Master Bedroom

The new roof is ON! We had to pay for it out of our pockets, but it is up there and it looks great! We are still hoping insurance will come through with reimbursement, but we had to get the holes covered up to prevent further damage. And not a moment too soon! The last guy was finishing up the details around the edges yesterday and we got what my Daddy used to call a "gully-washer"! He came back today and ran a magnetic sweep around the yard for stray nails in the rain! We are so very thankful we are not trying to keep out the water with blue tarps like so many of our neighbors. And now we can start rebuilding the interior!

Before Ike was even a blip on the radar, we had ordered new bedroom furniture. This was a promise I made to myself when I started nursing school: "Self," I said, "when you finish this long haul, you are gonna treat yourself to some new furniture in your bedroom!" What we had was a lighted, mirrored wall-unit that was nearing 20 years old!

We had to wait almost two months for our furniture to come, but it finally got here this week and here it is! I had been watching for sale and clearance decorative elements to go with our new look for the two months so I got to redo the walls and everything... (You should be able to click on the pictures to get a closer look.)


This is the head of the bed. The long sign says "Dream" and the oval says is a scripture I love. The wrought iron scrolls are a bargain from Hobby Lobby. All of this was 50% off - gotta love it!

This is the entrance (door on the left) and door to the master bath). The gentleman's chest sports a lamp with a flicker bulb that I have had for several years but it had not really found a great home yet -it is setting up housekeeping now! The fan is a venetian bronze replica of a vintage fan that is my best friend when I am sleeping in the daytime after working a 12 hour shift all night!
The dresser with jewelry case on top. The TV will be going, but for now that is my one item that I am not so fond of...
I have struggled with these windows for the entire six years we have lived in this house. The eyebrow arch windows are a bear to cover! We installed the 2" wooden blinds when we moved in but I have never known what to do other than that - and I am almost never at a loss on window treatments! These are iron elements I found on sale at Hobby Lobby - got them for $10 each - I think they are meant to just hang on the wall, but I am using them to distract the eye from those empty arches. The fabric is a Wal-Mart $1 per yard find yesterday. I have allowed a little to puddle on the floor on the bottom of each. The swags still need some tweaking, but I think I am going to like it when I get them just so. I stuck a grape spray in the middle one- thinking about adding them on all three... what is your vote?
A closer view of the gentleman's chest. The ends open up to tie/jewelry hooks and trays. This furniture is really well-built and has lots of bells and whistles. So far I just love it!

I think I am going to head to the kitchen next. I am thinking a cayenne color, tuscan feel, using a paint and joint compound to texture the walls. I'm feeling some accents of chocolate, gold, and aqua. Sounds gross huh? In my mind it is fabulous! Stay tuned for more of the Hays House Makeover!

Photo jewelry

Life is slowly getting back to normal after the hurricaine drama. We finally got an insurance adjuster out here on Thursday to look over all the damage. We will hopefully start to rebuild within the next few weeks. Roofing, painting, sheetrock, carpet, flooring - it just makes me tired thinking about it all! So what's a girl to do when she wants to avoid thinking about the chaos around her? Play! So.... I have been playing around with poly resin and photos to make photo jewelry. Here are a few samples... Oh yeah... a disclaimer: I can't get my camera to shoot these things very clearly. I will borrow a friend's camera next week and try to shoot some in natural light so you can see them better, but for now just try to pretend they are WAY more cool in person. Okay, now on to the show!

These adorable little people are my twin sister Dori's children; Elizabeth, Garrett, and Elena. I am so proud of these! I have long wanted to learn how to colorize photos with just one area in color and the rest in black and white! I finally figured it out! Yes, it is a bit time-consuming, but these look really pretty in person! Aren't those beautiful children?

These show some different shapes and ideas. The middle one is Melissa on the Galveston beach - when it was still there! The one of the castle is a painting of Cinderella's Castle at Disney World. This is Melissa's favorite place on the planet so I wanted to make a pendant of it for her.

The first one is a shot of Randy and I on the same Galveston Beach. In the middle is another attempt at the colorization process, this time on a picture of Melissa. The on the end is of baby hands and a chin and mouth. It looks way cool in person, but may be a bit hard to decipher here...just more experimentation of styles.

This is of all of us on the beach. I have already drilled the holes on either side of this piece - I am going to make it into a bracelet.

I LOVE this piece! Another colorization one. I just love how it turned out...

Another family shot on the beach. Heart-shaped sterling chain attached to either side.

Playing around with a silhouette piece...

This is anothe one of the beach shots. You will notice the kind of mottled look to the background of this one. This was the first batch I did and the resin absorbed into the photo paper somewhat. I found a waterproof paper and it worked fabulously on the next crop.

As you can see, I am having a blast playing with my new "sport". Let me know what YOU think!