Here Birdy Birdy

How cute is this bird house? And so easy to make!

Sit Down, Stay Awhile!

Ve Germans have a habit of sitting and talking a lot. And it mostly happens here.

Animals Become Family Members

Yesterday I mentioned that Viktoria has a pig...as a pet. I guess you could say that Viktoria started the our little hobby animal farm. Some of our animals are pets...and some are food. But how cute are they? My mother would say that she hates most of the rascals...but if they escape from the fence, she gets some prizes that none of us are willing to pass up....so keep escaping cows!!! Mama needs a new purse.

Our horse Otis. He unfortunately died this past winter, but we had him forever. He was gorgeous.

This is my dog Baer looking at two of our cows. He just wants to play with them!

bahhhhhhhhhhh

Tobi, Viktoria's 1 eyed dog. He had to have his eye removed a few years ago, so now he is our pirate pup. He's the inspiration behind this picture.

The famous Pigasso.

Are these not the cutest dogs you have ever seen? They are all mine too! Hans (on the left) is a wired haired dachshund and was given to be as a birthday present by my boyfriend. We call him our Appletini dog because he's a little priss. Baer is the dog on the right. We adopted him from the humane society a few months after we got Hans because Hans needed a friend. Baer is dog's dog - he wants nothing more than to run, chew on things, and sit by your side.

The Family Pole

....no, not a family stripper pole. We may be crazy, but we do draw the line somewhere! A few years ago, one of the siblings had an art project where they had to depict the family. Instead of a simple drawing of us with triangle dresses and stick legs, a family totem pole was made. Each of us had a part of the log and had to draw things that were representative of our life. We still have it in our foyer and it certainly makes an interesting topic of discussion.

The resting spot for the Family Totem Pole. Notice all of the ah-mazing pieces of art - all hand drawn by yours truly and the siblings.

Meet the family (circa 2004):

Karoline: We went on a family vacation to Arizona and the Grand Canyon about 9 years ago. Apparently the kokopelli was a symbol she really felt defined who she was? She also seems to like to paint. She was only 8 at the time, so what was she supposed to paint? Barbie dolls and ice cream?

Maximilian: Nicknamed Monkey Max (also the CobMan), painting a monkey was only natural. Not much has changed in the last 8 years - still as lovable and mischievous as always!

American/German flag: Max and Karoline were born in the US, so they get to have the American Flag on their side of the FTP. The rest of us (the cool part of the family) was born in Germany, so we get the schwarzrotgold flag

Viktoria: has been a vegetarian since 4th grade. She owns a pig named Pigasso (I call him Bacon) and he is and always be a part of the family pet family (more to come on them!). My parents used to make her have 1 bite of meat a meal but quickly realized she wasn't going to budge on that. She also doesn't drink soda. What a weirdo.

Franziska: the coolest person in the family obviously also has the most going on! This was made right in the middle of High School, so I tried to cram as much into my few inches of the FTP. Cross Country, softball, lifeguarding and music. Interestingly enough, 8 years later, I'm trying to get into Medical School, and I spent 5 years in the UW Marching Band. I guess we all don't change as much as we pretend we do.

Mom: While this was either Max or Karoline's school project, she obviously had the most to do with this. On top of all the awesome craft projects and furniture pieces inside of the house, she also gardens all summer long. What can't she do?

Dad: A doctor and a lover of wine. What else in life is there?

have I mentioned our house isn't boring?

I think the one word people wouldn't use to describe my family and our house is boring. Between the German in us, there being 6 of us, and my mom's hatred for the color white, there isn't going to be a dull moment in our house. While this can be a bit daunting for people coming into the family who aren't used to such a commotion, I don't think any of us would have it any other way!

I mean, come on! Who has this in their house? Apparently we do.

Thrifted pull cabinet

Sea Horse Details

Instead of not allowing us to write on the walls (okay, hopefully we are all past the "writing on the wall with markers" stage...maybe), my mom painted 2 wood panels with chalkboard paint and let us go crazy.

While this may not look toooooo out of the ordinary from the front...

Look at the top and inside! The top is mosaic-ed with plate pieces (hand broken for anger release) and fishbowl marbles, while the drawer and legs are

Organization Is My Middle Name

Similar to not having boring furniture, we also seem to not have boring organizational structures:

thrifted trinket holder makes a great stamp organizer

mason jars not only keep crafting supplies handy, they also make
an interesting decoration. By keeping them in order, the ombre
effect is handy AND pretty!

more stamps...seemingly a necessity for a crafter

thrifted cabinet becomes...

....a great place for nailpolish!

spray painted branch makes an interesting jewelry holder: see full idea here

2 thrifted cake stands with another bowl on top make a beautiful and handy way of keeping your jewels together. 

Home-Made Presents are the BEST

As I mentioned here, home-made presents mean the most. Pinterest has given us thousands of new ideas to get our crafty hands on - including this one. So my mom surprised my sister and I with these awesome jewelry organizers:

The one on the right is mine. It is made out of a window pane from our barn. It is nailed to a piece of wood that is covered in fabric. Some of the hooks are thrifted or found laying around the barn, while the rest are bought at the local hardware store. My sister's is smaller (it has to fit into a suitcase) and is made out of a thrifted picture frame, with wire strung across. The fabric roses on both of them are handmade by my mom. All have magnets inside of them so they stick to the magnets that were glued to the frames. Some of them have pins so they can be used as broaches!

Pre-Jewelry

Post-Jewelry!

Boring Furniture Is For Boring People

We don't have many store bought furniture pieces - many are thrifted furniture that my mom has refurbished into something that is truly one of a kind. It involves many hours of finding the furniture, sanding, painting, and glossing, but they are pieces of art (on which we sit)

fringe details for the flowers

breakfast bar stools

The entry-way mirror. These are actually separate pieces - the table is mosaic-ed (seems to be a reoccuring theme!) while the mirror was painted to match. And that awesome butterfly in the reflection? I made it in 5th grade art class. I'm so talented.

The dresser in the getaway attic. The drawers (details below) are all different, and so are the shelves on the right.

Diamonds - Stripes - Flowers - Mirrors - Diamonds

Cheap craft supplies include the rocks that are meant for the bottom of fish bowls. This dresser will last a lot longer than any goldfish we've ever had.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend.

BeachHaus touches

Having newly fulfilled a life long dream to own a house on the beach, my mom went all out on the personal touches for the house. Here are just a few of them:

mosaic-ed mirror, with artist inside. Not only is this a great DIY idea, it lets your release some pent up anger since you have to smash all of the plates yourself!

pillows and side tables

hand-painted thrifted candle stick holders

the doggy area.the picture is a replica that has been modified to look like our retriever Toby. If it were a true depiction of Le Tob, he would only have 1 eye!

one can never have too many candles

Attic Escape

When you have four children...you need a place for yourself. Insert Attic Bedroom here:

saxophones and doctor bags

sands from all of the beaches that have been traveled

the reading nook