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Monday, March 3, 2014

Twas a fortnight before Christmas

Lets see. Today is the 11th of December. That means Christmas is two weeks away. No need to panic: there are still a couple weekends left to make gifts.

And dont forget, this Friday is the Mere Mortals Very Special Christmas Special! Dont miss it if you can.

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Heres what some viewers have been up to.

Randy Cosgrove has been cranking out the wood snowflakes. These came out great!

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Heres Steve Pretsch working on a train. Trains make for great outdoor decorations too.

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Heres a cool idea from Corey Turner. A guitar-shaped cutting board!

And hes been making frames: always great gifts. Heres one similar to one I made in a video a while back. Hey, is that Chuck Berry in there?

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And check out this rustic frame from Dallas Diehl. Its made from a juniper fence pole that has been holding up barbed wire for 100 years.

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Heres Joe Dandys entry into the advent calendar club! Too late to make one for use this year, but heres an idea: make one now and have the kids paint the ornaments on Christmas Eve. Then youll have it all ready for next December 1st!

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And from Bill Wilson, the busiest woodworker around, this tongue drum made with paduik and maple. These are really fun to make and are great gifts for kids or adults.

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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Bathroom Update

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! Ours was wonderful and I suppose Im still basking in the memories... I havent even removed the pumpkins from our front porch yet (smile).

We recently completed a fairly inexpensive and quick update to our bathroom. We had company staying with us over the Thanksgiving holiday and it provided a great source of motivation to get everything completed!

BEFORE (during a walk-through before purchasing):

AFTER:

A couple years ago we made a few improvements to the bathroom but other projects took priority and we finally got around to replacing the ceiling, walls and fixtures.

Im going to be honest here and mention that while we love our old farmhouse, there are times that it can be very exhausting and frustrating (especially for my husband). Nothing is square, and there are always obstacles when working on any project. The biggest obstacle in this room was installing a bathroom fan, believe it or not, a bathroom essential that had never been added. Justus finally purchased one of the smallest fans he could find because of the lower ceiling and because we were unable to vent it through the roof. After dealing with excess moisture in the room, we were pretty thrilled to have a bathroom fan, even if the placement wasnt ideal!

Justus pretty much made every decision on the bathroom, and I really love what he did, even down to the mirror choice. We both wanted a wood ceiling (too many years dealing with sheet-rock peeling paint, in both houses we have owned) and Justus chose pine planks, which I coated with poly to protect from moisture. Although wood ceilings tend to darken a room quickly, the natural pine really kept the room light and fresh.

Justus installed wood beadboard walls to match the rest of the house, which we then painted white. We were so happy to say goodbye to the faux lineolum walls!

Really the only choice I made for the bathroom were the light fixtures. I wanted to find something that looked just right and I spent too much time searching online before finding these Martha Stewart fixtures from Home Depot. I loved them even more when Justus brought them home from the store and installed them. I love the look of a single sconce on each side of the mirror but I was very nervous that it wouldnt let off enough light; Im happy to say that is not the case at all.

Because the bathroom is small, we kept it as simple, light and uncluttered as possible. Justus made a towel peg rack from some reclaimed wood and we hung a single picture.

We absolutely love these oak shaker pegs from Lowes and have used them for a couple projects now. And hanging towels from pegs is so much easier than a towel bar!

Eventually Id love to repurpose a dresser into a sink here, but thats a project for another day. Our next big project is putting in a bathroom upstairs (eek)!

Lastly, a look at the other side of the bathroom where Justus built some cupboards and shelves last year. (You can read that post here.)

And while were on the subject of the bathroom, my highlight of the week is having an almost potty trained little two year old (Rosetta)!

I hope you have a great week. Thanks for taking a little tour of our bathroom!

The Sofa and A Winner

Hey there!

After a week of thinking that I bit off more than I could chew trying to figure out how to slipcover our sofa, I finally got my thinking cap on straight and did it. It isnt your typical slipcover as I didnt add piping (too difficult), but Im very happy with it...and also happy with the fact that I stuck with it when I was about ready to throw in the towel. But, let me tell ya, I would rather poke out my own eyeballs with a stick then ever attempt doing this again, LOL! :)

I am so excited to be giving this room, our den, a makeover so dont look at anything but the sofa in these pictures because everything thats currently in there is on its way out! :) Fun! Heres what the sofa looked like before. Outdated, not my style of fabric, but nice lines....

BEFORE

I used two and a half packages of 9 x 12 foot canvas dropcloth for this project. I started by cutting off the skirt around the bottom. This is where I panicked because I knew there was no turning back now. Trying to figure out how to sew an entire slipcover was intimidating for my first try, so, I did it in sections. First, I recovered the back and stapled the fabric underneath with a staple gun. That part was easy.

Then I measured and cut out pieces for the arm and pinned them together. To me this was the hardest part and what kept me confused all week. I think it was the shape that was throwing me off. Or maybe I was having a mental block, either way, I just. Couldnt. Get it.

