Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Would You Buy It?

I just recently found a great blog called "Junker Newbie", who has a fun series called "Would You Buy It Wednesday". According to her blog, she opened up her first antique mall booth in April and I am enjoying seeing her thrift store finds and makeovers. For "Would You Buy It Wednesday", she asks people to post their thrift store finds that they are iffy about or that are especially unique, interesting or even ugly. This is right up my alley! I get stuff all the time and wonder what the heck I'm going to do with it (although I have to say my number of "fails" has started to decrease...I am getting a better sense of what works and what doesn't).

So, here's my entry this week. It is a heavy (and heavily lacquered) 70's looking sconce. I can just picture some guy building this in his garage wood shop. To add to the piece, there is a very thick layer of dust resting inside the sconce, which should be big fun to clean out. **wink**



So, would you have bought this? And, if so, what color would you paint it?

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Feeling Crafty?

If you're feeling crafty today or find yourself wanting to add some flair to your summer decor, please check out my "lolly" tutorial on Jessica's blog "Mouse, Paper, Lovely"!

Monday, June 27, 2011

New Digi Release

Thank you so very much to everyone who stopped by my blog over the weekend as part of the JS bloghop! I appreciate your kind words and comments more than you know!

Echo Park has a darling new release today called "Dots and Stripes Candy Shoppe". With its bright colors it just screams summer! AND, it is 35% off today! I decided to make some little lollies for a table in my entryway, and you can learn how to make these with my tutorial that will post on Mouse Paper Lovely tomorrow. You will be amazed at how easy they are to make!






Happy Monday!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Welcome Jessica Sprague Blog Hoppers!

Welcome to stop #21! I am so happy you have made it this far and hope you're enjoying all the goodies along the way! If for any reason you arrived here first, please click here to go to the start of the bloghop (our dear Jessica's blog) so that you can grab all the fabulous freebies starting at the beginning. You truly won't want to miss a thing!

I have created a purse card using a darling template by our own iKari Designs. This is in .pdf format so all you need is your printer (ok, and maybe some scissors, a dab of adhesive and a scrap piece of ribbon). I hope you enjoy it as much as I loved creating it! I would be thrilled to see any of your finished cards so please feel free to email me photos! :) Just click on the photo below to download!



You guys are in for a treat--the next stop is the uber-talented Heather's blog. Click here to see her
 must-have freebie!


Recent Makeovers!

I'm short on time today but wanted to post a few of my most recent little thrift store makeovers! Please don't forget to join us this weekend for the Jessica Sprague Birthday Bloghop!

Love this wooden pedestal bowl! I painted a little bud vase and bowl and glued them together...perfect for corralling jewelry on a bedside table!

Aren't the details to die for?

The color is off in this photo, but this valet is painted a really great lavender color and then distressed to the nines. Love it!


And then this jewelry box is my absolute favorite piece! This color is called "Avalon Blue" and it is spectacular! The felt inside the drawer is more of a chartreuse in real life, and looks amazing againt the blue. I decided to use several coats of wax on to seal this, rather than a polyacrylic and I love the soft finish the wax gave it.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend! Hope to see you back here before Sunday to grab my "purse card" freebie!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Jessica Sprague Bloghop Starts Tomorrow!

Please join us starting tomorrow evening at 9pm CST for Jessica's 4th birthday bloghop! There are free goodies available at each stop on the bloghop (including mine!), so don't miss out on the fun!


Friday, June 17, 2011

New Digi-Frames Release and Some Mini-Makeovers

Jodee Lee released some simply gorgeous vintage postcard frames this week at Jessica Sprague! They are on sale for $2.40 right now...that's practically free! **wink** Check them out here! I just love Jodee's old-world style! I used my new favorite model, baby Jackson, for my sample this week...works great with a thrift store frame I had on hand!

I'm posting some before and afters today for some of the little thrift store makeovers I have been working on. I have a ton more in the works that may or may not show up in my little etsy store! :)


Before

After


Before (scary lighting!)

