We’re nesting like crazy in anticipation of Baby Deux, who is due sometime in the next few weeks.  Mr. Petrie had some time off from work for the holidays, so he did a huge facelift on our master bath and installed a new floor in our hallway bath.  It is such a big improvement that every time I enter the bathrooms I end up looking around for five minutes.

A few before shots:

This floor was permanently grungy.  There were even cigarette burn marks on the floor.  Who smokes in the bathroom??

A very cheap white paint had been used during the last paint job and mildew was growing in the corners and all over the shower area.  Sometimes white does not look cleaner.

We repaired a few flaking wall areas around the shower.  Notice the right side of the shower where several tiles had fallen off.

Even the air vent needed a facelift.

We painted the bathroom in Behr’s Cliff Rock.  We used a semi-gloss and the paint has a mildew-resistant additive.  We have used Cliff Rock around our house, but in a flat version.

We decided to paint the ceiling in Cliff Rock as well.  I wanted the room to feel warm and cozy.

There was a towel bar sitting in the middle of the wall.  We never used it, so we took it out, patched the wall and painted over the patch.  I’m not sure if I will put art on this wall or a few hooks for clothes and towels.

Remember the free Glidden paint from this summer?  Well, I finally had a reason to use mine.  I had ordered white paint and I was able to use it to paint the vent and to touch up the white baseboards.

And the much improved after shots:

The bathroom got a fresh coat of paint and a new floor.  Earlier this year I won an awesome decal on the blog Violet Posy and put it up on the mirror.  I think this modernizes the mirror and gives a touch of interest to the area.  A couple of years ago we had the counters resurfaced due to my intense dislike of faux marble.  I’m still thinking about painting the cabinets white, but being 8 1/2 months pregnant doesn’t contribute to my productivity.

We repaired the shower surround and recaulked in the shower.

The vent was given a fresh coat of white paint.

I am loving the new floor tiles.  Mr. Petrie did such a great job of getting the tile into all those awkward bathroom spaces.

A little window storage from recycled vases and candle lids.

Our hallway bathroom got new flooring, too.

I still need to accessorize the master bath with art and perhaps some shelving over the toilet, but getting all of that work done really took the shopping bug out of me!  I plan on looking for accessories this week.

(Thanks to Poppies at Play for hosting Creative Cats Friday, Thrifty Decor Chick for hosting a Before and After Party,  Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday, and Kimba at ASPTL for hosting DIY Day.)

Thanks to Between Naps On The Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday.

With the arrival of Baby Girl Petrie this winter, we really needed to figure out additional storage in Miss Petrie’s room for all the incoming baby things.  Our girls will be sharing a room eventually, but for now, the room needs to hold baby stuff and kiddo stuff.  Miss Petrie’s room had her playhouse in a corner, but it took up a lot of space.  I’d been looking for bookshelves for a while and these tall espresso shelves from Target fit the bill.

Before:

(If you want to see all the room’s before pics, click here.)

Here’s the room now.

These shelves replaced the playhouse.  The shelves house baby clothes, books, and toys.

I labeled each bin with sizes so I could easily put away baby clothes.

Mr. Petrie used Photoshop to create a silhouette of Miss Petrie.

The new furniture set-up allows lots of space for playing on the carpet.

Keep tuned in for nesting.  We sure are doing plenty of it now!  

Have a great day.

Thanks to Between Naps On The Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday.

We have a narrow wall in our dining/kitchen/living room area and I had yet to decorate it.  I really wanted to wait until I had something interesting and personal to put up on this wall.  

I collected pictures from around the house.  Most were in black or dark frames with white mats, but I threw in a couple of pictures without mats.  The largest frame may have to go black, but I haven’t made up my mind yet.  

I’ve been looking at my photo wall all weekend and I still like it!  It actually makes the dining area feel more like it’s own room with that extra bit of decoration.

Have a great week, friends.

Thanks to Between Naps On The Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday.

I’d wanted to buy pretty bathroom storage for little items, but hadn’t found anything that was quite my style.  After I received flowers in a simple cylindrical vase (I already had one),  I thought that style would really work in our bathroom.  An after-Christmas cinnamon candle lid happened to fit perfectly over the mouth of my vase.  Voila, bathroom storage was born!  I added the smaller glass cylinder (which was originally a candle) after the candle wax was gone.  I scraped out the large pieces of wax then washed it in the dishwasher and it came out super clean.  

This project was free because I recycled objects I wouldn’t normally have re-used.  If you don’t have this style of vase in your stash, check out your local thrift store, where you’re bound to find about a thousand of these vases.  Have a great week!

