Sow's Ear

My Little Christmas

2015-12-18T11:00:00.001-05:00

Well, I must say the past two weeks have been sprinkled with challenges instead of glitter. Physical issues, emotional hurts, car issues, phone issues...(long drawn out sigh). BUT!! I refuse to allow these to dampen my Christmas merriment.

I was going to post some detailed DIYs for some of my creative outlet creations, BUT, do to tech support help with a hard reset on my phone, I lost all my "during" photos. Yep, even with being helped, step by step, my phone deleted all photos from 2015 and ALL of my text messages. See? I told you there have been issues.

So, instead, I'm going to do a quick post with photos. For some of the projects, I'll give simple instructions.

This is my little front porch all decked out for Christmas. I wanted to keep all of my decs sparkly, neutral and simple. Most of these were items that I already had. A simple tree, old sled with live greens and monogram arrangement are the large pieces for this vignette. The owl wreath and pail are the little highlights and the chevron rug anchors it all.

This is a close up of the pail. I had the galvanized bucket as well as mirrored ornaments and the matte silver ones. For the snowballs, I covered styrofoam balls (which I already had) with Snowtex paint (which I already had.) It makes for a little bit of chilly atmosphere, even though we haven't had a day below 50 degrees.

The arrangement on the sled was made from cuttings from our boxwood bushes, the Christmas tree and the white pines from the back yard. The "B" and the ribbon were from a previous year's decor. the jute ornament I made with an old ornament, some white glue and jute string. Remove the ornament top. Starting at the top, smear about 1/2 an inch of glue around the top toward the bottom of the ornament. Lay the jute on in a spiral down the sides of the ornament. Once dry, replace the top. Voila' a rustic chich "new" ornament.

The owl wreath was one of my favorite creations this year. I purchased the owl and the ribbon. Everything else was created from my stash - the greenery, the sparkling buds. The pine cones camer from the back yard. Every hard core crafter has a stash, right?

I made the rustic paper ornaments from styrofoam balls (from my stash) and old book pages. I cut the pages into squares that were approximately 2 inches in diameter. I didn't measure, just folded and cut. I then took the dull end of a skewer, placed it into the center of the square and loosely folded the square up around the skewer. Placing a dot of hot glue on the paper at the skewer end, I placed each square on the ornament. I know it sounds boring, like watching paint dry, but the fulness of the squares hides a lot of area. These really were quick and they look really Pottery Barn-esque. Once the glue was dry, I spritzed each ball with watered down brown craft paint.

For the dining table, I wanted to keep it a little rustic, but still sparkly and light. I did purchase some items for this arrangement. The chalkboard runner was a lucky find at a Tuesday Morning - one of my favorite home dec stores. You never know what you're going to find! I also purchased the clear dinner plates. I already had the silver chargers, the tray, the candle votives, the vase and ornaments.

For the chargers and plates, I found some cheap chalboard wrapping paper at our local Target. Since the plates were clear, I traced aroun the bottom center edge of the plate, cut the circle from the wrapping paper and simply placed the paper under the dinner plate.

Another project in the dining room is the buffet. The compote was left over from a previous display. The beaded runner was a new purchase. To craft the "JOY" centerpiece, I purchsed two dutout letters from Michaels, as well as the three inch grapevine wreath. To create the "JOY," I spraypainted the letters with a dull silver spraypaint. After this was dry, I sprayed again, this time with Krylon Lookinglass Paint. While this was still wet, I dabbed at it with a plastic bag. This gave the letters some texture as well as a zinc or galvanized look. I hot glued the wreath between the letters, and placed the bottle brush trees and deer in the middle of the "O". The snow is acutally nothing more than epsom salts. It sparkles like ice.

The mantel is up next. Wow! I've been busy. Thank goodness I've been working at it slowly. Again, I wanted it to be sparkly and light. LIghts, viler, and white. I'll let it speak for itself.

I have decided that the pine cones blend in with the stone a little too much. So, I put them in some diluted bleach last night. Have you ever seen bleached pine cones? Gorgeous!! We'll see what they look like later today. I can't wait. Maybe I'll put an updated pic in once they dry.

So, that's it! It looks like a lot, but Christmas and decorating are two of my favorite things! That sounds like a song,,,,

Anyway, thanks for following along and for understanding the technology fail and other challenges. I hope I inspired you to use what you have, with very few purchased new items. It's amazing what a little time, creativity, and ingenuity can do!

If you're struggling through this season with emotional, physical or financial struggles, I hope that you can focus on the little bits of good that WILL appear. Look for them. Be intentional about seeing them and recognizing them. They really are everywhere. Ask for them. He's more than willing to give good gifts.

Hoping that you have an enchanting, full-of-delight Christmas. May it be filled with comfort, peace, kindness and beauty.

Until next time,

Mister, Mister

2015-09-17T13:48:00.001-04:00

Hello, y'all. Yes, it's true the South is creeping into my vocabulary. And despite living here for almost two years, I'm still being told that I am the one with the accent. Funny! I guess the Buckeye takes a while to melt away.

Well, the major house renos will shortly come to an end. Kids and hubs are going to school and working. So, I'm finding myself with more time to be creative in some not-so-labor-intensive ways.

I dove back in - or at least dipped my toes in the water - with some smaller projects. You might have seen a couple of them on past blog posts, such as the typewriter earrings http://bit.ly/1FPF0P8 and my Home with You wall art http://bit.ly/1NFXoCa .

Well, last week, I actually lugged a ~~hoarded~~ stored piece from the garage to the basement. This piece was once a simple but gorgeous vanity, but had seen better days. The bottom shelf was missing, it had a dime size burn hole in the top and the knobs were all askew. I had a lightning bolt of creativity and decided this piece might be better as two instead of one. In order for that to happen, some surgery needed to be performed. It included cutting the remaining bottom shelf off. (Excuse the knobby knees in the pic. My husband had the saw in hand and was antsy to push the on button)

After cutting the shelf out there were two issues that needed to be solved before proceeding: filling in the slot where the top shelf had been attached to the sides; finding four more legs because now there were two tables instead of one vanity.

The first issue was the easiest. There were a couple of ways to attack this problem. I could have used wood filler or joint compound. I chose the joint compound. Here's why. Wood putty might have been the better choice due to its strenth, but it would have been a little costly to fill in a slot 3/4 of an inch wide and 2 feet long. That left the joint compound - yep, that stuff you use on your sheetrock walls to make them nice and smooth. Here are the reasons why I opted for it. It would give me the working time to fill the slot in completely, it would dry quickly and I could sand it quickly and easily.

When I was happy with the sanding, the pieces were ready for paint. Both tables were given two coats of General Finishes Lamp Black Milk Paint. It's not a true milk paint. It's a latex, but I love the true black color. It's also very self-leveling. It leaves almost no brush marks in the paint. Just the look for these two little guys.

The second issue, the legs, gave me a little more puzzling than the slot. At first, I wanted them to match the existing legs. They were chunky and little mid century looking. I searched ebay and Amazon. I found a couple of possibilities, but they were costly. My next thought was to look at some home improvement sites. Maybe there were some options there.

The legs had to be at least 5 inches long. After some more searching (Phew!) I found them! They were longer than I needed, but they were affordable ($2.98 each) and easy to get.

Although these were a little too long, if I chopped them off right above the the first taper, they were the perfect length. (I always have a small tape measure in my purse. You never know....) I purchased 4 and took them home to my vanity.

I removed the 2 existing legs on the front of the tables, moved them to the back and applied the 4 new legs to the fronts of the tables. Here you can see. Even though the front and back legs don't match, they work and the chunky back legs give the tables a lot of stability.

I know you must be thinking that there was a lot of prep work for 2 little tables. Honestly, even though it was quite a bit, it was easy and fast. I knew that the end result would be worth the couple of hours I spent filling, sanding, and moving and adding legs.

