Capture the Details:

I have taken on a HUGE summer project.... a whole house makeover.

A bit of a back story first. Fourteen years ago Todd and I had our house built. I was pregnant at the time and we had to decide if we wanted three small bedrooms or two larger bedrooms. The overall size of the house would not change regardless of the number of bedrooms. We opted for two larger bedrooms, one being ours, and the second would be for the baby. We figured if we had another child and they were the same sex they could share the bedroom. If they were two different sexes they could share for a while when they were little and then we would add on an addition to our house.

It's a shame we didn't have a magic ball to see into the future because it would have told us we would have a girl and a boy, and about the housing crisis going on at the time we would need to put on an addition. Two years ago the kids were 11 and 8. We decided it was time - they were getting pretty big to be sharing a room. Unfortunately, because the housing market crashed and the value of homes plummeted, we were not able to get a loan to add on an addition.

Which brings us to my summer project. We had to get creative. The kids are now 13 and 10 and it's really time for them to be getting their own rooms. Luckily our basement is finished, thanks to the work my brother did two summers ago. That gave us the idea of moving our living room downstairs. Ninety-nine percent of the people coming to our house come in through our basement anyway, so, they would now be entering our living room.

That part of the makeover is complete. All the living room furniture has been moved downstairs and we are pretty well set up, other than some decorating to be done when I get a chance. That emptied out the old living room upstairs. That room is what Todd and I are now using as our bedroom, however, the front door of our house comes into that room. Uh, hello? Privacy???? This is where the creativity comes into play.

I am making my studio space at the front door area. We divided the room, with 1/3 of the space being for my studio and the other 2/3 being our bedroom. Since only about three people come to our front door a year I wasn't too concerned about this arrangement. I have ordered really cool room dividers to break up the space and they should be arriving tomorrow. I am loving it already, feeling more 'official' in my business endeavors since I have an official space. Todd and I pretty much had a bed in my workspace before and we never really had a bedroom for relaxing. So, even though it's unconventional, I think we can make it work and I'm excited to see how it all comes together. In the mean time, I have just a few Instagram pictures giving a glimpse into my new creative space.

Miss Sophie has been out of sorts because all of her favorite napping places are not there anymore. Except by the front door. She loves the new rug I added and doesn't mind the stuff sitting on the floor waiting to be hung.

I have been enjoying the process of moving things into my new studio space. Looking through and organizing all my pretty supplies is a fun job.

Even Sweet Limedrop, my one and only Webkinz, has a perch on top of a button jar.

I have a bookshelf now and it's filled with my favorite inspirational books and magazines.... a few, fun little journals made by my sweet friend Lori are tucked in, too.

One of my favorite things about my new space is my brand new filing cabinet. It didn't take long to fill the drawers with my pretty papers.

So much accomplished and sooooo soooooooo much more to do! I will share before and after pictures of the whole project as I go along. I am currently working in Sarah's new bedroom (Todd and my old bedroom). I have the ceiling painted and will be moving on to trim and walls over the next week. Once she moves in there I will do Ben's room (where he and Sarah are now). And then, the kitchen and hallway are getting a makeover, too.

Like I said ~ A huge project! :-)

I love making matchbook notebooks. They are very simple to make (especially since I will be giving you a template to use) and you can use all sorts of pretty papers to create them. Their simplicity and cuteness make them perfect for whipping up a quick gift. Make a whole batch for party favors! You can make a bunch of identical notebooks for an event, or make one-of-a-kind notebooks for yourself and your friends.

Here are the materials you will need:

template
cardstock
printer
paper for matchbook cover
paper for pages
paper trimmer with scoring blade
stapler
embellishments, if desired

Here is how you make it:

1. Print out the template provided.

2. Cut out the template.

3. Trace the template onto the back of the pretty paper you want to use for the cover. Cut out the pretty paper cover and then use the scoring blade to score the folds along the lines indicated on the template.

4. Fold the cover into the matchbook shape.

5. Cut the paper for the inside into 3 1/2″ squares. Twenty sheets is a good amount – you don’t want it too thick or you will have a hard time stapling the book together. Staple the matchbook together on the short flap using two staples, one on each end.

6. Add any embellishments that you would like to use. I used Washi tape across the flap on my purple glittery matchbook notebook. I also used it on the double-sided patterned paper matchbook notebook. I did a little experiment on one of the notebooks and I’m pleased with the results. I used a page from a recycled catalog and adhered it to my cardstock template. I folded the notebook along the score lines. I then laminated the cover. It folded well along the score lines, which is the result I was curious about with the lamination.