In His Grip

Pink Tricycle Planter

I have always loved a creative garden with unexpected things used as planters, lots of color and as my husband calls it an “Ozarky” look.  He is always having to hold me back from making our garden the junk yard of the neighborhood.  You can imagine his surprise, shock, disappointment when I told him I would be putting an old tricycle on our front porch as planter.  However, he is always a good sport and lets me do my own thing up to a point.  The “junk” (my treasures) in the garden was acceptable, but bringing it to the front porch was another story.  I assured him it would be tasteful and bring a feel of whimsy to the front of the house.  (I am not sure that helped my case or not.)  He kept his opinion until the planter was complete. Seriously? It’s a trike we can move it if it is too much of an “Ozarky” eye sore.

This is how the trike started out.  I purchased it at an estate auction last year for $10 knowing that I could come up with some kind of fun way to use it.  Some might say that it was just fine as it was, but I was inspired by a couple of photos on Pinterest.

These bikes, can be found here and here, gave me the idea of painting the tricycle completely pink.  How could that be wrong I ask?

After painting the trike watermelon pink with my favorite Krylon spray paint. I searched around in my stash and found containers to do my planting in and then proceeded to wire them to the tricycle so that they would not blow away in the crazy Kansas wind.

I love planting containers and getting my hands dirty.  The satisfaction and reward of well planted flowers is the best.

My little pink trike is the cutest planter around and Jeff and decided that it can stay on the front porch as it turned out lot better than he thought that it would.  I am not sure why, after all these years, he questions, my creative processes.

I am participating in the following link ups:  Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans,Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage,Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely,Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings,Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More,My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna,Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom,Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, Making The World Cuter, Knick of Time, Slice of Suburbia, At the Picket Fence, French Countrty Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Rooted in Thyme, The Charm of Home, 504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Five Days...Five Ways, Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie dust, Freckled Laundry, Answer is Chocolate, Chic on a Shoestring, Knick of Time,The Ivy Cottage, Elizabeth & Co., The Winthrop Chronicles, The Dedicated House, The Lettered Cottage, Live Laugh Rowe, Seven Alive, 52 Mantels, Bloom, Adorned From Above, Hi Sugarplum, Savvy Southern Style, Yesterday on Tuesday, Clean and Sensible, Mom, On Timeout. One Project at a Time, Kathe With an E, Cozy Little House, Sugar Bee Crafts, Cozy Little House, Life With The Crust Cut Off

Pink Patio, Oh Yay!

There is something so peaceful about a beautiful outdoor living space.  This summer I have done my darnedest to make my little postage stamp size back patio a place where I could go and drink my morning cup of coffee, read a book in the evening or eat dinner.  With the record high temperatures and drought here in the Midwest my dreams of spending a lot time on my little patio this summer have been just that, a dream.  However, this past week the weather has been beautiful and my dreams are now reality.  I took some old furniture that we had around and gave it a quick coat of paint and some fancy cushions, and changed my postage stamp patio into a pink party kind of place.

My sister used this little bistro table set in their booth at a conference several years ago.  It was originally all black.  As it has been sitting out in the weather for years, it has become very shabby.  My husband had threatened to put it out for the garbage truck several times, forgetting I take treasures like this off of the curb that others have put out for the garbage.  I figured I had better do something quick with it so that he would realize all of the pink potential that this little set still had it.

Using some pink acrylic paint I already had, I watered it down a bit and gave the slates a quick coat.  This allowed the weathered, beautiful, shabby goodness to show through.

This table is very small so it fits perfect on my postage stamp patio.  Because of the petit size, it makes this pink bandana an ideal choice for a table cloth.

The kids gave me this metal chaise lounge for mother’s day over 10 years.  It has never had a cushion, but I have enjoyed it as it is as a perfect place to read a book in the evening always thinking a cushion would make it better.  Then it came to me that if it were pink that would make it perfect.  So, yes, out came my pink spray paint.

Shopping on Wal-Mart.com one day I found this cushion that was lime green and white and would go nicely with the other fabric that I had found for the bistro chair cushions.  Using the ship to store option (free shipping, you just have to pick your item up in the store of your choice) I placed my order. 

Here is the fabric that I found for the cushions I made for the bistro chairs as well as the Adirondack chairs that are on my patio.

