Too Much HGTV?

Is there such a thing? Too much HGTV? DIY shows and websites? Too much surfing of creative blogs? If there is, I'm definitely guilty.  

I started out last weekend by getting my vegetable garden in - tomatoes, cilantro and peppers for salsa, and some basil (my favorite!) and onions and green beans. Hubby got a garden of potatoes, zucchini and pumpkins started. Now to keep the deer and rabbits away. The "Garden" part of HGTV.

Then I started testing out some ideas for camera strap covers and photo album slipcovers for my friend Joy Orcutt. Just designing and experimenting with fabric I have on hand to show her some possibilities for her photography business. (I lost the pictures of the bright, summery camera straps - not sure where they went.  Oops.)  She wishes she could sew, and I wish I could take photos like hers.  Now I think I should make a camera strap and an album slipcover for me . . . 

Then I got sidetracked with a little painting project.  While the English Major is gallavanting around the Dominican Republic, I emptied a bedroom that I've been wanting to paint and got started with that.  When we moved into this house a few years ago, this room had been a little girl's room. I've always hated the color combination,and my girls were not little - so I've been wanting to get to this for awhile.  This is the lovely purple and teal-ish room that I started with (never mind the zebra blankets):

Yuck. I've hated this room since we moved in.  But, it was lower on the totem pole of projects to do before now.

Off-white seemed my only choice for paint color with this carpeting.  (What would HGTV do?)  I'm sure my Uptown Girl will accessorize with colors of her own choosing.  I knew the 101 Dalmation and Little Mermaid kiddie sheets would come in handy again someday!

 Finally, purple no more . . .

Voila!  Transformed into a room that a young adult can tolerate.  We now call it "The Marilyn Room".  Uptown Girl LOVES Marilyn Monroe.  (There's the "Home" part of HGTV!)

When the painting project was done, I remembered that I've been wanting to re-cover my old sewing chair:

This is an old chair I got from an estate that apparently hadn't been used for many years, because after just a couple of months of use, the vinyl split open. A little scratchy on the bare legs now that it's warm enough to wear shorts. I received a box of fabric from a friend that was making purses awhile back, and much of it is upholstery-type fabric. I've seen how easy it is to do reupholstering on HGTV. (Right.) So, I spent $9 for some new foam padding, and took the chair apart. (The DIY part.)

Who wouldn't love a new sewing chair for 9 bucks?

I wouldn't normally have chosen this fabric, but being cheap frugal me, I wanted to use up some that I already had.  OK, so it wasn't quite as quick or as neat as they do on HGTV.  Not bad for a first try though!  Much nicer on my bare legs.  White legs that need to get outside and enjoy some more of this beautiful weather while the bluebirds are feeding their babies, and my irises are blooming.  Now maybe that's the Home and Garden part of HGTV?  Nah.