Before and After

Oh Saturday morning with the sun shining (and promises of a high of 66 today) how I love you.  It feels so good to be able to sit down in my own space and write again.  I have missed this space this week and the creative outlet that this blog is for me.  I love gathering bits and pieces of my life and the lives of others that I discover and taking photographs and finding other photographs and putting it all together here to share in this online journal.  I found a class of sorts yesterday on art journaling that I would like to take and posted on the owners blog that I had never done art journaling but in my own way that is what this blog is (for me). 

In case you don't know, Papa Bear (that is my pet name for my husband) and I are planning on moving soon and are in the process of preparing our home to go on the market.  My job these days is to do as much possible to get that done.  This week was going to include many projects but only one was accomplished.  I had a section of a wall that needed the wallpaper removed and re-hung due to water damage.  Now all along I have been saying that we had enough wallpaper to do this because when I looked under the cabinet where I kept the left-overs I saw two rolls.  Guess what?  One roll was a roll of all pieces.  So one wall turned into one room.  There are some things you should keep in mind when removing wallpaper too.  Know what kind of paper you are dealing with.  I almost destroyed one wall before we realized that the paper that was up could be pulled off removing the top design and leaving a rough thin sheet that contained the adhesive.  That rough thin sheet came right off when sprayed with warm water.  However, before I knew this I spent hours spraying one wall trying to get the water to go through the wallpaper and this was just not that kind of paper.  On another note, I also found this week that simply posting a note on facebook and asking your online community for advise is awesome!  I got several tips on removing wallpaper and my favorite one was "If the wallpaper was put up properly, it's a snap. If it wasn't, you'll need a bottle of wine ... and some Kleenex for your tears."  I also referred to these sites that were helpful as well: 
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/getting-to-know-wallpaper-removal-techniques.html and  http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/how-to-remove-wallpaper-patience-is-a-virtue/index.html 



Before



Old Wallpaper

Thank goodness for the helpful capable hands of my sister-in-law who volunteered to help me put up the new paper.  She is a pro at stuff like this but I know she was glad when it was all done (about 8 hours later). I was going to wait and post pictures after I hung up the towels and put back in the plants, etc. but then remembered I still have not posted before and after pictures of the kitchen because I am still trying to figure out what art work I want to hang in there. We still have to caulk around all of the trim and paint it too so it may be a few more days before I put everything back in there.  So without much fan fare here is the after. 


After




After Close-Up (showing texture and color)

 It is neutral, but I really love it.  It has a nice texture and was simple to hang because there was no matching required.  If you have ever hung wall paper with an intricate pattern, you know what I am talking about.

I also have wall paper envy for some wallpaper that I saw over at Black & Spiro yesterday.

Wallpaper from Black & Spiro Design

I think something similar may find its way in a future powder room some day.  I think this is like stepping into a magical garden