A Girls Beachy Bedroom

Hello my wonderful friends!

How are you?

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend!

The sun managed to show its face around here for a couple hours on Sunday, it was so good to feel the warmth.....I even cracked my windows a bit on my jeep! :)

If you remember a while ago, I had promised my daughter that I would redo her bedroom if she made some headway on her sleeping issues.

Well, as you have seen from some of my previous posts, I started her room.

She has been doing ok with her sleep issues and it was my hope that creating a pleasant space for her will ease her anxiety and help her feel relaxed and in a place that can take her away from it all.

She loves the beach (apple does not fall too far from the tree) and her room was somewhat beachy but it didn't have a good feeling to it.

Here is room before..

and here is her room now.....

Oh, no more Hannah Montana, the twin boys or the snobby girl from High School Musical!!

Just calm, soothing beachy colors!!

This is the craft table that I brought down from my craft room. I scrubbed it up pretty good and after finding out from Kristin over at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia that you can paint laminate, I will be sprucing it up!

I hung up some metal crates for some of her books and purchased some little drawers from Target to use as extra storage.

The lamp I made a while ago, it was actually in her old room and still went perfectly in the new room.

I painted the flamingo the color blue that I used on the bed.

(this was our compromise for her "allowing" me to paint the walls white, all the little pops of color)

I freshened up the closet doors and distressed them.

The window treatment I showed you earlier.

I used a small stool that I got from Ikea a long time ago for a bedside table. I cleaned that up too and gave it a fresh coat of white paint.

She is currently reading the "The Last Song" so I guess Miley is still in the room. However, I did enjoy that movie and balled like a baby!!

I "beached" up her headboard a little more by adding the driftwood sailboat that I made last summer.

You can see that here. You can also go to Simple Daisy and see how Heather made hers.

I also added some mason jars filled with sand small candles.

I did my little rendition of the lovely artwork that I have seen around blogland with the punched-out hearts. We used Starfish, sand dollars and crabs!

I also picked up 5 large barn wood frames from a new facility that my boss just purchased. They took them off the walls because they didn't go with decor and I kindly volunteered to take them off their hands!!!

Woo Hoo, I finally got a bonus!!! :)

And then at any given point in the day, my daughter can just look up and see blue sky's with big white puffy clouds.........a perfect sky for a day at the beach...

I will be linking up to the parties in my 'Linky Parties' tab.

New Blog Launch - At The Picket Fence

Starting tomorrow Vanessa from Southern in my Heart and her sister Heather from Gourmet Meals for Less are having a launch party for their new blog

At The Picket Fence!

Be sure to visit, starting Monday, where they will be introducing their new blog, meeting new friends, sharing ideas and a weeks worth of giveaways!!

They are very excited and from what I have seen it is going to a wonderful place to share, create, get/give advise and just enjoy all the little everyday things together!

See you there!!!

Be Mine Bonanza Reminder

I just wanted to remind you about the Be Mine Bonanza hosted by Kindra from 'At Home With K' is starting tomorrow and going to February 5!!

It will feature 7 different bloggers with 7 fun and creative Valentines Day themed tutorials!

Kindra from At Home with K - Sunday, Jan 30

Gwen from Gwenny Penny - Monday, Jan 31

Tonya from More Prim Than Proper - Tuesday, Feb 1

Michelle from Emerald Cove - Wednesday, Feb 2

Suesan from Frou-FruGal -Thursday, Feb 3

Sarah from All Roads Lead Home - Friday, Feb 4

Heather from Summerstead - Saturday, Feb 5

I hope to see you all there!!!

Have a great weekend!!

Window Treatment

Hello again!

I wanted to pop in quickly to show you the window treatment for my daughters room.

Things are going kind of slow in here, but bit by bit I am getting things done!

The major parts are completed now it is just adding all the little details.

I also had to stop work on the room because the rest of my house looked like this....

(I must note that the little kitty on the headboard is the only thing that I have left that my Grammy gave me, it is old, it is beaten but I can't stand to part with it)

It is amazing that when you concentrate on one room that the rest of the rooms suffer!

So, I cleaned and did laundry all day yesterday, not that you needed to know, but you are my friends so I am sharing! :)

Anyway..

Here is the window treatment....

(sorry about the picture, no sun just the gleam of snow)

I took down the dark pink curtains, put up the shutters,

(I have had these forever and they have seen every room in the house but I think that they have found a permanent home)

hung the sheers at the level of the chair rail and hung

the old oar where the pink curtains were.

I really like it and was shocked that my daughter did too!

