Turning Lemons Into Lemonade

We had some ceiling damage by our back door due to a leaky roof. Once that was fixed we were left wondering how to fix the ceiling.

My husband didn't want to go through the work of skimming new plaster and repainting so I mentioned covering it with some kind of paneling.

My husband found this great bamboo paneling online and ordered 3 panels right away.

Here is the view of the back door entrance from the kitchen.

And here is our new, AWESOME ceiling!

I love the look of it with the white trim framing it.

The view coming up from the basement.

My plan now is to add some coat hooks and shoe storage on this left wall.

Here are some of my favorite mudrooms:

All images courtesy of Pinterest

Linking up with Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday

Holiday Preparations

I found this picture on Pinterest and knew I wanted to make one to remember my son's 1st Christmas.

My first attempt was not successful so I gave it another try once he fell asleep :) Here's how it turned out.

That's my husband's thumbprint, my son's and mine.

I put it in a cheap-o frame from Ikea.

And now it sits on the sidetable near the Christmas tree. And I plan to bring it back every year as part of the holiday decor.

And this is our Christmas tree this year. My son conveniently learned to crawl just in time for Christmas so if you look closely there are no ornaments on the bottom half of the tree :)

I swap out the fillers in this vase with the corresponding season. For winter I added some evergreen branches with pinecones and a glittered, bronze colored poinsettia.

This is the table below our living room TV. I added some garland and my favorite pinecone lights I found at Target 3 years ago.

Tiki found a comfy spot on a bright pink and red throw.

This is the holiday dining room table and buffet. I LOVE those candle holders from Hobby Lobby. I'm mad for plaid!! And some appetizer plates that have various types of evergreen on them.

A matching tablecloth covers my kitchen table.

Got my cookie recipe book out and ready to fill the cookie jar with some goodies.

And lastly, here is our Christmas card this year. I am so proud of taking these pictures myself! I set up a faux studio in our living room, using a white curtain as a backdrop. I ordered my cards from Photo Affections for the third year now and am so impressed with them. I took these pictures on a Monday and uploaded and ordered them online shortly after. My cards arrived at my door that same Friday! Awesome!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

Centsational Girl's Holiday Craft Link Party

Hi Sugarplum! Holiday Craft Link Party

Very Pinteresting

Here are some photos I have pinned on Pinterest that I would love to replicate.

I would love to transform my Ikea dressers into something like this. Just a little bit of paint and a product called O'verlays. It's a wooden design that you add to the front of a dresser drawer.

This could be made into any shape using antique brooches.

Printing photos on tissue paper and then gluing them to a canvas.

Love love LOVE this! Painted numbers on a kids table to resemble letterpress.

Felt lettering sewn onto a pillow. Could be done for Christmas with the words peace or joy.

Beads glued to an ornament.

Ornament vases.

Thumbprint reindeer. I tried to do this the other day with Beckett's thumb and was unsuccessful. Maybe I'll try again when he's asleep :)

Desk Progress

My built-in desk is 99% done!

The only thing left is to install some drawer pulls and base trim on the walls.

My shelves have been hung and accessorized.

Loving my bookends :)

These are vintage spice jars with a rack to hold them all.

Inside they hold all my buttons, ribbons and scrapbooking odds & ends.

Check out my magnetic board.

Such a great space to work, blog, craft, organize...