BE MADE

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Soul Mates & Veterans & Birthday Parties

I am one-of-a-kind.

Ok, I know we are all one-of-a-kind, but I am...unique. That's something I have long embraced.

When God created my soul, he made me creative but practical, traditional but free-thinking, classic but retro/vintage, frugalistic with expensive taste. I LOVE history, but am strongly drawn to modern design. I love to laugh & play & explore. I love to sit by myself in the quiet of my home and think & plan and plan some more. I love to serve and be among people, but I am terribly shy. I love to share, but am fearful of others' opinions of me.

Basically, God made me a walking contradiction.

But, when he formed my one-of-a-kind soul, he also made someone special just for me. Or, actually, I was made for that someone special, seeing as how his soul was formed before mine.

Well, however or whenever these two souls were formed, they were made with just the right holes and protuberances so that they fit together so perfectly you would never know they were ever two.

My mom told me once, just before our wedding, that she had prayed each and every day for my future husband. That he be a Godly man, my perfect mate, someone just for me. And he is. My best friend.

But little did we know that that man, the someone just for me, would one day be a soldier. A veteran.

****

Veteran's Day used to pass as just another day. I'm really embarrassed to admit that.

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While it's no excuse, growing up I never had any real interaction with soldiers or veterans. I studied wars in school, understood that people were in the military and they could go to war, but didn't know anyone close to me who had served, so it wasn't a "reality" for me. And I had yet to live through a war.

Of course, that all changed that day in September.

My senior year of high school. My hubby -- then boyfriend of just a few months -- had already enlisted that summer of 2001. But we knew, after that day, he wasn't going to just be a soldier in the Army.

He would serve his country in war...overseas.

And he did. We debated splitting up, with me going off to college, him going to basic training, then later overseas. We'd be apart so much.

But neither one of us was ready to let go of what we had. We already knew in our hearts what we hadn't yet voiced out loud: our souls were formed for one another.

So, here we are. 12 years later. And each day, I see more and more why we were destined for one another. He is everything I'm not, yet everything I am.

He makes me laugh, dries my tears, supports my creativity, explores with me, lets me brood while I'm mad and listens when I vent, gets the random weirdness that comes out of my mouth sometimes. He imagines with me, plays with me, brings me back down to Earth when my ideas go way out there, or my taste gets a little too expensive. He crafts & designs with me, indulges me, aggravates me, loves me for me. He plans with me, is spontaneous with me. I could probably go on. And I won't speak for him, but I hope I do the same for him.

Because God made us each other's compliments. How lucky am I?!

So I live everyday with a veteran -- have one as a father-in-law as well -- and it is now such a personal holiday to me now. Is that selfish? But not just on Veteran's Day do I appreciate what my husband, and SO MANY others, have done, but everyday. Because I've seen the effects of war, felt the stress of it, understand how fragile life can be.

****

Birthdays are just a bit more special because of what could have been. Another blessing we have been given.

This year was my hubs 30th. I cringe to think of it because I'm next, but it means I was blessed with another year with him. And because this was the big 3-0, I wanted to do something extra special. Something fun.

And how glad am I that my partner-in-life is just as much a kid at heart as I am!!

Not only is my hubby a vet/former soldier, but he is also a police officer. That has been a passion of his heart as much as being a soldier for as long as I've known him. And I'm sure other police wives would say the same, but he is such a good cop.

But, that little kid living inside of him -- the little boy that wants to be a policeman when he grows up -- absolutely loves toy police cars. And that same little boy who became a policeman when he grew up collects toy police cars.

And, ohmygoodness, does that boy have a collection!! I think he's at 250+, maybe even 300+. Yikes! But he loves it, and I just can't seem to say no when he finds a new one to add. The joy on his face is too contagious. I'm such a sucker for my hubby. ha ha! Or maybe it's because one new toy car equals some new something for me, ha ha! Let's go with the sucker thing.

So, recap: my other half & a veteran blessing, a big birthday means a special party, police officer who collects toy police cars...did I mention he loves Legos, too?

****

I wanted to give my hubby a birthday he would remember. He never really had a party like that as a kid -- with a theme, games, favors, friends -- and I wanted him to have that memory.

I decided on the theme {Lego Police}, designed the invites, planned the decor and food, invited friends and family, and got his favorite: ice cream cake from Dairy Queen!

We couldn't resist making this shirt!

It was so much fun, and I think my hubby had a blast. And I felt so blessed to have this guy a part of my life, to have all these people over that love him almost as much as I do, and to just celebrate life and love.

****

This Veteran's Day I'm reflecting.

I think it's very appropriate to honor vets so close to Thanksgiving, since November is now thought of as the "thankful" month. In spite of all I lost last year, I have so much to be thankful for.

