a blush of Spring.

Happy First Day of Spring friends!
Everyone knows I'm all about the blues and greys, but Spring usually has me thinking about creamy, blushy pinks and soft greens.

Like this adorable pink scooter against the cherry tree and green forest:

[love this pink scooter!]

 And this vignette I just put up against our Great Board & Batten Wall:

[pink hellebores and rose gold clutch in my entry.]

Do you all have cherry trees where you live? For me, Spring in Portland is the time when I race out to get pictures of the cherry blossoms. I love them on the tree but they're especially lovely when they're covering the ground like pink snow:

[cherry blossoms on curb, downtown Portland.]

[cherry trees, downtown Portland neighborhood.]

and let's not forget a little creamy, pinky goodness for ourselves!
I can't get enough of my new rose gold stacked rings from Charming Charlie...

[rose gold stacked rings. yea they're costume!]

...and a blush pink necklace and bracelet looks so fresh and pretty against my favorite creamy dress:

[gotta love a dress with pockets!]

It's Spring! Can you feel it?

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DIY feature wall - picture frame molding in the master bedroom.

[feature wall: picture frame molding in the master bedroom].

Our master bedroom has this feature wall, under a peaked ceiling, that you see right when you walk into the room.
The Mr. hates that wall. And the ceiling, come to think of it.

I was ok with the wall, but wanted to make it stand out more. Nothing drastic or dramatic, just a little added texture and depth with some picture frame molding painted the same color as the wall.
Simple and elegant.

So out came...you guessed it! My favorite purchase of all time, my Ryobi cordless nail gun.

I tell you, there's no rest for this poor thing.
First, came The Great Board & Batten Wall:

[The Great Board and Batten Wall].

Not too long after that was the shiplap wall/plank wall in the dining room:

[shiplap wall/plank wall].

Right on it's heels came the lattice wall in the stairwell:

[lattice wall].

And now here we are again, battery charged and ready to create a feature wall in the master bedroom.
Here's the wall before, inexplicably with a stationary bike in front of it:

[a bike? really?]

Not quite the feature I was looking for. Obviously that bike was the first to go.

Then off to Home Depot to look at molding options. So many options!

[home depot, molding options].

We went for this one, since it looked the most like picture frame molding:

[winner winner].

I sort of arbitrarily decided on the size I wanted for each frame, which ended up being 32"x66".
Total molding cost only $30.38  [49 ft x $0.62 per foot].  Wow, what a deal!

We cut the pieces on a 45 degree angle, painted them the same color as the wall [Artist Studio, by Ralph Lauren], and nailed them up using our trusty Ryobi nailgun.  A little spackle on the nail holes and some touch up paint, and it was done!

Looking better already:

[molding up!].

Better still, the simple art went back up...pictures I've taken while exploring the Pacific Northwest:

[pictures hung].

And here's a closeup of the frames:

[closeup].

There you have it friends! As always, please let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to answer them if I can.

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diy lattice feature wall

[DIY lattice wall].

So after the Great Board & Batten Wall, and the farmhouse Plank Wall, my nail gun was getting antsy and looking for a new project...

Ta-da! A lattice wall at the staircase landing was born.

Before:

This is the wall at the bottom of the staircase in view of the dining room, so it was a good place to do something fun.

Cost: at $0.70 a foot,  this one came out to $42 for the lattice. I already had the paint from the farmhouse Plank Wall project.

Since I measured and cut each piece on site, I just brought the miter box up from the garage instead of using the circular saw.

I used my awesome Ryobi nail gun to tack the lattice pieces to the wall.  Have I mentioned that buying that nail gun was my most favorite-ist purchase I've made in years? I have? Ok.

I measured and put the verticals up first, then filled in the horizontals. These lattice pieces were so super-lightweight that I didn't worry that my design missed every stud in the wall :-)

Here it is nailed up and ready for paint:

Finally, it was time for a couple coats of paint.  Last step: hanging my Oregon map art:

Yes that is my gorgeous Grandmother's high school picture underneath the light fixture:

[done!]

I still can't decide whether to hang more stuff on the lattice wall or leave it empty and clean. What do you think?

Sorry for the grainy pictures, guys. One day I'll get myself a real, big-girl camera!

diy industrial garment rack - tutorial.

You all remember the DIY Industrial Garment Rack we made last month?
Click here if you missed the story and reveal...it's a wee insight into our household dynamic.
And my often wacky brain :-)

I promised you the tutorial so here it is!  This was a lot of fun to make and not only did it work perfectly for our overflow of guests last month, it looks awesome too.  Well, according to me at least...

Let's start with the materials. I'm listing the prices for everything [even items I already owned] so you can get a true cost of the project.
materials list and cost:
[1] galvanized pipe [cut in 2 for the vertical bars] @ $14
[1] galvanized pipe [for the top horizontal bar] @ $9.28

[2] galvanized elbows @ $1.62 each = $3.24

[2] galvanized flanges [the cool circle things in the image above] @ $5.17 each = $10.34

[4] spinning casters/wheels @ $3.44 each = $13.76 [spinners are a must especially for this particular project!]

[8] bolts @ $0.24 each = $1.92

[8] washers @ $0.11 each = $0.88

[8] nuts @ $0.06 each = $0.48

[1] 2x6 radius edge cedar plank* [cut in 3 for the base] @ $11.07

[1] 2x6 whitewood stud plank [cut in 2 for the underneath supports] @ $4.26

[1] can Minwax dark walnut wood stain [already owned; used about 1/4 can] @ $4.78
= $74.01 total out of my pocket, not bad!
[*I could've easily used another whitewood stud plank which would've been $7 cheaper, but I liked the rounded edge on the cedar plank]

optional materials, highly recommended:

GoJo pumice hand soap [easiest way to clean the pipes; already owned] @ $3.29

clear spray paint [for sealing the pipe; already owned] @ $3.76

= $81.06 total with optional items

Why I recommend the optional materials:
Have you ever handled galvanized pipe? It's dirty and greasy!
Since this garment rack was going to hold...well...garments, I definitely didn't want dirt and grease anywhere near my guest's clothes. So I wanted to clean the life out of the pipes and fittings, hence the GoJo which worked a treat.