Now that I was ready to paint, I noticed that the tables had a masculine feel even with the new curvy front legs. You know, if you wait long enough the pieces almost tell you how to restyle them. I don't know if it was the scent of leaves in the air or the end of summer, but I wanted this piece to have a cozy fall feeling - sweaters, hot tea, bonfires and hayrides. But I also wanted to keep them a little masculine with little dashes of femininity scattered in.

I knew they had to be black. I knew that I wanted to camouflage the burn and the divots from the bent knobs. That meant using paper to decoupage. I usually opt for painting, but this felt right for these pieces.

I always keep an eye out for deals and interesting things for my pieces. I already had a typographic wrapping paper that I had purchased a year or so ago to use on the tops. I found samples of a gray and tan flannel print wallpaper for the drawer fronts (it reminds me of a sweater) and I had picked up some black and white knobs a couple of months ago at a Home Goods store (I think they were Cynthia Rowley). All of these were purchased at different times. I had no solid plan to use them, but I have a small stash and I'm always looking.

I applied the wallpaper and wrapping paper with a wallpaper paste. For me, wallpaper paster has more open working time than a product like Mod Podge. Apply the paste with a large paintbrush. Use more than you think you'll need. The excess is easily smooshed out using the side of a credit card or plastic putty knife. When the paper is nice and smooth with no bubbles, clean up the top surface and under the edges with a damp towel. I let mine dry overnight. Then, using a sharp utility blade I ran the side of the blade along the edges of my pieces, using the cutting edge to trim the papers. This makes neat, clean edges. Anything that wasn't nice and clean is easily made that way using a piece of fine sandpaper run smoothly along the edges of the paper.

After cutting and sanding the paper, the little white edges of the paper will be visible. This is easily remidied by just applying a little more of your basecoat paint to these edges. You don't have to be very neat with this. As long as you're not a turtle, the wet paint will easily wipe off the papers with a damp paper towel or rag.

After putting the drawers back in the tables, the typographic paper looked a little too brown. I wanted to gray it up a bit. The paper had a slight sheen to it, so I knew that it was coated with some kind of finish. Using a large brush, some water and my black paint, I dipped the brush in the water and then into the paint. Working quickly, I brushed the paint over the brown paper in large, messy swaths. Then using a dry paper towel, I moved the paint around and wiped it off until there was just enough glaze left to tone the brown down a bit.

The paper on the right has been glazed. If you look closely you can see the wash. It's a very subtle difference, but it made ALL the difference.

All that was left to do was to protect the tops with some polyurethane and add the knobs. Iuually use brush on varnishes, but in this case I used spray ons. I was afraid if I used a brush on varnish, the paper would change color. Now, these pieces won't get a lot of wear, but the tops needed to be water resistant. They got two coats of a spar varnish. Spar varnish is made for outdoor use and it's very water resistant. It's even used on boat hulls. Then, they got two coats of a spray on satin polyurethane.

Finally!!! It's so exciting to see a piece come together and finished. The knobs!! The piece de resistance!! Ugh...after I got the on, they almost disappeared on the black and tan background paper.

Back to another search: this time for some backplates. Again, ebay, Amazon, home improvement websites. I knew the backplates had to be a little masculine to counter balance the feminine drawings on the knobs. That meant angles not curves.

I always strive to be frugal with my revamped pieces. Spending $4 - $8 a piece wasn't going to work. I finally found the exact backplates and they were only $1.98 each! The only problem was they were silver, which would again disappear on the black and tan paper.

To fix this, I primed them and painted them a solid satin black. I also gave them several coats of the same satin polyurethane that the tops had gotten. Now, they were PERFECT!!

I put them on an angle under the beautiful knobs. What a difference a little black paint made. They were finally done!!

I hope you found this post informative as well and enjoyable. As always, comments and questions are always welcome. Don't hesitate to interact!!

Enjoy your day!

This post has been shared on http://diyshowoff.com/category/other/that-diy-party/

http://www.itsoverflowing.com/2015/09/rise-and-shine/

The Big Break!

2015-08-05T11:29:00.003-04:00

The Big Break

Wow! Time really Does fly! Where has the last year gone? I just realized that because of all the work we've been doing here at home, I haven't done any furniture updates. My focus has been on updating our out-of-date-but-beautiful home. We've updated every room; some major updates - such as the kitchen; some minor updates; but there's not a room that hasn't needed some repair and updating. http://bit.ly/1o9uQyl

We're on the last leg!! I can't believe it. The light is in sight. The furniture in the garage is calling my name and soon I'll be able to start redirecting those creative juices back where they belong! Meanwhile, I HAVE been doing some smaller projects. Let me show you one.

I'm one of those people who love giving personalized gifts. Although some people love getting gift cards for department stores, I rarely cave and buy one. Only in certain circumstances. In my quest for a personalized gift for my daughter, I ran across an item that's called a wrap bracelet. Maybe I'm out of the loop, but I had never seen one before.

While brainstorming ideas, I thgouth of making her a "souvenier" of her favorite place on Earth - New York City.

I actually stamped the coordinates for her favorite place (New York City) on the metal plate, which was easier than I thought. I knew I wanted some kind of bangle with NYC on it, when I ran across some vintage typewriter keys. Perfect!

In order to get the N, Y, and C, I had to purchase a LOT of typewriter keys. So now I have almost 40 keys left. What do you do with almost 40 spare typewriter keys? I mean, there's not a huge market...

More brainstorming...

I had all these weird keys, cabachon trays, earring hooks...

...EARRINGS!

I pulled the back of the keys off, pulled out the faded paper letter, printed off a new letter, put it all together and VOILA! A pair of X and O earrings!

Hugs and kisses!

Now, to the garage...I hear furniture calling my name!

The Switch Plate Debacle ~ and How to Fix it!

2014-11-14T18:00:00.000-05:00

If you've ever visited our blog, you know that we're usually into painting furniture, like our Gray and Coral Chevron Desk. However, due to our house remodel, I've had the opportunity to reintroduce myself to the fun of painting other surfaces.

Paint or Replace?

Have you ever pushed and strained to get a project done? The final nail is driven. You lay down your hammer, take a breath and wipe the sweat from your forehead. Phew!

Then - HORROR! One of the little details you've wrestled with for months looks terrible to your eye. You decide that maybe you're just too close to the project. Maybe you're just being too critical. Maybe it's just you. Then, your DH, who usually seems a little too happy to leave all those details to you, says, "Hey, do you think those switch covers look a little bad?"

A LITTLE BAD? IN YOUR NEWLY-RENOVATED KITCHEN/DINING AREA THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A LITTLE BAD!!! Dang it! Now what?

I had just invested time, money...oh, did I mention money (?) in choosing just the right covers. Our last house was built in 1930. Electricity was a luxury, so the outlets were very sparse. Replacing them was no big deal. But, in this house, there is at least one outlet on every wall. There are so many switches that we still haven't figured out what some of them are for! Needless to say, replacing the plastic covers for so many switches and outlets was no little feat. And THEN, to have DH notice??

I did replace the ones in the kitchen with antique pewter plates. But now, all of the plates in the adjoining dining area were antique brass. I wouldn't have minded, but the rooms are completely opened up to one another and there are four covers that are less than twelve inches from each other. Ugh! Details!!

I really like the look of the antique pewter with the new tile backsplash.

How to change antique brass to antique pewter?

Frugality wins!

If you've read any of my posts, I'm all about being frugal. And I don't think there's anything that I wouldn't try to paint. Soooooo...what about taking those now mismatched covers and changing their looks? Give 'em a fake tan. Plaster a little barn paint on 'em. Spiff 'em up!

Here goes! Knowing what I do about paint, I decided that switch plate covers aren't going to get a lot of wear and tear. For that fact, I decided that I wouldn't even prime them.

