My 9th-ish ORC and WASH Your Hands

Week 4 

In many ways time has flown by during this Pandemic. Days can seem long but the weeks seem to fly. I know that makes zero sense but I can't figure out any other way to explain it!

In past ORC's I would be rushing around at this point looking for all kinds of things. 

This ORC I'm happy to have the walls, cabinet and mirror painted at this point!

Small victories. 

The initial plan of solid white walls gave way to a subtle stripe. Yes, stripes again. 

I've had a couple of color variations of stripes over the last 10 years in there and I was just going to go with plain white to change things up and to enjoy crisp white walls. Also, I had white paint and love white walls. After many hours of working on the walls and sanding and cleaning up sheetrock dust and doing it over again. I caved. The stripe will camouflage the issues that I can not resolve. Having a sheetrock person in to redo the whole room is not an option.

I had some blue paint on hand that I diluted with my white paint so I could solve the issue without going to a store.

I used my leftover Naval by Sherwin Williams. I used it in my Kitchen ORC that I didn't finish in time last go round and now need to photograph and post. Then Mollie used it in her bathroom and now I'm using it to mix a stripe color! Such a great navy!

Cooper seems to have an opinion on the stripe color :)

And if you think this bathroom is large enough for me, Cooper and all the paint stuff then let me assure you it's not!

Finally moving on from paint and sheetrock repair. 

And we all like the stripes!

I also wanted an outlet on the wall opposite the vanity. This is the wall that the bamboo shelf is on. I have always had a lamp on the vanity in this bathroom. The previous built in vanity was big and had a large countertop. It took up a lot of space but having a lamp in there was nice. 

I basically love lamps and have them in every room - including the kitchen and all the bathrooms! Now with the new, smaller footprint vanity I may need to put the lamp on the opposite side of the bathroom and there wasn't an outlet.

We completed the electrical work easily as there was an outlet on the other side of the bathroom wall and was inside our pantry cabinets and wasn't accessible. We just flipped it around to the powder room. All we had to do was cut a small hole and do a minimal amount of wiring. 

That's a win!

Solving the flooring issue is on this weekends agenda and then the powder room is ready 

for fun things to start happening.

Next weeks' update should be more exciting!

Stay well and check out everyone else's progress here.

My 9th-ish ORC and WASH Your Hands

Week 3 doesn't look much different from Week 2 where I showed you the wall damage from demoing the vanity.

I have been sanding walls and then cleaning up sheetrock dust. 

And then sanding walls and cleaning up sheetrock dust. 

The cabinet base is painted. I'm starting to paint the mirror. 

And the walls are getting their first coat of white paint. 

And even though I don't have a lot of firm decisions made, (partly due to the current shelter in place situation) and some decisions may change based on item availability and such, I absolutely love the cabinet paint color. It's Anjou Pear by Sherwin Williams and it's so rich. Perfect - not too bright or yellow-y and not too brown and mustard-y! Does that make sense?? :)

So sheetrock dust and watching paint dry. #week3

And while working on something else I did come across a few "before" pictures 

of this Powder Room after all. 

The wall opposite the vanity had a gallery wall full of art purchased on my travels. 

I'm relocating most of those so I'm beginning to think about what I want to hang in this space now. That's a lot more fun than sucking up sheetrock dust and watching paint dry!

And the other wall had this large Audubon Flamingo on it. It inspired the pinky-coral cabinetry. I think it might move someplace else but it or another Audubon might show up in here yet. Still looking at what I have and might move around the house. 

Can't get more #shoplocal than #shopthehouse! :)

I'm planning for the bamboo shelf to stay in here 

but I need to do a better job of utilizing it and styling it. 

Next week should be about more interesting things than sheetrock dust!!

All of the priming and painting should be behind me.

Please check out everyone else's progress here!

My 9th-ish ORC and WASH Your Hands!

 Week 2, I guess. 

Time runs together in some ways during all of this shelter in place, social distance, slow reopening of life period in time. 

We are really doing okay and keeping busy. 

I hope you and yours are well and you are spending this time in whatever way makes you the most at peace. 

So, what's up in the ORC project?

The bathroom cabinet was a very sturdy, built into the corner of the powder room, nondescript late 80's thing. The formica countertop had a 5 inch or so back splash that was glued to the sheetrock wall and, wow, was it glued. The wall damage was more than expected so this week has been about mud and sanding dust. 

My 9th-ish ORC and WASH Your Hands!

To make a long (One Room Challenge) story short this is my 9th-ish ORC.

Working back from last Fall...

Fall 2019 - My Kitchen (2nd attempt) PS. I did finish my kitchen I've just never photographed and blogged it! Maybe soon!

Spring 2019 - My Kitchen (Another Incomplete, yet I keep trying!)

