Salvaged Shelf

As many of you know, I call my hubby "my crow" because, just like a crow, he is always bringing me home bits and bobs to feather our nest. It started with him bringing me "floor score" of jewelry from his job as a security guard at a local club. I would incorporate the bits and pieces into my creations. Then it grew to bringing me home mannequins, doll parts, old windows, old doors, and other assorted finds.

Since moving into our new 750 square foot apartment we have had to make many decisions about what would stay and what would go. Believe it or not but the discussion about which mannequins would stay was probably the most heated. He wanted to keep as many as possible and I wanted to get rid of most of them! We ended up each choosing one we liked and let the rest go.

There are days when I am really happy with all the goodies he brings home and other days when I can't figure out what to do with ANY of it! Recently though I was very grateful for his habit for holding on to things. Our sofa is on a wall that has a wall heater attached near the floor. I was finding that the sofa was getting really hot and the heat wasn't circulating well. I wanted to put a shelf or a  table behind our sofa to help the heat move but didn't want to buy anything. Well, turns out that one of the old doors that my crow had outside of our old house had fallen apart in the elements. And my hubby being who he is salvaged bits and pieces of it before chucking the rest. Voila! Instant shelving!

He attached the door part using L brackets. It is the exact length of the sofa (serendipity or what?) and both looks and works great. It adds a cool architectural feature to the space and I am pretty sure that it isn't something you'd see in lots of places. I like that it is quirky and unique. Kind of like my crow!

One Little Word 2012

Each year Ali Edwards chooses a word - or really  I should say that a word chooses her - to embrace for the year. I tried this last year and, while I chose my word, I didn't do a good job at all in following each month and doing the thinking and growing that the word was intended to create within me. Never one to give up, I am trying again. With a new word. Just one word. What is my word you ask?

Cultivate - to develop land for growing,

to nurture, to take care of 

I don't know how this word will intertwine in my life but it is the word that I want to focus on this year. I want to cultivate my relationships, my home, my job, my life. I want to take care of what is already good and strong and take the time to develop and nurture those areas that need growth.

What is your one little word?



I sent my hubby to the new place with the camera today. He took a few shots of what he is dealing with as he gets everything ready to paint.

Don't you just love the avocadoish/sage greenish 1970's paint colour? It looks even worse in person. And the carpet is filthy! I wish we didn't have carpet and will probably try to cover it with a runner of some sort eventually.

The past tenant left a gazillion holes in the walls. We (I say we, but I really mean my hubby!) had to fill them and then sand them in prep for the paint.

Yes, the room really is this yellow! Both of the bedrooms are painted in this really vivid banana-ish yellow. It is not pretty. Trust me. You would not want to try to get any sleep in there!

Yes, these are stickers, a lot of stickers on the ceiling of our bedroom. I am not looking forward to getting them all down!

You can tell that we are going to have to put in some time fixing up the door frames. For now I think we will just get the walls done but eventually something will have to be done with these.

And check out the kitchen cupboards in the background. U.G.L.Y. The counter tops are totally dirt brown and are hopefully going to be replaced in the new year. My fingers are crossed because I don't know how to make butt ugly brown counter tops look good. The cupboards I can work with.

I am going to go take some pictures that show more of the rooms than the ones hubby took. I want to be able to show before and after shots as I work on the apartment. It is crazy that this is probably the worst looking place at move in but it is the place that I am the most excited about living in. I can hardly wait until we are sleeping in our new (non-yellow) bedroom. Only 9 sleeps until the furniture is moved in!!!!



We got the keys!!!!

So, today we got our first look at the apartment. All I can say is that we have our work cut out for us. The previous tenant was meant to get the apartment paint ready and cleaned up before he left but he didn't. You name it and we probably have to do it!

I had figured we would have to paint but it is going to be a BIG job! All the walls are currently avocado green or banana yellow. There are spider webs hanging everywhere, stickers on the walls and tons of holes to be filled in. YUCK!!! I am off to find just the right paint for the space. I know that I want most of the walls white - but not a cold white. I want a warm, cozy white and then I want to do the baseboards in the same white but in a gloss. There is very little wall in the kitchen and I am contemplating doing a turquoise or blue there. We'll see. 

I forgot to bring my camera home with me from work but I will go in on Monday and get some before pictures to show. You will not believe it when you see it!

I know that it will look wonderful once we are all done but looking at the amount we have to do in the next two weeks (while working full time no less!) is very, very overwhelming! The furniture will all be moved two weeks from today. We have to paint, move everything else AND get ready for Christmas before then. So, I am off to make a list so that I can keep my stress under control. Wish me luck!

I have completed two more projects in the last couple of days. One was inspired by pinterest and the other I just felt like making. The pinterest one came from this image:

You know, of course, that I love the colour - I mean, it's turquoise, isn't it? - and so I had to have one for myself! I used an old cookie sheet instead of a frame and I am really happy with how it turned out. See?

This will be in our new bathroom. It is more of a pale blue than a turquoise but I was mixing colours up using my acrylics and I am pretty pleased with it. I had some good magnets on hand and used a dab of E6000 to glue them on to the backs of all my make up. I can hardly wait to get this into the new bathroom!

The other crafty thing that I made was just for fun. I have a big box of buttons - some from my mother, some I have bought, some my friend gave me. I decided that I wanted to show off some of them. And so I did this - lovely buttons in beautiful shades of blue and green and in my favourite shape!

Did you notice the apple shaped button right in the middle? I got it years ago from a good friend - you know, the whole give an apple to the teacher idea - and never figured out where to use it. I love it in the centre of this piece. I will be hanging this in the stairwell gallery at the new house. It is making me crazy that I can picture it all so clearly and, yet, I have to wait before we can get in there. Only 6 days until we get the keys!

The other day while cleaning out stuff I came across two of these IKEA mirrors. I bought them years ago.

They are only $2.99 each - major score - and they have the potential to become really nice wall art. I had decoupaged both of them in different colours and textures but I really didn't like them anymore. So I painted one white and one black. Then I pulled out my letter stamps. And now I have two more pieces of art to grace the walls of our new home!



Another pinterest idea comes to life...

I saw this on pinterest

 

via martha stewart

and knew I had to do it for myself. My hubby is a collector of all things old and eclectic. That is why I call him my crow - he is always bringing me home things like a crow bringing things to its nest. In his wanderings he has brought home a number of old tins. I knew that they would be perfect for this idea. A little bit of E6000 glue, a few magnets and voila!

I would like to have one more since I think all things are better in threes. I feel sure that my crow will be able to find one that I can add to the set.

And the doll? It is one of a series of dolls I made many, many years ago with magnets in their hands and feet. This one is called "running from success." It was based on a set of activities I did with an art group I belonged to at the time.

Now, I'm off to make something else. What is it you ask? Well, I will give you a hint....

 Stay tuned!