"Home" + An Easy Painted Word Project for Word Lovers

Home. Such a special place, or at least it should be. A place to leave your worries at the door, a place to relax, a place to love and to be loved. I suppose in a perfect world, every home would be free from tension and squabbles between it's members, but in reality, it exists at times if we aren't careful, especially when there are growing children who are finding and exerting their own independence and opinions. It seems that I'm constantly reminding my girls that though they may witness name calling, cattiness, disrespect, and unkindness at school and elsewhere, they are to never pick it up and bring it home with them. It tries to seep in daily, of course, but I hope that one thing that my kids remember when they leave home years from now is that they were never allowed to hurt each other with their words or actions, and whenever they did, they were corrected with consequences if necessary. I am just now reminded of a piece that I saw on Good Morning America yesterday. It was about a video uploaded on YouTube by a father who taped his toddlers hitting each other - while he encouraged them all the while.

We may not be able to prevent others from treating us unkindly elsewhere, but at home, we need to know that we are special, loved, needed, and respected. Don't we all need to know that we can always come back to a haven of peace and rest and security- our home - and that of the very few things that we can count on in life, we can at least count on that?!!!

Speaking of home, I wanted to share with all you word lovers a fairly easy project. You've seen Wallwords and Wonderful Graffiti, nifty sites where you can custom order vinyl letters, words, and phrases for any surface of your home...and I love the idea! Someday, I'm going to put in an order:) Until then, here's a great way to get the same look for pennies (and we're trying to save every one of those!). I found this technique many moons ago from another site but I don't remember where. If it looks familiar, please send me the link!

For this project, all you need to do is print out a word, phrase, or even an image in an a nice font. For the word that I used, HOME, I enlarged my font size to 400 in Microsoft Word. I cut off the excess paper and positioned it where I wanted it and marked the position lightly with a pencil. In my case, I chose our fireplace surround. It just needed something...But you might choose a wall, a piece of furniture, or just about anything paint will stick to.



Next, I colored the back of my printed word with a crayon. You'll want to color nice and hard and make sure you cover all of (the back of) the word. This coloring will serve the same purpose as carbon paper, really.



After I colored like crazy, I positioned my word on my our fireplace surround again, lining it up with the marks I made earlier. I taped it securely on all four sides, but I found that I ended up taking the tape on the bottom off so that I could lift the paper and see my progress as I worked. With a pencil, I traced my word with quite a lot of pressure. I actually had to trace twice because of the heavy texture on the surround. It helps to trace with an up-down motion (or side to side, depending on the direction you are tracing)...make a stroke up, retrace your stroke back down, then go up again, and so on.



When my tracing was complete, I removed my paper word template and with a very, very stiff, angled brush, I began to fill in with brown paint. This was a little tricky, but I took it really slow and used a tooth pick to "paint" in the hard to reach areas, and a toothpick with a wet tip to clean up any mistakes.



It's not exactly like the word I printed as I added a little more flourish to the H (not on purpose, though!) but it came out pretty well for my first try.



And finally, here is the finished look. I think I found the something I was looking for!



If you try this, please let me know - I'd love to see your project!

(Just want to add, I am not left handed as it appears in the photos. I needed my right hand to hold the camera and just "posed" with my left hand so you could get the idea...I can't imagine how this project would have turned out if tried using my left hand for real!)

Dreaming of a Kitchen Fireplace

I've had a notion over the last few hot July days, a warm and cozy notion that I just can't seem to get out of my head... a notion that I need to have a fireplace in our kitchen. Oooh, can you imagine it's irresistible lure on those frigid winter days...those days that are so cold that you leave the oven door open after baking biscuits or muffins just to warm yourself up a bit? Can you imagine the sheer joy and sense of togetherness that would embrace you and everyone else that sat at the table in front of a fire as you dined together on those dark and wintry evenings?

Now, I know that space won't allow me to have a bona fide roaring and crackling fireplace in my kitchen or dining area. But I do have the space for a large, wide, perhaps even tall mantle. I realize that a mantle in itself won't literally warm our bones on those bleak winter days and nights but for me anyway, just the idea, just the hint of a fire is enough warm my spirit. I love fireplace mantles just as much as I love old doors, old houses, old anything... So I'm thinking that instead of putting a mirror or piece of art on the longest empty wall in in our kitchen / dining room, I want to put a fireplace mantle!

