Projects, Pillows, and Putterings

Since I have been practicing and learning with my new sewing machine, I have worked on some projects as well. 

When I first began reclaiming the basement, I decided to turn the bedroom into a guest area. I had collected lots of ideas that included twin beds. So, I used the twin bed that had been Bryan's as he was growing up after I had stumbled across one while thrifting that looked sort of like it. I painted them out to be the same color and dressed them the same and they work together. 

I had a large chunk of fabric that my friend Kathy had given me and decided that would eventually become window treatment for the room. So, I have been planning around that as a color-way. I prepared the fabric for stitching to make a couple of panels for either side of the windows. I will take a bit and stitch up a hem and some rod pockets and finish that up soon.

In the meantime, I wanted to putter and practice with my new sewing machine. I dug out a remnant of fabric that I had picked up at a discount store. It is a nice percale stripe that is the same colors as the window treatment fabric. So, I decided it would become pillow cases.

I used the tutorial found HERE for my pillowcase dimensions and method. Before stitching it all together, though, I did a little embroidery decorating. I just chose a couple of the colors in the contrast strip that is floral (the window treatment material) and embroidered a couple of stacked Os as a monogram of our last name. 

Then, I stitched it all together. I think it adds a nice layer to the bedding. I love custom linens such as window treatment and simple things like pillows and pillow coverings. 

I think the pillowcases work well with the throw pillows I've already got on the bed. I bought the red one at a thrift sale, brought it home and washed and dried it. My plan was to cover it but it looks good with the bedding. So, it will stay that way and just provide texture right now. The checked one is an envelope pillow cover that I made out of another remnant I had picked up at a discount. The fabric is a nice upholstery fabric and I used one of the designs that came on my sewing machine to monogram it.

You can see in the photo above that I have been using soft white bedding. I think that is hard to beat and I have the pillows with the soft white cases in the room still. I'm trying to decide if that is overkill to stack them on the bed as well!

I like the added layer of the design on the new pillow cases and am now more inspired to get the window treatment completed! That is another project for another day of puttering.

Projects - Updating Frames

As I am 'reclaiming' the basement, I am working through the trial and error method on most things, I guess. During the past sixteen years, our basement has been a space where we used it primarily for storage. Then, we put some work into it and got it fully furnished and it was a space for us to use in an emergency (like when the upstairs cooling unit quit working in the heat of summer). Mike's daughter, Laura, and her family called it home for about six months. It was guest quarters when his cousin, Jeff, lived here for a while. It was home for his mother for about eight years. Furniture has been moved in and out to accommodate each of those dwellers and for us to have it as a finished space. 

The present work-in-progress is the basement bedroom. Last week I decided to spend a little time updating the artwork above the twin beds. My favorite inspiration photos featured botanical leaf prints as part of the decor. The one with two blue beds and green pillows, linked to its source, has leaf print artwork on the wall above the bed. The James Farmer look with the patchwork quilt and red gingham pillow has a botanical stitched onto a pillow. 

     

I found some pretty oak leaf prints online and, since our farm is called Twin Oaks, I thought they would be perfect. I have been admiring pretty bamboo frames and decided this was where I would splurge and put a touch of bamboo on these 11" x 14" prints. I thought the bamboo would sort of tie in with the mirror that I had done a DIY on previously. I am thrilled with how they turned out. The frames are sort of fancy looking to me. So, I think it gives some of that high/low feel that is needed in every room.

They look really nice above the beds but I just thought they looked a little lost on that big long wall. Since the basement bedroom is not a space that we use on a regular basis, I am determined not to spend a fortune on it. So, I decided to add a couple more leaf prints to add some substance. Sticking with the nature and botanicals theme, I ordered some inexpensive, unframed fern leaf, prints online. 

I have a stash of frames left from when I took down a family portrait gallery wall in our upstairs hallway. At that time, all the frames were black. I didn't think black frames would go well with the gold bamboo frames on the oak leaf prints. I had seen bloggers showing off their DIY skills with Rub 'n Buff for years. So, I decided to give it a whirl. I pulled out a couple of pairs of frames that are simple. They all came from the thrift store. One of the frames is shown below in a 'before' state.

