Fireplace Screen Mid-Way Makeover (Opinions Welcome!)

We've been doing a lot of "around the house" projects this month.  Something about the spring weather motivates me to fix all those little things that have been bothering me all winter.  Our fireplace screen was on my "house to-do" list.  It's old and dated, and when we remodeled the Family Room in October 2010 I didn't update it, because I was just out of energy and money.

But the warmer weather got the best of me today and I tackled the old, dated screen.  It was incredibly easy to remove.  Scary how little muscle it took to pull it out from the wall, really.

I cleaned the brick with a little soap and water- I read that you really aren't supposed to spray water on it, because the water can drip onto surfaces and make the soot stains run, so I covered the bottom with a plastic garbage bag to protect the tile.  It looks a little better, but I really want to try this Quick N Brite Cleaner that has great reviews online.

So, after I had removed the screen and cleaned the brick, I wasn't crazy about having an open fireplace.  I mean, we do live in Florida and use our fireplace less than five times per year, but still.  My in-laws have an exposed fireplace with no cover but their brick is much more decorative and their logs are gas, which makes the clean up non-existent.

So, I researched screens on Target, WalMart, Amazon, etc.... then I found my way to Craigslist.  Oh how I love Craigslist.

An hour later and $15 out of my pocket, I came home with this beauty.

Now, I wasn't crazy about the scrolling ivy (or whatever you call that), so I just pulled it off.  That sounds so easy on the computer screen, but there was a lot of sweat, a broken nail, and some screaming involved.  But I did it.  All by myself.  (Yes, Dad.  I really did!)

So, now the fireplace looks like this in my house, and I'm wondering if it's okay.  Of course the screen needs a fresh coat of paint as you can see where the vines and such were.  But, I wonder about the two gaps on either upper side of the fireplace- is this okay?  Do I need to get a screen that's bigger and covers the entire opening?  This screen kinda looks like a mustache to me, but I like the lines of it.

After I took this picture I brought the middle part forward and pushed the sides back more.  A better photo is below.

Here's a photo with the entire room.... I'm thinking that if I paint the screen black then it will blend in and not be as noticeable.

What do you think?

Oh, and if you're curious as to where this room started when we bought the house, check out this post.

Hallway Artwork

Last August my oldest child started a three-year-old program at a church school near our home.  He attends three days a week and absolutely loves school.  In just a few weeks, I was overwhelmed with the amount of artwork he brought home.  I love how the school encourages his creativity through art, but I had no idea what to do with all the pictures!

So, I put them in a box and just kept adding to it each day.  All the while, the wheels of my brain were turning and dreaming of ideas about creative ways to display his masterpieces.  I had seen many ideas on Pinterest and other craft blogs, but none were exactly what I had in mind.

I wanted something that I could easily be changed, updated, and added to.  I wanted something frugal.  I wanted something that wouldn't look bad when broken into several walls.

Our hallway was the best place to display the drawings and paintings, but there was no single long wall.  This hallway at our home has three bedrooms - one for each child, and the guest room - a bathroom, and a linen closet.  Therefore, it is many short walls that are divided by door frames.

The display is simple- curtain rods and hooks.  The circle hooks can be moved to any space on the rod, and clip onto the paper to hold in place.  Some pieces of art have two hooks, some have one- it just depends on  the size.

The curtain rods are simple cafe rods from Target.  

And the rings are also from Target.

The best part?  I can always add more hooks if needed, or take away when I want to do something different.  The rods are the only part that cannot be moved or adjusted.

I absolutely love this part of our home!  What was once a dreary and bland hallway now has been transformed into a gorgeous display of my child's handiwork.  It's not all over my refrigerator, it's not in a box, but it's on display for our family and guests to admire.  

