my laundry basket mishap

Well I really fudged this one up!! All around, {as my children would say} epic fail. :0

I have a canvas laundry basket that I picked up from Home Goods for $20. I love{d} it. Gray, cute arrow... yah, there it is below.

Well a few months after I got it, I noticed there was mold at the bottom... someone tossed something damp it there and well - I didn't have the heart to take pictures of the black dots of mold that started to sprout. So I decided to do two things. 1. I needed to bleach it! 2. I needed to make a vinyl {waterproof} basket liner to keep that from happening again.

I pick up some adorable black and white dot vinyl material. Did my measurements, cut my fabric. Pulled out the sewing machine and all was good in the world. In the midst of my sewing I went ahead and took diluted bleach water to the bottom of my beloved laundry basket. I soaked the moldy spots and bit and did some scrubbing. Then I let it sit there to dry, and went back to my sewing.

Finished up all the sewing and excitingly go back to my laundry room to put that new little contraption in my hopefully now free of mold basket. Well, it was free of mold all right. Crystal clean with no signs of mold... however epic fail 1. consists of me over saturating my basket with my bleach water. I ended up with a basket that had discoloration all around the bottom on the "outside" of my basket. Not only was there discoloration from just getting wet, but also faded areas where the bleach affected it as well. I ruined my beloved laundry basket :(

I decided to slip my just made liner in there anyway to see how it come out... well epic fail 2. it fit fine going in, and snuggly fit at the bottom, but when I attempted to wrap it around the rim of the basket it was a no go! Evidently, since the top of my basket has a metal rim under the material, it made so my liner wasn't large enough to wrap around it. Like not even close! I even removed the seam to see exactly how far off I was... as you can see - it was inches!

I gave up! Threw away my ruined laundry basket, I couldn't bare sight of my failure. If I hadn't ruined my basket with bleach I could have fixed and adjusted the liner I'm sure. What do I do with the liner now? I don't know... I'm thinking of up cycling {yes, up cycling... since it's no longer just fabric} it into placemats.

As you can see, not all diy projects work out. This one, for me, was a no go! Now I'm off to go buy a new laundry basket :0 Happy Saturday!!

friday favorites {including free printable}

Here's some friday favorites to wrap up your week {mine has been a long one}!

favorite diy project, concrete pots {happy looks good on you}

favorite flower arrangement {ruffled}

favorite before & after {southern revivals}

favorite outfit {dresscorilynn}

favorite art {a drift in my mind, etsy shop}

favorite bathroom {jenna sue design co.}

favorite spring porch {country living}

favorite quote {free printable I made, download here}

the diy photographer

In preparation of my first newborn photography session, I was a busy bee last week! I put three diy projects on my plate to get ready for a little one that was born a month early.

{baby posing bag}

I jumped into my week by making a baby posing bag. It was, to date, the most advanced sewing project I had done thus far. However, I didn't really find it difficult at all. Following the tutorial I found at a fellow photographer's blog {Tracey Hill Photography}, it went pretty smoothly. I had it all sewn put together and closable with velcro in just a couple of hours, if even. Then I went to UPS and picked up a fifteen cubic feet bag of packing peanuts to stuff this guy with.

Comparing my savings:

- Purchasing an already made baby poser {this size} would cost $80, plus $15 for shipping. It doesn't come filled, so that does not include the packing peanuts either.
- I paid $20 for the vinyl material.

It cost $30 for the packing peanuts, 

which I would have been paying either way. So that's a $75 savings.

{positioning rice bags}

Then I moved on to making little rice, aromatherapy positioning bags. These are really super easy to make. I chose a soft knit fabric that I already had. I already had an idea on how to make these, however, I came across a helpful tutorial at The Pistachio Project to follow along the away. I used these little helpers to weigh down taller baskets, position baby on my poser bag, and prop baby's head when laying down.

Compared savings:

- Each bag bought runs about $10-$12 each, plus shipping.
- I spent $5 on a large box of rice, $6 on lavender aromatherapy.

Since I made up 5 bags, that's at least $40 in savings.

{cheesecloth wraps}

Finally, last minute, I got the itch to make dyed cheesecloths for wrapping baby in. I had planned on purchasing a few, and since I didn't have time - I thought let's just make them. I came across this awesome tutorial at yet another fellow photographer's blog {Kristine Marie Photography} on dying cheesecloths specially for newborns.

Compared savings:

- Each bought dyed cheesecloth runs $8, plus shipping.
- I spent $7 for two packages of un-dyed cheesecloth, which make four finished ones. $1 in kool-aid packets

Since I made four of them, that's a savings of over $20.

