Heather Ann Melzer

Project Runway

The girls and I have been so excited to work on our Project Runway dolls since Santa put them in our stockings last xmas.  We woke up to a white lawn and snow falling on Sunday, so it seemed like the perfect day for it.  I grabbed a ton of paper out of my office, kid-friendly scissors, and some adhesive tabs and we got to work.  We had the clothing template to work with, so that gave us our clothes, shoes, boots, and gloves.  We made the jewelry and purses on our own, which was fun, but this template might be something I look for next time I'm at Joann's.  They also have pre-made accessories that look like fun.  I might have to tip the Easter Bunny off on some of this stuff.

The girls have already broken the stands on theirs because they're playing with them so much.  They also can't play with them without using the valley girl accent that they picked up from me when we were playing with them on Sunday (whoops).  Like, totally.

Tomorrow is a big day (wink wink), so I thought I'd share some ideas I came across in my hunting today.  Katie is a huge practical joker, so I'm trying to think of something really good to get her with.  Here are some cool computer pranks to get you in the mood:

1. Disappearing Desktop

First, take a screen shot of the victim’s desktop (press the “Print Screen” button). Then open up a Paint program and press “Paste.” Save the image in bitmap format and quit Paint. Set this image to be the Desktop background image (right-click on the desktop, choose Properties, click the “Display” tab, press the “Browse” button, find your image, hit “Open,” then “OK”). Finally, hide all the desktop icons (right-click on the desktop, choose “Arrange Icons By,” then unclick “Show Desktop Items.” Now their desktop will look normal, but when they try to click on the icons nothing will happen!

2. Crawling Mouse

Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Mouse > Pointer Options, and change the mouse pointer to the slowest speed. If your victim isn’t very computer-savvy, and doesn’t know about this setting, they won’t understand why their cursor is suddenly moving slower than a snail!

3. Mouse Trap

Take a Post-It note and place it over the eye of the victim’s optical mouse. When the victim tries to use his or her computer, the cursor won’t move. Be sure to write “April Fools!” on the note! (Note if they have a standard mouse, you can perform the same trick by taping a piece of paper over the ball underneath the mouse.)

I LOVE this idea, too ;)

$100 hallway transformation

Before:

 

After:

 

I gallon/2 coats of Ralph Lauren Crab Apple and 3 Ribba frames (19.75 x 27.5) from Ikea.  I'm in LOVE!

Before we went out for lunch one weekend afternoon, I had the kids sit in front of our glass patio doors and snapped these quick candid shots, then I printed them on my printer at home on 13x19 Epson Photo Luster Paper.  We walk through this hallwayl many times/day and it takes me by surprise every time I do.  I debated between posed shots and candids here and I'm so glad I went with the candids.  I remember how silly they were when I took the pictures and it always makes me smile.

We had a pretty low-key weekend here.  It rained and snowed (don't even get me started), so we did some shopping, some reading, some crafting, and movie watching (obsessed, I tell you).  My powder room mirror search continues, but now that I've realized that I'm in love with antique gilt mirrors, I  may not find the perfect one until the summer markets open.  I also decided (after receiving a quote that literally gave me heartburn all night), that I will be sewing my own curtains (gulp).  I had a brilliant idea to buy pre-made curtains and sew them together in this type of style, but then you'd see the seams from the deck, and what if I screwed up - ugh.  So, I'm seriously in the market for a sewing machine now. 

I'm leaning towards a Janome, because I hear they can sew through almost anything.  I think we paid $100 for the 12 yr old Singer I'm using now and it's not an antique, so not heavy duty.  It jams up on heavy fabrics and won't sew right at all now.  It's not worth getting repaired, so I need to decide on a new one this week, so I can put my new fabrics and book to use, as well as start on curtain panels. 

I'm finding that buying a sewing machine is a lot like buying a car.  It's difficult to find prices online and there are separate salespeople for machines at Joann/other stores.  Tom wants me to buy a machine that I won't need to upgrade in a year, so I'm looking for a good one, but I don't think I need a million bells and whistles either.  Suggestions are appreciated, as always.  The 6600 sounds amazing, but I don't know that I need to make that much of an investment for simple skirts and curtain panels.  Hmm...

