Wall of TEAL Frames...

Our master bathroom needed some sprucing up. Some snazzyness. Some SASS:



See? BLAH.

Also, I was feeling some cabin fever and needed a quick paint pick-me-up project to distract me from snot wiping duty. So I loaded the snot-makers into the car and headed to our local thrift store.

$11 later, and I had me a painting pick-me-up project and some decorative sass for our master bathroom.

Aren't they LOVELY?



I deconstructed them, tossed the mirrors, duck, glass and landscape photo and painted them TEAL.

Yep, the very same teal that I painted my bedroom but have yet to show you. Mostly because I keep forgetting to...and maybe a bit because the color doesn't come out true and that BUGS me. Someday I'll get around to posting a decent-ish pic of it.

ANYWHO.

If you remember, that bedroom painting occurrence was a good two months ago. Didja know that if you cover your painting tray with a plastic bag and set it aside in the garage you can forget about it and delay cleaning it? Yup, true story.

So I rediscovered the 2 month old teal blue paint sitting there all sad and unloved so I just HAD to use it to makeover those sad frames.

Paint paint paint and wait to dry. Haul them upstairs to master bath, let them acclimate to their surroundings for a good three days before hubby says, "uh, hon, are you going to do something with these frames or are they just here to decorate the floor?" and then finally get around to hanging them on the wall.

Here ya go, sassy teal blue frames to give my sad master bathroom some interest:



MUCH BETTER. I smile every time I walk in there.



And really, my walls are NOT the color of a one month old's poo, they are a light yellow-beige. Hmm, maybe I should get a new camera? OR, I could photograph my walls during the daytime with natural light.

I decided that the frames needed more interest and dimension than plain, right outta the can, teal paint so I mixed in some black paint to darken the rest of the teal paint.

I dabbed it onto a rag and smeared it on the edges and detail and am loving the results:



The just-right amount of dimension and aging I was hoping for:



Not something I want on my face, but on frames? Yes please.

And yes, if you have a great memory, I have done this decorative technique before. What can I say, I know what I like and I like what I know.

So go out and grab a bunch of frames, paint em teal and throw em on the wall. Methinks you'll like it too...

A

I'm linking up to DIY parties today! Click over and check out all the projects!






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Sometimes They Have Potential...

Sometimes you are browsing through clothing racks and spot something with potential. You grab it, hopeful, until you see it is NOT your size. Or, about 3 sizes too big. Your hopes are dashed.

UNLESS....

I had a lovely friend bring me a cute shirt with potential that just happened to be about 3 sizes too big for her:



All she said???

"It needs you. Do whatever you want".

There's those words again! Love em.

This shirt sat on my "to be accomplished when inspiration hits" pile for a very long time. Anyone else have one of those?

And when I say a long time. I'm talking a LOONNNGGG time.

FINALLY inspiration hit. In full force.

I sliced and diced and added a wide belt hitting at that perfectly slimming, non-maternity looking spot and a sassy tie in the back and a Vintage Dutch Girl Flower pin to top it all off:





I'll admit, I wanted to keep this one :) But hey, it was fun to give it back to my sweet friend and see her smile!

A

***Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day :) **

The Kate Shirt...

A sweet friend commissioned me to sassify a plain gray t shirt for her. She gave me some general guidelines, then said, "Well, do whatever you think".

I LOVE those words.

I wanted to create a design that melded together a few inspirational ideas, such as the Flower Patch Tee from JCrew:



Here's what happened to that plain, boring gray t shirt:



Dimensional (but not TOO poufy) flower swirls with petal detail:



Think of it like a permanent but casual corsage:



I loved sassifying this t-shirt. This one took a bit of hemming and hawing on my part before starting. Often I have to sit and stare at a project for a while before inspiration finally, belatedly, hits.

Inspiration for the Kate Shirt hit right in the middle of a week long puke and poop fest of the littles. I was going slightly crazy and it was a PERFECT mental vacation to be able to escape to the craft room and start sewing.

(*sigh*) I love sewing therapy...

A

***Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day :) ***

Duplos...

So earlier this week I was on the phone having a deep serious conversation with my dear Mother In Law (whom I love dearly, by the way. Not your typical MIL to daughter-in-law relationship. So when I say having a deep serious conversation with her, that's a GOOD thing! ).

I was roaming about the kitchen and family room picking up things and doing that general tinkering about that most Mama's that I know do when chatting on the phone. Bubbalu and Lil Chick were nicely playing in the living room with the duplos.

I walked around the corner to check on the kids and BURST out laughing...right in the middle of a very intense sentence of Mom's.

