Archives for January 2011

I don’t know about you but I am really craving a pop of green right about now. It’s all white outside and You all know how I love white but…I need some green!

 I usually buy flowers to brighten things up but they are a little pricey right now so instead of buying those lovely flowers I decided to add some spring like color using apples.

 

Look at how pretty this little apple centerpiece is and it’s edible!

I did a little photoshopping on this photo to really make the green pop! I must say that my daughters have already eaten a few bits from my centerpiece.

Just makes everything so fresh!

 

Here I am playing with my camera and trying to achieve bokeh. That green really pops!

Jack is enjoying the pop of green too!

Yeah he is lying on the table. I know, I know, but if you were as cute as he is I’d let you lay on my table too! lol.

Have a great weekend everyone!

For this project I used some acrylic paint in white and black, some  verathane stain I had left over from my breakfast nook table, a sanding block, paint brushes, scissors, pencil, a bowl of water, and old saucer to mix my paints, and the lettering that I got form my word program.

I started by painting my board with the white paint, I mixed the paint with water to give the board a color wash. You can add more color/water as you need. I just wanted the wood to look a little aged but you could certainly make it more opaque.

You can see the difference here between the color wash and the original board.

While the board was drying I picked out my font and size for the lettering,  printed them out and  then cut them out. (originally I thought I could find some stencils and stencil the letters on but they were limited in size and font and were too expensive. It may have been a little less time consuming but you have more options by printing the letters out yourself and much cheaper!)
(Since posting this I’ve received a really good tip! Instead of doing all the cutting, use a ball point pen and trace over the letters with a bit of pressure. You could also use tracing paper! Who knew? apparently some of you and not me! lol)

I then took a pencil and traced each one out. I thought that this would be difficult considering the paper was so thin and flimsy but it was quite easy using both hands and it took me about ten minutes to trace them all out.

After they are all traced out. I painted them. I mixed a little of the white and black together for a more charcoal color so it would look a little more aged as opposed to stark black. Here again you can you can use so many different colors, mixes etc. to get the look you want.

Hope this has helped to  inspire you to start creating and restoring!
Be blessed and thanks for visiting!

Hello everyone!
I hope you all had a great weekend.
I was busy working on finishing up my other Ikea bookcase and making this new sign!
I really like it.
Whadda ya think?

I’ve seen signs like this around blogland and from fleamarket style’s header
in particular. I’ve wanted to make one for a while now and finally took the plunge. There’s no stopping me now. I’ve got big plans for other signs!

I was thinking of placing it above the cupboards here. The wallpaper will eventually be removed and…I’m going to start  painting my cupboards in the spring. A big job and I’m hoping the whole family will get involved!

This is a close up of the sign, you can see where I distressed it to make it look a little more vintage.

Here is the other bookcase just finished.

Between naps on the porch, Metamorphosis Monday
Coastal Charm, Nifty thrifty tuesdays
House of Grace, Twice owned Tuesday
Domestically Speaking, Power of Paint Party
A Beach Cottage, Good life Wesnesdays
The Shabby chic cottage, Transformation thursdays
My Romantic Home, Show and tell Friday
The Shabby Nest, Frugal Friday
Funky Junk Interiors, Sat nite Special
Under the table and dreaming, Sunday showcase party

Hello everyone! I’ve been excited all evening waiting  to choose the winner for this giveaway.  You’d think I was getting the prize!
I’m pretty much computer illiterate and was not sure how to get to that random generator whatchamacallit!
 I asked my daughter Hope to pick a number from 1-94 from a glass. She’s pretty shy and did not want to be a star in blogland so here is the results of the draw.
The lucky winner is:
#57 Heather Ryan
 please email me with some info so I can contact you and send you your prize.
Congratulations!

Thanks everyone for participating in my first giveaway, it was a lot of fun.

Have a great weekend!

Hi everyone!
I hope you are all  having a wonderful start to the week.

If you are a follower, please leave me a comment telling me so to enter my giveaway that ends Friday night!

I’ve been thinking about getting a headboard , well  probably making my own. I’ve been tossed between making one and slipcovering it in…well…white of course or maybe adding a little vintage wood. I love all those vintage ones out there made of gates and fences etc. but where would I find one of those at a reasonable price?

A few months ago our Pastor told us that the fire marshall had come in and our church that was built in 1899 would have to get our old 112 year old vintage doors replaced with new fire doors!

To make a long story short, I got to take one of those lovely doors home. Here was the headboard I’ve been looking for!

My husband, daughter and I spent an hour or so hanging this baby, It weighs about 150 lbs.!
It came painted in white. Not sure what kind of wood is underneath but it is solid.

Well here she is! ( I always genderize my new finds!)
 In these pics I was going for that lovely unmade bed look but didn’t really achieve it. But you get the idea!
Yes, I know, I also need a new bedskirt and nightstands, that’s in the project book.