Fall 2018 - My Porch 

Spring 2018 - I took an Incomplete :(

Fall 2017 - My Entryway

Spring 2017 - My Guest Bedroom

Fall 2016 - My Master Bathroom

Spring 2016 - My Library  which has been my most viewed and commented on ORC 

and it got a little refresh here.

Fall 2015 - Mollie's Bathroom   

Spring 2015 - My Guest Bedroom  which was my very first ORC and a learning curve for sure!

That's why I gave it a second go in the Spring 2017 ORC.

Since I have a bit of a hit or miss record with this thing it seems only fitting that I attempt another One Room Challenge during a Pandemic!

Right?

And since the most important thing we can do in the midst of Covid19 is to wash our hands it is either very fitting and timely or completely nuts to refresh our downstairs Powder Room where we wash our hands a gazillion times a day.

We are still sheltering in place so items that I use must either be what I have on hand or available for curbside pick up or delivery from online ordering. 

(This has been a difficult situation for so many in so many ways and I am aware that participating in a non-essential decorating challenge could seem insensitive. However, we all cope differently and "busy" and/or being creative is my coping mechanism. You can read about our particular Pandemic situation here and here.)

I'm all for using #morecreativitythancash and shopping the house too!

 Our bathroom vanity top is just not in the best shape and has needed replacing for ages. I've painted and decorated around it but it is past it's prime. I priced a new top and basin but it was far more economical to get a cabinet/basin combo from a big box store and it gives me the opportunity to get something less bulky and fit it in the space a little better. 

I shopped online and purchased the simplest, most clean lined vanity I could find. 

It's pretty basic and budget friendly but I knew I was painting it, changing the hardware and pairing it with a fabulous faux bamboo mirror already in the powder room. 

That was the utilitarian part of this project. Check.

The rest is the fun stuff.

I have had in my mind for a long time that when I redid this powder room I was going to use a mustard-y yellow color as my inspiration starting point. 

My plan all along was to paint the vanity and mirror a soft mustard. 

But I needed a fabric for the window treatment that would work with this color idea. 

My favorite part of redoing a room is wandering the fabric store aisles 

and falling for a fabric! 

Again, no open fabric stores so I had to go about this differently. 

So I started online. 

I looked and looked and googled 

and then I remembered a bolt of fabric I bought at a thrift store last year. 

I had thought I might use it for some pillows on the porch but it wasn't quite right after all. 

So I dug it out and it has a great colorway!

And the mustard-y background matches my favorite mustard-y, goldish Sherwin Williams color, Anjou Pear!! ( I used it in one of Mollie's college apartments!)

Yesss!! Hoarding Thrifting for the win!

A quick call to Sherwin Williams to order a gallon of paint for curbside pick up. 

I have the white paint for the walls because I'm basically never without white paint! 

I'm going to scrounge around but I'm pretty sure I have the paint for a fun painted floor project. 

The rest will just fall into place as I look around the house and decide about art and accessories.

I didn't really have any inspo pictures going in to this - just the color in my head but I found this on Pinterest and it pretty much sums up what I've been thinking (plus some blue and white chinoiserie, of course!)

lorenzocastillo.org

Thank you for following along, be safe and stay well and...

WASH your hands!

Looking for some distraction?
Be sure to follow along with all of the ORC posts here.

World Book Day.

April 23 is World Book Day.

It was designated by UNESCO in 1995 

and April 23rd is the anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. 

I, perhaps, would have chosen the anniversary of his birth. Slightly more upbeat spin but no one at The UN has ever asked my opinion on anything.

Anyway, that being said, I am a book stacker. Yep. I am. 

So in honor of World Book Day and long departed Shakespeare here is a glance at a few of my favorite books in their respective stacks 

and a couple of shots of our Library (that used to be our Dining Room.)

What great books are hiding behind that elephant?

Most of our books, stacked or otherwise, reside in the Library 

which used to be our Dining Room.

We don't live in a grand house at all but we morphed our little used Dining Room

 into a very useful Library over 10 years ago. 

I gave it a big refresh a couple of years ago during a One Room Challenge.

And then another little update recently.

 (We even have a book related Christmas tradition if you want to check that out!)


This old cabinet (originally from an old school library) is on the opposite side of the Library from the bookcases and globes above.

Open...

and closed.

I am always thankful for my cozy home but home is more important now more than ever.

I have been enjoying looking through my favorite design books 
during this shelter in place time. 
What about you? 

Bar Cart in Blue and White

I put together this bar cart as part of a fun and thoughtful challenge created by Lydia from the Party Wagon - her blog and IG feed are fabulous.

She gave a lot of IG friends a challenge to create a blue and white tribute to health care workers who wear blue scrubs and/or white coats.

Lydia suggested creating a tablescape but I thought that when this is over

 all of those doctors and nurses might like a nice long happy hour 

so I zhushed the bar cart on our screened porch.

If we were really ready to party then the bottom shelf of this vintage cart would be filled with liquor choices and bubbly chilling in a silver champagne bucket.