The Process

The first thing to do was to change the base color. I grabbed a can of silver spray paint from another project lined up all these little critters and sprayed! The first coat was the Brilliant Silver.

The second coat? I lightly sprayed over the silver with the Krylon. It's a satin indoor metallic called Nickle.

The last spray paint I used was the Rustoleum Hammered Bronze. I held the can so that the nozzle of the can was parallel to the switch cover. Spraying very lightly, the paint landed only on the high spots of the covers.

After the three colors were applied.

See all the little carved out areas? I knew that I wanted to bring attention to them. I mixed up a little black craft paint and water to an inky consistency.

I painted the entire surface of the cover with this paint and then, using paper towels, wiped back most of the black. This leaves the black in the cracks and crevices, and dulls the silver just a touch.

Here is a close up of the antiquing phase. Picture #1 is the cover with the basecoat of spraypaint

Picture #2 - inky black craft paint wash

Picture #3 - Wiped back

Although the difference between #1 and #3 are subtle, it really does make a big difference! It brings out all the little details and really shows the textures in the cover! And I LOVE textures!

I know, I know...it seems like a LOT of steps to get from the first cover to the last. I just couldn't justify spending more money on covers when I had a style a liked. The color just needed changed. I think the experiment was a success!

The last step was to give a couple of quick coats of satin polyurethane spray to each cover. Overall, this project took about 2 hours, not including drying time. So, for 2 hours, I save my family a whole lot of cash! That's NICE!

Here is a quick view of the covers from antique brass to antique pewter.

The Result

They are a nice warm antiqued silver, which matches much better than the stark antique brass.

Hopefully, this will help you in some way. Whether it's the spray painting, the antiquing, or just realizing that if you need to change something -- try paint first. After all, it's just paint. It's not permanent. If you don't like it -- paint it again!

If you have any questions about the technique or paints I used in the transformation, please comment. I respond to every comment on my blog, cuz I love comments and I love paint!

"Home With You" Knock-Off Wall Art

2014-11-02T14:34:00.003-05:00

"Home With You" Canvas Knock Off with a Purpose

Wanna Knock Off?

Have you ever seen something and thought, "Hey, I know I can copycat that for a lot less?" Yeah, that's usually where my mind goes when I see the price-tag of something that I really like. And so it was with this little piece of art.

This was my beauty, found on a retailer's site, priced at $49.99.

It drives me crazy to pay for something that I know I can do myself. I always weigh the options, to see whether I think I can do it for less. In this case, I thought I could.

The Great Cover-up

Here is the exact spot I needed to place it. Isn't this pretty? (Sarcasm intended) This is what looked you in the eye as you walked through our kitchen door. I know it's a must, but WHY must it be so visible?

I was hoping to just buy a cover-up picture, and PLOP! be done with it. "The best laid plans..." the panel is too long for a normal size picture to cover it up, yet to cover the length, a ready made picture would be too wide and go past the door opening. Don't you just love a challenge? (Yep, sarcasm once again intended)

The Challenge

I couldn't find the right size picture, but a canvas frame was very close. I would still need to add something, but I was going to worry about that later. After a bit a brainstorming, and a little looking, I decided I could replicate the retailer's look AND cover up my beautiful breaker box.

I knew that I could do this using the image transfer tutorial I found on A Beautiful Mess http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2011/10/make-your-own-canvas-portrait.html

The first step was to find the background image. I found a clip art picture of an old map online and saved it to my computer.

I uploaded the picture into Pickmonkey - http://www.picmonkey.com/

If you haven't used Pickmonkey, it's a great online tool for any kind of pictures, collages, edits, etc. I use it for most of my editing. To use the basic package, it's free. There's also an upgraded version with more fonts, etc. It's actually very affordable; it's just that I haven't needed to use any of the upgrades.

Once the map was uploaded, I added a grunge frame that I found here - http://2momstalk.blogspot.com/2011/10/free-grunge-frames-for-your-photos.html

When you add the frame, choose the overlay option in Pickmonkey. Overlay > Your Own Using the Overlay option makes the middle of the transparent, so that your image shows through the frame. Once the overlay is over your picture, you can resize, play with transparency, etc. I then added a Pickmonkey smudge texture. Save it! Then you can reload it in Pickmonkey without the risk of messing up your background image.

Upload again into Pickmonkey. The next challenge was the text. This was the most time consuming part of the project: getting the placement and size just right. I couldn't find the exact font used in the original artwork, but I came pretty close. Be patient. It took some playing around, but it is really close.

The next challenge was printing the image into a 15" x 30" size. I ran across this website a while ago, but had never really used it. http://www.blockposters.com/ I opened the website, and got started. It was very user-friendly. The only thing I had to play with were the size ratios to get as close as possible to my finished size. Once done, you can save the pages to your computer. This was very nice, because if you want to change your mind or play around, you can have various files to chose from. I think I ended up with 6 files.

I saved my file, printed off the pages, making my page margins as narrow as possible. IF YOU HAVE TEXT, MAKE SURE YOU PRINT A MIRROR IMAGE! If you don't, any text will be reversed. If I were going to do this again I would choose the "shrink image to page size" option on my printer. My straight lines were a little off on the edges of my pages, and I think that would have corrected it. Geez, this is getting a little dry, isn't it? READY FOR SOME FUN? Here it is!

Saving money is always fun! Using a 50% off coupon, I bought a 30" x 15" canvas at a local craft store. The canvas cost me $7.00. So far, so good. I took my printed pages to the local UPS store and had them printed off on their color copier. Another $3.00 - GREAT!

Following A Beautiful Mess' instructions, I trimmed the margins of my image and laid down my copies. Weighted down with books, I let them dry overnight. Now the magic begins! Working slowly and carefully, wet down the paper backing. The idea is to remove the paper from the copier toner, which has been "glued" to the canvas. Be patient. I work at mine until it looks done, let it dry overnight and then see if I need to remove any more paper.

I used some watered down black craft paint to further age the edges and some brown to age areas of the text.

My final canvas still wasn't quite large enough, so I created a "frame" using old palette boards, just gluing and stapling the corners. Then I screwed it onto the back of my piece.

After looking at it again, I used some black colored pencil to straighten out the letters, where my crooked pages met and add some reddish brown lines and a circle. I think I need to add some lime green to areas. And I may do some pattern stenciling to the frame. I'm still deciding on that. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

At Last

So, if you're like me and have more time than you do money, and you're all in for knock-offs and upcycles, this could be a project you'd like to replicate. So, for about $10 and some time, this is now what greets you as you come in my door. It may not be perfect, but it's definitely an improvement.

If you're like me and like to save some hard earned cash, here are a couple of other projects that I hope inspire you to dig deep, think hard and get crackin'. There is ALWAYS a way to make something your own with your own two hands!

Be inspired!

To be inspired by more people, visit

http://www.frommyfrontporchtoyours.com & http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/

http://tinyurl.com/mv48k4y

http://tinyurl.com/lxkhwdj

Burlap Canvas Home Dec Knock Off! (Ha! Ha!)

2014-10-22T13:15:00.000-04:00

If you know anything about me, you KNOW that it really bothers me to pay full retail for anything. No, I'm not an extreme couponer, and I don't dumpster dive (usually), but why pay full retail when so many retailers offer discounts, etc. They are practically BEGGING you to buy their good without spending all of your money.

This philosophy came in pretty handy lately. We've been in the throes - a love/hate relationship deal - of a relocation which included the purchase of a fixer upper home. Don't get me wrong; I LOVE decorating and updating and being creative. I love anything DIY. That's just it....I love the fun part, the "putting it all back together" part. The prep and grunt work - I could leave to someone else.

