Fill in the Blank Friday

Oh my dear bloggy friends!! I feel like I've neglected you this week!
I'll do my very best to make it up to you next week.
Promise.

This week has been a crazy, exciting, whirlwind week for me!! Being featured on Design*Sponge has brought a lot of attention my way in this crazy blog world of ours. So now I'm scrambling to make sure I have everything in order so that I can offer up the very best product and experience to those who have purchased a custom fingerprint paper cutting from me. So exciting!
But also making me quite nervous!! Ha!
New ventures are bound to do that, right?

Last night I ran across a blog that does "Fill in the Blank Friday" and loved the idea. So much fun and a great way to share some potentially very random info on the inner workings of my mind & life.   :)  I'm sure you are all dying to hear that sort of stuff.   :) 

Hope you enjoy & if you would like to give it a whirl yourself, you can find the list of things to fill in & link-up at the little things we do.

1.  The last thing I do before going to sleep is  _ usually solve cryptograms. But lately I've been working into the wee hours of the night trying to get my to do list caught up, which means lots of computer time! Then I finally can't keep my eyes open any longer & just crash     

2.  When I can't sleep I  _ wiggle around, roll from my left side to my right side, flop to my stomach & finally give up and go work on some project 

3.  The first thing I do when I wake up is  _ pee & then go get the girls from upstairs if they're crying. if they're not yet awake, I make coffee so that I can be awake enough to handle the girls when they do wake up  :)   

4.  When I'm tired I  _ get nauseous. Does this happen to anyone else?   

5.  My dream bedroom would be  _ Oh geez. I have no idea! I'm still working this one out. I do know that it would have the biggest, most comfortable bed in the world in it with a wonderfully soft down comforter. I think I've checked off a few options on what my dream bedroom is not though.  . . That's something, right? 

6.  If I could wake up anywhere tomorrow morning it would be  _ oh, the place is not important. However, someone else would be taking care of the girls for the morning so that I could sleep in as late as I wanted & then be lazy for as long as I wanted. Then I'd get up and go have some fun with my little ladies.   

7.  The longest sleep I've ever had was  _ when I had mastitis. BLECK!!! I was running a 104.5 fever for a couple of days, my whole body ached & I couldn't get out of bed for anything. When I was awake, I was completely delirious! Don't know what I would have done had a not had great people around to help me with my new little baby.     

NOW for some bonus blanks....

 

 

8.  I sleep on my  _ stomach, but always start out on my side. I make the switch just before falling asleep 

9.  When I sleep, I like to wear  _ PJ pants & either a tank top or the t-shirt I was wearing that day. My husband is SOOO lucky.   ;) _

10.  My bedtime is usually  _ the last couple of weeks I've been hitting the pillow around 2am. (!?!?!?!) Don't I realize I have an alarm clock & a job & kids & things to do in the morning??? Yeah, really gotta work on that one. . .       

Hope you all have a great weekend!! I'll try to get caught up on a few things this weekend so I'll be ready for you next week! I'm also hoping to finally get the kitchen cabinets done.
100% completed.
Not sort of done.
ALL THE WAY DONE.

Crossing my fingers.

xoxo Lori Danelle

D*S Loves me!!

I'm so excited this morning! Design*Sponge has shown me love for the second time this month!!



Now I'm just crossing my fingers that cutting paper is less controversial than pallet beds!!!

Check out the full feature here.

And visit my etsy shop if you'd like one of your own. . .you know, before I get incredibly busy and all.   :)

xoxo Lori Danelle

Oh, and I PROMISE I'll have the rest of the tutorials from the girls' room up soon!! I haven't forgotten!!

Go look. Now. :)

If you haven't seen this yet, go!!

This oh-so-creative-Mommy takes pictures of her daughter napping.
"I do that," you're thinking to yourself. But no, you do not do it like this!!

Please go check it out. . . and for those of you will little ones, take some inspiration away with you! I wish my Littles were still little enough!! 

Mila's Daydreams

Sweet Dreams. . .  :)

xoxo Lori Danelle

Now in color

I am now offering my paper cuts in color!



I've discovered that French Paper has a delicious selection of vibrant, yummy colors in their Pop*Tone line. When I saw the colors, I knew they were just want I had been looking for.



Hope you had a wonderful weekend! I enjoyed yummy quesadillas and margaritas with my man, and finally got around to painting my kitchen! I am SO CLOSE to being done with that room! (Have I mentioned how sick of remodeling this house I am??  I just want to be done!)   :)

xoxo Lori Danelle

I can share now!

