A budget craft project

I've been trying to decide how I want to decorate my office so that it is a room conducive to calm and lots of studying. If you've ever seen them, the bulletin boards for sale at Ballard Designs are lovely. However, the price tag is outrageous. The large one is $100! Crazy! I was determined to make my own for much less. I was at the Salvation Army today for an entirely different purpose when I found 2 large bulletin boards for $1.99 each. They were in great condition and barely used. I then went to Home Depot and bought a few boxes of upholstery tacks ($1.34 each) and a 5'x5' canvas drop cloth for $7.98. I sprayed adhesive on the cork part only then laid the drop cloth on top. Starting from the center and working out, I smoothed out the fabric.

My well ventilated area

Then I started adding the upholstery tacks

I used my staple gun to pull the fabric tight around the back

The finished product

I was able to cover both bulletin boards with just one drop cloth.

Thanks Pinterest for this great idea!  

Baby Steps

I still haven't taken any pictures of my bathroom.  I would like to do a bit more decorating before I make it final.  I am able to finally use the shower and this makes me ECSTATIC!  I even hung the bathroom door.  Baby steps, people, baby steps!

WAY behind

Why didn't my 1.5 blog readers tell me I was so far behind with my blogging?  I hadn't realized that it had been since November.  I really don't even have a good excuse.  I guess LIFE happened.  I've been working a crazy amount of overtime in order to pay for school in the Fall.

Drumroll please.......

The bathroom will be officially complete TODAY!  TYL!  The plumber came yesterday and fixed the mess I had made in the tub.  Here are some before and after photos.

Before

After

Anthony did an absolutely amazing job with matching the color.  He's returning today to replace the drain and then I will finally be able to use my master tub for the first time since last March!  Wow!

I really like the way the rest of the bathroom turned out.  I'll try to post some other before and after pictures once I have all the finishing touching and "decorating" elements integrated.

GRRRRR!!!

My modem has been down since the beginning of the week so I'm just now getting back online.  Let me not fail to mention that the modem that died was the NEW modem that AT&T had sent me less than a week earlier.  Sweet Peter, whom I am sure lives in Bangledesh, was on the phone with me for over two hours to decide my modem was bad.  DUH!

On a lighter note, the bathroom is progressing well.  I finished the floor and it looks great.  My dad came to visit earlier in the week and we installed two new faucets and put up the horizontal pieces for the board and batten.  I have a few pictures that I will post later.  I'm hoping to get it finished off before mid-December.  It's amazing how slow a project progresses when there is only one person working.

More to come soon...

It's Crunch Time

I'm in a bit of a time bind.  My dad is coming to visit on Monday (to help me with some plumbing) and I really need to finish the floor.  The majority of the tile is down but now I need to work around the edges to fill in a single tile here and there.  I will also need to cut a few tiles to fill in other gaps.  I did a good bit of the work this morning (after having worked last night) but now I'm tired and I really need to get some sleep.

I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY... need to get this done tonight... like FRIDAY night.  The adhesive can dry while I'm watching the Alabama vs. LSU game on Saturday and then I will tackle grout Sunday morning.

MUST PRESS ON!

So here is a list of the pending projects (more for my own use than anything else; these are in no particular order):
FINISH FLOOR
install faucets and new hardware in the shower
buy and install NEW toilet
install board and batten; patch holes and paint
Figure out what I want to do with the shower curtain (I'm leaning toward floor to ceiling but I have yet to find a fabric ... or curtain.. that I love)
New hardware for the cabinet doors
Find rugs

Oh.., and Anthony still needs to come and actually REPAIR the tub... UGH!

I'm sure there is more but I can't think of it.

Keep on keepin' on

The bathroom is still in progress.  Last night (and this morning), I taped off the walls for the board and batten and then painted the upper parts of the walls.  Tonight, the vanity light fixture will be installed and the bottom part of the walls need to be sanded and then painted.

I'd really love to get this project wrapped up by Thanksgiving.  Keeping my fingers crossed and praying all along the way!

I have hot dogs for fingers...

My fingers are so fat and stiff from all the chiseling and scrubbing I've done on my bathroom floor.  I've having muscle spasms in my hand that are making my pinkie and my thumb move spontaneously.  It's kinda creepy!  However, I finished removing all the adhesive last night so it is clean and ready for tile.   Am I ready for the tile?  Well, I'd like to say yes but I just ordered it yesterday so I'll have to wait until I can pick it up on 10/24.  For now, I'm in a holding pattern.