Chair Reveal

So I am so excited to finally show a reveal to you..well sorta.  It may look finished, but I still have to screw the seat down (I need to find that particular screwdriver-it might be in the garage).  So I've shared this chair with you before, at least what it looked like.  Need a reminder?

Pretty sorry looking eh?  I liked the lines though and I thought I could redo it...

So with a lot of effort, I managed to turn this chair into this:

Ignore the internet box in the background and the ugly curtains, but I think it turned out really great!  I used Behr's Delicate Lace, and though I love the color, I hated the paint for furniture (tried it on other pieces too).  It was quite hard to work with.

The fabric and new cushion that I bought came from Fabricland.  It took a couple of trips as I initially bought too little of fabric.

In total, including the cost of the chair, the makeover came to about $50, with the foam taking the biggest chunk of the budget.  The dog, is priceless...

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It's Not As Easy As It Looks

So I am in the midst of a whole bunch of projects that unfortunately, are on hold...what am I doing?  I'm painting furniture.  It's not as easy as it seems.  The reasons?

1. The type of paint that I decided to use which is top quality is showing itself not to be the best for furniture.  You go to sand a piece and it strips whole sections away...
2.  The drips-As much as I try, I've had a few drips on the furniture and with the sanding problem, well, it's a little difficult...
3. It's time consuming with coat after coat, turning furniture, twisting your body to reach weird places in furniture nooks, and the patience...
4. Being far away from supplies-I need fabric and paint, and I can't get it right now as it's 1 1/2 hours away...

So what am I working on?  Remember though, that these are work in progress pics!

Chair:  Before

I found this chair at a yard sale and thought it had great lines...I pictured it in cream with a great new fabric in either gray or purple tones.

Chair:  Ongoing 

So here's the chair painted-I think already it looks way better.  The problem?  The fabric I bought wasn't large enough for the seat.  I calculated the fabric needed for the top, but not enough to secure it underneath 

Fold Down Desk:  Before

So this piece I found at a yard sale and I instantly fell in love with it.I loved the detail.  Just don't mind the mess you see-it was just pushed in there after the move...organization wasn't my priority at that moment!

Fold-Down Desk:  Ongoing

This piece is coming along, but when I put the two pieces together (the top and the bottom shelves separate) I realized that I needed to do some more painting.  As well, I plan on applying a glaze still in hopes that it will bring out the exquisite carving!

Antique Buffet:  Before

This particular piece was bought from an auction for a steal!  I got it for $50 when I should have paid over $150.  See my auction posting if you're interested for more information.  I personally am not a fan of stained wood and despite a few friends begging me not to paint it, I decided to do just that.  My plan was to have two paint colors, one for each stain of wood that you see.

Antique Buffet:  Ongoing

This particular picture is of the top drawer; the parts not painted are going to be a soft grey.

Yes, it looks a little scary, but I tell you, this is going to be beautiful when it's finished!  I tried to paint over the hardware though as I was having issues removing it.  I decided it wasn't worth the hassle, and painted over it.  The problem?  The hardware reacted with the paint, and massive rust flecks came through even though there was no rust on the hardware!  I pried off the hardware, and will be obviously looking for similar hardware.

These are the cabinet doors.  Grey will go around the perimeter of the cream and then I plan on going into the swirls with black...haven't figured out exactly how I'll do that yet.  

So it's all a work in progress, work that I'm very excited to do because I think it's going to look amazing in the end!

New Project!

With the new truck, I was able to bring home the very first thing in the back of my cab...this chair that caught my attention instantly!  I was driving by a church which was having a yard sale.  I saw this and loved its lines.

While solid, it does need some TLC.  The seat needs to be unscrewed, the cushion/foam replaced and reupholsteered, one arm needs to be tightened and it needs a paint job.  I'm seriously thinking of the chalk paint I've heard so much about.  I thought this would be perfect for my new living room or bedroom in my soon to be new place.

Here's what it looks like now...stay tuned for next month when I unveil its makeover!

The Power in a Bottle of Spray Paint

So my last trip to the city had me bringing back a frame from Value Village.  While I hated the color of it, I loved the texture and it's shape.  I really felt I could turn it around.  See it below...

So I paid $5 for this frame, which I thought was a bit much, but I really thought I could turn it around to look like a $30 frame (which unfortunally, most nice frames cost now)...

So, I bought a can of cream spray paint and sprayed the heck out of it, and this is what I got:

Pretty cool eh?  While the picture in it isn't one I plan on using, I wanted to show you the dimensions of it, so I just found a picture from a magazine.  The frame is sitting on one of my garage sale finds that I plan on redoing in the future...

Here's a closeup of the frame painted (just don't mind the glare):

See the beautiful details?  I loved it, and I really felt that the one color pulled out the detail way more than the previous finish...we went from looking cheap to looking classy and super chic!

What can you do with a bottle of spray paint?

Inspiration for a Bedroom Redo

So a friend of mine contacted me wanting some ideas for her daughter's bedroom.  I asked for a little clarification as to what direction she wanted to go in, and I got this picture, showing the quilt they had just purchased (off of Ebay):

 Idea #1

Chicken Wire Memo Board

Courtney over at A Diamond in the Stuff came up with this project using an old cupboard door and chicken wire.  Besides being whimsical, it offers a great way to post pictures and notes without marking the wall up!

Idea #2


Fabric Handles

While definitely  a like or a dislike, this is an easy way to take a color from the quilt and base it into dresser if you wanted a minimalist base color on the dresser.  320 Sycamore provides this idea along with other examples of different fabric handles she has used.