Virtually complete

Have I mentioned how AMAZING you guys are??!!!  I mean, seriously.  I was inspiration-less when it came to finishing this bathroom yesterday morning and by the end of the day my head was spinning with all of the ideas you posted.  Thank you SO much! 

It's amazing how I stared at the pictures and had no clue what to do and when the ideas started coming in I slapped myself on the head and said, "duh!".  I heard the bigger mirror suggestion loud and clear and completely agree.  The oval one was a birthday gift from my mom and I was trying to make it work, but after seeing the virtual mirror in it's place, I know that's the way to go.  I tried a bunch of different ones with pics from the internet and I'm really liking this gold-toned one.  I've always had a strong aversion to gold and felt like I had to match my brushed nickel throughout the house, but I hung a small gold-framed bird print in my dining room and I LOVE the way it looks.  I think mixing metals adds some neat interest, so I'll see what I can find.

I also LOVED the suggestions for over the toilet - you guys are so creative.  Donna suggested a grouping of small pictures and I'm loving that idea.  I love these veneer frames from Pottery Barn, but I'll have to see if I can find something similar for much less.

I'm heading to Hobby Lobby at lunch today to see what I can score (fingers crossed).  I also found a lovely rug at TJ Maxx last night that looks great in there.  It's burlap with a circle print edge that picks up the teal color.  It's coming along!

 

Before I go I have to post a pic of my new boyfriend, say hello to "Baby Edward"...

 

Tom did his hair last night and I've been calling him Baby Edward ever since.  LOL  Twilight mania, for sure.

Powder room

The stripe pattern definitely added something really neat to the room, and I miss that, but I don't miss the color.  The rest of the house is a little more earthy now and the yellows were sticking out like a sore thumb.  This color looks great from the rest of the house, I just need to figure out how to 'finish' it off. 

 

A huge problem is the space above the toilet - it just feels empty.  Do I put up a towel bar, a shelf, a companion art piece?  Hobby Lobby had some nice iron scrolled shelves with wood tops, but that would take away from the clean-lined, modern but still traditional look, I think.

The other problem is the space above the mirror - or the mirror itself.  It feels small,  but anything wider wouldn't fit the sink.  And I don't think I want to repeat the rectangle shape of the art.  The ribbon feels way too cutesy now and we can't put another light above the mirror, so I'm at a loss.

I would also love to bring the turquoise color in from the artwork to punch it up a bit, so I'm going to look for a towel in that color, but what else could I do?  I'd love to hear your suggestions.

I did switch out 3/5 chandelier shades - I have to go Hobby Lobby hunting to find the other 2.  They were only $4 on sale this week - what a steal! 

Speaking of Hobby Lobby scores, I found my mantle treasures there, too.  The print was $12 on sale, the frame was $33 with a coupon, the amber jars were $4 and $5 each, and the plate/stand was $25 on half off sale.  I LOVE the new look.  Our wedding print will find a new home in the basement once that's finished.

I'm hoping Tom will be able to hang my 3 big prints of the kids in the freshly painted hallway tonight and then I'll share those pics.  Can't wait to see how it looks!

All that's left are the curtains and the dining room lighting fixtures.  I have to try and find one more extra large lamp shade and then I'm thinking of doing something like this.  I'm not quite sure how the shade will attach to the chandeliers, but we'll have to give it a shot.

After that, I'll be officially cut off - lol.  Freshening up with paint and bargain accessories has really made a difference.  I already feel like I'm living in a totally different house.

Late to the party, once again

Tom read the Twilight series last month and he was so jazzed up about the 4th book that I've been dying to see the movie.  We scored a Blu-Ray copy at Blockbuster on Sunday, so we watched it that night.

And again last night. 

And I'm not sure I have the strength in me to return it today - lol! 

I have always thought that Edward looked too creepy to be swooned after.  Even as we started the movie, I said that I had no idea what girls saw in him and that it was going to take some kind of miracle to change my mind.  And now, I'm ready to start carrying one of these around.  HA!  I think he might have cast some kind of spell on me.

