Little Bit of Paint

Master Bathroom Makeover: Part 2

2014-01-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

Do you remember this?

I know its been ages, I posted Part 1 back in October, but I'm finally going to show you what we did to the rest of my sister's Master Bathroom!

Wahoo!

Ok, first off, this is her tiny (and I mean, tiny!) toilet closet.

Before & After:

(I painted the cabinets in here the same time I did all the others)

We put in a half plank wall first using what's called hardboard. It comes in big sheets at Home Depot, and we had them cut the strips for us, about 4in wide. Then we glued them on using liquid nails, and topped it with a small pice of trim. Then we painted it white, and chose the same gray for the rest of the walls.

I love this look!

Next we tackled the bathtub!

Before:

After:

We thought it would be really fun to do a beadboard surround above the tub,

and put it directly onto the outside of the tub too! My sister was a little hesistant, but I convinced her and she loved it!

The only thing we did different with this part was that instead of using liquid nails (along with regular nails), we attached it with silicone adhesive. (Same adhesive that we used for framing the mirrors)

I hated her towel rod too, so we found an old shelf for $12, fixed it up, and replaced the rod

(this is the shelf before we "fixed" it!)

Pretty, huh?!

We finished off the bathroom makeover by replacing her old light fixture with a crystal chandelier (fake, of course) and adding some of my sister's personal touches!

I really wish this was MY bathroom! I think it is just beautiful!!

What do you think?!

Therena

Old Fence turned Stocking Holder

2013-12-22T11:44:00.001-08:00

Our house doesn't have a fireplace so I struggled this year finding a place to hang our stockings. Last year I hung them below our TV on the console. But this year my husband said "NO"! He hated it last year because they caused the remotes to not work! Oh, husbands!!

So when I found this old fence gate (for only $5) I thought it just might work! Plus, it was already green!

It was really dirty and the paint was chipping, so I hosed it down good, then gave it a quick sanding to get the big flakes of paint off.

Then I gave it 2 thick coates of polycrylic, added hooks, then added our stockings!

I was hoping to hang it somewhere, but our house doesn't have a lot of wall space in the family room, so I just leaned it against the wall, underneath Santa! It works!

May you all have a Merry Christmas!

Therena

Party Links:

Craft-O-Maniac, Life on Lakeshore Drive, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Its Overflowing,

By Stephanie Lynn

Holiday Wreaths

2013-12-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

This year I made myself a new wreath for my front door, and let me tell you, it was time for a new one! My old one was, well, old! And not just old to me! It was my mom's hand-me-down!

Here's my new one that I'm thrilled with:

But since I was so excited with how it turned out, I made a few more! Ha!

I made this one to hang in my entry way,

this GIANT one for my Mom (who also needed a new one),

and this lovely for my sister!

I love how different they all turned out!

Therena

Party Links:
Craft-O-Maniac, Life on Lakeshore Drive, I Should be Mopping the Floor,
By Stephanie Lynn

It's Christmas at Our House

2013-12-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

It's finally looking like Christmas around here! I LOVE decorating for Christmas, so this is our house at Christmas time!

Of course, one of my favorite spots...the porch!

I call this my "Pretty Tree". I love having the tree with all the adorable homemade ornaments from my kids, but THIS tree is in my music room and I love making this one "pretty"!

I just added little pops of red to these rooms to give them that Christmas touch:

Therena

Party Links:
Craft-O-Maniac, Life on Lakeshore Drive, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Its Overflowing, By Stephanie Lynn

My First Event!

2013-11-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

This weekend I participated in the Dirt Road Market in Queen Creek, AZ. It was my first time doing anything like this before, and it was so much fun! I was nervous about doing it because first, I didn't think I had enough stuff, and second, I'm always a little self-conscious of my stuff.

However, it went really well! I met a lot of fun, talented people that made me feel like I fit right in!

Here are some pics from my little space:

I definitely had enough stuff!

I liked it so much I already signed up for my next event in February! Yay!

Therena

Party Links:
I Should be Mopping the Floor, The Casual Craftlete

Shelf Made from Old Ceiling Tiles

2013-10-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

About 6 months ago I bought these old ceiling tiles from a guy that had torn them down from a restaurant in Scottsdale.

They are wood, and I thought I could use them for something. Plus, if I bought 10 or more the guy would sell them for half off! So of course I had to buy 10!

I tried decorating with them, but they never seemed to look good. So they have sat in my garage for the 6 months that I've had them!

But the other day I FINALLY came up with something! I decided to make a shelf using 3 of them.

I first cut a portion of them off to make them less "square"

Then, at Home Depot I picked up some wood and cute trim.

I drilled the wood to the tiles at the top:

Then I added the molding right below the "shelf" part. I also found these cute wooden shelf brackets at DI for $3! (I actually think they are for a screen door, but hey, they worked!)

Because I wanted my shelf to have a white distressed look, I first spray painted the whole thing black.

