Diptyque Spice Labels

For a while, I've had the idea to create spice labels to mimic the beautiful Diptyque candles.  I found artwork here, cleaned it up in Photoshop, brought it into PowerPoint, and designed each spice label using Trajanus Roman font, a font similar to Diptyque's.  I think they turned out so stinkin' cute!  I printed them on my laser printer, on full-sheet labels, cut them by hand and placed them on these chrome lid spice jars from the Container Store. I made twelve of them. I am so happy how they turned out.  I am in the process of styling my home for sale and these will be so precious on my new quartz counters next to the stove! I found this cute wooden box at TJ Maxx's Home Goods.  Love it! I will share my artwork for a limited time. Leave a comment below!

Guest Bath is completed - almost!

We finally installed the new vanity and mirror, purchased from Home Depot.  They waited so patiently in our hallway for too long!  I used Sherwin Williams Icicle on these walls also.  I love this 2" hex porcelain tile that I purchased from Home Depot.  I recently purchased a really pretty, very simple shower curtain for the tub / shower.  I'll update the pictures again soon. We also purchased new faucets for the sink and shower.  The lighting is fairly new.  The bathroom has a drawing of St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.  It is in a white frame and looks really good in the room.  I plan to get one or two more photos (black and white) of New Orleans icons and frame them in the room, to expand on the New Orleans theme!  I'll update the photos soon too - these were all taken right after painting, prior to staging!

Half Bath is painted

We recently painted our downstairs half bath.  It used to be an orange color (kind of pumpkin in color).  Since we are placing our home on the market, we went with a more neutral color.  This is Sherwin Williams' Icicle color.  I think it is really beautiful. It appears gray in these pictures, but it truly is a very very light blue color.  You can also see the truck painting that my son did for this room (the old wall color was about the same as the orange in the truck).  I love this picture.  I showed him a picture and he recreated it for me.  He is so talented. I had been using this blue vase on this toilet back for a very long time.  I am pleased that it has come back in style.  I hope to get some cotton stems for it. As you can tell, the photos were taken prior to our hardwood floors being refinished, thus the reason for the sink to be dismantled and on the floor.

I bought new lighting and faucets for the room also.  The mirror is one that I found at TJ Maxx years ago. I love this shadow box.  It has keepsakes from my Mother-in-law.  Shoes and socks that her children wore. My husband's hospital identification bracelet from birth.  An actual Milk Duds box that I found in my husband's closet at his parents house - it wasn't being saved, it was just never trashed.  I love it! 

Our Hardwood Flooring - No More Orangey Red Oak

We recently had our red oak hardwood floors refinished.  When we purchased our home, the downstairs had red oak hardwood floors.  They were stained in the traditional orangey color.  They are 2 - 2.5 inches wide.  Recently, we purchased 5" wide oak planks for our master, master closets and the upstairs hallway.  We never had them sanded or finished.  So, we had them refinished / finished at the same time, the same color.  I love the look of the fumed floors.  My daughter has warned me to not go with the fumed products as the upkeep is not easy.  I finally found a formula that I loved - they were for white oak floors - but I figured they'd have to look just as beautiful on my red oak floors.  We used three Minwax stains to achieve this look, and the floors were coated in a matte water-based poly.

I am so pleased with them. This is the view in our breakfast room.  The wall paint is Farrow & Ball's Shaded White.  I had SW match the color for me.

We are building a kitchen island!

Thanks to this design and the instructions, we are beefing up our existing kitchen island!  http://build-basic.com/build-a-diy-kitchen-island-2/#.Vf92jPSqHJo

I couldn't be happier!  I showed the plans to Sweet Man and he accepted the challenge!  I think he is doing a wonderful job too.

Here is the before, somewhat! We removed the drawer fronts and the doors - there are doors on both sides of the island, drawers on one side, and fake drawers on the other side.

And here is what it looks like now, with one coat of primer - the build is in progress.  It is in three pieces, plus the existing island. We placed our existing Formica top on the pieces for now so we can  use the island.  As you can see, the footprint is slightly larger than the original - probably about six to ten inches wider and deeper.

Please excuse the kitchen.  We are in the process of painting the kitchen cabinets (no more orangey maple).  We chose Benjamin Moore White Dove. And we had our hardwood floors refinished.  They too used to be orangey-stained red oak.  Now they have a fumed look, without the upkeep.  We used three Minwax stains to achieve this look, as well as a matte water-based polyurethane. Don't panic - that's brown paper on the floor in front of the island in the picture above.  

Here is a photo of before-priming.  My husband tried to talk me out of adding the padding behind the baseboards.  I'm so glad we stuck to the plan.  We did change up the design very slightly.  We added the shaker-style look to the back of the cabinet, in addition to the two sides.  And instead of placing the horizontal pieces and then the vertical pieces between the horizontal pieces, we placed our vertical pieces first, then cut the horizontal pieces to fit between them - to give it a more authentic shaker-style cabinet look (at least from what I have observed). 

Hopefully this week the cabinets will be ready for new counter tops.  Then a new backsplash. I really want to go with a Quartz but I'm afraid they won't be in the budget.  I found a pretty granite - light with some grays in it.  I think it will be a good compromise.  We will also get a new sink and faucet, and hopefully some updated lighting. Here is a picture of some of the cabinet doors after one coat of primer. Not only is Sweet Man pretty handy with woodworking, he does a beautiful job at spray painting - he uses a Wagner HVLP spray gun and his Makita air compressor.

Our wall color in the kitchen is Farrow & Ball's Shaded White (I had SW match the color).  Our appliances are Samsung Stainless - they are less than a year old - and the dishwasher is only weeks old.  

Since replacing our kitchen cabinets and/or door fronts were not in the budget, I think adding this shaker style island will update our farmhouse kitchen. This puts us one step closer to listing our house.  I cannot wait for God to reveal to us our next homestead!

Clothes Pin Board is complete

I was able to finish the clothes pin board yesterday.  I think it turned out really cute.  I attached the chip board birds, butterflies and dragonflies to the silver painted clothes pins.  After looking at it in final, I think the top line should be up closer to the top and more room between them.  It is a simple fix - it is literally stapled to a cardboard backing - so I may pull out the old Swingline and fix it before it is all said and done. You should be able to click the picture to see it up close. Really sweet - the fabric is pretty close in color to the table - just a touch on the pinker side.  I meant to take a picture of it on the table - maybe I will and post it later.

Whiteboard is complete - so precious!

Okay, I put the final touches on the whiteboard.  I painted the frame teal and added some clear bird, butterfly, dragonfly and flower accessories to match the decoupaged glass vase to hold her pencils, etc.  The vase is also in the picture.  The other three sides are flowers and butterflies and dragons.  I will also use these figures on her pin board so the three items will flow nicely. I think you can click it to view a larger picture.  I love the details of the I-phone and email emblems, etc.  And I love the washi tape.  This was a really fun project and I think she will find it so useful!