New Table Area

Just before Christmas I got a table from my Grandmothers house. We are still in the process of sorting out her belongings after her death in December. I got a bunch of cool old quilts that I have been cleaning and will post here eventually. The table held Katie's pink Christmas tree until a few days ago but then I needed to decide what to do with it. Here is what it looks like tonight!

Katie and I created this Pinterest art piece and finished it in early December. Simply search for toilet paper roll craft and you will be amazed at what people can create. Basically you collect then cut up toilet paper and paper towel rolls, hot glue them together and spray paint it. I dont know how long it will last but looks good on the wall.

Tonight I decided to make a table runner. I used fabric squares I had from an early quilt I made in 2008. It was super easy and I made it in about 30 minutes. 

The back is a red fabric, no batting was used and it was very basic construction. It fits perfect and will protect the table.

The table was in questionable condition when I brought it home. I thought I would need to refinish it but after a few coats of Old English it took on a whole new look and was in great shape. There is some staining and it will eventually will need to be refinished but work for now.

Here is another look at the table...

And another...

I am very pleased with how this area came together.

Lights

In addition to the painting and flooring changes in my living room I also wanted to change out the light fixtures. The hanging one by the door was clearly from when the house was built and looked it. The second light was very small and matches the lights in the hallway but it really did not look right in the room. Here is a look at the existing lights.

And a closer look at the small one.

I replaced them with matching semi-mount fixtures. Each one has two bulb which proves much better lighting in this area.

The next fixture to replace was the ceiling fan in the dining room. This was a new one put in just before I bought the house but was a shiny gold fixture that was probably the cheapest one they could find. Here is a look at the existing fan.

A while ago I added a ceiling fan in my living room, removing the old light fixture. I went with the same fan in this area. You would have thought it would be a simple task to just replace the fan however  when the old one came down we discovered that the proper bracket was not installed above the fan. What should have taken about an hour took most of a day including climbing in the attic to install the bracket.

Here is the fan coming down, it went to my parents house to replace their old fan which is beginning to  die.

The hole in the ceiling, we saw this for a very long time.

And here is the new fan installed. It is much more pleasant to look a at and is not nearly as gold and shiny.

Christmas Crafting

We have been getting into the Christmas Spirit, lacking a sewing machine has forced us to move to other types of projects.

One ornament project was ribbon lollipops. These came from OTC craft kits and came in three colors. They involved rolling felt and ribbon in a spiral for the top part.

My Mom has been working with Katie on decorating pine cones she collected from her yard. They have while snow (paint) and glitter

A kit I purchased at Jo-Anns made these ball ornaments that Katie decorated.

In a craft book I found a Borax Snowflake idea. I had borax and just needed to get pipe cleaners. They form over night and we have made several rounds of them. Here is one of the first ones.

After looking at some of the many ideas online I got a little more creative with the design and we also added food coloring to give them a slight blue tint.

Finally, I completed this felt wreath. It is made from a variety of shades of green felt squares. The squares are folded and cut then strung on a heavy wire. Next I put together the felt flowers and glued them along with some decorative buttons and now have a completed wreath.

Curtains

I have been wanting to get some curtains up in the house to make it feel a little more home like. I have not put curtains up at any of the places I have lived so it feels like a big things to do. However it is a hard decision to make with all the colors and options that are out there. I finally did decide to head to Ikea and get something simple and inexpensive to cover the windows, maybe add a little something to the decor and hopefully give a little insulation from the cold. I went with a simple white color and got all the same curtains for the living rooms, I had planned to get the same ones for my bedroom but miscounted. Those will require another trip. The curtains come in a set width and very long, they are available even longer but at 55"x98" that was long enough. My brother was recruited to put up the hardware for the curtain rods.

The curtains are sold to be hemmed and come with some iron on tape that lets you decide where to hem them. You measure and iron. I thought this would be simple but it was quite a task. Last weekend we put up seven sets of curtains and it took quite awhile but I think it looks more homey now.

The widow in Katie's part of the living room. There is also a bay window in this area but I have not figured out what to do with it yet.

The other living room window.

The second living room area, my library.

Around the fireplace.

This is in the sewing/office/guest room. These curtains are white with blue flowers but the pictures look pretty bad since the sun had gone down way before I finished.

The curatins are a little long right now but are supposed to shrink with washing. They also have creases since I did not take the time to iron the whole things, just the bottoms. The only windows left are my bedroom, the bay window and the dining room window. I think for the dining room I will make a valance which should be fairly easy. Hopefully I can get my windows covered soon since the morning light shines right in which can be nice but I would not mind taking it down a little.