2010

Can you believe this year is already almost over?  It seems it alway goes that way.  I thought I would take a moment to reflect back on some of my favorite projects from this year.  Hope you enjoy!

DIY lamps

desk makeover

this project was probably my most popular ever

DIY chandelier

sewing table turned play kitchen

$100 playroom makeover

sea fan art and DIY shadow box

turquoise dresser redo

DIY sunburst mirror

nightstand turned play kitchen

mirror makeover

spindle side table makeover

gumball machine makeover

stencil wall

our FREE furniture makeover

the rest of the FREE furniture makeover

burlap message board

2010 was filled with lots of great things for us, I started a new venture at a local antique mall by opening a booth, my design business has really taken off and started to grow, and I've throughly enjoyed my first full year of blogging!  Thank you all for making my day with your sweet comments and taking time to read about my projects.  I have some fun things planned for 2011!

linking up to this party...



ART

I've always thought there was something very therapeutic about painting, especially when it doesn't have to be perfect.  I thought I would try my hand at painting some abstract art for a client's office over the holidays and I think I've found a new hobby!  (not like I need one more)  I definitly went for abstract, since I struggle with drawing stick people ;)  I wanted them to be large since they are going on a pretty big wall, but large canvases are expensive.  So, you can bet I was excited when I found these large wooden pieces in the "as is" section at IKEA for $1.99!  I'm really not sure what they were before, maybe part of a piece of furniture?, but the size and shape was perfect for this project.   

The inspiration for this project came from this fabric that we chose for the window treatments.  I love all the colors and thought that would like great in a painting.

and here it is!  I added some texture to it to give it more dimension too.

I'm really happy with it and think it will go nicely in the office.  Sorry for the bad iphone pictures, they are all I have, and I was just excited to share it!  I will post more, better, pictures when it's up in the client's home!

Moo

I'm so excited about this cowhide my hubby got me for Christmas!  It's not here yet because he wanted me to pick this out myself, but should be here soon!  I'm thinking it will go in my dining room and will definitely post pictures when I get it all setup.    

Burlap Message Board

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  I know we sure did!  I've been so excited to share this project with you.  I think it's one of my favorite projects yet.  My inspiration for this project was a burlap bag I found at the antique mall where I have a booth.  

I knew it would make a great gift for our friend who has a huge heart for Guatemala and it's people.  So, now what do I do with it?  I thought about framing it or making a pillow out of it but I figured he probably wouldn't really use those things.  Then, it came to me, make a message board, so that's just what I did.

I forgot to take a picture of the bag by itself but it was just a basic burlap sack.  

I stopped by Goodwill and found this corkboard for $1.99.  The paint job was interesting, but I knew I'd be covering that up.  

I cut it down to size to fit this frame I had in my garage.  (also a Goodwill purchase-$2.99)

After, I cut the cork board down to size, I used some spray adhesive to attach the burlap sack to the cork board.  Next, I stapled around the edges to make sure it stayed in place.  I painted the frame black and then attached the corkboard to it using screws.

As you can see from the above picture, there were some nails sticking through the back from some embellishing I had done on the front (you'll see that in a minute)  So, I used some cardboard to cover those and make sure it didn't do any damage to the wall.

and here it is all finished!

I added some nail heads to the corners to add some more detail and I really like how it turned out.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed Christmas!!

image courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens.

True Meaning

It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas.  The presents, the lights, the decorating...I hope we all stop to remember the true meaning of Christmas, our Savior's birth.  I'm so thankful he came to this earth as a baby, in a manger, to save us all from our sins!

This picture of my nephew, just melts my heart.  I love his since of awe and amazement as he stares at the manger scene.  I hope we always feel that way when we think about the Lord and what he has done for us!

isn't he the cutest thing?  I may be a little biased ;)

Luke 2:1-20

 ¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
 ²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
 ³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
 ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
 ⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
 ⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
 ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
 ⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
 ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
 ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
 ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
 ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
 ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
 ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
 ¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
 ¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
 ¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
 ¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
 ¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
 ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Retro Chair

I spotted this chair at a local thrift store and new I just had to take it home, after all it was only $6!  I was planning on painting, but after further investigation realized the wood was in great shape.  It just needed a little sprucing up with some Old English.  

After doing this chair, I have a whole new respect for reupholsters and realize why it costs so much to get something reupholstered.   This wasn't even anything major, but my fingers are still sore from it as I'm typing right now.

So, here's what it looked like before...

Those beautiful nail heads that I loved so much were a pain to remove.  I painstakingly removed all 956456754444 thousand of them.  Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but seriously there were a bunch.

once all the staples and nail heads were removed, a took the fabric off so I could make a template

Underneath the fabric was just a bunch of batting covering the springs....

So, I used the fabric that I cut previously and stapled it all around the underside of the chair.  This took a little maneuvering to get it in the right place and to work around those legs.  

I decided to keep the top part of the chair as it was.  For two reasons.  First, I love the nail head trim and the fabric was in great condition.  Secondly, I really didn't want to remove all those nail heads and staples.

and altogether...

so there you have it, my first attempt at really upholstering something other than a basic chair cushion.  See that driftwood?  It's my new favorite piece.  I found it for a steal at a local antique mall!  The fabric I used for this chair was also a steal.  I found it at Garden Ridge on sale for $1.99 and that was for 2.5 yards!  I still have lots leftover for another project.  So, total cost for this project was about $8, not too shabby.

Chalkboard Tags

I warned you yesterday, here's another chalkboard post...I had these little picture frames leftover from something I bought at Goodwill.  Since I had the chalkboard paint out for my previous project already, I thought I would add a little to these too.  

So, I started with these....

added some chalkboard paint and some velvet ribbon and came up with these...

they would make great ornaments...

or even markers for your stockings, you can use names or initials to identify the stockings if all your stockings look the same...

New Can of Paint

Warning:  I just got a new can of chalkboard paint so I'll go ahead and warn you that there may be several chalkboard projects ahead.  :)  We'll start with this one.  I found this mirror for about $5 at a thrift store.  I thought it was a cute mirror, but would make an even cuter chalkboard.  I had been wanting to find one like this to give to my grandma.  I thought it would make a great Christmas gift for her and give her a place to write notes and reminders.  

start with this....

add a little of this....

I decided to paint the back side of the mirror since it was already "painted" and had less sheen to it.

and here we have the finished product!  Can't wait to give it to her for Christmas!

Martha, Martha, Martha

Martha makes everything pretty, doesn't she?  I was watching her show the other day and I saw her make these amazing faux bois stockings.  I think they are the epitome of simple elegance.  I feel a project coming on.  Right now the ones we have are fine, but as our family expands one day we will need more and these would be just perfect!  Check out the tutorial on marthastewart.com.  She did it using regular velvet fabric and then just ironed the impression (using a mold) into the fabric, genious!

speaking of faux bois, I love this idea for chocolate, peppermint bark!

I'm feeling inspired.