I think the girls knew they were missing out, too, because they kept sneaking out of bed and listening to the movie on the stairs the last couple of nights.  And when Kenzie saw the DVD case this morning she said, they fall in love in the end??!!!  LOL  I think it's a great movie for teens, but not for 4 and 6 yr olds.  Not yet.  And it's obviously also great for 34 yr olds.  Who knew?  Anyone that has a morsel of romance inside them has to love it.  Although I'm not sure where that leaves my brother-in-law, who said the book was the worst thing he's ever read and swears to get back at Tom for lending it to him - haaa.

We did watch a very kid appropriate movie this weekend - Bolt.  It hit me that we watch ALOT of dog movies - so much that I'm seriously running out of dog-themed treat ideas.  I had a taste for Portillos and Tom suggested I get the kids chocolate shakes to go with their hot dogs.  Portillos started out as a small hot dog stand in a suburb of Chicago and is now a huge chain.  The hot dogs and beef sandwiches are THE best.  There was a dog on the side of the cup, so that worked for me ;)

I don't think they put them down the entire movie!

Aside from movie mania (we watched Role Models, too, and laughed our heads off), we had Tom's family over for Uncle Jon's birthday and did some painting, too.  Tom finished the powder room on Saturday and the hallway yesterday.  I'll post some pics tomorrow because I'm totally stuck on our powder room and would love to hear suggestions.  I also just met with a really nice woman that lives in a town nearby that makes custom draperies - eeek.  It's very painful for a DIYer to hire outside help, but I know my limitations.  I told Kenzie she was coming today and she said, "But, you sewed our Halloween costumes."  One-day-wear costumes are one thing, 13 foot long lined panels are completely another.  We'll see how the bid comes in.  I could cry just thinking about how happy it would make me to have them.

Speaking of sewing, I have some beautiful fabric on the way that I'm hoping to make some simple A-line skirts with.  Does anyone know of a good pattern?  I was thinking of this one or this one.  I really like that the first one has a little bit of swing to it AND and an elastic waist.  I'd love to have some cute skirts to wear this summer.  I'm getting more and more like Katie these days - comfort is key  and none of my paints seem to fit right.  Would love any advice you can give.  I also want to sew the girls some tops from the pre-smocked fabric they sell at Hobby Lobby (and some Wal-Marts, I hear).  How cute and easy does this sound?

I think I may need a new sewing machine before I tackle these things.  Can anyone recommend a good inexpensive model?  My mom's machine barely made it through the Halloween costumes and I don't think I could survive the frustration.

Happy Spring!

Lots of new goodies to share with you today - the first day of Spring!!  First up, how about a little sunshine...

Eternal Sunshine Bracelet & Ring - Vibrant yellow lucite cabochons bezel set in an antique silver bracelet and adjustable ring.  They shine so beautifully!

Olive to Shine Bracelet & Ring -  I found the same stones in a gorgeous olive green, too.  I had a hard time capturing the true olive color - it's gorgeous in person.

Vintage Delight Bracelet - And how pretty is this?  Gorgeous sterling silver links/toggle with vintage lucite cabochons set inside.  My girls LOVE this piece (and so do I).

Branching Out Bracelet - This one is so sweet - love, love, love it.  Pink shell beads, czech glass bell flower and wasabi green leaf (LOVE that color) with an antique silver branch that's bent to fit nicely right around your wrist.  Such a fun bracelet for spring and summer!

Vintage Charm Bracelet - I am SO in love with coral right now - it's popping up everywhere.  I set out to make a modernly vintage bracelet with coral and antique brass (which are just made for each other, I think).  I mixed in some vintage cream beads and clear czech glass to really make it sparkle.

And some of my most popular pieces are now back in stock!

I should have a couple more of these and these in the shop by day's end as well.

