The Man Cave

This may be the worst time of the year to be so pregnant!  Baby is roughly the size of a butternut squash and is beginning to take over the space inside that was formerly reserved for my lungs.  That combined with the heat and humidity makes it hard to breath and even harder to stay perspiration free.  All day I have been plugging away in my craft room, now dubbed "The Sweat Shop," because it is on the second floor and even though there are vents that should shoot out cool air, it is sweltering up here!  So, here I sit, GLOWING profusely! (Women don't actually sweat, we glow.  Its kind of the same as how we don't fart.  I know, perfection is hard to understand!)  All this to get ready for Sidney's Farmer's Market in the morning.  Come out to see some new items (that I haven't had time to photograph) and get some delicious cupcakes.  Yep! Brooke is back tomorrow with her cupcakes!

 

Now, on to Freebie Friday.  I have been promising to post pictures of my hubby's latest project, the basement renovation, so I'm rolling the two into one.  First the free part...

 

This is a heaping pile of FREE old barn siding.  Here is what I turned a small portion of it into...

Here's how...

 

Here's why...

 

In the middle of the main living area in the basement is our electrical box.  What an eye sore, right?

 I hated the thought of putting a lonely ugly cupboard door right in the middle of the wall so I decided to cover it up.  However, anything I hung over it was so off center that the whole wall looked lop-sided.  The solution a three a paneled piece of art, and this week's freebie!

 

 If you are interested in some of this patriotic goodness please let me know, the hubs is tired of looking at my pile of barn siding!  Now on to the rest of the basement.  

 

My husband, who loves us dearly, started this project with the intention of creating a "man-cave" so he could have a place to get away from Little Miss and me.  Man-cave-shman-cave.  I told him he could have the space but I get to design and decorate it.  I started with the ceiling.  I wanted to paint it black because I didn't like the feel or the price tag of a drop ceiling.  This left all the duct work exposed and created a kind of industrial feel.   

 

What's more industrial and warehouse-like than brick?  I priced wallpaper all over the place and it was going to cost around $270 to cover this one little wall.  Well that just wasn't an option, but neither was not getting what I wanted.  I found this fabulous stuff at Menards.  It comes in 4x8 sheets and will run you somewhere around $20 a sheet.

 

These lights are also from Menards.  I found them on sale, a set of 2 for $5.  I'm still drooling over this deal!

 

And finally, my last "you-can-finish-the-basement-but-you-must-do-as-I-say" requirement, a built in book case under the stairs.  Even without the right decor lining the shelves, I LOVE IT!  The best part about the new basement is that it is nice and cool.  Ahhhh!

My husband has never, I repeat, NEVER, tackled a project of this nature or magnitude ever before in his life and yet every time I walk down the stairs I'm blown away by his work! He completed every last step on his own, with a bit of help on the drywall. (Thanks Dad!)  I love the new man cave almost as much as I love my smarty-arty handy-mandy husband!

See you all in the morning in Sidney!

 

 

Frugal Friday

This week's Freebie Friday has been replace by Frugal Friday.  I'm too excited about my new wicker loveseat to wait another day to blog about it, and because it was technically free, I think that it counts.

 

Here she is! What a beauty! I inherited her from my aunt, so like I said, technically it was free.

  

This attractive pillow was my favorite part.  Now, here's the not so free part...

 

This is my new favorite spray paint.  It really does have 2X the coverage, it comes in so many colors, and best of all, it is inexpensive.  I get mine at Menards and this week they are offering a $1 rebate on each can so you can score one of these puppies for the low price of $1.97! 

A little paint and some fun new fabric (Joann's. Outdoor Home Decor. $19/yard) and TADA, a brand new wicker loveseat!

 

 

My new favorite part.  I used some of the leftover fabric to create the applique for the front of the pillow. 

