I finished!

All finished!

Here's the fabric I intended on using to recover the chair...right up until I found my 4 year old cutting it up! Actually he didn't cut very much but just enough to prevent me from using it. I'm sure I can find another use for it but it was a maddening experience at the time :)

The new and improved chair with a fabric much more my style and only $4.00 a yard! I really didn't think I would be able to finish this for a while but it took alot less time to recover than I thought it would...I was able to start and finish the whole recovering in the time my 1 year old was napping today (2 hours 10 min)! It doesn't get any better than that! Hope you like!

Coming soon...

Perhaps this "before" image does not inspire you...I am hoping my "after" will. I was really hoping to have this finished by now but due to other circumstances that I will not take the time to go into I'm afraid it won't be finished until sometime this week...or next :) Anyway, just thought I would post this as a teaser until the big reveal. I paid $8 for this old thing and once completed I think it will be a perfect addition to my bedroom. Stay tuned ;)

It's all about presentation...isn't it?

My sister has a friend who recently did this and I loved the idea so I picked up some random plates at the good old D.I. and some candle holders. I spray painted some of the bases because they were silver or gold to begin with and then with a little epoxy glue created unique pedestal stands to serve Christmas goodies on this holiday season...it's hard to believe something so cute could cost less than those ugly plastic trays from Walmart! I can't wait to see some homemade fudge resting on these plates!

Thrifty organization

I found these metal filing drawers for $2.00 each last week at a thrift store and couldn't resist snagging them since I have been in desperate need to organize my supplies once and for all. I used 1 can of spray paint to brighten them up a bit and there you have it... I feel fortunate to have a large craft room in my home that I can work in and now I won't be going through every other drawer and room in the house trying to find a certain pair of scissors to use on a project...well, that's it now back to work :)!

An early start.

I know, I know it's barely November and here I am posting about Christmas already but before you condemn me let me explain my reasons for doing so. After putting away my Halloween decorations the other day I pulled out a couple of boxes of Christmas decor. As I looked at the same old ornaments I have been using for the past three years or so I realized how boring and uninspiring they were. I separated all of the colored balls and glittered icicles from the other ornaments and that's when I decided to change things up this year. I want to create a timeless look for our Christmas tree and using what I already had I began to paint and refinish ornaments and so far am loving the transformation from the old tired look I had before. This year our tree will be adorned by varying picture frames reminding us of the relationships we hold most dear to our hearts. I am just getting started but because I am shopping thrift stores for these items I have to start early in order to have it completed by the end of November. I can already picture the end result and although it excites me I am refraining from turning on the Christmas music until after Thanksgiving...so there you have it, what are you doing to spice up your holiday decor this season?

Wall Photo Collage

Check out the Saturday Night Special #9 Party at http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com where I uploaded this project to a list of so many other DIY inspirational projects and add your own!Seriously, there is no end to the talents and creativity out there!
Ever have a hard time deciding which photos to hang where or have hard time combining different types of frames? I think this is a great way to display a variety of favorite photos without going overboard on the wall. For these collages I used modge podge and applied it to the back of the photos as well as to old canvas' and a wooden box. I painted the outside edges with some brown craft paint as well to sort of unify the three since they all vary in thickness and size. I love how they turned out against my new burnt orange wall (autumn ridge is the official name of the color, although my son insists the color is called "red brown"). I bought the paint two years ago and unfortunately they no longer carry it but luckily can match my existing color since I have a little left over to finish the rest of the hallway. Here's a closer look at one of them...I think the hardest part was deciding where to put each photo...so many possibilities!

$15 end table

Today I set out to find a pair of chairs for the end of my bed (I have been looking for some time now) and as you can see I was still unsuccessful...but, I did find this great end table for only $15.00! It is a good solid piece and for the price I simply could not pass it up. Here's the before pic I took when I got it home (don't mind the sippy cups)! A little scratched up here and there and the top was a mess but mostly it just needed to be cleaned up. After a fresh coat of paint and a thin layer of polyurethane on top! I LOVE how it turned out with little time, effort and cost on my part! It was a good day...but I am still on the look out for those chairs :)

The sideboard...

This belonged to my husbands great grandfather who passed away a few years back. It was a bit scratched and the bottom of one drawer was slightly broken as well. Thankfully my sister in law was headed to the thrift store to donate it when she stopped by my house first to see if I wanted it. Anyway, I painted it as you can see, lined the drawers with some toile wall paper, and added a painted branch with a few blossoms. It has served our family well and we love having something old in our house that once belonged to a dear family member.

Designer pumpkin?

How are you dressing up your pumpkins for Halloween? I decided I already have enough "scary" decor for my two little boys to handle this year and opted to paint a pumpkin instead of carving one the traditional way. This is what I came up with and surprisingly it ended up taking less time than carving! I just used some left over toll paint and freehanded a little design (black and white would also look great but I didn't have any black tool paint on hand)...I think it would look great with a striped small pumpkin sitting next to it...hmmm, maybe I'll do that later this week :) Let's hear your ideas about how to jazz up some pumpkins this year!
P.S. I found the old iron candelabra at a thrift store last week for $1.00...perfect for halloween decor don't you think!

Craft fair inspiration

Just a few tools needed: shadow box (or you could make this part, I just happened to have an old one on hand), tape measurer, wood for the back of the box and front piece (I used a scrap bead board paneling piece that the previous home owner left in the shed), some kind of saw to cut with (I just have a scroll saw but a jig saw would also work great) staple gun, paint, flowers, dried or dry silk ( I saw several boxes with dried wheat in them today and it looked really great as well).

This is a shot taken waiting for the paint to dry.

Here is the ALMOST finished project...I just need to place a silver plaque over the front wooden piece with a word of choice cut out. I'm leaning towards "Cherish" right now...does anyone know where I can order on of these?

I (like many of you reading this) went to the local craft fair today. It was fun to look at all the great things and different ideas people had come up with. The only problem was (in my opinion) everything was SO EXPENSIVE! Cute or not, it was hard for me to buy anything knowing that I could make most of the items myself. So...I went home and rummaged through my basement storage and came up with this project. Thank you craft fair for lending me your inspiration today...boxes similar to this one were going for $50.00 and up! My total cost: time!