Time for a Change

The other week I was just not feeling the ‘vibe’ in my lounge room.   The room needed a change.  I needed a change.

Before I had a chance to spiral into a lounge room funk, grab the credit card and hit the shops for a new look, I pulled out the sewing machine.

One of the easiest decorating changes that can be made in a lounge room is to add new throw cushions.  They can change the whole feel of the room on the smallest of budgets.

I had bought some great material some time back in red and aqua.  I loved the patterns and the colours were perfect for the lounge room.  The red was already the highlighted colour in the room, but the blue could help tie in the tones of the photo canvas collage hung on the wall.

Before I really had time to think about it, I had run up 5 envelope cushions.  You can read my tutorial on how to make these easy pillow slips here.

I like the two patterns and colours together. The aqua and white has really given the lounge a lift.

A few days after I threw together the new cushions, I was at Ikea and picked up this warm aqua throw for next to nothing.  It should help to keep us cozy as the cooler weather sets in.

So on a little budget, with just a bit of time invested, I was able to give the lounge room (and myself) a lift.

 

 

A Bedroom for a Dinosaur Loving Boy

It occurred to me the other day, as I was giving Master O’s room a quick tidy, that I hadn’t shown you all the changes we made in his room.

Towards the end of last year, as Master O’s 4th birthday loomed, we struggled to find him a present.  We really didn’t want to buy him toys as we knew he would receive more than enough as gifts from the family.  I really had no inspiration until I found myself staring absent-mindedly into a store window while waiting for my sister.  As she arrived and I turned to leave, I realised what I had been staring at…..the cutest range of dinosaur linen and accessories on a fantastic sale.  There and then I decided his present would have to be a dinosaur room makeover.

The day before his birthday party, while he was a daycare, I set about transforming his room.  Previously it had sported a nautical/pirate theme which I shared in these posts here and here, but this is what it looked like on the morning I started the transformation.

After a good clean up and rearrange, followed by the addition of  the new duvet cover, matching cushions and bunting, the room looked a lot fresher.

I added a few other nick nacks that suited the theme, like these cute bookends.

I had already added a padded cushion to the Trofast toy storage units to make a reading seat, but now I could see how well my colour choice matched with the linen. You can read about how I made the seat  here.  A little rearranging of the Trofast tubs I already owned enabled me to bring the colour green into this area of the room as well.

I had tried to purchase some artwork for the walls in time for his birthday but I couldn’t find anything that matched the colour scheme. Master O didn’t mind, he was chuffed with the transformation.  The walls remained blank until about 3 months ago when I returned to the linen store and found a matching dinosaur canvas in stock.

So with one wall decorated,  I thought I might have to make something for the other wall – but what?  On holidays last month I came across a stall that sold all manner of dinosaur cutouts,  2D and 3D.  The were amazing and so well priced that I had to be restrained.  I purchased 2 x 2D cutouts and after a bit of spray paint, attached them each to a canvas.  It was a such a simple art solution and they really do pop with their shiny bright orange paint.

The other purchase I made was 3D pterodactyl.  After a couple of coats, also in the bright orange paint, I attached him to the ceiling.  I was concerned that he might be a bit scary for a 4-year-old, woken in the middle of the night, but Master O has entrusted the pterodactyl with the task of keeping him safe.

So after stalling for nearly 4 months with the artwork, the room is pretty much complete now.  Master O received a couple a big dinosaur figurines for his birthday and Christmas that fit in perfectly with the colour scheme so they now reside on top of his Trofast unit and look very much at home.  We also picked up a hat stand shaped like a tree on sale at Target.  It is the perfect place to hang his Kindergarten and library bags when it is not some how involved in some imaginative dinosaur play.

This really has evolved into the perfect room for our dinosaur loving boy.  What are you favourite themes for little boy’s rooms?

Creating our Childrens’ Outdoor Play Area

In all the hustle and bustle of the last few months I completely forgot to share the outdoor play area we created for the kids. Take a look……

When my husband and I purchased our house pre-children, we were happy with its small yard.  We were young and didn’t want the upkeep of a bigger lot.  It is perfectly located across the road from a massive park, so we knew that when kids came along, that having a small yard didn’t mean they would miss out.  But since having kids we have realised that having space for them to play in the yard is still important.  Wanting to inject some more kids space into our place, we set about utilising our almost unused side of our house.