But the end results? Oh my! I love seeing something come to life, reloved! 99% of everything that has been done to our new home has been done by us. To see some of the updates click on this link - http://tinyurl.com/lrwaqmg

While creating a palette wall at the end of our stairway to the basement (which my kids did all by themselves!), my daughter and I ran across an industrial looking picture that we both agreed would be a nice addition to their wall. But, my frugality and my daughter's cheapness (yep, she's more frugal than I am) wouldn't allow us to spend $50.00 for a 16" x 20" picture.

We both love the nail heads, the burlap and the reference to NYC. (Due to a girls only trip a few years ago) But for $50 we felt we could duplicate the look for a lot less.

Olivia chose a picture from our trip and had it printed out at an 11" x 14" size from Shutterfly. Cost? $4.00, including shipping.

For the burlap background, we were going to purchase canvas stretcher bars and put them together to form the frame and stretch some burlap over it. The burlap was left over from another project. However, when we went to Michael's to buy the stretchers (with a 40% off coupon, of course!), we spied these in a center aisle. We almost missed them! So excited...and they were on sale!

We snagged an 16" x 20" and checked out! The burlap background cost us about $11. When we got home, it was time to put it all together. I glued the print of our picture in the center of the burlap frame with some regular wood glue, just because that's what I grabbed first. I weighted it down with some large paperback books until it dried.

Once the glue was dry, I trimmed the edges of the frame with some nailheads that we had left over from our updated couch project. http://tinyurl.com/lxkhwdj

Ta da!! I am very pleased with the end result. Actually, I think it looks better than the original, and it's personalized, using one of our memory photos!! So, for a whopping cost of less than $15, we reproduced, and bettered the original pic that we both fell in love with.

For the next post, I'm going to be sharing another knock off I used to cover up this ugly thing that stares you down when you walk in the back door!

Ta ta til next time! Love to you all.

Revisting a Favorite

2014-10-11T19:53:00.004-04:00

Time sure does fly. I have been thinking of a new post for a couple of weeks. EEEKK! I didn't realize that I hadn't posted anything since July!! Geesh!

We have been really busy with a lot of reloving our new home. Honestly, I LOVE decorating. I think I should have gone into interior design instead of visual communication. It just melts my butter to see anything that's outdated, delapidated (like the word delapidated) or trashed, bring it back to life and give it another chance. I had been finding that creative outlet in furniture until we bought a fixer upper and relocated to another state. (Lots of posts on that later.)

I've been noticing that white is still very popular in furniture color. I think it's here to stay for a while. It's bright, clean-looking and a neutral. I saw this piece and fell in love with the carving on the front. It was missing a drawer and one handle, but other than that it was in great shape. Well, what we relovers consider great! A missing drawer only allows us to be more creative, right?

I got so excited about it I forgot the before picture. I hate it when I do that. I'm getting better at it.

The dresser was a medium, nondescript brown wood.We decided it needed to be white. So, we primed and painted a bright white. But the entire thing didn't want to be white. My daughter and I brainstormed. We had just finished using General Finishes Java Gel Stain on another piece and LOVED the end result. It's so different from any other stain. Wipe it on, let it dry. No sanding!! It darkened the top without hiding all the beautiful grain and it was gorgeous against the white.

This IS an oil based product, so be sure to wear gloves and be careful about spills accidentally hitting anything with your wiping cloth. You can buy it here -

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/826978/General-Finishes-Java-Gel-Stain-Pint.aspx

Where the drawer was missing, we added a piece of 1/2" plywood, some trim around the sides of the wood and across the front edge of the plywood. It was primed and painted the same bright white.

But it still was lacking something. The top needed a little bit of zazzing up. My daughter had the idea of adding some silver to the top. With a damask stencil, she applied several patterns with silver paint. When that was dry, she used a small brush and added leaf sizing just in spots. She wanted the silver leaf to look aged and spotty, instead of solid. And the final result of the top?

If you look closely, you can see the brighter spots in the silver pattern. Those are the aged silver leaf areas. The entire top was given two coats of clear sating polyurethane.

To match the silver leaf design, we found some bright silver baskets at our local Home Goods. (I LOVE Home Goods. Maybe because it feeds my interior decorating addiction.

It has just the right amount of feminine mixed with masculine, and just the right amount of zazz!

This gorgeous beauty found a new home within 3 hours!

Neutrals will never go out of style!

Stay tuned! There's so much more furniture and maybe more home reloving updates like this one - http://bit.ly/1o9uQyl

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon!

Patience and Persistence Pay Off - The Search for a "New" Sofa

2014-07-29T14:22:00.002-04:00

Befores and Afters

I wish I had taken a "before," - no actually an after picture of our old couch. AFTER years of use and abuse; AFTER dogs; AFTER naps; AFTER food .... you get the idea. It had a LOT of afters. Lucky for me and you I was just ready to get it out of the house. The finish on the "leather" had worn off in places, the cushions were a little flat (and smelly), and the fabric was snagged and worn. It was a sad-looking piece, but it served its purpose.

My Problem!

I know myself. I know how I am. I get a style in my head, it travels to my heart, and nothing else will suffice for the space and feel of the room. I was in trouble because, I knew what I wanted as a replacement. No more heavy, dark, Tuscany-style furniture. Unlike the old farmhouse, this new house lends itself to a more modern, easy-living vibe.

What I had in mind was something more modern: low back, fabric, clean lines. I wanted nailhead trim, gray. I wanted something like this:

I had been shopping for a replacement in a few furniture stores. While the prices weren't too bad, I wasn't sure we wanted to lay out the money for a new couch.

The search was on!

I pored over CL, furniture store sales, websites and came up empty. Finally after a month of searching a post came up on my Facebook feed. It was for an older couch, but the color and the shape were right. It was just a little frumpy looking. But for a final cost of $60, the price was right.

We brought it home. It was in great shape, no tears, worn spots, or snags! There were two things that didn't fit my vision: the skirt, which made the couch look a little frumpy and the lack of the bling of the nailhead trim. For $60 I felt I could take the leap and do some surgery on our new lackluster friend. (Why would you cover up that beautiful arm?)

The Challenge

When we lifted up the skirts we found beautiful tapered legs. Hmmm...if only the skirt could be shortened to show them off. The nailhead trim seemed to be an easy fix. I purchased some pewter nailheads off of Amazon, found here - http://amzn.to/1rC0HeY I probably could have found them cheaper, but I was excited to get started.

After a little trimming around the legs, we were able to staple the skirt up under the edge of the couch. It already looked more modern and streamlined. I trusted the nailhead trim to my daughter who did an amazing job of hammering all those little nails in just the right spots. She outlined the piping on the arms and along the bottom, where the skirt was attached.

The Result

Here are some inspiration couches that I liked:

This is what our little find ended up looking like

For less than $100 and with a little patience and persistence, we ended up with a sleek, updated, beauty. If we can do it, so can you!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to do so.

To see more updates to our new home follow this link: http://bit.ly/1o9uQyl

To see more fab ideas for updates, etc, go to Not Just a Housewife at http://bit.ly/UzVc5E

Does Absence Really Make for Fond Hearts?

2014-07-14T18:45:00.002-04:00

First, let me start by apologizing for the loooong delay in any new posts. I'm so sorry. I've felt like I've been neglecting the blog, and you for a long time. It's been a crazy fall, winter and spring. But, let me explain.

My husband and I have wanted to live in the South for at least the last 23 years. In 2011, we again began to seriously discuss the possibility of relocating. After a three year search for employment, we have moved! Yep, I now live where it's not only acceptable, but necessary for the word "y'all" to be in your everyday vocabulary. And, you don't say, "Hi," it's "Hey, how y'all doin'?"

It's been an anxious whirlwind for the last 3/4 of a year! Leaving family! Paperwork! Looking for that house that had our name on it! Paperwork! Packing! Selling a home! Paperwork! Buying a home! Paperwork! You get the idea.

