Create.

Well, it's safe to say I may have shed a tear or two during the closing ceremonies of the Olympics yesterday. What an incredible journey the last 2+ weeks have been for all who were either in London or tuned in from home. If it weren't for my children I may have never left the house in order to watch every minute! Feels like the time flew by and I didn't do a single thing around here....my cleaning may be behind but I did do a thing or two.:)

First off, the Garage Games was such a success! A huge thank you to all who invited us for a peek into their home. I have definitely come out of the Garage Games with some fresh ideas and that itch for creativity. If you sent photos then you'll be entered into a drawing for a piece of jewelry! I'll contact you soon if/when your name is pulled.:)

Aside from tuning into the Olympics and putting together Garage Games posts, the past 2 weeks were not completely wasted.

I completed this custom order dresser. 

Made 5 loaves of banana bread

which were gobbled up by my 3 little birds.

Found THE tray. I've been looking for a little wooden tray with handles like this for a while. The price was right during a little trip last week to Home Goods.:)

And best of all, made a little spot to display our little ones' art.

Truthfully, I have seen way better/prettier looking ways of displaying children's art, but this seemed to be the most practical for us since we get about 10293473210298347 pieces of art a month and I needed a super easy way to change things out. I just did a zig-zag of twine and used paperclips to attach the papers to the twine. The 'CREATE' sign above is just a scrap piece of particle board that I painted in flat black paint, (which works like but is cheaper than chalkboard paint), and wrote the letters in chalk.

Being right around the corner from their toys, their little gallery is in a fun spot for the kiddos to admire.

Shire pointing out her own pieces.:)

Artist love.

There would be nothing spectacular to a stranger about our kids' art - it's typical 1 and 2 year old scribbles, (and dribbles on a few pieces!)....but I love showing them that it's spectacular to us and that we're proud of them!

That just about sums up the last couple weeks around here and in the Garage!

Thank you for reading!

~Chelsea

My 'go-to' banana bread recipe is found here: 10 Minute Banana Bread - I like using a few extra bananas, between 3-4. Enjoy!



Garage Games - Final Day

What an awesome past couple weeks it's been receiving your photos and reading such wonderful descriptions and explanations! Sharing ideas with one another has been so much fun and it's made me smile each time I've gotten a message from someone about wanting to try an idea they saw posted on here. That's what the Garage Games have been all about! If you were hoping to send something in and haven't had a chance to, you still have until the end of Sunday to submit. Tomorrow will be the very last Garage Games post, (if I get anything else in today). Tomorrow I'll have Shire girl pull out of a hat 14 names from all the folks who submitted photos. Each of the 14 people pulled will have a chance to pick out a piece of jewelry from this post. I'll contact you in the order that your names are pulled and let you know which items are left.

Winding down our Garage Games are two women who love to decorate with sentiments. It is so warming to walk into someones home and see things that mean something to them. These gals have hit the nail on the head with clever ways to display items that are as close to their hearts as they are lovely.

Our first set of photos comes from my dearest and oldest friend, K. It just so happens that we are related, (cousins), but we have always been friends first. As a newlywed, (going on 2 years - that's still kind of new, right?), a momma-to-be, and a whole country apart from her family, it's very important for her, (and her hubby), to have things around their home that reflect their love and family.

"We just moved to a bigger apartment-like-house this spring. While the extra space is wonderful with the coming expansion of our family, it's also been a little tough to figure out how to 'fill' so much empty space and bare walls. This is our hallway. I had a little table that used to be in our bedroom, but I moved it out here to be a little corner table. It has candles and paper flowers that we got from a wedding we attended. I had kept a bunch of our wedding memorabilia and was in Michael's one day when I got the idea to do a memory box. This holds Kevin's boutonniere, some lace from my dress and a handkerchief a friend made using all of Kevin's mom's sewing materials. I never got to meet my mother-in-law, so it was special to hold this handkerchief made of her materials around my bouquet on my wedding day. Last year, my family came out for Thanksgiving! We saved the wishbone and dried it out-but never used it. I got a cheap frame, hot glued some fabric on the back, took out the glass-and hung this. My husband and I now love this little hallway corner. When we walk down it, it reminds us of family and warm celebrations. It's amazing what a few little things will do to spruce up a bare space!" -KM

This whole display is so clever! Love the wishbone, even though all I can think about is what kind of big wish I'd make on that sucker! :)

Our closer for today is another dear friend...also whom I happen to be related to, (cousin in law). We share a lot of loves, one of which is for interesting looking things. If you like shopping slow, picking things up and inspecting them, she's your girl! Oh, the hours we could kill together! She is a much newer newlywed, (going on 3 months), and has done a superb job nesting in her new home with her hubby and displaying items that have meaning to both of them.

