Dreams Of Perfection

Harboring This Shame

2010-04-23T00:36:00.003-05:00

All you have to do is watch. Feel inspired. Then share. Heather Bullard posted this on her lovely blog. I thanked her for doing so.

For so long I have never told anyone my deeply embedded dream. For fear that I may feel shame in doing so. I don't know if it is shame or the fact that I hold this passion so close to my heart that I want nothing but to protect it. I have so many dreams. Though I must completely come clean. Even though I look to become a financial analyst (yes I am always looking for ways to save $$ even on a bigger scale) my heart is 100% in affordable design.

I have always wanted to buy a house and decorate each room accordingly with my own refurbished pieces and local artwork. All things affordable, and I don't mean affordable for the middle-high class budget I mean for the usual family with the average 3 kids. I would make the kitchen and dining room into a small bistro & share it w/ someone who has a true passion for food and it's ingredients. Oh to dream...

Do you have any big dreams you have felt the need to protect? Do share. I know I am not alone in harboring my dream like it is an illness. I have a feeling my secrecy is coming to an end.

"A desire for bigness has hurt many folks. Putting oneself in the limelight at the expense of others is a wrong idea of greatness. The secret of greatness rather than bigness is to acclimate oneself to one's place of service and be true to one's own convictions. A life of this kind of service will forever remain the measure of one's true greatness."
Richard W. Shelly, Jr.

It' FREE But Is It Worth It?

2010-04-10T11:46:00.002-05:00

Found this table HERE for yep...FREE!!

My only question is Yay or Nay? Is free worth it? Sounds crazy huh? Well let me keep it short & sweet. Even though it is free is worth the work, supplies, time & effort?

Description read as:

Side Table (End Table) - Bassett

The top of this isn't in great shape, but it's a solid piece of furniture. We're only getting rid of it because we've purchased a new end table and we need to make some room.

The veneer on top does have quite a few chips out of it and the surface has one "foggy" spot that you may be able to clean off. The table probably weighs about 20-25 lbs and is very sturdy. Perfect for a lamp to sit next to your couch.

This is a Bassett brand table and is "pecan" colored. Measures 26" diameter and 23" high.
Price: Free

Hmmmm???????

Justin Bieber's On My Hit List-Now Roger That

2010-04-09T07:00:00.002-05:00

And by that I mean #1 top hits I listen to while handling my "situations". Dang contagious songs he keeps putting out!

I know I am to old (all 27 years) to be getting into teeny bopper tunes. It's such a guilty pleasure. What do you listen to while you are getting projects, cleaning, or anything of that nature done? I have to be honest. I don't go ANYWHERE WITHOUT MY MP3 PLAYER. Yes I did use all caps b/c it's that serious. I walk through the stores with my headphones on and the mp3 in my purse. I feel like I stay more focused by doing this. Try it. I swear you'll feel like your on a mission with your theme songs playing...lol.

Right now I have a few songs that get played over & over again. Here's my top 10.

1. Baby-Justin Bieber (as shown above)I couldnt 6. Going Through Hell-Rodney Atkins

2. Hard-Rihanna figure out how to space so I just 7. Meet Me Halfway- Black Eyed Peas

3. Suevemente-Elvis Crespo typed the words & 8. Sweet Child O'Mine-Guns N Roses

4. Gettin Paid-Nicki Minaj changed 'em to white 9. Calabria 2006-Enur

5. Seven Nation Army-White Stripes worked!! 10. O Let's Do It-Wacka Flocka Flame

There are other songs I love. Mostly a modge podge. Anything song you think would rock my socks off? I always need new music. It's like feeding my soul.

p.s. Wanna read something funny? Highlight my top 10 songs for the moment and find my surprise! Then help a girl out with this one :o)

"All up on it, know you wanna clone it. Ain't like me that chick's to phony." Rihanna

When Did Big Lots Become The Ish?!

2010-04-07T14:21:00.003-05:00

That's what I want to know!?! I rarely ever went in Big Lots, maybe once a year if that. Last Thursday I decided to stop in on my way to the playground w/ my Jelly Bean. Boy oh boy, let me just say this.. we never made it to the playground. Here's why.

The holy grail of sinks is only $ 299!
It's sidekick for $249

The little tag-a-long is $229. You can't beat those prices with a switch, even if you had to pick it off the learning tree yourself.

I don't even care that they are sinks & that I rent and don't even need it! The only reason one didn't come home with me was b/c ~~I left the truck in Memphis and only had my car~~ I'm not a hoarder and I feel I need to establish this somehow. But man I could've taken my mirrored trays and covered those plumbing holes on top and used them as side tables that could sit in the garage w/ everything else I've bought. Wishful thinking.

I bought 8 of the frames above. 4 for me and 4 for my mama (the one who sent me to pick switches). At $7 ea. they were a hell of a deal. Pictures do no justice. They also come in black & dark wood. They will go in my bedroom. I'll show you an update of my room this week or next.

I also picked up 2 mirrored sconces for my mom. They were $10 ea. which to me is $5 to much. Just sayin...

Here is a better look at the ones I snatched up.

I love this $60 mirror. I thought the quality was well worth the $$. It would be perfect in a bathroom over the sink.

I rarely love prints. Though I have some in my home, I have yet to find ones that steal my heart. I do like this one though. It was about 3.5-4 feet tall. For $30 if I had the right room for it, in it would go.

I bought tons of other things. The Echo Pointe items they sell are FABULOUS, and 50% off right now! While blog surfing I saw that High Heeled Foot In The Door had a post today about her Big Lots finds. Funnyish. Big Lots, when did you get so grand?! I applaud you, hell I'm gonna give you the standing "O" for truly making my day. BRAVISSIMO!!

She's Got Those Beyonce Legs

2010-04-06T18:59:00.004-05:00

And I have a feeling if I stick her on the back burner like I've done some of my other projects she might just use them to kick me where the sun don't shine!

I bought fabric a couple of weeks ago for $3.50 a yard out of the remnant bin @ Hancock Fabric. Straight CRACK (highly addictive) right?! I purchased what they had left.

I bought this fabric online for $5 a yd. I need like 2 more yards, but it has went up to $10 a yd. I'm just gonna bite the bullet. Yeah I'm cheap like that..you gotta know how I roll by now.

I'm thinking flower on the front & seat, tiger in the back on 4 of the chairs. The other two end chairs will get tiger in the front and seat and possibly some other fabric in the back. How wild is that?! And I'll be putting the nail head back in place too.

Here is a pic of all SIX chairs in my basement. I know ya'll see that freakin sofa back there..smh, a dang<--substitute bad word there, shame. Imma get a handle on this madness.

Here is the picture the seller had posted. $50 for the table and 6 chairs!!

I wanted to show you the legs to the table. Thicker than a snicker sweety! And as for the top, the leaf folds in underneath!

Don't worry. This project will get all my attention this week. I'm thinking extremely light beige paint on the wood. Here are the chairs I bought a couple of months ago for $80...yeah using them is out the window. I'm still going to re-do them and selling them though. My current dining table set will hit the market asap.

I'm sure you are like "Someone call Hoarders!!", but I swear I'm finally getting this craziness under control. I'll have some progress to show finally. And I'll be showing the step by steps of this table project as well as others. My heart is all in it on this one!

p.s. I'm sorry I've been neglecting my blog. My babies (kiddos not furniture) need me now. They are having a hard time coping with the ole ball & chain not being here. I hope you understand. I'm finding a balance now.

Also hit up Dayka's give away!! Just don't leave a comment, you'll be lessening the chances of me winning the custom stamp!! I kid, I kid..ok not really.

Sound The Alarm! Hot Mess Alert

2010-04-01T04:44:00.007-05:00

Me: I'm need to take some stuff out of your room. Is it clean?

Jay Bird: Yes. I cleaned it yesterday.

This is the point I make my discovery.

What is your definition of clean? His has to be Clean=Hot Mess.

Now on to grandeur things. I have started progress on Jay Bird's room. The free entertainment center I received is transforming at rapid speeds.

As if I needed to take on more than I can chew, I recently bought this! Need more details (price & such) & inspiration on what it could become? Check Life + Style. She's got it covered! Matter of fact, bet you can't guess which inspiration pic got my feathers ruffled!

I want to say thank you so much for every one's words of kindness involving my husband's deployment. I really don't know what else to say that could sound more sincere. I'm not freaked out about it as much as I should be. Emo (my term for overly emotional)...always, freaked out..nope. I've been dealing with a crashed computer & a wrecked little boy's room. Aaand I've been driving back & forth from Memphis. Lovely, I know <---Insert tilted head w/ a tight lip frown.

But I have been good and didn't buy more chairs.

$60 for the set of 2. Have you ever?! Perfect for my mom, which would mean I could come home with the $100 set of bergere chairs I recently picked up for her.

Love Love LAHV Pillowcases

2010-03-29T07:00:00.001-05:00

Remember the sneak peek of my bed? Well I had been eyeing some lovely pillowcases that I knew would complete my bed for a while now. The only problem was I couldn't find them anywhere. Googled galore and not a thing. Then finally Etsy came to my rescue...

Not only do I think that it will add some interest to my room, but the seller answered my request to make them in yellow! How freakin rock star is that?! I think the yellow is just the little boost my room needs.

She makes them in this pretty blue as well as many other colors. I'm sure if you wanted them in colors not shown you can request the color you would want and she will totally make them for you. She is just the Beez Kneez right?

I started out loving the black. Black would work for my room too. For now I want the yellow. I'm sure I'll convince myself to buy the black eventually too :o)

Not into LOVE? How about these sweeties? I absolutely freakishly have to have these too!

Am I tripping or is it that necessary to have awesome sheet sets? Please tell me I am right on this one. Please..

The Story Of Us-It's Love.

2010-03-19T01:39:00.006-05:00

I'll make it a quick one..promise. We met on a whim. He had just come back from 1 yr. in Iraq & I was trying to get out of 7 years of bad luck. We were straight out of bad relationships. Instant besties. Talk on the phone for until dawn, hang out for hours, and laugh like it's no ones business. Two months later he left to Korea for 1 yr. After he came back we dated for a year, long distance only seeing each other one weekend a month. After the year of long distance dating we moved in together. Married 4 months later. I would've married him on day 2, which I told him. No regrets. One year later he left to Afghanistan.
One year later he came back. Our daughter holding the flag while we wait for the plane to make it's way to our city!

It's here!

He's back :o)

1 year later (5 hours ago)...he's gone again. Back to Afghanistan.

I miss him so much. My heart is breaking. But when it's real true love you do what you have to. In my case I wait. I have 2 years of waiting under my belt so far. I would wait a lifetime and beyond. If It's In God's Will.

DIY: Large Painting On The Cheap

2010-03-16T14:02:00.006-05:00

So we all know art can be uber expensive, and hard to find in the exact look or colors you want right? Right! <---That's you shouting right w/ your fist in the air because you can totally relate. I'm going to show you how I fixed this problem for myself.

Here is my $10 piece of perfection. Found here. He asked $15, I offered $10 & you know the rest.

I really loved the details. And would you know, IT'S FREAKIN PLASTIC! That makes it light weight and easier to hang w/o using anchors. And let's be honest, you & I both know it's a print w/ some kind of plastic stuff to add texture. The guy asked if I was sure I wanted it, lmao, w/ a are you crazy look. He had no clue!

After a scrub down with an old toothbrush I gave it the Valspar spray primer treatment and let it sit until the next day. Then I spray it w/ a few coats of flat Porcelain Valspar spray paint. I also primed the print with a white Zinsser spray primer.