We bought a fixer-upper in a semi-rural area. We've started putting our fingerprints on it so it's starting to feel more like home. And, anyway, if you have a creative bone in your body, you KNOW you can't call a space home until you've changed some things, right?

We haven't been updating much furniture lately. It's been rooms, walls and floors. Here are some pics of what we've been up to:

This is the dining room area. In the first pic, notice the paneling? Not my "thing." We painstakingly filled all those paneling cracks with joint compound - yep, EVERY SINGLE ONE! That required masks, shop vacs, fans, plastic. It looked like a HazMat scene!

Then came the mess of sanding them flush with the rest of the paneling. What a mess! But, it was cheaper and less expensive than putting up drywall. We updated the lighting, the wall color, the floor...I should also say that the wall on the left of the first picture is no longer there. It was a wall that encased the basement steps. We took it out and put in a wrought iron and wood railing. (my daughter's dog photobombed the raling pic.) We still have some minor tasks like dressing out the newel posts, restaining the steps and quarter round on the base, but what an improvement!

Here are a few more before and afters:

Repainted the walls, updated fans and moved in our stuff!

Shutters removed, a fresh coat of paint and LOTS of overgrown bushes removed! It's amazing what a little elbow grease and some time can do!

We thought the door was solid wood until we started sanding it to refinish it. It was terribly faded on the bottom half from the sun. When we started sanding, the door started turning white. It was vinyl. Bring out the latex paint and gel stains. Some stained hands later, it looks like real wood.

That's it for now. We probably won't be updating much furniture in the near future, but we'll be updating. If you have questions about techniques, experiences, pros or cons with what we've done here or in another post, please ask away. \

I promise to be back sooner this time!

Lessons Learned - Trends, Likes and Seashells

2013-10-11T12:02:00.001-04:00

Every once in a while, do you have a question that seems to have no answers? I'm in one of those places right now, in more than one area of my life. One of those areas has to do with the repainted and updated furniture we do.

Have you ever finished a piece, sat back, admired it and then.....sat back and scratched your head when something so gorgeous just doesn't go out the door? I have had this happen more than I like to admit lately; a Seize the Day Table that we revamped with a chalkboard-looking top and also with a periwinkle butterfly stand.

Why do some pieces fly out the door so quickly, while other sit around like the wallflower at your junior high dance? Is it color, shape, design? Who knows? Maybe it's all of those - or none. What's not to like? Chalkboard, butterflies, periwinkle blue.

Maybe it's just a fact of a DIYer's life: there are just some pieces that have a hard time finding a new home! I just don't get it.

Maybe it's just MY emotional attachment to the colors and pieces. Or the time invested.

Remember opening a new box of 64 crayons? Yep, the big one! That periwinkle blue was one of my favs! That's why it didn't make sense to me that the butterfly stand wasn't selling.

Finally coming to grips with the fact that the pieces weren't going to sell as is, and putting our faves aside, we repainted. UGH!! The Carpe Diem table hasn't gone live yet, but the butterfly stand sold within 24 hours of repainting the periwinkle a soft black.

I think the hardest redo of a redo was a pair of cabinet doors that we repurposed for wall art. I thought it was a great idea. I spent hours learning the transfer technique for the shells. I loved the soft arch at the top of the door. That, coupled with one of my favorite colors, sea-glass green, LOVE!

I still like them, but they just wouldn't move. Well, the other pieces moved after a redo of a redo. Maybe these would, too. (Insert sad face here)

I took the leap. I mixed up some chalkboard paint. Don't hate....I did try some spray paint chalkboard, but it came out shiny and the chalk wouldn't work on it. So I mixed up my own. (Insert happy face here)

We all are aware that chevron is so trending. The charcoal, coral and white desk we revamped soled almost immediately. You can read about it here: http://bit.ly/1hI8O3H It was worth trying.

I also found a chevron painter's tape, made by Frogtape. It's not cheap, and it's not easy to find, but it's so easy to use. It comes in three different shapes. I will definitely be using it again!

(I pulled this image from their website.)

The centers of the doors were repainted with the chalkboard paint. The chevron tape went over the sea-glass green and was painted with a dark teal. They looked so different!

And, guess what? They were gone within 5 minutes!! No kidding?!

Sometimes it pays to put your emotions and likes to the side, and take an objective look at things. Hmmmm....that sounds like more than a painting lesson; that's a life lesson! Lesson learned!

Mirror, Mirror

2013-10-03T23:12:00.001-04:00

With the holidays approaching I'm seeing a lot of white, shimmer and glitter. Here's our contribution. A white, shimmery, lux-looking, but affordable piece. This entire project cost was around $15. I love projects like that!!

if you're like me, sometimes, you just need to do something a little different now and then. If you DIY long enough, eventually, you'll find yourself branching out to try new things. This was one of those projects. Ready for a break from detail painting such as our Count Your Blessings Cabinet - http://bit.ly/GC3TFg

This is one of the projects where the idea was great, but the actual process made us break a sweat. It was a LOT of work. I have to admit that we did do another project very similar to this not too long after. Some of us just don't learn very easily.

That was the case with this vintage round coffee table. We found it in a local antique shop in the clearance section. As you can see, the top was leather, but had seen much better days. It was ripped up and had burn holes through it.

The first step in this undertaking was to remove what was left of the leather top. That was a job!!

See that metal strip on the edge of the top? It just screamed to have something inset. The first thing that came to mind was mirror. Mirror? Glass? Yep!!

The mirror was purchased at our local Restore. If you have a Habitat for Humanity Restore in your area, you should visit it. They are a trash picker's dream!

The base was cleaned, primed and given a coat of Valspar Snowcap White. This was antiqued with a glaze of medium gray, just enough to bring out the details and the fluting.

Old shower curtain, hammer, mirror...add a little stress relief and, Success! Lots of different sizes of mirror shards. They were laid out on the top in a mosaic fashion. No plan, the pieces just kind of fit like a jugsaw puzzle. They were glued onto the top with a tile glue smeared on the back. Once it dried overnight, an unsanded grout was mixed and pushed in to the cracks.

Now, not following directions is more my hubby's style, but I thought that cleaning the majority of the grout off and letting it set up overnight before really cleaning the glass was a good idea. NOT!! The glass had a dull coating on it. What I didn't realize was that the grout has a plastic mixed into the powder. Once it dried on the glass, it took a razor scraper, lots of blades and hours of time to carefully scrape the plastic coating off of the mirror. Lesson learned!

But the final piece was gorgeous! The grout was sealed and it was ready to find a home.

I hope its new owner will make use of it during the holidays!

Don't Fear The Great Paint-chip Wall

2013-09-22T10:15:00.000-04:00

First, I have to apologize for the text-heavy post this week. Sometimes it takes some 'splaining. Bear with me.

You are so thrilled! The creative home decorating muse has struck! You have finally settled your heart on wall color(s) that satisfy the inspiration! A gorgeous sea-glass green will look AMAZING with some dark teal throw pillows. You can almost hear the angels sing, “Ahhhhh....” as you near the paint display.

As you stand in front of the display looking for the color that’s been haunting your mind, you choose three different colors. Once you have them in hand, you realize that apart, the look the same, but when they’re in your hand, the differences are unquestionable. The one on the right, that looked so perfect, looks blue compared to the one in the middle. The one on the left has mysteriously taken on a yellow tone. It doesn't look green at all! Now what?

You’re sure that the store employees think you’re crazy, arguing with yourself over which one of the three colors will look best next to your new, fluffy comforter. You ask the paint-mixer-lady for some guidance, only to discover that her knowledge of paint chips is equal to yours. Getting more and more confused and frustrated, you leave the store sans paint. Deflated, you think that maybe the current color on your walls isn't so bad. That muse, yeah....she's gone!

