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Why I’m MIA

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It has been really hard to stay active for the last few months because of my obligations to both the college I attend and the college where I work. I have finished all three of my chapters for my dissertation, proposed, and sent off my application to the IRB. Once I get permission to proceed, I’ll do my research then write up the rules and submit. I should be able to defend my dissertation in the fall and graduate either fall or spring.

What a relief!

Just as a little treat, I have a tutorial of a lamp I made. The lamp is cute – the tutorial is not. But . . . I always have questions about things that I see online, so having even a couple of pictures to show how things are made is helpful.

100_1563First, you will need lots of coffee filters. I bought the cheapest ones I could find at the dollar store, and I bought white. For a little more, you can buy the natural colored filters, and they would be pretty. You can also dye them, but I didn’t want to spend that much time until I knew if I could actually make a whole lamp shade.

 

Each coffee filter should be folded in half (a half circle) and then100_1553 folded again (a quarter circle). When you have folded about ten of them, fluff them a little, but make sure you keep the bottom of the triangle flat to use as a sort of handle. This is what you will glue to your lampshade.

I did about ten at a time so that I could keep the hot glue gun rolling along.

 

100_1561Start with the top of the shade and glue the first row. When you glue, make sure that the first row is glued to the inside of the lamp shade.

This picture shows the top of the lamp. The reason you want to start at the top is that you will have the least weight on your paper as you work your way down.

The next row will glow slightly underneath the first row.100_1554 It doesn’t matter how much you space, but the closer together, the tighter your ruffles will be. The other thing to watch is to try to get the ruffles as straight as possible. If I did this again, I would make lines on the lampshade as a guide, but I intended this to be a practice run where I would learn all the tricks for the next one.

You continue to glue filters down your lampshade and fluff as you go. I did a row and the fluffed.

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100_1564The lampshade has held up remarkably well for several years now. It doesn’t catch nearly as much dust as I thought it would, and I’ve been able to turn it upside down and shake it to keep it clean.

It’s not my best project by any means, but I felt bad for not keeping up better with my blog, and it’s one I had handy to share.

Soon, I will be done with my doctorate and have more time to get back to working on the things I love. Until then . . .

Have a great day!

Shannon

 

bathroom accessories

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This is my last post about our master bath. I wanted to share some of the accessories I used to try to pull everything together. The whole reno was under 300.00, including fabric, paint, ceiling planks, and the accessories. Most of them I already had, so like the rest of you, I shopped the house to find them. I did buy the three-tiered basket and the cart, but both of them were more than 50% off.

105I saw a similar basket at The Lettered Cottage, and I loved how she staged it. I thought I should make it practical, so I put things I actually use in it. The glass jar on the bottom shelf is full of a baby-lotion-vitamin-e-cream-coconut-oil recipe I got off of Pinterest. It is as good as they claim!

sea spongecurtainsmonogrammed spoonI got this cart from World Market, and it fits perfectly in its little spot. I need something close to the sink but narrow enough to tuck against the wall. It holds things I don’t want to put into the closet but need close by.

carttop shelf of cart229egg soap 2soap jar (1)soap jartoothbrush 2nail polishI love those toothbrushes, again inspired by Layla at The Lettered Cottage. She has incredible style, by the way, and I love her blog.

silversilver closeupscrubbiessoap dishtoilet papermirrorantrho hookI got this hook from Anthropology in Oklahoma City when I went shopping with my daughter. I wrote the numbers 1 and 2 on the hooks, but I will likely go back and do something different. In any case, I love the little bit of blue it adds to the neutral colors.

I also ordered a monogram from an Etsy store. It was very affordable–less than 30.00 including shipping, and it just came in. I’m going to paint it a light blue and hang it over the windows.

Did I mention that I have the best husband? In the history of ever. Ever. He did all of this for me with no complaints and no head shaking when he saw all the ruffles.  I’m the luckiest person I know!

my master bath is finished

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Every summer we take on a new project, and this summer, we redid our two bathrooms. My son got married in Colorado, and I had two classes and an internship to complete, so the bathrooms were quicker projects since they had been done once before.

    Master Suite BathThis is the master bath. I made the shower curtain, and it took much longer than I thought it would. All of the ruffles are hemmed top and bottom to prevent fraying, and getting them aligned in a way that was at least presentable took about three days. I used my vacay to make the shower curtain and the window curtains. Totally worth it!

ceiling peakIn between the wedding and the beginning of the school year, my husband put in a plank ceiling. Since this is a converted attic space, we had lots of fun peaks to work with.

Well, they are fun for me. Not so much for him. But he did a great job. I showed him Miss Mustard Seed’s bedroom and Layla’s dining room from The Lettered Cottage.

When we started putting them up, and by we, I mean he, we decided that we wanted to preserve the natural wood. I am so glad we did. It has made a huge difference in the room and looks very high end. I think they actually planked together tighter than the examples we looked at because they weren’t painted. But he’s also an expert and tongue and groove after doing floors and walls.

ceiling 4The ceiling cost right at 100.00 using the wood planks from Lowe’s, but it was a great investment. Covering up the popcorn ceiling was a huge improvement.

ceiling windowsOur master suite is a converted attic, and one of the good things the people did that we bought our house from was to put in these big windows.

The bathroom ceiling went straight across at the place where it begins to angle, so it was impossible for anyone to use the bathroom without ducking except for me. When we redid it the first time, my husband took the ceiling out and aligned to the roof line. I love the angles, and now anyone can walk into it.

In the interest of time and money, we left the popcorn on the upper part of the walls but gave it a fresh coat of paint. The bottom of the walls was paneled, and we painted it with Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore. Their paint is magical.

Bathroom from door 2I’m going to do a couple of other posts that focus on the accessories and the fabrics, but for now, this is a good look at my new bathroom. I am glad my white knight was born with a hammer and saw in his hands. He saves us a ton of money all the time, and everything in my house is custom.