She loved those dark pink curtains but they made her room so dark! I told her she must be part vampire because she would never open them to get light in.

She didn't think I was funny...

Lone Palm

(source)

My garden is filled with papayas and mangos
My life is a mixture of reggaes and tangos
Taste for the good life, I can live it no other way

While out on the beach there are two empty chairs
That say more than the people who ever sit there
From under my lone palm I can look out on the day

Where no bird flies by my window
No ship is tied to my tree
Love is a wave building to a crescendo
Ride if you will, ride it with me

I knew this girl made of memories and phrases
Who lived her whole life in both chapters and stages
Danced til the dawn, wished all her worries away

Well she wasn't crazy no she wasn't mad
She just wanted the father that she never had
From under my lone palm I think about her today

Where no bird flies by my window
No ship is tied to my tree
Love is a wave building to a crescendo
Ride if you will, ride it with me

We sailed from the port of indecision
Young and wild with oh so much to learn
Days turn into years as we tried to fool our fears
But to the port of indecision I returned

My gardens are filled with papayas and mangos
My life is a mixture of jingles and jangles
Come Christmas winds and blow all my worries away

Where no bird flies by my window
No ship is tied to my tree
Love is a wave building to a crescendo
Ride if you will, ride it with me

Sing if you will and we'll sing to the sea

-James William Buffett

Just dreaming with Jimmy! :)

Dresser Redo

Hello my wonderful friends!

I hope that you all had a great weekend!

I was pretty busy this weekend with work (boo)

birthday parties (cheers)

and visiting some longtime friends (woo hoo)

I also had a couple hours to work in my daughters room.

On Sunday, this was my goal....

See that wonderful beam of light that makes the room glow?

I am pretty sure that that is called

THE SUN!!!!

It almost blinded me.

Although, don't get too excited,

it was -8 degrees this morning as I ventured out to get groceries.

But,

I will take the sun!!

Anyway, sorry...

This used to be our dresser that I moved into her room a while ago.

Since I painted the walls white, brought down my craft table, which is white, for a desk until I find one that fits her room, and with the bed

being blue, the wood looked out of place.

So,

I painted it...

and then distressed it a bit.

I am trying to get a beach cottage feel in her room and this

seemed like a perfect thing to do.

(and I like distressing things)

I also put up the window treatments and I will show you soon but I am still trying to find

places for all her stuff!

Can a 12-year-old REALLY have that

MUCH

junk....err.. I mean stuff!!!?????

UGH!!!!

Some Blog Lovin!

This week has been kind of crazy here over at Emerald Cove and truth be told I am feeling like I lost my mojo!

Usually every year about this time the winter doldrums sink in and I feel

BLAH!!!!

I need sunshine, flip flops and the beach!! Well, I have the beach I would just like it thawed out! :)

Anyway, one thing I love about blogging is all the wonderful friends that I meet and all the love that is shared throughout.

Last week I was so humbled when I received an award from these wonderful friends:

Anita at Castles Crowns and Cottages

Cat from Tattered Rebel

Linda at SeaSide Style

I want to say

THANK YOU

from the bottom of my heart!

You have touched me and warmed up soul

when I needed it during these cold and gray Michigan winters!

I am supposed to say 7 things about myself and then pass the award on.

Not to be a party pooper, but I posted 15 things about myself here and if you would like

you can go see what I am all about :)

What I would like to do is just mention a couple things about these wonderful ladies.

I just met them and I am having so much fun reading their blogs and seeing all their wonderful inspirations.

Anita is such a beautiful soul.

If you have not seen her blog it is a must.

She is such an inspiration with her writings and images that come from her heart.

She is so talented in many areas, she play the harp, which I would love to hear one day, and conjures up imaginations in the hearts and minds of the little ones!

I am so happy to have met you Anita and thank you so much for brightening up my life!

(Castles Crowns and Cottages)

Cat is such a sweet and inspirational friend.

(If you followed her when she was Writing Out Loud, which thanks to a hacker, deleted her entire blog, you can pick up where you left off with Tattered Rebel)

Her blog is full of life and color and images that make me smile from day to day!

Her honesty is so refreshing and her creativity is endless;

you have to visit her

Etsy Shop!!

Thank you Cat, I look forward to getting to know you more in the new year!

(Tattered Rebel)

Linda had me a Sea!

Her style and personality radiate like the sun and it feels like a little vacation when

I visit her wonderful blog!

Seeing dolphins on a daily basis?

YES PLEASE!!

She is blessed with a home by the sea and I feel her love for her home, family and sea through her posts!!

(SeaSide Style)

So again my wonderful bloggy friends,

I THANK YOU!!