When it was dry, I put vaseline on the edges, and the places I wanted to be distressed. Then I finished with a white top coat.

Finally, I sanded her down and added cute coat hooks!

Isn't she pretty?!!!

I hung her in my entry way, which was in desperate need of something fun!

I had some leftover trim, so I also decided to whip up this little sign to hang from my new shelf!

I love, love, love it! What do you all think?!

Therena

Party Links:
By Stephanie Lynn, Nifty Thrifty Things, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Naptime Creations, Coastal Charm, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, Not Just a Housewife, I Should be Mopping the Floor, The Casual Craftlete, Alderberry Hill

Master Bathroom Makeover: Part 1

2013-10-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, my younger sister is gone to Michigan so hopefully I'll be back to posting regularly!!!

But I am so excited to show you this bathroom makeover! This is my sister's master bathroom that we fixed up while I was there in Texas!

This is my favorite room that we did! I think it turned out GORGEOUS! We did so much to it though, so I'm going to split it into two posts.

For this one I'm going to show you what we did to the cabinets and the mirrors!

Here is her bathroom Before:

My sister wanted her bathroom to be black/white/grayish with red accents.

She also wanted a Paris theme.

So we started by painting the cabinets black, and distressing them:

We also painted and distressed her existing light fixtures because they had nice details, and I knew they would look awesome with a little bit of paint! haha!

Ok, now this is my FAVORITE part!!!

Look at these fancy mirrors! Aren't they amazing?! The Lowe's in my sister's town carried this awesome trim. It is actually crown molding, but it is made of a dense styrafoam! It was perfect for this project because it is lightweight!

We glued it directly onto her builder grade mirrors with silicone adhesive.

So we first cut it to length, then painted it the same black as the cabinets:

After it was glued onto the mirror we caulked the seams and touched up the paint

Seriously, what a difference! I love how it made the bathroom feel so elegant!! Do you want to know how much it cost to frame these two mirrors? (which are huge, by the way!)

$90!

We could have never replaced those mirrors for that price! Love it!

For Part II of this Master Bathroom Makeover I'll show you what we did to the tub...and a few other amazing little projects!!

Therena

Party Links:
From My Front Porch to Yours, Shabby Nest, Love of Family & Home, Savvy Southern Style, Oh My Creative, By Stephanie Lynn, Nifty Thrifty Things, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Naptime Creations, Coastal Charm, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Not Just a Housewife, Domestically Speaking, I Should be Mopping the Floor, The Casual Craftlete, Alderberry Hill

A Little Bit of Blog Neglect...and a Halloween Craft!

2013-10-15T22:19:00.001-07:00

I have been a blog neglector!
There is a story behind this, its full of excuses, but I'll tell it anyways!
Last week was October Break for my kids, and we had been planning a big trip to Oceanside with the Taylor side of the family for over a year. Well, the week before was craziness, so I didn't have time to write a bunch of posts before we left. I did, however, have time to organize my photos and put them on a thumb drive so I could post while chilling on the beach. Um, yeah....the thumb drive didn't make it to the beach! Of course I forgot it!! I was bummed for about a minute, then decided not to worry about it, and to just enjoy my time with my family. So that's exactly what I did!!!

We played by the beach:

We panned for some gold, and rode a covered wagon at the

Mormon Battallion Memorial Site:

We got our fill of Legoland:

And I even managed to do a little shopping! First at this gem of a store:
Architectural Salvage in San Diego

This little store is a MUST if you are ever in the area! It is full of so many fun treasures!

Then on our way home we stopped at the Kobey's Swap Meet, where I found some items that will keep me busy for a while!

I really think I needed this time to relax and be with my family and not worry about anything. But I'm still struggling to get back into the swing of things. Remember when I said the week before we left was crazy?! It was crazy because I was watching my sister's 3 kids, one of which is the same age as my baby! I love her kids, the hard part is that they are moving to Michigan on Saturday! My only other sister is leaving me, and I start to cry every time I think about it. So I'm trying not to, but as Saturday gets closer, it seems to be the only thing I can think about!

Well, thats the end of my story! But since this is supposed to be a DIY/Home Decor/Craft blog, here is a little project I whipped up for Halloween.

I made this little Spooky sign the same way I made my Family sign (full post and tutorial here)

I am not a huge fan of Halloween, and I'm always thrilled when its over and can put away what little decorations I actually put out! (My poor kids, haha!) But this is my buffet all ready for

Halloween!

Thrifty Thursday: Fall Banner

2013-10-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

I made this little banner the other day in honor of this lovely fall season!

This little project took me less than 15 minutes to make, and cost me.....oh, maybe $5.00

These are the supplies I used, and I didn't go to the store to buy anything. I went to my scrap bin to find both colors of burlap, and I used ribbon I had that I thought went well with the burlap!