Originally I was going to paint the print w/ chalkboard paint for my little girl's room, but it was way to big for the little wall that was waiting for it. So it's going to my empty mantle. I looked at Mantle and said, "Mantle I know your the focal point of our living room, the first thing we see when we walk in, it's your time. I'm here." Well not really. But that's how I felt.

I pulled out a craft tray, some cheap craft paints I had on hand, and a chipped plate. I only used a few colors (black & white included to lighten or darken the main colors).

After drawing some wavy lines to look like seaweed I started to sporadically (learned that word watching Clueless) filling in my weeds. I used light turquoise, dark turquoise, tan, & yellow. Yellow was used to mix w/ the blues to create greens and teals. Tan was used to tie in the mocha colored sofa I have. I did go back and layer some paint. It took me a little time but I felt my way through this. It kind of evolved on it's own.

Voila! Here it is over my mantle. It pulls in all the colors I have used in the living room so far. (Ignore the chairs in the photo. They will soon be used for the dining table. And they are Robbins Egg Blue not funky filthy blue :o)! )

Here is a better close-up. You like?

The hardest thing was drawing the curvy lines. I swear to you it almost gave me a headache trying to balance them on both sides. Looking back I could of skipped that. So for $12 ($10 painting, $2 for new painting brushes & everything else on hand) I had a nice large custom colored painting that is perfect for my living room.

I linked up @ The Single Nester & Poppies at Play

DIY: Glamorous Desk

2010-03-12T11:38:00.009-06:00

Though this $15 desk didn't start off so glamorous, I knew it would be perfect for my room. I already had an inspiration pic saved for just this project. Lets' get started on how I did it.

My $15 CYS Desk

Some left over paint from the Little Girl's Vanity Project that I stored in an old jar in the fridge.

I did the usual Sand/Prime & Paint. I used Valspar spray paint primer (I now use Zinsser which is fab!) & $1 flat white Color Place spray paint. Remember what happened when I used white Rustoleum Professional spray paint? That was a pure pisser offer. I will never spray paint a whole piece of furniture white EVER. AGAIN. Okay now on to the details. Since I don't know how to paint a straight, or curved for that matter, line I used a saucer to draw my curves.

After marking 3/4 in. up each side (see those 2 little dots?) I drew my semi-circle starting on the mark I made. I then connected the dots using frog tape & measured up another 3/4 in. and taped across from that. This was to make a straight band connection the semi circles. I had to free hand paint the semi circle, which was fairly easy with a wide tip cheap craft paint brush.

I also did the same thing for the top drawers. Only I used smaller saucers & measured a 1/2 in. since the drawers obviously cover less space. The square drawers I just did a band with 1/2 in. measuring.

After adding little shadow lines (which were also free handed as you can tell) using black craft paint I let the desk dry about an hour. I then started layering on wipe on poly in gloss. I did a total of 4 coats (1 coat every 2-3 hours) for extra shine! I let the desk sit overnight and added some .80 cent pull rings.

Voila! What should've taken a couple of days took me about a couple of weeks. Sad right? I told you I have to get a handle on these DIYs.

A view from the top.

See how I just traced almost completely around my saucer. I thought it would frame the knob nicely. What do you think?

Here look closer. You see my shaky black line?

Shine baby shine!

Don;t worry I didn't neglect the sides.

Here is the inspiration pic. This is from Mrs. Howard Personal Shopper.

Is it a huge improvement or what? Do you have anything you completely changed? If so please paste your link in the comments section!! I would love to see :o)

Linked up at :Poppies@Play (all sorts of goodness there! Check it out..NOW :o) !) , Mrs. Mustard Seed (It's a furniture party..hurry & link up {furniture..duh}, then check out her blog!!)

Taking On To Many Projects

2010-03-10T08:07:00.007-06:00

I know I oughtta be shamed. I am. I have been working on about 50 different projects at once. Not really fifty, but a bunch. Here's a few...a desk, the infamous girl's room armoire & a painting. The 2nd one for months. It's done, but not done. You get my drift? Here's the desk. In the same predicament. Before of course.

Here it is almost done. In my kitchen for the past 2? weeks. Do you start to many projects and then end up leaving some on the back burner? I'm sick of doing this. I'm so irritated. Just that one word sums it up. Sorry if I don't post tomorrow. I really really need to take care of some unfinished business. Capisce? (I would have totally said that in my Don Corleone voice).

And about the antique sofa, I did some explaining and extreme apologizing. And they pitied this fool :o) I get to pick it up tomorrow. Okay so it's not going to be mine (hubster wasn't having it). It'll be going in my mom's house. My mom is going to let me reupholster it, which is why I need to get a handle on these projects. I need to move on to reupholstering things (which I've gotten really good at)! Talk to you soon.

Hoarder? Yep. But It's ONLY $50!

2010-03-09T14:04:00.005-06:00

As if it's not bad enough I just unloaded a few things i was hoarding the weekend I bought the craigslist stuff, I am heading out to buy a freakin sofa. $50. I keep thinking bad idea b/c I still need to reupholster a few chairs. But $50!! Someone tell me it's a really bad idea. Please!

Some fabric & pretty paint and this could totally replace the brand new sofa we just got in our living room.

It was an ebay buy for $200. It was sold by a furniture company whose client decided they didn't want the piece after all. It is a beautiful color and fantastic feeling fabric. Buuuut (you knew this excuse was coming) it is to dark & modern for my living room. If it were a used piece I would be open to painting the trim light beige and upholstering it in light beige velvety fabric. It's not. So I won't. What should I do?! I have an hour an a half to back out of the sofa situation. Should I?

**UPDATE**
The Old Ball & Chain (What I call hubster when I'm angry {which btw I'm fuming}) was supposed to get off of work at 2 p.m., well he didn't. He brought his @ss home at 4:30 p.m.! You see a problem right?! Same problem I ran into. I think you know the outcome. I'm off for some retail therapy. First stop The Mall. Yep & Old Ball & Chain w/ kids in tow are coming. He has some making up to do.

p.s. I swore to myself I wouldn't be too hard on him. He leaves in a week. He'll be gone for a year. Back to Afghanistan. *tears inserted here* Please pray for his safety.

Horchow for Craigslist Follow-Up

2010-03-08T14:16:00.005-06:00

Let me start of by saying when I walked into the foyer (which was the size of my den) there was this cherry blossom wall paper up. BREATH. TAKING. The owner said she saw it in a Domino magazine and wrote to request who made it, then ordered it. Que the music "Must be niiice" (by Lyfe Jennings) Needless to say there were gorgeous furnishings everywhere!

And now I must say, I am the proud owner of these two mirrored chests. $300 for both was a heck of a deal. I did a pretend order on Horchow and it came out to some $1700 after delivery. Yeah Horchow my mother called, she said you can kick rocks for those prices.

So it gets even better. How can it get even better? Well let me tell you. I was trying to waste time while my Hubster grilled dinner by perusing Craigslist again. Jackpot! I found TWO bergere chairs in East Memphis (area I searched) for $100!! Here is the pic they provided.

Here they are in my Momma's living room. They were custom reupholstered, very well if I might say, and are in FAB condition! Get this, same seller! So it gets even better..shut the front door right?!

The seller emailed me some pics of other items they were selling. This chaise for $40 (click the highlighted words for original prices..duh right?) & so much more.

So when we went to pick up the bergere chairs the seller (husband this time) told us to just take the chaise for FREE!! (Though I had just handed him the $40 already :o( )And he asked if we had wanted this entertainment center for FREE too!! Don't let the shabby pic fool you. This set is Fantabulous. I'm actually taking a break from repainting it to write this post. Hubster thinks it's perfect for my son's room.

He didn't want to lug it up to their 2 tier attic...yes folks 2 tiers. Que that music again. I got another email from the seller with some pics attached of a buffet & chest. She also had a Natuzzi leather (sofa, love seat, chair & ottoman) set for $200, a little girl's custom painted bedroom set, and more. If only I had the room.

p.s.

We had to drive home that night! We didn't get home until 3:30 a.m., unloaded the truck by 4 a.m. and hubby got 1 hour of sleep before getting up for work at 5 a.m. But as my mom has said before, "It was such a good deal though." That's another Craigslist story though.

Using Painters Tape Twice?

2010-03-07T13:36:00.003-06:00

I've finally bought some ~~expensive @ss~~ rather impressive frog tape. Finally? Yes, finally. And I must say it is worth every half a penny that it cost. Half? Yes, half. I say that b/c I need to stretch every penny I have. I'm such a hustler that I can turn 1 penny into 2. Get out of here right?! You know that's what being broke & jobless does to you. Anywho I am finishing a couple of projects this weekend and have been using my new tape (I know you don't need a picture of it b/c you know what the heck I'm talking about.) not once but twice.

Yes I use the flip side of my tape. Don't you do that too? I mean in this economy isn't everything getting the 2nd go around? (For those of you giving used undies a 2nd go..that's just wrong on so many levels.) I must say though, that line is as crisp as the 1st time the tape was used!

Okay now my cheapness has completely boosted my "I'm Getting Over" ego. So I give it a 3rd go! Yes I did.

Yeaaaa...pretty freakin fug. Not a good look for a small box, but not bad if it were a huge wall & still a hella better looking than what the blue tape does.

So using the tape twice went FAB..3 times not so much. Have you managed to use yours more than 2 times? Anything else you've used over again? Let me know, I need to save as much $$moo-lah$$ as possible.

Glamorous Chanel Print-Offs

2010-03-04T14:49:00.005-06:00

I have the worst time finding images to print off for free (yeah I'm cheap like that) that are gender friendly. Some that I like are too feminine for the Man of the house. I have to have a good balance of masculine & feminine.

Last year I was up all hours of the night, not unusual for me, browsing flickr for images. I collected a handful of images that I had wanted to print off. (Is this illegal? If it were, would that really stop me from pushing print? I think you know the answer to this one.)

While looking at my inspiration file I came across some forgotten favorites.

I had wanted to frame 4 of these images and hang 2 on each side of the bed.

My dilemma is should I go with these images that make my heart burst with memories of old Hollywood glam or go with something more punchy in color like these?

I found these while browsing stock.xchng. They have tons of free images you can download. Be careful though, browsing will easily suck you in for hours! The first image is of Key West's seascape. (Key West is home for me). I would only be printing off 2 of these prints and framing them in some frames I bought at Home Goods. I really don't know which way to go :o( Glam Chanel bottles, which my heart just loves or bright tropical prints, which totally covers the fun shockingly bright I miss my hometown side of me. HELP!

DIY: Lacquered Turquoise Lamps & Boxes

2010-03-02T14:15:00.012-06:00

First off, I can't wait to share my craigslist story with you this week! But let me get on to an old project I finally finished. I bought a pair of lamps back in November..yes almost 4 months ago..tisk tisk. I kept looking @ them through the Habitat For Humanity Restore window. $1o each seemed like a-lot to me. But after a week, I went ahead and snatched them up.

What can I say, I can't control myself when it comes to outdated lamps.

After a couple of months in the basement, where all of the other "stuff" I buy goes, they got brought back up to the real world. I taped/covered the places that needed some protection and gave the lamps a good soapy wipe down.

The first lamp I didn't prime. This is the 2nd. Let me say, priming is a must if you are painting glass!! The primed surface held the final spray way better than just clean slick glass alone. Oh & I did rub them down a little w/ sandpaper.

Next. After 2 oats of primer spray paint comes 2 coats of this fabulous Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze spray paint. Then on to a few wipe downs of glossy poly wipe-on. I kept wiping them down each day after I woke up.

