What Ties a Room Together?

When I first moved into my house I wanted to do something other than curtains in my living room. I decided that stained glass would be really awesome...until I saw the price...wow! No worries, there are always alternatives and if not try to make some! Fortunately Michael's Craft store carries a paint that you can paint on your windows that kinda look like stained glass. What is great about the product, is when you don't want the stained glass on your windows anymore, it peels right off! (Make sure the window is glass and not plastic because that will not peel-right-off). It is perfect for people like to change their space a lot or perfect for renters!

My inspiration for my front window in my living room came from a tapestry that I like to hang with my dining room decorations.



The "stained glass" came out beautifully and it ties my living room and dining room together.


I really like the idea of using different patterns and textures in my decorating, and with Cooper's new dog-crate-cover, it added another pattern to the mix already in my living room. However I felt it did not "go" with everything else in my house so I had to create more things to match Cooper's house.

I made pillows for my couches with the left-over fabric....




and with what little fabric I had after that, I covered my windows in the dining room. I did this with starch.


You simply soak the fabric in starch and remove the excess.



Then "paste" it on the surface (in my case the window) where you want it. It will dry rock hard and can be removed very simply. Just use a little soap and water.


This is a fun and easy project that can also be done on walls as "wallpaper." This too is perfect for renters!!

Late-Night Camping

It seems that as I get older it is much harder to have those spontaneous trips with friends. Everyone works different schedules, has different days off, and likes to do different things. So when the opportunity of having a total of 22 hours off, along with the neighbors, you take advantage of that time to take a spontaneous trip. Which explains why we were late night camping.

Our trip started off at a roadside taco stand....good idea at the time.


When we arrived at the park, it was dark. We got all our packs together and started blindly looking for a campsite.

We find a campsite, and start sniffing for spiders....why we didn't look for firewood first beats me. As we are sniffing for spiders, I turn around and this guy with a head lamp appeared right beside me and I mean, no one saw him coming. It was the Park Ranger, man this guy was a ninja! How four people did not hear him walking or see a light in the dark coming towards us beats me. A rather strange fellow but if you live in the woods and sneak up on people I guess you have to be creepy.

As soon as the ranger left, the taco stand came to mind. Humm... Mexican Taco Stand....No toilets. Poor Brandon probably used the bathroom 4 times while we were there. At least he wasn't popping-a-squat when Ninja Park Ranger was around.

We get settled in, and decide that since we have to leave in the morning, that we should explore in the dark. It was pitch black, the moon was non-existent, and the only thing that could been seen well with the flashlights were mushrooms. So I decided to snap a few photos of the craziest ones in the woods.

After mushroom hunting, we laid down to look at the stars. It was amazing I wish I could have gotten the shooting star we all saw on camera. After stargazing we decided to go for a hike to try to catch the sunrise at this look-out point. That didn't happen.

The dogs came along too and really enjoyed running freely in the woods.
This is Gyen the neighbor's puppy.

Notice how tired Cooper looks, I don't think he has ever stayed up and ran through the woods all night before. LOL.

We all had such a good time I can't wait until our next camping trip!

Projects Inspired By Cooper

Cooper is the newest edition to the family and because he is a dog (a rather large one) he has special needs. All dogs I have ever met enjoy peeing on carpet for some reason, and Cooper is no exception (although he is has been house trained well, and takes frequent trips outside). My entire upstairs is carpeted and the first day we had him, he went right up the stairs to do his business. BAD DOG! Completely my fault for not having a deterrent. The solution: get a gate! Of course I am not going to pay $20-$30 for a gate, so I decided to try and figure out what I could use to make one.

There happened to be a window screen lying around the house and it happened to fit perfectly in the stairwell. I removed the mesh screen, added hinges, and some fabric. I had a perfect doggie gate for about $1.50! Reused something old and turned into something new! Yay!




Another project I ventured on because of Cooper had to do with his crate or "house" as we call it. It is rather large and unsightly and it only fits in one place of the house...my living room!