I cut the burlap into circles, cutting the green bigger than the brown. Then I stenciled onto the brown, glued them together, then strung twine through them like this:

(I used a hole punch)

I tied the ribbon on, and hung her up!

Simple little project, but I'm loving it! My mirror was needing a little something, and this worked out perfectly!

Therena

Party Links:
From My Porch To Yours, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Embracing Change, The Shabby Nest, Love of Family and Home, By Stephanie Lynn, DIY Showoff, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Skip to My Lou, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Casual Craftlete, Naptime Creations, Coastal Charm, Mod Vintage Life, A Stroll Thru Life, Craft-O-Maniac, Home Coming, Love Grows Wild, Sugar Bee Crafts, My Uncommon Suburbia, Alderberry Hill

Boy's Bedroom Reveal #1

2013-10-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to be showing you one of my boys' rooms! I finally finished the Music Room, which is my 6 year old's bedroom. He requested the Music theme, but I mixed it with an Industrial look, and he couldn't be happier!

This locker was a STEAL! A guy on Craigslist sold it to me for $30! It was in really good shape, so I just painted the doors with Martha Stewarts Metallic paint

And my favorite part about this locker is that it hides all my son's "treasures"! (He is such a packrat)!

I found lots of goodies at a Vintage Market in downtown Mesa, like this fabulous chair and tub!

Going with an Industrial vibe also made it easier for me to incorporate some of my son's "treasures"

that he refused to hide in his locker (like his Knight statue)!

Therena

Party Links:

Reasons to Skip the Housework, Embracing Change, The Shabby Nest, Love of Family and Home, By Stephanie Lynn, DIY Showoff, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Skip to My Lou, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Rain on a Tin Roof, The Casual Craftlete, Coastal Charm, Mod Vintage Life, A Stroll Thru Life, Craft-O-Maniac, Home Coming, Love Grows Wild, Sugar Bee Crafts, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

A Small Update in the Kitchen

2013-09-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

This is my sister's kitchen. It is a lovely kitchen, so we didn't have to do much in here.

But do you see her poor island?!!

Those noodles had to go!!!

For one, they were not my sister's style, and second, they even opened to allow her two year old to scatter them throughout her house!

We decided to remove the noodle cabinet faces, replace the glass with beadboard, then paint the island white. We thought this would also brighten up the kitchen a bit since it doesn't get much natural light.

So we started by having Blane (my sister's awesome hubs) knock out the glass from the cabinet face. We then attached beadboard in its place with liquid nails. We also glued the cabinet face to the island so it would no longer open/close, then caulked the edges.

When the noodles were taken care of, we started painting. Instead of sanding we started with a coat of Cover Stain and then finished with a white semi-gloss.

Doesn't it look amazing?! Just one little update in this kitchen made a HUGE difference. And it definitely made the room feel brighter!

My sister also wanted me to decorate above her cabinets, so I had lots of fun doing that!

I tried to use some of what she already had, but we incorporated some fun pieces we found at her local antique mall and thrift store

Here is her kitchen all finished!

I think it turned out beautiful!!!

Therena

Party Links:
By Stephanie Lynn, Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Showoff, Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, Life on Lakeshore Drive, The Casual Craftlete, A Stroll Thru Life, Farmhouse Porch, Rain on a Tin Roof, Naptime Creations, Coastal Charm, Mod Vintage Life, Miss Mustard Seed, Reasons to Skip the Housework, From My Front Porch to Yours, Embracing Change, The Shabby Nest, Love of Family and Home, Skip to My Lou, I Should be Mopping the Floor, A Stroll Thru Life, Home Coming, Love Grows Wild, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Thrifty Thursday: Large DIY Pallet Frames

2013-09-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

I am STILL plugging away at my boys' two bedrooms! I am so close!! This week I made 2 large pallet frames, one for each of them.

I'll show you the one for the Star Wars room first:

I found this awesome canvas print on Amazon for only $12! It is huge, and I thought a thick pallet frame would look really good with it.

So for this one, I measured my pallet wood, cut it at the 45 angle on my chop saw, and then used these

L brackets from Home Depot:

I painted the frame black, then stapled the canvas to the back of the pallet frame:

I love how this looks, and how big it is...and for only about $15!!

Ok, here is the next one I did, for my other son's room. His room is "music" but I've tried mixing that with an industrial vibe.

I found these tin letters at Hobby Lobby, and thought they would go really well in his room.

For this pallet frame I didn't want mitered corners, so I left them straight, and then stained the wood darker.

Next I attached chicken wire to the back of the frame. I should have used staples again, but I used nails...not sure why! lol

Then I hung his tin letters onto the chicken wire, spelling out his name.

This frame is really big too!

Once it was all hung, I decided to added screws to the frame, where the pieces come together, just to give it some character

Because I bought the letters on sale, this project cost me only $15 also!

So for a total of $30, I was able to make 2 large art pieces for my boys' rooms!

