sugars and boogers

Jan 24 2013

Shelf-erific

This weekend was very busy at the Nordean houshold. We took a walk to the park to take advantage of the beautiful Spring-like weather we are having, we finally had time to take down our outdoor Christmas lights, we attended an incredible talent show hosted by some of the amazing students in our Jr. High Youth Group and we still had time to make these:

How about these killer shelves!

So impressed with the hubs for putting these together.

So cool.

I wish I could take credit for them but Josh is the mastermind behind this coolness. They just add so much character to the room. Love them!!

Jan 11 2013

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Before and After Aside

I really wanted to wait to post pictures of the finished product until it was, well, finished…BUT I JUST CAN’T WAIT!!!!! I love my new bathroom so much I HAVE to share it with you. And when I say love, I mean loooooooove. Compared to our old bathroom it’s like having my own teensy-weensy fancy schmansy spa. Tile floors, one paint color, a clean and mold free shower pan, a sink with STORAGE!!! I said STORAGE people!

But before the big reveal I’m going to do what I was so thoroughly trained in my Musical Theater class NOT to do: use a disclaimer.

Disclaimer: This in not the finished product. We still have super fly, awesome shelves to install above the toilet, the medicine cabinet will get a new splash of paint and the fabric for my soon to be homemade shower curtain just arrived.

SooOOOOooo, without further ado:

Please disregard the fancy gold doorknob. It shall be finding a new home on the shelf of our local Salvation Army soon enough.

Shelves will go here. Also, check out the stellar light fixture the hubs picked out.

Saving space by using a shower rod with built in towel rack. Pretty brainy of me if I do say so.

I hear the angels singing.

Look how clean!

Big time shout out to our contractor and friend Johnny Taylor for his awesome handy work – and for removing the scald guard on the shower so I don’t freeze to death every time I wash my hair.

Not too shabby huh? Especially considering that last week it looked like this:

Squishy Floors Are Way Overrated

Dec 30 2012

Bathroom Redo

Since purchasing our home, 4 years ago, the Hubs and I have known that at some point we would renovate our teeny-tiny Master Bathroom. It’s proven to be the sort of bathroom horror stories are made of: dry rot, a sagging floor and all kinds of critters that would make their way into our hobbit size shower. I’ve stepped on one too many slugs, barefoot, in the middle of the night (Gag!). The outdated fixtures, laminate flooring and etched glass shower door (A hummingbird; I knew you’d ask) were on their way O.U.T. Finally , finally the day has come!!!! I can hear angels singing Handel’s Messiah.

Currently we are smack dab in the middle of the reno. New floor joists are in, plywood is down, new heating duct is in to replace the old one that was rusted through and dry rot is sawed out. But before we get to all of that, please enjoy the before pictures. You know, so you can get a real good feel for the grossness. (Slugs, mice, and killer vampire spiders not pictured.)

Pay special attention to the high quality paint job.

Etched-glasserific.

Who needs that extra foot of shower room? Not us, my husband is a wee little guy.

Eeewwww. I just threw up in my mouth a bit.

And today Josh and I bought a new vanity, a light fixture AND we picked out tile. I’m giddy. (Josh wanted me to say “I’m as giddy as a magical pony in rainbow fields of honeycomb.” But I think it’s a bit over the top.

Stay tuned for more pics!!

Sep 03 2012

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Uncategorized

Gettin’ my paint on

For the past 4 years Josh and I have had a very large, very blank canvas hanging on our bedroom wall. I had been meaning to paint something on it for a long time…about 4 years, but wasn’t sure what I wanted until I stumbled upon this little beauty on Pinterest. It’s a custom ‘stained glass’ window made, from recycled glass and sea glass, by Daniel Maher Stained Glass. (Check out their website to see more really amazing stained glass art.) I fell in love and was instantly inspired.

Isn’t it breathtaking?!

And by ‘inspired’ I mean I totally copied the entire design of this window. I’m such a hack, I know. But I love it so much and just couldn’t swing the $4,000 for a custom piece for myself. (Someday Afton; someday.)

So here is my interpretation in paint.

Not as good as the original for sure, but just right for above our bed.

And now we have something better to look at than a blank canvas.