I have a hard time choosing to pass the award on so I am awarding all of you, my friends, this wonderful Stylish Blogger Award to thank you for all of your support, comments and friendship!

I also wanted to to that all of you for your wonderful comments on my daughters starfish headboard!

You have all been so sweet and so supportive!

I would like to my friend Tracy of Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures

(you should also check out her new blog Treasured Moments: Photos by Tracy , Gorgeous photos!)

Speaking of photos, I want to give a little shout out to my friend Kat at Low Tide High Style, she is really blooming with her photography skills, if haven't seen some of her recent photos, please drop in and take a peek and say hi!!

and

Amy of WhisperWood Cottage

for featuring my little headboard!

Thank you so much!

I also want to welcome all my new followers/friends

and say thank you to you for joining me in my little journey through life!

I have finished painting my daughters room (WOO HOO) and hope to get some decorating done this weekend, but my weekend is already full, but hopefully I can a little of and a little that here and there)

(smile)

Open Up A Window

When at last I took the time to look

into the heart of a flower,

it opened up a whole new world..

as if a window had been opened

to let

in the sun.

-Princess Grace of Monaco

Starfish Headboard Reveal!!

Hello again!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

It is still snowing here and COLD!!!!

Which is ok,

sort of,

because I was busy this weekend finishing the starfish headboard!

This is how my daughters bed started out

This was my inspiration

A beautiful headboard made by Jane Coslick!

When I started this I really had no idea what I was doing so this tutorial isn't the best and I am sure that there are better ways to do this.

This is where I started

I laid out the planks that made up the headboard.

I drew a starfish pattern that I liked and then transfered the image onto the boards in the places that I were close to the inspiration board.

Once the design was transfered, I set up a little area in the kitchen (not the wisest place, but it was 10 degrees and snowing outside).

I used a jigsaw and cut as close to the lines as I could.

It took me a couple tries to be able to control the saw, but once I sort of got the hang of it, it was kind of fun!!

It is a good thing there were not any straight lines, not sure I would have been able to handle that!

After I got the starfish cut out I started framing up her old bed.

Again, I was winging this and praying that it would all work out in the end so bare with me.

I used the same size boards as the planks, 1x4's, and drilled them into the existing headboard.

Then it was a matter of just finding the center and attaching the planks.

I worked from the center out making sure that I was level and as even on each side as I could get.

I was a bit off on the sides, but it worked out ok.

I then attached boards on the end, a trim piece to even out the top and then a top itself.

It worked out nice because now she has a little shelf that she can put some things on.

I did the footboard the same way

except I had to box in the existing foot board, where as the headboard I left the back exposed...

too lazy! :)

So, there it is!!

It is not perfect by any means, but I am really happy with how it turned out

and

so is my daughter!!

Sorry about the pictures and the mess, but I wanted to show you the bed and her room is far from being finished.

Now, to paint it!!

I knew that my daughter still wanted the blues and greens and she was thinking bright and bold and I was thinking soft and muted..

so,

we compromised.

I used a beautiful deep aqua

called Inlet Blue from Glidden.

I actually showed my face in Home Depot again, good thing no one recognized me!! :)

Glidden paint was on sale this weekend so I took advantage of it!

That is her bold color.

Her sheets and bedding are a much lighter shade of that I will add soft sea greens and

cool crisp whites.

I will show you all of that when I finish her room.

The bedding on there now is her current bedding.

The pink curtains will go and the little bit of blue that you can see in the bottom picture will be white.

I love the color that we picked out and I am thinking about using it for another piece of furniture but just not sure yet.

Anyway, there it is!!

YEAH!!

I will have a bed skirt to cover up the bottom rail and hopefully some of the exposed bed posts that I couldn't quite cover up with the wood.

I am really happy with it and still amazed that I was able to pull it off!!

This week I will be painting her room, bringing down a desk from my craft room (hopefully), getting curtains and rearranging her furniture.

I also have some little projects lined up in my mind for her walls when time allows!!

Sorry, I know this is long but I wanted to let you know about the Be Mine Bonanza over at 'At Home With K'

It will begin January 30 and run until February 5.

It will feature 7 different bloggers with 7 fun and creative Valentines Day themed tutorials!

Gwen from Gwenny Penny

Heather from Summerstead

Michelle from Emerald Cove

Sarah from All Roads Lead Home

Suesan from Frou-FruGal

Tonya from More Prim Than Proper

Kindra from At Home with K

I will be also working on my project for that this week!

Have a wonderful start to the new week my friends!

I will be linking up to the parties in my "Linky Parties" tab

and