I love that... and my boys were thrilled when they came home to find them hanging in their rooms!!

Therena

Link Parties:
Tatertots & Jello, From my Front Porch to Yours, Embracing Change, The Shabby Nest, Love of Family & Home, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters Stuff, By Stephanie Lynn, Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Showoff, Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, Life on Lakeshore Drive, The Casual Craftlete, Rain on a Tin Roof, Naptime Creations

Vintage Inspired Laundry Room

2013-09-22T10:26:00.001-07:00

I am so in love with this laundry room!

This is my sister's laundry room that we worked on while I was there.

It is a pass-through laundry room, and this is how it looked before:

My sister really likes my laundry room, and wanted her blank wall to have a similar look to mine.

Here is a picture of mine (full post here):

She was also dying to have a pallet sign like mine. In fact, I was just going to bring her mine, but I couldn't get it to fit in my suitcase!

But we started with the beadboard and trim. We used actual beadboard on hers, not the wallpaper like on mine.

Then, luckily we were able to get a pallet from a construction crew that was happy to get rid of it.

So I made her a sign similar to mine:

Next we added cute coat hooks from Hobby Lobby:

Then we decorated the other side of the room where she has a shelf and upper cabinets. Before I got there my sister had found the blue sewing machine and iron, so we thought it would be fun to use those, and incorporate a few other vintage looking items!

Since I've been home I had started making small changes to MY laundry room to give it more of this look...that's how much I LOVE this laundry room!!!

Therena

Party Links:
By Stephanie Lynn , I Should be Mopping the Floor, Keeping it Simple, Huckleberry Love, Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Showoff, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Craft-O-Maniac, The Casual Craftlete, Coastal Charm, Love Grows Wild, Nap-Time Creations, Sugar Bee Crafts, Rain on a Tin Roof, Skip to My Lou, Mod Vintage Life, A Stroll thru Life, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Not Just a Housewife, Savvy Southern Style, Clean & Scentsible, Fluster Buster, Oh My Creative, Tatertots & Jello, From My Front Porch to Yours, Embracing Change, The Shabby Nest, Love of Family & Home, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters Stuff, Farmhouse Porch

Thrifty Thursday: DIY Pumpkin Topiary and Fall Porch

2013-09-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

While I was decorating my porch for this lovely Fall season, I made this cute pumpkin topiary (I'm not sure what they are really called, so that's the name I picked for it!)

This project took me about 15 minutes, and cost about $35.

All of my supplies came from Wal-Mart. I used 3 plastic pumpkins, 3 autumn leaf garlands, and 3 small green pumpkin picks.

First, I pulled the top stems off two of my pumpkins, then hot glued them on top of each other.

Then I took the leaf garland and wrapped it around where the pumpkins glued together, gluing the garland in place where it needed it.

Next I took my small pumpkin picks and glued them on where I liked them. I only used 3, so I placed them all on the side I knew would be the front of my topiary

When I was finished, I drilled a small hole in the bottom pumpkin and attached a short dowel rod. Then I staked it into one of my existing pots on the porch:

Here is my porch, complete with my little pumpkin topiary!

Therena

Party Links:
By Stephanie Lynn, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Keeping it Simple, Huckleberry Love, Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Showoff, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Craft-O-Maniac, The Casual Craftlete, Coastal Charm, Love Grows Wild, Nap-Time Creations, Sugar Bee Crafts, Rain on a Tin Roof, Skip to My Lou, Mod Vintage Life, A Stroll thru Life, Not Just a Housewife, Savvy Southern Style, Clean & Scentsible, Fluster Buster, Oh My Creative, Tatertots & Jello, From My Front Porch to Yours, The Shabby Nest, Love of Family & Home, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters Stuff

Small Bathroom Makeover

2013-09-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

I am finally home from my crazy fun trip to Texas! I went to help my sister fix up her new house. They just moved there from New Jersey, and they went from a very small home to a much bigger one! So they are still working on trying to furnish it, but we did manage to update and beautify certain areas that were needing it! We were up past midnight most nights, but it was so fun, I loved every minute of it! We even squeezed in a few days to shop and decorate!

I wasn't quite sure how to go about blogging all of our projects, but finally decided to just do it by room.

So first I'm going to show your the little powder bathroom we fixed up!

This is how it looked when I left:

My sister wanted a beachy theme for this space...pretty cute, right?!

Before I got there, I had my sister paint the walls in Valspar's Jekyll Grand Dining Sea Mist:

This is how it looked when I first saw it:

So the first thing we did was paint the cabinets white, and distress them:

This alone made such a difference in this bathroom!

We also painted the existing mirror. My sister HATED it and wanted to replace it, but because I'm so cheap, I suggested we paint it to see if it would change her opinion of it....and it did!

We decorated using some antique glass bottles and fun seashells.

