The Climb

Before image of their upstairs bath; it was really drab and needed some re-freshing.

Isn't this old peice of molding amazing!!!??? We found it at our favorite little antique shop in Shakopee How Quaint! It looks wonderful in her bathroom above her toilet. There use to be another cabinet there but we took it down for this gem.

The color of the walls is 'Sliced Cucumber' by benjamin moore. But now we are thinking of a new color and yep you guessed it MUSTARD!!!! what do you think?

Instead of putting the towel holder back up Jen got creative and found this old ladder at How Quaint and is using it for her bath towels! So innovative and one-of-a-kind!

Formica out Beadboard IN!

There was nasty Formica that lead from the counter tops to the backsplash. With them on a budget and hating there kitchen, they replaced just the backsplash with beadboard and the transformation was amazaing. Still wanting to replace there counter tops one day but at least this is a lot better than what they had!

What a wonderful view

Remember those old windows we got from a friend?

Jen painted it the same color as her dining set (pot of cream) and had a mirror cut to be mounted on the back. This turned into a brand new mirror that didn't cost a cent! By hanging it in her kitchen right off her entry is a great place to grab your things and take a peek in the mirror before heading out to work or play for the day. I hope this post inspires you to be creative with what you have lying in your garage/storage space and turn it into something functional for everyday use, but also very appealing and cohesive with the design of your home.

Dining Room Complete!

The fabric looks amazing next to the green/yellow paint color and complimented by the grey 100% silk we found for only $12.00/yd!!!

The custom cornice board and silk panels were hand crafted by our wonderful and talented mother! drapesbyjanice.blogspot.com What an upgrade from the white walls and vertical blinds right???

By mounting the cornice board to the ceiling and with the silk panels lightly dusting the floor created the illusion of huge ceilings and an overall finished look!

Here is the famous turquoise hutch setting the back drop to the off white dining set and West Elm light fixture.

She painted this dining room set 'Pot of Cream' by Benjamin Moore last august. Then re-covered the seats (well mom re-covered the seats) with the foliage pattern grey fabric we found at Calico Corners. It was a complete and absolute upgrade from what the dining set had looked like before. And with only money spent on paint and fabric, this project was a success and led to many many many more! Please give us some feedback on what you think. Wait til you see the rest of the house:)

Finally a look into Jen's House

Here is a look at their dining room the day they closed on the house. Right away Jen said the vertical blinds and the ceiling fan have got to go! So sure enough after I took this shot Mitch and Jen wasted no time in the renovation.

Also, the white walls were very institutional and Jen needed something more happy and bright!

Here is a look at the paint sample she decided on checking to see how the dark wood work would react to it. Suprisingly very well don't ya think???

This fabric we found at Calico Corners was the true inspiration for her new home. It is modern but yet traditional to accomadate Jen's vintage style and Mitch's swedish style. In this picture we are deciding if the new fabric panels would be alright with the carpet color.

Flea market season is almost here in Minnesota ...yeah!

Flea Market Style just hit the news stands so be sure to get a copy! They are really hard to find and are going fast. This magazine is awesome for all of you junkies out there!

5 tables for under $25 bucks!

Jen picked up these tables over the weekend for only $25.00!!! She is in the process of re-finishing them for our first mustard bird sale! We will be revealing a date very soon.

Every girl needs some tulle!

Here is a gorgeous tutu Jen and our mom sewed for a present to a very special little girl. The satin waist band is so pretty and the satin bow added the perfect amount of girl to this tutu!

What an entrance

I love this house!!! Someday I wish to have a mustard door . . .

Projects I would love to complete this year

Paint the whole basement
Put together my scrapbooking room
Put together a guest room
Re-do the downstairs bathroom
Re-do the upstairs bathroom
Clean and organize garage
Paint exterior house trim
Get a new front door
Landscape with river rock
Landscape keyhole garden
Get new lighting
Sell my furniture at consingment shops
Get rid of old clothes and buy more new
Build up my savings account
Finish dancing years scrapbooks
Finish Hawaii scrapbook
Finish spring training scrapbook

Felt Frenzy!

I made these headbands out of peices of leftover felt and buttons I had lying around. To add more of interest to the felt I used my mother's sewing machine to sew the decorative stitches. These are so easy to make and were great gifts for the holidays. While working on these headbands I finally mastered the craft of threading a sewing machine many times!!!!! I am learning very very slowly from my mother but I guess slow is better that not at all.

The Martha Stewart Blog Show!!!

Today on Martha they dedicated the whole show to Blogging!!!! Go to her website and catch the recap it was great!!!

A French Country Nautical Basement: After

After only 3 days, alot of shopping, planning, painting and stringing popcorn with cranberries this basement transformed into a cheerful environment ready for guest to enjoy!

This window I got back in july from a friend's old farm, I was waiting for the perfect client and perfect wall to display it on and I found it! The perfect siting area.

I made this Noel banner out or burlap and navy cotton. I cut the letters out of the navy and cut rectangles out of burlap. Then (with help) I sewed the letters on the burlap for a real home made country feel.

We found these ball mason jars at micheals for only $15.99!!!! They fit perfect in the window sills and the best part is the home owner's can fill the jars according to each season. Since this was for a christmas eve gather we filled them with navy ornaments. For spring they can do cork or flowers, and summer they can do sand and shells!

Here is my famous red rocking chair!!! I think I had a smile on my face the whole time I was painting this! Notice the tree with hand strung popcorn and cranberries, SO CLASSIC!

This was so much fun to plan and create and even under such time constraints I think it turned out amazing!!! I would love your comments on this project.

Projects for the Basement Re-do

This Drab Rocking chair was screaming at me to be PAINTED! With alot of browns, blues and white I decided what better than RED!

With a quart of paint, primer and poly this rocking chair went from drab to FAB!!!! Who wouldn't want a red rocking chair anyway?!



This was a chest the home owner had from her mother and did not like it anymore but souldn;t get rid of it. So I suggested panting it the same color as the wood paneling and distressing it to give it an aged feel. She loved the idea so I got out my paint, primer and poly!

With a lot of distressing this chest took on a whole other appeal.