Oh…yay…

Sarcastically said of course.  It all started out with me wanting a new floor.  Yes, I talked the husband into that and we bought the floor which has sat in our hall for about 2 months or so.  Then it morphed into taking the cabinets down, then came the laundry room addition…which lead to us putting the butler’s pantry back in its spot….so…I guess this is all my fault 🙂

Kitchen gutted

But, things are looking up.  After a brief interlude to celebrate Turkey Day, I painted the laundry room purple (yes, purple, I don’t know why…ok?), and Steven framed up the laundry room and put down the floor.  He is currently, as I type, running the plumbing and electricity.  He told me that next time I ask for “just a floor”, he will have to think loooong and hard about it. Hahaha….

The same wall...cleaned and primed (Super duper KILZ!)

Painted and the floor down

The framing going up!

It is funny to me, when I transfer pictures to my computer, to find pictures Vivian took.  In fact, 62 of the 115 I transferred were hers.  Here is a random sampling from Vivian the Photographer.

Cheese!

Gee...this is scary!

This is cute...

Toes!

Hello toe!

Well, I better go check out the plumber/electrician to see if he needs any help. 

Andrea

Remodeling 101 by Mary Southerland

I read this today and laughed about waking up to see the toilet in the Master bedroom…I have many stories like that too!  Hahaha…read on….

Today’s Truth 
Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Friend to Friend 
I promised myself that I would never buy a house that could be described as a “fixer-upper.” I don’t like fixing things. I want everything to be fixed before I move in. But there I was, buying a town house that needed so much work even the realtor couldn’t believe my husband and I wanted to buy it. Why didn’t someone stop me? No one did, so the sale was made and we went to work. Actually, my son and husband went to work while I went crazy.

 I had no idea how horrible the process of remodeling could be. Layer after layer of dirt, grime, stains and ugliness was stripped away. Rotten kitchen cabinets were torn from the walls and rusty appliances were replaced. We basically gutted the whole place and rebuilt it – while living in it. I was not happy!

I will never forget the day I woke up to see a toilet sitting at the foot of our bed. It was at that moment I resolved to never set foot in another house that required so much work. I am so thankful God does not feel that way about me. 

Honestly, I used to wonder why God didn’t just demolish the old me and build a new one. Then He did just that – through a two-year battle with clinical depression. While sitting at the bottom of that deep, dark and slimy pit, the Father lovingly stripped away old fears and insecurities. From the walls of my heart, He tore the rotten attitudes, undisciplined thoughts and unholy desires that had walked me to the edge of my pit; then pushed me in. He replaced rusty old dreams with new ones and basically, gutted my life to build a new one, a better one, and a stronger one. Part of that new life was forgiveness. God taught me how to forgive myself so I could then forgive others.

Because forgiveness is so important, it only stands to reason that there are roadblocks that can hinder our willingness to forgive. We must make the commitment to identify and remove each one….. Click here to read the entire devotion

Recycle Altoid Tins

Ok, I am a sucker for a great recycle and this was just so cute and easy to do: Making Mini Toolboxes from Altoid Tins.   I am reposting (Thanks Alpha Mom).  Click here to view the tutorial on how to make these.  Another good site to get ideas from is: www.craftingagreenworld.com

I have quite a few recycling projects that I took pictures of and am working on.  When I get the time, I will post more ideas on ways to recycle things around the house and on how to recycle packaging.  For now, here is a short list.

Our local recycler accepts cardboard, plastic, tin  and aluminum cans, but not glass.  I have quite a collection of glass jars!  In fact, it gets so large that I have to throw some out from time time…YIKES!  So, I am always looking for great ideas to reuse the jars or repurpose them.  We have made special cake mixes, coca mixes, etc. and poured the dry ingredients into a jar so all the recipient has to do is add eggs, water and oil; or in the case of the cocoa: milk or water.  We also use them to store odds and end hardware like screws, nails, bolts, etc.  Here are some great ideas to recycle glass: Jars=vases, carrying soup, storage.  Glass bottles= Spring time flower arrangements (think gerbera daisies), display in a window.  http://www.ehow.com/how_2271399_make-coke-glass-flower-arrangement.html; or http://www.alittletipsy.com/2010/05/2-spring-soda-bottle-flower-arrangement.html; or http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/158372/how_to_recycle_glass_bottles_into_decorative.html

 

I keep all of the Folger canisters I buy and I reuse those to line a shelf inside the kitchen cabinet.  I make labels to recover the canisters and store flashlights, batteries, drawer pulls, and larger items.  Why buy a storage container when you have one to throw away?  I also keep all of the plastic ice cream buckets, butter bowls, etc. and reuse those to package up food leftover from potlucks at our house, and send them home with the guests.  Sometimes, when friends have a new baby, or there is illness, I cook food and put it in the big ice cream buckets and bring it to their house.  That way they do not have to worry about getting us our storage containers or pots back.

My favorite thing to do, is recycle the packaging that curtains and sheets come in.  You know those thick plastic bags that have a zipper, or button?  I use those to store my sewing supplies and the larger ones, I put the whole entire project into it.  For example, if I am making potholders, I will put the potholder material, stuffing, matching thread, etc., all in one bag so all I have to do is pull out one bag and everything for my project is there.  Click here for pictures of that.

Some of the smaller packaging bags that Tshirts, childrens’ underwear, and different things like that come in, I reuse as pencil cases or a mini office to go.  I cut out fabric flowers or paper flowers, (or whatever design you want) and sew them or hot glue them on.  The great thing about these bags are that they are see through.  I am very visual, so I like see through storage.  Otherwise, out of sight, out of mind applies.  The containers that are not see through, I put a large label on so I can readily identify what is inside.

Lastly, I like to recycle hard acryllic plastic packaging.  The kind that toys come in.  I put the cardboard part of the box in the recycling bin and I take the acryllic part and punch out shapes with my paper punches and then use them in a layout as windows.  You can almost recycle everything!

If you have any great reuse tips, please post them in the comments!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!  Happy toolbox making!

Andrea

Paging Dr. Vivian…

Of course my child cannot pick something easy to dress up like for Halloween.  She wanted to be a vet….a veterinarian.  So, I had to look around for some pint sized scrubs or a lab coat.  I found this place online that makes real lab coats in miniature.  They were even able to stitch Vivian’s name above the pocket, in cursive purple stiching, no less.  So, here is our doctor.  She made a cute doctor.