This side of the house was only ever accessed to hang laundry.   It only housed some pots and a mostly unused water tank.   There is no lawn, just stones.  Sorry, I didn’t even think about taking a ‘before’ photo!

My husband, bless Him, started with grand plans for softfall cover and a fort but I had to reign in the enthusiasm.  The truth is we are outgrowing our house.  We have two small boys now who will soon grow into big boys.  We will need to bite the bullet soon and move, so any kid’s space additions need to be easily removed for future buyers.

After removing the water tank and rearranging the pots, the space just sort of evolved.  There were no solid plans, we just set about pulling together bits and pieces we thought would work.

Master O loves the sandpit at daycare so the first addition to the space was one of these.  We made this by bolting together some sleepers and giving it  a lick of gorgeous ‘Regatta Bay’ blue paint.

While we were painting, Master O kept himself busy dropping stones through a piece of old plumber’s pipe.  My hubby, clever clogs, saw a toy in the making.  The boys can now shovel the sand in the top to have it shoot out the bottom.

When at the park, both my boys love to play with the steering wheel and  telescope.  On a visit to my local hardware I came across these playground toys – a boat’s steering wheel, a periscope and a phone.  Rather than attaching these straight to the fence, we first cut and painted a section of blueboard to hang on the fence for them to be attached to.   This panel became the activity centre.

With the left over blueboard we cut it into two pieces which we also attached to the fence.  Master O is learning to write, so I thought the addition of chalkboards would be a great idea.  I sourced some lovely red coloured chalkboard paint to cover them.  

I had a couple of Ikea Bygel rails going unused so we attached these here and hung the matching Bygel containers to hold the chalk.

We were going to leave the area as is until we stumbled across this cute picnic table.  It was lovely and sturdy and had a sandpit hidden under the lid.  With its addition, the area became more multi-use and an area which we could spend more time in.  Now we can have morning or afternoon tea and a play out there, or retreat there to do our craft projects with less chance of mess.

We have been using this area for some months now and the boys love it.  It was inexpensive and it came together in a flash.  I am so glad we did it!

Study / Craft Room Reveal

Yesterday, I wrote about my decision to convert our playroom back to a study / craft room and the steps I took to complete the room at a fraction of the cost of the cabinetmaker’s quote.  You can read about that here.  Well, today I thought I would show you the completed room and some of the storage solutions I have put in place.

There were two essential things this room needed – lots of compartmentalized storage, and lots of bench space.

I love the Ikea Expedit units, so I used these as a basis for the design.  I purchased 4 of the 4 cube units to sit under the benchtop on one wall, and cut one down to suit the width of the room.  I chose not to have these attached to the each other, the wall or the benchtop so that I have the flexibility in the future to remove these if I wish.  I got the builder to put timber moulding in the gap between the units and the benchtop though, to give the impression they were built in.

I wanted the room to look neat and to maximise the storage capability, so I purchased Lekman boxes to fill the units.  To help keep track of where everything is stowed, I created little tags which I have attached to the fronts with string.

The benchtops I purchased from our local hardware store were meant for a kitchen or laundry, but are perfect for this set up.  I got the builder to cut them to the size and attach them to the wall.

The empty benchtop above the Expedit units has given me a new space to craft.  For the moment, most of my supplies are comfortably stored in the boxes below.  Should I decide on some benchtop or wall storage of my most  used items, there is heaps room to do this.

At one end of this bench I have set up a paperwork and mail station.  I attached two lots of Kvissle newspaper racks from Ikea to the wall to help corral the family’s paperwork.

At the other end of the bench, I have used a large vase to store my wrapping paper.  I was forever throwing out wrapping paper as it would get squished in the cupboard.

The benchtop on the other wall is for ‘office’ work.  There is heap of room for my computer and printer with lots of bench left spare to do paper work.

I have neatened up my cables and stationery bits and pieces with other items from Ikea’s Kvissle range.  You can see what nifty pieces they sell here.

Above this bench, I have attached two huge floating shelves to store books, everyday files and some nick nacks.

On the other side of the room, I have decided to keep it all pretty simple.  We have some lovely big windows that let in the light, so I didn’t want to obstruct that.

