After

Over 36 years ago I bought a wicker clothes hamper right after we got married. It started out being a salmon pink. I’m not a pink person so I painted it yellow and covered the lid with a piece of oil cloth. Oil cloth is a plastic coated material…like the plastic table cloths your grandma (or great-grandma) used to have. Get the picture?

Before

A few years passed and I got over my yellow craze and went with neutral: cream fabric on the lid and cream paint.

While the kids were growing up the hamper was a favorite hiding place when playing hide and go seek on rainy or cold winter days. It’s hard to believe any one of them were small enough to get into it!

A few years ago I looked around for a new hamper but quickly realized they don’t make them 1) sturdy enough or 2) big enough for a week of laundry, so I’ve kept my old relic.

I often put my foot on it while applying lotion to my legs, and the cats sometimes sit on it so they can visit with me while I’m brushing my teeth or applying make-up.

It needed a new look so I went looking for fabric that would hide dirt and the random cat hair, found a multi colored piece. The new color of paint is called “Caramel Latte,” Krylon’s spray line of brushed metallic spray paint. (You may have noticed in previous posts I am becoming the queen of spray painting stuff.)

I still love my old hamper!

{Note from Amy: I never appreciated this hamper till this very moment. Mom, when you’re done with it, can I have it? And I’m just sure I could still fit in it.;) }

Interestingly, the most frequent visitor was (and still is) my cat, Heidi.

But wait, I digress. Back to the blue birdbath. It’s color made me want MORE dark marine blue in my yard. So I painted a neat old wrought iron table I found in an antique garden shop that was painted a bland white and showing it’s years. I love the way it provides a contrast to my brown patio chairs.

Then I painted a piece of garden art – a hoop with a bird perched on it, only painting the bird. I have a lot of pink and white flowers so the blue accents compliment the flowers (and weeds) quite nicely.

Maybe your accent color will be purple or yellow or orange! Paint a flower pot or a watering can. Once my husband even painted a long-handled lug wrench and stuck it in the ground.

(Note from Amy: I’m pretty sure you can’t go overboard with this one, Mom. Need more cobalt! And Dad’s lug wrench is pretty cute… particularly because only a man could turn a car tool into yard art. I’m pretty sure it’s his version of a yard art flower.)

Several years ago a friend gave me a recipe for Organic Plant Insecticide that really works. The ingredients are common household items, and are nontoxic to people and pets, besides being environmentally safe.

For this photo I decided my recycled Glass Plus bottle (with label permanently afixed) was not acceptable for HNWN so I invested $1 in a new spray bottle at Dollar General. Whether you use an empty bottle or get a new one, just be sure it holds about 32 ounces. I used a decorative label to write the recipe in permanent marker and stuck it on the bottle.

Organic Plant Insecticide

1 32 oz. spray bottle

1 c. brewed tea

1/4 c. distilled vinegar

1/8 c. dish detergent (not the degreaser kind)

2 c. water

Pour all into bottle. Screw on sprayer top and shake to mix.

Spray on plant and soil. After a few minutes spray plant foliage with water.

Great on rose bushes and safe on vegetables.

(I don’t think this concoction will work on fire ants. Those beasts need the really toxic stuff like Ambro.)

{Note from Amy: Mom, can you also share a recipe for some magic spray that keeps plants alive through drought and neglect? Mine would love you for it.}

Ahhh, the bathroom’s finished and I’m satisfied with it’s transformation.

Picking paint colors for this project was an experience like no other I’ve had. I figured I’d better find a shower curtain that I liked — bought 4 before I found “the one.” Then searched several paint stores before deciding on a wall color a bit lighter than the curtain.

I tried my hand at free-form texturing the walls; all I have to say about my technique is that it’s…unique!

Then for the woodwork and cabinetry I was determined to find a paint color that nearly matched the bathtub tile. Do you have any inkling how many hues of a “pinkish tan” there are???

Next I had to re-mat my favorite lighthouse print as well as get a frame for the lighthouse poster and spray paint it along with an empty frame for my artsy project.

Now came the fun part: sorting thru my collection of shells and beachcombing finds to make a collage. I used good ole E-6000 glue to fix all my favorite seashore treasures onto the mat board in the sand textured spray painted frame.