So you remember the other day when I said I would be standing on a 6' 5"-ish man's shoulders at work that day?

Well here's what I have to show for it. A little cheezy perhaps, but I think that was the point! :)
Enjoy!



xoxo Lori Danelle

{DIY} Painted White Floors

Originally, I hadn't planned on sharing with you how I went about painting our floors. But then I remember how much time I spent on the internet searching and pouring over websites that had any mention of how to do it.

I was REALLY nervous about painting the floors. I was scared that it wouldn't look the way I envisioned, or that the paint wouldn't wear well. Before I finally committed, I read a ton and talked to several people at our local Sherwin Williams store.

In the end, this is how we did it. And I'm happy with the results, so perhaps it will work for you as well!



We started the whole process by ripping out old carpet and laying down new pine flooring.



We went with a softer wood like pine because we wanted it to get beat up and worn in. So if you select to go with pine, please please please be aware of this! Also, we ordered ours from a website and then picked it up at a local store. We were not aware that it had grooves!!! The only thing I dislike about the girls floor is the grooves! It's a nice place to collect any dirt!  :(  But at least it all goes there and I can sort of walk over it, rather than in it, right?  Anyway, I suggest finding flooring that does not have grooves, or perhaps turning the board over. . .?? That's what I wish we had done.

The next step was filling any nail or floor staple holes, quickly sanding the whole surface down with a palm sander, and vacuuming up all the dust!

Now you're ready for paint!!

We started by priming the floors. Over the years, we've really come to like Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Water Base Primer/Sealer that we purchase at Home Depot.



After all my research, we opted to use Sherwin Williams' Floor & Porch Enamel,  in True White. I can't remember now if I did 2 or 3 coats, but my guess is 2.

One place where I strayed from the advice given by Sherwin Williams is that they told us that we could just put down the paint and we wouldn't need to seal it with a polyurethane. They gave us a time frame in which it would need to dry. We gave it that amount of time (something around a week. . .it was a fairly long time) and the paint was still tacky and we would leave foot prints if we attempted to walk on it. Finally, I gave up, said screw this and bought a water based polyurethane for floors and we were moved back in the next day!

To apply the poly, you'll need a special painter's pad and pole. Use long straight stokes. Though water based poly is less likely to yellow, you'll want to be especially careful not to let it get too thick or puddle, as it will still yellow in those circumstances. Apply at least 2 coats and be sure to follow the directions on the package for drying time, etc.



Pretty, shiny, *clean* white floors!!!! (they never looked quite like that again!) :)

White floors are not for everyone. If you're looking for pristine, this is probably not the route for you—unless you have hired someone to meticulously clean the floors hourly!! However, if you like your floors to look worn in, and appreciate the character of  some scuffs and dings, then you may have found the perfect thing!!

Also, we painted the floors in my husband & my bedroom black. We followed the exact same process as described above.

I HATE them.   :)

Painting a dark color did not work out for us. I would paint another floor white in a heartbeat, but if I want dark, we're staining them from here on out!!!

So, I hope that answered some questions you may have. If you're considering attempting this and have questions, don't hesitate to ask!! I know I would have loved to have someone who had done it to ask questions! Painting floors is a bit scary and a big commitment! But I am SO glad I went for it!!

xoxo Lori Danelle

{DIY} Distressing Dressers

One of my absolute favorite things in the girls' room is their dressers. I really love that they were their Dad's and who knows who had them before he did! I love that they were in really bad shape, and not at all aesthetically pleasing anymore, but with the help of some sandpaper and some paint, they are amazing!! Sometimes new isn't the answer!

Forgive me as I was new to this blogging, before & after thing when I did these and did not remember to take the before picture until after I had sanded the fronts of the drawers! However, this is what I can show you.





Yuck! :)

The first step was to take a medium grit sand paper and palm sander and take the old finish off of them. I have heard of people just "roughing up" the varnish and using a primer meant for finished surfaces, but I just don't trust it! I really want to try it and find that it works, but I'm afraid of putting that much work into it and then finding that all the paint chips or scraps off. I've had it happen to other projects (though I didn't use the special primer) and it just makes me nervous! So I sand. :)

I followed the medium grit sandpaper with a quick once over with a fine grit sandpaper. Once completed, I vacuumed off all the dust and wiped it down with a damp cloth to ensure that all the dust was gone.