I see them all the time on Craigslist and, when I go, the flea market. When I find just the right one, I'll know it, but the price has to be right for this remodelers tiny budget. I'm thinking that I would want it to be painted dark, dark brown, almost black, to add some contrast to all the light colors I have going on in the kitchen and to really make the fireplace the focal point. I found this dark, old fireplace mantle on Craigslist and while I can't afford it now, it inspires me. I'm wondering how hard it would be to build one and then again, would I rather have a piece of history instead?



The wall I have in mind is in the dining area behind the farm table, the wall opposite you if you were standing right here behind the island. I'm sorry I don't have a better view...here is the other half of that wall...




Don't you hear that lonely wall begging to be chosen for a focal point?

I think I would want a mantle that is tallish and wide so that it doesn't disappear behind the farm table. Ideally, it would be neat if were portable and not actually nailed into the wall, but at the same time, I don't want it to look fake. I want it to look like it's an old fireplace that just happens to not be in use anymore, all bricked up like folks usually did when they wanted to keep out the draft. We are going to be adding beadboard around the kitchen and dining room so to really pull this off, I think I just need to go all the way and install the fireplace mantle as a permanent fixture and then add the beadboard around it.

I know some folks who have those little electric fireplaces that look so convincingly real and that would be really sweet tucked under a mantle, but there just isn't room in the space I have in mind for anything more than the mantle itself. Like I mentioned, I would probably brick up the opening with the same kind of brick paver I used for my kitchen backsplash (and will eventually use for the surround on our real fireplace in the living room, now covered in tile that has been painted) or try to come up with a prettier idea. In the fall and winter, I'd use the mantle shelf for a couple or three candles and in the spring and summer, I'd use it to display fresh flowers. I would hang a horizontally long mirror above the mantle (which would reflect candle light nicely), or a row of matted and framed silhouette art. I could use silhouettes of my children, but I also love the idea another blogger had (I'm sorry, I can't remember who...ugh) to use these bird silhouette patterns that can be downloaded here. The blogger I speak of framed these little pretties and they were so sweet! If anyone knows who I'm talking about, please let me know!

Incidentally, I found this gorgeous old fireplace mantle on Craigslist last night for just $45! They had two...I called this morning but they had sold them already. Pity, but someone got a great deal!

So that's what I've been daydreaming about lately. What have you been dreaming of?

Be It Ever So Humble, There's No Place Like Home

Often times it's so easy for me to fret over everything that needs to be done to this little house. I could probably fill up a notebook. Older houses are a lot of work, and ours isn't even old old...just about 30. I am such a homebody and for some reason, no matter how down I get about the work to do here, when I'm gone, I can't wait to get back home. Today I won't go into all the things that drive me nuts about it or the myriads of things, inside and out, that need work. (I believe in the past I've referred to our place as a slightly glorifed shack, lol...not far from the truth...if you only knew!) Instead, I thought I'd share some of the simple things that make me glad I have this roof over my head:)

This is our morning view from our living room window...about 6:30 am. Many homes on our street have paved drives. We have gravel and I wouldn't have it any other way. It reminds of the country road I grew up on which for many years was gravel.


This photo is for my mom in California...we were just talking the other day about how it's turning colder and she asked me if our gas fireplace gave off heat or if it was just decorative. I'm so happy to say that it makes our little living room and kitchen just as toasty as can be! The bedrooms don't get as warm as the main living areas, but they don't really need to be, either. They are comfortable enough for sleeping, and I've always heard that you should sleep in a cooler room anyway. We all use goosedown comforters, so we snuggle down in them and stay nice and warm:) We also have central heat that we set at about 69 or 70 at night, so it won't get colder than that. Anyway, I'm thankful for our fireplace. This photo was taken around 6:30 this morning as well and I intentionally didn't use a flash...this is exactly how our fireplace looks in early morning light.


You may have noticed the pillow on the hearth. That is one of our two dog beds. Usually we have two flanking the fireplace (one for each dog). Actually, they aren't real dog beds but are large chenille pillow shams stuffed with large pillows. I was really frustrated over the fact that the store bought beds were (1) so expensive (2) didn't match our decor or style and (3) couldn't be thrown in the wash when dirty. I had this pair of creamy white chenille shams in storage and decided to put them to good use. They've been wonderful! The dogs love them and so do I. When they are soiled, I simply remove the shams and toss them in the wash. You can put a pillow protector on the pillow as well and wash that when it gets dirty. When the pillow itself wears out or gets too flat, just by another inexpensive pillow:) I often move them around the room, depending on where the dogs want to nap. This morning, Penelope my beagle wanted to nap close to me when I was on the couch. So I brought her little chenille bed over and plopped it on the floor. Minutes later, she was in Doggy Dreamland...