Thanks to Between Naps On The Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday.

Two little boys we know are having a joint birthday party with a robot theme and I thought I would decorate canisters with robots as part of their gifts.  I’ve kept these large Trader Joe’s coffee cylinders because it seemed they could be repurposed as storage containers.  

TJ's coffee containers

I used foil to give the containers a mechanistic feel.

Foil covered containers edged with green and white striped ribbon.

I love these Dollar Tree stickers! I could imagine them selling at a high-end children's boutique.

Container with sticker

I punched out circles and stars, stamped and embossed each boy's name in silver and then used foam tape to give each star some height.

The "back" side of the containers.

The lids of the containers- I wanted them to resemble cogs.

I am on the lookout for a robot toy or t-shirt to put in each container.

I saw these stickers a few weeks ago and knew they would be great for a gift.  It felt good to recycle these canisters, which I normally throw away.  I’ll keep canisters in the future because they were easy to craft with and an excellent size for toy or office storage.  

Have a happy and creative week!

Thanks to Between Naps On The Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday.

Tuesday is the last day to sign up for the Casa Petrie giveaway.

***Click here to sign up!***

Mr. Petrie is a whiz with computers.  I wanted to add pictures of Miss Petrie to the cards I am sending out for Mother’s Day and he agreed to photoshop them for me.  I wanted the pictures to be more abstract and artistic.  I think you will be impressed with the before and afters.

I think this photo is beautiful, but I wanted it to have a black background.

Mr. Petrie blacked out the chair and used a warming filter on the picture to give Miss Petrie more glow.  He also cropped the picture so you see more of her.

I didn’t like this picture’s background.  It looked so drab compared to my little flower.  :)

We tried many different techniques and backgrounds.  We went in an unusual direction and used a Van Gogh painting as a background.  Mr. Petrie used a texture to give Miss Petrie a more Impression-istic look.

Mr. Petrie made this version of the picture to commemorate the end of Battlestar Galactica.  Well, and to be honest, because we’re big nerds.  We’re only sending it to my dad.

I think this photo is so sweet.  I love how Miss Petrie is holding her hands.  I thought the background was not akin to her cuteness.

Mr. Petrie used a stained glass effect in the background.  I think this is my favorite picture.

We could have taken Miss Petrie to a studio for photos, but I think these pictures are special because I took them and Mr. Petrie embellished them.  I will have 4×6 size pictures printed at Target for $.20 each.  I’m also having some 5×7 size photos printed for our home.  I like to switch out pictures every few months to keep them current.

Enjoy checking out all the other great transformations.  Have a productive and fun week!

Thanks to Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday!

If you read my post yesterday, you know Mr. Petrie is quite the knitter.  Usually there is some leftover yarn from each project he completes.  I was inspired (by a Martha Stewart project) to use what we have to make unique, textural cards.  

I started with these supplies:

I used a button as the center of the flower and wrapped yarn around it.  I wrapped the yarn tightly on some cards, loosely on others.

Instead of gluing yarn in a leaf shape, I decided to embroider leaves onto the card.

I used a tag punch and printed “Happy Mother’s Day” on some tags and “Happy Birthday” on others.  

I wanted the envelopes to be pretty as well.

The cards are all slightly different, but I was pleased by the results.

I think using what I’ve got to create something new is a wonderful challenge for my creativity.  I liked this project so much that I am thinking about other ways to display these flowers.  

Check here for a Casa Petrie Giveaway to celebrate over 3,000 visitors and 50 posts!

Thanks to Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday!

After fencing off a portion of our yard, we had a big pile of scrap wood.  I wanted to do something with it, so I figured I would use what we have and make some art.  

All the pieces started off looking like this:

I have three chocolate brown and light blue candle plates that I wasn’t showcasing as I had hoped, so I painted the wood white and adhered the plates to the wood.

I swear she poses herself. I am NOT kidding!

I’ve signed up for a Spring Swap at Bakow Babble, so I thought I’d start making a door hanging for my swap partner.  I don’t know who my partner is yet, but when I find out, I’ll add their name to this black sign.

After I decoupage the  green leaves onto the black sign, I’ll add some varnish to help the sign stand up to the April wind.

The last piece of wood I painted blue.  I plan to make a “welcome baby” sign for my friend who is having a boy.  

I will post pictures of the completed signs in the next few weeks.

Check out some of my other metamorphosis:

Homemade Baby Shower Invitations

Creepy Crafting with Mod Podge

A “Welcome Baby” wreath for $5

A Spring Banner

Thanks for stopping by Casa Petrie.  Enjoy checking out everyone’s awesome posts!