Pinterest Bedroom Makeover - Part 1

Back Corner Edition

First, I need to thank Pinterest for my ridiculous obsession with sprucing up my room. I'm not usually one to have lots of things on the walls...until Pinterest came along.

Oh, Pinterest, how you inspire me.

Source: honeyandfitz.blogspot.ca via Marsha on Pinterest

This is how I came to choose my height of curtains for my back wall. Which is difficult since my ceilings are 12' high. And the window? The top of it is at 9'. Yeah. It's tall. Not to mention, I have this ugly door. It's my fire escape. Which is highly complicated for an escape seeing as on the other side, I have an iron bar door which I have to unlock with a key. And then once that's open? I have to choose to jump down 10 feet into the basement apartment entrance or step onto the iron bar door and swing over to the fence and shimmy down like Spider Man. But I digress. It's an ugly door.

Yeah. Like I said. U-G-L-Y.

Before moving in, my awesome landlord not only agreed to let me paint the right wall, he also painted it! (Well, he had someone paint it and it was getting painted anyway.) I chose "Colorado Gray" from Benjamin Moore. Which is really a gray-blue as you'll see below.

Once I had my curtain fabric picked out, I went to the "gallery space" above my bed. I already had some random canvases from wanting to be artsy fartsy, a mirror I got on the cheap, and a picture I got from Eastern Market that was the progression of a cherry tree about the Tidal Basin with the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in the background.

Cheap poster frame for the pics? OK! And you'll see the Colorado Gray is blue.

From my Artsy Fartsy board, I hybridized these two pins:

Source: cluckclucksew.com via Ana on Pinterest

Source: jhsmith88.tumblr.com via Ana on Pinterest

Enter: The Fabric Flower Mod Podged Wall Art.

Assemble your goods:
Canvas
Fabric
Mod Podge
Sponge brush

Here's I Frankensteined my way through this project:

1. Instead of using math or a string, I outlined glass bowls I had to choose the size of the circles to draw on the canvases.
2. Again without using math, I traced circles onto fabric that were about 3" and 2" in diameter. Pro tip: If you fold your fabric, you can cut out more than one circle at a time. I cut about 30 each of the two sizes total for my three fabric choices (leftover from my curtains...see how I did that?)
3. Cut all those circles in half. Boom. Doubled your petal count.
4. From there, I lined up the edge of the 3" gray fabric along the circle outline (sorry I didn't take pics because my hands were a little glue-y.)
5. By applying Mod Podge to the backside of the fabric, it's like gluing paper down. Pro tip: apply a layer of Mod Podge directly to the canvas to make sticking easier.
6. Once I completed the circle, I went over top of the pieces with Mod Podge because I knew that I would be irritated as hell if even one petal started to wilt.
7. The next layer, I used the 3" purple and offset those petals from the gray by half.
8. I continued with the white fabric and offset it from the purple. 
9. I then used another round of the 3" circles in all three colors.
10. Switch to your small cirlces and continue to fill in the circle.
11. Once you're to the middle and a small circle fits nicely in the center, spackle that sucker down. Pro tip: Don't be afraid of Mod Podge. It dries clear.
12. Repeat on other circles.
13. Since the Mod Podge will create a subtle sheen on the canvas, I did one thin layer over the whole canvas to keep the appearance uniform once they were hung on the wall.

Boom. Hybrid pins.

To finish up my wall, I slapped some purple paint on the frame of that cheapo mirror to add another pop of color.

Now onto the part of the post that you really care about: the AFTER photos!

Tall curtains? Check. Wall collage? Check.

Lighting is not great because I also realized my overhead light is not centered.

Now, for the comparison photos for an even BIGGER impact!

BOOM! Big reveal!

BAM! Look at the difference!

Buh-bye ugly door! (But not forever in case I was in need of escape from an inferno...but that's beside the point.)

So What Wednesday

Yep. It's Wednesday. And it's caught me by surprise again.

OK, well. Not completely by surprise, but yeah. You know.

I'm linking up with Shannon Life After I "Dew" to say SO WHAT?!

So WHAT if...

• I still haven't recapped Colorado? I mean, it happened. It was awesome. I'm back to real life.
• I chopped my locks? I'll get around to taking a picture when I'm not frustrated with the miscommunicated bang situation.
• I do have a couple of Pinterest inspired posts in the works? They will become pins themselves. 
• I've had frosting for dessert? It's good for the soul.
• I had pizza for dinner Friday through Monday? It's good when you find a good GF crust. And banana peppers. You must have banana peppers.
• I'm pretty sure Aviva on Real Housewives of NYC is not crazy for developing anxiety? I think I'm getting up there.
• I sleep with my door closed at night? Every. Night. I had to really gear up just to crack it for air flow in the summer heat.
• I typically drink the majority of my eight eights (64 oz) of water from dinner to bedtime? Now you know why footie pajamas are not realistic for me.

So What Wednesday

Linking up with Shannon at Life After I "Dew" for a long awaited So What sesh.

So WHAT if...

• I took a mini-hiatus? I always take these breaks and always come back with a "what of it?" statement. It's why you love me and I love you.
• I have contemplated two posts about my trip home? I need a good little wedding recap and a general catch up from my homeland.
• I have yet to write said posts? I had to hit the ground running at work and I was zapped until this long weekend.
• I had a long weekend because of a syphilitic man who got lost on his way to India? I tell myself it's for Chris Columbus who wrote The Goonies, directed Adventures in Babysitting, and produced the first three Harry Potters. Legit reasons for a national holiday.
• I am so excited to get out my fall & winter wardrobe? I love layers!
• I have no idea where I'm going to store said wardrobe? Right now, they are in tubs, but I need a massive clean out of spring/summer if I have any hope of space.
• I can't handle post-a-day/pic-a-day challenges? I mean, this is my first post in how long? Let's not put deadlines on me.
• I really want footie pajamas? Like, ridiculously bad. Although the lynch pin in the purchase is the zippering out to pee in the middle of the night have asleep.