I watched a few YouTube tutorials and it was suggested to wear gloves and use a soft cloth to smear the Rub 'n Buff onto the surface. So, I gloved up and went to work. I was amazed at how good they looked. I had a couple of different shades of Rub 'n Buff and tried a bit of each. I wound up using the one called Gold Leaf for these frames. True to the suggestions, a little bit of the product goes a long way.

I wound up rubbing a bit of the gold off to give it a sort of motley look because I liked that antiqued look better than a shiny solid gold look. I applied the look to four frames and let them set to dry for an hour or so. Then, it was time to frame my leaf prints that I had ordered online. That was when I hit a snag. I had not noticed but one of my frames had a bow in one side. I broke two pieces of glass, stuck a sliver into my finger, and had tiny shards drop all over my ironing board. There may have been some colorful words uttered as well.

Look closely at the right side of the portrait frame shown above and you can see that it sort of bows or curves in. Thankfully, I had another pair of frames and I quickly rubbed them with the Rub 'n Buff. They were both dry by the time I had framed the first two prints and hung them on the wall. So, I could finish up with the two newly rubbed frames by adding glass and the prints and hang them as well. The two frame styles are slightly different but they look alright together since they are the same color, I think. The print shown below shows the style of one of the pairs of frames. The image below that shows the other style of frames. Again, similar but not exactly the same in any way besides color.

Another thing I learned is that if you should get Rub 'n Buff on the floor, a magic eraser and a little elbow grease will get most of the gold off the floor. Don't ask me how I know... 

I think the three framed botanicals hanging together presents a much better look than the single print and I love how they all work together. The only cost for framing the inexpensive prints beyond the broken glass and a smear of blood from my finger was the Rub 'n Buff and I still have an almost full tube of it left to use on other projects. This was just the touch I think was needed.

Like the oak leaf prints, these fern prints are just enough different to make the wall interesting but similar enough to make it cohesive. The fern prints were a set of four 8" x 10" that I purchased via Amazon but I noticed they are currently unavailable. This set is similar, though. I'm please with how the project turned out.

I have a few other projects planned for this room. I have fabric to make curtains and cover pillows. There are a couple of chairs in the room and I will want to update them a bit if I decide they should stay. I'd like to camouflage the switch box that is in the corner beyond the beds somehow, too. I have ideas for what to do with the wall opposite this one as well but just haven't landed on exactly what will work best there, yet. Maybe I will move a bookcase into the room to be along that wall. Again, it is a work-in-progress but I sort of like the progress I'm making thus far.

The Basement Bedroom - A Work In-Progress

Like all homes, ours has evolved over the years to better fit our needs. The basement bedroom has seen several changes. I set about 'reclaiming' our basement a couple of years ago after my mother-in-law passed. She had promised different furnishings and items to grandchildren and when those things went out the door, I didn't want the basement to just become a place for clutter to collect. So, I decided that the bedroom should be one space I needed to work on.

Prior to the move-in of my MIL, we had donated, gifted, and sold all of the furnishings that we had in the basement to make room for her and her things. So, we have started from scratch to refurnish this space. As with anything, I started searching through decorator books, blogs, and Pinterest for ideas. I decided that I liked the look of decorating a bedroom with twin beds and if we had any grandchildren come to visit, twin beds might work out. I still had one simple twin bed that had been Bryan's when he was growing up. A couple of Bridgette's girls had used it but it was in storage. I stumbled across a similar little simple bed offered second hand and I suddenly had my twin bed frames to set the bedroom update in motion.

If you follow the link above, you can see lots of my ideas that I collected and it is easy to see similarities in the images I collected. The two images that stuck in my mind the most were the ones below. (Click on the first image to access the source. The next image was on James Farmer's website and is probably in one of his books but the link I had is no longer valid.)

     

The twin beds I have are not a perfect match and one was painted while the other was still brown wood. 

