A Cool Room for a Pre-teen {the demo begins}

Kale and Colten started the demo on his bedroom. First thing to go: the nasty carpet! After being lived on by two children and two dogs for 4 years...it was ready to be trashed.

They had to remove all the carpet, remove the tacking strips and sweep/vacuum all the staples off the floor.

We can't have our floors refinished until after all projects are complete so this is as good as its going to get for now.

Next step:

Fixing any cracks or holes in walls and painting the entire room!

Fun? ha! Hardly :)

I am starting to get the feeling this is a much bigger project than expected. The people who owned the home before us had repaired the walls incorrectly and now the entire wall (first photo above) has to come down completely and be drywalled instead. Kale is going to have fun with that!

So onto a larger demo than expected! Here is what an original plaster wall looks like when there is NO plaster!!

Scary right?

Kale and Colten have been working hard today. They have a lot of work to do before we can begin the fun part of this project!

I can't wait to post more about this crazy but fun project. Oh boy...the things Kale and I get ourselves into!

~ The Shank Family

My New Bed {helping daddy}

Morgan's crib days are finally over. With baby on the way and due to arrive in just 12 weeks, we knew now was the time to get her acquainted with her new bed.

I was stuck on finding an affordable and budget friendly toddler bed for $150 or below. It definitely had to be white with clean lines. Nothing ornate to clash with the crib. 

I found this adorable bed {on clearance} at Hayneedle.com for $60 {originally $90}. That included free shipping. Kale and I were pretty stoked given the fact that Morgan's room is also in need of a little makeover to include her baby brother.

Morgan was thrilled. She helped Kale put her new bed together. 

I documented our little helper :)

And for a final celebration of completion... We actually allowed her to bounce on her new bed!

~ The Shank Family

A Cool Room for a Pre-teen {Dallas Cowboys Inspired}

Colten's Bedroom Remodel:

Budget: $500

Things Needed:

New Bed

New Mattresses

New Dresser

Curtains

Bedside Lamp

New Bedding

Wall Decor

This is going to be a really hard task for under $500. I think we may be able to do it! With a new baby on the way, we better be able to pull this off :)

The inspiration from Colten himself:

Dallas Cowboys anything goes! As long as it's blue...its a go!

He wants a big bed. No more twin bed or bunks.

He wants Dallas Cowboys curtains.

Colten's wish list: Room Decor:

I know we won't be able to purchase the dallas cowboys bedding set within our budget but we've decided that this will end up being a Christmas gift. I will have to think of something similar or see about purchasing an appliqué? Not sure but we are going to have fun with this :) Even just a dark blue comforter would be great for now.

He also wishes to have a big white star painted on his wall. I'm no artist but I may be able to pull this one off. I'm thinking about a wall decal...I guess we will have to see how much these cost!

Can you tell that he is a HUGE cowboys fan??

I'm really looking forward to this room remodel!

~ The Shank Family

Home Projects { 2014 }

Before Baby Arrives List 

I am not sure what my deal is...but...I have a thing about crunching a million projects into the few short months before I have a baby!

It's actually comical now that I am doing it again - AND realizing it this time :)

Our home is definitely lived in. We have a ton of repairs, remodels, painting and sewing to do.

The official list of things we KNOW we can take care of before we have an infant in the house...

Remodeling Colten's Bedroom - 

Now that Colten is a pre-teen, his room was in need of a BIG change. While he was gone with his dad in Texas, his room quickly became the storage room! It was full of all of my sewing stuff, newborn props for my business, filing cabinet, storage boxes and all sorts of miscellaneous items. The dogs also got put in this room quite a bit..hence the stains...

We have decided to go full remodel on this bedroom.

We knew this was coming. This was a big deal. Colten...12 years old? Wowza!

We cleaned out his room completely. Now to get started on the demo. We seriously can't wait to start this long and over due remodel.

Wall Repairs -

We have an OLD home. Full of plaster walls. I really really dislike plaster. But, unfortunately, it would be a ton of work and way too expensive to tear out the plaster and switch all the walls to drywall. Secretly, if I could I would. So, what do we have? Tons of cracks...a few holes by our 8 year old...our home is in great need of some wall repairs!

A FEW OF OUR OBVIOUS REPAIRS:

ugh! Plaster....

Started but never finished.

Fresh Paint -

Up until around a year ago, I would use the leftover paint from when the contractors painted our home. It's gone. I used every last bit of it painting here and there and covering fingerprints. Our home is also in need of a fresh paint job! I really can't wait to have a new fresh color up on the walls!