If you’re a DIYer, like I am, this scenario is not at all far-fetched. How do you decipher the monstrosity of all those paint colors? They look so beautiful all lined up. But once you enter their realm, they turn into something to be feared and dreaded.

Without getting too tied up in color theory, light absorption, reflection, etc. let's dive in. Although those things can be important, but they aren't really going to help you when you’re standing in front of that imposing multitude of paint strips.

In my experience there are a few things that have helped me. Here are some tips and tricks I've tried that might help with your next excursion into the paint department.

First, the paint strips themselves. Their setup is pretty simple. The main color will be one toward of the center of the strip. There are lighter and darker colors on each end. Even though each strip still has a light end and a dark end, the base color will be the one(s) in the middle of the strip.

Now, onto the great wall of paint strips:

As you stand facing the display, it might be that the reds are firsts, or the blues, or the greens. That doesn't really matter. However, take note that the truer, purer, jewel tones are either at the top or bottom of the display. As the paint chips move to the sides, they flow from one color into the next. Think of the rainbow: ROYGBIV. Red will flow into orange. Orange will flow into yellow and so on. So, for example, if you pick up a green chip that’s too yellow, yellow is next to green on ROYGBIV. To get a bluer tone of green look at the top of the wall to find where the blues are. If you head that direction, those greens will be bluer than the one in your hand.

The next key to unraveling the wall is this: the truer colors will usually be at the top of the wall. As the colors go down toward the floor, gray is added. This makes the colors more muted. So as you look at the color in the middle of each strip, they will get grayer and more muted as they go down the wall.

Remember, the main color of the strip will be in the middle. Surrounding each main color, will be lighter shades toward the top and darker shades toward the bottom of the strip. So if your main color of the strip is too bright, head toward the floor. The reverse is also true, if your color looks too muted head toward the top of the wall.

You may want to ignore the colors that are out there all on their own. Those special mini group titled “Colonial Revival.” and its friends. They’re there to distract you from the color that’s warming your heart. They’re there for the painters who wander in without any kind of plan.

Now for some indispensable tips:

I read online that 40% of a paint store’s profit comes from consumers making mistakes in choosing paint color. Yes, you read that correctly; 40%!! To help lessen the probability of your falling into that ditch, here are a few little tips.

If you're matching your paint to something in your room, take a swatch of fabric, a pillow case, a wallpaper sample, etc, with you. Don't rely on your eyeballs or your memory when selecting paint.

Never us a chip to make a final decision. You're much better off buying a sample jar of your selection. Take your sample home, paint it on two pieces of foam core. Don't paint it directly on your wall. If you do, there may be some visible ridges where your sample stops.

If you're going to be using a paint roller, use a roller for your foam core samples. Believe it or not, application methods have an effect on how the light plays on your paint.

Once your foam core samples are dry, place them on your walls, meeting in a corner. This way you can see how your paint looks in your room - where you're using it, under your lights. Your colors will look different in your space than in the store. You will be able to see how the sunlight and your room light interact with the paint in your space.

Live with the colors on the wall for a few days to a week before making your final decision.

Hopefully, these tips and tricks will help demystify the great wall of paint chips, and help keep you from being a part of that 40% profit!

Please leave your comments. Feel free to share your paint-choosing tips or tricks!

Updated Cabinet into Acorn Wreath Storage Cabinet

2013-09-16T11:15:00.000-04:00

This cooler weather already has me thinking fall. Football, apple cider, and falling leaves.

I found this cabinet in a local used furniture shop. This little vintage 1940's piece was beat up, unloved, and stuffed into a corner. Despite that, it was priced at $14.95 It had a maple top, vintage shabby chic style and a great shape. I figured we could do something with it. We were so excited to get started that we forgot to take the "before" picture. (Sigh...once again excitement overrides know-how!)

An acorn wreath graphic from The Graphics Fairy was our inspiration for this piece. http://thegraphicsfairy.com/search/ Her site has amazing vintage style free graphics. If you haven't visited her site, you should! I used one of her bee graphics for my Dutch Back Bee Chair. You can see it here - http://tinyurl.com/qbbrg9k

The first thing on our list was to give it a good cleaning. The bottom of the cabinet was given two coats of cream color paint, the knobs were painted a light sage green. Both were then sanded back to bring out the details and to give the new paint a shabby chic finish.

Two of the most interesting updates to this piece were the top and the insides of the storage area. We wanted to do something special in the back of the storage area. We cut a piece of foam core to the size of the back. We wrapped the foam core with fabric, hot gluing the excess fabric on the back of the foam core. The wrapped foam core was then hot glued into the back of the cabinet.

The baskets were purchased at a local department store. They matched the fabric perfectly!

The other area that we wanted to bring attention to was the maple top. That's where the graphic came it.

I wanted to allow the wood top to become the highlights in the acorns and wreath.Using a chocolate brown craft paint, I sideloaded the brush and went to work, painting the shadows. I was a little overly ambitious. This only took about 4 hours!!! But it turned out so gorgeous!

When it was all finished, this is what it looked like - before it found a new home

So, although I hate to think of what November brings, blechhh! I love the way this cabinet turned out!

2013-09-07T21:42:00.000-04:00

"Free" Dandelion Storage Table

(or Dandy-Lion)

I purchased this fixer upper on a local sales site for $2.50! Yes! That's right! $2.50!! Beat up, missing hardware and some loose joints, it was ready for a facelift!

I was so excited to get started that I forgot to take a before picture. Here it is glued up, wrapped and ready for its re-appearance!

After prepping and priming, the lid got a fresh coat of white paint, while the drawer front, top and sides were dressed in a medium gray. The inside of the storage area and the inside of the drawer got a coat of sea glass light green.

Wanting to customize the "new" little guy, I downloaded a piece of clipart of a dandelion with the seeds blowing off into the air. I transferred this design by tracing the design on the reverse with a pastel and then taping and transferring the design onto the lid. I also traced some of the seeds onto the top of the stand.

The lid still needed a little something. The word "free" came to mind to convey the seeds drifting off into the air. The font I chose is called Freestyle (I just now noticed the name...FREE). I transferred this to the lower right side of the lid, using the same method as the dandelion.

All of the designs were handpainted in the same medium gray as the base. The seeds that flowed onto the top were painted in white.

Since the stand was missing some hardware, I picked some up off of ebay. (That search took hours, because I didn't want to have to fill and drill new holes.)

Ready for the "after"?

Here it is!

The top and lid got a couple of coats of poly and it was off to its new home!

I LOVE seeing pieces in their new homes!!

Gray and Coral Chevron Desk

2013-09-06T10:29:00.002-04:00

We're celebrating! Hard work pays off! Our first feature!

This little beauty came to us in not-so-nice condition. Someone had loved it very much. It had stickers on it. The finish was worn. If I remember correctly, there was still a couple of lost crayons in one drawer.

(Wait, let me grab my coffee...okay, ready now.)

I LOVE updating pieces; seeing the color go on and watching your vision for the piece play out is so rewarding, However, I really dispise the prep work for painting a piece. Removing stickers, sanding, priming, filling in big chips, regluing loose joints, on and on and on. Why can't we just paint??

Often, there's more time and effort in prepping the pieces than in the actual delightful, relaxing painting. I know, right about now, some of you are thinking I"m crazy. You could be right, but I actually dig (like that throw back word?) the painting process.

After prepping this little desk (UGH!), Olivia had a vision for it. (She takes after me...) She painted the base a medium, charcoal gray. The top was given two coats of vivid white.It was coming along beautifully. But there was one thing wrong. Looking a tthe colors and the revamp plan, the Colonial knobs were like a burlap sack with a woman's formal gown: they just didn't match.So, they were primed and painted white to match the top. They looked SO much better!! Now the purse matched the gown!

