'Bubble' Bath and Jeanne Oliver Designs

I walked into my bathroom tonight to find a 'bubble' bath waiting for me. My husband has drawn bubble baths for me on occasion, but this one was unlike any other:

He thought it would be a more festive bubble bath and although I didn't get very clean, I must admit it was fun!

The kids thought it was fun too!

Entertained them for hours...well, minutes anyway.

Also wanted to share a link I found with you. I think this lady has amazing talent and I want to be like her when I grow up. Check her out:
Jeanne Oliver Designs

Curtain Face Lift-Tutorial

The curtains in my master bedroom were an IKEA purchase never intended for my master bedroom. They were a cheap fix for our unfinished basement windows because I was sick of seeing the mess down there when I would walk out on my back lawn. I ended up getting one more set than I needed and realized that their goldish color matched a goldish accent in my bedding...

You can see the goldish there, on the pillow, do you see it?

So, I hung them up, again, as a quick fix...

And there they have stayed for months and months. Enter this little find...

I loved this fabric and had a 40% off coupon so I got several yards of it, not having a clue what I would do with it. And there it stayed, in the bag, for weeks and weeks. Then one night as I was trying to fall asleep (I say trying because my brain does not seem to have come equipped with an on/off switch) I had a thought. Dress up those boring 'ol IKEA curtains with that fabric I love. This made it really hard to go to sleep. I had to fight not to get out of bed, turn on all the lights and get 'er done! When I found the right moments (not in the middle of the night) this is what I did:

First, I cut two 10 inch strips out of the fabric and laid it across the curtain that I had taken down and laid out on the floor. I decided I liked how it looked so I started cutting the curtain apart, to sew it all back together again, of course!

I measured 13 inches from the top of the curtain (not including the tab top) and cut clear across the curtain.

Then I sewed one of my 10 inch fabric strips to it, right sides together and used a 1/4 inch seam.

 

I measured another 10 inches on the curtain, cut it clear across the curtain and sewed it to the bottom of the strip of fabric. I then added another 10 inch strip of fabric and then sewed the bottom of the curtain back on.

I pressed all my seams open with an iron.

 

I had to hem the curtains at the bottom, since this made them longer, but that just took a few minutes.

I love the color and also the design of the fabric that adds so much to the room. If you can sew a straight line on a sewing machine you can do the same with your curtains. NEVER hesitate to pick up a fabric you love even if (especially if) you don't have a clue what you will do with it. It will come to you...if not when you are trying to fall asleep, then surely when you are in the shower.

Another favorite way to make curtains that takes very little sewing ability: GROMMETS. These kits are available at fabric and craft stores and are so, so simple to do. Store bought grommet curtains are very expensive and while buying raw fabric is not cheap, use your 40 and 50% off coupons and you will be able to get them for much less than you would pay for store bought curtains. Plus, you can turn any fabric you love into the curtains you love!

I have linked up to a few link parties.

TV Niche Redo

Normally I am the one in the family that comes up with these crazy notions to change this or that, move this here or there, or rearrange room after room. Not this time...

At the height of the chaos!

This time it was my 13 year old son...ummm. When did this happen? Since when did he care and since when did he think he got a say in matters of decor & design? It had nothing to do with either. He wanted the TV in a different spot for what he felt would be better viewing. Of course. Now, there was a part of me that knew if the TV was moved, I would get my pretty little mantel to decorate any way I like. Visions of beautiful garland at Christmas started dancing through my head....and I said OK, you can move the TV. So, down came the TV from the TV niche (which, I might add, it fit in perfectly even though we bought the TV years before we bought the house, how often does that happen?) And thus ensued the largest mess I believe there has ever been in that room. Wires had to be reran, electrical boxes moved, a TV wall mount installed...getting the picture? Halfway through I must admit I said, 'Put it alllll back!' (Mamma doesn't like messes).
Finally, everything was out of the niche:

And I had my blank canvas...sigh. To turn into this:

What I did:
1. Cut down more of that awesome weathered crate from my dad's machine purchase I have talked about in a few of my posts
2. Whitewashed it with basic white paint that is oh so important to have on hand
3. Gathered decorating items from around the house that I have been collecting for a moment such as this
4. Created a burlap pillow out of an old lifeless pillow, a vinyl stencil, black paint and black yarn (tutorial in upcoming post) and attached it to a hook I screwed into the wood


Viola!
PS Thanks and kudos to my husband who, while the 13 year old helped, was ultimately the one who had to figure out how to do all the rewiring, installing, etc. And to his credit, did not freak out when I said, put it all back!, halfway through the process.