Neither of them are heirloom quality pieces of furniture. One was given to me years ago by my Great Aunt Mae and the other was a ten dollar impulse buy. So, I visited my local Ace Hardware and bought a quart of high gloss Benjamin Moore Hale Navy paint. I knew I loved the color because that is the color of our kitchen island. A quick couple or three coats of paint and the two bed frames were mates. I ordered mattresses and springs and white linens to dress them. 

I was determined to decorate the basement on a budget. So, I decided that I would use some fabric a friend gave me to make curtains for the double windows in that room. That is a project on the To-Do list. Since it is a lovely raspberry floral toile, I knew that other bed dressings needed to be either a big bold geometric or a check or a solid. I remembered a purchase that I had made years back that I still loved and began my search. I got a couple of these Cotton Muslin Buffalo Check Blankets in Khaki. They are ultra lightweight and reasonably priced. I often use tan buffalo check as a neutral and it worked in this bedroom for me. I eventually want to have a quilt at the end of the bed like those two images at the top of the post, but, for now, I have a couple of coverlets folded and laid across the foot of the bed.

This bedroom sat like that for about a year. I had placed an antique wash stand that had been my mother-in-law's in the room but it was sort of lost in the space where I wanted a dresser. 

Then, I began searching for a dresser to fill the niche beside the closet. I kept a lookout on Facebook Marketplace and my local thrift haunts, but I didn't really see what I wanted. Then, one Sunday afternoon I was tired of being cooped up in the house and went out junking. 

I stumbled across an inexpensive dresser that is the perfect size. I love the twists that trim out each side and the bun feet below the platform trim. Something about the top is a bit wonky but it is sort of charming as well. It is almost like maybe it had a glass top or leather top and somebody replaced that with a cabinet door or something. I may eventually get a piece of glass to lay across the top so that the top surface will be even but for now it is working as-is.

Again, it is not an heirloom quality piece but it was only seventy-five dollars. If something comes along that I like better, I can probably get my investment back out of this piece but for now, it fits well in the room, it is great for storage, and I like the look of it across the room with those pretty twists on the side. In my search, I had stumbled across a couple of great lamps listed on Facebook Marketplace for twenty dollars. They are that nice gourd shape that is pretty trendy and the color really brightens up that little niche. So, again, I trekked out and picked up those. 

I knew I had a mirror that I had thrifted from the same place I had gotten one of the beds. The frame is plastic but it looks like bamboo. So, I knew I could paint it and make it look better and fit into this room as well. I wasn't sure how to go about painting it. So, I first tried sliding paper beneath the frame to cover the mirror.

That was NOT a success! After priming the frame, I had a heck of a time getting all that paper off and unstuck from the back of the frame. So, I wound up taking the entire thing apart. I unscrewed the back from the frame and carefully laid it and the mirror aside. Then, using my Hale Navy high gloss paint, I gave the inexpensive mirror a couple of coats.

I love how it turned out and I feel like such a thrifty DIYer because I think I gave less than ten dollars for the mirror and used left-over paint for the transformation. Go me! 

Next came the bedside table. I had an oak file cabinet there at first but it just wasn't what I wanted. So, the file cabinet moved to my office to serve as storage for tax records and owner's manuals. I moved a square table that had belonged to my parents into the space. It seemed a bit too leggy. So, I slid an end table/cabinet down the stairs. It was built by a furniture maker who was married to my Daddy's cousin. Daddy had bought it and Mama used it at the end of the couch for years. It was just what I wanted for the space. The size and look is perfect and it provides extra storage. Win! Win!

I had originally planned to use a lamp that I picked up with the intention of using it for a project. However, when I was working in the basement den, I noticed that the antique lamp that had belonged to my MIL seemed to just get lost in there. So, I swapped the two lamps. The project lamp provides a little more umph in the basement den and the antique lamp softens the bedroom; so, both rooms seem to work better now. 

This room is still quite a work-in-progress but I am satisfied with where it is for now. I added one more project to it this week and I will share about it another day. It is a DIY frame project.

Just 3 Things | #16

Maybe we are stepping into a bit of normalcy here at last. The beginning of 2026 has really been one that is different from years' past. I'm not complaining - just observing. This week's three things are about food, storytelling, and organizing.

