Refuge Creative

Old Window to New Coat Hanger

2015-05-19T14:24:00.001-05:00

I took this window from our house when we converted our front porch into an entry way. I love honoring the history of our house by throwing hints of its past into my decor. (I'll have to post more later... I have a sweet "come for dinner" bell that we re-installed in our pantry.)

My Secret Chalk Paint Recipe

2015-05-18T16:37:00.001-05:00

I never understood the idea of a secret food recipe. I saw it on TV shows and commercials where someone would pass on the secret family recipe and I always thought 'why?'. Why not share it with everyone? But now I know why!!! I recently created my own chalk paint recipe... and I love it! I feel like it's my special secret. It's so weird. I know that. Luckily there are hundreds of posts about chalk paint recipes so hopefully you find your own special recipe too:) ... and don't get mad at me for keeping 'my precious'.

Anyway, that's not really the reason for this blog entry, I just wanted a catchy title;) The real reason is to show off this little table!

It's a $15 garage sale find. I wanted it to have hints of red in the part where I distressed so I painted white, the red and then green. To finish it off I used a Miniwax wax product. I like wax because it gives a matte finish that I have yet to successfully get with polyurethane.

I really love this project hope you do too:)

Just Another Brick in the Wall

2015-05-15T17:10:00.000-05:00

Our fireplace wall was a really fun and complicated project. We ended up having some trim and two drawer units left over from the kitchen that we used. We used them to create to bookshelves and painted it all black. We love that they match the kitchen in style but the black paint helps lend to dividing the spaces. After paint I distressed and stained the sanded areas with the same stain as our kitchen cupboards. The real brick looks a little better then our temporary wallpaper solution too;)

Dear Time

2015-05-14T15:29:00.000-05:00

You and me, we've been through it all together.
Thank you for slowing down for me while I watch my children sleep.
And in the mornings when we are all sitting at the table talking about nothing, thank you for waiting for me to finish my coffee.
Sometimes we walk together and can look back and reflect on our journey together.
Other times we are sprinting so fast there is no time to care or think about anything else.
I like both paces.
But now I feel like you have ran off ahead, without me.
I need a minute to catch up.

...and half a year later!

2014-01-30T14:59:00.001-06:00

Wow... so I guess I kind of dropped the ball on my blog for the past 6 months. My last post kind of hints to why, life was crazy! I am happy to say that my life is a little simpler now: )

We have moved back upstairs in our house, and we have had renters in the basement for about 4 months now. Here are a few pictures of the basement suite.

This is the best picture I could find of the rental kitchen, its not quite finished but you get the idea

This is one of the basement bedrooms.

The basement hallway.

I haven't taken great pictures of our space yet, so I 'll just give a few right now.

These our the floors we chose for our main living area. This photo was taken while they were installing. They are ash, with a satin finish. We love them!

This is our kitchen... we LOVE it: ) We ended up buying an off white countertop, in quartz for the back wall cabinets, brightening up the cabinets a bit. The lighting fixtures are from EQ3, they really add to the space. We love that they are black like the granite but they are a little more modern then the kitchen.... which is nice because we were worried about the space looking too rustic. We like modern rustic style I guess. I know that sounds like an oxymoron.

And our best project in the past 6 months....

Our sweet Heidi : )

My Mind

2013-08-02T10:31:00.000-05:00

is thinking about... counter tops. Pricing out quartz for upstairs, I've probably looked at 5 different places.
is thinking about... painting. I can't do it : (
is thinking about... getting all the paperwork done for the govenment grant we applied for. I just found a lawyer!
is thinking about... our delayed flooring!
is thinking about... the appliances I need to research and decide on.
is thinking about... making sure my two year old is still having a fun summer.
is thinking about... the little details that need to be addressed and how much time they will take! (Lighting in kitchen cabinets, putting on the suite entrance doors, fixing the bulk head so the cabinet trim doesn't go past it, installing our new washing machine and dryer!)
is thinking about... moving upstairs (out of our basement suite) and getting the bedrooms ready.
is think about... when will we get to the outside of our house! Our yard needs to be cleaned of construction stuff, then graded, then window wells, then piles for front and side steps and back deck, then grass! Oh yeah, and the small job of siding our house.
My mind is always thinking!
Did I mention I have about 6 weeks until we are expecting a new baby!

I think one stress blog is allowed: )

My Kitchen Puzzle!

2013-06-11T23:08:00.001-05:00

Ok children it's story time. Take a seat, this is a long one!

