this project has progressed.  This is how it looked before I started.




Stage 1-one day of working


Stage 2-two days of working


Stage 3-this past weekend


I should be able to wrap this up this coming weekend as long as there are no mishaps.  I am a natural born klutz so we'll see how it goes.   I have always said that I can trip on my own shadow.  It is by the grace of God that I have never been seriously injured. I am so ready to get this done and get on with my next project.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Wine cork project update

A little update on my wine cork project that I am doing on the wet bar in our basement.  I was to get to work on it for a little bit on Saturday and Sunday.  I have now gotten about half of it done.  I wish that I could say that it has been easy but it has really been a challenge.  Not only do I have to be careful not to cut a finger off with the scroll saw but I have burned my fingers numerous times with the hot glue gun.




Here is a close up on a section of the wall.  The problem that I have been having is that not all of the corks are the same size so it makes the lines look a little crooked at some point.  It does look better when you look at it at a distance.  The bar stools will cover up most of the wall anyway.


Here is a recap from the previous weekend when I only got to work on it one day.  As you can see I didn't get very far.  It takes time to cut the corks in half and that is what I was mainly doing the previous weekend.  The scroll saw makes it much easier and faster then trying to cut them with a knife or razor blade.





I am thinking that maybe I will stop at this point.  We had the furniture delivered on Saturday I need to get it arranged and get the basement organized.  It looks pretty neat at this point anyway.



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Saturday, February 17, 2018

A Bit of Spring Color

Since I am going to be busy today and tomorrow with my wine cork project in the basement I thought I would do a vignette on my kitchen table.  My hubby got me some beautiful flowers for Valentine's Day that I wanted to show off.  I recently bought a new bunny from Tuesday Morning the other day and place him with the flowers.


I added a touch of greenery and some faux grapes to the tray also.


The bunny is dark brown like a chocolate bunny.


This gave a touch of Spring that I needed right now with the yard covered with snow.  This weekend is going to be nice but starting Monday it is suppose to snow again and be cold for the next week.

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Thursday, February 15, 2018

My new project

I have been wanting to do something with our curved wet bar wall ever since we moved in a little over two years ago.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.  I didn't just want to paint it.  I wanted it to be focal point in the basement family room.


I had already painted the basement and made the curved wall next to the bar a dark brown while the other walls are a tan.  I thought about using tile, stone or even doing a textured technique to it.  I finally came up with the idea of putting wine corks on the wall.  I have hundreds of corks that I bought many years back plus what I have accumulated myself over the years.  The wall looks small in the picture but it is actually quite large.



Now I wasn't sure how I was going to use the corks.  I decided it would be best to cut them in half so I would twice as much and I thought it would be easier to glue them to the drywall.  Next problem, how to cut them in half.  My hubby said I should use the utility knife.  My first thought was that would take forever and I would probably cut myself and would have to be rushed to the emergency room.  My idea was to use my scroll saw.  Yes, I could still probably cut my finger off but as least it would be faster and I could concentrate better.  So I brought my scroll saw in from the garage as it was 20 degrees that day and I was not going to freeze using it in the garage. 


So I set it up in the foyer.  It was a great idea but I could only use it for about 30 minutes as my fingers were cramping since I had to hold onto the corks very tightly.  I was able to get about 200 corks cut in half and I got started later that afternoon with the gluing.  Here is what I got done on Sunday.


I know that it doesn't look like I got that far and I did not use all the corks that I cut day.  Between being down on my knees for a few hours and getting my fingers burnt from the hot glue I had to throw in the towel for the day.  I think that it is looking pretty good so far. 


I am going to try and get a lot more done this weekend.  Last weekend was more of a trial and error as not all of the corks are the same length and I was wanting to stagger the seams. Now that I know what I am doing it should go faster. After this weekend I am pretty sure that I would have wished that I just painted the wall instead. 

This Saturday we are finally getting the furniture delivered for the basement.  We ordered two power reclining loveseats.  I was hoping to have this done before then but I wasn't able to get started on this project any sooner.  Here is a picture of the area where the furniture is going.  Please excuse the mess.


I have been throwing stuff down here that I am wanting to decorate with but I have been waiting to get furniture.  I can't wait to get this area done.  I will be doing a post on the weekend showing the furniture and my progress on the wall.  Wish me luck.

Monday, February 5, 2018

New Look for the Dining Room

Now with all the Christmas put away it is time to freshen up the dining room.  Keeping a neutral theme that I can add some Spring and Easter to later was the goal.


A few touches to the corner shelf.  Check out my new metal chicken on top.


The hubby got me this for Christmas.  I think he did a great job of picking it out.  It even coordinates with the curtains.


The table top centerpiece.  No dishes yet.  I will add them when I change out a few items for Spring.


I added my new candle holders and candles to the buffet.


I love to use my scale in this room.



I added my everyday bunny in here to give it a touch of Spring.



I pretty much have the first level of our house done.  It has only taken me two years and 3 months to get it done.  I still have to do a few touches to a couple of bedrooms upstairs and the basement.  We are still waiting on the furniture to come in.  My next project is going to be the basement bar area.  I have already painted the cabinets and now I need to focus on the curved wall of the bar.  Be sure to check back for all the details.

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Sunday, February 4, 2018

Formal Living Room Part 2

I am so happy to say that I finally have the formal living room done for now.  I still need to find some curtain panels or worst case scenario I will be forced to make them myself.  I apologize ahead of time for the quality of the following pictures.  Today is cold and cloudy and since this room has no over head lighting these are the best I could do. This is the southwest side of the room where I have my table that I do puzzles.  Right now I am doing my Thomas Kinkade "Gone with the Wind" puzzle.


The table by the windows I have set up to be my snack area.  I have three glass containers that I will be filling up with goodies that are bad for me. Right now the largest container has some salt water taffy in it.  You know how you need to keep your energy up when putting together puzzles.


I also tweaked the southeast side of the room by adding some stacking suitcases in between the chairs and one more accessory to the table in the corner.




This room is my most difficult to get pictures of.  There are large columns when you first enter my home that block the view to this room.  Here are a few pictures that I took at the top of the stairs.



This next picture is from the first flight of stairs.


I was in front of the family room entrance for this last picture.






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