And one more shot just for funsies.

Aug 19 2012

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Sewings and Such

Up Up and Away!

One of my dear friends from college, Chad, and his beautiful wife, Jil, just welcomed a handsome baby boy into their family. In honor of his arrival I just had to make…(what else?)….a quilt! Chad is a very accomplished sequential artist (check out his crazy drawing skills on his blog here) so I wanted to do something with a fun, comic-esque feel to it. After toying with some different ideas (super hero cape quilt?) I found this incredibly fun outer space patterned fabric and fell in love. Isn’t it just the best for a little boy?! Space ships, rockets, robots and planets. What could be more perfect?

These staggered strips make me think of take off. Into the great unknown!

And here’s the back. I tried something new with the curly cue quilting pattern on the large block and absolutely love how it turned out. Gives it a masculine vibe.

(What a great helper the Hubs is. Check out that righteous Chaco tan!)

I think it turned out pretty great. Hopefully it will bring joy to baby boy for years to come!

Bear tested it out and gave it his official seal of approval.

Materials Used:

Space Cream by Monoluna for Birch Fabrics (space ship print)

Aurifil thread

And I really can’t remember what the solids are. I gotta get better at writing this stuff down.

Aug 18 2012

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Family and Fun

Bear Hearts Cake

In May Bear turned 1! It’s hard to believe that he is such a big boy already. Josh and I threw him a little party for family and some close friends. More than anything I just wanted an excuse to decorate and feed people. We aren’t very extravagant people so we wanted something simple, but fun. I think it turned out great and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Food table! Please disregard the super wrinkled table cloth.

Milk bar! We got milk-faced for sure.

I made Bear his own cake.

The easiest and super yummiest homemade cake ever. Recipe to follow on another post. I also made the two cake stands, with help from this blog, out of Salvation Army finds.

We covered a couple of old window frames in some of our favorite pics of the little dude. Top left is the best.

Josh found these canvas letters which were perfect for the entryway table. Guests signed Bear’s baby book in the 1st Birthday section. And what birthday party would be complete without a giant bowl of gummie bears with to-go cups?

Prepare yourself for the following onslaught of preciousness.

Massage the cake…love the cake.

He was a little timid at first.

He got the hang of it.

He’s a sharer.

Happy Birthday Bear!

May 06 2012

For the Love of Quilting

My Grandpa & Grandma V. ran a general store in my hometown of Oates, MO. By the time my sister and I came along the store had closed, but quite frequently a group of ladies would meet up at the store to quilt. It seemed to 5 year old me that everyone in Oates knew how to quilt. My sister and I would love to join in on the quilting sessions whenever our mom would take us. We’d sit on tall stools pulled up to quilts stretched tightly across 2x4s. With our needles, we would pull our thread up and down, up and down across the 3 cotton layers while all the ladies chatted about the happenings of the week. There, in the Silas V. General Store, I developed a love for quilts.

Quilting reminds me of home, of hard work and warmth. It binds me to the women in my family. It pulls me closer to my Creator.

And many more to come…

Mar 17 2012

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Before and After

The Cabinet – A Before and After Story

For a while now my husband and I have been looking for some sort of a cabinet to house all of my fabric and sewing supplies. We’ve repeatedly scoured the local Goodwills, Salvation Armys and Thrift Stores hoping to find a rare gem. I had my heart set on something midcentury, but we just couldn’t seem to find anything that I liked that was large enough for all of my stuff.

About a month ago I got a call from my hubs while I was work, “Bring home a hand cart; I bought you a cabinet from the yard sale next door.”

Now, I usually don’t really know what I’m looking for in a piece of furniture until I’ve seen it, but I can tell you…

This wasn’t it…. It’s actually pretty hideous. I threw up a little in my mouth when I saw it.

BUT, it had potential and a lot of really great storage. So I set to work. And after a couple of weekends and about 12 cans of spray primer and paint I got this:

And I love, love, love it. Props to the hubs for finding this diamond in the rough.

Materials: Screw Gun Sander Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover Primer Rust-Oleum Metallic spray paint for the knobs and metal lattice work Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover spray paint in Satin Lagoon Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover spray paint in Satin Aubergine for the drawers