Two'fer One~

Its a two'fer one post....and.....

I am making over my front patio area for the upcoming summer months. Most everything on my patio is from thrift stores or yard sales! Here is the messy/unkept before photo~ Here is the after photo..... It doesn't show up well, but there is a huge flower ball hanging from the center of the gazebo :-) Alright, it is not a HUGE difference... but I did do a lot. I added stuff, pulled the weeds out of the brick, built an arch/planted some climbing roses.... and added some fabric to the table! Scroll down to see the photos :-)I don't do anything to the porch area during the winter months as it is toooooooooo cold for me to work out in the yard! I purchased the round gazebo a few years ago from Big Lots for only $200 buckeroos~ The white chairs are from a thrift store.... (I once had them inside my house) The metal table was another thrifted find ($40 bucks) All the "extra" odds and ends and doo-dads are things that I don't really want anymore-- and wouldn't be to terribly upset if they were stolen misplaced. I used a duvet cover from the Pottery Barn to make a table cloth and I also covered some pillows and covered a small bench and used some of the fabric as ribbons on some of the statues.... I think its cute. Again, my thoughts are "more is better" The little metal fence pieces I picked up for $1 buck each. I got a total of 5!I used wire to attach them to the gazebo and then I covered the wire with a torn fabric ribbon-- caute! This little angel I wired directly to the small rose bush as our paper boy man is probably a retired pitcher from some baseball team because he seems to hit everything I put outside. The bird bath was $15, the bird house was $2, the 2 miniature rose bushes with the pottery pots were $3 each.This cement urn was a dollar at a yard sale.... I added the nest, moss and the dried flowers & eggs...Here is a bunny wearing a matching ribbon made with the same fabric as the table & bench~ (I bought 5 bunnies for a dollar each) the white wire bird cage was $10 bucks (still working on straighting that sucker out) The "welcome" sign was $2 bucks...Here is a little rusty tricycle given to me by a friend that I spruced up... I don't really have a place for it just yet...but it will work its self into some little spot. The basket was $1 buck lolThis wooden "object de'art" for lack of a better word is just filled with more odds & ends. All of this "stuff" was free or nearly free. The broken shovel head says it all "Garden of Weedin" A rusty wagon also given to me by a friend..... filled with stuff sits in a planter near the gazebo... all the pots also were given to me~Here is a little half table that has no place inside anymore...so out it went onto the patio. (yes, thats dirt on the top of it, it just recently rained!) The rose in the pot was $1, the metal candle stick with the glass top was .50cents, the bunnies with the pots were $2 bucks (I have two) The heart wire bird cage was $3 bucks, the table itself was $3 bucks... the metal bird feeder on the ground was $7, the blue flower pot was $3~This two balled wire topiary form is one of 3 that I picked up for $1 dollar each. I just used some silk ivy greenery I had stashed away to make it come alive~ see my two wooden cats in my window.... I love cats.This wrought iron bakers rack my dad made.... now it holds a lot of my overflow from my house. The white truck behind it is a 1964 (year I was born) Falcon truck it was a gift for one of my birthdays from my hubs.This white basket was a freebie at a yard sale. It is perfect for holding long stemmed roses and cuttings from plants that I can easily transport to my gardening bench. (which is the table lol) this summer I will cut a piece of wood for that big whole in the middle. I think I'll drill around the wood circle and lace it to the metal basket with wire~This white metal stand was $5, the bird house $1, the vintage wooden 7-up crate on the bottom shelf was $1. The large blue pot was $5-- which holds another one of those 2 tiered topairy forms ($1)

I picked up the wire tray for $1, the wire teapot was .50cents, the wire cups & saucers .25cents and the metal plant stand $2 .....and just attached everything together with wire for this little vinette. The black garden thingy was $1.If you would like to see more make-overs stop over at Jens blog "Sanctuary Arts at Home" she is hosting a monthly Mr. Linky for make-overs! *woot-woot*

If your wanting to see other peoples Thrift store finds check out the Mr. Linky over at Dianes blog "A Picture is Worth a $1,000 Words" If you have linked here and wish to view more of my blog you can click here!