I purchased the red chair from Freedom, so we still had a place to sit and read in the room.

On the day I found the chair, my husband fell in love with the big lighthouse print, so it came home with us too.

I am loving the new study / craft room.  I feel I can get more done in this calmer, less cluttered environment. I did wonder whether the boys would miss having a room almost all devoted to their play, but the shake up has been  great in more ways than one.  I will share that with you soon.

 

Study and Craft Room Creation

For a small and relatively new house, ours seems to undergo an awful lot of change and renovation.  It feels like there is always a project on the go, or is that because it takes us forever to complete something?

Last year we decided to convert our very under-used study into a playroom/office to help clear some of the toys from the living areas.   You can get more details about that here and here, but these are a few pics of what it used to look like.

 

It was a great idea and it worked quite well until maternity leave meant I had more time for blogging and crafting.   I needed more desk space and we all needed more storage space.

Taking the bull by the horns, the kid’s rooms were rearranged to include the toy storage that once lived in the playroom.  I then spent a long time looking at pictures for inspiration and eventually came up with a plan for the room.  It was going to be clean and quite simple with oodles of bench space.

I had a few cabinet makers come out to quote the job and what I wanted was going to cost between $6000-$10,000.  That pricing was ridiculous.  I think the job was too small for them and they were quoting to make it worth their while.

Not one to give up or pay too much for anything, I started to work out a solution.  I sourced all my own materials, bought flat pack storage and got a builder to install what I couldn’t do myself.

I ended up with almost exactly what I wanted for a fraction of the cost.

Tomorrow, I will show you what we did.  But for the moment take a look at this pic from after the builder left.

Outdoor Wall Art – Frame Collage

It’s no secret that I love a good collage.  They are scattered all about my house.

 

It is no surprise then,  that when I gave my alcove area a bit of a makeover (you can read about it here and here), I incorporated another collage.

After making a nice area to sit, the area was already so much nicer to look out at, not to mention, use.

But I wanted to add something more interesting to look at on the fence.

I had potted our massive agave plant into a terrazzo pot that had once had another life as a water feature in the same alcove.  I had put this up  by the fence line and loved the green leaves.

Wanting to inject some more gorgeous green into the view, I gathered a collection of old frames.  A good spray paint and a lot of nails later……

 

my outdoor collage was complete.

I’m loving my new green outlook from indoors. Much better than the plain old fence.

 

Streamlining and Baby-Proofing Vertical Blinds

I have finally begun the spring clean of the Crooked Household.  This year, as I make my way around the house, I will be fixing our vertical blinds.

Our blinds are a few years old now so they have the chain link bottoms.

I am not the biggest fan of vertical blinds, especially these chains on the bottom.   They get caught up, twisted, knocked off and deteriorate with sun exposure.  My 9 month old has broken quite a few of the clips that connect the chains to the blinds, leaving the chains to sit on the ground. This was becoming a little messy and somewhat dangerous with a crawling baby in the house.

As the blinds are near perfect, except for a few sections of broken chain, I couldn’t justify replacing the blinds.   Doing a little bit of internet research, I came across a company online that sold bulk packs of vertical blind weights without the chain.  They were a bargain.

It has been easy to replace the chain weights with the linkless weights and now I no longer need to deal with those ugly, annoying chains.

The blinds are now less messy, sit in a streamlined fashion and are no longer attracting a 9 month old for play time.  Well worth the small investment of time and money.

 

Photo Canvas Collage

Sorry I have not been writing as much of late.  There really isn’t an excuse, except I haven’t really had many projects on to inspire a post.  Today though, I finally got to start a project I have been wanting to tackle for about a year.

Last weekend I mentioned I was doing a little reshuffle of wall hangings and pictures around the house.  Hanging above my TV in the living room was a couple of abstract paintings I have wanted to get rid of for ages.

I have really wanted to hang a collage of my favourite canvas prints here.  Slowly, I been poaching the prints I have had done from other walls around the house as other appropriate wall art has become available.  Today, picking up a couple of new prints I had made, and sick of tripping over the others I have ‘stored’, I began my collage.

I made the hanging easier for myself by using the 3M picture hanging strips.  I LOVE these!

This is what I have got done so far.

