Framing- What a difference

Our half bath was so boring. It needed some contrast and detail badly. It had a regular old unframed builders mirror in it. I got some wood from a friend one day, and decided to do this. I looove a free project! This frame makes such a difference was was sooo easy, I did EVERYTHING by myself in about a day.


First I cut my boards to the size of the mirror. I think they are 1 inch think and 6 inches wide. Then I did my paint. If you look close you can see some red peeking through the black gloss paint. I painted black, red then lightly brushed black again.

Once it was dry I used my good ole liquid nails and stuck it on the mirror.

You'll want to paint a little bit inside the wood, because the mirror will reflect the top part.
And wah lah. Sorry I totally forgot to take a before picture. I guess I was just too excited.

It looks like a nice big expensive mirror now (and it only cuts off an inch of my tall hubbies head). On to figure out the rest of the bathroom details now. But I do have to say that I really like having a ribbon around the hand towel for decoration as well as keeping it in place and not on the floor.

Kitchen Chairs!

So I have had my kitchen chairs painted now for about a month, but they wore me out so bad I am just now feel like posting about them. :) So here is my table and chairs, finally done.
I borrowed my friends paint sprayer thinking it would be fairly easy, like a can of spray paint right?...well it wasn't easy. A paint sprayer is much heavier and finicky than a can of spray paint. But it produces beautiful results, very nice and even, in the exact color you want, and is cheaper than buying a zillion cans of paint. And I can't even imagine trying to paint all those spindles using a brush!
I followed the basic steps- 1-2 coats of primer, 2 coats of paint, distressing, glaze, and polyurethane. Ah it makes me tired even typing out all those steps. I posted step by step instructions on the table transformation found here.
A few tips on using a paint sprayer:
-you have to thin the paint A LOT!!!!!!
-because the paint is thinner, it applies thin coats- so be patient.
-it dries a little faster because it is thinner :)
-your forearm will get tired- because the sprayer is heavy.-nice workout
-cover everything!!- my garage floor is a little splotchy now :)

More creamy goodness.
And on another note... I got some vinyl for my picture gallery/ kiddie table wall. Only $8 after I used my Kohl's $10 giftcard I got in the mail.
Finally complete... until I change my mind. :)

It's a Girl!- Decorating Plans

Well if you didn't know already, I found out today that I'm expecting a little baby girl on January 4th. With my previous 2 girls I had made some cute bedding with a pink white and green princess frog theme. Now I am ready of something new and am dreaming of this....

Of course it is Pottery Barn :), and it is called the Coco Dot. I love the turquoise and other colors. I also love the ric rac and the overall simpleness of it. I think it would be pretty easy to make, but I don't find it that bad of a deal at $159 for the set, especially if you have a coupon.

I might make the quilt with name appliqued on it like this (from Melissa at polkadotchair.com)tutorial found at Moda Bake Shop- so cute!

I also plan to keep the changing table/dresser turquoise!! So fun. It had painted it previously to be a buffet, but it will work much better for the baby's new room. Of course there will be a changing pad on top and some shelves added with baskets for decorations, toys, or books.






If I can convince my hubby, I want to add board and batten. Thrifty Decor Chick shows us how.

What do you think?

Beadboard Picture Wall

Wah lah here is my beadboard picture wall in my kitchen. I just love the way this turned out!!! So much brightness and a personal touch that can't be beat. I absolutely love looking at my cuties everyday.
And I just love my kiddie table and chairs.

Here is the before. Ugh so plain. Sorry to pain your eyes.


Now just for eye candy after that horrible before picture, here is a beautiful sunflower that we grew. Yumm just love it, and I can see it out of my kitchen window. Makes doing dishes a little better. :)

The custest little thing ever!

I love the way this turned out!! And it was so easy. It is so bright and fresh now!! What a difference paint makes.
First I scrubbed the grime off the old table and chairs then painted on 2 coats of primer. My daughter loved helping me with this.
This is what the table and wall looked like before.

I used spray paint for the chairs. Krylon is rolled back at Walmart for only $2.67 a can now. ;) The yellow is called Bright Idea.
Cherry Red for this one.
I used my lovely turquoise blue for the table and polyied over everything!
My girls love it just as much as I do! It's like she's hugging the table. :)

We are in the process of finishing up the bead board behind here. I also plan to put a picture/gallery wall above the bead board.

Happy 4th and a few "free" crafts

Hope you are having a great 4th of July! Oh how I love our new flag.
Best $10 for outdoor decor ever spent.
One of my favorite parts about the fourth of July is all the good food. I will be posting the best cake EVER- Fourth of July Cake. It is even requested for birthday cakes in the fall at our house.
My mother in law made these cute calendar blocks for me. One for everything month of the year. She is great on the computer.
When I get the "creative bug" I want to create now. So here are a few free crafts using supplies you probably have on hand:
Dress up your Scentsy with a little ribbon.
Using your scrap wood, paint, scrapbook paper, modge podge, ribbon, buttons and some stamps (or if your lucky your Cricut) you can make this.


Using some scrapbook paper, Elmer's glue, brads and jute make these cutie pin wheels.
Makes a cute banner or attach to a straw or skewer for a fun toy or arrangement pick. The rest of my banner was a craft fail- so I won't be showing you that. :)

Directions:

1. You can use double sided scrapbook paper or what I did was cut 2- 5 1/2 in squares and glue the papers back to back and press and dry under something heavy.
2. On the diagonal- corner to corner cut a line and stop about an inch from the center all the way around.
3. Punch a hole in the corners- every other one.
4. Gather the corners and put your brad through the holes then punch through center.
   
5. Punch hole in another corner to hang on a banner- or attach to a straw or wooden skewer for a pick. WA- LA!
   

HAVE A FUN FOURTH!!!

Dining Bench Completed!

Here is how I finished it!



It matches quite beautifully.

Here it is before the paint and stain. See this Post
And here's a sneak peek at what we are working on now. Any guesses?

To see the beginning of this project go here. The plans were based on Ana's at Knock Off Wood.

Big Reveal!!

Can you guess what we built today?


It's our new dining room bench! We got the plans from Ana at Knock Off Wood. Except her plans were for a 54 in bench so we modified it and made a 6 footer.
Now I just have to figure out how I want to finish it! I would love suggestions.



This is what my dining room looks like (well a few months ago actually). Now I need to tie in my rustic country bench and shabby chic dresser. Did I mention I found this table and chairs for $50 on Craigslist! See this post on my dining room.

And instead of the armoire I now have this blue buffet/dresser- see here. I am actually going to redo this look on another longer dresser I found recently. Ahh shoot me.

But I think it will be good, because this time I think I will leave the top brown to tie into the table better and darken up the blue a bit.
I love all the colors in this fabric.

No I am not afraid of color- but don't want to over do it.
Should the top of the bench be stained dark brown with the bottom painted blue/turquoise to match the dresser?
Should it all be stained to match the table?
Should I paint the chairs and bench a distressed black? Maybe with a little blue peeking though?
Should I refinish all my pieces?

Oh the possibilities! What would you do?