Giant Ruler

You've seen the giant rulers everyone's making, right? Love the concept, love the look, had to make it.

We have a small wall in the middle of everything that fits the ruler perfectly. You can see our living room to the left, the hallway to the right. The open door is our bedroom. You're standing in the kitchen while looking at the ruler. (Should I be freaked out that there's a stranger in my house, or excited that you came to visit?)

Anyway... 

I took some time away from sorting boxes in the storage room (will it ever end?!??) and created something. As much as I like sorting and organizing, creating is better!

My husband just so happened to have a piece of wood hanging around in the garage. I stole it. Mwah hah hah! 

Here are the steps I took to make my ruler:

• sand the face and edges of the board with a power sander tool thingy
• stain the board. I used minwax's special walnut, one coat.
• measure and mark the lines with a tape measure and pencil
• draw the lines with a sharpie and a ruler/straight edge/something
• use stencils to draw the numbers, again using a sharpie
• apply two quick coats of poly
• measure (kind of important!) and hang the finished ruler 

Did you catch my supply list? Here it is again:

• board 
• sander
• stain
• ruler
• pencil
• sharpie
• poly

Since we had all of the supplies on hand, this awesome giant ruler was free! Now I can paint the doorway we were previously marking up, and if we should move one day, this precious family heirloom can come with us!

Just in time for the birthday markings in a couple weeks!

Have you made something fun lately?

WW: What I'm Working On

Great Expectations

Funny how one of my resolutions for 2012 is to blog more consistently, yet here we are, a full week into the new year and I have yet to post something. Anything!


So yeah, whew, no where to go but up, right?


I'm not in a slump, there's just been a lot going on! I'm working on closet makeovers and hallway transformations and one. last. small(ish). project for our master bedroom. Which is only called that because the master of the house sleeps there. Yes, now I have a song in my head--don't you? 


No?


Ok then! I guess I'm the only one.


In case you were curious, it's "Master of the House" from Les Mis. You're welcome!


See, this post is developing much like my projects go! I get tired of having something on the to-do list and jump headlong into it when I'm not sure where I'm going or how it'll turn out. If I had taken the time to develop a mood board for, say, the nursery (which totally dominated my Top 11 of 2011--did you see that?!), I would have a final project that isn't even close to how it ended up! Oh yeah, so there would have been board and batten and a newly painted crib. Yup. That's it.


Moral of the story is, it's hard to get things done around here, because another one of my goals for 2012 is to enjoy my children more. You know that Bible text about God's mercies being new every morning? Yup. So is my resolve to actually DO some of my resolutions. Learning to balance projects and blogging and organizing (yet another goal) with making healthful-yet-yummy meals, endless amounts of laundry for this family of 5, and keeping up with the housework, taking time for myself so I can be the mommy I want to be... Yeah, good luck with that!


And another thing before I actually fit a picture or two into this post for all of you visuals like me--it's been really warm around here. It's January. In Iowa. It's supposed to be 10 below with several feet of snow on the ground (at least in the drifts) and a couple blizzards under our belts, but instead it was 50 on Friday and I took my kids to the park. 


What what?


Yes, the park. In January. Without a million layers of clothing and risk of frostbite in 15 minutes or less. We spent at least 45 minutes there. Weird! 


Not that I'm complaining, but usually it's so cold we have to stay holed up inside working on projects to keep us warm. And I'm off wasting spending quality time with my boys at the park. Go me! I get points for being a more in-the-moment mom, even though my blog has been neglected.


But you know what? As much as I love blogging and projects and DIY and pinterest, MY BOYS ARE MORE IMPORTANT. 


Ok! Not sure where that came from, but it's off my chest now. Thanks. 


And back on topic. Again. Yeah, goals and resolutions. You can go back in time to my What's Ahead for 2011 post from a year ago and review that real quick. 


I'm waiting! Go do it!


Just kidding, I don't really care. No, wait, I do care, cuz traffic is traffic and I totally want you to take the time to read something that I took the time to post! Hello, I'm High Maintenance, nice to meet you. 


Of the 11 lofty Great Expectations I listed last January, I completed a whopping 6. That's an D for my report card and I'm a teacher so I should know. But this is also real life and it has a way of bending and changing the rules. Not to mention that some of my goals turned into major undertakings! Besides, I beat myself up about the little things too much already, so here's to being kind to myself in 2012! 


Here are the goals in list form for all you stinkers who didn't take the time to go check. {wink}
1. Knock down a wall or two and install hardwood flooring. 
2. Complete a mini-makeover of the bathroom. 
3. Make bunk beds.
4. Paint the boys' room and move them in together.
5. Build a greenhouse.
6. Deliver a healthy, happy baby in May and find a chair for the nursery.
7. Refinish a free, beat-up, antique dresser and vanity.
8. Fix basement walls.
9. Set up an Etsy shop.
10. Install new doors in the hall and paint closets, trim and walls.
11. Celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary.


To make myself feel better, I crossed off the ones I didn't get to. 


Also to make myself feel better, let's dwell on how several of these small undertakings morphed into giants, m-kay?


Goal #2: We worked on the bathroom mini-makeover last January and I love how it looks now! It was also one of my top 11 posts of 2011. Yay for bathrooms and simple updates!

Goal #3: My husband build some awesome beds for our boys! Thanks again, Ana White! There's a part 1 and a part 2 about those beds.