- What I've Been Loving -

While we were sick, we took advantage of convenience and did lots of food delivery for our meals. I was ever grateful to have something tasty and hot and the fact that cleanup was just basically sacking up the containers we had jut emptied and tossing into the trash can. When we honed in on the weather predictions as we began to feel better, we knew that food delivery would probably not be a good idea. So, our grocery order included more ingredients to prepare or cook from scratch and some fast heat and eat options. We both have been loving the home-cooked and almost-home-cooked meals for the past couple of weeks. 

Even though we stuck to Taco Tuesday both weeks during the frozen event, we also tried out some other options as well. We tried some frozen beef and bean burritos and some queso dip. That meant we had some left-over taco meat. The first week I just froze it because I knew that we had a fridge full of options and probably wouldn't eat leftovers. I browsed the interweb for different ideas and ways to incorporate taco-flavored ground beef into casseroles and soups. We tried one of the casseroles this week and I really liked it. Basically, it is just an addition of elbow macaroni and cream cheese to traditional taco ingredients. It was pretty tasty, though! Since the temperatures are supposed to drop this weekend, I might thaw the other leftover meat and try out a soup recipe I found. Stay tuned.

- What I've Been Reading -

I read three Mary Kay Andrews books in a row during the snow event we just melted out from under. Savannah Blues introduced me to a couple of southern gals and their acquaintances. My cousin, Faye, and I were both reading it at the same time and chuckling at how we could envision certain scenes described by the author. I downloaded Savannah Breeze immediately upon finishing it and found the second book to be really just a continuation of Weezie's and Bebe's story. One book's primary focus is on one of the characters and the other focuses on her friend's experiences. They are intertwined and it makes one wish for a close female friend with such loyalty and understanding. I hesitated on the next one because it was marketed as a Christmas tale but it wasn't so season focused that it wasn't a good read. Reading Blue Christmas did make me pause and think about our own family gatherings and how they probably seem to outsiders or how they might be viewed differently through the different eyes of each family member. I will probably go back and read Christmas Bliss but I just couldn't read two Christmas titles in a row right now.

I decided to take a break from fiction and picked up a friend's recommendation for reading a Jimmy Buffet Memoir, A Pirate Looks at Fifty. One of the most important things this book is doing as I'm reading it is that it is making me wish that I had written a brief memoir at the end of each decade of my adulthood. I'd love to have captured my thoughts through the years like that and look back to see the ideas and actions that brought me to the place I am today. 

I also learned that in addition to his music, I appreciate him for his dedication to reading and literature. Many chapters open with song lyrics shared as poetry. I found myself searching for the song and listening to it almost every time. We don't always think of songs as poetry or as telling stories, but that truly does encapsulate what Buffet did with his music - he is an interesting and inspiring storyteller and I will probably read some of his other work. Who knew I would become a Parrot Head?

- What We've Been Working On -

We spent a little time in the downstairs kitchen this week. The Mister uses that space a lot more than I do. So, I spent a little time watching him as he was puttering round and it helped me to see how he uses his equipment and the space so I can better organize it. He mentioned that he needed somewhere to store his meat slicer and wanted to better organize the tubs he uses for storing sausage batches while he is seasoning and sacking it. Then, he took a little break to go putter outside and I got busy.

I dragged a 2' x4' bookcase out of the storage room and scrubbed it down. The bookcase had one shelf attached with screws and had a couple of loose shelves setting on the bottom. After giving it a good clean, I put the bookcase on the east wall near a cupboard where the Mister's meat packaging materials are stored. There was just enough space between it and the cupboard to provide access to a plug. So, I slid a cute little crock in the space and it looked like I'd planned it that way. I slid the slicer onto the shelf that was attached in the bookcase. It was a perfect fit - like the bookcase was tailor-made for that purpose!

There were clips affixed below that shelf. So, I slid one of the loose shelves onto the clips and began  looking round for items that might fit the space. There were some shallow plastic tubs with lids that fit perfectly there with a little space beside them for something small like the plastic gloves worn while handling the meat. The Mister had two clear tubs holding parts and utensils used with his sausage sacker stored within them. I eyeballed them and crossed my fingers. They slid into the space side-by-side and fit like a glove! I could not have been more tickled.