This is why I was laughing:



Oh yes he did.

Duplos in the fishtank. WHY? I'm guessing he was thinking, "Well, she never said I COULDN'T throw my duplos into the fish tank, so let's try er out!".

I grabbed the little fish net thingy and was able to get most of them out. Yeah, I said most of them. There are three single duplos that sunk to the bottom that I couldn't get at.

Which is why, if you come over, you might see something like this in our tank:



But hey, at least the fish now have something to play with...

A

***Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day :) ***

The Dining Room Battlefield...

What to do when you don't have any blog fodder? Quite simple really.

Change darling daughter's super blow-out diaper and remove her clothing as it is full of poo. After a thorough hosing off in the shower, put diaper-only clad baby into high chair. Give diaper-only clad 16 month old a bowl of stawberry yogurt and a spoon.

Leave unattended for....oh...about 65 seconds.

And.....PRESTO! Blog fodder:



My favorite part of this whole dining room mess was a lonely little strawberry perched precariously on the windowsill:



And which is why today I geared up, cranked my Ipod and scrubbed my dining room walls, chairs, windowsill, baseboards, table, high chairs and floor. It helped that I was listening to Jordin Sparks, 'Battlefield' on replay.

Cause I felt like I was fighting a battle. Amanda VS. Dried-on Food.

I have mini-skirmishes daily in the Amanda vs. Dried-on Food saga, but attempt a full-on war battle about once a week.

Each side will pull ahead for a time, only to be slapped back into last place. Currently, Amanda is sorta ahead. However, Dried-on Food has a champion fighter on their side which will most certainly attempt to slap my lead down around dinner-time tonight:



Isn't she ferocious?

She's also a bit sassy too. I have NO idea where she got that attitude from:



A

***Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day :) ***

Swoon...

I finally found the perfect chair to go in the corner of our newly painted bedroom. I am picturing a quiet little reading nook, complete with a small side table for the books I'm reading, my Bible and my coffee to sit on. Oh, and an ottoman. Gotta have the feet up and resting. It's good for your circulation, ya know.

Also, It's a perfect color match to our Dwell Studio Perch bedding:



Don't I make my bed so very nice and smooth? I iron it every morning. And then I iron and starch the pillow shams, making them stand on end. If that doesn't work (it usually doesn't) , I hot glue them to a steel frame to keep their shape. Gotta keep your shams in shape.

This beautiful new chair will also nicely go with our Intense Marathon Teal blue wall.

You wanna see it? OK, here you go:



SWOON.

As in, a not attainable swoon.

Anthropologie, you're killing me here...

A


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Our New Rule...

We have a new rule in our house. A rule that needs to be repeatedly shouted, oh, about 19 thousand times a day. Our new rule is:


"WE DON'T SIT ON BABIES!!!!"


For some unknown reason (other than the fact that he is a BOY and is feeling quite sick of being cooped up inside all the time), Bubbalu is having a REALLY hard time following this new rule.

Poor Lil Chick. I'll hear a muffled squeak, groan and cry coming from somewhere in the house and I freeze, try to determine the direction from which the muffled sounds are coming from, and sprint to her rescue while screaming our new rule at the top of my lungs.

I try to throw in various decibels and tones to keep Bubbalu on his toes. Also, in an effort to increase the effectiveness of the reminder I put emphasis on different words in the rule each time I yell lovingly and gently say it:

"WE DON'T SIT ON BABIES!!!!"

"WE DON'T SIT ON BABIES!!!!"

"WE DON'T SIT ON BABIES!!!!"

"WE DON'T SIT ON BABIES!!!!"

"WE DON'T SIT ON BABIES!!!!"

Sometimes, I even pull out the Emphasize The Entire Rule strategy:

"WE DON'T SIT ON BABIES!!"

But that one's saved for dire emergencies. For example: When I hear only a teeny tiny squeak and then.....SILENCE. Yep, that's when the Emphasize The Entire Rule strategy works wonders.

Followed up by a reciting of Bubbalu's entire given name with reminders as to what toys and privileges he holds dear and what may happen to those toys and privileges should he fail to acknowledge and obey the aforementioned rule.

I did say she'd have to be a tough, feisty girl. What with FIVE boy cousins and, ya know, a professional BABYSITTER for a brother.

Yeesh, it's been one of those days...

A

***Didja know you can find me HERE on facebook? True story. Become a fan and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day :) ***

Wearing Maternity Clothing While NOT Pregnant, Episode 2...

I had to laugh at all of your comments in reply to my Maternity clothing question from yesterday. So, I'm NOT alone! Some of you DO have some cute maternity clothes that pass for "regular" wear.

