green is groovy...

finished.  and listed.  finally.

reflection...

reflection (ri'flekSHen). n. 1. the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it.  2. serious thought or consideration.

We never see life as it really is.  All we can ever see is the reflection of life - distorted by our unique perceptions.

-Jonathan Lockwood Huie- 

the unveiling...

yeah, so i know you're all waiting with breathless anticipation.  did we finish?  

yes.  that last coat of paint rolled on so nicely.  once it was dry and i could really see it, i breathed a sigh of relief.  no more dots.  just a nice, smooth, velvety green.  now that it's done i really like it.  we found some bedding in the closet that will do for now.  i plan on removing every bit of hot pink and orange.  all in good time.  i took these pictures this morning.  it's really quite dark.  

especially here in her "beauty corner".  we will have to add some more lighting.  maybe one of those light up make-up mirrors.  she plans on creating some paintings on large canvases for the walls.  i like that idea.

i wanted to do these "makeover" posts for my college girl.  so she can see what is being done to her room.  yes, erica, it's still cassidy's room too.  you can see that she's pushed the two beds together to make a large cozy nest for herself.  don't worry, i'll make her separate them when you come home to visit : )

the boys room took a bit longer as i had to go and paint all of that hideous orange molding.  and that is not something i wanted help with.  it took about 6 hours.  i had to go real slow so as not to mess up our paint job.  i'm kind of glad they chose black.  it covered in two coats.  i may go back and fix a few spots, where i think i can still detect the orange.  but i'm taking a break today.  that white dresser really clashes.  that may get black paint too at some point.  it's pretty beat up.  i made their duvet covers out of some cool (and cheap) black sheets i found at walmart.

i painted their closet with chalkboard paint a couple of years ago.  fits right in.

i painted the back of the door too because it was orange.  they had some ideas for the ceiling, but i had to draw the line.  the ceiling stays white.  so, as you can see, their room is very dark too.  very manly.  they are going to need some extra lighting as well.  

we are going to take our time on the decor, as i am working on a whole cleansing/purging thing with all of the kids.  it's time to declutter.  although, my older son found some old vinyl record albums at the goodwill the other day.  black of course.  we may do something with those, since they both love music.   

if you have any good ideas, let me know.  as long as it doesn't involve painting : )

what was i thinking?????

one of the projects we (my children and i) wanted to complete this summer was to paint their rooms.  so, the plan was to do the girls room first and then the boys room and i would impart all of my painting wisdom upon them and we would take a leisurely time getting them done.  you know, three or four days per room.  and perhaps take a break between rooms.  'cept, we arrived at the last week of their summer vacation and we still hadn't started.  but i'm a hopeful sort of person and so i suggest that we just go for it.  let's do both rooms at once.  what was i thinking?

i painted this room when we first moved in - fresh white with hot pink and florescent orange.  so many dots!   and i did such a thorough job.  two coats of paint on each dot with the dots covering the entire wall, even behind all of the furniture.  and on the back of the door too.  of course, an even number of pink vs. orange dots.  because pink was for my younger daughter and orange was for my older daughter.  what was i thinking?  you may be able to see in this picture that we spent a day lightly sanding each and every dot.  oh, and if you look real closely you'll see a sleeping teenager.  guess she's not ready to get started on the painting yet.

i painted the boys room that same florescent orange on top.  florescent orange!  and a kind of mellow medium blue on the bottom.  the top was for my older son and the bottom was for my younger son.  what was i thinking?  couldn't i just get them to agree on a color they both liked?  again, i did a nice thorough job, painting all of the molding orange and blue as well.  all of that nice molding.  really, what was i thinking?  

the first coat left me with a sinking feeling.  this is not going to go as smoothly as i thought.  this is good paint.  glidden paint and primer in one.  i used it in my own room several months ago and it covered really well on the first coat and i did a second coat just because i always do.  but i really underestimated those dots.  what was i thinking?  