After

Before (the brassy tin bucket)

After


Before (I found two of these at GW)

After

I found the great tutorial for this "mummy" lampshade here! The pair of these lamps are on the bedside tables in my bedroom now. They are small and simple and match the brown and vintage blue color scheme we have going on right now. :)

Before

After


Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Chair Redo

I am finally posting my chair project from two weeks ago! This is certainly nothing too exciting, considering all of the amazing furniture transformations out there; however, this was my very first attempt at furniture and I am giving myself a big pat on the back for getting it done! :) The chair was a GW find and I only paid $4.99 for it. I used some of my Old White Annie Sloan chalk paint, which is really WAY too expensive to be using on a piece like this...but I needed something that would cover a surface that was not evenly sanded and had some old poly on it. I think it's adorable now all shabbied up and I even found some great pillows at Target to dress it up a bit.


This is my only BEFORE pic. You can't see the whole thing, but there's enough showing to know that it's a pretty standard, wooden kitchen chair.




And here we are after our first coat of paint.



And the finished chair after a 2nd coat, wax, distressing and a bit more wax.









I also wanted to share a makeover that I am sending to my mom. This is an amazing little key cabinet! I adore the great latticework on the front and the fabulous dark wood.



I used a Valspar color called "Vintage Blue"...it is a really great grey-blue! I used two coats of paint, distressed a bit and then used (my new fave) wax to seal everything. LOVE!




Thanks so very much for stopping by! Happy Thursday!

Monday, June 13, 2011

My New Nephew and a Sale!

I have been in Charlotte for the last week helping my sister with her new baby, Jackson, and he is truly an angel! I have never seen a baby with a sweeter disposition. He only cries if he is hungry or wet and spends a lot of time just chilling out and looking around with his sweet blue eyes. Just want to eat him up! I got this sweet picture of him that she is using on her announcements:



Don't you just want to kiss that little face?

I also want to mention that Jessica Sprague is having a great sale to celebrate the 4th birthday of her fabulous website and shop! Please go check it out!


Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Before and After...

So I spent all evening last Friday and then all day Saturday working on my two fun practice pieces and overall, I am happy with the way they turned out! I love the way the chalk paint really can be painted over any surface without stripping or doing any major work!

Here's the fun 70's table:



Before...


During the process... I used two coats of Annie Sloan's Old White Chalk Paint and then updated the fabulous existing hardware with ORB.



And, after--lots of sanding and then coating with Minwax Paste Wax. This is my new fave! So much better finish than a coat of poly.


Thanks so much for stopping by! I will post the chair later this week. :)

Friday, June 3, 2011

Speed Scrap!


Happy Friday! This evening kicks off a big 4th birthday celebration over at Jessica Sprague's site. We are starting the fun with a speed scrap, starting at 9pm EST.  In case, like me, you have never heard of a speed scrap, here's what our amazing coordinator, Laurie has to say:

What is a speed scrap? The host of the speed scrap will lead you through creating a layout in just one hour. You will receive one set of instructions every 15 minutes. After you receive the last instruction, you will have one hour to finish and upload your layout to the Speed Challenge Gallery for that particular challenge. If you complete the challenge in the given time period, our Creative Team Member host will send you a download link to a special little freebie created just for you.

Please click here and come join us this evening!


Earlier this week, I splurged and bought my very first quart of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in "Old White".


I have been obsessively reading about this fabulous paint for the past few months in blogland and think I'm ready to try my hand at upcycling some great Goodwill finds this weekend! Hopefully I'll have some great "after" photos for you next week...for now, here are the "befores":

I just want to give this great 70's (??) piece a BIG kiss! I love it so!

Just $9.99 at GW this week!

Wish I could strip the top and refinish the wood; however, after sanding a bit last night, it appears that the top has a veneer of some sort (like formica or something?). Oh well!

This chair is hard to see, but at $4.99 it was tough to pass up as a "practice piece"!

Have wonderful weekend!
Blogger Template by Delicious Design Studio