Ideally, I would have sprayed these with a spray gun and air compressor, but as most of us don't have those available to us I used a smaller foam roller instead. :) The foam roller is better suited for this application than a big fluffy polyester roller. It gives a smoother finish and because of it's smaller size, is easier to maneuver on furniture.

I started with a base coat of white paint in Glacial Tint (Behr). I gave it to coats of this. When I sanded it down to give it an antique or distressed look, I wanted the "older" paint to show through.




Once that was fully dry, I gave it two or three coats of my turquiose paint. Here I used Winter Surf (Behr).



Once the blue paint was absolutely, completely dry, I took back out the sand paper, without the palm sander this time, and sanded down the paint in select areas.

My goal was to make it look like it had worn naturally, so I concentrated on areas that would typically see a lot of wear. Namely, any edges & corners, around the handles, and where the drawers fit into the dresser.





Once I was satisfied with how worn down I made it, I wanted to take it a step further by using an antiquing glaze. I found mine from Lowe's Valspar line.



Be sure to follow the instructions on your glaze. Not sure if they all work exactly the same. I found that it was easier to use if I applied it inside as it was able to stay wet longer, but I did do most of the parts outside.

Using an old cloth, I first applied the glaze to the areas I wanted the darkest. Again, it was also the areas that would see the most wear.



Then, working quickly, I rubbed it over the entire surface. With a new clean cloth, I then wiped it off, working in circular motions, until it was at the darkness I was going for. At times, I would have to add more on to either get it darker, or get the area wet enough to manipulate and rub off.



I finished the dressers by applying a water based polyurethane with a spray gun. We finally broke out my mother-in-law's at the end! :) I'm really glad we did because it allowed me to apply the poly thinly as it can yellow if put on too thickly. Plus, it kept any brush strokes from showing.

And ta-da!!! All done!!



One (or two, in this case!!) newly beautified dresser for your enjoyment! And best of all? It was cheap and you did it yourself!! That's always a nice feeling! :)

xoxo Lori Danelle

{DIY} Paper Lantern & PomPom Grouping

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Since the Sisters' room is so jam-packed with things that I made myself, I thought I'd share with you how I did them over the next week or so (or how ever long it takes to fit it all in!!)! That's what you've really been wanting anyway, right?

Some of these projects I've shared over that last year in whole or in part, but since so many of you are new—(WELCOME!!! I'm ecstatic that you've found your way here & like what you see enough to come back!)— I thought I'd start by re-sharing some of those projects so everything could be found in one place.
 I have a hard enough time hunting down stuff that I know is there, let alone trying to find something that I hope might be there! :)

First up, the Paper Lantern & PomPom grouping!



It's no secret I love the room Ashley Ann created from her daughter, and this is another project that was borrowed from that room.

When I made my grouping, all the supplies that Ashley had used were no longer available, with the exception of the pom-pom kit which I found at Michael's. However, I just did an on-line search, and I didn't find them now. Oh well! You don't need it! You're about to get the tutorial!! (and save a bunch of money!! She charged rather a lot for some tissue paper!!)



For the pictures shown here, I was using the paper supplied in the kit.
However, these were SO EASY a kit was definitely not required!! In fact, I've made many more without the kit, including the yellow and orange pom-poms shown in my grouping.

For each pom-pom, you'll need:

10 sheets of 17in x 30in (Medium) tissue paper in desired color
—OR—
14 sheets of 20in x 30in (Large) tissue paper in desired color
12in section of floral wire

(I'm using paper from the kit which is pre-scored & cut, but this isn't necessary to have done already)

Lay all 10/14 sheets of tissue paper in a stack



Accordion fold into 1 3/4 inch sections. No need to stress about how precise you are. Just get close. All your folding will be undone before we're finished!



Once the whole length is folded, Cut the ends either into a point or a half circle, depending on desired results. ( I do not have a picture of this step, as I mentioned, mine was already done.) You can see how each would look in the top pictures.

Now, wrap and secure it in the middle with the wire.



Fan out the folds and begin to separate the individual sheets of tissue paper.



Once you've completely separated the sheets, shape it into the desired pom-pom.



Fold and twist the remaining wire into a loop to use for hanging.

Additional lanterns can be purchased in many places, but I found mine here, at Luna Bazaar. 

For a frame, I just took 4 dowels purchased from Home Depot and made a rectangle by first drilling pilot holes and then threading them with eye bolts, so that I could then hang it from the ceiling.

Attaching the pom-poms and lanterns was a little bit of trial and error as I arranged and re-arranged until I like the look. I attached everything by using wire that I could easily secure and remove if needed!