The solution: Cover IT!!
I am by no means a professional seamstress. I usually just "wing it" with all my projects and sometimes get the results I want. Here is my "making-a-dog-crate-cover" sewing journey.

I cut the pattern on the dog crate itself with the interfacing.


Here is Cooper investigating the fabric to make sure it was to his liking...


I sewed the two fabrics together..

Made the piping...

Sewed the gathers...


And put it all together! I LOVE how it turned out!!!!!

Ouch....

Tomato Art Festival + forgetting to wear sunscreen = OUCH!

7 Reasons Why Guys Love Living With A Chick Like Me

I live with a couple of dudes, and when people say that guys wouldn't do anything unless their told (and then they call it nagging)...I'd say it is completely true! I think every woman eventually starts the nagging because she is tired of doing all the work. I have decided to make a list of why every dude would love having this chick around.

1. I am the full time dishwasher.

We live in an old house with no automatic dishwasher... I shouldn't have to explain anymore. Of course the guys aren't going to lift a finger when it comes to washing their dishes, they would be perfectly content purchasing paper plates and loading up the trash can. Also because the house is older, we have to be extra cautious on leaving food out, the critters have been here a lot longer than we have and know their way around. To help prevent them from finding their way into my kitchen, I wash the dishes everyday (several times a day) and every night before I go to bed. But for some reason I always wake up to this....

It is quite amazing what goes on when I'm sleeping.

2. I am the ice machine.

We do not have an automatic ice maker so we have to use the trays, and to keep the ice well stocked, I bought a little box to hold the ice once the trays are frozen. Every now and then I use the ice (I prefer to use a frozen mug) and of course the ice box is empty. Ah but there should be some ice in one of the trays... empty. Surprise Surprise. What ever happened to the saying "you kill it, you fill it".... obviously doesn't apply around here. I now have fill the trays every other day because no one else would dare to!

3. The trash-man.

Our trash can always seems to be full and instead of taking it out, the guys stack more trash on top...

We also have a little recycling center that I conveniently labeled, but the recyclables never seem to reach there... without my help. They are always left out on the counter. Which apparently is a more convenient place to put the recyclables because the recycling center is so far away! It is about 5 steps from the counter in which they are always placed. Geez come on guys! You can place your trash on top of the trash can, but you can't place your beer bottles/cans in the recycling center??Take note of how full it is, you know it only looks like this because I haven't taken it out yet.

4. I am the full-time janitor.
Why do guys refuse to clean a bathroom? I will do this task most often without nagging...mainly because I have to shower in there too! But what really gets me, is every time I clean the toilet, and I mean EVERY TIME (sometimes twice a week) someone ends up vomiting in it and leaves the mess for the next person. I think they must have some vendetta about using a clean toilet!

5. I am the landscaper.
I know.... it should be everyone's job to cut the grass whether it be a man or a woman. But why can't it be done without having to be asked? It has been 3 weeks since the grass has been cut (& yes the last person to cut it was me). I guess I will be cutting it again because no one else is going to do it. The last thing I need is the city to come fine me... maybe I should let them and the boys will have to pay!
6. I am their personal chef.
I really enjoy cooking so I don't mind cooking for the guy roomies... but not all-the-time! I just wish they would cook for me every once-in-a-while. This is "my place" (as a woman) in the kitchen (LOL).

7. I am the laundry attendant.
No I do not wash their laundry (I'm not that awesome)! But every time I am washing clothes and happen to not be there when the clothes get finished drying, they ended up in the smallest basket. I hate ironing and don't feel like I have the time to do it, so wrinkled clothing really peeves me. When I do laundry and pull other people's clothing out of the dryer, I at least fold the clothes to alleviate some of their wrinkle woes...of course it can't be reciprocated.

So that sums up pretty much why I am such an awesome roommate. I am sure there is much more that can be added to this list.....