Here is the top end of the door. You can see some of the 2×4 that is helping to support it, this will be painted out…eventually! lol

This is the bottom end with  some chips and scuffs.

In this pic you can see that someone painted over it unevenly with a different paint finish.

(I do add some colour and pattern to my bed  by way of throw pillows, just not in these pics!)

I was thinking of adding some trim at the top maybe giving it a little ledge with molding.
I was also thinking about giving it a good paint job and maybe adding some contrast with another color/glaze.

I’m actually afraid to distress it due to the fact that there is old paint on it and most old paint was made with lead!
Still not sure what to do with her but I think she needs a little something.

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

I’ll be partying with|:

Hi everyone and happy Saturday!

This is my first giveaway to celebrate my 300 Followers! Wow! that is still shocking to me.
I remember when I started my blog a few months ago, getting from 1-10 took sooo long. I wondered if I should just quit, was anyone even reading?
My daughter Hope posted this little verse from Job on the chalkboard, I grabbed it and held on!

So, just to say…

And to share a little…

I’m offering up a few little things from Michael’s craft store. Nothing fancy here, but It is something I really enjoy using and I thought you might too.

You’ll get these little alphabet rubber stamps, an ink pad, some label stickers, as well as a little pack of notes.
I told you, nothing fancy, just a little token of my appreciation.

You have two chances to win:

1. Be a follower and leave a comment letting me know that you are a follower.
2. Post this giveaway on your blog, facebook or twitter and leave a separate comment letting me know.

This giveaway will close Friday the 21st at 9pm EST

Blessings and thanks for allowing me to share with you all!

Hi everyone. Well, It took me a few days but I finally finished this project (my back can only handle so much painting! lol)
Thanks for giving me your suggestions for which wallpaper to use. I think  almost everyone chose the blue damask which had been my favourite too. As you can see, I added the wallpaper to the back of the bookcase to give some added colour and pattern. It will also make any white I may place there pop. And I do like white you know!
I was originally looking for some extra storage space for my linen and had these two ikea bookshelves in my basement. I thought they wold look great with a coat of paint on em first.
I then came up with the bright idea of placing them in my family room. I needed some extra shelf space to put all my junk from too much thrifting little treasures.

Isn’t it pretty?

 

You can see here from an earlier post that I had my round mirror hanging in that corner. Because there is a heat vent behind the sofa, the sofa needs to come away from the wall about a foot. This leaves a bit of dead space on either side of the sofa/window that needed to be filled with something!

This is what the bookself looked like before paint. I actually like this colour of stain but I find it hard to leave things unpainted!

After painting, I gave a light sanding to add a little distressed look. With the pretty wallpaper I didn’t want the bookshelf to look too ” precious”.

Yes I know, my blue pinecones again, but they smell so pretty and and are so lovely to look at!

I’ve also added some of my beadspreads to the bottom shelves. The colours work so well and it’s always nice to have some warm blankets on these cold winter nights.

Here is a little peek into what I’m working on right now! Hopefully it will be done by tomorrow…fingers crossed!
I’m trying to decide between these 3 different wallpapers, I love them all! They won’t be going on walls though.

I’ve primed and painted and now I have to choose…

Here is an even bigger peek!
(Please ignore my teeny shade on the big lamp, I’m still searching for the right shade.)

 I’ll see you tomorrow!

Hello everyone! Just a quick post to show a few of my little thrift finds this week, as well as to give a big THANKS to all of you who have allowed me to share a little bit of my life with you!
With 300 followers I think it’s time for a giveaway! I’m just not sure what it will be! Lol
I’m trying to come up with an idea and should have something posted this week.

I found these little coasters for 1.99 at value village. Love em, they are very coastal don’t you think?

Along with a bag of these shells.

One of my weaknesses are clear glass vases. I’ve become a little more selective lately, due to the fact that I have one on every flat surface in my home, and only choose ones with a good heavy glass and unique shapes. This one is about 18 inches high and  came loaded with shells!

 I removed the shells and replaced them with some more wintry themed baubles. (I’m saving the shells for my spring/summer look and can’t wait to take them out!)

My daughter asked what was I thinking when I got this…

Hello everyone! I guess this is my first project of the new year and I’m excited to share it with you.
I found this little stool at Value Village for $12.99 and couldn’t pass it up!
I used drop cloth again to cover it and added a little frilly skirt. I think it looks cute.

This is what it looked like before:

Jack was nice enough to let me set it in front of his chair for a pic!

In reality, this little stool belongs to Butters.

The stool is for Butters to use as a little step to get up on the sofa.  Sometimes Butters slips on the  floors when he trys to jump up on the sofa so he cries for us to lift him up. Now he has the freedom to get up on the sofa all by himself.
Here he is with his blanket and “bear” which he dragged up via the stool.