show off!

all of the sudden my sweet little towhead was replaced by evil kneivel. this little daredevil is standing on tables, balancing on chairs and walking forward down the stairs. to say he is keeping us on our toes would be quite the understatement. i just hope my next post on this blog isn't a tale of woe written from the waiting room at the ER.

jack isn't the only one showing off around these parts. a few of my latest creations are doing the same thing. in slightly less dangerous, less heart-palpitation-inducing ways.

i wish pottery barn would stop showing off. wish she'd stop having such lovely things that make me drool, but then cost $400, making them so very far out of my home decor budget. wish she'd stop sending her tempting magazines to my home month after month because i waste hours upon hours pining over all the pictures, folding back pages and circling things with a black permanent marker.

ahhhh, i just love me some PB. i really, really do. i just don't love, nor can i afford, her pricetags. recently i've been daydreaming about this...

and this...

images both from here. the second mirror is my favorite, but there's no way i can justify spending four hundo on a mirror. unless the mirror promises to shave 10 pounds off, never reflect wrinkles and hide under-eye baggage.

a while ago, i got some old windows from my parents' house. one is four panes (2 on top, two on bottom, square lay-out) and the other has three panes of about 8 x 10, side by side. it was always my plan to do something with these, but i just never got that far.

FINALLY - i dug one of the windows out of the recesses of the basement, and painted it a creamy white. then i took it to a local glass shop to have them custom cut some mirrors to fit in the panes. jack flirted with the woman behind the counter and she gave us 20% off. after spending $30 for the mirrors, i added them to the window, distressed it a bit, then hung it on the wall.

but i didn't love it. it seemed too plain and blah.

so i added a little something to jazz it up.

i have a small stockpile of old barnwood in my basement (leftover remnants from the sign i made john), and i had john cut a piece the length of the window. i screwed it to the bottom of the window to make a shelf, painted the shelf to match the distressed finish of the top and promptly loved it so much more.

BEFORE:

and, AFTER:

why yes, that is a burlap wrapped aloe plant. i can't quite capture in words my excitement over it, and i can't do john's face of disgust justice with my words...

and my new window shelf is not the only thing showing off around here. i shamelessly stole this idea from pinterest, but am loving this new place to show off all my favorite earrings.

yeah, it's a cheese grater. i found it for $1 at goodwill, then painted it with some acrylic paint i found in the discount bin at joann's for $0.50. i always forget all the earrings i have because they previously lived in a box in my closet. and now they can show off right on the dresser.

they go perfectly with the necklace hanger i made years ago when i was in law school...

i sometimes wish i still lived in southern illinois, aka land of the amazing frames found at antique and resale shops.

andddd... it's official. i owe john the gun of his dreams. because he took iron to fabric and spent many tireless hours IRONING the wrinkles out of the curtains i FINALLY finished sewing for the living room and dining rooms. why did i wait sooooo long???

forgive my crappy camera. the curtains really make the rooms look more finished. they pull the eyes away from the trim we DESPERATELY need to add and make uniform since we knocked the wall between the rooms down. but back to the important things: i owe john BIG TIME for his patience. i was going to chuck the fabric and buy new stuff. because i don't have any patience. well, no patience for mishaps with linen. i have lots of patience for repetitive children's books. (new this week: mrs. wow never wanted a cow, green eggs and ham, and oh, the thinks you can think!)

well, i'm off to finish some legal research. which is not even slightly as enjoyable as craft research on pinterest. go figure.

hope you and yours are off to a great week!