Lockers are DONE!

Here's what we started with...

And here's where we ended up...

Lot's of sanding later...L.O.T.S.......

Alot of sweat in these but it was worth it...I'm so glad I decided to sand.  I think it gives them a whole different feel as opposed to the grey.

after sanding with the 80, 180, then 220 grit sandpaper, my husband wiped them down with lacquer thinner first, then with this stuff. 

You wipe until the cloth comes away clean and don't touch the metal with your skin.  This will make your spray painting go on much better and stay!  We used a Kylon clear gloss to finish them.

They are in the house!  And the ugly white stuff....

is gone...I think I've had it since college.

 I had plenty of room for what I needed to put in there with an extra locker left over for some really large photo albums and my iron :)

 Big improvement. 

On a totally different note....see the Calla lilly plant on the left side of our dresser???

 It's getting really big and I don't want it to die....Is it just too big for the pot it's in or should I tie it up so it's not hanging down so far????  Help!!!   I know I can keep the bulb and replant it...not sure what to do with it right now or when to do that...all you gardening people out there I need help!

$2 mirrors

 Spent a whopping $1 on this mirror.  And I love it hanging in my bathroom.  I'm sure if I wanted to I could have it re-silvered (you can see where it's got spots that have rubbed off) but I like it just the way it is.

 This one was also $1.  And it's a huge improvement over the plastic one that's been propped against our closet wall :).  And it goes great with our dresser we bought this Spring!

Oh....the feedsack chair went to WC on Saturday evening.  She's closed on Sunday &Monday and it sold Tuesday.....wow.....

Decorating

This is my favorite from our folding chair collection... So I decided why not have it out all the time.  We usually just pull them out for extra seating.  Now it's in our bedroom corner with some happy little daisies....

Added some bull clips to the wall for Doodlebug to hang some of his artwork.  He's very prolific with the "art" so this is a great way to show some off!  Sometimes it's something we can't hang up....

This would be a lincoln log train ---of course!  Still working on the sofa slipcover.  I have most of the pieces cut/torn and have started piecing it together...it's a sloooow process with little ones!

Finished Rug!

And here is a photo of the FINISHED {for now} rug I made for the kiddos' room.  The blue isn't quite as dark as it looks in the picture...

 I've decided to leave it this way for awhile and then I may go back and add more white to the outside of it.  It's about 3' long right now.

And here's a little photo of what Doodlebug did Sunday while I was at church with Mighty and he was home with Papa.... 

I found this yesterday while I was dusting their room.... What I DON'T have a photo of is the Vaseline he put all over his face and hair --with a popsicle stick ;)  It took *several* hair washings to get it all out.

Next week....
Define your blog link party 
At Modern Country Style....

the world of blogging is an interesting one to say the least.I have enjoyed starting mine just to keep everything I "get into" in one spot!  More to come on that thought later-- as that would be the point of the link party on the 14th!We have all been quite under the weather for about the past month so I've been browsing through decorating magazines.  Ready to change things up around the house for spring!

Simone

Simone.....that would be this little lady from Retro Planet....

 The newest addition to the VanHook family ;)

 Her tail sways back and forth &....

 Her eyes open and close....

 Every time I look at her I think of the "We are Siamese" song from Lady & the Tramp.  She's a fun addition to the kids' room!!!

Choosing a paint color

Ahhhh yes the "tricky" paint color choice....there are SOOOOO many to choose from!  And I L.O.V.E. colors...the nail polish section in the cosmetics even draws me.  I just like to see all of them!  And the paint chips just call to me.  It's not normal~~but I'm OK with it :)  So here's my own humble opinion of how it all works....I'm learning by trial and error...

Here's one of my favorite tools to use....If you like to decorate and you've never looked at this book you need to find it.  (There are a couple of these I know for sure there is one that is all neutrals.)

Here's the great thing about this book.  It's not just colors.  It shows you how to put a whole room together.  I actually had this color scheme picked out first.  It's more grey though and our bedroom is already grey.  And I also wanted to be able to use linens/decorations we already had. So I chose this color from the book...and started gathering colors.

I kept picking these up every time I saw something that caught my eye.  The top right color is the one I used.  "White Ballet" it's a Valspar (Lowe's) color.

The tricky thing about color really is the lighting.   Even if you know EXACTLY the color that someone else used it 's probably not going to look the same in your home.

Go back and read that last sentence.  It's an important one! This is why it's important to gather pictures of rooms you like!  When you have rooms that you like it's because of the "feeling" that they have.  So when I found my inspiration photo it gave me alot more direction...

And just so you know I'm not an expert by any means here's the first "wrong" color we painted it...After it dried I hated it.  Lowe's is across the street :) and my husband is patient with me.  ALWAYS go lighter than you think.  It dries darker.

Kids' Room Reveal!!!!!

If you remember I did a previous post with a certain photograph of a kid's room that I loved... here you go if you didn't see it. Or just to remind you!  

So this is the *feeling* I was going for...not necessarily wanting to duplicate it exactly.  And of course I have a son and a daughter so the idea was to make it work for both.  Here's a BEFORE pic ( I forgot to include this when I originally posted but better late than never!)

Drum roll please......Ta Da!

How did I do?!?!?!?  

Here's Doodlebug's reaction

And here's Mighty's reaction....a bit different....

Now for a few a ton! more photos. 

 Fokker tri-plane above and SE-5 below compliments of Doodlebug (and mostly Papa...)

 So nice to see Mighty's pretty red flowers in their spot!  She was really fascinated by them because they now hang over the air vent so they move....

 I am so happy with it!  Even my husband said "It looks so much happier in here..."

 The toy box in the photo below was an upcycle project.  Wish I had before pics.  It was a 60's circus theme.  Not anymore!!!

 Warbird prints compliments of Doodlebug's Uncle Matt.  His quilt was made by his Great-Grandma VanHook...(and I have another quilt top I'm going to quilt for Mighty--that's a whole 'nother project!)

 Probably end up doing a book shelf of some sort or another on this wall.  We have ALOT of books...

 Still working away on the rug!!!  I want it to be BIG so it's going to take awhile but I love how it looks in there!

More on the color, how I chose it, and some of the things I do when I'm looking for colors later!

I'm linking this to....

Kids room is coming...

A little of this

 And some of this...

 And eventually (when I can finish it) some of this too!

I'm ready to get it all put together in one spot!  We'll see how it goes...some things came out of the room tonight in preparation for the BIG paint...stay tuned!

Rug making

We're planning on painting the kids' room this week-end.  We've had some amazing weather here in Ohio...It's been so mild.  Windows open kind of weather.  But that's all supposed to change this week-end so we figured we'll get it done before we get caught up in doing things outside.

Here's what happened today....

 And just for some perspective....

 Both my kiddos are afraid of thunderstorms.  So spring is always a little dicey :)  It's been a good time to work on the rug I mentioned in the previous post.  I'm actually a little bit farther along now but I'm really happy with it! I decided to start with some white rope...for the rest I'm using fabric I have on hand.

 I think it will serve the purpose --Hide the ugly carpet that's on the floor!  There's actually hardwood under the carpet but I'm restraining myself.  Our house IS up for sale even though we've had 0 showings.  So we're not going to go there.

Thanks Helen for the great idea!  If this one goes well I may have to try another....