This is the other side of my postage stamp.  I have literally turned around and taken the picture so you can get the feel for just how small our patio really is.  But now that I have a bit of color on my sweet little patio I have grown to love it.  I am thinking about painting my Adirondack chairs next summer and adding a couple of fun pillows as well.  Maybe a very pale shabby pink  for these chairs would do nicely in keeping with the pink patio party porch feel.

I am participating in the following link ups: Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans,Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage,Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely,Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings,Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More,My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna,Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom,Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, Making The World Cuter, Knick of Time, Slice of Suburbia, At the Picket Fence, French Countrty Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Rooted in Thyme, The Charm of Home, 504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Five Days...Five Ways, Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie dust, Freckled Laundry, Answer is Chocolate

Roll Top Desk Makeover

Last week Anna, our daughter who just graduated from college, and I did a desk makeover.  She just moved in with Lindsey our other daughter and realized that she had no furniture and if Lindsey were to move out all Anna would have left in the house would be her bed and her dresser.  So she decided there was some furniture accumulation needed on her part.  Last winter she was given a roll top desk and figured this would be a good piece to start with on her quest for enough cute furniture to fill her part of their home. 

 

This is what the desk started out looking like.   I know there are some of you out there that would not ever paint over oak.  If this desk was all solid oak I may have agreed with you, but there are parts of this desk that are paper veneer, so painting it really is no big deal. So relax, you know who you are.

We used our homemade chalk paint again on this project.  Anna started out with light aqua for the first coat.

Once the light aqua coat was dry, she proceeded to the darker aqua.  When you are painting with this kind of homemade chalk paint, it dries very quickly so there is not a long wait between coats.  And if you are going to distress the piece in the end, you really do not need to be super careful either.  Once the last coat was dry, we started distressing with an electric sander and sanding blocks.  When you distress you need to keep in mind natural wear places on the furniture, i.e. around the knobs, edges, corners, etc.

The inside even turned out great.  Knowing how home offices can be, this will probably be the position of the roll top most of the time, so good thing it looks good too. 

We were a bit worried about painting over the roll top, but we did not put a thick coat on it and did some extra sanding in the groves and it works perfect.  Once you have wiped all of the surfaces down after sanding is complete, we used a Minwax furniture wax as the finish.  This takes a bit of elbow grease but is worth it in the end. 

So goes the first piece of Anna’s furniture collection other than bedroom stuff.  You can count on the fact that we are always on the look out for a good garage sale buy to redo.  I will post future projects here. 

I am participating in the following link ups:  Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely, Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More, My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna, Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom, Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, Making The World Cuter, Knick of Time, Slice of Suburbia, At the Picket Fence, French Countrty Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, Rooted in Thyme, The Charm of Home, 504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Five Days...Five Ways, Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie dust, Freckled Laundry, Answer is Chocolate

 

Independence Day Porch

Being patriotic has come to have so much more meaning to me over the last year.  Since I have known someone who has actually given the ultimate sacrifice for my freedom it has given me more respect for the country I call home and the men and women who choose to serve in our military.  So as Independence Day approached, I wanted to show a little patriotism on our front porch.  The flag shutter project I found in the Lowes Creative Idea magazine.  I love this free publication, you can subscribe by going here.  They have so many creative ideas for your home and garden and as soon as I saw this project, I knew that it was one that I was going to do.  I found a shutter at a junk store for $2 and it went from there. 

It seems I now have burlap pillows for every season for my porch.  Burlap is the perfect fabric to use for a pillow that will be in the weather.  I have to tie mine down here in Kansas or they would blow away.  They are so fun and easy to make.  Here is how I made this flag pillow.

Using masking tape I masked off the shape and the square for the blue.  My star cookie cutter came in handy as my star shape and I masked it as well.

Once the blue square was painted, I waited for it to dry and then masked for the red stripes.  I use acrylic craft paint to do this and a stiff brush and dab the paint on more than brush it.  The burlap soaks the paint up quickly so dry time is a snap.

Once the paint is completely dry you can pull the tape off and use this just as it is.  Once I had sewn the pieces together and stuffed the pillow I decided it need just a bit more detail. 

Getting out my red and white baker’s twine I stitched and little detail around the start and blue square as well as the entire pillow. 

Using some flags that my kids had decorated their bikes with years ago for a neighborhood 4th of July parade, I strung them on the baker’s twine and they made a fabulous flag garland.  Now we can celebrate Independence Day with a patriotic flare on the front porch.

