Sneak Peeks!

Since projects sometimes take me a bit longer than I'd like them to I thought I would post pics of the things I have been working on the last week or so. First up is the ladder back dining chairs. I really have to thank my wonderful friend Jamie for this one who volunteered to drive them from Utah to me and ever since then I have been sanding, priming, painting, distressing (is there any other way with kids), and coating in polyurethane. It's a good thing I did most of the seat cushions weeks ago but those still need to be covered in scotch guard as well...sigh...almost there! What do you think so far? Oh yes, and I am sure you haven't forgotten about this chair...I am really close to finishing this one...just a bit more tucking, stapling, covering in scotch guard, refinishing the legs, and last but not least sewing the cushion. I am loving how it has turned out so far but a bit bummed I have to purchase new foam for the seat cushion...it simply could not be salvaged and I am learning the hard way just how expensive a little piece of foam can be. I'll post more about that later when it is all done. So...does this make you want to try reupholstering something? Honestly, after the process I have gone through with this thing all by myself I think I will wait a while before trying to tackle something like this again :)

Some recent finds and a quick floor makeover

I have been finding nothing lately at the thrift stores but accessories...which I love but I am getting a bit frustrated with the recent lack of furniture I've been seeing as I browse. Either way I thought I would post "some" of them just for fun. Some of the frames need paint but other than that I will have do do very little to these gems other than keep the breakables far from my little guy...he's proving to be very good at breaking things lately. Hmmm, maybe that's why I like accessory shopping at the thriftstores. :) This is the lovely lanoleum floor in the bottom of my linen closet which also doubles as a laundry shoot (can't live without that)! Now, if this was tile I would have been able to appreciate it a bit more everytime I threw dirt laundry down, or opened up the cabinet door for that matter but it's not...so...

I took a few minutes (yes that's all it took) to cover that ugly stuff up with this more neutral, modern, and free (left from the previous owners) vinyl squares in the basement storage room. I even used my scissors to cut them rather than a utility knife (yes, very professional, I know). If you haven't used these before and you don't have the $$$ for tile I highly recommend them. The installation is so easy because they can go right over your old floor (they come with an adhesive back) and are very inexpensive as well.

I may even enjoy opening this door now...right after I magic erase those nasty marks on the baseboards, gross! :)

Treasure hunting...

Last week was beautiful...I mean the weather was, and that is something to treasure in and of itself in Idaho but it was great to get outside and go on walks with the boys and let them spend some quality time outdoors. I think we ALL needed some fresh air after being trapped inside for weeks due to the cold weather. One afternoon while "hanging outside" with the boys I opened up the shed/shop/barn. Yes we refer to it as any or all of those titles at our house. We bought our home a little over a year ago...from the original homeowner I might add. The house is old...but not that old. And in the end it was a compromising choice between my husband and myself. I wanted the 100 year old house in the city and he wanted something new on several acres in the middle of nowhere. Like I said it was a compromise that we were both willing to make and one we have both been satisfied with ever since. Back to my story...the previous homeowners were neat freaks in my opinion...even the realtor we worked with said they were a little "difficult" to work with when it came to showing the house because they were so disturbed by any traffic dirt that was let into the home by potential buyers. Well, the shop/shed/barn in the back was no exception. It was immaculate, complete with custom shelving throughout, electricity, and even a cute little window. He also left a few pieces of trim and boards in a neat little pile in the corner. I just love that man. Well, there is sort of an attic so to speak that I had never checked out assuming it was bare and clean like everything else we found when we moved in. For some reason I climbed the ladder to take a peak and to my surprise there was a little wooden box shoved in the corner. It looked very old but in the dark it was hard to see much of it so I tried moving it but it wouldn't budge. Upon opening it I found my own little "treasure" (as my four year old put it). Antique tools...and loads of them...mostly woodworking craftsmanlike stuff. Needless to say most have dates or enough information on them to figure out when they were made and sold. The ones I have researched so far date anywhere from the very late 1800's to the early 1900's. Very cool, huh!
Here's a few I set aside...love the wooden screwdriver and the cloth tape measurer!

Here's the box I found it all in...turns out it is the outside box of a 1939 radio. Anyway, I still need to go through the rest of the tools and I am hoping my dad can help shed some light on some of them because I have no clue! This may seem like something trivial to most but I have always LOVED all things old...maybe that's why my dream home is a hundred or more year old home :) Anyway, just thought I would share some of my excitement!

Rustic Shelf

Need a shelf? Perhaps something a bit rustic?

(click on the photo to enlarge and see details)

I did...and this was my easy, inexpensive solution. I took this old, weathered 4x4 post that was sitting in our wood shed. Then I banged it up a bit more using a hammer and any other hand tool readily accessable. Finally, I covered three sides with an ebony stain. Very easy, very rustic, and best of all problem solved :) Now I get to play around with different objects resting above...my favorite part :)

(The picture below is the only "before" shot I took)

(sorry the pic is sideways...can't figure

out why it keeps rotating when I post)

I'm linking to http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/ and http://decormamma.blogspot.com

A work in progress...isn't everything?