Obviously...someone...colored on our walls. Thankfully it was done behind the kitchen table so it's been concealed since our little artist decided to color us a wall mural :)

And believe it or not - this was the paint I chose while pregnant with Morgan. I stopped the project because I absolutely hated the way the satin paint looked on our walls. We never got around to choosing a new color or using the same color with a different sheen.

Ladybug and Little Man -

They will be sharing the same room. My newest task now that we know baby Shank's gender is to remodel Morgan's room to suite both genders. I have tons of ideas and thankfully was able to connect with my sister in law from Ohio about the material I could use for bedding and curtains. She gave me a few sites to search through and I found one I just fell in love with!

BEFORE:

All girl right here! The goal: to have a gender neutral or color/pattern coordinating theme that suites both kids. We also have the task of getting Morgan to sleep in a toddler bed :) 

I can't wait to get these projects underway! I'm thrilled to have a new looking home with fresh paint , remodeled teen room and a combined nursery for Little Man and Morgan!

~ The Shank Family

#20 Recover Glider Rocker

Task Complete. Finally!

Our $50.00 Craigslist find

This was easy and fast. I tore off the old covers and replaced with new material. Loved doing this little project with the hubby. Kale did all the sanding and painting and I got to be crafty.

THE OLD GLIDER ROCKER: (YUKKO)

THE NEW GLIDER ROCKER:

New material and fresh paint makes any old chair look good.

I can't wait to rock the baby in this comfy glider

#9 - Pick out material for curtains and make myself

Task complete. Sheesh. All this sewing is killing my back! But it's totally worth every minute.

I started out viewing Pottery Barn Kids Curtains for this idea. It's sort of like "THE LOOK FOR LESS"

The idea:

bright pink polka dot curtains

with butterfly sheers

I did the best I could with what I had and was able to come up with beautiful curtains similar to the ones I loved from PBK.

Mommy made these curtains for her little Ladybug and daddy got the pleasure of hanging her curtain rod.

An exhausting but well worth the effort kind of day!

The only problem I had with these was the sheer material bunched up on me. I am not really worried about it at this point but might go back and try to fix this later!

 I might go back and add some more detail to these. Not sure. Right now my goal is to at least get everything made for Ladybug. Then I can go back later and add small details.

I'm happy with the curtains and Kale thinks they are adorable. He also appreciates the money savings by mommy creating these herself.

# 13 A. Crib Skirt

#13 - Pick out material for  A. crib bumper, B. crib skirt, and C. quilt. Make myself.

A. Crib Skirt

Creating her crib skirt wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It was very simple. I also used this tutorial. I didn't follow it exactly but it helped so much.

Well, here it is. Ladybug's adorable crib skirt.

In the making of this skirt, I did run into one little problem. First, I decided to put this together late at night. Oops. I should have stopped when I got tired and rested. But of course I didn't. I decided to "get it done" and made a boo boo that cost me an extra hour and some stitch ripping. I don't enjoy stitch ripping!

here's the blooper:

I sewed the wrong side out ! Ugh. The joys of sewing!

Other than this, the crib skirt turned out fabulously. I wish I would have gotten a little more creative and made a pleat. I'm in love anyways. I love love love the material. It's bright and girly.

Lamps For Ladybug

I finally recovered the old lamps that I have had in the attic just dying for some attention. Well, they are ready for our little ones room!

I tried following the tutorial below but this tutorial was for square lamp shades. So I have created my own which I will post later. This tutorial helped get the "how to" idea started. It also gave me a good idea on what I would need to complete this project. I have never recovered a lamp shade but this was easy and didn't take that long to accomplish.

 

~Tutorial on recovering a lamp shade~

The inspiration:

The OLD lamp shades:

 

The NEW and improved lamp shades made just for Ladybug:

These actually turned out to be really cute.

The cost: about $5.00

#22 - (Necessities List Update) - A Glider Rocker on a Budget!

 Again on the necessities list we have the glider rocker. I really want a glider rocker for Ladybug. It will help a lot! BUT one small little problem. With ALL the things we have to purchase for Ladybugs arrival, I haven't been able to find an "affordable" glider rocker in white wood. The ones I was able to find online were anywhere between $215.00 and $400.00.

Ladybugs Furniture is all white wood. Seriously, I didn't think it would be this hard to find a glider rocker in white wood but it was. Kale got smart and did a craigslist search for glider rocker. The search results yielded 4 different gliders. The last one we viewed was in-deed a WHITE WOOD GLIDER ROCKER!! It was ugly and the fabric is terrible BUT with a little TLC and a makeover, I could buy this rocker and recover it making it perfect for ladybugs room!