Speaking of chenille, a few months ago I bought a chenille quilt that I just adore. It has puffy dots all over it and little bobbles on the edges. I bought it to use as a tablecloth for a very special party in which I served soup. I thought that it would add a lot of texture and "grandma-like" warmth to the table and it was just beautiful! After the party, I washed it and now it graces our bed. Because our dog Penelope is sometimes naughty and naps on the furniture when she knows she's not suppose to, I keep a sheet on top of the quilt most of the time. I found this particular sheet at Goodwill several months ago and loved it for it's color, pattern, and feel (it's SO soft!) I thought it was just too pretty to put *under* the quilt, lol...



In the background there you see my goosedown pillow with a red polka-dot pillow case. It might as well be my teddy bear, it's so cozy and comforting:)



Another thing that brings me great pleasure is having a "home-y" smelling home. I LOVE the smell of cinnamon so a couple of weeks ago, I bought two cinnamon brooms. It's wonderful walking into a warm house that smells like someone is baking snickerdoodles:) I put one in our ( incompleted, wall-less but cottage style) bathroom and boy does it smell yummy. Now after every shower, I crave a cinnabun:)


Finally, I'm happy that we have a secluded view from our dining room table. On the other side of those trees is our neighbor's house, but you'd never know it looking out our window. When we lived in an apartment a few years ago, we had neighborhood children coming up to our dining room window to watch us eat, so this is a refreshing change to say the least. This window wasn't here when we bought the house but hubs and a friend knocked out the wall and added it about a year and a half ago. The difference is amazing and now we have a weeping willow to look at instead of a dark wall.


Well, those are a few positive things to say about this neverending project house. Every house has something nice about it, I believe, and if you can't find it, then look for the potential, for there is always that:)

Have a great Saturday!

Cottage Fireplace Makeover Finale! No more bling!

I stayed extremely busy working on projects this weekend. Boy, am I tired! Today, though, I'm excited to say that our fireplace makeover is finally complete! If you remember, I started by replaceing the tile, then I added a little age and texture with the use of glaze, paint, and extra grout. The last step, which I completed this weekend, was to paint the brass insert black...buh bye bling! Here are a few before, during, and after shots...(Click to Enlarge)











So there you go:) This fireplace was a lot of work but I'm very pleased with the result. About the painted insert...I first bought a can of American Tradition high heat paint. The finish was called BBQ black. I *thought* it was going to be a matte finish. I applied the first coat with a small foam roller brush. After a while I discovered that it was a very high gloss finish, which was NOT the look I wanted (read: "I was practically freaking out.") I ran back to Lowes to see if I could find a matte finish, but they didn't carry it. What I ended up buying was Rustoleum High Heat paint (satin finish) in a spray can. This worked SO much better. I regret that I didn't use it for the first coat! The spray produced a nice, smooth coat that dried to the touch within minutes - it looks great! So my advice, if you're going to tackle the bling on your insert,is to use Rustoleum High Heat in a spray can...cover and tape everything that isn't to be sprayed, and open the windows!

Categories: cottage, living, room, fireplace, tile, insert, paint, makeover, photos,

Fireplace Makeover Part Deux & "In Other Matters"

I've been pretty much taking it easy the last couple of days since last week proved to be rather exhausting. We're really enjoying the cleaned up and reorganized playroom/office/sunroom (pictures below). It will probably be quite a while before we get around to remodeling this space, so for now I'm content with just "fixing it up" as best I can. For now, we're having to store some of the "treasures" that I've lugged home in here as well, but they seem to fit in ok and it doesn't look so much like a used furniture store like it did when we stored them in our kitchen/dining area.

For some reason that I'm sure we'll discover in the future when we work on this room, it doesn't heat and cool well at all. It's probably a combination of all the windows, the high ceiling, the probable lack of adequate insulation, and the way the heating and air system is laid out in this house. I brought in a rug that I had been storing in the garage to put down over the cold tile floor. All the girls' toy baskets are in here and they love sprawling out on the rug and playing. When I took this photo, the room was kind of a mess, but my little Z had her friend over and they had spent forever setting up their Barbie things. I wanted to leave everything "just so" for when they resumed playing after their naps:) The old fixer-upper dresser is another item we're storing in here for now. It actually provides a nice 'drywall dust free' surface for me to display some photos:)




We have an oversized chair in the corner and this week we brought in a tall, farmhouse style bookshelf to house the girls' books. We placed it right next to the chair, and behind the chair, we added a reading light. It's a nice, cozy corner now. I have to keep plenty of snuggly blankets handy on extra cold days.



