mama's craftiness

in the last post i mentioned mya's craftiness. well mama's been up to some craftiness of her own. i don't know where this desire came from, seemingly all of a sudden. alas, i have morphed into a crafty person. perhaps it is the fact that our budget only allows for so many purchases per month and food wins out every time. decor is no longer a click away, or a drive away. perhaps the stress of seminary has finally sunk in as a new way of life and i am finally noticing my domestic environment. whatever the reason, i am pleased to look for creative ways to create and recreate as a domestic engineer and i have to say, i'm up for the challenge. i love perusing blogs like this one: little green notebook and getting inspired with all kinds of ideas. and so it has begun, in my home, the decorating/creating bug. the cheaper and cuter it is the bigger the high. for instance, shopping in my basement is a new and delightful concept. i have found many a picture frame or lamp, or table or chair that, with a fresh coat of paint, is revived and renewed, ready for a home upstairs.

so far, this is what i've created in mya's room. she was able to assist with all three items which made it especially exciting.

glued buttons around the rim of this otherwise less than exciting mirror:


this lamp used to be all kinds of '70's, having been originally used in my brother's nursery. everything blue used to be brown, while the owl itself a retro yellow with retro green eyebrows. a little too competitive a color palate, in my humble opinion. i had to leave the naturally brown things brown such as the beak, feet, and log. i couldn't resist leaving the eyes orange for character's sake. the ribbon on the lampshade was a simple and obvious addition. i truly believe a lamp like this one would be a ridiculously overpriced $125 in a land of nod catalog. after all, it is an antique.



i bought this french picture board over 3 years ago and never put it up because, after purchasing it, decided i didn't like the color. only recently did i see it with fresh eyes. so, the board was free as i found it in my basement, the buttons were free as i have a million of those, and the ribbon was $1 at wal-mart. here's what we came up with:

before:


helping:


so much cuter than before! who says we have to have monochromatic buttons? we upped the character of this picture hanger by using buttons that mya selected, all different sizes and colors. so it's mya-personalized. love it.


i can't wait to get started on some pelmet boxes for mya's window treatments and some reinvented mini blinds for the kitchen window. stay tuned!