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Re-make of an Old Favorite

Monday, August 27, 2012

Have you ever mistakenly created a work of art?  I did just that when I painted this old table...
 
 
The stain that I used over the CeCe Calwell's paint soaked in so quickly and completely changed the color of the paint and I LOVED it! 
 
However; since that was not the look that I was going for originally, and I created it just by happenstance, I have been wondering weather or not it was possible to create this look again.
 
Unfortunately, that beautiful table has had a rough life and no matter how hard we tried, it is still very crooked and wobbly so was I was unable to sell it.
 
My mom gave me this cute little table to makeover and I thought it would be the perfect test to see if I could recreate my precious table.
 


I am very happy to say it worked! 
 

 
I simply painted one coat of CeCe Calwell's Santa Fe Turquoise the key to get this look is to not be exact with your brush strokes, make strokes in all different directions and don't try to go for too much coverage.  After it dried I lightly sanded a couple areas that I wanted to be more effected by the stain, then I put my dark walnut stain on a cloth and wiped on and then wiped it again with a clean cloth. 
 
Usually, I am very careful about using stain because it is quite hard to correct a mistake.  That makes this project even more fun because you can put as much or as little stain on your rag and just go to town.  Don't over think it or let the perfectionist side of you come out...just go with it and see how amazing your finish project looks!
 
Here's a view of her top...


 
And now her legs...

CeCe Caldwell's Paint, stain, Turquoise, DIY, Table
 
Aren't they beautiful?! 
 
 
My goal for the finished look of this table was a messy, unique and striking piece of furniture. 
 
What do you think?  Does the imperfection make this piece noticeable or just make you nuts?

Friday Funny #11

Thursday, August 23, 2012

I'm back and so are my Friday Funny's!!
 
This is seriously so true, it's almost not funny!
 
Pinned Image
 
Happy Friday all!!

How to Make a Wine Barrel Umbrella Stand

Hi everyone! I'm back from my Bloggy Vacation and I am so excited!  I am sharing one of my favorite summer projects over at The Southern Institute today!  

 I am sharing a simple DIY outdoor project.


Here is a little sneak peak for you...


yard umbrella, wine barrel, petunias

 

If you want to learn how to make your own wine barrel umbrella stand, hop on over to Jenny's amazing blog to see the step by step tutorial.

Bloggy Vacation

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Happy Tuesday everyone!! 

As I am sure you all have noticed or maybe you haven't ha ha!! I have been a little MIA lately.

Believe me it is not because I don't want to be blogging my heart out...my new slogan should be "I'd rather be blogging!"

Unfortunately, my life is just a wee bit hectic at the moment and I cannot keep up with my blogging. 

Rather than have you all wait around for a new post or post have hearted projects, I have decided to take a 2 week bloggy vacation.

I will be back on August 23rd and I am going to be doing a guest post somewhere very exciting, so please make sure you come back...please, please, please!!!


I hope you are all having a fabulous summer! 


The Beauty of Wood

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

You all know how much I love a good painted furniture makeover, but sometimes it's easy to overlook the original beauty in a piece.

I have been dying to get my hands on a piece of furniture in which I can simply focus on bringing out the furniture's inner beauty.

Until then, here are some of my favorites out there from some talented ladies who scored some great pieces to work on!

Julie @ 551 East never ceases to amaze me!  One of my favorite makeovers she has done is this beautiful Ombre dresser! 

551 East Furniture, stained dresser


Then there's Mandi @ Vintage Revivals, who created this beautiful desk with just the simple use of stain! 



vintage revivals, wood stain

Last, but most certainly not least is this stunning Indian Inlay Stencil Table from Domestic Imperfection.  The work that Ashley put into this table really paid off.


domestic impefection, stencil, stained table, painted chairs




Wood isn't so boring now, is it?

Ombre Chair

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Ombre - Comes from the French word meaning shaded or shading.

I'm sure you've noticed the explosive trend of Ombre hair and fashion filling the streets of Hollywood.

Even if you weren't aware of the term Ombre I'm sure you've spotted the ever popular hairstyle trend, seen by the likes of Drew Barrymore & Klohe Kardashian and all the multitudes in between.

ombre hair trends, celebrity hair, drew

celebrity hair trends, ombre hair

As any trend goes, it has spilled over into home decor & furniture and I LOVE it!