Thankful for instant messaging {you'll have to ask me about that one!}, for selflessness, for love. Thankful for laughter, for memories, for birthdays.

Thankful for life.

I am thankful for my police-car collecting, kid-at-heart, law-enforcing veteran one-true-love.

And I am thankful for all the trying-to-protect-our-country, just-doing-their-job veterans who came before, and those still to come.

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Next time you encounter a veteran/soldier/police officer/firefighter, tell them thank you. They CHOOSE to put their lives on the line for YOU. And they may not have someone in their life to treasure them. Like I treasure mine.

They don't ask for the thanks. And that makes them all the more deserving.

God bless you all! And, thank you!

TTfN!

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Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Easy Corkboard Makeover

I'm painting corkboards again!

Remember this guy?

He's been such a help in keeping me organized.

Well, I had need of another corkboard in my work space.

I debated how to present this to you guys. Because this did not quite go how I imagined. In fact, I was afraid it was going to be a "fail." But I really like the end result and decided, "What the hey, I'll share."

So, my debate: do I put together a post showing only the before and after pics, talking about my amazing idea and how awesome it turned out? Or, do I be straight with you guys and tell you how my initial idea was NOT cool (with pictures illustrating this) but I worked it out and ended up with something better?

I decided that honesty is the best policy, so you guys are going to get the whole sha-bang: how I made a "fail" a success. Because I'm human, and not every idea I have works (my hubs can attest to that!). Because, as Martha pointed out, I am not an expert, but I am someone who does not take failure lightly. I am someone that when she has her mind made up to do something, it gets done, one way or another, no matter how many people -- or that little voice in the back of her mind -- tell her it won't work. I am someone who tests out every avenue before finally allowing that her idea just won't work. And that's rare. Because, like my momma taught me, where there's a will, there's a way. (:

Whew, I guess I needed that lil' pep talk!! (:

So, this corkboard.

Well, first...maybe a little background?

The office in our house is in the second bedroom. After we moved in, that room quickly became the "this doesn't have a place yet so we'll put it here" room. Which seemed to be like 3/4 of our possessions. Hey, going from a 3/2 with a garage to a 2/1 with a carport ain't easy!

There was enough space left over in that room for my work area and our family computer desk but that was it. We have been working on getting it cleaned up for a while but my hubby and I decided one day we'd had enough and spent all day organizing it. And now that it looks better, I wanted to better organize the walls and get some life on them. In doing that, I moved the corkboard chalkboard calendar over our family desk to keep us both better organized. But that left my desk without a pin board, which I really need. I remembered a board I had stashed in our closet that had been made over once before, and knew it would be perfect.

I hung it up in place of the old one, and quickly saw that it's most recent makeover -- a couple of years ago -- was not going to work with what I had going on in my workspace.

So I removed the fabric and was reminded why it had been covered.

See, I've had this corkboard since, well, junior high. And in adolescent junior high style, I had decorated the cork with pen....forever inscribing my love for *name withheld for their protection*.

Then, of course, I blared my broken heart after our apparent break-up by scribbling out that previous inscription.

O, young love!

Since I had forever marred the cork, I knew I would have to paint it or recover it in fabric. Besides, I couldn't have just plain cork on my walls! Are you crazy?! ha ha!

My imagination had no trouble creating a graphic to be painted onto the cork, and I knew it would look awesome in my little modern corner.

I decided to create this graphic by using tape to reveal the pattern under the top layer of paint, so I painted the entire board in black for my background color.

I then used the same crepe paper tape I used to make the calendar to create my graphic pattern. It was just a simple set of lines that converged at a single point somewhere on the board. Once I picked that center point, I just laid my tape down in random diagonal lines.

The hardest part was trying to decide what I wanted the top color to be. Initially, I thought I wanted a color, in keeping with the vibrancy I had with the desk, but I was afraid that much color could clash. So I settled on classic black and white.

After I had sprayed the whole board in white, I removed the tape to reveal the pattern.

Hmmmm....

Right away, I wasn't crazy about the black and white, but I thought it was because there was so much white. I thought if I painted the frame a different color, it would change the look of the board, and be more what I had imagined in my head.

I also decided this would be a good place to introduce a bit of color, so I painted the frame the same green as my desk.

I didn't take a picture of this "final product" because it was just terrible! But so you guys can get a full visual, I did a mock-up for you:

Not at all what I wanted, or what my mind saw. This was where that little voice in the back of my mind started telling me this wasn't going to work and I should just paint the whole thing black again and be done with it. Or just throw it away and start brand new. But I couldn't go there yet.

So I painted over the green frame in black again, and it started looking a little better.

Again, I didn't document this state because I wasn't excited about it, but just for you:

This was definitely better than the green frame, but it still just wasn't it. It looked too Halloween, too much like a broken window. Not what I had pictured. {I think had it not been stark white, but a softer white, I might have been more on board with this look. O well.}

And then, it was like one light bulb came on and triggered another, and I knew what to do.