I am participating in the following links ups: Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely, Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More, My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna, Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom, Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home, A Glimpse Inside, The Concrete Cottage, No Minimalist Here, Thrifty Decorationg, Jennifer Rizzo

 

My Garden Window

“Let’s put a window in our garden.” Yes, I have said that to my husband many years ago.  He has come to a point where he just goes with my quirky ideas. Figuring that is easier than asking how or why I come up with these, what I call, creative and unique, ideas.  Needless to say, I have had a window in my garden for a long time.  There is just something about placing unexpected items in my garden that make me happy.  However, my window was getting tired and had actually almost fallen off of the tree that it was secured to.  It was time for a bit of a spruce up.  I forgot to take a before picture, just know that it was in bad shape and quite frankly nearly falling apart.

 

 

If you read this blog at all you know that my “go to” color is always pink.  But I really did not anything too bright or obvious.  Not like a window in the garden is  not obvious on its own.  The color I chose was a baby pink and mixed in about half as much water.  Making the paint very thin and watery.

This is what it looked like after I washed it down with the watery pink paint.  I then used a sanding block and sanded some of the paint back off to give it an even more of a worn look.

I then attached the window back to tree where it belongs.  Because we live in Kansas and the wind and heat in the Summer would never allow plants to live in such small pots, I chose to put some artificial greens and small pink flowers down in the pots.

I don’t think they look too fake.  I tried to keep them looking as natural as possible but from the patio no one will ever know that those plants in the window are not real. 

Windows represent “the adventure beyond” to me. Knowing that there is always something just beyond what I can see from where I am keeps me striving for all that God has beyond my window.    You are welcome to come look through the window in my garden anytime.

I am participating in the following link ups: Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, Hof ouse of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely, Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More, My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna, Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom, Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, My Romatic Home

Table Redo With Homemade Chalk Paint

Our family has had these two table in our great room for years. I found them at Hobby Lobby in the 80% aisle and don’t think I spent more than $30 a piece for them.  They are sturdy solid wood tables but the finish had started to come off the the top surface.  I had been talking about refinishing them for a while but wasn’t sure what to do.  My sister, who is a furniture refinisher and repurposing goddess, suggested I just sand off the top finish and use just a paste wax as the finish and use a homemade chalk paint for the legs.  Never having used either of these techniques before I was up for something new.  So the work began.

Using an electric sander, it took no time to get the finish off of the top surface.  These were cheapy tables after all.  Once the top was sanded.  We mixed up the homemade chalk paint.  This was a mixture of just regular flat paint, any acrylic paint will do. We used some old white craft paint I had laying around and mixed in the color green that I wanted along with some scoops of plaster of Paris.  Mix thoroughly until the consistency is like runny pudding. There is no prep work to do just paint right over the old finish. You should work fast as the paint dries pretty quickly. We painted on two coats letting them dry in between.  Then using a sanding block distressed the legs.

When the distressing was like I wanted it, we used Minwax paste wax to finished the whole thing giving it a richer look as well as giving the top protection against moisture.

I love the way these turned out and I have my creative mind working overtime as to how I will use this homemade chalk paint on other things that need some sprucing up.

I am participating in the following link ups: Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Beyond the Pikcet Fence, Momnivore's Dilemma, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Blooming Designs, Bubble Nature Creations, Liz Marie, Addicted 2 Decorating, House of Hepworths, Stuff and Nonsense, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely, Simply Sweet Home, Bubbly Nature Creations, The Answer is Chocolate, Sassy Sites, I Gotta Create, The CSI Project, Sisters of the Wild West, Boogieboard Cottage, It So Very Cheri, DIY Showoff, Natasha In Oz, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Domestically Speaking, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fabric Bows and More, My Girlish Whimms, Seven Thirty Three, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna, Mama Hens Coop, {Primp}, Vintage Gwen, Frugally Sustainable, Tidy Mom, Pinkapotmus, Between Naps on the Porch, Etcetorize

Christmas in February

Our family finally was able to celebrated Christmas with Ryan and Paula last week.  It just seems hard to find a time when we all can be together.  Of course my fantasy as a mother is to have all my kids live close to me the rest of my life so we will always be able to spend every holiday and family event together and live happily ever after.  {Pop} goes the fantasy bubble and real life is where I am forced to live.  Darn!  Although, I cannot complain, Ryan and Paula only live in Lincoln, NE, just 3 1/2 hours north of us, its not like they are in another country.  But that distance, at times, feels too far.  The time we do have as a family is very precious to us and I will take all that we do get. 