I have had this tired old chair sitting in our garage for weeks and I had lost all inspiration for it.  I knew I wanted to do something different from the chairs I've done in the past.  Then yesterday it hit me...Ombre!!


I picked up 3 cans of spray paint and if you've read my paint reviews post then you know spray paint is not my first choice, but for this type of project I knew it would be perfect.


So here she is...





fabric seat cover, ombre chair, ombre furniture, painting furniture


ombre, chair, spray painting furniture

What do you think? Do you love the Ombre style as much as I do?

Linking up here and I will be sharing this project over at Mom's Fun Money.

My New Drug of Choice

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Melt it down to liquid form over an open flame and enjoy!



The lists of things this miracle drug can do are never ending:

Inrease metabolism

Reverse signs of Alzheimers

Reduce Wrinkles

Help infections internally and externally

Heal burns and rashes

and the list goes on...


So what is this miracle drug you ask?

Coconut Oil!!

If you read my recent post about trying to get my health back, this is one thing I have added to my routine.

I have been one known to jump in and try something and make my whole family try it as well (apple cider vinegar shots for one example) only to find out it did absolutely nothing for me, except make my husband never trust my suggestions again ;)
So this time I haven't forced anyone into trying it, which I am sure they appreciate, and I have waited 2 months before reporting back my results.

I have been taking 1 Tb of Coconut Oil before breakfast and 1 Tb before dinner and have noticed that it definitely seems to curb my appetite and gives me a full sensation sooner than with my meal alone.  I have had days where I have forgotten to take it and when I look back at my meals I can see I definitely eat more without it.

I also feel less tired throughout the day, which is a definite plus for me!

You can use it in your cooking as well...in place of butter or other oils.  When it is cooked it doesn't taste like coconut hardly at all!  I even used it when making scrambled eggs (don't tell my husband) and they tasted great! 

It has almost no tasted when taking it by the spoonful once you heat it up.  Please beware that your spoon will be extremely hot!

One caution about taking it orally is that I never take it without food.  I take it about 5 minutes before I eat.  If I took it without food, I know I would get an upset stomach.  I also worked my way up to 2 tablespoons a day so that my body was used to it.  You can take as many as 4 tablespoons a day.

I have also been using it on my face as lotion.  It seemed crazy to me at first I mean it is oil after all!!  I first started only using it at night and then I ran out of my regular face lotion so I used it one morning and I was so nervous, especially because I have oily skin to begin with.  To my suprise, my face was only oily for a few minutes.  I now use it every morning!  After my shower I put a small amount in my hand and rub it in my skin.  I follow with my bronzer and my normal makeup.  It gives me a nice glow, without seeming greasy. 

 It has helped reduce those pesky wrinkles on my forehead and those crows feet on my eyes.  I still definitely have my wrinkles, but they used to be way more pronounced!



I promise this is the only time that you will see me without makeup ;)  I wanted to make sure you saw the real thing, this is about 2 minutes after applying the Coconut Oil.

I have been using Nature's Way Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil. 


There are a million different brands to choose from.  The most important thing is to make sure that it is Virgin or Extra Virgin and that it is Cold Pressed.  I also wanted to find organic since I knew I was going to be using it on my skin.  The only reason I chose this brand is that it was at our local Fred Meyer for 50% off!  It was normally around $28.  It is about 1/2 full and I have been using it daily for 2 months.  You definitely get your money's worth.

Anyone else use Coconut in their daily diet? 

Summer Color Decor!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Since it's 100 degrees out and I have no motivation to go in out garage and start painting any of my projects, I thought I would share some inspiration photos...

I am in love with color!  I definitely adore the all white rooms, but color just really makes me happy!

If you have followed my blog for any length of time you would probably realize this pretty quickly from my orange & blue table, side table, hutch, and other paint color choices.

So here are some of my favorite Pinterest inspirations...

buffet, blue, yellow walls

I am absolutely in love with everything about this! Mustard yellow has always been a favorite of mine, and when you mix it with the blue and dark stain, it is just Heaven!!

green and blue living room, colorful curtains

I have to admit, if I saw those curtains at the store I would run in the other direction!  That just shows you how much a truly know about decorating ;-) 
But the combination of fabrics and colors in this room just bring a smile to my face.  This is a room that i would love to come home to everyday.

blue house, yellow door, pop of color, white trim, shutters

How could you ever be in a bad mood if this was your entrance!  It is just stunning!   I think I may be able to convince my husband that we have to paint our house in these colors..."a happy wife equals a happy life" right, and I would be forever happy to have that door!

