Did I tell you how thankful I am for the internet? Well if not, then lets just say I am a smiley happy bunny right now! :) I have spent the last two days browsing Sandra-CherryHeart blog and all of the links down the right hand side - boy am I brimming with ideas and inspiration now - go take a look, I promise you will lose hours but gain so much more that you simply wont care! :)
Anyways! Back to the reason for this post - I have joined the quest for a Pretty Crafty Home - basically there are some ground rules (...good ground rules!)
1. Tidy, tidy, tidy and clean, clean clean!
For me this means try to keep on top of 5 kids! It is so easy to let things slide but when theres only 2 people at home leaving things around thats only 2, 4, 6 things....for us its 7, 14, 21 - see how easy that builds up! EEK! 2. If it has to live here, it should be pretty.
With 4 boys im always going to struggle with making things look pretty but now that we have Evie i have back up!! LOL 3. If I don't like how it looks, and I can change it, I will.
4. Thrift, re-use and recycling are my watch words.
Im a carboot and shabbychic charity shop fiend so spending pennies on pretties doesnt make too much sense to me - as long as it is pretty and can be loved once again then its perfect :) Not knocking down walls or anything but if i can change it within a budget then I will :)
5. Crafting is king!
The most important thing of all. This project is all about home improvement through crafting. If it's home made and it makes me happier about my home then it's part of the project.I have already started by taking a couple of pictues of things that need changing here, I have always proclaimed that my home is just that - a home - its lived in, its used and it contains 7 of us! I will start with the downstairs loo, kitchen dresser, fireplace and knitting nook!
The downstairs loo!
It was awful when we moved in and so dark so the first thing i did was give it a coat of peppermint paint and cover the bottom half with wood panelling. It still looks bright but now looks boring and needs a pep! An injection of colour and some fabrics, the wood panelling still needs the edging pieces to finish off and could do with another coat of varnish.The kitchen dresser.....aka the dumping ground!
If it needs to be out of reach of the kids...it gets put here, if I need it for later....it gets put here, if its something hubby got out of the cupboard but darent put back in case the precariously balanced contents may fall (...thats another story for some other day!)...it gets put on here..you get the idea!The fireplace - recently done and just decorated so i need to make it pretty! Change the pics in the white frame from Alice in Wonderland (i bought it for the babyshower last year and never got them changed!) Those money jars are for our caravan pennies (yes they are pretty empty! LOL) ...but we have only just started the fund hence the jars in full view as not to forget! Must find a better home for them!
The wool nook! Erm ok, so I get obsessed easily! Yes Im addicted to wool at the minute! There I said it - heck theres worse things I could be doing :)I have more than one project on the go, the final ball of wool came for Evies bollero jacket yesterday so that got finished off last night!
One project moved and the rest has been tidied into project bags leaving just my favourite (stripe blanket in progress) on show :) Yes, THE blanket heavily inspired by Sandras blog and the whole reason I ended up there in the first place! :)
OK, so thats one project done and the others still to do but its progress :) Baby steps :)There are so many bits of our home that are full of bits and pieces, the need for storage is a huge issue and hubby is currently constructing built in shelves for the living room (as shown in the after pic of the wool corner!) I have so much to do that I have realised I cant get everything done in one go so the whole ethos behind the Pretty Crafty Home is ideal - Im going to work on sections at a time and carry on with carboot sales throughout the summer to get rid of lots that we no longer need and bring in things that make us happy and look pretty! :)
That's what I love about you Debbie - you never do things by halves! x
ReplyDeleteAll sounds like a good idea............but in practice??!!
ReplyDeleteI desperately need to do our downstairs loo and was thinking abouut panelling. Is the one you used, the ready made one from Homebase that comes in a sheet that you stick on?? If so, would you recommend it and does it look like the real thing? (does in the photo-but then it could be!!)
-x-
When you're done, there's a bed here for you to come visit ;) ;) xxx
ReplyDeleteDebbie! the one thing I didn't need was a link to another wonderful blog of ideas LOL 0ohhhh nooo but how cute is the bunny bunting that is on there! - sunday can't get here quick enough!
ReplyDeletethank you i think
Aw, thanks for the lovely mention Debbie! Love your rooms, looks like you have lots of wonderful potential to work with there. Love your wallpaper too!
ReplyDeleteS x
Oh Debbie - two more wonderful blogs to add to my every growing list! We are soooooo lucky in 2012 to have so much talent and inspiration to tap into.
ReplyDeleteAnd Debbie - no one can do everything at once - even supermums like you! storage is my main issue too and I look forward to seeing your solutions over the summer.
Debbie,
ReplyDeleteYou are doing great with your home ... I think that everyone's house is a 'work in progress' because as soon as you do everything you always see something else you want to change or do ... especially for us creative types!!
I'm currently trying to find storage solutions for my ever increasing wool stash .... as fast as I knit it up I buy more!!
Fleur xx
You mean to say it's not only me with a kitchen cabinet like that?? Only...mine might be much more cluttered ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou mean to say it's not only me with a kitchen cabinet like that?? Only...mine might be much more cluttered ;-)
ReplyDelete