However, most of my Facebook friends stated that they don't wear ANY maternity clothing items when not pregnant.

I must admit, wearing maternity clothing while not actually pregnant is a gamble.

• First of all, someone might actually ASK YOU where you purchased, oh, I don't know, a CARDIGAN and you have to be all vague and not answer in complete truthfulness.

• Secondly, someone might suspect that you actually ARE pregnant. However, my style consultant has let me in on a little secret: If someone IS pregnant, they try to HIGHLIGHT their belly....if someone IS NOT pregnant, they try to HIDE it. Good to know. ( And I never never NEVER ask if someone is pregnant unless I am assisting them while they deliver their baby. You shouldn't ask either.)

• Thirdly, maternity clothing might actually make you look BIGGER. You need to have an in depth discussion with a good full length mirror before trying this. Also, you might want to enlist the opinion of a friend or ( if he has good taste and will actually answer HONESTLY) a husband.

• Fourthly, Get to know your seam ripper and take those incriminating tags OFF your Maternity clothing!
  

There, those are my rough guidelines.

My biggest reason for choosing to wear some maternity clothing while not pregnant is that over the past four years maternity clothing was the cutest, newest, and most stylish clothing I purchased....strike that, the ONLY clothing I purchased.

Our clothing budget last year was a big fat $0.00 and I had to improvise. Which is why I hauled my Maternity clothing stash up the stairs to my sewing room and started cutting and resewing them....all sassified, of course, and taken in on the side seams so I didn't LOOK pregnant.

Refashioning Maternity (or any other) clothing can be tricky and at times frustrating, but in the case of a low budget with a splash of creativity...it's a perfect fit.

A

***Didja know you can find me HERE on facebook? True story. Become a fan and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day :) ***

While In Line At The Costco Food Court...AGAIN...

On Friday I was in line at Costco's food court to get a (*ahem, 2) mocha to sip on my drive home. It was quite a long line as the lunch crowd was getting all antsy for their chicken bakes and slices of pepperoni pizza. And by slice I do mean the equivalent of a medium sized pizza. But in slice form. HUGE slices.

Anywho.

So I overhear these two young women chatting behind me in the line. They were dressed in workout gear and all cute and sassy. Best of all?

They had British accents.

Maybe it's my current obsession with 'Pride and Prejudice' that is making me love a British accent right now. I read through the entire book last week. Yep, in ONE WEEK. I've actually started it a few times but never got past the first 50 pages or so. Now that I've watched the latest movie version ( yes, yes, I realize that it's sputton (aka: sacrilege) to you die hard Austen fans who prefer the A&E version from 1995 or maybe even the BBC production from 1980.) I think I understand the story line so well now that it was an absolute delight to read. I'm now on to 'Sense and Sensibility'. After that maybe some Emma. I've also been told that 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' is quite good. Not sure what THAT'S all about but I think I'll give it a try.

ANYWHO. Got a smidgen off subject there.

Back to Costco.

So the sassy British accent woman says to me, "Excuse me Miss, where did you purchase your cardigan? I've been looking for a short sleeved cardigan and can't seem to find one?".

NOW. I was feeling all proud of myself for actually sorta dressing cute that day. I had a hot date with the hubby that morning at the office. Nothing like some drilling and sealants on a date! But I wanted to look cute so I retired my faded-to-gray yoga pants and actually tried to put an outfit together.

Dark yellow fitted tee, black short sleeved long length cardigan with hot pink flower pin, a black necklace, Diva jeans from Old Navy and my normal black wedge shoes. I was so proud of myself for mixing colors.

When she asked me I paused a bit before answering her a vague, "Oh, somewhere in the mall?" smiled and turned back around.

I hope she didn't see my flaming red cheeks.

You see, how do you explain to a young, hip woman that you are not currently and haven't been pregnant for about 16 months but bought your coveted cardigan at MOTHERHOOD MATERNITY and are STILL WEARING it?

I just didn't have the self-confidence or nerve to tell her.

Methinks it's time to get the ole seam ripper busy and take that incriminating tag off of my black cardigan.

And I think I'll be sticking with my vague, "Oh, somewhere in the mall..." answer.

Hey, at least I looked cute and had a mocha (*ahem, 2) to sip on while driving my non-pregnant but maternity clothes wearing self home.

C'mon ladies, spill it. Do YOU have a item of maternity clothing that you STILL wear despite not being preggers?

A

***Didja know you can find me HERE on facebook? True story. Become a fan and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day :) ***