this first coat left me with that same sinking feeling.  orange does not cover well.  maybe i should have primed the orange with a regular primer first?  too late.  what was i thinking?  and i noticed the paint seemed really dark compared to the colors we had chosen.  the green we (i) choose was a nice medium green called prairie sage, but that green looks more like olive green.  same with the grey.  they (i) chose a nice medium grey, but this really looks like charcoal grey.  what went wrong here?  i check the cans.  instead of mixing the paint with a light base as he should have, the  guy used a medium base, making the colors way darker.  like, really a lot darker.  the kids are happy about this mistake.  my plan of steering them towards lighter colors has backfired.  they are getting the colors they wanted to begin with.

the second coat is better, but still.  those dots.  plus, we have run out of paint.  

the second coat is looking better on the bottom, but that orange.  and we are almost out of paint here too.  what was i thinking?  of course we need two gallons.

we did all of this the first day.  two coats on each room.  pretty ambitious i think.  the kids really are helping out.  and i managed to make dinner.  real dinner.  because i always do.  steak and rice and veggies.  when hubby comes home, i'm tired, so i send him on a paint run so we can get back to it on day two.

and i'm out of pictures, because i am driven to get this done.  i'm not stopping for anything.  on day two we put down a third coat in each room.  the third coat is looking a bit better in the green room and i feel hopeful that coat number four will be it.  the third coat on the grey room looks really good, like we could be done.  but, oh no!  what was i thinking?  we've had some more paint issues.  i'm not going to go into all of the details, because that's just boring.  but let me just say, if you are going to buy your paint from walmart, just remember, walmart employees are not paint experts, they just plug it into the computer and the computer does the work.  you are the one responsible for making sure they are choosing the correct paint, the correct base, that the color is correct...and all that important stuff.  preferably before you open it up and use it.  i'm not really complaining.  i realize you get what you pay for.  and this paint is cheaper than getting it from a real paint store or even home depot.  

so, we're slowing down a bit.  i'm feeling a bit woozy from all these paint fumes.  but i just know day three is going to be it.  a nice finishing fourth coat of paint on each room.  stay tuned...  and cross your fingers.

in progress...

pages and pages and pages of torn sketch paper...

wrinkly leather in an awesome shade of green...

maybe a bead or two...

hmmm...this dyed green fabric is a possibility...

it's drab and dreary here today.  again.  we've had so much rain this year.  normally, i don't mind the rain, but enough is enough.  i'm craving a nice sunny day.  a nice, cool, sunny, fall-ish kind of day.  i love fall and i can hardly wait for it to get here this year.  i'm actually feeling very impatient about it.   but for now, i'm distracting myself with work.  work that i love.  today, i've thrown out a bunch of stuff onto my table and made a big mess, which is not how i usually work, but it feels good and productive.  i should be finished with not just one, but two, green leather books in a day or two...

thought of the day...

"It is always sad when someone leaves home, unless they are simply going around the corner and will return in a few minutes with ice-cream sandwiches."

-Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid-

hi there...it's been awhile.  i hadn't meant to take such a long break, but somehow time just slipped away from me, as time sometimes does.

  having teens is, at times, a long strange trip.  just when you get used to the idea that they don't need you, all of the sudden they do need you and even if it's just a temporary thing, i've learned to embrace those moments when they come.  so this summer has really been a lot about my kids.  our oldest had her 18th birthday a few weeks ago and we have been preparing for her departure for college, which is happening...tomorrow!  i am so, so proud of her and very happy to see her moving ahead in life and pursuing her dreams.  but i will miss her and it will be an adjustment for our family for sure.

the other kids will be returning to school in just over a week, so summer break is really winding down.  i'm looking forward to getting back to my routine.  it's nice to take a break sometimes, but i am really starting to miss my quiet, creative days.  my idea book is overflowing with the scribblings and sketchings of so many things that i would like to do.  and of course i've missed blogging.  even though i've been visiting your blogs, i've missed sharing little bits of my goings on with all of you.  so, thanks for coming back and i'll be talking to you soon...