The bookcase redo

Yesterday after noon, I looked at this dark, jumbled bookcase and decided that the time had come to paint it.  After WAY too many hours, it now looks like this:


The whole process was tedious, but pretty easy.  First I took everything out (we have a lot of stuff...) and took it apart.  Then I sanded it down and cleaned it, and taped up the glass.  That took much longer than it should have.

It took quite a few more coats than I thought as it was a really dark brown.  (I had to go back to the store for more paint - but I can't think of a painting project where I haven't had to do that!) 


I sprayed all the hardware white, which was pretty stinky and cold with the window open!  Once I had it all painted (5 - 6 coats) I stuck some wrapping paper from Ikea ( on sale for $1!!) on the back with some spray adhesive and a squeegee.


Putting the doors back on just about killed me for some reason...stupid Ikea hardware!


Then we unpacked the last of the boxes from the garage (one year later!) and I put all the stuff back in.  Our Czech crystal from Chris's family looks especially nice against the white!


I am quite pleased with the result, it makes the room seem a little brighter and more spacious (at least to me) and I like that all of our precious keepsakes are more visible.  Slapping a million coats of paint also makes it feel a little less Ikea.  But I don't think I will ever be turning into a DIY goddess like Jenny any time soon.  Chris was awesome in that he didn't tell me I was crazy too many times, and he spent most of the weekend with the kids.  And he only pointed out that we could have bought this piece in white once.  Or twice...

Shape Collage


I discovered this interesting website in my flickr travels - it will make collages out of any photos you want in seconds.  It does the usual rectangle or square shape, but then you can have some fun and make up your own shapes as well.  In honour of the impending V-day celebrations, I went with LOVE and a heart.  Gagging is allowed.
You can see their web address on the images (that's too bad... I guess you have to buy the full version to have that removed) but you can get your own here.

At the top of today's ToDo List:

From here.

Cam's Room


It isn't often that I get to blog about something here and on my kid blog, but I took some photos of Cam's room today, since it was looking nice and neat, and thought I would post them here too.  The photos didn't turn out that great, and I am not very good at fixing them, my apologies.  And yes, I do realize that the same people who read this blog read the other blog, but I can post bigger photos on this one, so you have to indulge me...

The walls really aren't this yellow, they seems brighter in the photos.  This was the colour when we got here, we never did get around to painting when we moved in!



The mobile is a photo clip mobile with all of the cranes Karen made for Will's baby shower.

The wonderful Expedit shelf from Ikea - so versatile.

After much searching, I made this alphabet print, as well as the Cameron hippo print.  The clouds are just scrapbook paper from Michael's.

This is a movie poster for the Czech version of Damn Cat (never heard of it) that I found online.
I actually made this bunny in grade 8 Home Ec.  It originally wore a dress and matching bloomers!  I think I like it better as a boy. :)

Alphabet Art

There are so many beautiful alphabet prints for kids rooms and play rooms, and trust me, when I was preggo with Cameron and envisioning his room I looked at most of them!  I really liked the one above from Orange Ink on Etsy, and here are a few more that caught my eye:

This one is a gorgeous wood cut from Toronto's own Bookhou, which has a store online and on Dundas West.  I love that it is 3-D, not a poster.  They have amazing kids stuff.  But at $50 it was a bit steep.
This one is from Petit Collage ($50 USD!)
This screen-printed poster by Blinth is inspired by mid-century modern wooden toys, so you know I love it.  It is $85 USD unframed.
This one is actually one of my favourite ones, from WestWillow on Etsy, and is only $15!

After looking at them all for a while though, they really didn't look that complicated to do, so I made up this one in word using the colours I wanted, and am hoping that Dan or Yara can help me figure out how to print it...



What do you think?  Should I quit my day job?  :)

A couple of other round-ups of alphabet posters can be found on Design*Sponge, and of course Ohdeedoh.

Done my scarf!


I just finished my latest neck warmer!  It is a little longer than I would have liked, but it makes me very happy none-the-less.  Not bad for a non-knitter. :)  It is a herringbone stitch, and I got the pattern here.
It didn't take that long, especially considering I have spent the last two days with a very miserable little boy.  You should make one too!

Desktop wallpapers

This is my new desktop wallpaper - I really love opening to it when I get on the computer (which is often!).  I got it on a site called Pixelgirl Presents, and they have backgrounds for ipods, desktops, icon sets, and you can submit your work.

Here are a few more I liked:

What type are you?

Via Dress Design and Decor blog, I came across this fabulous interactive questionnaire to determine what type you are  - as in what font!
It is a wonderful quiz, especially if you are at all interested in fonts and graphic design.  I highly recommend you take a peek - it is only four questions.
Turns out I am Marina Script, which I do enjoy.  Here is the the link to the quiz (the password is 'character'), and here is some more Marina for your enjoyment, and mine!