While my sister lived in New Jersey, they found this beautiful horseshoe crab that was fully intact. She wanted to incorporate it somehow, so we got a basic white frame from Michaels, backed it with muslin, and attached the crab with hot glue:

I also made her this fun pallet sign (my tutorial found here):

I absolutely loved how this bathroom turned out!!

Therena

Party Links:
Savvy Southern Style, The Shady Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Oh My Creative, From My Front Porch to Yours, I Gotta Create, Fluster Buster, Posed Perfection, Shabby Creek Cottage, Embracing Change, The Blissful Bee, By Stephanie Lynn, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Keeping it Simple, Huckleberry Love, Nifty Thrifty Things, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Craft-O-Maniac, The Casual Craftlete, Coastal Charm, Love Grows Wild, Nap-Time Creations, Sugar Bee Crafts, Rain on a Tin Roof, Skip to My Lou, Mod Vintage Life, A Stroll thru Life, Not Just a Housewife, Clean & Scentsible

Thrifty Thursday: Thrift Store Wreath Transformed

2013-09-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, before I get into my wreath transformation, I have to mention a few things!

First of all, tomorrow I am heading to Texas for over a week! I have not been able to contain my excitement for days! My sister and her family just moved there from New Jersey, and because they plan to "put down roots" there, they bought a house! So I am going to help her with all of her DIY projects, painting, and decorating. And did I mention I'm going solo....meaning no kids?! Oh yeah! My sister has 3 boys too, but to go by myself is just fabulous!

Anyways, so I will be somewhat MIA until I get back. But when I do, I'll have LOTS to blog about :)

Secondly, I fixed my profile so I'm no longer a No-Reply Blogger!!! So sorry, I had no idea I was, and now its fixed! Yay!

On to my wreath: This is the finished product!

While I was browsing the thrift store the other day, I came across this cheezy, ugly looking wreath. But it was only $6, so I got it thinking I could probably do something with it to make it pretty! It doesn't look so bad in this picture, but it was! It just looked really cheap...the leaves are stiff and spindly!

So I first added some orange and yellow burlap. I looped it around the wreath, hot glueing it where I thought it needed it. Then I added some pine cones (which I also found at the thrift store...$2). And finally I glued some little "pumpkin picks" that I found at Wal-Mart for $1.97 each.

I was able to turn a cheezy thrift store wreath into a nice, pretty one for about $20! I think it was worth it....have you seen the prices for wreaths lately?! No thank you!!! lol

Have a fabulous week! I'll be back in about a week!

Therena

Party Links:
I Gotta Create, House of Hepworths, Tatertots & Jello, By Stephanie Lynn, Savvy Southern Style, The Shady Porch, Oh My Creative, Fluster Buster, Posed Perfection, Shabby Creek Cottage, Embracing Change, The Blissful Bee

Refinished Antique High Chair

2013-09-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

Because of the long Holiday weekend I wasn't able to get much done. I spent most of my time just being with my family! We had our older boys the whole time, which is rare for us, so it was SO nice!

I did, however, finish a project for a friend. She brought over her antique high chair that she wanted me to refinish for her.

She wanted it white, and of course distressed!

Here it is Before:

It is a beautiful chair with nice details

I used my homemade chalk paint, and went with Valspar's Betsy's Linen.

Then I distressed, and topped it with Polycrylic!

It was the perfect little project to do over the weekend! I hope you all had a fabulous

holiday weekend too!

Therena

Party Links:
Fluster Buster, The Shady Porch, DIY by Design, Savvy Southern Style, Domestically Speaking, Green Willow Pond, Clean & Scentsible, Not Just a Housewife, Oh My Creative, I Gotta Create, From My Front Porch to Yours, Miss Mustard Seed, By Stephanie Lynn, The Blissful Bee

DIY Burlap & Metal Ribbon Pumpkins

2013-09-01T11:09:00.003-07:00

I LOVE Fall!
I've been going through my bins of decorations all week, getting ready to transform the house! As I was going through my stuff, I found these wicker pumpkins I've had that have always bored me, so today I'm going to show you how I spruced them up using burlap and metal ribbon!

You will need:

wicker pumpkin

burlap

metal ribbon

floral wire (plain wire will work fine too!)

hot glue

*Most of my supplies came from Hobby Lobby & Michaels*

I used 2 different styles of wicker pumpkins, but the process was the same for both.

First I took my burlap and cut it into thin strips, making sure it was long enough to wrap around the pumpkin

I took the strip of burlap and tucked it into the top of the pumpkin, leaving a few inches loose. Then I looped it around to the other side, and did the same thing.

I repeated this process, leaving a space in between each strip for the metal ribbon

When I finished looping the burlap, I took floral wire and wrapped it around the loose ends of burlap to secure them

Next, I took my metal ribbon, cut it to length with wire cutters, then pinched the ends into a point,

like this:

I looped the metal ribbon around just like with the burlap, but I hot glued the metal at each end,

near the top of the pumpkin.