 

 

To say that the wait for our Christmas presents was worth it would be an understatement.  Ryan and Paula out did themselves with their creative, craftiness.  Look at these great tables/foot stools/benches/what ever you want to make them, repurposed vintage suitcases they made for Lindsey and Anna.  Seriously, they are awesome and in super shaped on the inside too.

They made this fabulous “S” to hang on our front door.  They could not find an initial that they liked that was big enough so Ryan cut one out of styrofoam and then Paula decorated it.  Oh my heck, just look at those handmade flowers.  Does this gal fit perfectly into our family or what?  Not only that but she whipped up some homemade shower scrub as well.  She is a gal after my heart, I just have to say.  Making things pretty and smell good too, who can go wrong. 

We also received this set of tile coasters that they made using their wedding pictures.  I was trying to figure out how I would display a bunch of their pictures without making it look like some kind of Ryan & Paula gallery.  The girls already accuse me of having Ryan as the favorite, so a bunch of pictures on the wall, shelves, etc. would only perpetuate such a myth.  But coasters, now that is something that is very useful and if they display eight different wedding shots so be it. 

Look how perfect this looks on my pink front door.  I thought that I would be changing the color of the door soon, but who am I kidding?  This “S” just made the decision, the door is pink for now at least through Summer. 

Book Pumpkins

I found a tutorial on line to make pumpkins out of old books.  Creations By Kara has a great step by step instructions on how to make these lovely little beauties.  They really are easy and everyone has old paperbacks hanging around, why not make them into these cute decorations? I found that the fatter the book the fuller the pumpkin.  I used scissors to cut the pumpkin shape but I think that a box cutter would make for more uniform pages and you would less likely make the shape bigger as you go as I actually did on both and then had to do some trimming in the end.  I really like how they turned out and may be making some more soon.  

I am participating in the following link ups:  Between Naps on the Porch, The DIY Showoff,Boogiboard Cottage, Its So Very Cheri, Sew Chatty, Dittle Dattle, Sew Can Do, Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Today's Creative Blog,Sugar and Dots, My Girlish Whims, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Woodsy, The Tablescaper, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Making the World Cuter, Itsy Bitsy Paper, So Much Ado, One Tough Mother, Sweet Peas and Bumblebees, Handy Man, Crafting Woman, Women Who Do It All, Seven Thrity-three, Someday Crafts, Tea Rose Home. Lil' Luna, Momma Hen Scoop, Sugar and Dots, {Primp}, Sommewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Gluesticks, Momnivore's Dilemma, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Simply Sweet Home, Truly Lovely, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest

Repurpose Light Bulbs

Over the weekend I had some time to catch up on inspirational blogs as well as Pinterest.  I just needed to do something creative that would give me immediate gratification.  After looking at some sites of hanging canning jars with candles in them I decided that I wanted to do something like that too.  But as I was changing a light bulb in my studio I had an idea to use the light bulb for a small bud vase, similar yet different than the canning jar idea, but that's just how my mind works.  One idea leads to another and another, and so on.  I did a Google search on how to make a light bulb into a vase I found this great tutorial.  Needless to say, I found a total of three burnt out light bulbs in the house.  It was not that hard to do and I love the results for the amount of effort involved.

I immediately went out to my garden and cut a bunch of Zinnias to put in my new light bulb vases.  Normally, every Spring I plant a huge patch of Zinnias so that I can have cut flowers all Summer and well into the Fall.  With the Spring being so wet every weekend and then the temperatures zoomed up into the 100s I never was able to get my Zinnias planted.  Happy day, I had a bunch of volunteers show up unexpectedly.

Here I just used clear water in them, but I'm thinking you could add a drop of food color to the water and make a whole new look.  Matching the water to the flower for a monochrome design.

So, so cute.  I tried a flood lamp light bulb, but it broke in the process.  You need to be super careful as the light bulb glass is so stinking sharp.  But the next time one burns out I will have that shape as well. I also think that adding wire to the top and hanging them like my original plan will be awesome too. 

