Chalkboards

Chalkboards

Chalkboards are definitely a trend out there and the trend appears to be holding steady.  I have been thinking about doing a chalkboard in my house for a very long time now. I am not sure what is taking so long???  So my goal by the end of this week is to get a chalkboard done and in place in my kitchen. 

 I am anticipating a lot of this happening once it is up!

I have the perfect spot picked out.  Today I bought all of the materials and got a very good start on gettin’ her done. 

So far, way easier than I had anticipated!  Yeah!

We have absolutely no place to hang the kids artwork and papers at our house so I cut out a large piece of metal and will be putting the chalkboard on that…I love anything that serves double duty!!

Now… to figure out how I can make it look like more than just a boring chalkboard.  I found some very inspiring pics that hopefully lead me to something awesome!!  Check them out…

Would love to hear what you think and definitely would love any great ideas!  Will post the final pics yet this week.  Happy Monday!

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Burlap Vase Tutorial

I do love burlap!  So I had these old vases that have been in my room forever.  I recently upholstered my headboard in burlap and thought why not tie these vases in by doing burlap on them too.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  What do you think??

(sorry about the pic, not the best lighting on a dark dreary winters day)

So, first I spray painted some branches that I knew I wanted to put into the vases when I was done.  I have been trying to go lighter in my room, doing way more white.  So the branches went white.

Next I cut up some burlap that I had leftover from the headboard project.  First it went into strips and then into squares.  I cut randomly, making all of the pieces different sizes.  Then, out came the Modge Podge.  I randomly placed the squares all over the vase adhering them with the Modge Podge.

While this was drying, which seemed like forever (it took a lot of Modge Podge!), I started to create two fabric flowers.  You have probably all seen tutorials around on making fabric flowers.  I got mine from: http://emilys-little-world.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-make-t-shirt-fabric-flower.html.  I had the fabric leftover from some other project…can’t even remember what??  I did not use t-shirt material, It was just a cotton material and it worked just fine. J

Because I have zero patience, I went ahead and adhered the flower to the vase…as you can see in the pic, Modge Podge is clearly not dry yet! 

And Ta Da…you have an awesome, totally unique vase. 

Love it!

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The Two Story House

This week I am trying to share with you a few of my many great loves.  If you saw earlier this week I talked about my love of white ironstone.  It is always fun to have something to collect.  The fact that it is so pretty is a bonus!

Now onto my second great love... The two story house.  I have always had a fascination with older homes.  Love the character and the charm.  Who doesn’t?  But my love goes deeper…way deeper!

So gorgeous...who wouldn't want to live here??

Or maybe even here...craftsman is my favorite

I can't imagine anyone turning down this place...it would be a dream for me

But this is the reallity for me...and I love it!!

After my husband and I were first married we bought a 4 square home from the 1920’s…loved, loved, loved that house.  It was our first home and we did a lot of work to that place on a non- existent budget.  Unfortunately, once we had kids we quickly realized that the neighborhood was horrible!  We had never heard of location, location, location…I was 21 years old…who knew!

From there we went to a ranch house.  It was newer, loved all the updates, but it just wasn’t what we wanted.  Something was missing. 

So about 8 years ago we moved to our current home, hoping that we were getting the best of both worlds.  Our new home is in a neighborhood designed to look like a neighborhood of yesteryear.  Everyone must have a front porch, your garage must be set back (most houses have garages on the back and an alley), the sidewalks are wider and the streets narrower.  Very family friendly.

The best part is you get the character of an older home with all the updates of a newer…yeah!

So why else do I love the two story concept?

 *I do love the division of space.  Don’t get me wrong I am a fan of open concept…to a point.  I love that our family space is all together.  We have a huge dining/kitchen space that we love to hang out in. 

*I love that I don’t have to worry about everything being cleaned up when I have a party.  One floor gets the once over and I am done! 

*I love it that when it has been “one of those days” I can send the kids off to their own space.  Or, when you have families over parents are able to do their thing while the kids are doing theirs!!

send em up

or send em down!

*I love that my bedroom makeover is just for me.  Who knows if anyone will ever see it…probably only on my blog!

*I love that it is intimate and cozy!  There are many days that I crave the high ceilings but then I remember what I have and know that sitting on my couch with a 10ft expanse above me just wouldn’t feel the same.

*I love that to me a two story house means family!

       

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My great loves…

Some things just catch your eye and you fall instantly in love with them.  You know how it goes…you may be scanning through Pinterest and of all of the thousands of pins you have the ones that you are drawn to…the ones that you have to definitely repin.  These are the pins that you just know that everyone else will repin…you know the ones!!

So this week I am going to share my great loves.   Here we go…

White Ironstone Creamers

My collection of white ironstone started about ten years ago. I am in l-o-v-e with the creamers but I also have a few large pitchers. Recently I have been looking for plates and platters to do a collage on my dining room wall.