Last week I began the process of making over my laundry/craft room. I have avoided this since we moved in for one reason...paneling. I guess I should be grateful that it's not everywhere else in the house as well. On one side of the room there is a large countertop surface with built in cabinetry. Since we moved in it has sort of been used as a desk at times and other times a place where junk collects itself :)...please make me feel better and tell me everyone has one of these places in their homes. Across the room is this beautiful closet you see below (insert laugh here). Gorgeous isn't it? That's what I was thinking :) Since we don't need the hanger space I decided to do this with it instead... added lots of primer...

paint (in stripes, which I will never have the patience for again)...

And turned it into my own personal office space. I must emphasize that it is FAR from being completed. I still have trim to add around all the shelving you see, baseboards along the bottom, and some decorative touches as well as a light fixture hanging from above (lucky for me this will be easy with my dads help). Like I said, it is far from being completed but well on its way don't you think? The other side of the room...well that's a whole other project, not to worry I have already begun working on that as well I just need a break from painting paneling for a week or two :)

Lovely.

A while ago, I began helping a friend with her home. One of her top priorities was her little girls bedroom. As you can see from the "before" shot below, it wasn't all that bad to begin with...it just needed those little touches that when combined transform a room. So, here's a little sneak peak at how things are coming along :) This was once a coffee table (a very unattractive one, I might add) that Melissa (my friend) picked up at a local thrift store and with help from her willing and able husband, created this bench to sit at the foot of the bed. Gorgeous, isn't it?!

We found this chandelier together at a consignment store for $5.00! With a little spray paint and some shades it looks perfect in the room...wish we would have taken some "before" shots of these...they truly are transformed from their prior state!

Hope you all enjoy these little pieces of eye candy as much as I do!

Easy Peasy Frame Revamp

I picked up this heavy silver frame at the thrift store last week for a whopping fifty cents. Other than a few dings and scratches I thought it was beautiful the way it was...but after looking at it for a couple of days, I decided to dress it up a bit. Here's what I did: Cut out one side of scrapbook paper ( I just eyeballed this one till I got it right) and then used it as my pattern for the other three sides. Then, I coated each piece evenly with a generous amount of mod podge. Once each side was done I coated the top surface as well.Soooo easy and I just love how this turned out with one of my little guys faces inside!

I'm linking this post to http://decormama.blogspot.com/ and http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

My new little table...

I saw this cute little table at the thrift store last weekend and had to snatch it up (the $5.00 price tag(s) didn't hurt either...looks like someone got a little carried away with the price sticker gun :). When I got home my head began to fill with all sorts of ideas of different ways I could give this table a little love and a fresh new look to it's current state. Of course a little girls bedroom came to mind (too bad I don't have any girls!) , and then my sister suggested gilding it which I also loved, or painting it off white and putting a huge black vinyl monogram on it (sort of French like). ooh then chalkboard paint came to mind...but alas I decided to do this instead... First I lightly sanded over all the edges and spindle (no primer here since it was pretty scratched up to begin with). You'll see why I skipped sanding over the main surface area in a moment. Then I applied my dark gray/blackish paint with a brush and let dry.

I picked up some fabulous scrap book paper (vintage looking) and mod podged it onto the top and the bottom coating the underneath as well as the top of the paper. I used about one and a half pieces of the paper ($1.00)

Here's a closer look at the print on the paper...lovely.

And a closer look at the bottom. I forgot to mention that afterwards I sanded over the edges and in a few other places to give it a more shabby look. Then followed up with a thin coat of polyurethane to seal the deal.

Now...where to put it! I think I'll save this one for that guest bedroom I have been dreaming up in my mind for some time now :)

I'm linking this post up to http://missmustardseed.blogpot.com/ and http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

Low Cost Train Table.

When my four year old son asked for a train table this Christmas I thought surely I could find a suitable set for an affordable cost even if I had to buy a plastic one from Walmart. Then, I began shopping and let's just say I had no idea the cost of a train table these days! So, you guessed it...I decided to make one.
Here's where it all began...a $6.00 thrift store end table! I painted it black (paint I already had) and cut the legs and castors off to lower the heighth. Then (with my dads help) I took an old used round table with a laminate top on it (great for cleaning) and cut it into a square. My dad then cut trim to fit and nailed it in. Then I began to work out a layout for the track using existing pieces I had at home and some my dad picked up at a thrift store for $3.00. Once I had the layout arranged where I wanted it we (my dad and I) mounted the table top to the end table with screws.

Here is the finished product. I painted all the tracks and some of the pieces black as well because I didn't love how the wood looked against the tan laminate and I felt a colored track might be too busy (even for my little boys). Then I painted the trim a bright blue and glued (epoxy) it all in place...I know that most train tables come with tracks unattached but I didn't want to be picking up pieces all of the time and since this gift was for a 1 year old and a four year old to use together I thought it would be best to keep it all in one place.

Notice the built in drawer for added storage. I took the old hardware off and tied a red rope at both ends for easy accessability.

Well, that's it. Not fancy, I know but I think my boys will just love playing with this table and track set. Can't wait to see their faces in the morning! Oh, I almost forgot...total cost for this project was $30.00! Can't beat that :)!

Snowed in?

I just love the simplicity of creating your own paper snowflakes. It's so magical to me that something as simple as a piece of white paper and a pair of scissors can create something so whimsical and delicate, so uniquely individual in design. The suspense that builds while opening each one becomes almost addictive and I find it hard to stop once I begin. Either way it's a great way to release some creativity on a cold winter day :)