goings on

things are happening at the stone house. i have started working monday - thursday, so operation finish is now a weekend undertaking. but a weekend undertaking that is going places!

painting, sewing and upholstering are in the works


and progress on the deck and landscape are happening (when the temperature dips below code-heat-stroke levels)


completed project postings coming soon...

goin' to the chapel

team stone spent this past weekend in glorious sewanee, tennessee, taking part in the wedding festivities of one of my dear college friends. one of my bridesmaidily duties was to create a logo and save the date for the bride and groom. using one of their engagement photos as inspiration, here's what i came up with:


i also extracted the silhouette for them to use on their invitations and reception cups:


nothing like a long weekend of friends, food and fun in celebration of the union of some really wonderful people!

let there be light...

...er paint on my dining room chandelier. i am awesome at naming blog posts. also awesome at doing projects and waiting eleventy years to post them. like when i took the plain, dark chandy that came in our dining room - similar to this:


- and lightened it up with milk paint, antiquing glaze, and new shades, thusly:







the homeless colony of glasses, bottles and candlesticks on the bar has been streamlined in the ensuing eleventy years. thank you, operation finish! also in the dining room are these items and curtains i made out of this:


fyi. it's coming along slowly. but in an awesome way that i am digging. so, you know, worth the wait.

color! pattern! paint!

sure has been depressing around here recently, huh? july 2011 goes down in stone family history as the absolute pits. here's hoping august brings a major upswing.

the antidote to bummertown? color! pattern! paint! OPERATION FINISH! today i completed two projects from my long-standing to-do pile.

first, an old paint caddy of my mom's. if i'm to cart around paint supplies all the live-long day, oughtn't i do so in style?

BEFORE:

please note the carpet. when did we remove the carpet? november 2009. OPERATION FINISH!

a vera bradley napkin, a little mod podge, my kwid imperial trellis stencil and some paint later, the AFTER:

hoarding art supplies? who, me?

infinitely more festive!

next, a plain wooden tray i picked up ages ago. no before picture; just envision, if you will, a plain wooden tray. envisioning? mkay. i painted it white, mod podged a piece of fabric to the bottom, then painted on a monogram. of course.

post-mod podge, pre-monogram

monogram in progress

AFTER:

notice another fabric mod podged project in the background - the pink frame

looks like the various geometric melamine & acrylic trays i've lusted over, but for what? FO' FREE. booyah.

:(

Marley Dog
1997-2011

three broken hearts at our house. we'll always love you, big dog.

operation finish

greetings! anybody still out there? sincere apologies for this most egregious lapse in blogging. it's been a whirlwind few months chez stone, culminating in my decision to quit an awful, time-sucking, soul-crushing job without another one lined up. yikes! sometimes in life, things are not what they seem. time to chalk it up to "life experience" and move on. so, what's next? i'm taking a few weeks to recover and reevaluate. kinda like the post-college gap year backpacking through europe that i never had. except with less gelato and more not spending any money.

in an effort to get back in touch with my poor shriveled creative spirit, i'm going to focus a lot on this blog. there are dozens and dozens of unfinished projects stacked up in my craft room, attic and garage that can be completed for zero dollars. there are also lots of closets, cabinets and shelves (not to mention the aforementioned craft room, attic and garage) that can be thoroughly cleaned and organized for zero dollars. tons of projects! hours of entertainment! zero dollars! and so, friends, it's time for....

OPERATION FINISH

show of hands: how many of you are like me, with supplies out the ears for well-intentioned projects that were never completed? over the next few weeks, i am going to systematically revisit these projects. and finish them. for zero dollars. or as close to zero dollars as possible. who's with me?!

despite the lack of time and will to live blog resultant from my recent workplace adventures, there have been some projects in the works up in here. here's what team stone has been up to over the past few months...

building shutters:

the old plastic shutters in the paint-testing phase

celebrating our 2nd anniversary:

family portrait fail

building a deck:

creating a gallery wall:

still searching for a few pieces...

organizing household storage:

indeed, we are rich in candles

and snuuuuggling:


OPERATION FINISH - it's on.

lake house: our bedroom before

you have heard tell of the lake house before. and it's atrocity. the pepto-pink and lavender walls; the circa 1970 toilets; the mish-mash of furniture that came with it. well, friends, it's time to see with your own eyes. i'll start with our bedroom - the before and the inspiration board.

brace yourselves.

from the bedroom's doorway:

the en-suite vanity:


close-up of the metallic floral wallpaper:


ghosts of linoleum past lurking under the vanity:


the harvest gold sink and counter:


and the matching en-suite pottay:


are you so impressed? here's the plan:


a few weekends ago, we did a deep clean and painted the paneled walls white. next steps include removing wallpaper, ripping up carpet to replace with hardwood-looking laminate and building a headboard.

operation lake house resuscitate = go.

indeed

our bed this morning, 7:00 a.m.

well then. that about sums it up.

procrastination: lesson learned

alternate title: why we can't have nice things.

lesson #1:

probably a year ago, i ordered a pair of monogrammed pillows from ballard designs:


with the intention of adding ribbon trim to them for our boudoir, like so:

by melissa rufty

which i did. like 6 months ago. yet failed to photograph all pretty-like for the blog. and a few weeks ago? the day before the 4 year anniversary of the day i brought a baby sterling home from the animal shelter? when i was feeling all sentimental about how much i love that dog? i came home from work to this:


and so. all i have to share now are crappy phone pictures of a bed with one pillow.

but hey, check out that grosgrain trim! with mitered corners and everything!


lesson #2:

in september, i exchanged a gift at stein mart and got a pair of black resin lamps:

i did manage to take before pictures, high five!

which i painted with linen milk paint and glazed, then placed on our bedside tables. and all was right with the world for a few months.

don't mock my salt lamp. i freaking love my salt lamp. it emits good energy and a saixy glow.

until an incident a few weeks ago wherein cstone attempted to help me make the bed.


resin lamps? do not fare well when knocked off a bedside table. sigh.

a pair of these have been ordered as a suitable replacement:


and also less breakable. time will tell...

is your household a death trap for home decor? or is it just me? anyone?