Home: Shiny New Floors!

So the only downside with our new lovely home was the "cat pee" carpet in the back room. We got the smell of Scentsy out of the house and found out that it was masking the smell of the carpet. So a few weeks into our move in, we went from this:

To this:

And then two months of Tom sweat and tears and we have this beautiful-ness:

Home: Long Awaited Gallery Wall

This gallery wall has been a long time coming! I have wanted to make one for years, but sadly have never "owned" any walls. Now that Tom and I have bought our happy little home, I can hang things on all the walls! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! I may add to it or change around, but I've got some fabulous pieces up there now. Want to see? Here it goes:

1. This is a little handmade piece of embroidery I did a few years ago of a little owl.

2. A flamenco lithograph piece I picked up in Madrid when Tom and I were there in 2011.

3. Being a proud Connell, I've got a nice silver C.

4. A painting I made of lyrics to "Inevitable" by Anberlin, which was our wedding song.

5. Early Teacher Rules given to me by a dear friend.

6. A painting of the Sagrada Familia I picked up on the Rambla in Barcelona.

7. A little heart painting I made a few weeks ago.

8. A print of "The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait" by Juan Van Eyke I got after seeing it at The National Gallery in London. I stood in front of it for a full half hour crying at its beauty. Yeah I'm a sad Art History major.

9. A little owl face done by Arty Farty in Canmore. Tom and I picked it up on our first year wedding anniversary.

10. My favourite wedding picture made into a canvas.

11. Tom got me this frame for Christmas last year, and I filled it with our family portraits from our wedding. I love Tom's Mum in red, right in the middle.

12. A metal skeleton key Tom and I bought in Segovia.

13. A painting I did of every Scousers favourite line.

14. An owl photo taken by the talented Jason Leo Bantle from All in the Wild Photography in Canmore.

Here are some progress photos to see how I did it:

So high tech!

Home: Honeymoon Habitat

So I'm so excited to FINALLY have some pictures up on the blog of Tom and I's first place. I moved in the night before our wedding and i've been tweaking things and sorting things ever since. I waited for a morning when the lighting was just right. I also had a furry helper for most of these so play "where's Sofia" in the pictures.

Home: 25 Days of Christmas Ornaments

Home: Book Refashion

I don't know about you but I can't stand having anything on my bedside table. Unless that something is a book. I need a way to organise my cables as I usually charge my phone every other night. I got this fabulous hardcover book in my Grandfather's basement. It was actually a gift to my step-mom from her aunt. Well although it was an "Alfred Hitchcock" it was horrible. I guess maybe it was mid-60's "horror",but I didn't understand the fear after reading halfway through. But the cover is beautiful. So after checking to make sure that the book had no value, I crafted it!

I marked out a rectangle on the first page (roughly 1 inch edge around). Then I took an exactoknife and cut out the rectangle on all pages. I must warn you this is so time consuming (luckily I had Lost to keep me company). When the rectangle is cut out you need to Modpodge all the pages together. I started from the bottom but it got all wonky, so I had to start again from the top. Once all are attached to the bottom cover, run Modpodge along the outside of the pages. Let dry for at least 24hours. Fill with your clutter!

Home: KnickKnack Holder

I had quite a few nicknack's hanging out on my shelf so I was delighted when I found the perfect "home" for them. Sure it was forest green coloured and had an old mirror affixed to the back. Nothing a few coats of paint and a pry bar couldn't fix. Now it's hanging on my wall and looking oh so cute. I just need to go more places to collect more meaningful knickknacks! I also decided you might want to know their stories:

    This little cutie was      Here is a caganer.     This beaut is from      Oh the
    my Step-Grandpa's.    He's pooping out        La Rambla in             Cucafera!
    I have no idea of the    good luck. Oh             Barcelona.                  Half tortoise
    story. He's just got       Spanish tradition!                                           half dragon!
    a really cute hat.                                                                                    Pure Tortosa

    This little cutie is from the      This jadeite owl was part      This little blue tile is from

    seaside in Barcelona.            of my Valentines Day            my trip to Bath.

    Mr. Tom has the same,           present from my Dad.        

    but with different spots.          See a pattern?                    

Home: Desk Organizer Re-Vamp

SO UGLY! I got this baby for $6.00 at Value Village. I was seriously attracted to the roll-up right side. So what better project then to paint this bad boy and see what happens. I lightly sanded this to get the varnish off and applied 3 coats of acrylic paint. I then sealed it with Mod Podge and Voila!

Couldn't be happier with the end result! Oh and that fabulous velvety yellow drawer liner was in the original!