Grace and Glory

Musings from the Threshold

Category Archives: Homemaking

A couple other things…

We found some material for the kitchen window! Because of the width and the look I was going for, I made a real valance instead of doing a mistreatment. I’ve been enjoying sewing lately, so it was actually fun to put this together. (I’m not thrilled with either of the pictures, but the second one does a bit better job of showing the colors in the fabric – it’s actually more green than gold when you see it in person.)

I recently got our family picture frames up in the hall, and today I ordered some pictures printed. Jonathan picked them up, and I was pleased to get some updated pictures of the kids on the wall. I was also pleased to leave the non-updated picture of my man and I. There’s nothing like wedding pictures for pretending you haven’t changed in the last 14 years… 🙂

Christmas Bookcases

My beloved Bubba Eric and dear sis-in-love Beka gave us a generous gift of Christmas money when Beka and the Cousins visited in December. We decided to use it for materials to make bookcases for our Reading Nook. And at last, I have pictures of both shelves to post!

Today, I mistreated the window so our little Nook would look more finished. The little rocker is in dire need of re-finishing, but that’s a project for another day. So is establishing some sort of order to the books.

We’d like to add another bookcase eventually, but these two, plus the older shelf on the right, made it possible for me to finish unpacking almost all of our book boxes (there are quite a few books in our room, plus two bookcases that don’t show in these Nook pictures).

We are excited about and really enjoying our Reading Nook. Thank you, Byrds, for the lovely shelves! And thanks, Dad and Mom Smith, for helping us put them together!

Bargains

Jonathan says that you know it’s gonna be good when the Lowe’s employees are swarming the discount display. Last night he picked up three of these (note the price tag!):

And six of these (again, $1!):

I’m not sure where they will end up, but I am positive they will be a help in my organizational efforts! One of the shelves has already found a home in this corner of our room/office/den:

Even though the shelf has been placed on top already, this is still a “before” shot. Someday, I’d like to have a tall storage cabinet for my school supplies (so I can shut the doors!) but for now, these are my school “shelves.” That’s the changing table that Jonathan and his dad made when we were expecting Davey. We haven’t used it for a while, and I’m hoping to make this little corner a lot tidier over the next week or so.

Sewing Again!

It’s been a while since I’ve done any significant sewing. At our last house, there was just no good place to have the sewing machine set up, and it was therefore rarely used.

One of the things I love about our current home is that there is room in the laundry room (a nice bright cheery room) for my sewing desk and “stuff.” I finally got enough stuff unpacked and put away that I can now access the sewing machine easily, and I got busy last Thursday on some skirts for the girls!

I’ve had this thought for a while that I should be able to make skirts for them from pillowcases (inspired, I’m sure, by Vanessa at V&Co.). I picked up three recently for a quarter each, and decided to give it a go!

Each of the skirts is a bit different. Ellie’s the purple one. It was super-simple; I pretty much just cut off the sewn end and make a casing for the elastic. I didn’t shorten it at all, because she really liked it this long.

Katie’s was pretty basic as well. I cut a decent bit off to get it the right length, made the casing, added the elastic, and hemmed it.

Grace’s is the short one. It was a bit more adventurous, as I used these guidelines for an A-line skirt. It was still very easy and fun to make.

I mis-figured on the length of Grace’s, so I decided to use the polka-dot trim from the pillowcases to make a ruffle. My first ruffle ever! I grabbed a floral skirt, tore out the hem, ironed it, and proceeded to make and attach the ruffle with the help of this tutorial. The ruffle was so fun and looks adorable. It also is attached to Katie’s skirt, not Grace’s. Oops! There’s no way I’m taking it off, so I’m going to look for some other material to coordinate for a ruffle for Grace’s skirt. I’m thinking I might have some denim that is a similar weight to the flannel. Or I could find some flannel that coordinates. Any thoughts?

I have enough left over from Kate and Grace’s pillowcases that I’m planning to make them some hair scrunchies.

Oh, and I almost forgot a funny part of this project. I was thinking all along that the flannel pillowcases were homemade. See why?

Well, when I turned one of them inside out, I was shocked to find that these uneven pillowcases were not only store-bought, but a nice brand!

Just goes to show that you can’t judge a case by its cover. Or is it that you can’t judge it by its brand??

A Project

Jonathan purchased some additional shelving for our pantry and bathroom last week, and I was thrilled this afternoon when he got them installed for me. Of course, this meant that the task of re-organizing the pantry could no longer be put off!

I forgot a before picture, but here is some of the mess in the middle:

And the new shelves added in to the not-quite emptied pantry:

And a couple of “after” shots:

Lots of work, but glad to have it done. The pantry is more workable for us this way, and the nice thing about these shelving systems is that they are easy to adjust to your needs.

Bargain Chocolate

A couple weeks ago, I dropped by Lowe’s to look at paint colors. We were on our way home from church, and J and the Blessings just read in the van while I ran in.

I got myself a handful of paint “chips” in the color range I had in mind. I’d never browsed the browns section before, but for some reason I have had brown on my mind for this bathroom. About the time I finished gathering paint chips, the paint lady finished up with her customers. C. used to work in the Home Decor department at our Lowe’s (“our” Lowe’s being the one out of which we do most of our install jobs), and we enjoyed getting to know her as we worked with her on installs of blinds and shutters. I think she just might think we’re nice folks, too.

So, I asked C. if they had any “ooops” paint I could look at before I left… just in case. She goes behind the counter and holds up a can of paint. “This one’s only worth about … a dollar this way. It lost its handle, and we’d have to send it back. Want to find a color you like?”

This can of premium paint (usually sold for $20.50) wasn’t even tinted yet! So off I went with my paint chips to the stain department. Why the stain department? Because we have lovely oak cabinets in our bathroom, and finding a brown that neither blends with nor clashes with oak is a bit tricky. Since I didn’t have time to go home and hold all my paint chips up to my cabinets, I found the sample in the stain department that most closely matched them (in my mind’s eye) and used that for color comparison.

Several minutes later, I walked out of the Lowe’s having paid $1.08 for a $20.50 gallon of Belgian Chocolate paint. I was giddy all afternoon with the thrill of the deal!

I got permission this Wednesday from our friends/homeowners to paint the bathroom. Thursday found me busily taping away (because I’m lousy at cutting in), then painting. Though I took pictures along the way, I decided to wait and post the finished product.

For a reminder, my previous nesting attempts in our bathroom are shown in this post.

And here it is now:


(I had to lighten this shot excessively to get the window mistreatment to show)


We’ve talked about framing the mirror, but in the meantime I was inspired to use these sheers (do you remember when we bought them, Mama??) for the mirror and the window.

Input? Constructive criticism? Note: Constructive criticism does not include telling me I’m out of my ever-loving mind to paint my bathroom this color. 🙂

The return of old friends

I got to finish up the first bookcase today:

I love the natural look of linseed oil as a finish. It preserves the beauty of the wood in such a lovely way. I joke sometimes about how I’m not allowed to paint wood, because in a woodworking family like Jonathan’s, it is forbidden. But really, though there are some old junkie pieces I’d be glad to try painting, I truly do love the look of wood.


And I packed it full of books! They’re not much in the way of organized, but it was so fun to unpack this many. It’s like finding old friends again. There are lots of book boxes left to unpack, but this puts a nice dent in it.

Once we get the other bookcase built, I’ll get the books more organized, and, if there is room, add some decorative touches. But books take precedence, make no mistake!