Revisiting an old diy

when Skye was born, Phil was still a student, so we were frugal in our preparations for the new baby. one of the things i made from stuff around the house instead of buying it new was a mobile. i used an old wire coat hanger for the frame, made the sun and leaves from construction paper and laminated them, and made the birds and butterflies from paper i'd bought from Venice during our globe-trotting days. i've often thought about replacing it, but it comes out with each child. and it has been added to - when Claire was born, Skye added the string of hearts. now, Cordelia loves to look at it. i hope she is feeling all the love that went into it! :)

The gift (actually, another diy)

soon after we discovered i was pregnant with our third baby, Phil offered to send me away on a trip, a gift before i'd be tied down again. after some thinking, i declined (i know! can you believe it?) and instead requested he build me a play structure for the girls in our basement. my reasoning? it will keep me sane when i have to put the baby down for a nap or when i need some minutes to "escape" - i'll send the girls down there and they can make as much noise as they want.

my vision for the play structure began last summer, when i started dreaming of a tree house for the girls to play in. unfortunately, our backyard doesn't have an appropriate sized tree. and then, the girls complain so much about the mosquitoes, i wondered if building them a tree house in the backyard would be worthwhile. i still envision a tree house and perhaps we will still build it one day, but for now, i am happy to have our play structure in the basement. with such long winters here, we'll be sure to use it.

building the structure was a major test of my communication skills. Phil is SO not a visual person! i drew a sketch and he could not visualize it!! in the end, i ended up having to draw out where every plank and screw went. and in the end, Phil did a great job of putting the structure together, don't you think? :)

my sketch of the structure:


the structure starts to go up!




this is what it looks like now

Before/After 3

i FINALLY finished reupholstering our 2 chairs. during the long process, i wondered why on earth i decided to do this project - it was certainly a challenge! but now that they are finished, i love them! the fabric is so beautiful, it just makes me want to sit in these chairs. i guess that's the whole point, right? :)

Before/After 2

so my dining room is finally finished!! what a relief! here are the before and after pics. i have to say, i LOVE the new purple! and Phil, who was extremely skeptical about the whole purple thing, says he is "eating humble pie." my new buffet is in now and i'll start to hang pictures on the wall this week - i'm waiting for the paint to cure.

Before/After 1

i finished painting the buffet for our dining room - the first project on my list of to-dos. after debating for a long time about what colour to paint it, i decided to go with white. but i did paint an undercoat of greyish-brown and i may sand down the buffet in places to give it a "distressed" look, but i haven't decided yet. i'll wait another day to give the paint more time to dry and see. so, here are the official before and after photos. :)

Before


After



and while i was busy painting the buffet, Claire was busy with her own paint project. :) she painted this old step ladder all by herself.

Redecorating, reupholstering - signs of nesting

after months and months of silence, i'm back! for most of you, you are aware that i'm now well into my pregnancy (week 17, to be precise) and with the HORRIBLE first trimester over (i'd have to say, out of all my pregnancies, this one was the worst), my nesting instinct is kicking in. i've had several home projects that needed my attention that i'd been putting off, but all of a sudden, they just screamed for attention. so here they are and i'd actually REALLY love input from everyone - all ideas would be welcome.

my first project that's been sitting around are my two chairs in my living room. i'd gotten them years ago from a thrift store for barely anything and when i called around about reupholstering them, the cost was staggering. so, much as i hated the colour of them, they sat in our living room. now, i'm going to tackle them. new fabric, new paint on the frames? i've actually ordered the fabric, but i'm not sure if i should paint the frames. anyone reupholstered chairs like these before?




i have loved my red dining room (btw, i painted it while i was pregnant with Claire - painting seems to be a recurring activity in all my pregnancies) but i think i'm ready to try a new colour. i'm thinking purple - not the pastel kind, but the deep aubergine kind. :) any thoughts?

finally, another great find at a thrift store. a buffet for my dining room. this was a recent purchase and definitely needs a paint job. i've been thinking of painting it white. but the sides are not doing so well. i'm thinking of peeling off the thin paneling that's on top of the wood and hoping the paint will hide it. otherwise, maybe gluing some wallpaper on the sides??