To finish it off, I took another small strip of burlap and tied it around the floral wire.

Isn't it cute?!

Here's the other one I made:

The only thing I did different with this one was loop the metal ribbon first, before the burlap.

But I'm loving how they turned out...not quite so boring!!

What do you think?!

Therena

Party Links:
DIY Showoff, Nifty Thrifty Things, Pink When, By Stephanie Lynn, Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Casual Craftlete, Huckleberry Love, I Should be Mopping the Floor, One More Time Events, Life on Lakeshore Drive, A Stroll Thru Life, Farmhouse Porch, Coastal Charm, Love Grows Wild, Naptime Creations, Adventures of a DIY Mom, Sugar Bee Crafts, Skip to My Lou, Rain on a Tin Roof, Mod Vintage Life, Fluster Buster, The Shady Porch, DIY by Design, Savvy Southern Style, Green Willow Pond, Clean & Scentsible, Not Just a Housewife, Oh My Creative, I Gotta Create, House of Hepworths

Tatertots & Jello

Thrifty Thursday: Sheet Music Wreath

2013-08-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

Do you all remember these?! I'm pretty sure I missed the boat on them...by a few years!!! But I've always loved them and have always wanted one! Unfortunately, I've never really had a spot for one before, so I all but forgot about them.

But then a few weeks ago while I was out shopping the garage sales, I came across this beauty for $5, and I remembered! And on top of that, since my latest Living Room rearranging,

I knew I had the perfect spot!!

I love how discolored and worn the pages look!

I didn't really know what I was doing when I started, but it took me all of 20 minutes to make!

It was super easy!

This is what I did:

First, I found a piece of thin cardboard (I used a cereal box from the recycle bin).

I estimated the size I wanted, cut it out, then cut the middle out

Next, because I didn't want my wreath to be too huge, I ripped the pages in half before I rolled them. Once they were rolled, I stapled the skinny end

Then I just went around my cardboard circle, hot glueing them in place

I ended up doing 3 layers of the rolled papers. On the final layer, I folded the part that was stapled under the cardboard and glued it there, to cover up all the rough edges and so no staples were visible.

To finish, I found some scrap lace I had that I thought was pretty. I just glued it on top, then added a little lace flower I made with a gold button!

I hung it with twine over the antique window I have in my Living Room!!

Before:

After:

I'm LOVING it!!

Better late than never, right?!!!! I'm just thrilled to finally have one hanging in my house,

and for only about $5.00

Therena

Party Links:
The Shabby Nest, The Pin Junkie, Love of Family & Home, Reasons to Skip the Housework, The Crafty Blog Stalker, The Frugal Girls, Posed Perfection, French Country Cottage, Made in a Day, Living Better Together, Craft Dictator, Too Much Time on my Hands, Its Overflowing, Tatertots & Jello, DIY Showoff, Nifty Thrifty Things, Pink When, By Stephanie Lynn, Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Casual Craftlete, Huckleberry Love, I Should be Mopping the Floor, One More Time Events, Life on Lakeshore Drive, A Stroll Thru Life, Farmhouse Porch, Coastal Charm, Love Grows Wild, Naptime Creations, Adventures of a DIY Mom, Sugar Bee Crafts, Skip to My Lou, Rain on a Tin Roof, Mod Vintage Life, Fluster Buster, The Shady Porch, DIY by Design, Savvy Southern Style, Green Willow Pond, Clean & Scentsible, Not Just a Housewife, Oh My Creative, House of Hepworths

Updated House Tour

2013-08-27T17:34:00.000-07:00

It has been FAR too long since I've updated the "My Home" tab at the top of my blog! I've made so many little changes here and there around the house over the past few months, and since I've been working on updating it, I thought I'd devote a post to it as well!

So here ya go....!

My porch...one of my favorite places to decorate!

Entry

I call this my Piano Room

Dining Room

We spend most of our time here. I love this room!

My kitchen

Our room

and our bathroom

This is the playroom/second family room?!

A peek into the baby's room

powder bath & office nook

another bathroom

Laundry room

Mudroom & a shot of my Craft Room....the rest is a disaster! Haha!

There you have it, and now the "My Home" tab is up to date! I'm going to try harder this time to keep it updated!

Therena

Party Links:
Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Clean & Scentsible, Fluster Buster, Green Willow Pond, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Not Just a Housewife, A Stroll Thru Life, Made to be a Momma, I Gotta Create, Someday Crafts, Shabby Creek Cottage, From My Front Porch to Yours, Sugar & Dots, Oh My Creative, The Blissful Bee, Newlywed Pilgrimage, House of Hepworths, Embracing Change, The Shabby Nest, The Pin Junkie, Love of Family & Home, Reasons to Skip the Housework, The Crafty Blog Stalker, The Frugal Girls, Posed Perfection, French Country Cottage, Made in a Day, Living Better Together, Too much Time on My Hands, Its Overflowing, Tatertots & Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, DIY Showoff, Nifty Thrifty Things, Pink When, By Stephanie Lynn, Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Casual Craftlete, Huckleberry Love, I Should be Mopping the Floor, One More Time Events, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Farmhouse Porch, Coastal Charm, Love Grows Wild, Naptime Creations, Adventures of a DIY Mom, Sugar Bee Crafts, Rain on a Tin Roof, Mod Vintage Life

Guest Post: Fall Mantle from Mabey She Made It

2013-08-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday!
Today is a first for me!! I have my first guest post from Lisa over at Mabey She Made it! I am so thrilled to have her, she is so cute and crafty! She is also a new blogger, so be sure to go check out some of the other stuff she has done!