And that's it!!!!
Really.
Super easy.
And lots of fun.

If you still don't like the idea of making your own pom poms from scratch I know of a few etsy shops that sell kits in any shade your heart can dream up! All you would need to do is unfurl them. Just do a search for pom pom and you'll definitely find something to suit your needs!!

Enjoy!

(and let me know if you have any questions!)

xoxo Lori Danelle

My Paper Cuts are on Paper Crave!!!

Ahh!!! This one was TOTALLY unexpected!

I was flipping (er. . .scrolling) through my blog reader this morning and ran into this!!



The other times I've been featured I had a bit of a heads up, but not this time! So exciting!!!

Big's Back on Diaper Duty

So do you remember way back in Jan. & Feb. when I told you how I would no longer be needing to change diapers any more? Well, Big made a repeat performance this weekend and it didn't go so well!

I know she likes to help out, but does she have to help out with that!?  :)

xoxo Lori Danelle

Picking your kids up from daycare can be very dangerous

What an evening!!!!

I'm a bit embarrassed by this, but it's too crazy not to share.

One of the doors on my Jeep sticks. Sometimes REALLY bad. Like tonight.

I pushes so hard on it with my thumb to try and unstick it (even though I don't think that's where it sticks!) that a sort of rotated my thumb oddly and heard a sort of pop!! Immediately, it hurt really bad and was like, geez! I just jammed my thumb on a car door!!! So I was sort of dancing around, holding my thumb, trying to get the girls into their carseats without using that hand—not too successfully I might add—and I just kept getting dizzier and dizzier.

I knew I needed to A.) Take care of my girls, and B.) Drive them home, so I kept fighting really hard to keep it together. After all, it was only my thumb!!!

Only I didn't really succeed. And apparently even thumbs can cause your body to do some crazy stuff! After trying to get Little in her seat and only half way succeeding, I found myself sitting on the ground. That made me feel a little bit better so I stayed there. . .only I kept falling from the sitting position to laying down!!!

At this point everything is incredibly fuzzy.

I remember fighting against loosing consciousness(!!??!?!),  the girls started crying and screaming, I popped back up, told them I was OK, tried to finish buckling Little into her seat, and next thing I knew I was back on the ground ( I have a bruise across my bum, maybe I fell?) and here I'm not fully aware of what was going on, I just remember bobbing back and forth from laying down in the parking lot to sitting!! Very vaguely I remember the girls screaming. That's always good right? Girls screaming in the car. . .Mother laying beside it in the parking lot. Normal, run-of-the-mill after work day care pick up.

At that point I think I fully blacked out for a little bit. Another Mom saw me bobbing up and down and thought I was having a seizure! She came over asked if I was OK, and I think at this point I started to come back around again, I told her I was OK, I just needed to stay down for a little bit. She moved me to the sidewalk, her husband got the girls settled down, and then got me something to drink and a snack bar.

Finally, my head cleared, but I was still incredibly shaky. Like my hands were attached to a vibrator or something. She offered to drive me home, since her husband could follow her and I VERY reluctantly agreed. I felt OK, but since I had my girls, I went with the safe route and didn't chance it.

This is what my elbow looked like as a result of beating it on the pavement!


Nice. Now I can't move my thumb or my bend my elbow!

So we've decided that I sprained my thumb rather than jammed it, and now that the swelling has gone down, I have decent mobility. Still quite painful if I put any pressure on it.

But seriously! How crazy is this!?
The thing where there was an actual safety risk went fine. I stood on his shoulders, no one dropped me, all was well.
But opening my car door?? Generally a pretty safe act—THAT puts me on the ground and unconscious?????
Too bizarre!

Hope you have a great weekend! I'll be keeping ice on my thumb!

xoxo Lori Danelle

Plans for Friday

My day is going to include standing on a 6' 5"-ish man's shoulders for a project at work.

That sounds about like what you have planned, right?

xoxo Lori Danelle

(when there's something to show, I'll share more.)   :)

Indulge me

I'm working on putting together a few tutorials for some of the items around the girls' room for you. But in the meantime, I've got some more photos from our vacation last week.

Just indulge me as I'm one of those moms who believe that my girls are two of the most incredible human beings I've ever met, not to mention cute!!! And what's the point of my crazy picture taking obsession if I don't share them with you?!  :)

a visit to the Nashville Zoo




And since we didn't have a campfire & s'mores while camping, we had some at home!