Big Girl Room Update

My daughter is turning three next month, and it was high time for a transformation of her long-outgrown nursery.  She was able to get out of her crib about 8 months ago, so we took it down and she slept on the bottom bunk bed in my son's room.  It was really cute- like they were "roomies" or something, but her room was bare and empty except for a toy shelf.  And I don't know about your house, but here in our crazy home, an empty room gets messy, chaotic and unorganized real fast!  It was constantly a wreck, likely because the kids would play in there all the time due to the lack of furniture in their way!

So, I started a pinboard and the wheels of my brain started turning for a Big Girl Room for my almost three-year-old.  

The basics:

Bedding:  Target (out of stock online; I found it in store)

Wall Color:  Valspar Lilac

Toy Shelf Color:  Valspar First Kiss

Furniture:  Upcycled from my childhood!

Hardware:  Modular Kitchen Cabinets

Curtains:  Target

Bookcases:  Helping Little Hands

Toy Shelf:  Inherited from Great-Grandmother's house

Some "before" pics, way before..... like before we even bought the home!  

I sold the vintage butterfly curtains to a consignment store in Winter Park.  LOVE the built-in desk that came with this room!!!!

Hubby painting the toy shelf

And the "after" pics!

I just couldn't resist this precious heart bedding from Target.  It stole my heart- pun intended!  :)

My dad built these bookshelves for Amelia many months ago, maybe even a year ago, and I first posted about them here, but they look amazing now that the room is painted, don't you think?

This wire basket was in the Target Dollar Spot after Easter for half off- so it was $1.25!  Score!

I picked up the clock at a recent consignment sale (Boutique For A Week) and the flowers were from her nursery.... I love the way they add class to the room!

This flower border may be my favorite part of the room.  I found sticker wall decals at the Dollar Tree when I was visiting my parents, and bought five sheets with the hopes that this idea would work and fit in the space.  It did, and I couldn't be more thrilled with how precious this part of the room is!

I was impressed with the quality of the wall decals and how easy they are to remove.  Great for renters, too!

But since Amelia doesn't sit at the desk and do homework or makeup, we use the chair cut out for stroller parking.  :)

The toy shelf was inherited from my husband's Great-grandmother's home.  It was originally green and sat behind her sofa.  We have loved using it as a toy shelf, and although it was a nightmare to paint, it {finally} turned out amazing!

We chose to take off the closet doors, since they were sliding {and ugly} brown doors.  They weren't secure on the tracks and I was scared they would fall on the kids.

So we painted the inside of the closet the same color as the room and put the dresser in there.  I updated the hardware {which was from the 1980's, or maybe before} and my mom put a new coat of paint on all the white furniture.

I used decals {once again, from Dollar Tree} for her name, and hung coat hooks from Target for her purses and baskets.

The baskets were also from Target Dollar Spot {can you tell I *love* Target?} around Valentine's Day.  Sorry they're no longer available!  I use them to hold hairbows, bracelets, and other small accessory items.

And that's it!  We love the new room, and Amelia does too!  It was such fun to decorate a girly room for her.

Still a few things I may add like some throw pillows, another piece of artwork above the toy shelf, and maybe some pendant bunting to the closet opening or window.... still thinking about that!

Sorry some photos are a little blurry!  I'm still learning how to use my manual focus lens!

Freeze Pop Koozies Now in my Etsy Shop!

Remember this fun little project?

Well, these Freeze Pop Koozies are now for sale in my Etsy Shop.

They make great gifts for toddlers and children, and are extremely affordable.

If you live in the Orlando area, use coupon code PICKUPORLANDO to waive shipping costs and collect your item from me (we will need to meet somewhere in Seminole County).

Go here to purchase, and thanks in advance!

Favorite Things Friday

We've had a full day here, so this week's FTF is actually comin' at cha here in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Nonetheless, here's my three faves this week-

1.  The new show Clean Freaks on HGTV.  You can watch the episode here, but let me prepare you, it's pretty incredible.  It inspired me to be more organized, more clean, more disciplined in my home management skills.  Holy cow, some people live pretty impressive lives!

