My "Creative" Oasis in the Desert: March 2015

3/24/15

YAY, My Kitchen Reveal

Hey everyone! I've been absent from Blogland for awhile, but you will soon see what has been keeping The Man and I very busy. I am so excited to share this DIY project, but if you are totally insane, you might want to go HERE to see what this kitchen looked like in the beginning and what we did early-on to give it it's first update. If you do read that post, you will see where I made the statement that oak cabinetry was getting such a bad wrap and we liked the look. Ha ha! Well, that was a lie.....not intentionally a lie, but self-protection against all the comments about "orange, build-basic oak cabinets" being so hideous. You see, I truly didn't think we had it in us to do that big of a DIY, but I. WAS. WRONG! So without further ado, here is what we've been up to.

Everyone needs to see a little "before" before they see the "after," right? There are a ton of tutorials about painting cabinets, & I did read several; but we didn't really follow any of them. Except......for several that gave glowing reports about the Benjamin Moore Advance paint. The Man started doing some reading about it and decided that was what we needed to use. He really got on-board with this whole project when he realized it was a perfect excuse to get a new ~~toy~~ tool -- the Fuji Mini-Mite. He is now completely sold on both the paint and the paint sprayer and is even dreaming up other projects to work on!

Okay, drumroll, please!

I cannot tell you how much I love this change!

3/15/15

DIY Sneaky Peeks

Hey everyone! I hope everyone has been having a great weekend. We have been super-busy with a big DIY, and I just thought it would be fun to do a really short post and give you a few teaser pics.

Most of you have seen my kitchen many times, but this is the last time you will see it like this.

There has been a lot of this kind of thing going on......

Also a new ~~toy~~ tool for The Man........

Getting to try for the first time the best primer and.......

Paint we've ever used!

Good weather for doing most of the work outside.......

but making room in the garage for nighttime -- I mean, this is AZ and you never know what critters

might be prowling around!

Just a glimpse of one of the finished areas. No more until it's all finished!

At the end of the day, we all feel like this!

I will probably be MIA for the next week as we complete this project and do the cleanup, but I'll return soon with the BIG REVEAL! Yes, I'm giddy -- tired, but giddy!

Have a happy week!

3/8/15

Adding Splashes of Color

Hey everyone! I'm taking orders now for plenty of sunshine and warm temps for any of you who are still snow-bound and/or trying to dig out! We are having an abundance of REALLY gorgeous weather, so let me know......shipping is FREE!

When I re-decorated after the Christmas decor came down, I really felt I was giving our home a lighter more Spring-like look. But......after a short while, I kind of felt that everything was just too beige and needed more color (except for the kitchen which is already pretty colorful). I immediately went into my "turquoise mode," because everything looks better with some turquoise, right? That really did work, but not quite enough; so I decided to add some more color splashes which are making me truly happy. Today I thought I would share how I've added some color to our foyer, dining room and sitting area.

Foyer

Aren't these little bunnies cute.....HobLob!

Love the simplicity of this, but thought it might need.......

A splash more color. What do you think......with or without the yellow flowers?

Added some color with some new pillow covers from HL. I have another pillow in the works for the center......I do know about the power of odd numbers!

The tin plate up top use to be brown and rust, but now it's a happy turquoise!

Haven't yet pulled the trigger on painting these wall sconces, but I did add some new

vivid turquoise candles.

Painted the dough bowl and filled it with white faux flowers.

Adding some bright pops of yellow is cheering me on!

I also believe every room should have a bit of black or black and white in this pillow

cover from HL.

Changed up a few things here.

Brought in these lamps from another room, but kept my tray-filled center piece the same.

Nothing new here, just moving things around the house. The coffee filter wreath was hanging in our bedroom, but decided to attach it to the lid of a box that I had painted.....you guessed it, turquoise!

I really do like turquoise & green together.

Added some cute bunnies to my china cabinet.

Nice and simple, but in the blink of an eye, it can go from this......

To this!

One little nest with some decoupaged book pages & twine eggs.

2nd little nest just filled with faux eggs.....

Sitting on some stacked teacups. I'll tell ya', my mind is simply over-flowing

with creative ideas......NOT!

Even Mr. Bunny knows the real truth.......PINTEREST!

I really had some fun shopping for pillow covers when HobLob had them for 50% off.....they were all just $3 or $4 each! One side of the china cabinet and.......

The other side. I think the black and white help breath new life into my olden chairs.

You may remember how I transformed some $Store pears with some Rub n' Buff & lined them up with some faux flowers on this candle stand.

Well, same candle stand, but I used Yellow Crochet Chalk Paint on some $Store red apples this time. I think it looks pretty cute; but wait......