Ta ta for now.  Soon I will be showing you some colorful projects of my own...

I've Got a Goal!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

So today is my 8 year anniversary with my sweet and patient husband!  It is hard to believe that it's been 8 years, especially because we started out as friends at 5 years old...


Sorry for the poor quality, but what do you expect from a McDonald's birthday party 25 years ago?

To celebrate our anniversary, his Birthday, my Birthday in January and the next four Christmas' we are going on a spontaneous trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

I am so excited, I can't even begin to tell you!  We are going with a few other couples and this will be our first trip with no kids!

So you are probably wondering what on earth this has to do with me having a goal...I only have 2 months to get in phenomenal shape!  Okay, phenomenal shape may be out of the question...but a healthy weight and healthy lifestyle change would be a great start.

I am so disappointed with myself because I worked out like crazy after having my second child and was in the best shape of my life and then the last two years I have slowly gotten back to where I started from.  One of the main reasons could be that I have a major addition to CANDY!  Anything sour or sweet will be gone at my house in about 5 seconds!

candy, health, losing weight

It is no joke, I am seriously drooling over that picture right now!

So I am telling you all today in hopes that you will help hold me accountable to my new path to health.

Here is my current plan:

1.  I am tracking my calories on Slim Kicker.  I am not a good dieter, I do so much better allowing myself to still eat what I want, but control my portions and calories throughout the day.

2.  I got a gym membership to a gym that is about .2 seconds from my work and have started going on my lunch break I am so sorry to all my co-workers who have to be around me when I return.

3.  I started doing my Insanity workout again.  I cannot commit to 6 days a week of insanity, but I am hoping to at least do 3.


My ultimate goal is that when September rolls around that I will be laying by this pool without a care in the world, even if I haven't lost the weight, but I really hope by spilling my plans to you all that I will be laying there with a sense of accomplishment.


Pools & gardens, puerta vallarta, swimming, vacation

Anyone else on a journey to get healthy?  

3rd Times a Charm!

Monday, July 2, 2012


My dear old gate a two time project fail finally found its place in our home, well actually outside our home...

buckets, gate for flowers, porch

I first thought that the perfect use for this gate was to plant some herbs in our dining room...

herbs, pots, gate

Well, that didn't go so well...they didn't get enough sunlight and stayed too damp in their pots.  They ended up looking pretty much like that lovely bottom bucket ;)

So then I tried to just plant some little shade flowers, but those too, became an ultimate failure!

The main problem to these adorable little pots is that they held way too much moisture in and I knew the only solution would be to drill some holes in the bottom to allow for some drainage which was not about to happen with them hanging in our dining room...

So the perfect solution was to hang this old, tattered, beauty outside when we did our backyard makeover!

I was almost scared to show them at first, thinking that I would of course kill whatever I planted with my black thumb again, but I am happy to report that the little red petunias are loving their new home!






It only took 5 months, but finally my third attempt really is a charm!!

Linking up here.

Dead Air

Friday, June 29, 2012

I am sorry for the dead air on my blog lately...there has been a lot of craziness surrounding my life at the moment.

First, my cousin-in-law was killed in a hit and run, my other cousin-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, then my best friend's dad died in a freak accident and then after getting home from his funeral I found out that an old friend from highschool died as well this week. 

It all reminds me how short life really is and how life can change on a dime. 

Sometimes I wonder why on earth I write a blog...I mean does it really matter? 

Does it matter that I tried a new type of paint or that I found the perfect fabric for my new chair?  It all seems so trivial and self-centered. 

I have sat down several times in the last week to write a post and I am just blank...

I have furniture in my garage, ready for me to tackle, and I am just blank...

I have toyed with giving up my blog completely, not because I don't enjoy it, but because I feel it isn't where I should be spending my time.

One of my biggest fears in starting a blog was that people would think I was starting blogging to get attention and show off my crazy, amazing, talented design skills ;-)


If you have been following for any period of time, you deifnitely know that isn't the truth! 