So almost a year ago I was perusing kijiji, like I do, and I came across this beautiful kitchen for sale. I know this sounds weird, a kitchen... for sale, but that's what it was. It was the cabinets, sinks, faucets, microwave, dishwasher, counter tops, stove-top, range fan and all the hardware. So I made my husband treck out to St. Pauls to take a look at it. He loved it like I did. Apparently the owners (who lived in a large and beautiful home) were part owners of kitchen craft (where my cabinets are from), but they had sold their share and started a new cabinet company and now they were selling their 10 year old kitchen.

These are some picture of the kitchen before we took it out.

So I bought the kitchen with out thinking too much about it. Luckily I have a dad that supports me! My biggest post-purchase dilemma was storage. I was thinking maybe we could pile it all into our shed and a bit into the upstairs of our house. Little did I know how much room cabinets take up when they are not put in place and hanging on walls. In the end we used a trailer (the kind semi truck tow) at my dad's work.

So now that it has been time to install this kitchen I have been working like mad to figure out how to configure a kitchen so that it looks like it was made for our space. (Our two spaces, there was enough cabinetry for the basement suite too) Luckily we don't have to change anything about the gorgeous island!

I probably have around 15 of these pages

So below is what our kitchen looks like as of today! I love it. The trim is not up yet because we have to pull the bulk head out a few inches. Sort of sad, it'll be a lot of work, framing, drywalling, taping, adding the moulding, priming and painting! But we might as well do it right!

The space with no upper cabinetry is where our stove top is going. This is the one spot where I am looking into getting a piece made. Kitchen craft still sells these cabinets so maybe they can make me something custom that will look fit the space!

I just can't wait to see it all finished!

DIY Maternity Dress

2013-06-09T23:22:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I had a wedding to go to and was kind of in a pickle on what to wear.... I went shopping to the one maternity store in the mall and plus all the other stores (hoping to squeeze my little belly into something and not look ridiculous) but found nothing. In the end I decided to make something. I bought a shirt and a skirt from the thrift store and sewed them together. I loved how it turned out... I might just have to try this again!

Teddy Bear Picnic

2013-05-27T15:01:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we took a break from working on the house and went to the teddy bears picnic. It was so fun! I loved getting Max's face painted, and crafting with felt, the gymnastics center and meeting the Jet's moose.

This is the felt basket we made at one of the stations. (I sewed it up after we got home) So easy and fun... Max didn't get to cut them out, but he loved choosing which food we made and then feeding them to his bear!
I diffidently want to go back next year!

Feeling Grey

2013-05-21T12:57:00.003-05:00

Actually I have been feeling out a lot of greys lately. I have been trying to chose paint colors for our house. I wanted a warm grey, so today I tested out three paint colors.

(painted in upstairs main living space)

Originally I was really leaning towards balboa Mist... but then when I put it on the walls it looked way too warm... very beige. So I am 99% sure I am going with Barren Plain... it looked the most grey out of the three colors, and then in the basement I compared it to Grey Owl and it looked warmer of the two (which is what I wanted for the basement because it has less light).

(painted in basement main living space)

I loved the Grey Owl, but it turned out a little bit too green for the whole house, but I am planning to use it for the front living room and the basement bedrooms.
Ok... enough grey talk!

My 3rd Love

2013-05-20T22:11:00.001-05:00

My first love is my husband.
My second love is my child.
My third love (barring friends & family) is our new ceilings!

I love the trim work! (This last picture is taken before the molding was added) I think my husband said it best... " this is such an awesome feature and it's only the first one!". Meaning, hopefully, that we will fill the house with more cool ideas.
Anyways, the ceilings and walls are scheduled to be painted as soon as I can make up my mind on paint colors! I am thinking of a warm grey.... I have 5 I want to test out tomorrow. Wish me luck!

It's almost wedding time!

2013-05-18T19:05:00.001-05:00

I am so excited for my brother-in-law to get married! We held a little bridal shower for his soon to be wife (and my soon to be sister-in-law) and I was in charge of sweet treats. Here are some photos of the cream cheese iced cup cakes and the sugar cookies I made for the event:

Here is Why....

2013-05-01T16:51:00.000-05:00

I know its been so long since I've lasted posted... we've been busy!

Chevron Painting

2013-01-04T15:36:00.002-06:00

Merry Belated Christmas everyone! I hope you had a great holiday with your loved ones and family! .... I guess for most of us those are not two separate groups of people : )
I wanted to share a Christmas present I made this year. I made the painting below for my soon to be sister in law. I saw something like it one her pinterest page and thought, "hey I could do that!" I love how it turned out and more importantly so did she!

