Karla's Cottage

Before and during the big make over

This is how our bathroom was before we ripped it apart to get to the crawlspace.  The supports under the house needed replacing, there was no ventilation, insulation, or entry to get in.  Major work needed done, and we needed access.


While we probably could’ve gotten away with cutting through the plywood floor in the closet instead, it might have been hard to get long boards through the turn into that room.  Plus, the tile had cracks and the drywall was damaged. That space could use a good make over.

There was also a second door in the bath that led directly to the closet.  Not only was it never used, it took up wall space in the closet that could’ve been utilized for storage.  And now is, after closing off that entry.

We had been gifted these rough cut boards, that sparked my idea of turning the door way wall into barn wood instead. 

I painted them and my carpenter son put them up.

Didn’t he do a great pattern?

To compliment the wood, we went for an all natural rock floor.  But oops! As it went down, we started freaking out about the lines between the mesh squares.  Before grout, it looked like a grid pattern.  

Freaking out was putting my reaction very mildly.

A few adjustments were made with adding rocks into bigger gaps, but over all, we decided to trust the process and start grouting.  I like the overly grouted look, with it covering up some stone.

After it was done, all of those scary grid marks were gone! My only regret is in not placing a few more crystals here and there.  I’m thrilled with the floor, though.

While the room was torn up, I decided to repaint.  Everything. Ceiling, trim, door, cabinet, tub surround, vent covers.  I even sewed new curtains from vintage fabrics I’d been hoarding.

With the shower curtain down, I could see how much hard water buildup there was on the walls.  So I made a paste of baking soda, vinegar, and peroxide to leave on for a couple days, then remove with a steam cleaner.  It didn’t work as well as I’d hoped, so I scraped the buildup off with a razor blade.

I was committed to a whole new, fresh room, all details mattered!

Including washing light fixtures and replacing the bulbs with brighter ones.

I even got out a tiny brush and cleaned up all messy grout lines along the trim too.  As hard as we worked on this, I didn’t want wonky lines distracting from the room!  My son did such a wonderful job, I love the room and every tiny corner of it!

 

A Kansas Sunflower stone mosaic entryway

When is the best time to take on a project?  Why, when the rest of the house is torn up with an even bigger project, of course!


Actually, that was true for me.  When the guys first started on the under the house project, I couldn’t be of much help.  We had plans to do the entire bathroom floor in little stones, so I wanted to try them out on the repaired (but not finished) entryway.  I also wanted to see the grout color after it dried.  I’m glad I did, because it was too dark, I switched to a lighter shade for the master bath.

I’d also hoped to use some of these marvelous, labradorite stones in the bathroom.  Sadly, we decided they were too dark for that area.  And the vendor I’d previously gotten these from at the gem show I attended did not bring any of their sliced stones this time.  So I didn’t have any more options.  I’d hoped for a warm moonstone, but it wasn’t available without special ordering, and time was short.

See what I mean? The bathroom colors were too golden for the labradorite stones.  But we did manage to sneak in a few crystals.

Even with the golden flashes these had in the right light, they matched better by the door.  So I used all of them up there.  And love it!  Labradorites and moonstones are both from the quartz family and tough enough to hold up in foot traffic.   I guess I’ll just have to find another area to pave with moonstones slices, huh? 

I did sneak a pretty, stone heart into the entryway.  It’s a little thicker than the other rocks, so sits higher.  I placed it back in the corner where that won’t matter.  The grout I used in this spot is Cocoa, with Light Buff in the other space.  There wasn’t a huge difference, but enough to matter overall.

It’s very good to have both areas done.  And was hard to live through, but worth it.  At some points, I was laying out flat on the floor to stretch my back out as I grouted and there might’ve been some Advil involved too.  

Big jobs!  But a big blast of design once it was done.   I love them both!

 

 

 

 

Kinda like making lemonade when life gives you lemons

Did I mention how hard the renovation we just went through was?  The work was grueling.  But after finishing for the day, we’d have jewelry parties at night.  

Being with my boy, getting to be creative, certainly helped me get through the exhaustion.   And the fact that Adam got the job done so quickly didn’t hurt either. If we’d gone through a contractor, we could’ve faced months of a torn up bathroom and laundry room, not just days.  And doing it as a family saved us a ton of money too.

Mine is on the left, with a golden opal. Adam’s on the right with smoky quartz.

He crafted his with a mathematical scheme, mine was more random.  I lay out piles of color on my bead board, and move them around til I find balance.