In thinking about all of this lately I realized how much I have missed blogging and creating.

Home decor or any other hobby isn't a waste of time, it's a stress reliever and good for the soul.  DIY projects have become my thing, I never expected it and I definitely didn't possess a natural talent for it, but I am addicted! 

While God, my family, my friends and my work are the most important, somehow without tackling a new project I don't feel quite whole...

I mean who doesn't feel good about a great ugly duckly to beautiful swan project?


via



via

So today I am happy to say that I am back and I feel refreshed and excited to start creating and sharing again!  I even bought some paint and fabric today ;-) 



Friday Funny #10

Friday, June 22, 2012

Hi everyone!!

Happy Friday!!! 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy a laugh...

I promise that I am not a mean and malicious person, but I just might wish this on you if we were in a fight ;-)

I mean seriously how many times have you done this...OUCH!!

How to Make an Outdoor Rug from a Tablecloth

Friday, June 15, 2012

So now that I showed you our new backyard, it's time to show you some of the details.

As you know from my Pinterest Inspired Bathroom, I absolutely love trying out new projects to see if they are all they are cracked up to be, and today's post is no different.

I talked about some outdoor flooring ideas that I loved in one of my very first blog posts here, and I have been dying to try the outdoor rug project.

I actually bought a clearance table cloth from Target that I loved last year in preparation for this project...I certainly didn't realize at the time that it would take a year before we started on the back yard.

I used her same method of simply rolling on some water based polyurethane...

outdoor rugs, tablecloths, target

I coated the underside of the tablecloth first and let it dry and then did 2 coats of poly on the top side.  I had exactly the right amount of poly in this can.

It got a little bit more stiff and I can wash it right off when the dogs and kids get it dirty! 

It is a perfect solution for an outdoor rug! 

tablecloth turned outdoor rug

This rug cost a total of $32 ($22 for the poly & $10 for the clearance tablecloth).  Outdoor rugs are quite expensive, especially if you want one with a pattern and there are so many colors and options to choose from in tablecloths, it is a genius solution!

I'll be sharing this post over at Mom's Fun Money and linking up here.





We Have a New Backyard - Phase 2!!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Our backyard is almost complete!  I am so excited to share how far we've come in the last week!

In case you missed it, you can catch up on the before here.


Pretty amazing transformation if I do say so myself!

Okay...not quite...remember we are on a budget guys!  This is our friend's beautiful pool where my husband installed some amazing lights :)

Here is our real backyard...




We still have a little ways too go, but it is a far cry from where we were a week ago...


I'll be sharing some more details soon and the final pictures when we finally finish!

Linking up here

New Backyard - Phase 1

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

So I always tell you that when there is a lag in my posting it is for good reason...it is no lie!

We have been so busy on one of the biggest projects we have done.

After a year of renting this house we are finally getting a back yard!!

Just in case you couldn't tell from all the exclamation points, I am really EXCITED!!!!!

This is why we haven't had you over for any grand parties or BBQ's this past year...


Just gorgeous right?! 

Thanks to good friends and family and of course my amazing husband who might not be as fond of me at the moment ;-) we are really getting somewhere...

 


Can't wait to show you more this weekend!! 




On second thought...who really needs a lawn after all?




Giveaway for a Cause Winner!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

I am happy to announce out Giveaway Winner...Brooke!  What a fabulous name she has too ;-)

Brooke you get an item of your choice (up to $30) from Restore Innocence shop!

Not only that, but all of the proceeds will go to their amazing foundation to help the victims of child and sex trafficking...


I think I am going to have to get myself this ring as well...I just LOVE it!!

Forget Me Not Ring

Congratulations Brooke!  I can't wait to hear what item you choose!

Identical or Fraternal Twins...

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Today's post is a followup to last week's chair post. 

I finally got around to painting the second chair and decided to go a little different route with this one.


I originally planned to paint this chair exactly like the other one, but then decided against it.  I  picked a complimenting fabric and color so that they could be used together or separately.



In case you didn't catch the before here is a refresher...



So what do you think?  Do you prefer identical or fraternal twins? 

If you haven't already done so...don't forget to sign up for the fabulous giveaway that ends on June 2nd!

You get to pick an item of your choice and help a great cause at the same time...



Linking up here :-)