Sometimes, I prefer handpainting, such as in our Fleur De Lis Table http://bit.ly/15AZtVA but not always.

Sometimes a stencil is what a piece needs. That was the case for this desk. The next step was the most fun. Using a chevron stencil by Cutting Edge Stencils found here on their website http://bit.ly/15EjHUk We have used their stencils for other pieces, that we'll share in the future. Their stencils are ahhh-mazing! They're bendable, strong, and they clean up easeily. For the desk, we wanted an oversized chevron so we purchased the larger one from Cutting Edge. Using a trendy bright coral, we gave the stenciled area two coats of paint. After removing the stencil, there were a lot of bleeds and uneven edges. It's frustrating when you think a piece is going to be done and BAM! More work; but thankfully, the straight lines in the stencil made it easier. All it took was some painter's tape and a paintbrush to clean them up.

I'm feeling better now.

In the end, it all came together into one little charming piece. And, all of that hard work: sanding, priming, unsticking, regluing - yeah, all of that paid off! Not only did the desk find a new home, Cutting Edge Stencils gave us props on their blog! Take a look! http://bit.ly/15J2K49 We are so excited, humbled and blown away!

I guess Mom, Dad and the teachers were right; hard work DOES pay off. Now, go do some hard work, enjoy the process, and get some kudos!

LABOR Day DIYs!

2013-09-04T14:26:00.000-04:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day!

Mine was definitely a LABOR day. We're taking a small break from the vintage furniture painting that Sow's Ear usually does, and we're making some updates around the house. This weekend was a crazy-busy one. We did manage to squeeze in a family picnic in between all the projects.

Stephanie, over at By Stephanie Lynn @ http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2013/09/sunday-showcase-party-210.html is hosting a linky party, asking her readers to share their recent projects. I'm going to her party!

Ready to take a peek at what we accomplished? It might not seem like a lot, but it was labor and time intensive. I have the blisters to prove it!

I'm very frugal when it comes to anything! Honestly, unless it's something that I fall absolutely in love with, I'm always looking for a way to do it myself...CHEAPER!

First, there was the stairway/hallway wallpaper project

I don't have any "before" pictures, but believe me the 1980's wallpaper that graced this space was not graceful in any way. It had a cornflower blue, mauve and beige color palette. Not horrible, but the crayon, pencil and tears were not helping matters. I had the strange blue/green Berber carpet that had to stay. At our local Habitat Restore I found a paisley wallpaper with the same strange teal color, along with tan, bronze and gold. The best part ---- ONLY $1 per double roll!! Yep! LOVE it!

Although this seemed like a straight forward project, there were angles, cut ins, railing brackets. It was really time intensive, but I think it turned out very nice.

By the way, see those nice teal knobs on the dresser? They used to be white! I colored the white glass with a teal sharpie, let them dry overnight, baked them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, and VOILA!! New, updated, color-matched knobs!

Second up -- the Dreaded Deck

It was painted 2 years ago and definitely needed a new coat of makeup! I repainted the floor; UGH!! Drudgery! Then came the fun part! Putting the eyeshadow, liner and blush on the foundation.

I purchased a 6 by 8 foot outdoor rug at Home Depot for just over $17 http://tinyurl.com/kun6fbf . I made a stencil and with a couple of cans of paprika and white spay paint, created a one-of-a-kind outdoor rug. More updates included the pillow covers for the reading area. Fabric Guru ( http://tinyurl.com/l3nwwre ) has become my online go-to for fabric. Even with the $4.99 shipping cost, I can find current patterns at affordable prices. The antique headboard potting bench was a project that my brother completed for me as a Christmas present. He's a good guy! Another project FINI!

Third up...bedroom curtain tie backs and DIY easy Roman shades

Kind of following the directions from 365 Days to Simplicity (http://tinyurl.com/mbbuh2r ) and some $1/yard fabric that I picked up at Wally World, I made three Roman shades that replaced the worn out, gross mini blinds in my bedroom. The directions for the custom tie backs are found here: http://sowsear2.blogspot.com/2013/09/one-of-kind-curtain-tie-backs.html What d'ya think?

And, Fourth, but not last (sigh) Upcycled Burlap Covered Boxes

Using office paper boxes I recreated the burlap storage boxes found at One Kings Lane for a fraction of the price. The original price for this set of three boxes was $69; and the largest box was 8"H x 15.75"W x 12"L http://tinyurl.com/kr7dzx3 With my trustly glue gun, scissors, and some paitence, I was able to reproduce a much larger box for $.25 a piece. The boxes were free and I found the burlap coffee bags at a local greenhouse supply warehouse for 25 cents a piece!! You can't get much more frugal than that!

Well, I think that's enough for one weekend, don't you? Phew! I'm going to go take a nap!

One of a Kind Curtain Tie Backs!

2013-09-01T21:47:00.001-04:00

Time for a break from repainting vintage furniture.

Although that's my passion right now. You can see some samples here - http://tinyurl.com/nj7d38f . I had another DIY project that I didn't want to put off any longer.

I don't know what it is that kicks me into the redecorating gear; new trends that I love, boredom, a need to stay crazy busy. It's like a nesting instinct kicks in and there's a DRIVE to redo, redo, redo. Over that last few weeks I've wallpapered and redecorated my stairway, landing and hallway, repainted a deck, painted an outdoor rug, etc. One of my fun repurpose projects was a trio of one-of-a-kind curtain tie backs.

Every time I looked at new tie backs, I couldn't bring myself to dish out the dough. Why are they so expensive?

Like most girls, I LOVE a touch of bling and sparkle. In my "looking," I ran across some antique crystal doorknobs. I knew these would work. Needing a base, I also purchased some antique, shabby chic, chippy doorknob backplates.

Here are my basic supplies. I found the threaded steel rod at Lowe's and it screwed right into the bottom of the doorknobs. Besides the doorknobs and backplates, some 3/8" diameter threaded steel rod (from Lowe's), wood screws, 1/2" copper pipe (left over from another project), and nuts to fit the threaded rod.

I decided that a 3" projection from the window trim to the bottom of the doorknob was a good length for the tie back. My hubby pitched in and welded the wood screws to the ends of the threaded rod after it was cut to a 3" length.

Since the screws didin't have to be all the way into the window trim, I actually eyeballed the length of the copper pipe. (I'm not always the most detailed in my projects. SOMETIMES an eyeballing works.)

I screwed the copper tube clad rod into the trim through the hole in the backplate and VOILA! My own, bling -y, crystal, shabby chic, mod, curtain tie-backs.

They turned out gorgeous, and for a lot less price than 3 new tie backs. Just the right price for a frugal DIY - er!!

2013-08-02T11:47:00.002-04:00

A Little Bit Steampunk!

When I first saw this little table, it looked pretty sad. Although the top had some water damage, it had a great shape and really nice details.

I know it might sound weird, but we usually wait to paint a piece until we get a feel for it. Sometimes it seems like a piece will just speak to you after a while. :)

For some reason, the shape and details of this table reminded me of the Disney animated movie, Tarzan. Just a little Steampunk: some hard edges but with some Victorian softness and curves. The top of the table had some raised areas that could be transformed into metal sheets and I was envisioning a softness on the sides and legs.

After reading some blogs on faux metal techniques, we decided to go with faux zinc for the raise areas and the drawer front. I read a few tutorials on how to achieve this. I combined a couple of techniques. The primary instructions I used came from http://restoreinteriors.com/finishes/faux-zinc-video-tutorial/ and http://www.freckledlaundry.com/2010/07/faux-zinc-painting-tutorial.html

The sides and legs were basecoated in a dark gray self-mixed chalk paint. I know...self-mixed... I just can't bring my frugal self to splurge on the real deal. Anyway, basecoated in a dark gray. Then I did a heavy drybrush technique over top, in order to leave the recesses dark and bring out all that lovely detail. This gives the details very soft edges; a lot different look than glazing or antiquing. If you look closely, you can see all that wonderful softness.