Instead of having black lines, I thought that was where I needed to introduce color, so I painted two of the lines pink -- or more like fuchsia. ;) Then I remembered I had a couple of rolls of washi tape that I had used in the Charlie Brown birthday invites, so I picked one and rolled it on the frame.

{I don't have pics of these steps because I figured me painting and laying down tape wasn't "ground-breaking crafting".}

I then mixed navy blue and lime green paint to make the same teal color in the washi tape, and painted one more line teal rather than black.

I hung it on the wall, and heard the angels sing! Well, not really, but I was really satisfied with how it turned out. It wasn't anything like what I had originally imagined, but better maybe? I'm not sure, but I do like it, and it works with my space. It's dynamic and colorful and functional.

I did feel like that focal point was asking for something, some object at which all the lines met, so I just pinned this little piece of paper there.

These were the words I used to describe me and what I did, and they became these phrases that led me to "Be Made Designs."

Maybe one day I'll replace it with something "cool" but for now I like having those words there, at that focal point, reminding me who I am and what I do. (:

Well, this may not be the most brilliant project ever, but it did make me wonder what other really cool corkboards could be created using this technique....well, the tape-reveal technique. Not the fail-turned-success technique. Although nothing wrong with that one either! ;)

Hope you found some inspiration!

TTfN!

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Monday, October 14, 2013

My Old House: Living Room Update {With a Touch of Fall}

You may, or may not, have noticed that with most of my designs, whether graphic, craft, or interior, it is an evolutionary process. My home is a prime example of that. I think it's because a designer is their own worst client! Or at least I am. But I'm always seeing new things I like and want to try, or rearranging my furniture because I know it'll function better this way.

In the case of my living room, it was function that drove the evolution.

We don't have a "guest" bedroom in our house. But we recognized there is a need to have a place for guests to sleep. We decided the best way to solve this was to get a sleeper sofa. And that new purchase gave way to many new purchases. (: As always, he he!

We actually began this "update" a little more than a year ago, but when working on a budget, or sometimes NO budget, change takes time. I definitely would prefer it not to be that way {I'm a bit of an "instant gratification" kind of a girl}, but it is.

Here's what we started with {read that story here}:

Here's how it was after we moved in:

And here it is now!:

*SIDENOTE*: I don't like referring to budget because I would love to share with you how much it took to make these updates. But, I don't really set budgets. I mean, I would love to say, "I have $500 to make this room awesome!" but I don't save moolah like that. Because that is a patience thing, and I don't have much, lol. So it's more or less like, "Oooo I like that....I think I can swing that this paycheck...yep we can....let's get it." Which is why it takes months to complete my rooms, but that's how I roll. Although I think it works for me because I tend to have a hard time making up my mind or I change my aesthetic as time goes by, so this way I get to contemplate my choices before I actually buy it. Even though I would prefer for it to all happen at once. Yep, I'm a walking contradiction.

But, all in all, excluding the sofa, I would guess all these updates cost between $250 - $300. Not too shabby I think. And that may REALLY be over-estimating.

Some of these changes you've already seen: the naked coffee table, the doily art, new dining chairs, and the dresser drawer shelves. And with each I promised a reveal soon. Well, soon has finally come folks! Ya-HOO!!

Obviously, as I stated before, the biggest change is the sofa. When we first moved in, we had to make do with what we had, and that was a bulky sofa with an equally bulky loveseat. They functioned beautifully in our previous house, but here, they were just too large. The literal elephants in the room! {See the "before" pics at the end.}

So we sold them and got the new one. We love the chaise, and sometimes when we are lounging for movie night, we'll pull out the bed part and really "lay out." The only thing I sometimes question is the color. The neutral is good, but it's lighter than our other sofas, which meant I never really noticed all the doggie dirt {yes, we let our puppies on the furniture}. Now, I do see it and it drives me a little nutty. But I just Scotchguard the heck out of it and hope for the best. And these days I'm contemplating a slip-cover -- DIY style. We'll see.

After the sofa came the new coffee table. I quickly recognized that the boxy sofa/chaise did NOT work with the boxy trunk coffee table. You may remember I spotted my new table on our Habitat Restore's Facebook page and knew I had to have it, and how perfect it would be with casters. SO EASY to roll out of the way when we need to pull out the bed. That table cost me all of $15 and then $4 for the casters.

I think it was not too long after that we decided to retire the lace curtains and get blinds. I loved the open windows, but the sun glare was not cool at certain times of day. Literally. I'm pretty sure our electric bill went down a bit after we installed them. It was also a privacy thing. The blinds, curtains and curtain rods were probably the most expensive purchases for this room, even though they aren't the high-end kind.

