Okay, it’s Thursday {kitchen and life update}

So, I admit that my scheduled Tuesday and Thursday posting has become a little.. lax over the past few weeks.  With me posting a day late, or in this week’s case not even getting in my Tuesday post at all (despite the fact that I wrote it on Monday).  When I first made my blog schedule, I was still only working as Swiss Chalet, where my work schedule was mostly Thursday through Sunday nights.  Now, at Michaels, I tend to work more during the week, including day shifts.  This does make it more difficult to post on those days, since I only go on the computer when my partner is not home (we don’t get a lot of time together as it is, and so we agree to not be distracted by technology whenever possible). I think that allowing myself a two day period to get posts in should work fine, and allow for my constantly fluctuating work schedule. So, I won’t feel bad anymore if I post on Wednesday, instead of Tuesday, or on Friday instead of Thursday.

Another thing that I have been struggling with lately is the issue of my website: www.sweatereyes.com

(Depending on when you click that link, it may or may not work anymore)

So, my website’s paid for domain and hosting is going to expire *really* soon, as in, next Monday kind of soon.  I had been meaning to deal with it for a while now.. but I never managed to make time for it.  I have been debating whether or not to keep the domain, the possibility of the domain being purchased by someone else seems a little unlikely.  (Who else uses this name?  Based on google search results, no one).  But relying on that idea makes me feel uncomfortable, despite the fact that before I had the website the fear of someone taking it never even crossed my mind.  I know that I do not plan on staying with Yola for a paid domain regardless.  It is not that  I am unhappy with Yola, its just I simply don’t have the time to maintain a paid website as much as I want to, and I don’t intend on making time for it right now.  Since I have been focusing more on this blog, I have been considering wordpress.org, in order to have a blog focused website that allows better “website” features than wordpress.com blogs.  In short, I want my blog to be more integrated with my website (If I am to have a website at all).  For now, I intend on keeping up my Yola site as a free site, meaning that the URL is going to be different. I will probably be taking it down in the next few months though.

Any who, I have been pretty busy this week.  I painted a feature wall in my kitchen, I love how it brightens up the room.  I will be posting my second post later this afternoon, as I will be updating the post with a few more photographs, you will have to wait to see what it is about.

Everyone loves how mixed lighting can be a pain, le sigh. (The most accurate colour is seen in the top left hand corner)

 

Bulbasaur table {finished furniture update!}

Remember a few weeks ago I posted a few WIP shots of a small table I was re-painting?  Well, I admit that it did take me a little longer to finish than I originally anticipated/ hoped/ wanted.  But that is usually how things go.  Technically, I shouldn’t say that it is finished, but for the time being, it is (I still plan on giving it a nice new knob, instead of the poopy old one, but in the interest of me wanting the table done and not being able to find the perfect knob right now, I decided to at least spray paint the old one a bright red).

So here it is:

Oh, and just a quick reminder what this puppy looked like before:

Before!!

I like how the colours turned out, and I’m happy that they matched together as nicely as I had planned.  I like how the “spots” on the side turned out.  I covered the front of the drawer with hand-dyed fabric.  My biggest complaint with the Martha Stewart paint is that it is very “soft”.  No matter how long I let it dry, you could easily scratch the paint off with a finger nail.  I ended up using a clear acrylic spray gloss to protect it, which also gave it a nicer finish (previously the paint was called a velvet?).  It’s not very glossy, but I like it.  Did I mention that, with supplies, this table only cost me $10.44 (tax included!) AND I still have more than half of my purchased supplies left?  Fuck yeah DIY.

I think I will need to take better photos of this table though.  I plan on doing some internet overhauls soon.  My website’s domain expires very soon, and I need to decide whether or not I will keep my website up.  Decisions!

Thanks for taking the time to check out my work.

xoxo

Bulbasaur Inspired table {Furniture WIP}

Two weeks ago, some of you may remember my post about painting this great little side table (If you don’t, are curious or want to see what I’m talking about, click here).

Originally, I wanted to have the table done by the end of last week, but in my usual fashion, it takes me about a million times longer to do any project than I expect.  In my defense, I still don’t have a new knob, or suitable fabric to finish the front of the drawer.  I am also thinking that I need to put some sort of protective varnish or gloss on it to stop it from scratching (although I am quite a fan of the soft velvety satin finish it currently has, it does seem to be super soft).  I may end up only varnishing the top, and the bottom.

I can’t wait for it to be done!!