Beyond savings, doing diy projects give you more control over your finished product. For instance, I used gray vinyl on my baby poser when usually you only find them available in a cream color. I had complete control over measurements and colors, which is nice when you have visions in place to execute.

Being my first newborn session, I was so nervous... but I LOVED it! Here's a few shots I captured using my new diy projects :)

You can view more of my favorites from my session at my photographer website: www.jennifermaephotography.blogspot.com

friday favorites

Happy Friday! I'm starting a thing, and it's called "friday favorites". I'm going to be gathering up all the things I'm loving, obsessing over, and can't get enough of.

favorite gallery wall {talia audenart}

favorite chair {style me pretty}

favorite diy project {artsy chicks rule}

favorite headboard {dreamy whites}

favorite decor {dear lillie}

favorite room {i heart organizing}

favorite dish, veggie stromboli {pib & ebby}

favorite wreath {kelea's florals}

dining room reveal

Time for a room reveal. This one is of our dining room. The anchor of your dining room is of course your table. Well we've had our dining table since we first moved in our first home - that makes it nine years old. Our out of date and abused by our oldest child table is definitely on my wish list to replace.

It has ran my mind to refurbish this "antique" of ours. It does have some nice qualities. I like the beaded detail, and the pedestal legs. Both those details are what sold us on this table in the first place. However, this table is covered with veneer. So painting it is my only option. One of which I'm not excited about. I wouldn't mind having white distressed chairs, but I'd prefer a rustic stained table. Oh, I don't know... like this one from Restoration Hardware...

I vision my seating being eclectic, including a bench on one side, and upholstered chairs on the heads of the table. A girl can dream, right. One day... now back to reality that is my dining room.

Our dining room is our built-in buffet. Best decision we made, having one built-in to the home. It really makes this room. I'm still finding my way on decorating this space. I'm not used to all this space, and I am not for filling all of it either.

 I do have some plans for that birdcage ;) Yes, that's a diy project coming up here & hopefully soon...

That clock is one of the, if not THE first decor to be hung in our new home. 

Custom made at My Beloved Reclaimed. I adore it!

There's my plate wall!

in the details:

monogram wooden tray {hobby lobby}

ceramic floral pail {home goods}

striped linen tablecloth {margity, etsy shop}

yellow ball jars {here on the farm, etsy shop}

light fixture {pottery barn}

roman numeral clock {my beloved reclaimed, etsy shop}

diy plate wall

About nine months ago, when planning my best friends baby shower, I started to have an appreciation for vintage teacups and plates. I decided to make soy candle teacups {each with matching saucers} as the party favors. This was quite the task. I spent three weekends of hunting, collecting, wheeling and dealing for teacup sets. With the help of my best friend's sister, we did successfully gather enough sets. However, it left me with a grown admiration for fine bone china.

Fun fact, "fine bone" china actually consists of cow bone. If you are interested to learn about the contents and process, I read a short article at Knowledge Nuts about them... the last paragraph is a bit crazy!

Back to my diy plate wall! With my new delight for not only teacups,  I started noticing images on pinterest of plates being displayed on walls. Well, naturally I fell in love...

featured at {decor extra} & seriously worth checking out the entire featured home - GORGEOUS!

{Fancy Shack}

so loving the layering! {the endearing home}

obsessed with the mix of textures {on sutton place}

...and so my plate collection started with a gorgeous yellow rose
made in England plate I found at an antique thrift store.

I was starting with a completely blank wall in my dining room.

I decided to start my wall with these wooden medallions I picked up from Home Goods months ago and hadn't found a spot for yet. It seemed like the perfect way to add more texture to my wall display. These are the foundation of my display so I made to get them centered and leveled just right!

I picked up these plate hangers up at Hobby Lobby - they are also available at Amazon. They run $2 each. You wet the glue side and let it get sticky. Then you press it on the back of the plate according to how you want it hung. They do need to try overnight before attempting to hang them.

Then it was time to hang the plates. I had collected a variety of six of them. Four salad plates {which estimate around eight inches}, and two butter plates {which are each about 6 inches}. Each plate was collected from different places {antique shops, consignment markets, even Etsy}. My main goal was to collect an eclectic assortment, especially a variety of color.

I didn't do any measuring or leveling when hanging my plates. I winged it by eyeballing where I thought they should go. Because each piece is different, even slightly in the shape and size - I didn't see the need to obsess over precise placement.

I know, now you want to see my dining room, right? Next post, I promise!