Remodeling Project Making Final Progress...

This has been one looooooong remodeling project. But we are finally approaching the finish line. Of course my husband pulled off the roof and walls a couple years ago and has been rebuilding the bedroom ever since. But now he is finishing up the siding outside.

He had focused so much time inside that he forgot to finish the siding outside...or maybe he just didn't have the time. So now he's working on finishing it up too.

Here are a few pictures from the project. The ceiling upstairs in this bedroom was so low - only about 7' (Luke is 6'5") and he was hitting his knuckles on the ceiling.

So Lars started to rip it out but he wanted to see what was up there first.

Then he completely tore off the top.

But he didn't stop there. He had to tear off the wall and part of the roof...in November.

And he had to work late into the night to get the wall and roof rebuilt....because, like I said, it was November.

And Luke helped too.

Then there was insulation to put in

And walls to rebuild.

And French doors, and a balcony...

Oh, but before he built the balcony, he had to rebuild the floors

And patch a few holes.

But now that the room is nearly done, he needed to refinish the siding outside, which meant putting up scaffolding.

You can see it here at the side of the house (it's the yellow looking ladder-like apparatus).

Then Lars climbed up on it, and out on the roof.

And then he was just hanging around on the roof for a few days. And then it was finally finished out there and the boys had to take all the scaffolding down.

Now there are only a few finishing touches to complete and then the clean up...maybe this weekend.

The Diviners

Last night was book club night and it was time for the book I recommended to be discussed.

I had recommended The Diviners by Libba Bray

I enjoyed the story but my other book club members weren't so impressed with it. They either didn't like the Demon, the occult aspects or the roaring 20's. Some thought it was too long and others thought the main character seemed too grown up for a 17 year-old or too versed in slang to be a girl who just moved to the Big Apple from Ohio.

I loved little Evil, as Theta called her and Jerico and Sam...well, I guess I loved a lot of the characters and that's what makes a story good...right...or is that write ;D

New Additions to the Family

We heard there was an over abundance of kitties at the Humane Society so we went to check it out and yep, there were cages and cages filled with cute little kittens. And when I saw these two playful little guys, I couldn't get just one.

I called my hubby and said, "Can I get two?"

And I thought this picture was so funny. It looks like one is riding the other one...only backwards :D

These guys will provide years and years of fun.

DIY Cushion Cover

It's easy to make a cushion cover.

All you have to do is go to a craft store and have them cut you a piece of foam that will fit your seat, bench or chair.

Then you take the fabric you want and spread it out on the floor. Lay the foam on the fabric and cut the fabric to fit the foam.

Then you can sew the straight lines to piece the fabric together.

And to make sure the seams are straight, you can iron them into place.

And when you're all done, it will be a perfect fit for your seat cushion.

Braclets made from old belts

Camp Hollyhock makes old belts into wonderful jewelry. Look at these beautiful cuffs made from old belts.

I love how this shop uses old things and makes them into new wonderful pieces to wear and enjoy for many more years.

A dress made from an old sheet

I found this dress over the weekend at Camp Hollyhock and had to buy it. The wonderful women at Camp Hollyhock repurpose old clothes and fabric into new creative clothes.

I love how they turn old clothing into lacy, feminine pieces.

If you get a chance to stop by Sellwood to do some shopping, you have to stop by Camp Hollyhock.

Alcohol Ink Art Glass

I wanted to make an art glass piece to put into a new little window up above a door leading into a bedroom upstairs so the skylight could let light into the room but I'm not great at stained glass artwork. So, a friend told me about alcohol ink art that she had done a week or so before. She even brought over all her supplies so we could work on the window together.

It was a fun way to spend an afternoon, working on art--whether it is paper, glass or ceramic tiles.

I decided to just let little droplets fall from the bottles onto the glass. Then I let it dry overnight and finally sealed it with a glass sealant. Now, my husband is going to frame it and put it into place.