Fair warning: the GoJo will make the pipes shiny so if you don't want that, don't use the GoJo...
but the alternative would be scrubbing those pipes with soapy water for *hours*.  I didn't think I'd like the shiny pipes but I ended up liking the contrast against the rustic wood so it all worked out.

All right! Let's get cookin', shall we?
1. measure and cut the 2x6 cedar plank into [3] 32" long pieces. these pieces will become the base of your rack.

[measuring and marking at 32" long].

2. measure and cut the 2x6 whitewood stud plank into [2] 15" inch long pieces. they will be used on the underside to join the base planks together.
3. lay the 3 top planks upside down and place some nails between the boards to provide a little spacing
4. place the the [2] 15" inch long pieces across the 3 top planks.
5. screw the 15" long pieces to the 3 planks. so not only are these 15" long pieces being used for joining, they're adding extra weight and stability to the rack.

winner winner!

[underside of the wood base].

6. screw the wheels to the 4 corners.
7. stain the wood your desired color; I dry brushed it on so the finish is a bit rustic.
8. flip the base over so it's right-side up.
9. screw the galvanized pipes together, placing the elbows at the top and the flanges at the bottom.
10. have someone hold the pipe setup on the wood base so you can see where you want to secure the flanges to the wood.
11. mark and drill the bolt holes:

[drill holes for flanges].

12. we'll be attaching the metal flange to the top of the rack with bolts, washers, and nuts. optional: drill out a recessed area so the washer is sunk into the wood. again, this part is totally optional; the washer sitting flush against the wood is completely fine.

[totally optional: drill recessed area for washer].

13. drop the bolts through the holes, slide a washer on, and tighten the nut:

[underside with bolt, washer and nut].

And voila, you have yourself a unique industrial garment rack...with wheels. shazam!

Don't you just love the base?

Thanks friends, hope this all makes sense! Of course please ask any questions you like in the comments below and I'll do my best to answer them.

diy industrial garment rack - reveal.

[diy industrial garment rack].

11:02 pm.  here I am again, lying awake thinking about all the projects I'd like to make with galvanized pipe.

[what do you mean I'm the only one who does this at night?! that can't be true.]

11:11 pm.   oh nuts! I just remembered we've got guests coming and there are more of them than there are guest rooms in our house.

11:26 pm.   I guess someone will have to sleep in the Mr.'s office...we can move one of the guest beds in there.  that's cool, but there's no closet in that room.

11:39 pm.   eureka! we can make a rolling garment rack out of galvanized pipe!  they can hang their clothes up and there will be a base for their suitcase, or shoes, or whatever.

11:40 pm.   zzzzzzzz....

I woke up the next morning and couldn't wait to tell the Mr. all about my great and wonderful plan...

"Guess what?" says I.
"Uh-oh, what now Lucy?" says he.
whenever I get a totally awesome idea, for some reason, I Love Lucy leaps to his mind.  I don't understand this.

"I'm going to make something" me, all smiles.
"Okkkkk" like a fool, he cautiously wades in.

Yea, that's kind of how most projects start around here.  So we went from this:

[the supplies].

to this:

[diy industrial garment rack with shelf].

I am in love with this industrial garment rack!

Now before you think I made it all for form and no function...well maybe I did.
...after our guests all leave, I'll be taking this wonderful rack for my very own.

Winner winner!

[diy industrial garment rack].

I'll have the tutorial and supply list up soon.
**EDIT** here be the tutorial! hooray!

But as always if you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to ask them in the Comments below and I'll be happy to answer them.

Thanks for reading, friends!

diy: black and white velvet pumpkins.

[easy diy velvet pumpkins and pillow cover].

Happy Fall, friends!

I don't know about you, but I simply couldn't wait for Fall to arrive.

Even though Fall doesn't officially start till the Autumnal Equinox on September 23, for me the first of September is my signal to start thinking about jeans tucked into boots. vests over turtlenecks.  cool days followed by cozy nights under a blanket.  my first pumpkin spice latte of the year.  yummm.

And of course velvet pumpkins!

A couple of years ago, I created a ton of oh-so-easy velvet pumpkins [click here for the detailed tutorial]. I made them in delicious colors like silvery-blue, deep olive, champagne, burnt orange, and rich chocolate brown.

[the original batch of velvet pumpkins].

I still adore that first batch, and you bet your knee-high boots I already brought them out and scattered them around the house. But this year I wanted to create a black and white Halloween vignette so I whipped up some black and white pumpkins using crushed velvet from Joann's and real pumpkin stems I've been hoarding since last year's [real] pumpkins hit the compost heap.

[easy diy velvet pumpkins and pillow cover].

Did you spy that delightful skull pillow in the back? I made that easy-sew pillow cover with some black and white skull fabric [also from Joann's!]
Pillow covers are a super-simple, inexpensive way to change out your decor for the seasons. If you want to make your own, here's the detailed tutorial including measurements.

[easy diy velvet pumpkins and pillow cover].

Thanks as always for reading, friends!  Here's to another wonderful Fall season!

Please let me know in the Comments below if you have any questions and I'll happily answer them if I can.