Mollie and I have been enjoying "mocktails" during the week and very fizzy mineral waters with fresh garnishes are our favorite. You can get pretty creative with the combinations of waters, fruits and juices, and garnishes.

In addition to fizzy waters and citrus garnishes I added a salty snack or two in cute bowls.

I ordered a set of dish towels from Amazon last year and it's fun to have all the gingham color choices! I pulled out the French Blue and classic navy.

The leopard napkins are from The Dollar Tree. (I know!) 

I bought a stack when I found them. 

The lemon and palm leaf drink markers (in the pineapple dish on the left) are from The Dollar Spot at Target (purchased last year.) 

Setting up a pretty drinks spot doesn't have to be pricey!

The thrifted tortoiseshell glass holds bamboo straws from The Grove. 

They come with a little brush to clean them with!

The lemon is perched in a little clay pot I painted to use as egg cup place markers at Easter.

#usewhatyouhave

All of the blue and white, the bamboo tray and even the pretty glasses were thrifted. 

The vintage silk painting is one of a pair and were a major score.

The camel lamp has a great before and after here.

Thank you to health care workers during this crazy Covid19 time. 
Thank you to Lydia at the Party Wagon for motivating us to post a tribute. 

And think about setting up your own bar cart to make relaxing 
during these stressful times a little more fun!
It doesn't have to be just for adults! Add fun straws and cups for the kiddos. 
Put out favorite soda flavors and a few treats. It would be perfect for movie nights or game night since board games are making a huge comeback while we are sheltering at home.

Stay safe and well.

Quarantine Crafts for the Kiddos

Someday this title will show up in a search engine and the quarantine part won't mean anything to the person searching. It will all be in the past. Cannot wait!

I hope everyone is well and hanging in there (and acknowledging the severity of this situation) while appreciating the little upbeat moments in all of this. 
Find them where you can! 

I used to speak at training events for teachers and my topic was all about creativity and how allowing creative choices and freedoms enhances learning. 

Mollie used to tell people that I went to "teach teachers how to teach!" :)

Not all learning looks like worksheets, quizzes or formal activities. 

In a 2007 clinical report for the American Academy of Pediatrics, the physician Kenneth R. Ginsburg wrote that “play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength.” Yet “many [children] are being raised in an increasingly hurried and pressured style that may limit the protective benefits they would gain from child-driven play.”
*Also, please do not think that an older child doesn't need play or learn while being creative. 

Since everyone has a lot of time to fill, and I keep seeing how limiting screen time is a goal for almost everyone (Yay!!), I'm linking some old posts that would be a good starting point for sparking some creative time for kiddos of all ages. 

Creative thinking and problem solving abilities are two of the things that colleges and companies are searching for in candidates. Start fostering that now with some creative freedoms!

These projects are pre-Prime and ordering everything to be delivered and I'm a big recycler/repurposer so a lot of these require mostly found items. 

And if you don't have something let your little artist/creator find a substitution!

Also, these posts are early on and the images are not the best but that doesn't mean the projects are not great activities for this time in our lives. 

Dig out some cookie cutters and a few pantry items and make this delicious smelling
Chocolate Playdough 




Puppet play is fun and a great stress reliever. It's a good way for children to express frustrations or fears without even realizing it. And we should have TP rolls to use!
Make a batch of these Puppets on a Stick to go with whatever they are studying or to act out a favorite book.


This angel project was originally for Christmas but they could easily be changed in to garden angels. A great accent for your gardens - we are all spending a lot of time out in the fresh air - might as well grow something. I did order seeds on Prime the other day! These would also be cute neighbor gifts or make some for the grandmothers for Mother's Day. It is really easy to find lots of recycled items to use for angel wings and halos.





Owls are always fun. This painting activity is all about shapes and can be as simple or complex as a child's age allows. Paint on cardboard, posterboard, the inside of a cereal box. Whatever you have. Craft paints, old house paint, markers. Use what you have.





These do require a saw to slice the branches but after that there are so many possibilities. Wood slices are so unique and make even learning spelling words fun!Use a Sharpie to draw letters or tic tac toe x's and o's. Draw simple images and use like story stones. This one is completely free. You just need a small branch from the yard!

These daisy stakes for the garden are a good way to create an instant family garden! If you don't have clay saucers use plastic lids. Cut wood scraps into circles. Look around. Use a branch from the yard if you don't have a wood stake. Or use a paintstick or ruler. Improvise. Each child can make one and decorate the flower bed. Or make them for May Day and leave as a surprise for neighbors!

Use this sign project as an inspiration for all kinds of messages and found items to create your flower decoration.
So many possibilities!



There are more posts with fun, found object projects that will spark everyone's creativity.
Just scroll through the blog and enjoy learning and creating during this unusual time.
Maybe this will spark a love of creating that last long past our quarantine days.
If you have any questions just let me know!! 
Get creative!!