Now, every time I go into the bathroom I take a moment to think of my favorite vacation destination: the beach! I even have a candle on the back of the toilet, it’s scent: Sun N Sand!

These cabinets always have doors. Very out of date. I’m not okay with that.

But without the door it looks like a built-in shelf. Now in the open and easily accessible, my cabinet houses:

• A basket to stow toilet paper (out of sight but not out of reach)
• A sea sponge with travel size shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and disposable razors for guests
• Febreeze. Don’t ask – it seems to be a necessity in a man’s bathroom!

Note from Amy: Mom – When can I have that sea sponge? I’ve missed it since I growed up and moved out.

The front bathroom has needed updating in the worst way. Last fall I had the sink vanity and floor done by a company called Granicrete. Good start, but that was only the beginning!

In my opinion every room should have a clock, and especially the bathroom. I needed a new wall clock for my newly redone bathroom. Found one I liked for $6.99 at Kirkland’s, but the side wasn’t flush with the wall. This just would not do because it’s on the side wall and was noticable.

So I bought some trim at a fabric store and simply hot-glued it on to the edge! Since the top of the clock is not as visible as the bottom I started and ended the trim at the top.

Note from Amy: I’m jealous of Mom’s coral. The beach is her favorite place, so our bathrooms always had remnants of our trips scattered about, and this one is no exception. You’ll see.

OK. So in my last post I told you about painting the brick wall. Here’s the rest of the story: all that priming and painting really did a number on the muscles in my shoulders. So I pulled out my old sock filled with rice, microwaved it for 2 minutes and draped it across my shoulders. It’s a homemade hot pack that infuses warm, moist heat into sore muscles.

Now, the old sock, while very servicable, is down right ugly.

Here’s a quick and easy project! I cut two 18×6 inch pieces of fabric and sewed 3 sides, leaving an end open for filling. (Isn’t the fabric I dug out of my stash cute? Piggies!) Then I filled it 3/4’s full with uncooked rice and some whole cloves that had been lurking in the back of my spice cabinet, then stitched up the opening.

Make your bag any size or shape you want, just remember to fill it only about 3/4 fill. Heck, you can even use an ‘orphaned’ men’s tube sock (by orphaned I mean the sock who’s mate didn’t survive the washer and you’ve got the poor orphan in the rag box).

You can use just rice, but it does omit a funky little odor, hence using something like cloves, dried whole rosemary, or dried lavender. I’ve got it on my shoulders right now and it feels and smells so good. Sometimes I even heat my rice bag up and take it to bed – no electric cord to worry about.

Note from Amy: Mom just texted saying this would be a great idea for a Mother’s Day gift… Toss in some handmade lotion, bath salts, and a book or magazine. I love it! ‘Cause if there’s one thing mums need, it’s some R&R. But does it count when your mom comes up with the gift you give her… ??:)

When we had a formal dining room I used it as a tablecloth over a flat navy sheet. But then we moved into a cottage (actually, it’s not a cottage, it’s a small ranch – but I prefer to think of it as a cottage!) with no formal dining room.  So I decided to create a little comfort niche in the corner of my bedroom and the bedspread became an old timey lace-looking curtain.

I just folded it down the fringed edge and basted it into a curtain rod sleeve, then added a tieback. It’s my favorite spot to sit and watch HGTV!

First I primed the brick so the color of the paint would be true. Then I brushed on the paint (I decided to use a brush rather than rolling on the paint because there were lots of little holes and crevasses where a roller may not cover). Invest in a quality paint… it covers with one coat – I used less than a gallon!

Note from Amy: I just have to say, my Dad was a total skeptic about this project. He’s a bit of a brick purist. But guess who still, weeks later, daily comments on how much he loves it? Mmm hmm. My momma knows how to decorate. I particularly love how her decor pops so much more now!

Happiness? For me it’s a little framed picture of Amy smiling at me, a little bottle of miniature seashells we picked up on the beach, and a bud vase full of beach stones. I look at my treasures everyday when I’m putting on my makeup, and smile.

Note from Amy: I was more than a little tickled the first time I saw my picture on my Momma’s shelf. She loves me.:)