Home dec is the order of business for this weekend.  I've been printing pics for my wall frames today and Tom is gearing up to plaster/paint the powder room tomorrow.  I think I've settled on this color:

Ain't it pretty?  My art.com print just arrived (yeay!!), so hopefully we can get the powder room pretty well finished this weekend.  We'll see!  I also have a ton of new necklace ideas in the works and a Spring digi kit all sketched out.  Just not enough hours, ya know?  And already it's 3:30 on Friday! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

The girls were really looking forward to this one.  They now understand the concept of "previews" and this one was on another movie they've been watching in the car, so they've been anxiously awaiting it's arrival.  We recently dumped Netflix for Blockbuster, but still couldn't get it in the mail or store.  Thank goodness I got lucky at a Red Box and away we went.  Corn dogs, tater tots and veggies for dinner and chocolate sundaes with a Scooby snack on top for dessert.  I told the girls to load up on their bling, so Katie threw on a bunch of her play necklaces and a bracelet I made her and felt very fancy - so Beverly Hills.  The movie was really cute.  I've always loved Drew Barrymore and George Lopez was hysterical as "Papi".  Great family flick.  Up there is Jack is trying to take a bite out of each corn dog and Katie while saying "Beverly Hills Chi-WOW-WOW", which she thought was so funny.

I'm hoping that I'm on the road to recovery here, although it seems like things are getting worse.  I went to the doctor yesterday, after Tom shined a flashlight down my throat and said it looked exactly like Katie's last week.  Sure enough, I've got strep.  I was actually starting to feel better yesterday and then I got an insane earache last night and went to bed in agony.  I'm not in as much pain today, but now both ears are completely plugged.  Is there anything more annoying than that?  I feel like I'm underwater, but without the warmth, sunshine and umbrella drink waiting for me ;) 

The bright shining spot in my day?  It's the last day of winter!!!  Let's all cheer together - YEAY!!!  Now, that doesn't mean we won't see snow again, but we're moving in the right direction.  I even picked up some new sandals and spring tops at TJMaxx yesterday to get me in the mood.  This is the most awkward time of year for clothes, I think.  I wore a turtleneck sweater out last Sunday and was sweating when it reached the 60's by afternoon.  Might be time to pack those away, regardless of the temps.

I also scored some new pieces for my dining room, which is looking much better now.  I don't know what I'd do without such great stores around here.  Crate and Barrel Outlet had some amazing deals, including a $7 teal vase, some pretty white dishes on the cheap, an adorable birdie teapot, and a 22" drum shade for $19 - wee!!!  I need to find one more and then put some kind of DIY plan in place to get them hung. 

For now it's back to work and back to taking pics of some new pieces I'll share on the first day of Spring - how fitting.

TGI(almost)F!

Irish eyes

At least 2 sets of Irish eyes were smiling this morning, the other was having a complete fit because it was "so cold" outside and everything I spent the prior 20 minutes before putting on her was bothering her.  Sigh.  Taking her shopping for a summer's worth of knit clothes is very high on the list.

Just wanted to pop in to wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day!  It's 75 degrees here today (WOOHOO!!), so I ran out at lunch today to pick up some more 50 and 80% off items for the dining room.  I'm working on the mantel now since I found a print that I love.  I have lots of after pics to post once I get myself together.  This decorating stuff takes alot of trial and error!  I just scored some giant amber glass containers that I *hope* are going to work out.  Both of them were under $10 - together!  Love that Hobby Lobby :)

I picked up a coffee on the way home - can you tell?  I think I use alot more !!!! when I post after a venti beverage :)  And my fingers can't seem to keep up.  Ok, I better go use this energy while I still have it. 

Movie night post tomorrow and *hopefully* lots of new sparkly pieces to share by day's end.  The mojo is still going!

Party girl

This was Kenzie before birthday party 1 of 2 this weekend.  Katie came home early on Friday, sick with a fever, and still wasn't feeling well on Saturday, so she and Jack stayed home with me and Kenzie went with Dad.  Katie was pretty upset, until Dad put on a new PowerPuff girls DVD he picked up for her and gave her a special popsicle (Pedialite). 