Now you have to know I wasn't going to leave those Abe Lincoln styled shades on! I bought a couple of shades from Ross for $2.99 each! They have a beautiful selection of shades for uber cheap. I almost went w/ some shades that had a chrome lining. And I bought shorter harps from lowes for about $3 ea.

Check out that shine! Looks good enough to lick! Well not really...

These lamps will go in my room. I also started (not finished) a set of stacking boxes I bought off of ebay for my mom. After seeing Jenny's boxes I knew I wanted to paint these (as well as reclaim them from my mom..thanks mom!).

After a good sanding, bring out the craft paint! Turquoise & Black please.

Painting those freakin flowers on the top was a nightmare. Note to self: use a foam brush..ALWAYS!

After taping off and painting the black trim (took forever) I wiped them down with my fave poly and added some new hinges. I love that the gold on the boxes tie into the gold bottom of the lamps. I usually do silver w/ turquoise, but I'm lovin the gold w/ it.

I'm thinking about some black ribbon to the lampshades. Not sure yet. I will let you in on how it looks if I do. Are you loving gold & turquoise or would you have went with silver? All of these items will be going into my room of course.

p.s. I still have one more box to finish..Dang puppy chewed up my painters tape :o(

Linking to:

Frugalicious Friday ,My Romantic Home, Domestically Speaking's Paint Party, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Beyond The Picket Fence, Life As Lori, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Somewhat Simple!

pssttt: Great Giveaway @ High-Heel Foot in the Door!!

Horchow Mirrored Chests on Craigslist!!

2010-02-28T13:27:00.006-06:00

memphis craigslist > for sale / wanted > furniture - by owner
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Avoid scams and fraud by dealing locally! Beware any deal involving Western Union, Moneygram, wire transfer, cashier check, money order, shipping, escrow, or any promise of transaction protection/certification/guarantee. More info
mirrored bedside table black granite top - $300 (East Memphis)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2010-02-27, 1:36PM CST
Reply to: sale-wmevz-1620681400@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

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These are a pair of mirrored bedside tables. They have a black granite top, and are in very good condition.

•Location: East Memphis
•it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 1620681400

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I needed a little more as far as visual interests. Here are the photos that were emailed to me:

READY FOR THE PRICE!! $300!! Yes $300 for both! I'm off to go pick them up :o)

DIY Plate Hangers & A Quick Fix

2010-02-26T14:20:00.005-06:00

Love a good plate wall? Me too!

What I don't love is the cost of the plate hangers. After thrifting for plates I can't bring myself to buy a mess load of plate hangers ($1.29-$1.99 ea.) to hang them. Not budget friendly at all.

Want to know how to make your own? Me too! Dang do great minds think alike or what? Click the pic for easy instructions on how to make your own from wire hangers! WIRE HANGERS..WIRE HANGERS...lol. Now we can put them to use. Don't like that idea? Try Martha's. I think the wire hangers would work better for heavier plates.

Can anyone tell me where to find these plates or ones that are similar?! I love the shape and light color. They just look so purdy :o)

Here are my plates so far. They're neither here nor there in the looks department. Some I love, some I loathe. I do have some DIY ideas that I want to try before putting my plates up. Oh and my silver goodwill platter is getting some chalkboard paint. Idea via Sanctuary Arts@ Home. Doesn't that white plate need a HUGE initial in the middle?

I'm going to be out and about this weekend (in Memphis) looking for fabric for those craigslist chairs. I'm thinking about trying to whip this slipcover up myself for a temporary fix. This one was in a Country Living feature.

If you see any good plates online you think I might like shoot me the link! Or heck even if you know where I can buy this slipcover let me know :o)

P.S. Spellcheck suggested "Thrusting" instead of "Thrifting"! Dear Blogger it's not that type of party!

Craigslist, 4 Hour Drive, 2 Days Later

2010-02-25T21:07:00.003-06:00

Remember my craigslist love at first site? If you don't just click that highlighted link :o) Well it was just that love at first site...and reality in the next blink. Can you see that these are definitely NOT the turquoise I thought they would be? Of course you can! Well hot dang it so can I!

Dang craigslist. On the upside I had planned on reupholstering these chairs anyways. I did have my fingers crossed that they would be that fabulous color, but they weren't. Hey regardless they are extremely sturdy (as well as dirty), and the cushion is firm as can be (prob. b/c the fabric is really made of plastic and is hard as heck). So eventually I will strip these bad boys and recover them. Want to know how much? $150...I know plz don't badger me to much, I already broke my no chair over $20 rule & have yet to come to terms w/ that. Now do you think it's really as bad as I do? OR are you as excited as me to see how fab they can truly be?! Hopefully the latter :o)

Glitzy, Glitter & Glam Candles

2010-02-24T10:20:00.005-06:00

Right now I have a couple of these candles. They are nice and give off a nice glow but....

...they aren't these.

I would love to have some bloomin quartz candle holders. I can just see them lined down my coffee & dining room table, in my bedroom, or placed sparingly around the house. They have that glamorous look that I love! I would even love this one that looks like it was chipped off of a diamond wall somewhere deep in a cave.

I don't have any purple in my home but I would still place this beauty in it. It would be somewhere with tons of light so it can show off it's pretty sparkle.

I know a few places to get these candle holders, though not easy on my budget. Do you know any local stores that sell them? I would love to be able to go in a bring them right home with me.

Bedroom Inspiration Part 1

2010-02-23T21:14:00.004-06:00

For a while, a few years to be exact, I couldn't get a grasp on what direction I wanted to take my room. Thank you so much for posting these pics @ The Lennoxx (my one stop shop for inspiration). I almost cried a tear of joy :o) A room done by Jennifer Flanders. How beautiful is this room?
These curtains would be so easy to duplicate! And the soft gray color on the wall makes my heart pitter patter.

The headboard is fab! Some drywall, fabric, nail head trim and I think this could be a go. I really, really love the bedding too. And that chair in the corner looks so comfy.

The gold accents on this desk stand out ever so slightly. And the chair at the desk....swoon!

Beautiful gray chaise trimmed in turquoise looks absolutely fabulous against the gray wall and striped curtains.

Bar cart! Oh the bar cart! Wouldn't you love a drink while laying on that fab chaise and reading a book?!

This is my kind of room. I love all sorts of styles, but this room speaks to me. What do you think? Does this room look liveable or cold?

One Night Only..

2010-02-22T15:40:00.006-06:00

we only have 'til dawn! HA! Weeeelllll one day really. I spent my whole Sunday painting, sanding, & priming furniture & everything else under the sun. It was in the 60's and I couldn't pass up warm day of straight painting. Thank goodness I didn't, it started raining Monday. Anyone else have good weather?

Here is a dresser I finished. It just needs a slab of beveled mirror & some huge shiny gold ring knobs to finish it off. I used spray primer instead of can primer & it worked like a dream.

I had some problems though. I was using Rustoleum Professional white spray paint & it was a total disappointment!!! Actually to say it nicely a pisser offer. After sanding and priming this is what happened.

It kept spraying out as an opaque yellow runny hot mess or in chunks. After trying 4 cans, yes 4 count 'em cans, of this mess I returned them for some Valspar. I'm starting to like Valspar more + more by the day. Did you take advantage of the warm weather this weekend? I sure did!! And I have a hurting back to prove it :o)

p.s. Bazaar of Serendipity is having a FAB giveaway!

Sneak Peek & Etsy Lahv Lahv Lahv

2010-02-22T15:02:00.003-06:00

I am on the longest verge ever of finishing my room! I only need to finish a few more things..(painting my room, a piece of furniture, a pillow, etc) Not much left to do. Yay! So after I show you my little girl's room I'll be showing you mine. Lmbo, if you look at my pillow you see a black spot. That would be eyeliner. I totally sleep in a full face of make-up most often that not. But most important of you look on my bed you see a marble, silver handled tray. Lahv Lahv LAHV! (My bestest Lady Gaga voice)

Need a close up? Of course! I bought it at a new etsy store named Vintage Styled Home. It's ran by Dayka @ Life + Style. Check out her store + her blog. They are both FAB!

Next on my list is this hocking set. I NEED it. I plan on throwing a brunch for my mom + aunts Mother's Day weekend. Wouldn't you love to eat some treat off of these plates?!

To serve food I would use this! I think it just looks so glam! I also need this too.

Doesn't that tray just fit perfectly w/ my room so far?! I bought it for my living room bar cart, but I love it so much it's going in my room. What do you think of my room? Do you like the color combo (turquoise, gray and white) I chose? I was thinking of adding a little pop of fuchsia. Too much if I did?

80% OFF at Hobby Lobby...WOWZAS

2010-02-19T10:56:00.005-06:00

I did a little shopping yesterday. I went to my local little flea market and then to Hobby Lobby. As I was walking into HB I saw a beautiful over sized butler tray on a metal bamboo stand for $33! To big and tall for a nightstand, but just right for a makeshift bar! I didn't get it. We have a freakin bar that we have sat at 0.00 seconds this year. No need for another. I did however load up on on the gorgeous jars!! And some mercuryish type candle holders. HB had aisles & aisles of stuff (as hubby calls it) for 80% off!!! I couldn't believe it. It's usually like an end cap or two by the time I make it in. But not this time. Frames, pillows, lamps, chargers, jars, and everything else 80% off. Here's what I got.

I had to black out the messy background as to not obscure your view from these fab, I mean FAB jars. Opaque goldish brown w/ a mirror finish. These are 12" + taller! Not sure where they're going yet or if I'll keep all of them. But I do love them.

I had been wanting some mercury type candle holders for a few months in turquoise, but at $2-$3.50 a candle holder I'll settle for these beauties. I'm going to line them across my dining table once it is painted. Oh and the black mirrored painted box was only $4. They had some FAB pieces that went with it. Like tall black mirrored ginger jars for $8-$10 ea.

Here are some pics I took from my phone to send my mom just in case she wanted anything. I didn't take pics of everything, just some stuff I knew would tie into her house.

The gorgeous candle holders are at the least 18in. tall! They look like hollowed out hand blown glass. They are stunning & cheap.
Look at those tall lacquered ginger jars on the top shelf.

These candle holders were a good size. Like chunky! My mom would love these!

Check the 80% off sign, makes my head spin.

Okay before I spent just under $60 @ HB for all these goods, I hit the flea market. I bought these two ottomans for $10. One is going underneath the computer desk in my room after I make a cushion and maybe?? paint it and the other outside as an ottoman on my back porch after a pop of color is added to it. I also got some little dishes to add to my plate mural collection.

Oh gosh....after an hour and a half drive to Home Goods (yes 1.5 hr drive!) This is all I got :o( I saw lots of nice stuff but nothing that stood out for realz. So I picked up some vases that match other vases I got from our local TJMaxx and these pretty frames.

Here is a close up of the matting in these frames. I plan on changing the print out, for some I already have saved, and hanging the frames in my room. At $12 ea. I thought it was an okay deal. But don't you hate traveling to certain stores out of the way and don't end up with scheisse (special german word)?

Okay so stop reading right now..and hurry to your local HOBBY LOBBY!!

My Dream Kitchen

2010-02-17T22:46:00.008-06:00

I wish I could do a full overhaul of my kitchen....but I can't. Renting is a nightmare when it comes to these kinds of things. Even though I paint, against the lease, I can't paint the cabinets let alone rehab them into something a little more glorious. I've been savoring a few images for a while now. The kitchen below is definitely my dream kitchen. It belongs to Heather Bullard. I absolutely love her style. It's very comfy girly shabby chic. I would take every element from this kitchen and run with it. Curtains, cabinets, dishes, stools....etc

Check out the chandy over the sink! I am such a chandy whore. Will work for chandies!!! And that milk glass, love how it's displayed yet functional enough to actually use.