We found that chocolate & marshmallow smooshed between 2 graham crackers gets incredibly messy. As soon as you take a bite, you end up with just two graham crackers stacked on top of each other and all the gooey goodness has squeezed out! Instead, we forgo the cracker and just shove a half square of chocolate in the middle of a toasted marshmallow. It improves the messy factor quite a bit. Which is sad, because even this method gets messy! :)







Hope the sun is shining wherever you find yourself today!!!

xoxo Lori Danelle

{Tour} Big & Little's Bedroom

Another thing that was great about our "stay-cation" was that I got to finish up a few projects I'd been sitting on—all of them for the Sisters' room! So now I declare the room done-ish!!! (I think that's the closest it will ever get. I'm never really done with anything. . .)

First off though, let me thank all of you for the sweet comments and attention because of the pallet beds! It's really fun when something I've made and love is appreciated by others as well! 



Gotta tell you. I LOVE this room.

It's been a work in progress for the last couple of years, and we took a few risks, but I am so pleased with how everything has come together!

The walls are painted in Bird's Egg (benjamin moore paint) which I first saw years ago in a room that Domino magazine featured. I instantly fell in love with it and kept it in my file until the right moment.

The funny thing about my falling in love with this color is that the idea of blue walls make me nervous. No idea why. But they do. I think there's a very mundane, boring blue out there that I'm afraid every blue will wind up looking like.

Also, I don't do light colors.

White scares me. I'm afraid it will look too clinical or cold. Light colors are just a step away. The year before I got married, I painted my bedroom this lovely, silvery, lavender color. I couldn't stand it. So I traded it in for a very vibrant, in-your-face magenta. It was perfect. I embrace bold, funky color. Neutrals freak me out.

Those magazines where they talk about taking a risk and experimenting with color. . .I have no idea what they're talking about!! But I think I'm coming around. I just painted my kitchen white & love it. I also have plans for my currently peacock blue (the blue was a risk too, but I ended up liking it) living room to try on a stone color. This is my practice house after all!!

Anyway! More of the room!!!



The kitchenette was built by my cousin for the girls and the table and chairs set belonged to my Mom and then me before it made it's way up here.




The only thing that makes me truly unhappy about this room is that ugly air conditioner!!! Absolutely necessary as I prefer not to cook my girls in their sleep in their attic bedroom, but so unattractive! Anyone have or seen ideas on how to cover it while keeping it effective? I haven't come up with anything, obviously!




The dark brown rocking chair was mine as a little girl as well and now belongs to Big.  YiaYia (my Mom) bought Little one for her birthday so she would have one, too.




Cute bunting I made using scraps from the Sisters' quilts and each of their letters which I spray painted. I may do more to them at some point, but right now I like the solid color in that corner of bright, bold & busy patterns.



I bought these 3 little bird houses at JoAnn's for $1, $1 and $.25!!!! A little spray paint until I decide to get a little more creative . . . if I decide to—again, I'm really liking the solid color. Cheap, easy and extremely cute!!



We bought that little house pillow on our vacation last summer in Eureka Springs, AR at the cutest little shop called Wilson & Wilson folkart co.  Easily could spend a lot of money in that shop! Wait, we did! But it's a good thing it takes 9-ish hours to get to their brick & mortar store! I do better maintaining my composure online than when I'm standing in the middle of it!

I want to make lots and lots of those little houses. A little house pillow village!



When it gets time to move, I'm really going to miss this room! Nate keeps saying that it can be reproduced, so I'm crossing my fingers! Plus, when we do move, I've got this great cast-iron bathtub couch back home that was my Mom's and would look AMAZING in this room! I'd have it up there already, but those old attic room stairs are incredibly steep and that bathtub is HEAVY. Plus, the doorway leading up there only has about 24" clearance and I don't think it would fit!! But as soon as I live somewhere where it will go through the door, it will take a trip from KS to TN!!! :)

xoxo Lori Danelle

Toddler Pallet Bed {Take 2}

You've waited long enough, right? The suspense has been properly drawn out and all that super tactical stuff??

OK, Good. Because I want to show you Big Sister's toddler bed!!






I hope you love it as much as the girls and I do!! Big was so excited to get one of her own. Didn't even mind when I took down her other toddler bed. Little was still a bit distraught, but I just think Little as at an age where anything changing causes a bit of distress. :)

Perhaps I should take you on a tour around their room sometime this week now that it is done-ish. :)

{And no, I was not strategically withholding anything from you. I was on vacation and withholding my computer from myself!! :) Just in case you were worried.}

Now wasn't that worth the wait??  

xoxo Lori Danelle