Hall tree~

This hall tree I have had for about 5 years. It was originally a dark-dark wood which I painted white. I closed in the bottom part and made it into a cat bed :-) It has been like this for a looooooooong time. Never quite finished.... I've dragged it out to sell at yard sales...I guess $30 bucks was to much to ask for it...cause I always had to drag it back in. Now that I've added some brown paint to it making it look a little more "shabby" and of course covering the cushion for the cat bed (not that they have EVER slept in there) I'm liking it! and its no longer for sale lol

Here is a close up of the cat bed.... it doesn't look so "obviously" distressed with paint in person!

Centerpiece party~

With 3 indoor cats...a 22 month old grandson and my grandaughter's impending birth tomorrow! and worst of all...a "hashy-husband" this is all I could muster~ I'm keeping it super-simple! The candlesticks are my favorite! They are heavy metal that have been painted white.... I know, kinda dismal~ but things are hectic right now! lolCindy at "My Romantic Home" is one of the hosts for this centerpiece party. Susan who is in Between Naps on her Porch lol...is also hosting this party! If you've linked here... you can view my complete blog here.

Taming Kid-clutter party!

Wendy at "The Shabby Nest" is hosting The Taming your kids clutter party. I am looking forward to seeing some new ideas and possibly adding them to my own decluttering endeavors!

My child... is a married 23 year old who is the mother of a 22 month old baby boy. The "kid clutter" in my house is all the toys this Nanna needs to keep her little love-bug grandson happy! The first photo is the all important diaper changing table. I picked up this vintage beauty for FREEEEEEEEEEE off of Craigslist. It had the original finish which I easily painted over with white paint then I added new drawer pulls to update the look a little bit. It holds a lot of essential things like diapers, wipes, bibs & blankets... and the top drawer holds things that I pull out on occassion to keep my grandson from throwing a tantrum while his diaper is getting changed! The gold caddy was another freebie, at one time I think it held office supplies. The pony normally doesn't stand in front of the changing table-- but it is so darn cute I had to display it. (you can see the $2 dollar vintage ponies transformation here) Here is a 3 wicker basket etagere stand that I picked up for $30 buckeroos (off of craigslist) The whole thing was originally yellow, I painted it white and made the liners for each basket. It now holds Mr. Potatoe head parts and race tracks and other odds & ends~The bookcase I picked up for $8 bucks at a yard sale is jammed packed with pop up books and early reading books. The table and chairs I picked up for $8 dollars as well (yard sale) right now I've got them pushed up against the bookcase since he has no interest in sitting still or reading at this young age. But when he is ready...I'm ready!Finally, some toys. I put together this $1 dollar wire rack (yard sale find) and purchased the baskets off of craigslist (I love that site) for $2 dollars each.... I loaded up each basket with toys and weeded out the "junkie" toys as I went along. When my grandson gets older I will get larger baskets or bins to fit into each little cubbie :-)Lastly, my grandson's toddler bed. (I recently made over this vintage toddler bed, you can view that transformation here) This bed is at my daughter's house, under the checkered flag bedskirt of his bed is two flat under the bed plastic bins- full of his blankets, and bedsheets. Things you need....but never can seem to find in the linen closet when your looking for them! I thought that was a great idea for storing bed linens, under the bed!If you've linked over from The Shabby Nest and wish to view more of my blog.... click here for a lookie-lou.

Show & Tell~

Here is a little dresser that I picked up at a yard sale for one dollar. This photo shows exactly how it looked when I bought it...... slightly sanded, knobs missing, and two colors of paint. I must admit, I've kept it this way for about a year! I just stuck it in my studio, filled it with items and have been happy with it ever since..... until now. This little dresser is getting a makeover~ Here is the BEFORE photo:
Here is the AFTER photo: *My very first tutorial* Woot-woot~

Here is an EASY-PEASY tutorial on how I did it:

I wiped the whole thing down with a wet towel to remove all the flaking paint and dust and in keeping with my shabby chic style-- painted the whole thing white. I didn't sand anything on the dresser, figuring on using those bits of globby paint to my advantage when antiquing it later. Once painted, I wanted to add some of those wooden appliques that everyone is just wild about....but heck, it is just a flimsy one dollar dresser, so that seemed absurd. Soooooooooo I got out one of my many stencils and I set out to stencil on some joint compound to give it the "appearance" of a wooden applique.