My kitchen has small walls so a plate mural like this one would be perfect. I am hoarding plates to pull this off in my kitchen. I love the look of all the colors in the plates against that soft yellow on the wall. This whole image reminds me of when mamas would cook every night, before fast food. (BTW I still cook at least 5 dinners a week. Hubby does the other nights. How often do you cook dinner?) Image found googling plate murals.

When I finally get around to painting my dining table I want it to have the same colors as this one. Gold trim and all. I'm even thinking about coating it w/ a pearly clear coat ala Centsational Girl. I love the clover that holds the legs in so tight...lol. Like a waste cincher.

I plan on painting the top of the dining table just. like. this. Both tables above and below were found on Mrs. Howard's Fabulous Blog. I find so much inspiration there.

I recently bought some dining chairs for $20 ea. that I plan on reupholstering. I'm hoping to have a look similar to the tdf chairs. They are absolutely gorgeous and what I would love to see everyday while cutting veggies! I found these on The Lennoxx, where you can find enough inspiration to do a house on Extreme Makeover.

Last but not least, a settee is a must. I would love one that has an antique look to it. You know the ones w/ carvings trimming the outer edges.

For me the necessities of a good kitchen are a table that can take a beating, warm colors and good food. What are your necessary items you just have to have in your kitchen? Wanna share a link so I can see the image? I would love more inspiration if you want to share :o) OOOOOOHHH any good recipes I can throw together for my fam? If you share so will I!

DIY: Sweetest Chandy Shades

2010-02-17T11:43:00.013-06:00

These are one of the last posts I am doing on my DIY projects before I show you the final product of my girl's room. I'm wrapping up the last piece of furniture and then it's a go. This is the chandelier I wish I had. The shades were $17 ea. + shipping. No way Jose (btw that just happens to beez my pappy's name)!!

This is what I had. I borrowed the chandelier shade image from ebaY. I have to tell you tho, mine looked exactly the same but with tacky cheap gold trim!! I ripped the fabric off the shades on the ride home from goodwill, where I got them for $1 ea. The chandelier I bought for $10 brand new off of Bargainland when they had kick butt house stuff for sale. You wouldn't believe the goodies I've bought for uber cheap.

These are the things I used for this e-z p-z project. Some fake roses (wish I would've waited until after Valentine's when the roses go on clearance :o( ), hot glue, thin pink ribbon, chandy shades, & scissors.

After removing all the glue, fabric, & tape??, that was originally the trim, I glued 2 rows of pink ribbon. I glued 2 only because I needed to hide some of the hot glue spots from the previous janky DIY done on these shades.

This is what it looks like after. You can do a thicker ribbon or just one thin ribbon. I think little pearl beads would've been pretty too.

I pulled the roses off of their stem and cut some of the plastic green stem glued on the bottom so I would have more area to hot glue to the shade.

Here is one all done up. I think it's perfect for my little girl's chandy! It isn't all pink like the one in my inspiration pic but it's just as girly.

Here's another view in good lighting.

Want to see it attached to the chandy?! Good because I've got a few more pics to share :o)

Honestly, What do you think? Overdone? Just right? Should I have used any other type of flowers? I have two lamps on her dresser, should I put some little roses on those shades or just some ribbon? Or just skip both? That is an issue I have been struggling with lately. I haven't done anything to them b/c I'm not sure I should. What do you think?

Linking up @

The Shabby Chic Cottage , Tales From Bloggeritaville, Fireflies & Jellybeans , Somewhat Simple

The Inspired Room, & Finding Fabulous (which btw has a FABULOUS GIVEWAY! Hot Hot Hot)

Putting Your Butt On A Pedestal

2010-02-16T12:21:00.008-06:00

At least that's what Tyra Banks calls it when you throw on some heels. Us ladies know what a good high heel does to our legs & butts. Ooh, especially when you buy a really cute pair and have that perfect outfit to go with it. You can see your whole 'fit in your mind. You just know you're gonna be fly! You throw on your clothes, slip on those heels, & do a turn in the mirror to check and see if your butt looks good..lol. I know you've been there. I've been there. I try to get there everyday. But have you ever thought about displaying those cute heels, the ones that keep you on display, properly when not in use? Shame shame you should! Don't get mad because this is how I was displaying mine. Smh, it was a mess. I was forgetting I had some of my shoes because I never saw them once they were stored away.

I bought this over the weekend for $27. Best $27 I have spent this month. I got mine at Lowe's which just happens to be the cheaper of the places I've seen so far that carries these.

I had my husband put it together as soon as we got home! It took him about 5 minutes. A few snaps...

some stacking...

..and with swiftness I started organizing my shoes. I say swiftness b/c at this point I must've grown wings. I thought I was in heaven after seeing all my shoes at once & not in a pile. This is what it was like for me....

And then the gates opened...aaaaaaa (angels singing in the background).

Here is another view. You like?!

I felt so good about my shoe organizer once it was up I put my shoes in color order. Need a before and after?!

How do you have your shoes stored right now? If your heels put your butt on display why not put them on display! Also what's you fave pair of heels? Mine are a great pair of cognac colored suede high heels with the heel out and a little peep toe. So comfy (even w/ a 6 inch heel!) thanks to the hidden platform front.

Have You Copyrighted Your Swagger?

2010-02-11T23:35:00.005-06:00

Hello my name is Swagger Jacker & this is what I think when I look at other blogs and see all these great ideas and layouts. Sad Right? It's like I want to completely steal their swagger. And if you don't know what swagger is I'll fill you in.

Swagger: How you carry yourself. Swag= the way one talks, the style in which one dresses, the gestures in which one uses while talking, etc.

Note: style is not how much you spend on your clothes. (or my case furniture, crafts, & blog layout)

Def. Found Here.

So now you get my drift. Have you looked at some fab blogs and all the widgets and what not then thought, "I wished mine looked like that." Or "How did they do that?" Well I couldn't tell you. I wish I could, but I can't. So now that I'm done with that I have to declare my independence as to not stealing anyone's swag. I know what the hell does that mean? Well I am bootlegging my way through blogging now. I love the way others write and post but I need to find my own posting style. (Tho I will still use the advice givin to me, which is not stolen swag; just loaned).

That was my way of introducing my tore down shabby ass mock-up. Yeah I had to beat around the bush. Oh and you must click on image to make bigger...I know, I know. Smh HOOPTY & BOOTLEG.

Bootleggish right? Hells yeah. But it explains everything to me. After I clean out my son's room I will post side by side pics. But this is how I plan on doing his room over. Glossy black furniture. Blues, greens, oranges, black, and ribbon. Even a chalk board top desk trimmed in blue. I have most things on hand and will start on his room tomorrow. Here are the inspirations for the pillows.
Mrs. Howard Personal Shopper

This one I believe was Martha Stewart? I've had this image for so freakin long I can't remember. Please please let me know if you do! Thx.

Once I take pics of his room you'll understand the look a little more. But homeboy has definitely outgrown the look of his room. It's been the same look for 5 years! Ooh Wee right? He's going into his tween phase. Any tweenie ideas that's cool for a boy's room? I had an easy time w/ the girl's room but a boy! Ughhh. I get stumped at times.

Smocked, Tufted, or Pleated

2010-02-06T16:37:00.005-06:00

The title covers almost all the adjectives to describe the comforter I absolutely adore! Don't you just love a beautiful romantic comforter? I've had my eye on the one just below sold through Soft Surroundings. It is made of soft bamboo fabric, comes in the exact color I need, and just looks oh so comfy. (Check out the silk balloon bed skirt too...swoon totally)

I was willing to settle for this one from target when it was on sale for $99 even though it was way to dark a gray for my room. I still think it's gorgeous! Look at those fabric covered buttons, aren't they kick butt? Of course it sold out in 2 days. That is just my luck. Actually that's what I get for being hella cheap!

Target does have some that are even more affordable. Shut the front door right?! These are only $69 starting price. I love every color they are offering too. And with such a romantic name like Kissing Pleat Comforter it makes it all the better.

Didn't think the price point could get any lower? Well here ya go. Walmart has their own colorful version too. Starting at $49 these comforter sets are definitely within my price range (yes my cheapness is showing again). Now if only it had come in pink! I do absolutely love that dark blue though.

My mom bought the red one off of ebay for like $32!!

Now here is my questions...

1. Does anyone know where I can go and browse other comforter sets like this?

2. How about a DIY tutorial where I could make one myself?

3. Do you love or hate this look and why?

Fill me in on your views! I need all the insight I can get. I am about squared away with my little girl's room, so guess what? I'm on to mine! Woohoo right?! HECK YEA.

Hair Bow Organizing Part 2

2010-01-28T14:19:00.004-06:00

If you've seen part 1 of my mission to organize hair bows then you are probably wondering what the heck do you do with the rubber bands that have to hold the ponytail where the hair bows are going?!?!?!?! I sure as heck did when I was googling hair bow holders I noticed their absence. I don't know about you but whenever my mom would put my hair up she used rubber bands or those things with the hard balls at the end to hold my hair up. Actually I still use the things with the hard balls at the end to hold my hair up. What are they called anyways? Okay back on point. This is how I now store my little girl's

What I used: 2 storage boxes from Target. And even though they have that orange sticker they weren't on clearance :o(

Gallon sized Ziploc bags. I really probably used the Dollar Tree brand to be honest.

That was all I needed. Hindsight I should've covered an old shoebox with some fab inexpensive fabric to save $$mula$$.

I dumped all the hairbows onto my unmade bed, this is the hardest part. Make sure your bed is unmade, it makes for better pictures!

Divide and conquer by color. This I had my 4-year old do. Then toss in the baggies.

I used one box for head bands and the other for rubber bands, ribbons, and such.

Simple and organized. This was another little project that was so easy a 4-year-old could do it! And in turn that means it is easy to keep organized. How do you organize your hair cuties? Right now my little girl's hairbows are organized but mine are thrown in a drawer :o( Please share your ideas!!

Craigslist..It's Love

2010-01-27T17:06:00.002-06:00

Just when I feel stumped about how to go about my living room Craigslist comes to the rescue. You heard my silent cry when noone else did. And I thank you.

The club chairs are in EXCELLENT condition. They look brand new to be exact. I am in love. Yes my heart started racing, my palms got sweaty, and I couldn't call the seller fast enough. Thank you mom for scoping these out and getting the seller to hold them. See the seller lives 4 hours away in the same city as my mother. And yes these are worth the trip to snatch them up.

Hair Bow Organizing Part 1

2010-01-27T01:54:00.008-06:00

Before I start this post I must point out:

1. I am a Renter so I have no choice in the raggedy ugly matted mess of a carpet shown in all photos.

2. Yes I am ashamed of the hot mess of carpeting I live with, but like I said I have no power over that problem

Okay now I shall move on. I know that hairbow holders have been done a million times before but they were never done to my liking. I did one at first and the bows kind of hung in the wind. The hairbow holder didn't give enough support for my little girl's hairbows. So let's begin. My daughter has a ton of freakin hairbows! This you will see. So instead of crushing them in a drawer dedicated to ahirbows I needed a solution. As always I turned to Google. This is what I would usually get. So I decided to upgrade it a bit. Start with an old frame from my basement.

Add my handy .88c craft paint that I have used on a previous project.

Now let me tell you this project is so easy a 4-year-old can do it! And mine did. He she is painting another frame (The box was used as protection from staining that matted mess I mentioned earlier).

