Mini-Makeover in my Master Bedroom

I had to opportunity to redo my bedroom thanks to some gift cards I got for Christmas
(yeah, last Christmas! I drafted this post early last spring and forgot to put it on until now).

Here's a look at my bedroom before:

 In the distance you can see that I made a window valance to match the blanket on the bed.

Nice and all. It just needed an update.

 I started collecting swatches of fabric last November. 

I knew I loved this fabric, but I just wasn't sure where I was going to use it. 

The headboard won out.

Taking cues from one of the other fabric's I selected, 

I found this great bedspread and pillow shams continuing the mini-makeover...

The next step comes with layering with pillows.

And a cozy blanket with lots of texture!

I used the existing cornice boards that Ben and I made 

and recovered them with some of the fabric I used on the pillows. 

Added some beaded trim from some drama.

I love coming home to my house and climbing into my cozy bed!

It's so fun to redecorate when you have great trims to work with:

Come on over sometime, I'd love to give you a tour in person!

The Great Pantry Makeover

 I decided it was time for a makeover on the pantry...

I guess I've got too much time on my hands.

Here's the BEFORE. 

 AFTER:

This double door pantry has been great, but really it had become a hiding spot for... everything! 

The white baskets were a nice idea... until things ended up like this 

(note the bread can not be contained. What?!):

 The only way to get this job done right was to clear the whole thing out.

 The dining room table became a holding pen for all the goods. 

My kids were lovin' this idea,

 until I made them taste-test things to find out what we needed to pitch (ie. stale cereal!)

 I started by gathering some jars and containers. 

And then put the "containers" back in the pantry to create some order. 

Now to figured out what was going where.

 I got happy with my Silhouette and laminator.

I tried to use things I already had, like the white bins. Here's where I got some of the other things:

Of course I had to add some "cutesy" element. So I crafted up these letters to spell E A T:

 More on how I did that in another post.

I kept the OATS in the original container and just took off the label and added my own!

 I printed off basic cooking instructions for the Jasmine Rice and Bisquick...

 and adhered it to the back of the canisters.

 If you've never tried supreme pancakes with Biquick-you must. 

They are so light and fluffy!

I can't promise the pantry will stay looking this nice. 

After all I've got some snack-snatchers who are constantly in here!

Laundry Room Makeover

After only a short couple of days my laundry room has been transformed. And I love it!

Here's what I had to deal with before. 

I'd had enough of the ho-hum dumping grounds of a laundry room.  

 When entering the house through the garage, you had to go through this:

UGH!
I got to work painting the walls
(I found almost a whole gallon of chocolate brown paint in my basement), reorganizing some of the things that needed to stay in the laundry room, and purging the rest.
I love having a utility tub, but it's really not that attractive...

 ...until now!

I had made this super-size message board after we first moved in, almost 5 year ago. 

So I cleaned it up a bit (took down about half of the junk I was storing up there!) 

And then added the rick-rack detail around the frame.

I also used my new Silhouette to print the vinyl letters 

"The Laundry Room. Loads & Loads of Fun."

I found this Giant "M" at TJ Maxx and had it displayed in various places in my house before it found it's home in here. 

I painted it white and then distressed the edges (everything is better distressed!) 

The verse in my frame is Deuteronomy 6:1-9. 

It's what I want to be reminded of when I'm in here.

 Some more cute-sy details. 

The little pot is holding the Tide stick and Grandma stain remover.

The clothes pins are for hanging important things on the message board.

I found these cute vintage prints from Better Homes & Gardens 

and the frames are from IKEA ($1.99!)

I had some cloth baskets already and found a couple more to help fill up the space.

 Everyone's gotta have one of these basket's in their laundry room:

The burlap skirt on the utility tub was pretty simple. 

I was inspired by Rhonda's at Blue Creek Home

Here's how you can make your own:

• You'll need
• Burlap
• Burlap Webbing
• Sticky-back Velcro
• Accent Fabric (for the bottom of the skirt) Ribbon can be used too.
• Glue Gun
• Thread

1. Measure the distance around the tub and double it. That is the amount of fabric, or burlap in this case, you'll need. 
2. Measure the distance around the tub and that's how much burlap webbing you'll need. 
• I used 4 yards of burlap and 144 inches of burlap webbing. 
• Burlap and webbing can be found at Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's.
3. Measure the distance from the top of the tub to the floor and cut the burlap accordingly. Zig-zag stitch along all ends of the burlap to prevent fraying).
4. Use a long running stitch to create a gather along the top of the burlap and sew to the burlap webbing.
5. Cut sticky-back velcro according to sink size. Attach one side to the sink
6. Sew contrasting fabric or ribbon to the bottom of the burlap skirt (mine is about 4" wide)
7. Glue the webbing to the velcro (your needle on your machine will not like going through the sticky-sticky glue on the velcro. I learned the hard way!)
8. Attach the skirt to the sink.
9. Step back, take a look and give yourself a pat on the back

When the make-over was almost complete I decided I needed to make Ana White's Rustic Bench.  

You may be asking yourself some of the same questions my husband was asking me, "why do you need another thing in that tiny room!" I made it for a couple of reasons:

• I needed to build something again!
• I could put the laundry baskets on the bench for easy reach and out-of-reach of the dog (who likes to eat socks & underwear!)
• I thought I needed another cute-sy detail for my new favorite room!

 Remember how I said everything is better distressed? 

So after painting a couple coats of black... I then sanded half of it off. 

 Thanks for stopping by. 

Now off to do some laundry!