I still need a few more printed to create another row…..or a bigger tv as Hubby suggested.

I am really happy with how it is shaping up.  I will just have to take a few more nice pics and take advantage of the next printing deal I come across.

The bedroom also benefitted from a few new canvas prints too.

I love how your favourite snaps printed in this medium can brighten up a room and give it a whole new feel.

Linking up with some of these fun parties
Monday: Singing Three Little Birdies, I should be Mopping the Floor, Polly Want a Crafter?, Cherished Bliss, The Gunny Sack, Skip to my Lou, Craftomaniac, It’s so Very Cheri, Keeping it Simple, Creating Really Awesome Free Things, Alderberry Hill, Its A Blog Party, A Pinch of Joy, Making the World Cuter, Mad in Crafts,  Sew Can Do, Sugar Bee Crafts, Tip Junkie, New Nostalgia, Ladybug Blessings,  How to Nest for Less, Watch Out Martha, Clairjustinexoxo,

Tuesday: Coastal Charm, Today’s Creative Blog, Not Just a Housewife, A Bowl Full of Lemons , DIY by Design, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Home Stories A to Z, Hope Studios, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Organising Homelife,  Carolyn’s Homework, The Blackberry Vine, The Kurtz Corner,  A Little Tipsy, Gingersnap crafts, Time Warp Wife, These Creative Juices, The Thrifty Home, Its a Very Cherry World,  Cornerstone Confessions,   Rae Gun Ramblings, Northern Cottage, Clean and Scentsible, Creatively Living , Kathe with an E, Ivy and Elephants, Romance on a Dime,   The Real Housewives of Riverton, DIY Dreamer,  Primp, JAQS Studio, 

Wednesday: Oopsey Daisy, My Girlish Whims, Uncommonly Yours, Creations by Kara, Raising Homemakers, The Thrifty Home, Twin Dragonfly Designs, A Creative Princess, Sugar and Dots, Seven Thirty Three, Fabric Bows and More, Someday Crafts, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Trendy Treehouse, Women Living Well, We are that Family, The Mommy Club , Raising Homemakers, Sew Much Ado,t Simple,  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Free Pretty Things for You, DIY by Design, Bloom Designs, Mom on Timeout, We Like to learn as we Go,  Family Home and Life, Savvy Southern Style, Fine Craft Guild, Embracing Change, HandyMan, Crafty Woman, Polkadots on Parade, No Minimalist Here

Thursday: House of Hepworths Delightful Order, Its a Keeper,  The Frugal Girls, The 36th Avenue,  Thrifty 101, A Glimpse Inside, Brambleberry Cottage, Bear Rabbit Bear, Michelle’s Tasty Creations and Crafty Ideas, Shabby Creek Cottage, Goings on in Texas, Happy Go Lucky,  Raising Oranges,  The Answer is Chocolate, The Taylor House, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Imparting Grace, Made in a Day, 52 Mantels, Loving This Crazy Life, Days of Chalk and Chocolate, Confessions of an ADD Housewife

Friday: The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, At the Picket Fence, Whipperberry, French Country Cottage, Thirty Handmade Days, Creation Corner, Finding Fabulous, Stuff and Nonsense, Fingerprints on the Fridge Naptime Crafters, While He Was Napping, My Romantic Home, Bacon Time With the Hungry, Hungry Hippo, Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons, Remodelaholic, Happy Hour Projects, Simply Designing, Simply Sweet Home, Tidy Mom,  Young and Crafty, Serenity Now , Life as Mom, At the Picket Fence, Tatertots and Jello, Craft Junkie Too, A Little Knick Knack, Blissful and Domestic, Maiden D’Shade, Petites Passions, Bubbly Nature Creations, Here Comes the Sun, Liz Marie Blog, THe Grant Life, Craftionary, Redoux Interior, Common Ground, Just Us Four, Delicate Construction, AKA Designs, Family Ever After,

Saturday:  Be Different Act Normal, The Girl Creative , Funky Junk Interiors , A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid , Its Overflowing, Natasha in Oz, Shaken Together, Homemaker in Heels, Addicted to Decorating

Sunday: A Rosie Sweet Home, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table Dreaming, DIY Showoff, Nifty Thrift Things, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Homemaker on a Dime, DIY Home Sweet Home,  Cherished Treasures, My 1929 Charmer

Lightening up my Entrance

Today I thought I would share with you the little shake up of my entrance I completed this morning.