She then cut some cardboard from a box we we're trashing to fit snugly into the frame. By snugly I mean add a quarter inch to each sides of your measurements so you can just "pop" the board in w/o any staples.

Then cut some fabric you have left over somewhere to cover the cardboard. We left an inch to overlap around the back of the board.

Now it's time to glue. Fabritac is the way to go...ALWAYS. This stuff dries within seconds and has strong bonding powers.

The corners were cut down as the sides were glued down.

Then she smoothed down the sides. I was sure to check that the front was pulled tight and smooth.

This is what the corner looked like once it was glued down. My little girl held it in place with her finger and counted to 10 to be sure it had enough time to stick.

I already had some ribbon left over from another project I will post this week that has to do with finally finishing my little girl's room. It was attached with some fabritac and tape. The tape was to keep it from sliding as the other side was pulled tight and attached.

Finished look of the back. Easy right?

Here is a front view. I know you peep that crooked rebel strand..yea should've checked to make sure it was straight.

Here it is with the bows. She had quite a few so she made a smaller frame (also from the basement) to hold them.

I'll probably hang the frames in the closet away from view. Though I love the frames, I don't like the sight of bows hanging on the wall. Not where she can get to them to play dress up. I have another part coming this week about organizing hair bows if you want to check back. Now did'nt you think this was so easy a 4-year-old could do this?

Before & After: Sweetest Stenciled Dresser

2010-01-25T16:31:00.014-06:00

So you have long since known that I was redoing my little girl's room, right? Well I'm not done yet. I have just a teeny tiny itty bitty ways to go! And when I say that I mean it. Anywho, I bought this dresser for $20 off of CYS. I didn't know why it was so cheap...at the time.

So I sanded it up and did what I usually do. Leave her in the basement to be forgotten. But now that I am finishing my girl's room I needed to buckle down and get it finished. (Only b/c I'm finishing my room also and need the chest from the girls room :o)

After a coat (should've done 2) of primer I let it sit over night in my kitchen. I hate having to paint in my kitchen b/c it's so darn cold and wet outside. But hey either way as long as it gets done I guess I'm okay with it.

Here it is after a few, yes I said few, coats of paint. I picked up some oops paint for $4 at Walmart. It is a rich cream color. I have learned you get what you pay for. Cheap paint=lots of coats. I didn't sand it either. I already knew this piece is not heirloom quality & plus I just wanted to get it done!

I pulled out my trusty stencil bought @ Hobby Lobby for less than $3 after using a coupon. The other came from Michael's. Stencil's can be used for so many things. What's even better is they sell the sheets for you to cut your own stencils. I'm not artistically inclined so I'm sticking to the pre-cut for now.

Before I started my stenciling I started by measuring the space I was stenciling and getting my layout in order. I definitely think this is necessary if you want some kind of symmetry.

Next I got out an old plastic plate, raggedy paint brush, and my .88c craft paint. Craft stores sell stenciling paint which is rich in pigment. I would suggest that if you are stenciling your walls or fabric. Otherwise cheap craft paint works great.

I always start by tapping some of the paint off of my brush. I guess what I was doing was basically dry brushing the stencil image onto the dresser.

This is what my plate looks like whenever I get done dry brushing.

I like to start on the outside of the stencil then fill in the inside. That way the edge has a darker lining and the filling is lighter. I also held my image down by hand but you can use painter's tape or a spray adhesive to hold the stencil in place.

Here it is finished. I added some bordering to it. I kind of wanted to paint the bottom too. Just to anchor it.

Here is why it is $20. Not a problem to me though. My little girl still loves this dresser as is. Yes, I know you see my border painted all hellaciously!

Another view? Why not!

How about a penthouse view from the top?

I combined 2 stencils. This is my accent stencil. A damask print. I'm a damask addict! Who isn't? Please don't tell me your sick of damask yet.

Here is a before and after:

I have already put on one coat of satin wipe-on poly. The only that keeps me from taking her upstairs is the second coat of poly and knobs. Does anyone have any suggestions for some sweet knobs?????? Knobs are the lastest bane of my existence.

Today I will be linking up at:

Frugalicious Friday, Toot Your Horn Tuesday hosted by A Silly Little Sparrow, A Soft Place To Land (with a HOT giveaway), A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words, Reinvented, Tales From Bloggeritaville (I love her title makes me want to drink a margarita!!), The Shabby Chic Cottage, Today's Creative Blog, & One of my favorites Miss' Mustard Seed Creations!!

Be sure to check these links out. There is so much inspiration on these blogs.

I was invited to join an awesome link up party. It's a Paint Party! How awesome right?! How much painting have we all done. Tons, I know! Check it out at Domestically Speaking & link-up too :o)

Stenciling Is Really Catching On!

2010-01-20T14:21:00.006-06:00

Wow wow wubzy. I am so surprised on how stenciling is becoming a hot topic! I didn't think it was becoming trendy at all. I figured stenciling was hot all the time. I really did ( and still do). This little hot number is what got me wanting to stencil my girl's furniture. Btw I will be showing the before and after tomorrow of the dresser. I can't remember where I got it from besides that it was from a google search.
Here is a piece from Horchow. I think it could be done quite easily! But easier said then done right?

If you are on a tight budget and want to re-do your room why not paint on a headboard? This can go all sorts of ways. Would also be great for a commitment phobe.

I love these roman shades. I think I may do some for my room. Cheap burlap, a stencil, & this tutorial. Sorry I had this image forever in my files so no known source....yet :o(

If roman shades aren't for you then I'm sure you could re-do some panels. Imagine all the cool designs you could do. Oooh better yet all the colors you can combine!

I bought a brand new jute rug from Goodwill for $15. I really want to do something like this to it.

For those who are brave you can also try painting the floors in your home. This is not for the faint of heart, I can already tell.

I absolutely love the stenciling on this wall. These kitchen colors are also so fab. The whole kitchen works for me.

These walls weren't stenciled. They are wallpapered. But I'm sure you could paint a flat paint and stencil clear gloss and have a similar effect. Design Dazzle doesn't play around when it comes to sweet designs!

Now this takes the cake! How rich is this stenciling! Yes stenciling!!! I'm now feeling the pain of renting. Ugghh, I can't wait to be able to do this and not worry about how I have to paint over it once we move.

Not sure of this is a decal or a stencil?!? But I think painted steps are so fun & whimsical. I've seen words painted on steps as well as intricate designs that looked Moroccan.

Do you have any plans of stenciling? I can't wait to share mine!! I do have one regret though about the process I did. I sooo WISH I would've layered colors. Gave my pieces more depth. Next time right? Because there will definitely be one!

Before & After: Little Girl's Vanity

2010-01-12T11:36:00.011-06:00

I'm finally posting again! Since I've been on a long vaca, thanx to this nasty sinus infection & freakish cold weather, I've been slow to post. But I'm back now! So down to business already.
Remember this image I posted before?
It was my inspiration pic for changing this vanity. I pulled it out of my garage. It used to be in my little girl's room before we moved. Due to lack of room it got shafted.

Dusty as heck from sitting out in the garage so long and let's just go ahead and add it's 1 year stint in storage.

While being moved it wasn't treated so well. Part of the molding came off the top. Smh. There are always "casualties" when moving.

So after the usual prepping (sanding, wiping down, etc) I brought it into my kitchen for a fresh coat of paint. It has been way to cold out to paint. That cold has been slowing down progress around here. Anywho I had a half gallon of paint left from painting a bathroom. Here she is in a all her naked glory. The color is called Peppermint Vinca. I love it!!

After 2-3 coats of paint next are the stripes. I found out quickly that measuring the width would prove tedious + time consuming. I decided to use my finger to determine the width of the stripes. Worked fine for me!

3 days later...I know sad huh? I kept skipping out and doing other things. But she was all taped up and ready to go.

Instead of buying a darker paint I decided to take the rest of the left over paint and mix it with darker turquoise .88 cent craft paint I bought at Waldy World, I also used a little black paint I had on hand for added greyness.

After knocking over the little cup of paint (as I always do) I poured a little paint on an old plastic plate. I actually didn't need much paint to paint the stripes. Just what was on the plate.

Damn cheap tape screwed me. Actually I screwed myself. I didn't smooth the tape down again after letting it sit so long. But definitely never use cheap painters tape. It left blue sticky residue on my stool :o( See how clean cut the stripe is at first? Then came the nastiness. Ughh.

How pretty right? Uhm not so much. I though maybe later I would go back and clean it up some. But I figured oh well, lesson learned. NO CHEAP PAINTERS TAPE. EVER!

Though I tell you what. From faaaaar away you can't tell. And that makes me happy.

I ordered a knob ($1) off of eBay to go on the vanity. I'm just twiddling my thumbs waiting for it to come in now. I also bought the ring pull knobs (set of 20 for $15.99 after shipping) for my desk and dresser.

As you can see I wasn't happy with a bald faced drawer. I painted some little leaves that looked like the leaves on the trifold mirror. Now I'm a happy girl again. Only thing left to do is poly-wipe this baby. Glossy or satin? I'm thinking glossy! I'm waiting until I finish my desk and dresser to decide on glossy or not. But glossy is where my heart is right now.

I decided on putting a pillow on the stool. I used a pillow that came with the comforter set on my bed. I sewed the middle in so it can look tufted. Then sewed on some string bought for .79c @ Hancock Fabric and we now had a comfy butt hugger. I wish I would've laced it further down the leg of the stool. I wanted more of a ballerina slipper look, maybe the next chairs I do.

Here is a couple other views. I think it fits perfect with my room.

Now just some paint on my walls and I'm in business. My room is definitely almost done! Now to conquer the world....bwah hahahahahah (in evil laugh)

I am linking up @ The Single Nester, Frugalicious Friday, The Shabby Chic Cottage , Finding Fabulous, Poppies at Play, The Inspired Room, My Romantic Home, Miss Mustard Seed, & Tales From Bloggaritaville check out their blogs for nifty ideas and link up too! Thanks Symone's Mommy for the link up list!

Do you know what today is?

2009-12-28T12:37:00.002-06:00

It's our anniversary! Three years ago I got married to my bestest friend ever. I love you Chuckles<3 width="425" height="344">

Sorry I still haven't posted anything yet. I've been uber busy and all over the place. Heading out to Memphis today. I'll actually have some alone time w/ Chuckles. Woohoo. And plus my mom's a new year's baby so we are having a party at her house on the 31st. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and wil have a Happy New Year's. I can't wait to show some things I've gotten done, as well as some things I've done at my mom's. Take care of yourselves during this time of the year :o)

Please Accept My Sincerest

2009-12-11T09:19:00.003-06:00

Apologies. I have been so busy lately. Working hard on projects. And we finally put up the Christmas tree last night at 11pm. Still no ornaments though :o( We'll do that Monday. Why Monday? Because it's my time to get away from it all..woohoo. It's currently 18 degrees out here. I'm heading south to Florida, where it is 80 degrees. Not Key West, though it is my hometown, I wish. But Tampa, Fl.
I'll have before and afters posting for a few days straight when I get back! I promise. I almost have 3 projects fully completely finished and 2 projects just started. Woot woot! See you soon, and with a new do to show off too. Homegirl's hair is looking more than worse for wear.

Jadeite or Jadite..Does it Really Matter?

2009-12-07T12:14:00.002-06:00

Not when you're searching eBay. I found it's better to do both.
I've been wanting to do a plate display in my living room for a good minute. Well now that I have my projects under some control I think it's a good time to start looking for plates to pull it off with. This is the picture that sparked the controversial debate in my mind.

done by her

I also plan on doing 2 pictures with plates over them by my armoire

to tie into whatever plate display I do.