If you want to make your own follow these four steps:
1. Buy old painting and frame from thrift store.
2. Paint new abstract painting (and paint frame if you want)
3. Cut the thick painter tape around 6 inches long and place each piece in the chevron pattern, leaving a gap.
4. Paint over everything, let the paint dry, then remove the tape!

Time for Trades

2012-12-14T16:03:00.002-06:00

Our house is all framed out and ready for trades! ... but the trades are not ready for us : (
We have had the house framed for awhile, but we were waiting on manitoba hydro for our electricity and natural gas to be connected again. Thankfully those two things have now been installed! Yeah!

So our electricians say the house should be wired before Christmas, the duct work men said this week... but they never came (they started a few weeks ago, but still have lots more to do), so we will see how that goes. And then our plumber said he is coming next week.

The above picture is a crack in the seam of the drywall sheets. We have a few of these upstairs from the lifting of the house. I often get asked about the damage... it was what we expected. (well, honestly I was expecting mush worse... like the ceiling to fall down)

Hopefully my next post will be a picture of running water and blowing vents and insulation!

Arm Party!

2012-12-09T01:01:00.002-06:00

I love the look of lots of bracelets.... and when I saw the bead and leather wrap bracelet I knew I had to have it! (Forgive me if I posted about this before... I couldn't remember)

I bought my leather from etsy and used random beads I have collected over the years. I love them... maybe a good christmas gift idea?? Click here for a great tutorial.

Disaster!

2012-11-28T16:17:00.000-06:00

Sorry for not posting for so long, but I have a good reason. There has been a disaster! Ok... I am play with you a little bit. It's not a house renovation disaster, my camera broke! I always like posting pictures with my posts... and now I don't have any. (I have been borrowing my moms camera... I just need to get all the picture off it now.)
Also I have been sick. I never used to get sick.... I blame my snot nosed kid. (and myself for kissing that snot nosed kid... I just can't help it!) So what's a girl to do when she is sick.... quilt!
Here is me, sick and quilting. I bought some of the pinwheel squares from the mcc craft sale. I had to make a few.

(my mom took this picture with her camera)
This reminds me that I have not posted about my last blanket I made. I love it...hopefully I'll get my camera situation resolved soon, then I can share!
Oh, house renos are going good! More on that another time : )

Looking Glass

2012-11-03T13:39:00.004-05:00

The windows are looking so good!

I love the windows... and just imagine how they'll look when the whole house is sided!
We did have a little problem with them... but it has since been solved. Originally we were planning on having a bay window in the front of the house, and so I ordered my windows accordingly. I had two slightly skinnier windows on the outside and a larger one in the middle that was a picture window(no grid). But then we changed our minds on the bay in the front, so the windows looked off to me. The fix was to move the middle window and trade it with one from the other living room, which would make the three windows the same. (Below are the windows in the first arrangement)

design time

2012-10-26T14:48:00.001-05:00

I am trying to plan the layout for our main floor bathroom. This is going to be a busy room... I want it to look sharp. We are planning to have our laundry in it, toilet, sink and a shower. Why a shower in our main floor bathroom you ask...
Our upstairs en suite bathroom has a shower and bath, but the other upstairs bathroom only has a tub. The angled ceiling doesn't allow for a shower. So we thought instead of always having our kids use our bathroom we would put a shower in the main floor bathroom. Also... if we ever have a hot tub, then guest don't need to use our en suite either.

The dimensions are 7 feet by 8 feet 10 inches. If need be I could steal space on either direction, but I am trying not to. But this is what I have so far. The only thing i don't really like about this layout is that you walk in and see the toilet wall... I don't even know if that is a thing... maybe it's just my thing.
The pink space is the shower, the blue is the washer and dryer with the sink above. I have been trying to search for picture were people have done this, (used the washer and dryer as the base for the sink vanity) but its hard to find. I think it because the w & d are deeper then a normal counter. (w & d are 32" deep normal counters are around 22") We are going to hide this with a dummy wall for uppers, with cupboards on either side and a mirror in the middle. (Bottom right of pictures) W & Ds are also highier, but we are tall people so this maybe would be better for us anyway.
I don't know... this is just what I am think now. But I have to decide by the end of the day because plumbing is getting done this weekend!
Also done this week were the basement wall, where the beams used to be, were poured. Windows are in... deciding on the front windows still. (A whole other story... I'll write about it once the problem has been solved) The doors are not in yet though. And interior framing is being done. Getting quotes on electricians.
It's moving along!