*****
Hey there, Little Bit of Paint readers! I’m Lisa from Mabey She Made It, a crafting and sewing blog full of ideas and tutorials. I am so glad that Therena has let me in on her little piece of the web for a day to share an autumn-inspired project!
Autumn is my favorite season, but it always seems so fleeting before the winter cold comes. But as far as decorating goes, I keep autumn around for months. I love the rusty oranges, neutral browns, and pops of yellow, green, and even blue. It's so beautiful! I knew I wanted to create an autumn mantle around this old window I got a while ago ($15 for a matching pair) and this photo I captured of my family last year. I love the autumn colors and the way it stands out against my aqua walls. When I got the window, it had lots of places where the years of paint layers had completelychipped off leaving bare wood. I love the weathered look, but it just didn't look right with all those big sections of bare wood. So out came the scraper and paint. I scraped down the frame so there wasn't any flaking paint, then evaluated. Most of the frame was absolutely beautiful, so I left it alone. Then, in the bare sections, I painted a layer of teal then a layer of green, then a layer of white paint to mimic the layers already there. After it dried, I sanded down the areas and roughened them to blend into the rest a little better. Add a photo, and I love the way it looks. I also wanted to add some other fall colors in, so I pulled out my ink and watercolor paper and got to work. First, sketch a shape; it doesn't have to be perfect--the sketch won't be there at the end. Then start filling in your sketch one color at a time, letting the paper dry in between each application. Layer more colors on for a richer look and add some details. Once it's dry, take an eraser and erase all your pencil marks. Frame that baby, and you've got unique artwork! Put all together, this is what your autumn mantle decor looks like. Thanks for letting me visit! And, if anyone wants to see more fun projects and ideas, don’t hesitate to visit me at Mabey She Made It. See you there!

*****
I love the simplicity of her mantle! Gorgeous!
Thanks Lisa!

How to Hang Plates on the Wall

2013-08-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after I posted my Plate Vignette, I had many people asking me how I hung my plates on the wall! I don't know why I didn't think to include that in my post!!! So, anyways, I thought I would really quickly show you what I did to hang my plates:

**Side note**

Don't forget that all my plates came from Goodwill/Dollar Store, so I had no problem doing this!

You will need:

paper clip

felt

hot glue gun

Twist open your paper clip, then cut it in half with wire cutters:

Next, cut out a small piece of felt. Then put some hot glue onto the back of your plate:

Press the open end of the paper clip into the glue, then press the felt on top of the clip:

That's it! That's how I hung my plates!

The best part is that it was quick, easy, and cheap...!

Therena

Thrifty Thursday: New Plate Vignette

2013-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to jazz up the space above my dining room hutch, but wasn't quite sure what to do. I've seen all these lovely plate walls and vignettes, so I headed to Goodwill and the Dollar Store to find me some plates!

This is what I came up with:

I actually shopped at home first before heading to the stores.

The only plates that I had to use were the 2 blue ones:

The plain white ones came from the Dollar Store, and the rest came from Goodwill!

So I was able to change this (blah):

Into this!!! For only $15

Therena

Party Links:
Reasons to Skip the Housework, Oh My Creative, Embracing Change, French Country Cottage, The Pin Junkie, All Our Days, The Shabby Nest, Love of Family & Home, The Grant Life, Remodelaholic, Tatertots & Jello, Its Overflowing, Six Sisters Stuff, By Stephanie Lynn, Nifty Thrifty Things, Craft-O-Maniac, The Casual Craftlete, Huckleberry Love, Keeping it Simple, Pink When, Rain on a Tin Roof, Skip to My Lou, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Home Coming, Coastal Charm, Love Grows Wild, Naptime Creations, Adventures of a DIY Mom, Sugar Bee Crafts, Mod Vintage Life, Be Betsy, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Clean & Scentsible, Fluster Buster, Green Willow Pond, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Not Just a Housewife, A Stroll Thru Life, Made to be a Momma, I Gotta Create, Someday Crafts, Shabby Creek Cottage, From My Front Porch to Yours, The Blissful Bee, Newlywed Pilgrimage, House of Hepworths, Too Much Time on My Hands

How to Strip Veneer & a Dresser Makeover

2013-08-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

I finally finished a dresser that I found at Goodwill a few months ago! I fell in love when I saw her, but she definitely needed some work!