I'm either doing them over this entry doorway or over my fireplace.

Oh How I wish I could do it over my den entry. I would do something grand and huge.
(Ignore the wretched fan plz.)

I want plates like these. I actually have 2 in cream bought at TJMaxx for $2 ea.

I would love these too! I plan on mixing in turquoise, light green, and cream.

While searching here & here I found these. They would be so perfect for my bedroom, which btw has come a little ways since this. Well back to painting. I'll try to have a reveal tomorrow...*fingers crossed*

Cheap Matting

2009-12-05T12:42:00.003-06:00

While shopping for more frames for my son's room I noticed they didn't come with matting like they used to. I buy the 11x13 frames from walmart for $5. So instead of going out to buy 6 sets of matting (which adds up fast inclusing the cost of the frames) I decided to make my own. I also needed matting for the girl's room too. So here is what I used & did.

Frames bought on eBay for uber cheap, more $3.50/yd fabric, poster board from the dollar tree, & items not pictured. **Not pictured is the exacto knife and adhesive spray I used**

I took the board backing out (which just happened to be the ugly picture that came in the frame) and traced it onto the poster board. This way I knew it would fit snug and no measuring would be needed.

One poster board produced 2 mattings.

I then took my photo, flipped it over and traced it onto the self maden matting.

I layered the matting on top of each other and taped the ends together. I did this to save time by cutting both mattings together. I took the exacto and cut out within the traced square. You want to make sure it has enough space added to cover the edge of the photo you are matting.

This was what it looks like after. I didn't measure the photo before tracing, I just placed it in the middle. If you are more of a perfectionist you may want to measure first. Then I sprayed adhesive on my matting and added the fabric as I did here in this project. Be sure to spray your adhesive away from the fabric if you are using silky or thin fabric. You don't want wet spots showing on your fabric (which I learned today from experience).

Here is the finished product. I may go back and add ribbon, rhinestones, their names, or anything else later.

So in total the project only cost me $1 for the poster board. I already had everything else on hand.

Can It Be..

2009-12-04T21:36:00.004-06:00

I stayed away to long? Did I leave your mind while I was gone? Yes, I love that song. It was one of my go to's while the Man was gone last year.

So back on subject. I haven't been on lately because I have been working on multiple projects at one time. I tend to do that. I have lazy spells then just start working on everything at once. So remember this? Well her she is. Slowly looking better right? I still have to paint the murals on it but hey, she's getting there! And to think it only took some 1.5yd @ $3.50/yd fabric & half a gallon of $6 oops paint.

The cup in the bottom is for chalk. And the boxes (from target) hold her hair bows. I'll do a quick post on that next. So this weekend I plan on painting the dresser (which you see the drawers in the background) and the vanity in the next 2 days.

**Excuse the dirty rug. I've been dragging furniture from the garage and basement through today.**

Good Deal Gone Bad

2009-12-02T11:47:00.006-06:00

Don't you just LUV LUV LUV a good deal?!? Well I know I sure do. And I will search to the end of the earth for one. Don't believe me ask the man that drives the truck (hubby) & picks all the goodies up.
So let me get to my sob story of the week. As you know I went to my mom's for Thanksgiving. A year earlier (yes a whole year...maybe a little more) I bought a ton of items off of eBay made by The Find. This company sold gorgeous items at shopnbc.com at out of my range prices. After searching eBay I was able to buy mirrored tables, sconces, candle holders, boxes, stands, chandeliers, chandelier lamps, and so forth for dirt cheap. One day I will do a post on the stuff I have gotten made by this company. So with my Find purchases I bought some items that were turquoise (my favoritist color).

This mirror was bought for $60 after shipping. It's a good size tho the pic makes it look smaller. But upon it's arrival my mom didn't check it thoroughly. Yep, it was broken.

Shattered piece on top.

And cracked/chipped side. I did open the box so many months ago and closed it immediately. Now that we brought it home so I can figure out what to do with it I have to look at it again. It hurts my feelings just looking at it.

To add insult to injury I lifted this box up and it fell apart in my hands! I'm sure I can reglue it, but what the hey?! How does this happen? Underneath is the original pic of it.

And let me add I bought the chandelier to match it all. Got it for $88 total. Beautiful in the picture. Not so much in person. The green was a grass green or crayola green with cobalt blue crystals. I like cobalt blue with grass green (awesome combination mixed with black and cherry wood against white or cream) but NOT done like this! I ended up selling it on ebay.

Though I absolutely adore The Find's items because they are so ornate and beautiful this haul was an epic fail.

I do have some good news to share though. We got a new member to our household. My pomeranian Cameo needed a friend badly. I never wanted dogs until we got her (she was a gift from my mom to my son). She is very well trained and sweet as can be. Buuuut she always wanted to play fetch and stuff. So now we got her a friend. He is a shitzu & terrier mix. He is scruffy looking and just as sweet as Cami. He gives Cami a run for her $$. Not sure what to name him yet. We are working with Bailey at the moment.

Here he is waiting her out for her toy. They've been fighting over it constantly. Fun to watch :o)

My Little Projects Part 1

2009-11-30T13:22:00.004-06:00

Sorry I have been M.I.A. lately. I was uber busy with my husband's return from his one month stay in the desert. Then a trip to my mom's for Thanksgiving, which I completely forgot to take my camera with me to take pics of projects I did while I was there :o( Next time. So now that I am back home with hubby in tow I can finally get so many projects done! I am sooooo excited, yippeeee. I can finally finish the armoire, desk, chest, dresser, dining table, chairs, and sons room. Oh and for Christmas I told the hubby I wanted 3 rooms painted. They will be the kitchen, master bedroom, and son's room. Oh and I have a ton of small projects too. Plus a knock off project of Ballard Design's. Set of 9 prints for $169 (on sale) done for around $20!! So much to show. Here is one of the first "little" projects I have to show. I didn't take any pics while I was doing it, I know shame on me, but I'll explain what I did.

The pic above is the before. I bought two of these heavy resin frames for $16 at the local flea market warehouse place called This Old Place. I find good deals there all the time.

This is the first re-do. I had spray painted (.99c spray paint of course) one frame a flat white and spray painted the matting silver with spray paints I already had. I love Chanel No. 5 perfume bottles so I printed this image off of Flickr. I have four images saved but they're too girly for my husband.

So I took them down out of my room and found a place in the den for them. I spray painted them a flat black ( .99c paint once again) and used white craft paint ( .47c @ walmart) to dry brush all the creases and detail.

I tried to take a closer pic of the detail so you could see where I had dry brushed it. To dry brush I had read about using water to thin the paint, but this didn't work for me. It made the black paint look dirty mixed with the white. So I dipped my brush in the craft paint and wiped it all off. Then I just starting pouncing the brush into the crevices and rubbed it over the "moulding". (Not sure what you call the carved details in the frame, moulding works for me though)

After replacing the matting (bought at Hobby Lobby for $3 ea. I think) I went ahead and hung them. Excuse the dirty glass. I still need to clean them. And I also need to find another picture to put in the bottom frame too. But I think they look just perfect for my den. If I would've used them in my living room I would've done cream with light turquoise craft paint.

Stay tuned for more little projects as well as big ones. Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving.

T.G.I.F.-Parties & Giveaways

2009-11-20T14:25:00.005-06:00

Okay so by now if you have read my blog you have to know I absolutely adore theLENNOXX, no surprise there right? I'm actually redoing some of my home to the tune of the photos they've posted. Anywho what I didn't know is that they did giveaways! Sweet. I encourage anyone who loves great design inspiration to check out their website. Here are a couple of pics of the pillows they are giving away.

They not only give you one chance to enter, but two! I'm sure you can't tell me there isn't at least 2 pillows you would love out the group.

And also thanx so much to my BFF (Blogging Friend Forever) in the making Dayka over at Life + Style for the heads up about The DIY Showoff party. Who doesn't love a good party after a long stressful week.

What's On Your Plate?

2009-11-19T19:34:00.004-06:00

And this time I don't mean food ;o) I have an obsession with plates that developed recently. I have been looking for plates to hang over my fireplace that will just jump out at you. That has led me to wandering "What do you guys out there eat off of?" I know at one point a looooong time ago I would eat off of paper plates set on a wicker plate. That was the laziness in me. I hated washing dishes and still do. But since then I have collected dish, with help of course. So here at our house this is what we have been eating off of and drinking out of. (Overlook the ugly cabinets, we are renting so we have no choice. But they will at least be lined soon)

This first picture: 1.Margarita glasses from Aafes (4/$10) 2. Red high ball glasses from eBay (4/$5) 3. Large martini glasses from Pier 1 (6/$12) 4. Reg. drinking glasses from aafes (4/$10) 5. Reg. drinking glasses from Marshalls ($2.99 ea.) 6. Reg. drinking glasses from Old Time Pottery (.50c ea. after Christmas sale) 7. Coffee Mug from Target (from my mom) 8. White milk glasses (from my husbands grandmother) 9.Coffee Mugs from TJMaxx ($2.99 ea.)

I used to buy a lot of red dishes because I just love the brightness in my kitchen. It feels warm and cozy to me. I also used to buy a lot of dishes from Old Time Pottery but we don't have one near us where I live now. They have fabrics, vases, pillows, and so forth and so forth for great prices!

In the above picture: 1.Red Glass Serving bowls from Old Time Pottery (.50c ea. after Christmas sale too) 2.Salsa dishes from Target dollar spot 3.Red serving bowl form Pier 1 ($5) 4. Bowls from TJMaxx ($2.99 ea.)...well all my bowls were 2.99ea. and the plates range from $2.99 for the smaller ones to $4.99 for the bigger ones. All plates and bowls were bought at TjMaxx and Marshalls. Here is a close up of my plates. I just had to have the set with the #9. I loved the colors. Maybe in the future I will change to blues, yellows, oranges, and creams. That would make me happy.

So whats on your plates? What colors do you use? Why? How do you acquire your dishes? Do tell!

Dollar General Haul

2009-11-18T17:39:00.006-06:00

Sorry I seem to post tons at one time and then take long breaks from my blog. It's just that when I start to get into DIY stuff I dive head first and work on tons at one time. Yet how is it infamous armoire is still not done?

Well anywho...I bought some frames from dollar general (I am a closet hoarder of frames) for 70% off. So in total I paid about $8 after tax for them. A deal I thought was great because I knew exactly where I wanted to put them. (two little gold frames I already had and will show a DIY later once I finish them)
About a week later I finally got around to taking them apart.

The little molding pieces just pop right off the matting. But be warned it was hell to get them back on. I took the molding pieces and the frame to the garage for a coat of flat black .99c rustoleum spray paint I had on hand.

Then I got out some fabric I had stashed away from a reupholstery project I did earlier this year. Which dummy me forgot to use until I finished the first chair. Anywho it was bought for $5/yd at fabric world. Some spray adhesive from the same chair project, and an exacto knife ($3 @ Lowes).

I sprayed the back of the fabric and laid the matting on it. I cut a square out of the middle and cut from the corners of the matting out so I could fold the fabric over (which was sticky enough from the spray to stick to the back with no help.

Here is the after result.

After the spray paint dried and I finished the matting I put all of the pieces together and stapled the backing into place. This was a bad idea. It pushed the staples with so much pressure it broke the glass. I replaced the glass later with another frame I had stashed away. But to be honest I broke 2 pieces of glass by the time I was done. I'm hard headed as heck so I didn't learn my lesson the first time. I ended up taping the back of the frame on which worked just fine.