The entrance of my house can look quite dark despite a large glass door.  The reason stems from the fact our bedrooms sit off this main hallway.  As Master C is now mobile I need to keep the doors closed, reducing the light to the  hall.

I decided that a little shifting of wall hangings in this area would help until we can again keep our doors open.  Take a look at what was here before. 

As you enter the house I had a canvas print hung.

Then on the other side of the double doors to the study sits our hall table and some more canvas prints.

I had quite fancied putting a canvas print gallery in our living room, so I removed the prints I had hung here for that project.

I scored a large square Ribba frame in the clearance section of Ikea some time ago.  It has a great aluminum finish.  I hung this at the front door and unsure of what I wanted to put in it, I have settled for the moment on some left over scrapbooking paper from my command centre project.

I purchased a large round bevelled mirror to sit above the hall table to help reflect the light in the area. It has also given me a spot to check my hair and make-up before I step out the door.

 

Overall I think removing the canvas prints has made the area less busy and the mirror and aluminum finish frame has helped lighten the area.

Outdoor Suite Refresh & Easy Envelope Cushion Tutorial

Since we are putting in the pizza oven and hanging herb garden in the back patio area, we have had to do a little shuffle of plants and furniture into other outside areas.

Our outside alcove area that sits between our master bedroom and dining room has always been a bit of a ho-hum area.  We really have struggled to do something with it that we like.  Up until recently we had a water feature out there but I have been waiting for inspiration to hit. With no idea in sight and sick of not utilising the area, I just took the bull by the horns and started.

We had to move the couch from the back patio to make way for the pizza oven so I moved it to the alcove.  Here is a pic of where it once stood.

Its green covers were looking less than  their best, so I investigated recovering the cushions as they were in satisfactory condition.   Good outdoor appropriate material was going to cost me near $50 a metre and the sewing would have taken a good deal of time and sewing skill, which I don’t really have.  I was beginning to think I would have to put up with the green covers a little longer.  But once again, the Ikea Gods looked favourably on me and provided a solution.

I took a look in their outdoor furniture section, which I have never have done before and I found on clearance, seat pads and cushions exactly (well almost)  the size I needed for the suite.  They came in a nice neutral tone which suited me as I often  like to change things up with scatter cushions in different colours and prints.

Picking up some canvas material from the local craft store, I decided to make some envelope cushions for the suite.  You too can make these with little investment of time or sewing ability as they have only 4 seams and no zip.  If you want to cut this work down even more, pick up a nicely printed large tea towel for your cushion material and you will only have to sew the side seams.

Firstly you must determine the size of your cushions by measuring the size of your cushion insert.  I work with the metric system but I know many of you use inches so I will give you both (please note the conversions are are approximates but won’t affect the final outcome of your slip, as long as you always work with the one unit)

My pillow is 13 x 13 inches (35 cm). I was a little generous with this measurement making sure I didn’t under-measure.

Cut your fabric to the following guide: Width of cushion + 1 inch (3 cm) x length of cushion x 2 + 6 inches (15 cm)

So my material ended up being 14 inches x 32 inches or 38 cm x 85 cm

Hem the two small edges of your fabric.  I used a 1/2 inch (1 cm) seam allowance.

Fold the small edges of your fabric towards the middle allowing these edges to overlap by 4 1/2 in or 12 cm.  Makes sure you fold the material so that the printed side is facing the inside.  Sew along the side seams using a 1/2 in or 1  cm seam allowance.

Turn your cushion right side out and fill.

I have added only a little wiggle room for the cushion – 1/2 in or 1 cm for both the width and length as my cushions did no have much height and I like my cushion to look generously stuffed. If you have particularly lofty cushions, or like a softer looking cushion, add a little more width and length to your cut material. 

So here is my finished suite with my new scatter cushions.  As it is a public holiday here in Brisbane, I think an afternoon refreshment on the ‘new’ lounge is in order.

The rest of this alcove area will get a little bit of a overhaul when I claim some free time.  I have a project I am itching to start that involves some serious garage sale shopping and spray painting.