This is how she looks now:

But this is what she looked like when I bought her:

Two of her drawers had lost most of the veneer, and the third was cracking!

And the top!! Oh, it was disgusting! But she had some pretty details that I couldn't resist.

Normally, when I see furniture with veneer that is cracked or peeling (like this piece), I tend not to even bother with it. Veneer is not easy nor fun to deal with, in my opinion!!! Ha!

However, I figured a few drawers wouldn't be too bad!

This is the method I use to strip veneer:

First of all, I get a very damp cloth. Then, working in small sections, I lay the cloth over the veneer, take a hot iron, and press it firmly onto the cloth. I hold it there for about 30 seconds or so before removing the iron.

Then I take my scraper and slowly peel off the veneer. The moisture from the cloth and the heat from the iron loosens up the glue, making it come off quite easily. If it doesn't, I go back and repeat the process until it does!

This method works really well, its just time consuming and tedious! Not my favorite thing to do!

Anyways, once I removed all the veneer, there was still some glue residue on the drawers, so I sanded them down, getting them as smooth as possible.

Then she was ready for the fun part!! Although her top was nasty, I loved the dark color, so I gave the top a good sanding as well, and restained it in Minwax's Special Walnut.

I chose Betsy's Linen for the body of the dresser, and went with Shiitake for the drawers.

Then I distressed her and gave her some new knobs!

I think she is just gorgeous, and worth all that veneer stripping!

Oh, and I almost forgot...I paid $20 for her at Goodwill, and the knobs cost $14 at Hobby Lobby.

The paint and stain were leftover from other projects,

so the total cost for her was $34!

Therena

Party Links:
Not Just a Housewife, The Winthrop Chronicles, Fluster Buster, Clean & Scentsible, The Shady Porch, DIY by Design, Savvy Southern Style, Be Betsy, Domestically Speaking, Craft & Repeat, The Koenigs Create, From My Front Porch to Yours, Someday Crafts, Made to be a Momma, Sugar & Dots, The Shabby Creek Cottage, I Gotta Create, Glamorous Affordable Life, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, The Blissful Bee, House of Hepworths, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Start at Home, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Oh My Creative, Embracing Change, French Country Cottage, The Pin Junkie, All Our Days, Miss Mustard Seed, The Shabby Nest, Love of Family & Home, The Grant Life, Remodelaholic, Tatertots & Jello, Its Overflowing, Six Sisters Stuff, By Stephanie Lynn, Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Showoff, Craft-O-Maniac, The Casual Craftlete, Huckleberry Love, Keeping it Simple, Pink When, Rain on a Tin Roof, Skip to My Lou, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Home Coming, Coastal Charm, Love Grows Wild, Naptime Creations, Adventures of a DIY Mom, Sugar Bee Crafts, Mod Vintage Life, Be Betsy, Green Willow Pond

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Funky Junk Interiors

Bedroom Set Makeover

2013-08-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago I refinished a bedroom set for my 8 year old niece. It was the set she has been using, and the bed frame and dresser were actually her mom's (my sister-in-law's) furniture from when she was a little girl. I thought that was pretty cool! They were in the process of moving, so we thought it would be a good time for a change...so little Bethany could have cute new furniture for her new room!

I picked out colors that I thought would match her new quilt. For the bed frame I went with

Valspar's Churchill Hotel Vanilla

For the dresser and night stand I used Churchill Hotel Vanilla also, but I painted the drawers Shiitake

I picked out a cute knob from Hobby Lobby for the night stand that I thought went really well with the quilt!!

Because the night stand was laminate, I decided to go ahead and use Cover Stain on the entire set before I painted it.

Here is the dresser before it got it's makeover:

It was a fun project! I got to do what I love AND hang out with my sister-in-law, who watched my baby while I painted!!

Therena

Party Links:
Nifty Thrifty Things, By Stephanie Lynn, Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Pink When, DIY Showoff, Huckleberry Love, The Casual Craftlete, Rain on a Tin Roof, Home Coming, Coastal Charm, Skip to My Lou, Nap-Time Creations, Sugar Bee Crafts, Love Grows Wild, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, A Stroll Thru Life, Adventures of a DIY Mom, The Winthrop Chronicles, Fluster Buster, Clean & Scentsible, The Shady Porch, DIY by Design, Savvy Southern Style, Be Betsy, Domestically Speaking, From My Front Porch to Yours, Someday Crafts, Made to be a Momma, The Shabby Creek Cottage, I Gotta Create, Glamorous Affordable Life, The Blissful Bee, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Start at Home, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Oh My Creative, Embracing Change, The Pin Junkie, Miss Mustard Seed, The Shabby Nest, Love of Family & Home, Tatertots & Jello, Its Overflowing, Six Sisters Stuff

Let's Connect!