Here is the finished result. Before and after. I got this idea from High-Heeled Foot in the Door.

I'll be hanging these in my den which I'll share with you once it is painted!
I do have a couple of more projects to finish in there too though. I'll share with you this secret. Always check Fred's, Walgreens, and Dollar General for household items. You'll be surprised what will turn up at such great prices. (BTW I found some 14x14 ornate shadow boxes (which I need badly) for $6 at Fred's yesterday!)

Let There Be Light

2009-11-18T17:12:00.003-06:00

As you saw my bedroom lamps (bought off of ebay for $10 after shipping) in a previous post I'm sure you noticed they were pretty small. I do love them because they seem so boudoirish but loathe them because they are smallish. To my girls room they'll go. So to replace them I pulled out some lamps I recieved from Granma P. I had already gotten some buffet lamps from her I had painted to go in my room, but obviously buffet lamps would've been way to tall. So here are the lamps in all their glory :o)

Here is one of the lamps after I painted it 3 coats of glossy white spray paint and trimmed the bottom in gold liquid leaf (against my mother's advice). Since the chest & desk that will go in my room are going to be white I needed the lamp to have a stopping point so it doesn't just "flow" into the furniture. Plus I like the gold at the bottom paired with the grayish silver shade (purchase at target for the buffet lamps) And also one lamp is shorter then the other so I will fix this problem by stacking a couple of books under one to even out the height difference. I'm thinking some books covered with gold wrapping paper...I know it would be pushing it though. I love a can of .99c spray paint! But then again who doesn't? If any has any advice on whethr I should add any more detail to the lamps let me know! Thanx :o)

Ornamental Frames

2009-11-18T16:20:00.004-06:00

I love going to Hobby Lobby & Target every year and looking at their ornaments. They always have them grouped by color and textures. Oh the eye candy. I love handblown ornaments with feathers, mirrored ones with etching, and so forth and so forth. But can we use them for anything else beside Christmas decor? Well of course! So far I have used decorations for at least 2 things.

I love the tassels they sell in Hobby Lobby. They have all sorts of different ones. Long ones, beaded, fabric, and so on and so on. These two I bought to go in my sons room for maybe a few bucks. They have seen better days since they've been in there since he was 4 (He is now 9, well 9 1/2 let him tell it) I have bought some long silver beaded ones too that I haven't used yet.

These sets of frames I spent a total of about $8 +tax on. The red ones came from target (50% off after Christmas) and they sit in my kitchen window sill. The brown wooden ones I got from Hobby Lobby 3 years ago (50% off also) and I do believe they still sell them. Hobby Lobby even has mirrored, silver , or gold frames to suit your fancy! I like to pair little frames with big ones.

This year I am going to invest in some little birdies to put in my jars and cheese trays around the house. I am going through a bird + nest phase right now. If you have any other ideas of how you can decorate with Christams decor please do share!

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A NOTE FROM THE BLOGGER

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Every year over the past few years I have come to love Christmas more and more each year. I used to dread this specific day due to it's exploitation of gift giving. Though now I do like to relish in the joys of my kid's childhood beliefs in Santa Claus, I'm keen to make sure Christ's birth, life , and death is the most significant point of the holiday. So let it be known it's CHRISTmas and not X-mas. Who is X anyways? Sorry just had to get that off my chest :o)

While the Hubby's Away...

2009-11-17T01:45:00.007-06:00

His wife will redecorate! Well since my husband has been in the Mojave Desert for war training I decided to re-do our room to my liking. I'm not sure if I had let you know before, but I am not in love with my tropical looking bed. It's not romantic to me. It looks like something I would find in a Florida hotel. Though I must admit it is a Pulaski piece that I bought brand new ($102 total) from a local warehouse online auction site. Sadly that site doesn't have top notch pieces like they used to.
Well while I was desperate to get it out of my room, I knew we couldn't afford another one. So to the garage I went and stumbled upon this....

Our bed from our first place together! Here is what it looks like with all of it's attachments. I can't fit it in our room with all the pieces on. But I do love it again (hubby never did) and am happy it's back in my life. After a couple of white gloss coats here ya go...

It does need some touch up since I banged it around trying to get it up the steps by myself, but all in all I think it's a little improvement. It will look better once I paint the room the right shade of gray (when I find it). Over the bed I hung a heart shaped mirror that reflects my chandelier. I love a mirror over the bed.

And some mirrored frames. The frames and mirror were both purchased on eBay. The frames were about $10 ea. after shipping. I had them hanging on another wall in the room.

I have a chaise at the foot of the bed I bought from an aunt for $80, which she bought at spiegel. It was less than a year old! My daughter keeps pulling the beads off of the bottom for some reason or other.

This is a corner that I dedicated to my little girls. They like to watch when I am getting glammed up. I thought it would be fun for them to have a space to get glammed up also. So this is what it looks like now...(notice there used to be shades on the chandelier. Yeah they're in the kitchen now.)

I found this in our garage when looking for things to repurpose for our house. I forgot all about it.Soon (hopefully this week) I will be painting it as a scaled down version of this..(minus the flowers)

My littlest girl loves sitting here. She even has free range of my perfume as well as her own.

Inside her drawer she has another little mirror her auntie Sarah gave her. There is also play jewelry. Maybe Santa will bring her some pieces that have seen better days, and if she is extra good a little nail polish. Well maybe not nail polish. She's not ready for that yet.

I do have some lamps I am replacing the smaller lamps with. They are currently in the drying process. And I've been wearing down my mom for her fireplace that hangs on the wall (also purchased at that local warehouse for uber cheap). Mom if you are reading this I am making a public plea!! Obviously I have so much more to do in my room. I have so many DIY projects unfolding that I will show as I do them. So stay tuned. I am hoping to get it all done in the next couple of weeks. You heard that one word that defines that sentance...HOPING :o)

Some Inspiration

2009-11-12T16:14:00.003-06:00

I haven't finished any of my DIY projects lately because my little girl has been uber sick. I have been blog surfing though. I always spend so much time on one particular blog. theLENNOXX has got to be one of the best blogs for inspiration. Looking through their pictures has got me wanting to re-do or at least finish my living room. Here are some of the pictures I picked out to point me in the directions I would like to go.

I love these pillows

This would be the perfect place to sit and have a cheerful conversation.

And just to think it is attached to a bedroom, almost like a studio apartment.

I love the cool colors here. I was thinking about doing the mirror and frames over the sofa or maybe in my room. Which would be better? Think it's to much to put over the sofa?

Be sure to check out theLENNOXX's website. You will not regret it.

Goodwill Gives A Good Break

2009-11-10T16:12:00.005-06:00

The first saturday of the month in Tennessee are always the best! I'm not sure if they do this anywhere else, but Goodwill has everything in their store 50% off! I am always lined up that first saturday morning of the month to get my deal. Well this saturday wasn't like that. I forgot. As simple as that....Forgot. So believe my surprise when I decided to waste some time this weekend by running by there. Even though I made it late in the day, I believe I got some deals. I spent a total of $24 after tax. Here is what I bought:

A crystal/ quartz clock for $2, A large etched mirror for $12.50 and about 8 skirts/ dresses for my little girl. Be sure and check to see if your local goodwill has the same sale at the beginning of the month!

Who Doesn't Love A Great Deal?

2009-11-10T03:18:00.004-06:00

So it's 3:18am and I can't sleep. This is normal for me though. I always have nights where my mind will not shut down. So I decided to do some web surfing. Does anyone say that anymore, web surfing? Any who I came across this website that tracks awesome deals. People log on and upload deals that they have found, whether it be local stores or websites. Within 5 minutes I had made my first purchase after surfing (yes I had the audacity to use that word again) this site. I love Taste of Home magazine. I bought a years subscription for $3.50 w/ free shipping!!

They have all sorts of deals that change daily as the deals expire. Be sure to take time to check them out if you are looking for something and want to save some serious cash.

Sew In Spring Reap In Autumn

2009-11-09T19:22:00.006-06:00

The weather has been so lovely, just perfect for eating outside. This is a dining set I bought this past spring on eBay as a local pick-up. I bought it for $26 flat, no tax or pick-up fees. I never intended using it in my house. I had a better idea for it.
The lady who had sold it to me had tried to recover the seats herself. She was aiming for the cafe look. Now I'm not going to criticize bbbuuutttt......I'll leave it at that.

After a coat of rustoleum spray primer and two coats of flat white spray paint I had a bright new (at least for me) white table. The cushions were pretty yucky and I had seen outdoor fabric I had just had to have. Problem was it was 3.5 hours away. And yes I drove those 3.5 hours to get it! The fabric was designed by Laurie Hickson-Smith from Trading Spaces for Hancock Fabrics. You remember the Southern Belle red head? I fell in love with this print called Freer, just in another color that I planned on using in my living room. It was sold out and discontinued :o( But they did have this color left which worked out perfect for me.

Who knew outdoor fabric could be so wild? It totally reminds me of my hometown Key West. I put it on my back deck for al fresco dining.

One day I will have to do a post about how to find local furniture on ebay. I have found tons of furniture and home decor for uber cheap on ebay.

"If you do not sow in the spring you will not reap in the autumn."-Irish Proverb

Coming Attractions

2009-11-07T22:11:00.005-06:00

I'm not sure exactly what I am going to do with these 2 chairs I purchased this week for $30 off of CYS. But I know I want them to either be edgy or at least different.

Here is the room that I was talking about in the last post. It has a great pop of yellow! Since this picture we have replaced the bed and....(scroll down to the next pic plz)

added some more storage. I redid 3 of these steel drawers $10 ea. at Habitat for Humanity's store called ReStore (which you can find some of everything for home projects & decorating) and this file cabinet (1 of 3 for $10 total) for the room above.

While I was in memphis a couple of weekends ago I had intended to go yardsaling. Yeah, that didn't happen. But while on my way to goodwill I did see one yard closing up shop and snatched this desk up for $10! It will be going into my room after a complete makeover.

I'm replacing the $20 Bassett chest (which I bought both nightstands to match for $40 more) inbetween my girls bed with this $20 wider one. I purchased both on CYS. If you live near a military base I am sure there is a local CYS for you too. I've been working on it while I work on the infamous armoire.

I purchased 2 of these framed prints for $16 from a local flea market I absolutely adore called This Old Place. I have changed them twice so far, and they will soom be in my den also.

Paint The Town...White!

2009-11-07T21:58:00.003-06:00

So as you now know I have been working on my den. I really really can't wait to share it with you! I absolutely love how far it's come from when we first moved in here, btw we are renting. So I found these candle holders on eBay. They cost after shipping $10! I thought it was a good deal b/c I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.

Paint them gloss white! I bought a few cans of spray paint for another project, but we ended up going with another color. I can't wait to share that room with you either. It's poppin most definitely.

By the time I got a good second coat on it was dark outside so I couldn't get a good picture of them like I wanted. They are a nice rich glossy white though. You'll see them again when I reveal my den.

Not bad for $10 I think. A little spray paint goes a long way.

Rise and Prime

2009-11-07T17:25:00.003-06:00

So I finally got back to the basement now that the weather has been glorious. I popped open my little can of valspar primer.

Pulled out my paint tray and roller, then got to work. (I hate furry rollers! They leave little lint strands all in the paint after it's rolled! Tomorrow I will def. use foam ones.)

Finally my cherished, or not so, $20 armoire is finally primed. Tomorrow she will get a couple of cream coats of paint. Then some stenciling and hopefully mirror inserted into the door pieces.