I moved the dresser back over to the east wall of the kitchen below where all the old-time family photos hang. All the drawers in that dresser are useful for stashing things out of sight that don't need to be handy or used quickly. This is where silverware lives and a few sundries like that. (It still has some empty space but I'm not telling anybody.) I'd like to just leave the top empty to be used for counter space or maybe add a basket or two for catching odd things but I don't want it to become a cluttered surface. That 'counter' space is too handy and I don't want it to get cluttered and junky looking since it is the first thing encountered upon entering the kitchen.

The thrift store console table slid across the room to the space vacated by the dresser. It is a good height for storing some of the Mister's equipment that is a bit on the heavy side but not used daily and stuff that is somewhat awkward in size. So, the tall sausage stacker found it's place there. There is a shelf below that is a perfect spot for a big clear tub that holds smaller equipment, pieces, and part sand works well for the sausage grinder. Plus, there is room to stack some tubs that are used for storing sausage batches. 

While I was finishing shuffling and organizing, the Mister weighed and packaged up some bacon. He had something slow-cooking on the stove. I slipped down the hallway to do some bookkeeping. About an hour later, I heard him wrapping up his work. So, when I reached a stopping place for the day, I cruised through 'his' kitchen to see if I noticed any changes or adjustments he made. He had washed up everything he had been using and left some things drying in the sink and added a couple of tubs to the storage space.

On the other side of the room, he had cleared off the table and tidied up that space as well. The scale was set back atop the bookcase and he even mentioned that he liked having a 'home' for it when it wasn't in use. Of course, he also left a subtle hint that he obviously needs a coat rack somewhere down there!

I know this space is a work-in-progress but just the short time spent there in one day really made a difference in how it looks and how it seems to function. It is not designed and organized like I truly would like for it to be but since I'm not the primary user, there are other needs taken into consideration. I know that we both will get busy and things will not stay tidy and as organized as they were when we walked away after that work session but I have a better feeling about how it is growing more functional and serving the needs of us.

Things on the to-do list for this space:

• hang a knife magnet
• clean and organize the cabinets
• find new homes for various glassware
• find new homes for books that are just outside the camera's lens
• hang a bit of artwork to camouflage the thermostats
• add a coat rack

Some of these little projects like the organizing and re-vamping the kitchen space is starting to inspire me or just kindle the desire, at least, to tackle some more of my To-Do List projects and cleanouts. First, though, I've got to dig into filing our taxes. Fun times up in here next week! Happy weekend.

It's a Good Thing

I think we are all familiar with Martha Stewart's labeling of things as "A Good Thing." Sometimes, when I stumble across something that I really like, I want to label it like Martha Stewart does. 

Not long ago I noticed that the night light we had been using in the guest bath had gotten broken. This isn't a big thing and certainly not something that I wanted to drop everything and search for. However, I do like having a little light in the bath at night to, hopefully, prevent stumbling around. Yet, not having to turn on that light that brightens everything up like day time.

So, when Luci and I recently noticed that the bath in the basement needs a night light, I put night lights on my list of things to be aware of in my net surfing/scrolling and when I am out and about shopping. After a couple of weeks, an option popped up that I was curious about.

At this point, I don't recall if t was a recommendation from some blogger, whose posts I follow or if it was something that popped up in a social media feed as an advertisement. At any rate, I found something that works beautifully.

This small little night light takes up very little room. It comes as a pack of two. It is adjustable to suit different lighting preferences. Just click on the image above to learn more about it. I'm not being compensated for this post. I just thought I would share something I really like. A Good Thing.

I love the little sparkles that the bubbles in it make. It is just enough without being too much. I put one in the guest bathroom and one in the basement bathroom. The photo below shows how it looks in the basement bath.

Today I noticed...Sometimes a quick fix is better than a total transformation

A few weeks ago, Luci came for a visit and stayed a couple of days. Grandchildren Days are a long tradition in our family. 