Something looks amiss! Where are my pretty yellow apples?

However did they get on the floor? Hmmm.......

Caught red-~~handed~~ pawed! I kept hearing plops of something hitting the floor, but when I walked into the room, she was already sitting here trying to look nonchalant. Ha! Abby looks awfully guilty, but is she ashamed of herself? Not at all! This is a new game for our after dinner, relaxing pleasure.

PLOP, PLOP, PLOP......"Abby, stay away from the apples!"

Sorry guys, once again I have created a very long post. I should have reminded you at the beginning that you would probably need some caffeine & snacks! Oh well, those who know me already know this is very normal. Hope all of you will have a great week with some Spring-like weather!

Sunday
Dee at Meatloaf and Melodrama for Snickerdoodle Sunday

Monday

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday
Karen at Karen's Up on the Hill for Something to Talk About

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday

Kathryn at The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Mondays

Tuesday

Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday

Leslie at House on the Way for Twirl & Take a Bow

Mary Beth at Cupcakes and Crinoline for Project Inspired

Wednesday

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Karin at The Style Sisters for Centerpiece Wednesday

Kathryn at The Dedicated House for Before and After Wednesday

Thursday

Kelly at Live Laugh Rowe for Live Laugh Linky Party

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

Friday

Kathryn at The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday

Jody & Stan at Rooted in Thyme for Simple and Sweet Fridays

3/1/15

A Spring Update in the Hearthroom

Hey everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend and a great new week to come. I know many of you have "Spring Fever," even though you may still be buried in snow and cold temps. We have definitely been having Spring-like weather here with flowers in bloom and birds busy building their nests. I've been working on my nest, too, and The Man did a diy that he's been mulling over for quite awhile. Would you like to see? Silly me, of course you would; we are "Blog-People and it's what we do!"

The before:

I just chose this older pic because it gives a good idea of the depth of this cavern.

These built-in entertainment centers were very popular in the late 90's & early 2000, and they were built to accommodate those giant big box televisions. Not too great for today's flatscreen. We don't truly like this type of built-in, but it's here and would be a major job to change the entire thing. So what The Man decided to do was to bring this cavern into the 21st century by framing in the wall and adding sheetrock to the same depth as the niche above the mantel.

Ta-da! It really does look like it has always been this way (and should have been). Now someone sitting on the loveseat can actually see the tv without getting a stiff neck!

The tv is attached to the wall with a special bracket that will allow it to be pulled forward and rotated, and that means I might just be changing the layout of the furniture in this room! The Man is so doggone thrilled with that prospect......NOT! I wasn't sure what I wanted above the tv but happened upon this iron piece at Kirklands, on sale, and was the perfect size!

I love it when a plan comes together so well.

Well, as long as we are here in the hearthroom (or family room if you will), I thought I'd share some touches of Spring that I've added here and there. I'm still not ready to give my cotton stems a rest and really like how they look with the bird nest and apothecary jar filled with tiny baskets.

I'm keeping my mantel very simple for awhile.

I found the pretty turquoise planter in the sale aisle of JoAnn's one day, and it just jumped right into my cart! I added some metal ribbon (have you seen that stuff at Michael's?) to my candles for some extra texture.

I made this simple burlap wreath a couple of years ago. I had fun making book page flowers

to add some extra interest.

One little bunny,

and another little bunny from Hob Lob. I like keeping them separated, because you know how bunnies can multiply......shhh, don't give them any ideas!

I just love this planter. It's the perfect pop of turquoise that I seem to have an obsession for

these days.

Here is how the mantel looks after 5 p.m. when the candles turn on.

I added some new pillows to the loveseat. I happened upon one of Hob Lob's great sales on pillow covers, and bought some for here and for the living room. Most were less than $4, with zippers......I know how to make pillows and pillows with zippers, but not for $4!

Again, my obsession with adding turquoise here, there and everywhere!

Are these just gorgeous or what! The Man has been on quite a little roll with fresh flowers lately, and I'm the lucky recipient.....well, I'd better be the only recipient! He popped in Trader Joe's a few days ago and came home with these beauties. The first pic was right after I got them in water, and the second pic was taken 4 days later. I don't think I've ever seen cut gladiolas in the store, so these have been such a treat. It's been fun to watch the blooms pop open and give us more loveliness each day!

Well, that's a wrap for this post. I have a couple of other posts that are almost set up for later dates. We are just about to embark on a big DIY project, so I don't know how much time I'll have for blogging. I'll do my best!

I sometimes like to party with these lovely bloggers:

Sunday
Dee at Meatloaf and Melodrama for Snickerdoodle Sunday

Monday

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday