Heirloom End Table

I am very excited to share this project! This old table was left at my grandparent's house. It was so blaw. The one great quality it has is that the top is cut out with a piece of glass sitting in it. It was calling for me to put pictures under the glass. Here is the before:

A Haunted House

I haven't been this excited about fall in a long time. I think it is due to the horrible heat we had this summer, and the fact that I get to make cool fall projects! When I saw this paper mache house I just knew I couldn't wait to work on it!

"It's a New Week" Inspirations

Today I am going to show some of my favorite finds on Pinterest. I hope they spark some ideas for you. Here is to a new week of creativity!

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Wine Cork Ornament

I have to admit that I got this idea on Pinterest. Once again, I wish it was my own. One thing I have learned though from doing projects is that they are still always unique. We all still put our own style into our work so our finished project is still our own! I got this idea from http://liliannagrace.blogspot.com/2010/11/wine-cork-ornaments.html

Here is a picture of one of the finished ornaments:

Supplies Needed;
Wine Cork
Charm
Three buttons that have at least two holes
Jump Ring 9mm
Cord (I found in Jewelry Dept at Michaels)
Glue (I used Goop)
Pliers
Drill and Bit
Scissors
Ruler
I left out a button, ruler, and the Goop in the picture below.

The first thing you do is measure out about 18 in of cord with the ruler. Then you take your pliers and hook a jump ring to your charm. Then thread the charm through the cord just like if you were running it through a necklace. I used a wine glass charm from Michael's. Next you thread each piece of cord through one of the button holes with the front of your button facing down.

Next you drill a hole all the way through the wine cork from top to bottom. Then run your two pieces of cord through the cork. Then take a little bit of glue and glue the bottom button to the bottom of the wine cork.
Next you run two more buttons of choice (I glued the bottom one to the top of the wine cork) through the cord like you did the bottom one.Then make a loop with the cord like you are tying a bow, but do not make a knot. Last take the cord and judge how big you would like your last loop (what you would hang from a tree) and tie a knot and cut off the excess.
You now have an ornament to give to those you love you also love wine! Another idea for these is to turn them into key chains, just buy the large rings at the craft store. I am going to try this next. Here are my finished ornaments! Don't forget to make one for yourself!

4th of July Wreath

I got this project idea from the link below. Thanks to A Night Owl Blog for sharing this project! Really all I changed was the bow which has cute fireworks on it. I made this for my parents. They moved recently, and they have a pretty front door that they needed a wreath for.  I hope you like it!



A Night Owl Blog: {Thrifty Thursday} A Memorial Day Tulle Flag Wreat...: Well I bet you weren't expecting to see something so fluffy and festive on this Thrifty Thursday, now were you? And you might be asking...

Outside Wall Decor

I got this great idea from another blog at www.inmyownstyle.com. The link to the post is http://inmyownstyle.com/2012/05/how-to-make-outdoor-wall-art.html. I loved the idea so much I made some of the art and hung them on our screened in back porch. I used thick poster boards I got at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 each. I left one whole and cut the other one in half for two pieces. I then purchased two color coordinating vinyl table cloths at Walmart. I cut them and taped them around the boards with packing tape. I then hung them with 3M poster sticky strips.

I decided to take it a one step further, since it will be in my protected porch and thumb tacked pictures of us at summertime, or doing outside things to the front of the boards. I am thrilled with how they turned out! I am one step closer to my back porch makeover reveal!

Check out www.inmyownstyle.com for this and other great project ideas!

Back Porch Cabinet Redo

When the back porch was emptied after my grandma died this cabinet was suppose to be put in the dumpster brought on site, but I put a not on it to leave it for a redo. I have to say this is not much of a "redo" in the traditional sense, but it is pretty much what I had in mind. We have redone the porch with mostly "nature" decor. The cabinet was in really bad shape, so I decided to do very little to it other then paint it. It was missing a glass door on the front. Most of the shelves were all bent from the weather and the back and top were caved in because they are made of that very thick cardboard. Paint was chipped off almost completely and the handles are rusted. Every part of the cabinet would have to be replaced and to me that would mean we weren't really keeping my grandparent's cabinet, so I left it almost the same.

All I did was took the other front glass door off, sanded off the rest of the excess paint and then cleaned and painted it. I even left the rusty handles. I think it actually looks pretty good considering the shape it is STILL in. Ha Ha! 

I know my grandparent's would be so happy to see all of the items we are still using in the house! I have only three small projects left in the back porch and I can show all the room makeover pictures! I can't wait to share!

More Barrettes

I decided to make more barrettes today for some of the cute little girls I love! I was feeling patriotic and thinking of summer. I wanted to make a gift today to post on my other site at www.lovelyactsofkindness.blogspot.com. Here they are......

Mini Succulent Gardens

Hi everyone! I have really missed your company. This post is all about my mini gardens. These are just a few of the ones I made today. I am thinking about selling them. There are endless possibilities to making them adorable!
Here is how I assemble them:
Choose succulents and container
Add layer of pea gravel to bottom
Next add layer of sand (These are both to help with drainage)
Then I place a small amount of potting soil (cacti soil) is best. This is found at garden centers.
I then place the succulents (some stepables will work as well. I prefer short plants)
Last but not least I add the mini decorations

Succulents need a lot of light, but they need little water. If placing your succulents outside, water about once a week or when soil is completely dry. Also, bring inside when outside temperatures are below 40 degrees. If keeping your mini garden indoors, water only about once every three weeks or so, and keep in the sunlight. I love miniatures, so I believe one of the best parts is finding all of the tiny decorations to place inside.
If you decide to make your own succulent garden please share pictures on my blog!

Well it's about time! Chair Redo Complete

Sorry folks! I know I promised the chair to be finished awhile ago, but I have had some personal things going on that delayed it. I am happy to say it is finished, and I love it! It is now sitting in my bedroom where I can look at it everyday. I will show pics of our bedroom when I get it all finished. I will be posting the before pictures of it soon.

Chair Redo for My Bedroom

Good day! I am sorry I have not posted for awhile. I played over the weekend, and then I have been sick for a couple of days now.
I purchased this chair at the consignment shop where I also purchased the Annie Sloan paint. I didn't intend to buy anything but the paint, but when I saw this chair I knew it was for me! Here is the before picture.

More Spring Barrettes

These are the latest Easter/Spring barrettes I have made. I am starting to LOVE making these. I took the last ones I made to my nieces yesterday, and they just loved them and looked adorable in them. Like I explained in my previous barrette post, I found templates on Google Images. I simply typed in what I was looking for and they popped up. I then saved them to my computer and used photo software to re size them to what I wanted. I then cut out the felt to match, and used fabric glue to glue the felt to other felt pieces, and used Goop glue (my favorite!) to glue the felt to the barrette pieces. I hope you give it a try at making some of these. Please post back pictures of your finished work. I would love to see what you come up with!

Wooden Name Clips

I finished the wooden name paper holders. My mother has a huge cork board in her house that she loves to hang pictures of her grand kids on, and she also likes to hang up art work that they do. These name clips will be perfect for her board! They are bright and colorful too, so I am sure the kids will love them also.

A Mushy Post

Hi all! I have a DIY for you today that is close to my heart. I am REALLY sharing today. I actually did this project a couple of years ago but thought it would be great to share. I like to keep things that are sentimental to me. I am a very lucky girl in that my husband is great, and we have a really good relationship. Over the years we have left each other many notes and cards. I was trying to think of something to do with them and came up with this. All you need are the following:
Pictures of you and your spouse/boyfriend
Notes and or cards left to each other
A picture frame
Scissors
Scrapbook tape

First I cut out the parts of the cards that I liked. Then I opened up the frame and laid the pictures, notes, and cards on the inside of the frame, and arranged them the way I liked. I then cut some of the pictures to fit. All that is left is to attach them with the scrapbook tape, or I like to use the little squares. Then you close up the frame, hang it up, and look at it and smile as you think of all those wonderful memories!

Finished End Table Redo

I have finished the end table. This was my first experience using Annie Sloan chalk paint. I drove almost an hour to get it. I almost put it back several times because of the cost, but I am really glad I didn't.
I really wanted Antique White, but they were out. I ended up getting the color Old Ochre. In my opinion it is between a cream and light tan. I am so thrilled now that I got that color. It goes so well with my decor and I think it looks great distressed. Once again I learned so much from this project. I found I applied it too thick to some areas. This caused those areas to not dry as smooth. It still looks great, but not as good as if I had used thinner layers, and PATIENTLY waited to add more coats. The paint is thick and goes a long way. I only used about a fourth a quart for this table, which really helps justify the cost.
All I did for this table was clean it very well, paint it, distress some areas with sand paper, and then spray a matte clear protective coat. I was going to use Annie Sloan wax, but I had read on some other blogs that it is not as protective. I knew we would be sitting drinks on the table, so I opted for the polyurethane instead.
I used the wax on my wine rack I recently posted about instead. I liked the look it gave the rack, but even after several days I can still feel it. I am not sure how I feel about it yet. I will have to apply it to some other items to see how it works.
In the picture you can see that I added a dark brown basket to the bottom shelf. Also, I want to add that this paint went right over the stain with great coverage. I didn't have to sand the table whatsoever. A definite plus to me, so thumbs up to Annie Sloan paint!