Here is our Craigslist STEAL for $50.00

I can't wait ( along with MANY other projects) to refashion this glider rocker for Ladybugs nursery!!

Ladybugs Room Decor - Fabric

Well after talking it over with daddy - Ladybug finally has her room decor fabric on the way. We were going to pick subtle colors for her nursery but with the walls being somewhat of a grayish tan we figured lets go all out and give her room some JAZZ! I visited Fabric.com and chose some fabric. These prints were actually on a coordinating fabric block and I just chose which ones I wanted to incorporate into Ladybugs room. Here is a small collage of the fabrics that will make up Ladybugs room:

There is lots of black, white and pink here. Kinda Scary.

Here's the breakdown of what I will be creating for my Ladybug:

1. Crib Skirt

2. Crib Bumper

3. Lamp Shades

4. Child Size Bean Bag

5. Curtains

6. Quilt

7. Recovering her Glider Rocker

8. Totes for Storage

I spent about $200.00 on fabric today. BUT...I have been viewing a lot of really nice crib bumper skirting sets with blanket/quilt and they range from $150 -$200 bucks a set! That's outrageous. At least this way we will have a whole room full of awesome fabric prints for the same cost of just one bedding set for Ladybug.

I feel I might have a LOT of sewing to do in the near future. I will have to post a pic of each item I create for Ladybug as I will be extremely proud to be able to say I did it! I have never made ANY of these items myself so this should be really fun and interesting. And thanks to a family member, if I run into any problems I can always consult her!!! I can't wait till this fabric arrives so I can get started!

Ladybugs Room Decor on a Budget: THE PLAN

I really sometimes wish I had all the money in the WORLD! To create a beautiful room for Ladybug would be so much easier but probably NO FUN! So I have put together some photos of  "Ladybug" appropriate decor I found all over the Internet (O.K. Mostly Pottery Barn Kids My Favorite Site):

Some items I plan on making myself or with the help of a crafty family member:

Wrought Iron with glass accents: Decorative Pendants

$24-$29 each PotteryBarnKids.com

I cannot make these myself but I have asked a family member to create them for me then I will add on the glass pendants.

I really like the frames behind the butterflies. I couldn't find them priced but making these sure would be fun.

The butterflies are also so adorable. I could also attempt to create these myself.

PotteryBarnKids.com  Small Butterfly $24.00 Large Butterfly $39.00

Ladybug Pick #1

Silver Leaf Oval First Year Frame

$62.00 PotteryBarnKids.com

My Awesome Find:

First Year Frame JoAnne Fabrics @ 40% off

$17.96

Ladybug Pick #2

Polka Dot Curtains from PotteryBarnKids.com in Green

$69 per panel which is about $25.84 a yard

Polka Dot Panel in Pink

My Awesome Find:

Polka Dot Fabric from JoAnn Fabrics in Green

$6.99 per yard

And in Pink!!

Price Per Yard Difference:  $18.85

Pottery Barn Kids Cost Per Panel: $69.00

My Do It Yourself Cost for each Panel: $18.67

 

Ladybug Pick #3

Small Lamp from PotteryBarnKids.com

$49.00

Large Lamp from PotteryBarnKids.com

Base: $154.00  Lamp Shade: $29.99

My Awesome Find:

Lamps that I pulled from the attic!! We bought these a little while ago and decided when we purchased new couches we would also purchase new lamps. These lamps are at my disposal.

Cost for lamp bases: FREE$$$

Self Adhesive Lamp Shades from JoAnn Fabrics

$4.99-$18.99 assorted sizes

I would simply pick out material and cover!!

Ladybug Pick # 4

Metal Clip for Curtains from PotteryBarnKids.com

$22.00 Set of 10

My Awesome Find:

Metal Clips from JoAnn Fabrics

$9.99 Set of 10

Ladybug Pick #5

Keepsake Boxes from PotteryBarnKids.com

$29.99

My Awesome Find:

Keepsake Boxes from JoAnn Fabrics

$1.99 on sale

I could cover these easily with Fabric and Fabric Glue! These would be so cute made with some of the same fabric I have chose for her room!

Even though these items are NOT necessities I am really hoping to save up the extra cash to execute these plans and share the end result with you!

Tyler and Colten's bedroom was also planned using mostly Pottery Barn Kids Room Ideas.

We are still working on their rooms as well and hope to finish soon (before ladybug arrives) and update that post as well!

We love you all. More to come

The Shank Family