After that was finished I removed it and began sewing. I did the same thing with the other arm and then added a piece of fabric that would join them both together and would also be the bottom piece below the cushions. I left the bottom loose because when it was all finished, I wanted to pull it tightly under the sofa and staple it for a tailored look.

The cushions came next, more cutting fabric, pinning and sewing until everything was finally finished. This is what it looks like now.

AFTER

What do you all think? I am super happy with it even though I couldnt quite make it look like the settee from Anthropologie that I was inspired by. And its my first slipcover, so Im pretty proud of that. :) I cant wait to get some colorful pillows on that couch and a fun throw blanket! So many possibilities now with a neutral color.

Im redecorating this room for my hubby. He wants something masculine and since this room is pretty much only used by all my boys, Ive got some ideas up my sleeve and want to make it really special for them. Right now, its a blank room with a TV and a couch. So stay tuned for some decorating fun!

And now the winner of the X Burlap Pillow giveaway is:

LAURA, whos comment was:
"Id love to win! Ive really been enjoying your blog so far."

Congratulations Laura! I hope you enjoy this pillow! Email me your address info! Happy Monday to all!

A Fun Pillow and a Giveaway

Im a little bit pillow crazy, probably because I cant walk away from pretty fabrics. I love sewing them and changing them up all the time. And theyre an inexpensive way to change the look of a room. Ive been making different variations of this X pillow for years and thought it would be fun to make a burlap version.

I covered the button in the center with the striped portion of an authentic vintage grain sack I bought at a flea market. The front is burlap, while the back and the X are canvas. The pillow measures 18 inches x 18 inches. Here is a view of the back.

Its fun, happy and makes me smile! Soooooo, Ive decided to give 1 away to one of you with the hope that it makes you smile, too. I feel so blessed to have so many of you following my blog and leaving such nice comments and emails that I thought this would be a fun way to show my appreciation. If youre interested in having this pretty pillow, all you have to do is leave a comment below and a winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, July 10 and I will announce it in Monday mornings (July 11) post.

Have a happy day!

Update: Im hearing there have been some problems with commenting on Blogger. If you are having trouble leaving a comment and are interested in putting your name in the hat for the pillow giveaway, send me an email at the address provided on the Contact page. Im so sorry for any trouble any of you have possibly had trying to leave a comment.

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Saturday, March 1, 2014

Orange Glazed Blueberry Scones

With blueberries in abundance right now, not to mention affordable, Ive been having fun making some of our favorite summer sweets. One of those is blueberry scones. But with the heat of the summer, the last thing I really want to do is roll out dough.

And sometimes Im lazy.

Thats why I love this recipe.

You throw the dough together and drop it in heaps on the baking sheet.

Simple.

And no chilling, rolling and cutting dough into triangles.

Let me tell ya, the star here is definitely the orange glaze. Without it, these are just ordinary scones. With it, they are really something special.

Trust me.

As far as a glaze is concerned,

you just cant go wrong with melted butter, fresh squeezed orange juice and powdered sugar.

I could drink it.

You can find the recipe here.

I may or may not have eaten 4 of these just while taking the photos.

Tip: To make the glaze super easy to drizzle on your scones, as well as super cute, I like to use those plastic cake decorating squeeze bottles available in the cake decorating department of the grocery store. Theyre cheap and also perfect for storing your homemade snow cone syrup.

What are your favorite blueberry recipes?

Homemade Blueberry Muffins With Strawberry Butter

Were taking a break from our bathroom remodel to have a snack......I really look forward to the arrival of June every year because of the abundance of sweet, juicy blueberries that begin showing up at farmers markets. Around our home, we eat lots and lots of them in the summer and Im always trying to come up with new ways to use them.

This recipe is my favorite. I used to think that a blueberry muffin didnt need anything added to it to make it special but this strawberry butter has changed that for me. When paired with this muffin, they become amazing.

Heres a little muffin tip......you can whip up your favorite muffin batter, pour into a muffin pan and freeze. When frozen, remove the frozen batter from each cup and place them in ziploc freezer bags and store in the freezer. Then whenever your muffin craving strikes, just place any number of the frozen batter molds into a muffin pan and bake according to the recipe you used. You might need to bake for another 5 minutes since theyre frozen. That way, you can always have fresh baked, warm from the oven muffins at your fingertips.

Heres my recipe:

Blueberry Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 12 cup or 6 large cup muffin pan or line each cup with a paper liner. I use unbleached parchment paper that I tear into 8 in x 8 in squares and press into each cup with a small glass, for a more rustic look, its cheaper, I always have parchment paper and I dont have to wash the pan.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
3. In another bowl, beat the eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla.
4. Combine with the dry ingredients, being very careful not to overmix. Only mix until combined. Lightly fold in your blueberries.
5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling until almost full. Bake until risen and golden 25 to 30 minutes or when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack and serve warm.

To make the strawberry butter, start with a stick of room temperature unsalted butter. Add a couple tablespoons of powdered sugar and 2 or 3 mashed strawberries. Combine and keep in the fridge until your ready to slather it all over your warm muffin. Or just eat it by the spoonful.....just kidding....maybe...

How do you use your blueberries in the summer?