  

Not free, but definitely an inexpensive makeover and worth every penny!  Now if it would only cool off enough to go outside and enjoy it! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Freebie Friday

Hey all!  Friday is almost gone and I'm running short on time, racing to get all my little ducks in a row for the Sidney Farmer's Market in the morning.  However, I didn't want to miss the chance to share a freebie with you.   These are the leftovers from the rehearsal dinner that my family hosted for my brother's wedding.

 

SO SIMPLE! Step one: Find an irresistible jar or vase.  Step two: Pluck some weeds from the field.  If you are super lucky you will find a nice pretty sunflower too! Step three: Combine the two and add water.  Walah!

  

I love me a good theme party!  These were perfect for our down-home, country theme.  

 

I whipped up this lovely Photoshop masterpiece.  It served as the cover to the invitations and really helped set the mood, and its another freebie!!!  As a half-host there wasn't much time to play photographer but there was a delicious spread of fried chicken, corn-on-the-cob, red skin potatoes, and garden fresh salads.  To top it all off, homemade pies, apple, cherry, peach, and old fashion sugar cream...YUM! Go ahead, be jealous.

 
 

Little Miss played to part of Laura Ingles running through the meadow. Can't you just here the Little House on the Prairie theme song??  Da dum da da da da de da... no, wait, that's Young and the Restless.  Nevermind!

 

I know this one means nothing to most of you, but its a very rare photo that almost makes me cry (which should say a lot but in my very hormonal condition is actually quite easy to do.)  The first handsome fella with the strange look on his face is my youngest brother, Ian.  He made it home just in time for all the wedding festivities and had to leave the day after.  He headed back to Texas where he is stationed until he is deployed to Iraq next month.  Next, is my brother Caleb, the groom.  I couldn't be more proud of the man he has become.  The short squatty one is Dad.  Dad, the word alone says it all!

Thanks all for visiting!  Come back soon to check out wedding pictures and the recently finished basement project!  Hope to see you all tomorrow at the Sidney Farmer's Market!

 

Free Bees?

Well, as with most things, I'm two weeks behind on "Free Bee Fridays."  Maybe this idea was doomed for failure when I spelled freebies wrong. Just to clear things up, I am not giving away bees each Friday and there will be no running bee theme to my Friday crafting. How embarrassing!! I have decided to more appropriately rename the the day "Freebie Fridays."

Now that I've got that issue taken care of, let's move on to my tardiness.  Anyone who knows me can testify that I'm not super timely.  A terrible habit, I know.  From here forth I resolve to TRY to be a more timely blogger.   I'm sure my crazy long list of followers (16 in all, and I think I count for one or two:) will understand. 

To make up for my shortcomings, I present to you a special issue of the new and improved "Freebie Fridays," brought to you on this, a very special day, Monday.

 

  I found this project at Someday Crafts. Fun and FREE!

Here's what you need:

9 paint sticks (I must always forget to stir my paint because I have so many of these laying around.)

red, white and blue craft paint

old stain or ink... something to give it a weathered look

wood glue

string

Start with nine old paint sticks.  I know there are only seven shown, two come in later.

 

On the first 3 sticks draw a vertical line 3" in from the left side.  This will mark where the blue goes. 

Using any old craft paint start to fill in your color making the first stick red.

 

Next, use a piece of sandpaper to rough up the edges and rub off a bit of the paint. To complete the weathered look, use some old stain and a paper towel.  Add just the smallest amount of stain to each stick.  If it gets to be too much you can always sand it off.

 

Once the stain has dried assembly can begin.  Cut the last two paint sticks the width of the flag.  Apply a generous amount of wood glue and assemble your flag as shown.  I placed some heavy books on top while it was drying to help hold everything together.

 

To finish the flag, drill two small holes in the top corners.  Poke your string through the back and knot it on the front side.  You could hot glue it to the back if that would be easier.

 

 The creative lady at Someday Crafts added a starfish on top of the blue, but I was fresh out of starfish.  I think you get the idea anyways. 

 Ta Da! A free project to help celebrate the Fourth.

Happy Independence Day everybody!