She had a fever on Friday and threw up at least 7 times - no idea what she had.  She felt terrible on Saturday, but much better yesterday and even better today.  Let's hope she's over this one now.  Of course, I caught something yesterday and now feel like my head is going to explode. Advil Cold & Sinus is working wonders, although I still feel pretty awful.  Darn sinuses.

Anyhoo, I picked up that cute shirt and headband for an extra 30% off the sale price at TCP this weekend, along with an armful of other things.  It actually terrified me how quickly I gathered a bagful of stuff.  I flew through that clearance rack in record time.  This and this were so cute on Katie yesterday at the Chuck E. Cheese party.  I'm proud of myself for resisting this one, although if I can convince Tom to drive 15 hours to the beach this summer, I may have to keep an eye on them for the girls.  And don't even get me started on the boy stuff - ugggh.  I literally ran through that section with my hands over my eyes. 

So, I've got all kinds of stuff on my mind today.  Yesterday we talked a lot about possible vacations this year.  We haven't taken a full week off and gone somewhere since I was pregnant with Jack, but Tom isn't thrilled about a 15 hour car ride.  Flights to Destin are just too much for a family of five, and it would be great to have our car, but that's a loooong way.  The longest car ride we've all been on is 3.5 hrs to the Dells.  How hard is it - anyone?  We'd definitely break it up into 2 days each way, but that's still alot.  We're also contemplating a 10 yr anniversary trip for just the two of us.  Tom would rather skip the family vaca and have us just go, but of course, I think we should try to swing both.  I think 3 days alone would seem like an eternity for us.  Of course, my dreams are always bigger than my reality.

I'm also gung ho to work on our powder room.  The walls need serious attention and since Tom isn't thrilled with the wallpaper idea, so we're planning on painting it next weekend.  The stripes are proving to be a pain, though.  Where each color meets, there's a bump along the line, so the whole wall needs a skim coat of plaster.  Fun!  I was going to go with chocolate brown, but I think I've decided on this print, so a taupey-grey might be a better choice.  Hopefully I'll have some after pics of that space soon.

Even though I'm not feeling great, I've been super inspired to make jewelry lately.  I went to bed way too late last night, but I was having so much fun playing around with new designs.  I have several new bracelets to share and some really cute necklaces, too!  I'm going to keep the mojo going and get everything up in the shop late tomorrow or Wednesday.  Gotta go with it while it's hot! 

Zoom-Zoom

Here's the layout I put together with Gina's new Zoom-Zoom Kit, which is on mega sale through today.  Nobody does boy kits like my friend Gina.  When I saw it, I immediately remembered these pics I took of Jack playing with one of his toy cars last fall.  After I took these, I realized that he was also wearing car/truck pajamas - bonus!

I've been itching to scrap again since putting this together earlier this week, but I haven't had much free time.  I took yesterday off to go have lunch with my friend, Pam, and run some errands, and then Tom woke up with a horribly upset stomach, so I ended up taking the kids to school/picking them up with running around in between.  Pam and I had a lovely lunch at OG and then shopped for home stuff.  I ended up getting a ton of frames at Ikea, a new vase and pussy willow branches for my dining room, and tons of other clearance trinkets at Hobby Lobby.  We had an accident here on Sunday and my front entry table is now quite bare, so I'm looking for pieces to decorate it with.  I've realized that I am not very good at creating "tablescapes", but I'm working through it.  This modern one is very cool and Pottery Barn seems to use a lot of books in theirs - maybe I need to give that a try.  If I ever get something put together, I'll have to post a before and after.

I also bought some fabric that I was SURE was going to look amazing for curtains in the dining room, but I didn't like it once I brought a piece home.  Same for the mirror at Pier 1 that I thought was going to work perfectly - our walls are darker that I remembered and the teal (that matched the fabric perfectly) wouldn't have worked.

I'm so anxious to get some photos/art in the frames I bought.  I need to order some 16x20 enlargements for the frames in my office - any recommendations?  I could also use some recommendations on where to order high quality photo business cards.  I ordered some from Mpix last week and was hoping for better when I got them this week.  The text is a little wonky.  Hmm.