Boys of Fall

Fall is my favorite season, bar none, and I can sense it getting closer. Today's post is about my most favorite part of fall...FOOTBALL! I have loved it as far back as I can remember really. Being a high school cheerleader (yes...I was a cheerleader, mock me if you must) solidified it and when my little brother became the star quarterback for our high school team, watching his games was the highlight of the fall season.
Isn't it funny how life seems to come full circle? Now my son plays football and we provide the helmet and car decals for his team. If you are involved with a team that needs similar products we offer very competitive prices, enough so that you can resell them and make a profit for fundraising.

Please contact us at sales@pineplace.com for inquiries, questions and pricing.

Come and Play With Me

Today's post will have no design ideas, no junkin' treasures found, no tips on arranging design elements or how to create anything. Today's post has just one picture.

Teeter tottering with my four kids (one is in the background)

 Years ago a friend of mine said we only have 18 summers with our children and that made so much more of an impact on me than we only have 18 years with our children. Perhaps because summers go so fast, are gone in the blink of an eye, you realize only 18 blinks and they, the children, are gone. Perhaps it is because summers are so full. Full of memories, laughs, fun and joy...we fit so much of life in the few short months of summer. My children were small when my friend made that comment...now I am standing on a distinctly different shore. Instead of the summers stretched out in front of me wide like the ocean, I see many of them behind me with my oldest child starting her junior year of high school. My hope is you are making the most of these last few days of summer....it is one less you have to share together. So, I guess it I was wrong, this post is about creating one thing...memories.

You may have tangible wealth untold; 
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.  
Richer than I you can never be -- 
I had a mother who played with me...
— adapted from Strickland Gillilan

Oregon City

Oregon City, Oregon...so nice they named it twice! This town was a bit out of the way in our travels but in an effort to infuse some history lessons into the children, we made the trek. The sign to get there cracked me up.

Evidently, there is a Boring, OR but it just looks like this sign is calling Oregon City boring...in reality there is a bit of truth to it, just ask my kids who got to enjoy this sweet ride for over an hour while learning about Oregon City history.

Alas, I found just two little quaint shops, nestled together along an out of the way street. That's right kids, after the lovely trolley ride, Mamma's goin' shoppin' (insert sounds of children moaning and complaining here).

 Yep, that's me shopping while the kiddos wait in the car!

 However, all was worth it as I scored this for just $10:

 Move over kids, Momma needs to make room between you for her new find. Isn't it fun to vacation with a mom who has a design/decorating/junkin'/shopping habit? Yee haw!
I am sure they all thought is was worth it when I turned it into this:

 Actually, I am sure they hardly care but I ADORE IT!

PS This town also boasted a great Real Deals location that I mentioned in my last post. Their website again if you would like to check it out is Right Here

Troutdale and Gresham Oregon

Next up in my Oregon travels: Troutdale and Gresham Oregon.
These two little towns are just five miles from each other but each had a surprising number of antique shops (or junkin' shops as I prefer) as well as other establishments brimming with personality.
 In Troutdale, even the streets had personality...check out these cute little cars that were lining the streets the day we visited:

Several shops had some fun items to peruse:

My treasure find for the day was a vintage tablecloth, I love blue and yellow together!

And I think it looks pretty with my daisies...
And our favorite was the Troutdale General Store where we stopped in for ice cream cones and were pleasantly surprised by all of the vintage advertising owners Terry and Jodi Smoke had collected over the years. Thanks for a great afternoon!

From their website:
As you enter, it’s as if you’ve stepped back in time. Just glancing around, you see their unbelievable antique advertising collection.

An early 1900’s soda fountain with stools and back bar serving up shakes, malts, floats, sundaes or just a big waffle cone, awaits you. With lots of seating in the café, you can enjoy homemade soups, sandwiches, daily specials and desserts. Also breakfast casseroles and an array of muffins, scones, danishes and cinnamon rolls fill the cases.

Another side of the store offers over 200 types of nostalgic candies and chocolates; from clusters and turtles to horehound drops and pop rocks. This is the widest variety of candy in the Portland area. Guaranteed to spark the “Oh, I remember those” in everyone! 

CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE HERE

Then it was onto Gresham. This town really just has one main street but it is like stepping back in time, complete with a street fair going on the day we visited. This town had five decor/antique/junkin' stores by my count which is a pretty good percentage for just one short street of shopping.

Finally, not sure if you have heard of Real Deals (anyone who considers themselves a home decor or shopping addict has) but these are fun little franchise shops set up by individual owners across the country. Gresham had one of the cutest ones I have come across, set up in an old church. 

 They are worth checking out if you haven't been to one. To find a location near you CLICK HERE