Painting and updating a cute entry table {Ivysaur colour palette} WIP

This week I finally started a project that I had known that I wanted to do for some time.. only I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do (colour/ style etc wise).  Last week, I got a great idea that is inspired by my favorite Pokemon: Ivysaur!  (not that I don’t love Bulbasaur, and technically the table will still fit in as a Bulbasaur table any ways)

The table sits against a wall by our front entry way (between our entry way, and the doors to the kitchen actually).  We found the table outside, at some point (a few years ago already).  It is solid wood and generally made well so I’m excited to make it beautiful!  Now, this is the table in question:

Before!!

The paint job was pretty rough, a lot of paint had chipped off.  Plus the colour seemed to be this dirty yellow-ish colour that always looked dirty.

Pre-sanding, showing the inside of the drawer.

The first thing I did was clean it, then I used a sanding block to rough up the entire thing.  I took off the knob, only to have it rip off a bunch of paint from the front (since the knob was painted onto the drawer, le sigh). This actually made the table look cleaner and nicer already, as I had sanded off the dirty old gloss.

Post-sanding, removed the knob.

After I had a rough idea/ plan in my head about how I was painting it, I decided to start on the drawer.  Originally I wanted to paint the front of the drawer, but the damage caused by removing the knob, plus the already damaged top right corner means that I need to be a little more crafty. But, I have painted the inside of the drawer and am pretty happy with how it is turning out.

New plan for the front, first two layers on inside of drawer.

I plan on having the table entirely painted by the end of next week.  I think I will want some type of varnish or gloss for it (at least for the top, possible the bottom shelf and the drawer though).  But I need to learn a bit more about finishes for furniture first.  I also need to purchase a new knob, but I plan on shopping around a bit for it first.

Thanks for checking out my newest project!

xoxo

Kitchen decorating {initial planning and before pictures}

So, I am continuing to work on my kitchen (and break through my decorating fears and just go for it).  Since I plan on documenting this entire room’s make-over, I thought it was important to post some ugly before pictures.

view from the doors- right side

view from the doors- left side

counter space beside the fridge

view from the window

counter

window plants!

So, there are some things in this kitchen that I can’t change (no matter how much I want to), because of both time, money and skills reasons.  Such as the tiles, floor and cabinets.  Key areas that need attention include the fridge (and the counter beside the fridge), and the plants at the window.

Today I went to a hardware store, picked up some paint (and so I had to pick up some paint samples too…).  I picked a colour for the kitchen doors, and I think I picked new hardware for those doors too (although I didn’t pick them up).

I picked up these Martha Stewart paint samples for only $1!  I was only going to buy the light green and teal, but when I found out they were on clearance, I decided to pick up a bunch.  I’m sure I’ll use them!

Finally, here is my “colour palette” for the kitchen (although this is a pretty loose colour scheme, it gives a general idea for the colours and moods I am hoping to have):

craft room inspiration

So for the past month, I have been trying to organize both myself, and my overflowing spare room. I decided at Christmas that it was a job that needed to be done, in order to make room for my craft room and office. Although the room is now *mostly* organized, it is still not quite what I want it to be. So, the natural thing to do was search the Internet for inspiration. A lot of the craft rooms I found, though very nicely decorated (or expensively) looked more like baby nurseries. Why do people want soft pink and blue craft rooms? I don’t know, but I see all these beautiful rooms, and I just can’t help but swoon (even though some of them look like baby rooms). I also noticed that a lot of them had words on the wall like “create” or “art”, which is another trend I will not be partaking in.

So what I love about these craft rooms:
unique, DIY, simple organization
vertical storage solutions
bright colours
project specific work stations

*Warning: this post is image heavy*

Redecorating.

So, although I did not exactly “plan” on having new years resolutions, I guess I kind of did this year. I am dedicating myself to organizing and re-decorating most of the house, as well as cleaning out the art room in order to make room for my home office/ crafting and art room (this second one I’ll have to get to later though). I tend to procrastinate, a lot, and have a hard time making final decisions. I bought my house more than three years ago, and yet I hadn’t painted a wall, and I’ve barely hung anything on the walls. But this is going to change!
I had an array of paint swatches taped to my fire-place bricks, and wall for about half a year. Luckily, this past Christmas my parents bought me paint in my chosen colours, as well as painting supplies so I had no excuse to wait any longer.
(I am the worst for remembering to take before pictures, so I had already started taping the fireplace when I took these)
Before::