I haven’t posted a Before and After in awhile, but rest assured, I still have projects up my sleeve. Our dining room hadn’t been touched since we moved in 11 years ago. It was fine, but wasn’t especially pretty. We had a huge table that took up most of the room. Once I replaced that […]
DIY
Just for Fun-Kid’s Bedroom DIY
Listen, there are all sorts of ways to procrastinate when you’re supposed to be writing. Yesterday, for example, I took an extra long trip to Aldi, cruising slowly down the aisles to pick up the things the kids need in their lunches that my husband forgot to buy when he helpfully did the shopping on […]
Tiny, Lovely Office
Years ago, I did a couple posts about a new writing space in my new house, one post on my initial discovery of that space, and then a follow up on how I was making it work. My kids were young when we moved here, and my writing hours were few and far between. With […]
Book Art
So sorry I’ve been missing from this blog all summer. I’ve been busy–hanging out with my kids, attending a lengthy writing conference (more on that later), oh, and building a playground! Cool pics of that here. The kids are returning to school next week, and so I plan to return to my *weekly posts. In […]
The Perfect Clutch for the Bookish Gal
It’s a book? It’s a purse? It’s both! My book club met recently for a night of wine and crafting (we sometimes also read books!). Under the expert tutelage of my friend Michele, we created clutch purses out of hardcover books. I used “Elements of Botany” by Joseph Bergen, Revised Edition, copyright 1906. The first […]
This side table DIY is the perfect price…free!
I do love a pretty transformation that costs none of the dollars (unless you count my labor, and as a DIY-er, creative writer, parent and general layabout, no one’s really paying much for that). Even better than the cost, this was an easy project, too. Of course you know that the first step in an […]
The $10 Dresser DIY
What could you do with a few bucks, a cast-off dresser and a whole lot of swearing?* Why, you could create a fabulous DIY project! So, a friend of mine took off and moved to Texas, and I’ll never forgive her, but as a lovely parting gift, she gave me her daughter’s dresser because, you know, when you’re […]
Super Seuss-Themed Reading Chair
So, there I was helping to decorate our neighborhood public elementary school for a Dr. Seuss-themed Right to Read Week, when someone pulls out a cell phone and starts trolling for “ideas” and sees that someone once painted Dr. Seuss quotes and whatnot on a chair (damn you, Internets!), and I’m all like, “I can […]