New/Old Mirror

I've heard a saying, "If you want to get shiz done, throw a party." (I might be paraphrasing here.) Anyway, it's true. Last week was a whirlwind here at Casa de Lively: finding a First Communion dress at the last second, cleaning like a madwoman, and getting ready for a post Communion shindig. But it did force me to complete a couple of languishing projects, which was a win.

The biggest project was an old frame that our friend Anne-Marie had given me. Unfortunately, the only "before" shot is 

one with the frame in the background. But it can double as a "gratuitous cute baby" photo:

You can't really see the dental detailing but it's pretty.
And also, look at that little thumb-sucker! So cute!

Anne-Marie said to paint over the white and gold because it looked trashy... at the same moment I said it was pretty. (Hint: I'm the one bringing the class to this friendship.) A-M counseled me to repeat the grey that I used for the backs of my bookshelves and hang it vertically over my couch. Genius! I got glass cut to fit the frame and did a quick DIY antiqued mirror look which I regret slightly. Not because it's not a cool look, but the execution was poor and now I'm going to have to redo it. 

But it did the trick in a pinch and filled the vast vacuum of space over our sofa:

That crooked lampshade makes me INSANE.

We'll see how long I can live with it before I freak out, scrape off all the paint, and redo the darn thing. 

Probably quite a while: complacency sets in pretty quick around here. 

Happy Weekend, Friends!

-Alissa

Finally...

Ok, my dears, are you ready? "The Plan" this morning was to do a couple little "touch ups" on my mobile before I hung it up and posted about the finished project. The "touch ups" and "hanging process" ended up taking about "four hours". (I hope you're all imagining me pronouncing the air quotes in an irritated Will Ferrell voice. Because that's how I mean them.)

Anyway, the moral of the story is this: Martha Stewart's DIY instructions are a craft version of her recipes- simple on the surface but desperately complicated once you're in too deep to turn back. Not to mention infuriating when it turns out not half as perfect/delicious as you hoped. 

But I'm still pretty happy about the result if I squint and don't really look at the hanging apparatus. I'd appreciate it if all our readers would employ the same method when viewing the following picture:

Ah ha! I cropped the hanger out of the picture so you can't judge me! I knew you wouldn't honor my wishes and squint so I removed the temptation for you. 

Anyway, it looks nice, right? FYI, Uranus does have rings but it's turned perfectly sideways so you can't see and I'm sure as heck not going to go retake that photo. I'm going to take a nap instead.

Happy Weekend, Friends!

-Alissa

In Process

I know it's a terrible picture- please don't judge.

 So, contrary to popular opinion, (i.e. my own ) I'm not always a total slacker who accomplishes nothing. Sometimes I overcompensate, take on way too many projects at once, and still accomplish nothing. How do I manage it, you ask? 

Friends, it's a gift.

Pictured above are just a few of my stopped-right-in-the-middle projects. But they're on my dining room table because I am finishing them today. TODAY.

One (the circles and ugly wire spiral) is a Martha Stewart ripoff- a solar system mobile. As you may remember, I've been wanting to do a mobile for a while and since we're studying the planets right now and Martha's mobile is redonk pretty, I'm combining the two! When I was reading Martha's instructions, I scoffed at the idea of buying "circle cutters" but after cutting 96 imperfect circles, my Type A OCD was flaring up BIG TIME. Now I can't look at them too closely or I start to twitch a teeny tiny bit.

The other (the stacks of accordion pleated tissue paper) are an another attempt to incorporate school learning crafts that don't end up on the floor or our "extra extra special drawings" drawer. We were studying a period of Chinese history soooo we decided to make paper lanterns! I only made it through one round of trying to get my children to fold straight lines evenly spaced apart before shooing them all out of the kitchen and vowing to finish it on my own.

So, maybe I'll do an update later today with our results like a real fancy blogger. Unless they all turn out hideous and then I won't. 

I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

Happy Weekend, Friends!

-Alissa

Redirecting

As I suspected last Friday, my little chair is languishing unpainted because I was distracted by another unfinished project. In our house we have a serious book to space-for-books imbalance. We've been addressing this problem by storing all our children's books on one big shelf in a closet. If you've had any contact with any child ever, you can imagine how successful this arrangement has been. I'd show you a picture but it is so embarrassing that I can't bear to.

So, when I came across this link on the interwebs, I decided to jump on it. And by "jump on it", I mean "think about it for a couple of months, buy the supplies and let them sit for a couple months, finally get started, and then take another couple months to finish". Which is exactly what I did. And I'm actually cheating because this project is still not officially completed as I have two more ledges to put up. But I'm going with it anyway. So, here is the half-finished solution to my book conundrum:

The love of reading starts early around here.

They're definitely not perfect but right now they're doing the trick. If I did this again, (which is a distinct possibility because books seem to reproduce exponentially in this house) I'd borrow a friend's circular saw and cut down the 2x4's myself. Those uneven edges make me a teeny bit crazy every time I see them.

I'm convinced they'll always look this neat.

So, next week, possibly a painted pink chair? Or maybe a refinished ceiling fan? Or a reupholstered Louis chair? Who knows! 

My project ADD knows no bounds. 

Happy Weekend, Friends!

-Alissa