These are both mine, first is a mother of pearl “doublet” topped with quartz from the gem show, 2nd is a pearl mosaic I made.  One is slightly longer than the other so I can wear them together.

I also whipped up a ton of holiday colored bracelets for Good Juju and to give to friends. 
Too bad that I didn’t get more pics of what Adam made, he was as talented in creating jewelry as he was in rebuilding our foundation and creating a beautiful new bathroom.

His child joined in too, Sugarwings made these pieces.  The kiddo stayed with us most of the time he was in town.  It was great to have them both around during such a stressful time to turn things around into something special instead.  Now, don’t get me wrong, it was strenuous labor to get through, but working by my son’s side, watching his skills with pride, making jokes, and then making jewelry was a delightful way to tackle a huge project like ripping out the back of the house and redoing the bathroom.

I was also lucky enough to have a new favorite person added I too my life. Adam’s partner, Jacquelyn flew out to join him for a week.  I vastly enjoyed getting to know her, and appreciated the way she pitched in on the hard work too.  

She made these two bracelets.

And some earrings, as well as a few other nice pieces.  Once again, I didn’t get photos of them all.

Another thing I did not get enough pictures of?  Jacquelyn’s cooking.  Her plates of food were art.

Colorful, all natural, delicious, and healthy too.   As the person who typically does all the meals, I appreciated the effort she made along with the discovery of how nice it is to work your butt off then sit down to a plate of tasty food someone fixed for you.  What a treat!

Little Dewdrop couldn’t be here with us, and her dad missed her birthday to do this job for us. We sent her a gift and got to see her open it on FaceTime, but he was still pretty sad to miss out on being there in person.  Each of us put together bracelets for her that he can personally hand to her when he returns to North Carolina.

The one with the silver and crystal moon is from me, because her nickname is Tiny Moon.

Everytime I wear one of the necklaces I put together during this reno, I’ll have a reminder of my son and how he turned what could’ve been a hell into a special time.  

A nice day out

On Saturday, we had a bonus shopping experience for Good Juju.

We had some good traffic, and honestly, I’m not quite sure what I sold.  I think I did see someone pick up my two net trees.

They stand out because they are big and colorful.  I know lots of other goodies left too, but was so exhausted by the end of the day, I did not take stock.

Working on the bathroom renovation after the guys repaired the structural issue wore me out.

Then, the clean up afterwards was brutal.  We’d set up a plastic sheet to hold back the worst of the dust, thank goodness, but the cottage was still buried in a heavy layer of it.

A mere dusting wouldn’t clear it up. As I’d wipe it down with a wet, microfiber cloth, I’d get a smear of mud. So, it was heavy duty cleaning time, til everything sparkled.

Needless to say, my butt was dragging after all that.  I’m so glad my booth was set up and ready before all of that!


After that, I went ahead and decorated the house for Christmas, so wore myself out even more. I kept reminding myself that I’m closer to 70 than I am to 60 now, but that didn’t change the fact that stuff needed doing, right?  

I wonder when the point comes that I simply won’t keep dragging that tired butt around and not get done with what I’ve planned? 

So when the time for  our sale came, I was so happy to be out of the house and done with all the physical labor, I felt like I had a day off.  


It was such a lovely day, festive and fun. I loved all of the Christmas decorations around the mall.



It was a great day, hanging with friends, talking to customers.  And now I have about a week to gather up more goodies to bring in for the First Fridays weekend.  But for today? I’m taking a real day off.  Kicked back, watching endless tv in my comfy sweat pants, and sipping licorice tea while the Christmas lights twinkle. 

 

 

 

 

More Angel remakes

This tree topper needed some love.

And she came to the right place to get it.  I added layers of lace and rhinestones along with a crown, branches, and vintage flocked wallpaper wings.

Her friend was in a bit of a style predicament too.  First of all, why the orange ribbon? And the poof she sat on was wonky. 


I felt like she needed some freedom, so I took her poof away and gave her some wings.

But wait a minute, that fat little puff ball had promise, it just needed a redo of its own.  I pulled some stuffing out, re-shaped it, and made it the home of another little girl.

 

A Santa redo

As much as I enjoy turning neglected dolls into fairies and angels, I also get a kick out of Santa do overs. This guy got mink trim and a glittered tree.  Then an angora beard. 

I emptied his bag of cheap, plastic toys and replaced them with mini Shiny Brites.

Here is his before look.  

I hope Santa Claus enjoys his makeover and remembers me when Christmas Eve rolls around.  I’d love to get a stocking filled with candy and treats!