Goal #4: I did paint my boys' room. Not once, not twice, but three times. I started with some blues that you can see in the bunk bed part 2 post, added some stripes that I just couldn't get perfect, left it alone for 6 months and decided to switch the master and the boys' room, so I got to paint over those less-than-perfect blues and stripes to make it a soothing master retreat which is one small step for mankind from being finished so you can see it AND I got to paint over our old master bedroom to make it a fun boy space. I revealed the new boys' room here. 

But can I please say something here? And you promise not to hate me? 


I really feel that room deserves more love. 


I know, totally conceited. But still! I just love that room!!! At least as much as the nursery which got all the love in my Top 11 post.


Which leads me to Goal #6. Yes, in case you missed it (welcome, new followers! I love your guts!!!), our 3rd little guy was born in May, happy and healthy. If I were a cool blogger, I'd now be linking to posts about that, about him, about the new chairs I found for the living room (which are on the to-do list for 2012), and a million and six posts about the nursery. Needless to say, I did a little more to that room than simply finding a chair! Ok, fine, here's a link to the nursery tour. Pretty awesome, eh? See how things morph around here?

Speaking of popular posts, I completed Goal #7: Refinish dresser and vanity. Boy, did I ever! You can see them in the above nursery tour, or the before & after shots here.

Goal #11 was completed and the grumpy, annoying whine session I had about our Big Date fiasco has already faded into semi-hilarity. Maybe we'll take a cruise or something big for our 10-year. We'll see.

So. Where does that leave Beauty 4 Ashes for 2012? Well, the tentative, maybe, hopefully, WHO KNOWS if these'll happen but here are some vague ideas for 2012 list looks like this:


1. Finish the hall project.
2. Finish our master bedroom.
3. Makeover our pink wingbacks. 

4. Organize all 6 closets. (Which isn't totally fair, cuz 5 of them are already done--ha!)

5. Print pictures from 2010 and 2011. Might as well do 2012 while I'm at it.
6. Write and print a family recipe book with pictures.
7. Continue to edit the living room. (I love that I'm being so general! This might include knocking down that one wall and installing new flooring and getting a new couch and repainting and adding fun pillows and relocating the wood burning stove and more! Or not. And that's ok!)
8. Set up a place for this momma to get her craft on.
9. Set up an Esty store for Pete's sake already!!!
10. Work toward organizing the basement. (Ha! If I keep these vague they'll be easier to cross off the list!)
11. Do more organized crafts, projects, outings and preschool activities with J1 and J2.
12. Completely overhaul the kitchen. And I mean completely. But we'll see. Wouldn't want to set anything in stone and be a big fat failure, right?


{Did you notice the six other goals I've set for myself? All completely do-able of course. Ahem.}


Ah... The joy of writing up lists. 


You all saw the disclaimer, right? Because I'm fully expecting another 50-60% score on this list. 


Good thing Life isn't like school!

11 Best of 2011

I thought I'd take a look back and see what you've been reading on my blog this year. I think the nursery is what kept me blogging! 


Take a peek at my 11 Best Posts of 2011! I've you've missed something, there are links so you can go take a more in-depth look at what I've been up to.

Number 1: Nursery Reveal -- Window Wall 

Number 2: Nursery Reveal - DIY Mobile 

Number 3: Dresser & Vanity 

Number 4: Nursery Reveal - Gallery Wall 

Number 5: Nursery Tour 

Number 6: Bathroom Love 

Number 7: Nursery Reveal - Closet

Number 8: Nursery - Cost Breakdown 

Number 9: Junk Decor 

Number 10: Barn Door Headboard 

Number 12: Scraps + Hanger = Wreath 

Thanks for reading Beauty 4 Ashes this year!

House of Grace

Maps!

A couple weeks ago I placed a plea for maps on my personal Facebook page.

Look what came in the mail yesterday!

A box full of National Geographic maps going back to the 50s!

There are US maps, maps of Canada, Europe, Africa, the Holy Lands, and topographic maps.

My favorites are the historical maps--the Civil War, the West, and others.

I think this one is my favorite!

I'm excited to tackle the boys' room!

Have a groovy Tuesday!

Barn Door Headboard

Our new bedroom got a big new feature this week.

A barn door headboard!

If you saw my Wordless Wednesday post yesterday, you already knew that. I titled the post "True Love", and while I really really like our new headboard, I was referring to the handyman husband who didn't bat an eye at the idea and who was able to build and install the barn door in two evenings. So yeah, HE's my true love, not the barn door! 

My husband made it from pieces of an old fence that was on our property.

That's what we used for the nursery valance too!

I love its imperfections!

It's very weathered and rustic which was just what we wanted.

We added this wrought iron headboard to give it more interest--and to keep us from getting too close to all of that rustic goodness behind it!

My husband mounted the barn door directly to studs in the wall, then attached the wrought iron headboard as well.

Side note: I love ORB spray paint! The finish on the headboard that I've had for almost 10 years always bugged me. It was gray with white splotches and a really rough finish. Well, 15 minutes and a can of hammered metal oil rubbed bronze spray paint and it's perfect! Why didn't I know about this 10 years ago?!

Cost of the project:

• wood for barn door--free on property
• tools and screws--already on hand
• wrought iron headboard--already owned
• can of ORB spray paint--$4
• handyman capable of executing said project: PRICELESS!!

We're getting close to finishing our bedroom. Only a couple projects left! Stay tuned!

Day 20