I can't wait to finally finish this piece. Oh and I've been working on tons of pieces lately. Along with this armoire I am working on a wide dresser, some chairs, a bed, a desk, stacking boxes, and pictures for then den. Then I will begin my overhaul of my sons bedroom. Here is a hint of where I am heading with his room.

2 Chandeliers for $54 after Tax & Shipping!

2009-11-06T14:07:00.002-06:00

Okay so I got an email from my kids Granmama. She has the prettiest rooms in her house. One day I'll bug her to take pics and post. She always finds awesome deals in stores and online. That must be her niche. She sent me a forward from JCPenney about screenbuster sales. I went on and looked and found this and this! Two chandeliers for $24.99 each! Originally $349 and $260 marked down to $24.99. Plus the email came with a free shipping code 49Santa. Doesn't get any better than that! I bought both for a grand total of $54 and some change. The chandeliers aren't available in stores so hurry and get yours before they run out. **Sorry I couldn't save the big pic so here are some scrawny ones**

I Won, I Won!!

2009-11-04T12:19:00.003-06:00

Thank you so much to Rachel @ All Things New & Sa-Sea Boutique for these awesome pillows!!

Let me start by saying I have never entered into any giveaways. This one giveaway at All Things New I was feeling uber passionate about! It is a blog I love to read because she is so relateable and has the cutest etsy shops Stella Bella Boutique (which I just bought these earrings at) & Nearly New Treasures (which is where I missed out on some beautiful & cheap milk glass plates..ughh). And the giveaway was some pillows I had been eyeballing FOREVER. The pillows are from Sa-Sea Boutique and they are not only GORGEOUS but cheap too! So much cheaper than the others I have found. And they have a buy 2 get 1 free listing right now. So thank you so much Rachel for the pillows, I can't wait to recieve them and post pictures of them on the chairs in my living room! Make sure you check out her etsy stores & site, and also Sa-Sea's too.

Bedroom Eye Candy

2009-11-04T11:26:00.008-06:00

As I said before I have been working on almost ALL the rooms in my house. I am working on my bedroom in between other rooms. I can't wait to show the outcome. I buy a lot of items from
Goodwill, CampbellYardSales, Hobby Lobby, and Hancock Fabric Store. I can sometimes find goodies at yard sales, but they are more often than not a bust for me :o(

So I needed some art for my bedroom. We all know how expensive art can be. So I went on on CYS (CambellYardSales) and searched framed. I found this 2'x3' piece for $6! I knew I could do something with it but wasn't sure what yet. I figured I would paint the fame and matting with spray paint. Until..........
I found this scrap booking paper at Hobby Lobby for .49c a sheet. It is like a fabric on paper! It is also reflective silvery too, which is exactly what I needed.

I also found a poster that I could cut and fit under the matting. As you can tell so far my room will have hints of pink. Hubby doesn't want a house full of pink, which I am capable of doing in 2 weeks flat.I took the picture apart, which was just removing some staples on the backside, and lightly sanded the frame. I painted the frame and moulding on the matting using a metallic silver spray paint. Can't remember the name though but I've used it quite a few times with good results. I'll mention it in another post and include the name. Anywho, I cut and glued the scrap booking paper to the matting using kids school glue sticks. (Its easier to use a solid color or simple print) The regular school wet glue wont work and will make your paper wrinkle and tear. I used the scissors I was cutting with to tuck the little edges under the moulding on the matting. Here are my results.

As you can see I had one "off" piece of scrap booking paper in the upper right hand corner. It's okay though. It doesn't even compare to the fact that I was pushing the glass out to hard and shattered it, the downside of cheap frames is cheap glass.

The total for this project was $6 for frame, $3 scrap booking paper (6 sheets roughly), glue and spray paint I had on hand.

So less than $10 for a larger sized piece of art for my room!

I can't wait to show the finished room. I love love love mirrored items, so there will be plenty in my room along with tons of DIY projects.

2009-10-28T14:36:00.006-05:00

We have a wonderful bay window in the kitchen. Sadly our kitchen's bay window faces the backyard so we don't get a lot of light in there, but we do get a great view of the backyard! So with that said I wanted curtains that were pretty and let light in. The ones we previously had were pretty but blocked much of the light leaving the kitchen pretty dark.

This photo was taken in January. I loved these curtains because 1. they had a pretty rich red color 2. they were balloon curtains (who doesn't lie ballon curtains?) The kids were beating on the table for cookies. They don't play when it comes to sugar!
These are the curtains I just finished today. They take about 20 min. each to make. I bought the material for $4/yd at Hancock fabric store. They are the perfect weight, pattern, & color. I spent about $25 to make 4 of these roman shades. And I got the fabulous tutorial from Little Green Notebook.

I have made some for my sons room and the kitchen so far. I plan on making some for my room next! They are so easy and customized to whatever material you want. Doesn't get any better than that.

P.S.

I am STILL working on that armoire, so stay tuned.

A Win-Win Situation

2009-10-23T11:09:00.004-05:00

In my long gone teenage years I learned that in relationships things have to be 50/50. With that said Hubby wanted a new tv to watch his beloved sports games (tho I watch sports too, it is not important to me what size tv it is on). So I figured this would a perfect oppurtunity to negotiate for another tv stand. Knowing we needed more storage in the den I wanted a solid bigger piece, but not tooooo big. I found this buffet on CYS for $90. After some haggling I got it for $70!

I do believe it is mahogany wood. Solid wood..woohoo. Though I do love the stain, it wouldn't fit into my den colors. So I wanted to paint it black. I found a great tutorial by Jenny @ Little Green Notebook, by the way she's a genius. I only had to use spray paint, sandpaper, wipe on polyerathane, & a little primer. I followed Jenny's directions. And here ya go:

It is perfect for storing our movies, game consoles, kids art supplies, and so much more. I will post pics later with the tv on it once I finish doing my den. But I am very happy with my "TV Console".

p.s. I still haven't finished the Girls' armoire! Procrastinator much? I think so. I got out to the garage and started cleaning it out. Go figure.

Not Your Kraft Mac n Cheese Blues

2009-10-23T10:49:00.002-05:00

Today is one of those days. With my husband always working from before sun-up to after sun-down, leaving for the month of Nov. & then again in March for another whole year, I often feel sad, angry, and unappreciative.

I am sad he is leaving again to Afghanistan. I am angry he can't stay. And I have a hard time appreciating what he does because of my selfishness. At this point I see him 11 months out of 24, and have only had 1 week with him to myself in the last 3 years. So this song is fitting at the moment.

I love Alicia Keys music. And she is even better live, and way prettier too.

No Turning Back Now

2009-10-22T10:16:00.004-05:00

Like I said before, this project is a sloooow transformation. With the other things I am doing this week the Girl's armoire has kinda been on the back burner. Here are some pictures I took a few days ago or last week??? I can't remember. But I'll be showing it somemuch needed love today :o)
I ripped the back off, because I have some fabric I plan on puttin back there to add some prettiness so it's not so bland.

This stripper ate right through the 5 layers of paint. In order from top to bottom were a beige rubbery paint, deep mauve/purplish, and white. The previous owners laid it on THICK!

After some scraping this is what I am working with right now. Looks bad huh? After a good sanding it will probably look like a beginners building project..lol. Though I am a beginner, so it is fitting then. Be back later with more pics. I might actually get some primer, and paint on today!!

Whatever Could This Be?

2009-10-21T20:17:00.003-05:00

Yes folks, sadly to say it's the $20 armoire I bought for my Girl's room. But I am slowly transforming it into something of beauty. I have many inspiration photos that I will share tomorrow. Right now this solid, structurally (if that's how you spell it) sound beauty is sitting in my garage ready to be sanded and stripped completely. Stay tuned for my progress report and inspiration photos. See I told you I had bunches to share. This ain't even the icing on the cake!

Mirror Mirror On The Wall...

2009-10-21T19:25:00.003-05:00

So I'm slowly working on my bedroom, as well as every other room, and really want a round mirror to hang over my bed. The one below my mother got off of craigslist for $10. It's currently being used to hide our router from rearing it's ugly head. It is a little small (20") compared to the one I want (which is the one hanging over my mother's bed). So I want to make it appear bigger.

I really love this mirror. I can't remember where the 1st image is from, but the 2nd is from ebay.

So I am thinking I can spray paint some shish-kabob skewers gold and hot glue some different size round craft mirrors on it? Do you think it'll work? I saw where one of my fave bloggers did it and her room is STUNNING! Here is hers . Her stuff is amazing!! Gorgeous room!!

Sweet Success

2009-10-21T14:16:00.003-05:00

How can something so easy be soooooo good!?! Last week I made some extremely heavenly got to be kidding it can't be that easy Strawberry Cobbler.

I bought some strawberries last week that just smelled so sweet, I swear I could taste strawberries in the air around them. I picked up 2 pints and went home got on Google, as I always do and found this awesome site. http://lesleyskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/08/strawberry-cobbler.html

Although I didn't use the exact recipe, because I didn't have all the extras on hand, I did use one I found in the comments section.

1 C. flour

3 Tbl. sugar

1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 stick butter

1 egg 1/2 milk

Mix dry ingrediants together. Cut in butter. Add the egg and milk, stirring until it's all blended.

"Pour" (it's rather thick) into an 8x8 buttered pan. Top with fruit of your choice. ( I used 2.5 cups of strawberries) Then drizzle on this struesel:

1/2 C. flour

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 stick butter

Bake at 400 for 35 minutes. SO GOOD! You can use other fruits too.

I'm A Barbie Girl, In A Barbie World

2009-10-21T13:53:00.004-05:00

One thing that always stands out in my childhood memories are my Barbies. I used to dye (using red pistachios) and cut their hair. I would even sew little tube dresses for them. I would've sewn more, but I'm not very inclined in the sewing department just yet. Anywho..so now that my little girl, all 4 years old, keeps at least 3 Barbies in tow, I have decided to add it as an element in her room. She absolutely loves these shadowboxes, only because they encase cute little Barbie outfits! These were so easy to make.

I bought the shadowboxes for $7.50 (50% off) and fabric about $6 a yard (I used less than 1 yard) at Hobby Lobby. I painted the frames with liquid gold leafing and wiped on some cream craft paint for a prettier finish. Hot glued the barbie outfits, and hung them up. Eazy peazy! These will hang over the Girl's armoire.

The Pinkest Room You Will Ever See

2009-10-21T12:48:00.004-05:00

I've been steadily, over the last year, working on my house. So far I have 2 favorite rooms. The den, and the Girls room. They're sooo close to being done. Right now I am working mostly on the girls room. It used to be shimmering fuschia & orange. So bright and fun!!

But I felt a hole in my design heart :o( That needed to be filled. So now I have been hard at work turning it completely......PINK!

Of course I still have a long ways to go until it is exactly how I want it, which is PERFECT. I am finishing my Girls armoire as we speak so it can take it's rightful place where the nighstands (which will later be stored in the garage) are. I have another chest that is a little wider to put inbetween my Girl's beds, princess pictures of my Girls to put in the 2 cream frames, and another quilt has to be added to match the other bed. I am so happy with how everything is turning out at the moment. I will be posting pics of the armoire and chest as I finish them. So much to do, so little time....whew!

A New Home.

2009-10-21T10:32:00.003-05:00

While I still fairly new to blogging I had a hard time using wordpress, so I switched to Blogger. I feel like my new home is going to suit my needs just fine. Today I will be doing a ton of posts. I can't wait to share my DIY decorating adventures. As you will see I am a lover (addict actually) of blogs. I will be sure to list which blogs inspired me to do some of the projects I've done as I do them.