An Open Letter to Red Vines

via 

Dear Red Vines,

I do love your delicious licorice. I have fond memories as a kid of your Original Red Twists. I had them at movies, at birthday parties, and sleepovers. They are a delicious treat mixing corn syrup, citric acid, your own secret flavoring, red dye number 40, and WHEAT FLOUR.

Wait. Let me get this straight. My beloved confectionery is made using wheat flour?!

Where, why, how, who, what could possibly possess you to take something as innocuous as corn syrup and throw in gluten in there? Why not corn starch?

Why you gotta hate on people with auto-immune sensitivity to gluten? Seriously. Not cool, Red Vines. Not. Cool.

All a girl wants is to bite off both ends of a Red Vine, stick it in their soda and have a fun little straw. Then maybe eat said straw because it's extra sugary from your soda.

Or maybe you want to twirl a Red Vine like a helicopter while you're standing around chatting with your mom because you both love Red Vines.

So again, Red Vines, I have to ask why do you use wheat flour? Have you experimented with rice flour? Almond flour? Corn starch? Quinoa flour? Millet flour?

Please, for the love of everything holy, get your chemists, scientists, and resident Betty Crockers together to brain storm and try new recipes so the major allergen group that you're discriminating against can enjoy your delicious candy.

That would be great, thanks.

So What Wednesday

It's that time of week where I link up with Shannon at Life After I "Dew" and say SO WHAT!

So WHAT if...

• I have several posts in the hopper, but can't get them posted? I mean, I have some attention issues. And some internet issues.
• I got rid of internet for a week? We cancelled out Comcast because it wasn't working at all. And then we had a week before we got our new internet. It was a little liberating, a little scary.
• I have no idea what I'll do when Real Housewives of New Jersey and New York City have their season finales? I love their particular brand of crazy.
• I am legitimately freaked out by Frankenweenie, but want to see The Possession? I think that Tim Burton in general gives me the heebee jeebees.
• I love me some Broncos? Welcome to Denver, Peyton. Thank you, Indy for drafting Luck. 
• I have been taken of the Watch List? The heat wave known as summer in DC has broken for a bit. I can wear jeans and a blazer and not sweat through every layer designed to keep boob sweat, low back sweat, pit sweat, and swamp ass at bay. That, and I don't get all stabby while I get ready in the morning.
• Speaking of feeling stabby, I can't help but get all stabby when I see Kristin Stewart? I mean, I can get through a Twilight because I fell in love with the books (a la Hermoine in HP), but I see previews for Snow White, and all those stabby feelings come back.
• I realize I am not a 14 year old Twihard or Potter lover? I just like good books that are so engrossing I can't wait to find time to read.

p.s. You really need to check out Shannon's new blog design. Amazeballs.

So What Wednesday

It's that time of the week where I link up with Shannon at Life After I "Dew" and say SO WHAT!

So WHAT if...

• I nearly forgot to write my SWW post? It's a holiday week and it feels like Tuesday.
• I cancelled our high-speed internet? Before you keel over, let me just tell you that we live in an old house (like, 1880s old) where the landlords used cheap wiring throughout the house for cable. That means we don't really get internet, so we were paying for a service that we didn't really even have.
• The roommate is in charge of finding an alternative? She's good at looking things up and becomes obsessive over things, i.e. apartment search, so why not have her look into this, too.
• I am about to fly off the handle about this humidity? Seriously. You can't apply makeup to a wet face. You can't dry your face and then put on makeup because the millisecond in between still produces sweat.
• I don't know how I'm going to get through the rest of this godforesaken heat? In case you couldn't tell from my rant yesterday or my previous so what, I AM OVER IT.

Go link up with Shannon and say your SO WHAT!

Layers, Long Sleeves, and Jackets...Oh My!

Y'all. Packing is tough.

Packing is tough when you're going for 10 days and have special events that require their own shoes.

Packing is tough when it's fall and you want to wear your boots and bring another pair for good measure.

Packing is tough when you're thinking about it three weeks in advance. (Because you're an obsessive list maker.)

Packing is tough when it's 88 degrees with 70% humidity which equates to a wet heat somewhere between "Balls Hot" and "So Effing Disgusting You Take Multiple Showers Everyday and Change Your Sopping Wet Clothes A Lot."

Packing is tough when the climate that you're going to, while it does still approach 80 degrees, it truly is a dry heat, and when the sun goes down or is obscured by clouds, the day star's heat actually stops heating the earth.

Packing is tough when you know that you're going to check a bag and have already rationalized a carry-on wheeled suitcase and perhaps even the Vera Bradley Grand Traveler (the size of a carry-on wheeled suitcase) for good measure. You know, because, well, you might need that outfit or you might acquire a new outfit.

Granted, I have three weeks. I have plenty of experience packing. I know that I'll start laying out my clothes by outfit (including accessories) so I will get everything I need. I know that I will make endless lists on my phone and in paper to keep track. I know I will consult my social events with the weather reports leading up to the trip incessantly to be prepared.

But really? I am just so stinking excited to go back to my homeland! This is the longest I've ever been out of the state of Colorado in the past 29 years, so it's a bit of a change.

Also? Next summer, I need to get out of DC because this heat is killer. Or rather, it makes me want to become a killer.

There's something the be said about homicide rates increasing and hot weather. I digress.

Happy holiday week!