Bathrooms on the Brain

We desperately need a redo in our main floor bathroom. I started peeling the wallpaper off the walls several years ago and, due to extreme lack of decisiveness, there it sits. I'm sort of glad I let it sit there so long though, because I finally know what I want to do in there. It will need to be on a budget though, and by budget, I mean as cheap as possible.

When I saw this, I knew I had a jumping-off point. Swooning.........

But it will need to be a slightly smaller version that we'll do ourselves. The chrome legs can be purchased separately, and then we'll have to have a piece of marble cut for the top. This one is from Restoration Hardware (that means $$$) and is too big for our space anyway.

I hope to do a classic, all white bathroom, like one that you would see in an old house. Our house isn't new, but it isn't old enough to be considered an old house, and I love old houses.

I've been collecting some images for inspiration, here are a few:








above three images all from the Waterworks showroom




Elle Decor



Elle Decor













A more budget-friendly version of the dream sink, still cute though.



Another option. I think this one's from Pottery Barn.



small bathroom...just like ours.





...and gray. I love how they used smaller tiles on top here.





A little bit of trivia: the above photo is Miranda's bathroom from the set of Sex & the City.


Ours is the main floor bathroom that we use and that people see and use when they come over (or the Powder Room if you're Southern!) But it's a full bath since we have a bedroom on the main floor...so we have the tub/shower to redo also.

I'd like to do the 1-inch hex tiles on the floor with gray grout. Either porcelain:


or marble:


And plain white subway tile on the walls. These ones are from Lowes, 22 cents each:


I love the tiles in a herringbone pattern too, like this:


I picture it with an oval mirror above the sink, something like this:


This one's a medicine cabinet, even better! Why don't houses have medicine cabinets anymore???


And a bridge faucet, like this one:


With sconces on either side of the mirror, I like these ones from Bellacor ($70 each):


and a glass or marble shelf above the sink, something like this:


Some other accessories on my list:

basket from shoestring home ($40):


chrome soap holder for tub from signature hardware ($42):


Ahhhhhhhhhh....a girl can dream, right????

Happy Valentine's Day!

I gave you a sneak peek of our Valentine picture in the last post, but here's the official card that we sent out. There were lots of cute pictures of the girls, it was hard to choose. Below is Jane's Valentine that she passed out to her friends in her class.



Hope you all had a great weekend!

Hearts for Hair

Here's a quick how-to on those cute felt heart hair clips that you see in my girls' hair above. This is for all of you who don't sew...this is a really easy beginner project that just requires some simple stitching with a needle and thread. There are so many possibilities with embroidery thread and it's the cheapest craft/hobby out there and also the easiest! Not to mention how happy it is to look at all those colors together:


So for those little hearts, you'll need:
felt scraps
contrasting embroidery thread & needle
snap clip or barrette
polyfill stuffing (optional)
superglue or fabric glue

Start by cutting out two hearts of the same size & shape. Mine was smaller for Kate than Jane. Heart size depends on head size of kid.


Using a running stitch, sew the two hearts together. Don't tie a knot at the beginning, just leave a long tail.


When you're three-quarters done, use the tiniest bit of polyfill to stuff the little guys. This is optional. It would be super cute not stuffed too. Use a chopstick or straw to stuff the stuff in.




Then continue stitching the rest of the way around and tie the two long ends together and snip (don't snip too close, we'll go back and snip closer later). See the knot at the bottom? This side will be the back.


Sew the snap clip onto the back of the heart using strong thread (I used upholstery thread) or you could also separate three single strands from your embroidery thread and use that. Two stitches for the fat end and one stitch through the hole in the skinny end. When you're done, use a dot of superglue or fabric glue on each knot and also on the knot on the bottom of the heart. Those knots won't hold otherwise. Let glue dry before you put the heart in small fry's hair (hahaha!!!) After glue dries, go back and snip the threads as close as you can.


Done!

Crayon Shaving Heart Garland

Remember making these as a kid? Fall leaves or butterflies? Well I got the idea for hearts from Martha. Hers came out prettier than mine, doesn't she always do everything better than everyone else? Stinking Martha. Here's hers:



We had fun making them...Jane did all the sprinkling and I did all the ironing and cutting.





Kate was busy with stickers, but when I got up to go to the bathroom, she pulled the entire tablecloth off the table and all the crayon shavings were on the floor. Stinker!!! Jane helped me clean it up and we started over.



Then we strung them with a needle and thread and hung them. It was hard to get a good picture in front of the window, but you get the idea. Do you like our extremely sad, gray weather out there??? I do not.





I'll be back tomorrow with another Valentine craft! If you need directions on the crayon shaving hearts, click here.