Spacious Desk

I have been busy in my son's room for the last couple of weeks.  The ceiling is painted, no more bright blue.  The walls have a fresh coat of paint and all the trim, too.  Now on to the big projects.  For these I enlist the help of my  very gracious brother.

Our son is an artist and needs ample space when drawing.  I decided I would make a desk like the one I saw on Martha Stewart's website.  The base of the desk is two bookcases.  I decided to go with solid wood for these because I want it to be sturdy.  I purchased two unfinished pine bookcases, primed and painted them black.  Next we moved onto the desktop.  Martha suggests using a door but I couldn't find one the correct size.  I decided to go with finish grade plywood.

 My brother added some support and trim.

 We caulked and primed.

 It is 5 ft by 2 ft.

 Today I will paint the top black to match the bookcases.

 I love how it turned out.  Thanks to my brother we have a roomy and gorgeous desk. 

I have also used the Rustoleum Magnetic Primer in his room for him to add pictures to his walls.  There will be more on that soon.

Linking to:

Delectable Crochet

First, I would like to thank you all for your kind words and prayers about my daughter.  You are all so sweet.  I know that God has a perfect plan and I will trust in Him and wait on Him to work all things for the good of those who love him.

We have had a couple of quiet weekend days here.  I decided to take a break from the painting on the weekend and work on some crochet.  I have quite a few odds and ends skeins of yarn.  Some were given to me and others were left over from previous projects.  I decided I would see what I could make to use them all up.

This is the first thing I made.  I used a very soft bamboo yarn that was actually  on clearance.  It's a small scarflette.  I will be mailing this out to a sweet young girl.  I hope she likes it.

 Another scarflette made in the same pattern but it looks completely different because of the different yarn.  I love this little rosette.  This will also be sent off to another sweet young girl.

 I made this crochet market bag.  I had made some previously but like this pattern much better.  It is a free pattern sheet I picked up at Joann's but you can find the pattern on the Red Heart site. The handles are much sturdier than the other pattern I used.  I did not like the raw edge at the top of the bag and around the handles so I did a single crochet stitch all around.  I am quite happy with it.  This is going to a special friend.

 With the additional yarn from the bag I made a couple of dishcloths.

 This lace cowl is my favorite.  It was such an easy pattern to follow.  The instructions call for a thick yarn and I used a thinner yarn.  I added about 20 stitches to the chain and worked it in the pattern instructions for the rest.  It look a little bare so I crocheted a rose with the leftover yarn.  It looks beautiful.  I am not sure if I will keep this one or give it away.  I love to share the things I crochet with others.  

I'm linking to:

Friday Flair At Whipperberry

A Mother's Heart

This post was difficult to write.  Sharing some things is challenging, but I am often encouraged by the many inspiring bloggers in blog land.

From the first moment that you hear you will be a mom you want nothing more than to protect that little life growing inside you.  And as moms know, that does not change once they are born.  More than anything we want to shield them, keep them from pain and heartache.  We would rather take on their pain than allow them to go through it.  Your heart rends and breaks as you see them struggle with life's difficulties and uncertainties.

This summer our daughter was diagnosed with Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser syndrome.  I have known that something was not right for sometime and we have been seeing doctors, having bloodwork done, ultrasounds, more doctor's appointments, and mri's.  We have a diagnosis and we are thankful that it is a mild case.  This syndrome can affect kidneys, bone structure and more and we are blessed that that is not the case with our daughter.  But it still breaks my heart that she will struggle with infertility.  She will never carry her own child.  I know there are many women who have walked down this same path.  I have read the stories but never really understood the depth of their feeling, their struggle and their pain.

She is ok with this diagnosis right now but I can't help but wonder what she will feel when the time comes, she meets someone special, and they would love to start a family.  Will she feel inadequate, sorrow, or longing pain? As a mom, I would take this all from her in a minute if it were possible.  It is not possible and I will be here for her as she needs me.

Finished Projects

This summer is passing by so quickly.  I have a long list of projects that I wanted to complete before we start with our usual school schedule.  Some of the projects have been crossed off the list.

My daughter's desk chair had seen better days.  It was a blue tweed material that had gotten pretty yucky!!  It was never very nice but it had gotten worse.

The actual chair was not in bad shape so I decided to recover it.  I removed the pieces and pulled them out of the plastic shell.

I recovered it with a fabric that a friend had given me.  It is exactly her style.  

The finished project:

Her bookshelf was next.  It was a laminate bookcase that needed a new life.

I used the free sample of paint from Valspar and made it pop with color.  The backing is cardboard and she did not want to change it to bead board.  I don't know what's wrong with her.  LOL~ She says it's not her style.  

We decided to Mod Podge some vintage book pages onto the back.

The torn pages were her addition.  I let her do whatever she likes.  This is the final product.

I love the color, it's a fun color.  The bookcase was moved to a different spot in her room.  The little alcove in her room now has this arm chair, in natural, from Ikea.

Now we are painting my son's room.  There are many projects that I need to complete to make his room fantastic.  It's been the same way since he was 7 and now he's 14.  It was due time for a change.  We have started by priming and painting his ceiling which was a bright blue.

On the to do list:

New bed~with shelves~Pottery Barn style but much less expensive

Desk~I want to use some cubby shelves and a door slab for this

Different tv arrangement~not sure what we will decide on for this

This is what has been keeping me away.  Busy days but I love having the time to accomplish these projects.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer!