Sunday, October 27, 2013

Give a man some plans

Change is good, right? That's what I hear people say sometimes anyway. I'm not thrilled about a lot of major changes, but this minor one is MAJOR to me and I'm so excited about it!

A new view for Abigail
I'm always wanting to change things up in the kids' rooms. Mainly because their rooms are not very "roomy" in the way of space, yet they have so much stuff. Move this here, change this space up, add some storage bins here, etc. Just never really satisfied - especially in Abbey's room.

A while back I came across an amazing (did I say AMAZING??) site that has all kinds of free construction plans for whatever your heart desires. Allen has made me a buffet style cabinet from this same site. Fast forward to a couple of months ago when I saw a picture of a loft bed (probably on Pinterest) that would be so awesome in Abbey's room. I go to the link and it's THAT site I found a while back! Well, I sent him the plans immediately and the thought started to grow legs. I love the idea of the loft bed mainly because it doubles the space of the area! This quickly turned from a "I love this - how cute!" to a "We NEED this!" And so it began...

The original plan is for a twin bed, but I wanted something that would carry her through for several more years and have room for a friend to sleep over. So Allen had to convert the plans to a full sized bed instead. No big deal for him, thank God. {Side note: I have been blessed with a handy hubby.}

After he got everything measured, cut and clear coated, construction began. First, he got the frame put together. Papa was lending a couple of hands and Seth is supervising the activities.



Then he added a few more pieces (with some helpers)...


Now he's getting the platform and stair area added on...



Platform and stairs are done!



And below you'll see that Project Loft Bed is COMPLETE!

*Notice in the picture below, her old headboard is leaning against the bed. Her Dad made that from an old door and I painted it with a pretty purple 'A'. We are going to find a way to incorporate it into her room! Maybe even as a headboard of sorts. ;)


What a cute play area this creates under the bed! Every kid loves a place they can hide away and create a fort of sorts. The little reading bench Dad made her (Mimi and I made the cushion) a few weeks back is so cute under here, along with her little pink chair. :)




At this moment, the happy new bed owner is asleep with the butterflies (they hang from her ceiling).

If you want to venture out and make your child their very own loft bed, go to www.ana-white.com to check out these great plans!

The next project on my plate is to make a cutesy little chandelier from an old lampshade that was used in her room when she was a baby. It will hang from underneath her bed, over her chair. I've already started on it... stay tuned for a tutorial on that soon!

Until next time,
~S

Monday, October 7, 2013

Bloglovin'

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Sunday, October 6, 2013

Sit a spell and read!

Abbey's in Kindergarten. I know, seems impossible to me. Five years have flown by and I'm wondering what I've missed along the way. Anyone who knows me well knows my memory is good when it's good and non-existent otherwise. I can, however, clearly remember taking her to my OB's office to show her off, just a couple of weeks after she was born. To show off her natural golden highlighted hair that she was born with.... and her petite little painted toenails.

Okay, back to my Kindergartener. She's reading already. I know this isn't unusual for a lot of children but Seth really didn't get going well on reading until he was in 1st grade. I thought for a while Abbey was just "reading" books from memory, but I've watched her pick up a new book and sound out words. She's read Green Eggs and Ham 5 times since yesterday. It's amazing to me how their little minds can learn new things!

I've been wanting to get her room fixed up a little differently for a while now, and saw a cute reading bench on Pinterest that I wanted her Dad to make. He got it made and he and Seth painted it yesterday. Bright pink, of course. So today after church, Mimi and I made her the cutest, hippest cushioned bench topper for it with a few things we picked up at Joann Fabric yesterday. It's so adorable and it was really easy to make!





I can't wait to get the next project done in her room! I'm most certain it will warrant its own blog post. Stay tuned. ;)

-S