The top and bottom brace were painted in a flat black enamel. Despite the details on the legs and the metallic front and panels, the top still needed something Steampunk-y. Gears...it needed some gears. I printed some gear clipart, cut freezer paper stencils, laid them out and went over the flat enamel top with some satin poly spray. I lifted the stencils off and VOILA' : gears!!

I removed the backplate from the knob and gave it a couple of coats of hammered metal spray paint.

Gorg - or what?

Here is the final reveal!

It didn't take long for this little beauty to find a new home!

The Lady and the Gentleman - in RED

2013-07-04T15:21:00.000-04:00

Lady and Gentleman in Red

Darn it!! I have this terrible habit of getting too excited about new projects. I forgot to make absolutely sure I had before pics of both of these chairs. Oh well, I'm not gonna take them apart and start over! Here's the before of The Gentlman (he's called that because he's just a little bigger than The Lady).

Both members of this couple had seen better days: the cane was brittle and coming apart; the veneer was worn through in a few places; joints were loose. But, they have wonderful "bones."

On a side note: don't ever, ever try to make red chalk paint with high definition paint. It makes the paint thin and watery. Also, ALWAYS use tinted primer when using very pigmented colors. Please don't ask me how I know this. :)

Anyway, this homeless couple was brought in, clean up, sanded, primed and ready to dress up. After all the prep work, they needed to be really dressed up. So they were given a couple of coats of a bright red, like lipstick red. Then all the edges were distressed. After all of that the red was still too bright. It was like putting a pair of knee-high Chucks on a 70 year old woman. Some of them can carry it off, but this pair still needed to have age-appropriate garb.

To take care of that, a dark wax was applied. What a difference! The red was still really red, but the wax brough out all the little details and gave the paint just a little more depth.

Now that the paint was done, it was time to tackle the seats. My handy hubby came up with a solutions. He cut out plywood bases to replace the cane bottoms. Using 1/2 inch plywood, he routered the bottoms, creating a lip that extended on top of the seat. He made sure to leave a little give in the size to accommodate the batting and fabric. 4 little blocks were glued to the bottom to give us something to screw through once the seats were put in place. I know, it's a little technical, but we thought and thought about a solution. It's always exciting when you see it and are able to come up with a plan to carry it out!

The plywood was covered with a thin foam, batting and finally the upholstery fabric. It's "stuffy" enough to be dressy, but can still be country, primitive, modern or traditional. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. Yo cover up some "outstanding" cane holes, I added a wide, black, braided trim. That was the final touch!

It was like putting that beloved brooch on you coat! They looked completely new!

Although this pair doesn't match, they are definitely are a couple. After all, clones can be boring. I think they will look great in an entryway, at the foot of a bed, or any corner that needs brightened up. And now presenting the Happy Couple - The Lady and Gentleman in Red!

The Genleman - larger and manlier

The Lady - because she's smaller, daintier

New Life for a Curb Dweller

2013-01-10T19:40:00.001-05:00

Here's a sweet little find. A friend of mine keeps here eyes open for any "freebies" sitting alongside the edge of the road that are crying out for a new purpose. Here is one of her finds.

This little guy had definitely seen better days. No glass on top, kind of wobbly, beat up, and kicked to the curb, literally. After brainstorming for a couple of days, I came up with a plan: it was about the right size for a little bench or footstool for an entryway or living room. Hmmmm.... coming up with the plan is always the easy part; carrying it out always proves a little more challenging.

Plan: a new painted surface, a piece of thin plywood that would sit inside the "frame" where the glass used to be, something for over the plywood for a cushion. Finally, a cool, trendy cover of some kind.

The piece was sanded and given a fresh coat of satin black paint. After cutting the plywood to size, I stapled a pillow (ripped open and about 1/2 the stuffing removed) to the top of the plywood. The plywood was then covered with a burlap coffee bag that I had left over from some other crafts. Thin trim was then stained a honey gold and glued to the edges of the plywood to cover the edges and clean up any gaps between the frame and the plywood. The last step was to distress the edges of the bench.

This is the result of a little ingenuity, some sawdust and elbow grease:

Add caption

His new home? A new friend's entry way; a place to sit while removing boots, etc. A new life for a discarded piece. Ahh....

You can see a slew of transformations, great ideas and crafty things at The Shabby Creek Cottage at this link:
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2013/01/transformation-thursday-no-186.html#more

Split Personality Table

2012-12-31T19:21:00.001-05:00

Here's another revamp of something old and dear. These two tables were purchased at different times from different people. I was pondering what to do with them separately, when a light bulb bolt-from-the-blue hit me! They were exactly the same height, the tops were the same shape...hmmmm....the only difference was that one had a shelf on the bottom! It was meant to be!

So, the bolt was the idea of putting these two "paternal" twins together to make one table! So, after some regluing of some loose joints, minor repairs to the bottom shelf of the "other" twin and priming, their legs were based in a soft black. The tops and the shelves were painted in a soft cream color.

The tops still screamed for something more. I wanted to put some kind of medallion in the middle. I got out my stencils and found a "wreath" shape. I stenciled it with the same black that the legs were base-coated in. I then used a matching stencil and laid out a lattice pattern surrounding the medallion. I did this in a white paint. This really set off the black medallion and gave the table a little something on top without competing with the center design. But, it still needed something. I found a round stamp that I had laying around and stamped that design plop in the middle of the black wreath.

After all the paint had dried, all of the edges were mildly distressed.

Two tables in one! Split personality!

They can be used together as one table, or used separately in two different locations! All because they "magically" ended up at my house at the same time. Talk about a coincidence!

This is also my submission for Shabby Creek Cottage's linky party. To see all of the creative ideas at the party follow the link below:

Hand-painted Dutch Back Bee Chair

2012-10-15T09:11:00.001-04:00

Every woman needs the perfect little black dress; every home needs the perfect little black chair. Here it is! A great little black chair for a corner or desk. Hand-painted (by me); based with black, distressed on edges. The bee design in the middle is a golden yellow. The text says, "Where you are is your home."

This little beauty started out as an allover white chair that someone had severely over-distressed. After a base coat of satin black, it was given a light distressing to allow some of the old white paint to peek through.

Afterwards, the bee graphic from the Graphics Fairy (http://www.graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/2012/10/brag-monday-paris-desk-apothecary.html) was hand-painted in the middle of the seat. It turned out even more alluring than I imagined.

Close up of bee graphic

Fleur de Lis Table

2012-10-04T23:05:00.000-04:00

Brand new at this, so let's see how it goes!

Here's my contribution.

This was an old stand that someone gave me. Notice the peeling veneer and the overall overused appearance. (Please disregard the bicycle in the background and other "clutter"; although a crafter never has "clutter."

After base-coating the base of the stand in a fawn color and antiquing it with a soft black, the top was the next thing to attack - lovingly.

I purchased some old sheet music a while back and was just waiting for the right occasion and item to use it on. This was it. I tore the nice straight edges from the pieces of music and applied it to the table top with wallpaper paste. Yep, wallpaper paste. I found that Modge-Podge changed the color of the paper, making it darker and kind of transparent. The wallpaper paste did not have this effect. The paper dried opaque and true to the original color.

This is the same application to a different table.

I then used washes of different strengths: a black acrylic craft paint and a clear faux finishing glaze to create the flleur de lis design on top. The fleur de lis is a piece of clip art that I found on the net. I put a topcoat of Modge-Podge for furniture over the entire design ("ms thinking that I may put a coat or two of Poly, as well.

And voila!!! A new, modern, revamped piece of furniture.

Fro more creative ideas, see the Shabby Creek Cottage - a great resource for great ideas!