Idea #3


Butterfly Wreath

Using colored paper and paper bags, Taylor posted on Mary Janes and Galoshes this unique idea that she came up with it.   I love that the paper bag pieces look like flowers!

 Idea #4


Repurposed Doors

Old doors seem to be making a crazy comeback!  From being used as a bookshelf (picture to the left), they can also be used as headboards, or simple decoration.  One caution I would give is that you probably want to seal the door with a coat of epoxy as the door could contain lead paint.

Idea #5


Patina Flower Cans

Using printed paper (link:   http://www.mayang.com/textures /Metal/html/Flat%20Metal%20Textures/index.html), Carolyn came up with the idea to modpodge.  Simple and yet so elegant!

 Idea #6


Repurposed Furniture

High Heel Foot in the Door shows what they've done using spray paint and an older piece of furniture to add some pizazz to a bedroom.  While bold, it creates interest instantly for any woman's bedroom!

 Idea #7


Old Suitcases Meet Bedside Tables

Marianne at Song Bird Nesting painted an older suitcase placing it on a simple end table.  Absolutely stunning!

Idea #8


Doily Mirror

 Taylor at Mary Janes and Galoshes came up with this neat idea using a doily for a mirror!

Idea #9


Twinkle Board

While this pictures shows a dark wood background, you can easily adapt a background to any color you wish.  The instructions for this twinkle board using Christmas lights and a piece of board can be found at Design Sponge.  Elegant but endless possibilities of what you could create!









Other websites that I recommend for people to take time and browse through include:

  

·     http://www.centsationalgirl.com/

 http://www.maryjanesandgaloshes.com/

·      http://www.granvillehouse.blogspot.com/

·      http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/

·      http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/

http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/2011/05/chicken-wire-memo-board.html

·      http://blog.stylizimo.com/

·      http://www.thriftyandchic.com/

DIY in the Garden

So Spring is finally upon us (or at least hoping to in my parts) and though I'm limited in what I can do right now with my yard, I hope the same isn't for you!  Here are some amazing ideas on DIY projects for your garden from other bloggers.  Just click on the link for the how to!

Instructables has a great self watering veggie table using plastic bins and some wood.  This is brilliant for small yards and for people who have issues bending or twisting as it's all waist level!

Far Out Flora has an amazing succulent table using an old shipping crate and some scrap wood.  Simply breathtaking!

The people at Apartment Therapy shared this idea of taking mismatched pots and spraying them with a lacquer paint.  Gorgeus!

Amanda at  The Hand Me Down House  shares these beautiful and easy DIY solar lights using canning jars and modge podge.

Life on the Balcony shares this beautiful garden using scrap pallets.  Perfect for a balcony or small space!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

So who doesn't love a great snowflake.  As mentioned in my giveaway, I was going to show you all how to make these.  An easy fun project, you can make a lot of snowflakes for very little money...

What you need:

Spray adhesive
Glitter

This glitter from dollarama is awesome...buy a couple packages of each color set, and then mix the top 3 colors together to form one color set, and then mix the bottom 3 colors together to make another color set.  You end up with a glitter that's highly dimensional!

Plastic snowflakes

Notice how plain these are in their product selection?  They're beautiful but allow lots of room to jazz them up.  These were from dollarama.  You can 6 small ones for a buck or 3 medium for a buck.

Step 1:  Mix glitter together as described in picture above.

2.  Taking a plain snowflake, spray adhesive on one side (using paper to catch the rest of the spray).

3.  Place glued side in glitter.

5.  Press down and make sure glitter has evenly been distributed onto snowflake.

6.  Repeat steps for other side.

7.  Leave to dry properly on garbage bag.

8.  Tie nylon thread to hang.  Product will look like this (laying down).  See giveaway for a picture of it hanging up.

Hope you enjoy this easy craft that can be used throughout the winter season!

Make a Valance (From a Pillow Sham)

About a year ago out of desperation, I bought a duvet cover for my bed.  Why the desperation?  The other one had been destroyed by my dogs.  While I knew that I wanted something cheap, I also knew that it needed to be a style that I could live with for a year or two until there was more money coming in for me to make the bedroom of my dreams. 

What I ended up getting was a duvet cover (with pillow shams) from Wal-Mart for only $25.  I didn't necessarily like the color of pillow shams it came with (they were a coordinating color to match the duvet, but not the same pattern), so I purchased the actual matching pattern for only $10.  So on my hands, I had two extra pillow shams.  I knew the chance of me finding material in the same shades as the duvet was impossible, so I figured why not make a valance from the extra shams??

What You Need:

• Pillow Sham or two, depending upon your width of your window (mine are 3.5 feet wide, so I used two shams)
• matching thread
• ruler
• iron
• pins
• sewing machine, fabric glue, velcro
• curtain rod

1.  Fold over 1 inch of the lenth of the pillow sham (so the wrong sides of the fabric are folded together).  Measure to ensure that it's evenly folded.  You can adjust the width you fold over based on your curtain rod-just make your curtain rod can go through.
2.  Press.  Pin.
3.  Using a sewing machine, sew along the bottom of the fold, back stitching at both the start and end to ensure threads stay.  Clip any extra threads. 
4.  Repeat if necessary for other shams.
5.  Hang on curtain rod.

Ta Da!  Easy eh?  And I think it doesn't look too shabby while I'm waiting for the material of my dreams!