I also did a better job styling my dresser drawer shelves, I think, for someone who doesn't really do knick-knacks. {You can see how they originally were styled here, as well as the DIY tute.}

We also got new dining chairs from the most awesomest antiques fair ever! Ok, I take back my comment about the blinds & curtains being the most expensive purchase. These chairs were, but they were SO worth it! And I didn't have to do anything to them {although I did mention here that the two ladderback chairs may soon have new cushions.}

But I would say those are the biggest changes.

Here are a couple of small things:

New rug:

Some of you may be wondering: why so small a rug? Generally, a rug should be large enough that the major pieces of furniture should sit upon the rug entirely, or at least their front halves. I specifically chose a smaller rug for a couple of reasons. First, I was inspired by a picture of a living room with bare wood floors. It was fabulous! While I love that look, for practical reasons I couldn't do it, so I opted for a rug that just sat under my coffee table.

Secondly, our new sofa has a roll-out bed, and those wheels slide better on a bare floor.

Ok, moving on... (:

New sofa pillows:

New lamp made from a broken lantern from Hobby Lobby {broken = super cheap! Yay!}:

This fun little find. When we saw him, we knew we had to have him, but we had NO CLUE where to put him. I think he has finally found the perfect home on my sewing table. Now he just needs a name... Hugo? Too cliche?

I made this bookcase brighter by painting it and lining the inside with wrapping paper, and I tried to style it a little better as well. It's a learning process, right?

Those two lil' kids on the right are the hubby and I when we were little. We had this on display at our wedding, and decided we had to have it in our house! My mom loved this, too, because she said this was a glimpse at her grandkiddos. Guess she got to meet them before we did.

This typewriter belonged to my great-granddad, which if I remember the story correctly, it was payment given to him by a writer who was staying at a hotel he managed. If only we knew who that writer was....

I loved this quote and felt like it perfectly described my home: "Collect moments, not things." Almost everything has a story to tell, a moment in time. (:

This butcher block table was a gift from my mom. Really one of the last things she was able to go out and get by herself before she got too sick. And, crazy as it may sound, it was an anniversary gift for my husband and me. She knew how much we love funky antique/vintage stuff, and when she saw it, she knew we had to have it {plus, I may have mentioned once that I wanted one}. Our kitchen is too small to have it as an island or a work table, but it's great as a little entry/hall table.

Speaking of my mom, I have to share the story of this blanket on my sofa with you guys. My mom's favorite season was winter, and probably spring. Spring would be a close second--like by a minuscule-point-off close--because that was the best time to work in her garden. And she loved gardening.

But I say winter was her favorite for two reasons: Christmas {her FAVORITEST holiday--like, you should have seen our house at Christmas!} and sweaters. She freaking loved sweaters!! Which is funny and sad. Funny because we live in South Texas. Where we are lucky if we get a week of "winter weather" during winter. I mean, we get excited when highs will only be in the 50's or 60's because then it will feel like winter. And we can bust out our sweaters and coats.

It was sad, too, because as much as she loved sweaters, she never really got to wear them because of our fickle winter weather.

There is a point to all this, I promise.

When we were going through her things, cleaning out her closets, I couldn't believe how many sweaters she had. Well, I could, but you know what I mean. And some of them {I love you, Mom} could have easily won the "ugliest sweater contest." Just terrible. But they reminded me of her and I hated to part with them. I remembered a cousin telling me of a friend of hers' mother passing away, and she made a blanket out of some of her old shirts, as a memory keeper. And I knew that's what I had to do with my mom's old sweaters.

So after researching I found a really great tutorial -- which I could totally relate to the cats! -- and pieced together a sweater blanket for myself and my brother. I also used the sleeves to make scarves for her sister and nieces, since she was so close with them.

My kitties love this cozy blankie too!

The only part of the tutorial I couldn't follow was felting the sweaters. I couldn't wash them. They still smelled like her and I just couldn't bring myself to wash that away. It did make cutting and sewing a little more difficult, but I made it work, and I'm pretty proud of it.

Hope you didn't mind the little detour, but that's one of those pieces that has a story, and it was a story I felt like sharing. (:

So, I think the living room looks better now, more like what this house is telling us, not what our old house told us, and more like who we are now.

Ok, some final "befores & afters."

After seeing my room in photos, I see a couple of things that might need some changing. But I'll have to get approval first. Or maybe not, since my hubby remarked to me the other day that I could do whatever because "he just sleeps here." Nice, babe. He he he...

Maybe one day I'll actually get the Master Bedroom -- the last "makeover room" in this house -- done. My husband and I don't really "hang out" in there other than to dress and sleep, so it has definitely taken the back-burner for room makeovers, but I am slowly making changes, and fingers crossed, I'll get to reveal that one before the year's out.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! (:

Have a great one!

ta-ta

for now!