2.  Valspar paint from Lowe's.  We've owned three houses in seven years of marriage and we know paint well.  I've painted with everything from Wal-Mart paint to small town paint store paint to Valspar.  I have to say, Valspar outweighs them all.  I love how this paint covers so well and gives such a smooth finish.  Our most recent project?  The painting of my almost-three-year-old's big girl room.  Many, many photos and a blog post to come very soon about the progress of this fun space!

3.  The Silhouette giveaway going on in blogland right now.  This post has a current list of all the blogs that are giving away a silhouette, and you better believe I've entered them all.  Oh, how this machine would be amazing- I can't imagine how I'd ever get anything else accomplished!

And finally- a little something new to FTF - the top post of the week was....

My Sewing Room Makeover

Oh, and in other blog news, I've updated my Tutorials page for much easier navigation.

What are your favorite things from the past week?

Twine Wrapped Bottles

Between our formal living area and our kitchen/family room is an open pass-thru window.  I really struggled with how to decorate this area, and even created a pinboard specific for this space.

After much research, I finally decided to go ultra-frugal and collect glass bottles for this space.  I wanted a variety of shapes and heights, so I used all different types of bottles.... wine bottles, olive oil bottles, vinegar bottles, liquor bottles.  I asked everyone I knew to save bottles for me.

After I collected a good number,  I purchased several rolls of twine from Home Depot.   Rubber cement was applied to the top of the bottle to hold the twine in place, and then I just started wrapping.  I would apply rubber cement to areas that were more curved, or when the twine would slip away.  I kept pushing the twine back together to make it tight- didn't want any of the glass poking through!

My wrapping isn't perfect, and there were a few times I had to backtrack to make sure everything was covered.  However, I'm convinced this was the perfect project for this space!  I've thought that I could add flowers (real or artificial) to the bottles as I choose, or I could stick a taper candle into the tops of the bottles for some soft lighting.

I've played with a couple of arrangements, too.

Clustered together....

Or all spread out.

What do you prefer?

What other ideas do you have for dressing up the bottles as seasons change and holidays pass?

The Easiest Way to Shred Chicken

This is truly amazing!  I can't believe I never knew this before now!

I plan our menus a week at a time.  It's a budget-saving habit that I learned from years of reading homemaking/financial blogs (my two faves are MoneySavingMom and TheHappyHousewife).  It not only saves our family money, but allows me to work ahead as I anticipate what we will need for the week's meals.

This week, we have three recipes with shredded chicken- Skinny Enchiladas, Chicken Enchilada Pasta, and Balsamic Chicken, Spinach and Tomato Pasta.    Some of these recipes actually require chopped chicken, but I prefer shredded because it's easier and stretches farther (in my opinion).

So, here's how to get a 3 lb bag of chicken breasts cooked and shredded with minimal effort in just a few hours:

You will need-

• 1 bag of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts- I buy mine at Aldi (my favorite store!) for $5.99
• crock pot
• mixer

Put your chicken in the crock pot.  I find that the ice crystals add to the moistness of the chicken so I don't rinse it before cooking.  Cook it on high for about one hour, then low about two hours more.  Cooking times may vary depending on the size of your crock pot or the amount of chicken you have.

Put your chicken into a mixing bowl.

Turn on your mixer and watch the magic!  Start the mixer on low, gradually increasing speed.

After about 5 minutes, you will have perfectly shredded chicken!

That's it!

Use as needed in recipes for your week's menu!

Other random tips:

• The chicken shreds best when it's hot or warm.  Hence the use of tongs to move it from the crockpot into the mixing bowl.
• The mixing will start out rocky.  Just start slow so you don't throw a chicken across the room with your ferocious mixer.
• Since this chicken was frozen, I wouldn't recommend that it be refrozen after shredding.  You may be comfortable with that, but I wouldn't do it.

And a bonus-

About 8 oz of broth was left in the crock pot!  Yeah for homemade chicken broth!

I originally found this idea on Pinterest but wanted to try it out first.  The original pin is here.