I usually try to plan some sort of project or adventure for us and also provide some down time where the grandchild can just relax and and some space to themself. This time, our adventure was testing out the basement bedroom. I have begun transitioning the bedroom into a guest room and had stagnated. One of the things I've read is that a person needs to sleep in the guest room every now and again to see what it needs when a guest might stay there. So, Luci and I trekked down the stairs to test things out.

Right away I noticed that the room needs a fan. She and I, both, felt that the room was a bit stuffy. So, Luci crept back upstairs and got the inexpensive fan that is kept in the guest bathroom for just such situations. I made a note that some sort of fan needs to be added to the guest room. A quick fix that worked for now but really will need revisiting.

Later that night, I noticed that the bathroom needs a night light for those trips when a visit to the facility is necessary but a bright, wakeful light is not. No quick fix for this one during the wee hours but it will be revisited.

We also discussed that the wall facing the beds needs a clean-up and some sort of artwork. The TV that was mounted on the wall there has been moved to the office. So, there are holes where the mounting screws were and black marks from the equipment that was there.

Eventually, the wash stand will be gone as it was given to the bonus son. So, I'm pondering what might sit there and have a good purpose in that space. In the meantime, something needed to be done to the wall.

Filling the holes and painting is an option. However, I'm not - and never have been - fond of the grey color that is on the walls everywhere down there. Grey seems institutional to me. Plus, the walls were painted about ten years ago and even with left over paint, the color probably won't match seamlessly. 

So, I decided to just cover as much of the unsightliness up and move onward. 

I had come across a vintage map tucked into some pictures and papers that were my mother-in-law's. So, I held it up to get a feel for things and decided that might be the ticket for now. I sat down one day shortly after Luci's visit and measured the map and ordered a simple frame for it. 

I think it will be perfect for the start of some sort of gallery wall. Smoothing the map out was simple and popping it into the frame was easy. This was nothing transformational but it was a quick fix that sent my mind wandering about what else might be a fun look for this room.

I've got a few directions I could take using what is posted on this map. I think the details really add to it!

It is an Interstate Highway Map of the United States. I'm not sure how old it is but it obviously was intended for travelers who wanted to get somewhere fast. There are other features and keys on it that I really like as well.

I love how it explains the different interstate highway shields. I don't think a lot of folks know this information. Because the map does not include Interstate 840, a radial or alternate room that bypasses Nashville, that tells me that the map was printed before the road was started in 1991 and completed in 2012. So, this would make the map be at least 30+ years old. 

Reading the section above made me wonder how many of these will survive and be accessible for travelers with all the cuts that have been made recently by our federal administration. Below are the lists of scenic, historic, man-made, and recreational wonders that are marked on the map.

It might be fun to add some travel posters or vacation spots, images of historical places, or scenic photographs. So, while a total transformation was not made by framing and hanging this vintage map, ideas have been generated and the wheels are turning!

Projects - Lamp Project

Don't we all have projects that we postpone until we have plenty of uninterrupted time to complete them? 

I have such a plethora of projects that have been postponed. I am starting to tackle some of them one by one. It is such a fabulous feeling to have space to work, to have time to focus and dedicate to completing projects, and to have the luxury of walking away from them or pausing and coming back to them.

One of the first projects I've tackled is to transform a lamp. 

Several months ago, I picked up a lamp from a local fellow who sells items that he picks up in storage facility sales, home cleanouts, at the end of estate sales. He advertises to sell STUFF. I follow him with a social media account and have picked up some treasures. The lamp and shade for $10 was one such treasure. 

My plan was to use it in the basement bedroom on the bedside table between the twin beds. Shortly after purchasing, I saw a blog post that inspired me to take on a little DIY project. Rachel at The Ponds Farmhouse had transformed a similar lamp to create a dupe of a Ballard Design lamp. I decided to follow her example and update my rather simple lamp. 

I began with a spray on primer coat for the lamp. Then, followed Rachel's instructions exactly.

I searched online and found a lampshade for about $14 at Hobby Lobby and my project is complete!

It has wound up in the basement den because I thought the space needed something of substance. That means, I'm on the search for another lamp for the bedroom. Here is a look with it lit up in the space.

I'm pleased with the project and hope that it is just the start of loads of fun and successful ventures.