Our computer area is small...just a tiny oak desk and a couple of ladderback chairs. We figured that if they had computers in the olden days, they probably sat in a good old fashioned chairs:) I have two in here because often the girls use the computer in pairs. One to play the games, one to watch while eagerly waiting for her turn. A couple of months ago, I found an antique, padded headboard at a junkstore. It has beautiful carved wooden legs and all. The upholstery needs to be redone, but that is yet another future project. I decided to just stick it behind our desk until we can move it into our garage. For now, it kind of makes a neat place to thumbtack the children's artwork:)



On to the fireplace, you may remember that several weeks ago, I replaced the old tiles with new. They looked much better, but they almost looked *too* new and too contemporary. Also, the new tiles are a very light shade of beige and I was beginning to worry that once we put the nice, cheerful yellow on the walls, the fireplace in it's new light beigeness would still look too beige, out of place and flat. I really wanted the firplace to pop since it's such a big visial part of our small living room.

I noticed that there was still quite a bit of white grout film left on the hearth. But I really liked the way it looked! It lightened the tiles and gave them a limewashed effect. So I decided to apply another thin layer of grout over the entire tiled surfaced. Once dried, this gave the somewhat smooth, beige, pitted tiles a whiter, rougher surface. The next day, I mixed white limestone wash (it has a slightly sandy texture) with some white glaze. In a random motion, I applied it to the tiles. When it dried, I had the look that I was after! It reminds me of old whitewashed bricks...perfect for a cottage environment:) Btw, I still need to seal the tile with some matte sealer. That will be the final step.





Now, time will tell if our fireplace will have a Makeover Part Trois. I still haven't been able to find out if it is safe to use high heat paint oil based paint on the brass insert. If it is ok to use, I would love to cover over the brass with a black or dark bronze paint. (Edited on 3/6/06 to say that the brass insert has been painted...go here to see photos!)

Some before and after photos

Folks, what can I say? It's cold. I'm trying my hardest to thaw out so that I can get some work done around here, but I guess the best way to do that is to just start moving...

Before I do, I want to share with you some photos of some of the projects we've been working on. I finally found my photo editing software and can now upload new pictures. Remember to click on the photos to enlarge.

I posted a before and after video clip of our deck a few weeks back, but for those of you who didn't see it (and because we're so darn proud of it) here is a before and after photo.

Before (poor, poor, deck):


After (va-va-boom!):


On to the inside of the place...

Our living room fireplace wall before: (notice the dark heavy tile for the fireplace surround - it's ok but we wanted to lighten it up)


The fireplace after: (We went with small tiles that resembled limestone. The real limestone tiles were too thick and wouldn't slide right under sides of the mantle. To avoid "dismantling the mantle, we opted for a thinner tile that gives us somewhat of the same look for more than half the money and effort. It really lightens the feel of the fireplace, I think)



The walls in the above photo are now drywall mud white. You can't tell it in the photo, but I applied a certain texture to the wall. In a couple of weeks, we'll be priming them and then painting. Here is a photo that poorly shows an approximate shade I'm shooting for. It's warm yellow. We will eventually be putting pine planks on the ceiling, painted out white, but until then, we'll just give the ceiling a fresh coat of white paint.



It's been fun trying to figure out ways to turn a contemporary home built in the 70's into an "old" house. There is no trim around the entryways into the living room, kitchen, or hallway. Adding trim would be somewhat tricky because of how the corners meet. You may have read here before about the decorative relief that I'm doing around these entry ways. I now have photos to share:) The reliefs were done using a large stencil and drywall mud instead of paint. I still need to sand the reliefs to smooth out a bit, but they've turned out great! I have a couple other entries to do and it is rather time consuming, but it will give some character to otherwise boring entries. The stencils will be rather subtle - painted out the same color as the walls and maybe antiqued a bit.

These are a little hard to see...

The first one shows the pitted effect I've added to the walls.







I have other photos, but I need to get to work. Right now, Jeff is moving our electrical junction box from the hallway to the laundry room. This will get it out of view but will also allow us to raise the ceiling in our hallway from 7 feet to 8 feet. All the wiring was in the way above the 7 ft ceiling which made raising the ceiling impossible (unless we wanted to just box it all in with drywall, but I didn't want to have to look at that every time I walked down the hall).

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Kim