Firstly, your needing some joint compound, a putty knife (I use a stir stick instead), a stencil of your choice, some tape, a ruler & pencil. Thats it~ Next, if your centering your design like I did-- find the center and mark the spot with a pencil to help you align your stencil... next, just tape your stencil down. (yes, that is paint on my stencil, I do not wash the paint off of my stencils)Now, comes the fun part. You just take some of your joint compound and spread a nice coat of it on top of your stencil. No worries, don't stress-- it does end up looking fabulous-- promise! While this is setting up a little, I draw the center on the next drawer...so I would say about 2 minutes max. That seemed to work fine for me~ Next, you just pull up your stencil. Keep a good grip on it as its going to be heavy with the excess joint compound on it. (Place the stencil onto newspaper or scrap paper so you don't get anything on your work surface) If for any reason your not happy with the results, simply wipe off the joint compound while it is still wet, with a wet paper towel, and start over! (I had to wipe off a finished drawer as I noticed I had applied the stencil upside down lol) At this point you want to tap down any large peaks or wipe away any mistakes or globs. Again, no biggy-- enjoy the process~ When your ready for the next drawer, simply pick up your joint compound ladden stencil and reapply to a new drawer front. You do not have to clean your stencil between each drawer...unless your extremely messy and it is necessary! Repeat this process until all the drawers are completed. Let the newly appliqued pieces dry for 5 hours or more....until everything is dry to the touch. At this point you can either use your nail or an razor blade to cut off any bumpy bits --if you want to. Don't sand it or it will crumble completly off. To clean your stencil, simply scrape off remaining joint compound and put back into the container. Try to wipe off as much of the compound as possible (I use toilet paper, it is softer and less harsh on the stencil than paper towels) and toss the tissue into the trash. Just rinse the stencil under hot water while rubbing the stencil gently and the joint compound washes away. Next, I painted over the raised area with the same latex house paint that the drawers had been painted with. I put two coats on each drawer, once the paint has dried comes the super fun part! Antiquing! I used a nutmeg brown paint watered down and applied randomly with a large brush. I then used my fingers to rub the watered down paint all over the piece. I had to rewet my fingers a lot to keep the paint moving in an even coat. If it sets up and looks awful-- just rewet the area and run your fingers/hand across it until you like the looks of it.Looks good huh? If at a later date I feel I want it to be lighter, I'll just wet it and rub more off. Lastly, just take a brown ink pad.... I used a color called "chocolate chip" and rub it along the edges and raised areas of your piece. This is when the piece really comes to life. Here is my one dollar dresser all finished with its new knobs and freshly appliqued painted surfaces ready to be used once again! (I bought a bag of 24 of these knobs for $2 bucks) Here is a close up. Doesn't it look neat and super old? Not to bad for a dollar dresser~

You can view more Show & Tells on Kelli's blog. If you've arrived here from "There's no place like Home" and wish to view more of my blog, you can click here.

Playroom~

I finally got around to hanging up my shabby chic curtains in my computer/play room :-) I think they look darling~If you look on the wall to the right, I created that wall treatment :-) I saw a photo in a magazine once, tore out the picture as a reminder... and I just whipped it out. It truely was easy-peasy. (this has been up for quite sometime) I first found the center of the wall and nailed the first board up with paneling nails. Here is a view to the left.....I just measured, cut, and nailed it all together. I did add those square doo-dads as well. I got a bag full of them for $3 bucks. (I think at the hardware store they are $3 bucks each) I then added the shelf to the top of it to house all my extra "stuff" that I buy from from various places. I then just painted it all white, everything looks better with a fresh coat of white paint! Here is a view to the right..... I need to take down the wreath...it is centered over one part of my sectional couch, but it looks kinda out of place now lol-- it is the glittered balls on it that speak to me..."keep me up" they say lol