Light Switch Swag

Blurry again...
In my defense I only took the picture at the time because I wanted to show my Mom.
Not because I had planned to share it with the internet world. 

If you move a lot, or live in an apartment, you probably either can't or won't want to paint the walls. It's a great homey touch, but TONS of work.

In order to get around this predicament, I tried to think of little ways to add color and personality to walls without leaving anything permanent or difficult to change. One of my favorite ways has been to personalize light switch plates. It's SO easy and can turn out pretty stinkin' cute. But if they don't, a light switch plate costs about 50 cents from any hardware store so you can probably afford to mess up a few times.

To make the one you see pictured, use shades of green and brown construction paper (the dollar store is  a great place to load up on this crafting essential), markers, and Modpodge. Nothing fancy! The bird is actually a garden marker from the Target dollar section bought a while ago that came in a pack of 3. Cut the green paper into slightly different shapes and sizes of leaves, using a marker to accent. Layer them over the plate using Modpodge under and on top of each layer. Cut your brown paper to any tree shape you like, leaving enough extra to wrap around the sides. Marker again is great to add a little texture. This bird just happened to be on a piece of wire that goes the length of the plate. It was easy to use the brown paper to wrap around that wire and keep it in place. No glue needed! Using markers to color the screws adds a nice touch. Cover the whole thing in a healthy layer of Modpodge and let it dry. It takes about an hour to make, but let it dry overnight before you display it proudly.

The fun thing about this idea is that it can be as simple or complicated as your style. Not in the mood to cut out a bunch of leaves? Use 1 piece of scrapbook paper, or even a shopping bag from your favorite place, carefully cut out the area for the switch, and Modpodge that sucker into submission. Don't forget to let me know how it turns out!

Moving? Decide you need a change? Get new furniture? Make a new one! These would make a fun, unique, and inexpensive gift too. This one now belongs to a friend in Montana who helped me move and asked to keep it.

Sheila

Favorite Apartment Ever (So Far)

I'm convinced that my apartment while in Montana is actually the cutest apartment ever. And I don't say that lightly. I also don't mean how I decorated it. I mean, the basic layout and charm of it even when it was bare empty: adorable. Part of what makes it so neat is the long history of the building. According to the landlady, it was built in the early 20th century and was always intended to be apartments. My theory is they were built to accommodate the railroad workers flooding the west. In my mind, it makes total sense with the time period and the town. I used to love to imagine all the poeple who had lived there before me. Where were they from? What did they do? Where did they go? SO MANY THINGS I WANT TO KNOW.

The apartment is what I would describe as a modified studio. Technically it was a 1 bedroom, but in reality it was a large rectangle of a room that was split in half with a set of french doors in the middle. Then the kitchen was its own room as well as the bathroom (for obvious reasons). There wasn't a clear intention for either of the "rooms". They were both pretty big so in my head I separated each in half. The first half, with the front door that led to the hallway had a living room on one side:

And a dining room on the other: 

An example of the quirkiness: both of the doors pictured behind the table lead to the same closet. It's a great closet, but does it really need 2 doors? ANSWER ME, HISTORY. And yes, don't judge me that technically my clothes closet and dining room were in the same area. (Sorry all of these pictures looks  a little burry for some reason.)

Now to pass through the doors... That in real life were almost always open...

To my bedroom and craft room!

Command central, basically. Pictured as being a total mess because there was never a time when it wasn't.

The kitchen was apparently designed for someone about 7 feet tall. The wood of the bottom shelf in the cabinets was my eye level. Not even the contents, the wood itself. But it had this awesome little spice rack/pantry thing built next to the back door!

Did I mention there was a claw foot tub?

For those of your who don't know, taking baths in a claw foot tub is amazing. Taking showers, however, is not. You almost need a forcefield of shower curtains around you to try to keep the water from spilling out, and then the curtains start billowing in on you at times. I now understand the reason they started to lose favor in the modern world.

I miss my little Montana apartment... Anyway, as you can see, the apartment was full of charm and inspiration. My year there allowed me to try my hand at tons of fun little DIY projects that I can't wait to share. Did you ever live in a building that was older than some states? I'd love to hear about it! If you see anything in the pictures you have questions about, please comment and I've be happy to answer.