This search is not going so well...South Dakota has its fair share of antique stores however, most are more like a clearing house for all of the things that people can't sell at their garage sales. :( 

I also believe that in this part of the country if people were able to acquire a piece of Ironstone the probability of it enduring the prairie lifestyle was unlikely.  We were the cowboy, indian, and wagon train kind of folks,  making Ironstone even less common here today. 

These cabinets that I had built into my dining room were built to accomodate my collection and because I also love windowseats and books...I am totally in love!

(my new plates will be where the picture on the wall is)

**I think that there is a fine line when having a collection…sometimes you have too many of one thing and it gets to looking gaudy.  You know what i mean?  I try to only pick the Ironstone that I truly love in hopes that it never gets to that point.**

Here's a little history on White Ironstone from the White Ironstone Association...yes, it has it's own association!

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	The Beginning of White Ironstone
	Ironstone china as we know it was first patented in 1813 by Charles James Mason in Staffordshire, England. It was an improved china harder than earthenware and stronger than porcelain. Mason's patent lasted only fourteen years, and by 1827 a number of other potters had already experimented with his formulas. All of these wares were decorated with transfer patterns or brush-stroke designs. Occasionally an undecorated piece would find its way out of the factory, possibly because it was flawed in some way.
	Ironstone Goes West
	In the 1840's, England began exporting the undecorated wares to the American and Canadian markets. The English potters discovered that the "Colonies" preferred the unfussy plain and durable china. Specifically, it was 1842 when James Edwards marketed the first white ironstone china in America. Late in the 1850's and into the 1860's huge quantities of china were sold to the agricultural communities and called "thrashers' ware." These dinner, tea and chamber sets were embossed with wheat, prairie flowers and corn in order to appeal to the farmers, who had to feed all the people that helped with the harvest. Thanks for letting me share with you!  More loves to come later this week!!

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Most Important: Comfort

Now that my master bathroom redo is well under way I have been thinking about the bedroom.  You can’t have a nice bathroom and not have a bedroom that matches…right??  The bedroom has taken quite a hit in the past couple years.  I sold my bedroom set about 2 years ago.  Was so sick of the matchy-matchy thing.  Then the new bedside tables that I bought got moved to the living room.  The tv stand and shelves that took up one entire wall got moved to the family room.  What’s left?  Not much. 

To me the bedroom has to be a place that is inviting and comfortable.  I am not into a “put together” room.  I want it to be a place that I can relax, watch tv, read a book and hang with the fam.    If I am in my room, or even the bathroom, you will most likely find at least one, if not all, of my girls lying on my bed.  And probably the dog too. 

Of course I want the room to be semi-cute as well…

love the white with the pops of color

could lay in this bed all day

this could be the perfect room...again with the layering!

soothing and serene...almost the same color as my bedroom now

The ideas are flowing!  Can’t wait to get started!

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Heavy Metal Delight

I am so excited to be talking about outdoor projects today.  I am pretty much sick of indoor right now.  Yesterday we had our first big snowfall of the winter.  For South Dakota this is late in the season…so I shouldn’t complain!  But, it is still hard to be trapped inside for months at a time.

Our house...looks better with snow in the winter!

We thought this would be our only snowman this year!

So I need to give you a little background on why I do the type of artwork that I am going to show you today.  I have always loved art…always wanted to call myself an artist…just thought it sounded sooooo cool!! 

Anyway, I was a Neonatal Intensive Care nurse.  There is nothing creative in that.  Very rewarding but also very stressful.  So, I quit my job to help my husband at his auto body repair business.  While I am work sometimes I get bored.  I am not allowed to paint cars or anything fun like that…which is probably for the best!   So I came up with this idea to keep me occupied and indulge my creative ambitions.

So check it out!  The Heavy Metal Division by Maggie Johnson.  Called the Heavy Metal Division to represent materials used and my EXTREME love for 80’s hairband music!    

 

 Step 1:  I start with a big piece of sheet metal like this.  Please ignore the fenders leaning against my metal.  Sometimes other people think they take priority over my projects...what?

This car is in my way...





Step 2:  I cut a template out of cardboard.

Step 3:  Trace the template onto the metal.

Step 4:  I use a plasma cutter (basically is heats the air to do the cut) to cut the metal.  There are plasma cutters that will cut the shapes out for you.  I do mine by hand.  I like how it makes my pieces look very rustic.

Step 5:  Once the piece is cut out I spray it with a solution of water, vinegar, and salt.  Then I wait.  Usually with in two days I have a rusted piece of metal!

Step 6:  Once the pieces are completely dried they are sprayed with several coats of polyurethane.  And, if arms or accessories are needed they are welded on.

And then the finished product!!

My valentines wreath!

Thanks for letting me show my creative process.  I am pretty sure I just heard Jon Bon Jovi calling my name...better go!

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