Reused and Refurbished

2012-10-10T12:43:00.000-05:00

With our upstairs renovation I was so excited to refinish the baseboards. Baseboards are one of the key selling points of a century old house... at least they were definitely one of the reasons I fell in love with our home! So I decided it was worth it to strip down the 5 layers of paint and save these gorgeous detailed hunks of wood.
I think i finished 3 baseboards and then me and my husband were blessed with the best surprise... I was pregnant! Needless to say, dealing with old paint was not advised for me and my lovely husband finished my task. I think this probably added an extra 3 months on to our reno... but look at the pictures... totally worth it!

We are planning on reusing as much of the solid wood from on main floor too. We have taken down all the baseboards and window trim and i have started sanding them down already. It's much easier this time because they are stained and not paints, and they do not have as many groves.

These are the baseboards I have sanded...

This is my huge stack that I have left to sand!

We are also saving our oak flooring. They came out pretty easily, it took us (me, jonas and his parents) two days to get all the nails out. We wont quite have enough for the whole main floor, so we will have to try to match them up and have a seam somewhere that is not too obvious. Hopefully this works out and doesn't look patchy.

Now I have to think about stain colors for the floors and trim work!

I've got the joy joy joy....

2012-10-07T11:53:00.001-05:00

Joy deep down in my heart.
Thats a lyric from a song we sing at church.... but what I mean to say is happy thanksgiving everyone!
(photos are my thanksgiving table setting, this is at my parents house, were we are currently living while our house in under construction)

We had my husbands thanksgiving get together last weekend and my parent went on a trip this week, so my siblings and I decided to have our own thanksgiving and invite friends. We decided this on Friday and invited people for Saturday. We had a pretty good turn out considering the short notice. I think on thanksgiving weekend everyone thinks everyone else is busy with family, so no one makes other plans... which worked out perfect for us!

I made the little turkey with an oreo that i stuck 5 candy corns to with icing. (i cut off the white tip of the candy corn) then I used a white tip of the candy corn for a nose on a chocolate malt ball, stuck on with icing. The red part is a cut up jujube and icing for the eyes. Reeses pieces iced on to the oreo, and the malt ball iced on to the reeses pieces. Kind of cute, eh?

It was so fun... here are a few photos to prove it:

Feeling Encouraged!

2012-09-28T11:35:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I stress out about our renovations, but when ever I get a chance to stop by the house and take a look I feel so encouraged! It is really starting to take shape. I know we still have a long way to go, but it is great now because I can visualize everything. (Above are some older pictures I should have posted of us pouring the footings for the basement, and then the beginnings of the framing of the addition)
What we have done this week: frame the addition roof, continue gutting main floor and we changed the plumbing from the city access to our house (which meant having our front yard completely dug up).

Us standing in our "living room nook"

Jonas in our dinning room

Seeing what it will feel like to sit in our dinning room... feels good!

Our main floor - standing in old kitchen

Hiccups we've had this week: We had a noise complaint. It was our neighbor. Kind of sucky because we used to have a good relationship with this lady... but she is just a renter (meaning who knows how long she'll be our neighbor), and all our other neighbors have been really encouraging. The safety people paid us a visit. They told us we needed to post a sign saying it was a boot and hard hat area, and we need a bathroom for the workers. Luckily one of our workers lives just down the street, so he posted the sign below. I love it!

Sporting the hard hat and "boots"

DIY Toy Planter

2012-09-27T21:14:00.003-05:00

I made these little guys for my husbands office. I just bought toy plastic dinosaurs from the thrift store, cut a whole in the top (actually a little but difficult), spray painted, put in dirt and plant and done!

I used hens and chicks type of plants (or succulents) because they thrive on little water.

Down House Down!

2012-09-24T23:08:00.000-05:00

So much has happened, house wise. The photo above is when we had set up the forms for pouring the basement walls. You can see the two huge beams that are holding up our house... the opening is where our addition will be.
We poured the walls, the house was put back down and the beams have been taking out. The floor has been added onto the addition space, and the walls have been framed in the addition. The trusses (roof frame) have been put up too. The front porch was completely taken away and re-framed. It's awesome to see it all take shape... I can see where the window and doors will be and walk in the space and dream that one day I will being sitting at my dinning room table here.
Next step is completely gutting the main floor, it is about half done right now. Also, inclosing the addition space, then pouring the concrete for the floor in the basement.
Tomorrow I have a meeting with an inspector from the Secondary Suites Program. This is a governement program that gives money to people making secondary suites for low income families. We are really hoping this will work out for us.... but for some reason I am very leery that it will work out. I guess I will just wait and see.

Button bowl!

2012-09-15T15:57:00.000-05:00

I made these with my cousins Kendra and Cailey, when they came for a visit in summer. We took a small bowl turned it upside down, covered it with parchment paper and hot glued buttons, making sure to use lots of hot glue. They are pretty cute!