"This photo is of a wood sculpture that Giff and I bought on our honeymoon from a local artist in Oregon. It is made up of 4 types of wood with the main focus being a huge burl which we fell in love with when we saw them in the redwoods. The sculpture is placed on some favorite books of mine in a natural woven basket. One of the books was given to me by a dear friend from my hiking crew, The Glacier Bandits, and is of paintings of the Grand Canyon by a park ranger who lived there for 30 some years. The Grand Canyon was my first major overnight backpacking trip and was a milestone accomplishment in my life. The candle holder is from Crate and Barrel of a perforated metal to let soft light come through when I'm sitting in my favorite chair pictured in the ba"ck of the photo. The chair and ottoman are an original Milo Baughman from the 1960's that I picked up in a snowstorm in Weehawken across the river from NYC. It is rocks and lounges and is my favorite piece in this peaceful reading room completed only with a glass of good red wine!- JB

Everything you can see in this shot has meaning and I love each and every detail!...except the thought of red wine. White Zin or Riesling, please. No, I do not appreciate fine wine. JB does and she's going to try to turn me!! Help!

Amazing photos, my dears, and thank you so much for sending! You still have to the end of the day today, (Sunday), to get yours in and enter the drawing for a chance to win a piece of jewelry from my jewelry box clean out. Chop-chop, as they say in England, (right?) Enjoy the closing ceremonies! Hooray London Olympics 2012!

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

Garage Games - Handy Hubs

Happy weekend, all! These last summer weekends start becoming more and more precious at this point, don't they?! Squeezing in a few more bbq's, trips to the pool, chasing after the ice cream truck...good times.:)

I know this will be difficult to hear/read and you will be utterly depressed and question the meaning of life, but we are down to the final 2 days for the Garage Games. Sad, I know. ;) But, we still have today and tomorrow! If you would like to submit a photo, (or more), please don't hesitate; I'm still taking entries until Sunday evening - which means our last blog post about the Garage Games will be on Monday.

If you are new to my blog, WELCOME! Please see this post to find out what the heck the Garage Games are so you can participate and enjoy! Photos will be accepted until Sunday August 12, (closing ceremonies of the Olympics).

Today we get to 'ooh' and 'aaah' over the handiwork of a couple of our boys. I like to celebrate the partnership between couples in putting together a home. Some men have a stronger opinion than others when it comes to home decor and know how to add their own 'flavor' to the home, and others are equipped with the skills needed to carry out their partner's vision. For me personally, many of my favorite aspects of our home were things I envisioned, explained to Matt, and he worked them out beautifully.

Our first submission is of a gorgeous piece that this gal's husband built himself! Being a coffee table, it gets to be a central piece of the room - and what a beautiful piece it is!

"Here's a photo of our new coffee table that Matt recently built from red oak hardwoods and finished with a dark cherry stain." -JC

Wow - what a masterpiece!

Next up is very cool before and after that utilizes a unique piece of space in this couple's home. My brother and sister-in-law's, actually! My brother in law could easily send hundreds of photos of his handiwork, but this particular project has stuck out to me because of how specifically perfect it is for the space! Many of us have an 'odd' spot in our home. A nook or corner that is just...odd. Maybe it's not a 90 degree angle, maybe it's a curved wall, or perhaps it's just an area that seems hard to complete from a decorating standpoint. Even after you try a hundred different things you still feel unsure how to complete it. My brother and sister in law took an interesting little nook in their home and made it into a convenient and lovely little office area!

"In our home there is a small hallway area, and my wife and I decided it would be the perfect place for a built-in.  Before starting our built-in desk project, we had a tall cluttered bookshelf in the space.  After removing the bookshelf, we put up bead board to define the space.  Once the bead board was in, I hung the shelf for the desk and the shelves for inside the cabinet up above, and worked on the doors for it. Next I took the doors down and painted everything with a few coats of white paint before rehanging the cabinet doors.  The knobs I used on the doors, I had saved from my grandfather's china cabinet.  Now we have a space to use the computer that is out of the way, yet in the open."-CU

Before

After

Now Bella can work from home!

A huge thank you to both couples who shared with us today! I love seeing building projects; very inspiring!

Have a fabulous weekend and don't forget to send your photos if you haven't! 1 more day, sniff sniff ;)

Thanks for reading!

~Chelsea