Why I took a blogging break...

So the last month or more has been filled with projects around here. I am really feeling a push to get as many things done around the house as I can before school lets out in 3 weeks and before baby comes 7 weeks after that. May has been my month to finish up house things and I figure June and July will be my months to get ready for baby - make some blankets, burp cloths, set up crib, etc.

I also put some effort into scrapbooking. I finally TOTALLY finished my Project 365 book from last year. It was really fun to work on but it definitely took some time. I'm taking a more laid back approach this year on my Project Life album. I did do one week of intense picture taking and journaling (inspired by Ali Edwards) and I had fun with that.

Here are some of the other projects we have been busy with.

I made Allie some new pajama pants thanks to a tutorial from Handmade Mommy and a variation done by Summer. This is the first time I have ever made something for one of us to wear as clothing. I was pretty happy - it was a big accomplishment. Yesterday I also made her some PJ shorts (no ruffles or pictures this time - too much work).
I've had the idea for awhile to make fabric panels to cover up the mess under part of my desk in the office. I made six panels (only 5 are shown here). I used some white fabric I had purchased a few years ago to make Roman shades in Allie's room in Nebraska. I still haven't made Roman shades. : ) I attached them with Velcro to the metal support bar at the bottom of the desk. I'm so happy that they cover my junk now!

Before

After

My mom was here this weekend and she helped me start making similar panels for my laundry room. I have to get some more fabric and make two more panels. I'll post pictures here when I'm done.

And on to the BIGGEST project of the year. BEDS. We needed two twin beds for the boys' room. We looked online at different options and didn't find anything that we loved AND could afford. Bob has all these word-working tools and has been wanting to make things for our house for awhile now. I decided that making beds would be a great place to start. We found plans we liked on Knock Off Wood (love this site!) and felt empowered to make them.

I sent Bob to the store with the plans that include everything you need to buy on April 17. He painstakingly picked out each piece and returned home with it all that evening (just in time to shower so we could host dinner group).

He took off on April 23 and worked on building 2 headboards and 2 footboards that Friday and Saturday. He ran into a few small problems but got them built!
While he was building, I was busy in the other garage spray painting. I painted some picture frames and some metal things we had (used to be brown then black and now COLORS).
The kids helped a little that day filling in the nail and screw holes with wood filler.During the next week, I spent a lot of time sanding down all the pieces and getting them painted a medium brown. Luckily the weather was nice and I enjoyed my time listening to Kris Allen music and working away.
At the end of the week Bob built one of the beds in the boys' room. After having them in the room, I realized that the paint alone was too flat and boring. I started experimenting with some techniques to give them a little more character. First I tried a brown glaze but the results were not as subtle as I was hoping for.

Next I tried rubbing on a dark walnut stain and rubbing it right off. I really liked the look of this technique. So that's what I did. Wearing rubber gloves, I rubbed on the stain with some old socks and immediately rubbed it off with a rag. Then I let it dry for 24 hours. I then painted on a polycrylic to finish it off. This step was incredibly frustrating and challenging. If the polycrylic got on thick or dripped even for a second, the stain went with it and left a lighter spot. It was tricky and I didn't like it. My family and friends convinced me that it looked great (maybe even better since it wasn't totally uniform) and I proceeded on. The final coat was round 2 of polycrylic - this time much easier because the stain didn't budge. If there is a next time I think I am will try rubbing on diluted dark brown paint instead of stain. I think it will give a similar look and not be as frustrating. I was going to try that with the second bed but decided I better stick to the same plan if I wanted them for sure to be uniform.

This is a picture right after we finished the first bed. You can see the difference between the finished headboard and the simply painted one. I also sanded down some edges before I put the stain on so that the wood would soak up the dark stain and give another layer of dimension. All of the final finish work was done in their room so the boys have been displaced for 2 weeks or more.
I can not tell you how HAPPY I am to have these beds finished. The boys are really excited too. They slept in their room again last night together for the first time. Here is a picture of their room a few weeks ago. Parker's new little mattress on the floor was VERY attractive.This shows Caden's bed since we moved into the house - a flowery box spring and mattress on the floor.
Here is a picture of their room today. The little nightstand that we just purchased no longer fits next to Caden's bed (didn't anticipate that) so it has a new home by the window. You can also see the beginning of a brown stripe on the wall. I am going to put a vinyl stripe all around the room soon. There was NO WAY I was going to paint a stripe so I'm REALLY excited about doing it with vinyl.
It's probably not fair that the before picture is so messy and the after is clean. Dramatic effect right? It really does feel SO much more put together in there now that they have real matching beds. I think Bob and I were a pretty good team on this project. I'm not really excited about the idea of building with power tools and the figuring involved and he is NOT interested in the finish work. We both had moments of excitement and complete frustration with this project but overall we are really happy we did it!

I think that is all for now. That was a LONG post!