I am participating in the following link ups: Coastal Charm, Domestically Speaking, Today's Creative Blog, Momma Hen, Blue Cricket Design, My Girlish Whims, Sweet Peas & Bumblebees, Goodbye City, Hello Suburbs, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Woman who Do It All, Seven Thirty-three, Someday Crafts, Tea Rose Home, Lil' Luna, Sugar & Dots, Somewhat Simple, Alchemy Fine Living, Paisley Passions, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Tales From Bloggeritaville, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Simply Sweet Home, Its a Blog Party, Its Fun to Craft, The Shabby Nest, Tidy Mom, Chic on a Shoestring 

Roadside Pick Up

Look at this great little chest of drawers.  Jeff and I were driving in a neighborhood near our home and I saw this chest out by the trash can with a FREE sign taped to it.  Seriously, of course I shout to my husband stop we have to pick up that chest.  His response is "We are not stopping and picking that up in the light of day.  You can wait until it is dark."  Clearly with the cute factor of the chest involved here I knew that it would not be there when it got dark.  I dropped Jeff off at the house that we were going to and went back and loaded up the little chest in broad daylight.  I am just not that proud when it comes to a cute chest just waiting for me for FREE, hello!  I think is it fine just like it is and it is a bit wobbly, but I am thinking a new coat of paint and some creative fixing to one of the feet in back it will go from trash to a fabulous treasure.   I will post the makeover soon.   Hmmm, what color should it be?

Pinterest -- My New Addiction

Over the weekend I joined a new creative social network.  And boy doggies, I am totally addicted.  The website is Pinterest.  You can browse around without joining, but once you join, that's when the fun begins.  All you do is basically bookmark or "pin" things that you see on the internet that you like and then others respond by "like" or "repin" your "pin".  I knew something was up somewhere on the internet as there were several of my older posts like Bed to Front Porch Bench, Pink Christmas Ball Wreath, and Homemade Peppermint Bath Salts that were coming up with a tons of hits.  Now, I know that someone had "pinned" them on Pinterest.  I am just warning you now DO NOT even get started because you will not be able to stop looking at Pinterest.  I just think of it as a little vacation throughout the day. But BEWARE your time will fly away on Pinterest.  Happy pinning :o)

HGTV ~ Cash & Cari

I have found a new show on HGTV.  First of all, I love HGTV and get so many great ideas from this network.  I often go away from a show thinking I can do just about any kind of home DIY, until my husband assures me that we will not be tearing down that wall, and expanding the house out into the backyard, ha,ha.  The newest show that is an addition to my DVR programing is call Cash & Cari.  My sister Janet told me about this show and said that she knew is was my kind of program.  Boy, was she right.  The host of the show Cari Cucksey runs an estate auction business where she goes through the contents of the costumers' home and then has a big sale where everything must go.  If you like the show American Pickers, this show is for you. Cari sells the things that the American  Pickers pass up like old beds, chairs, and household goods.

 

 

 

Repurposed Recliner

This had been my project for the last couple of weeks.  There was a time when I thought the recliner would win but I kept at it and I finally conquered the challenge of the crazy recliner.  Early last year a coworker of Jeff's asked if I would want a recliner they no longer had a use for, he must have been aware of my dumpster diving hobby and allowed me the dignity of picking it up from his home rather than picking it up off the curd with the rest of the trash.  Since I have never upholstered a recliner before, my naivety, made me believe this would be no big deal.  Boy, was I mistaken!

 
Here is what the recliner started out as.  The fabric was a very worn polished cotton.  Although, this chair had been used a lot and the fabric thread bare, the structure of the chair was very solid and as it turned out a good brand name as well.  Score one for me!

 
When I begin to take a piece of furniture apart, I always start on the back and take lots of pictures of each step.  This is so helpful as you begin to put the piece back together.  I am always careful not to tear the fabric as I then use these pieces as my pattern, marking them with "top", bottom", "right", and "left".  This sounds like a bit much, but believe me it is more helpful then you know.

 
Recliners come apart, top and bottom.  This makes it easier to work with and I was able to work with each piece separately.  For the most part, I always replace or add additional dacron padding to the arms and sides.  On this chair, I added stuffing to the head and back cushion and dacron warp to the seat cushion, sides, and arms. 

 
Because of my lack of experience with recliners I miscalculated the yardage and realized I was going to be about a yard short.  Score one for the recliner.  As my luck was going with the project at this point, the recliner was winning, the store had sold out of the fabric I had purchased just a couple of days prior. Dang, dang, double dog dang!  New plan, this chair was not going to beat me, so I let my creative side take over and decide to add in a contrasting color to the back and sides.  I would only have to redo the seat cushion and add the contrast to rise so that it would go with the rest of the chair.  I ended up purchasing 2 1/2 yards of the contrasting fabric to make this new plan work. 

 
As it turns out, I like how the contrast looks and makes the recliner unique rather than just any other relciner. 

 
My mistake turned out to be something really good. However, I don't think that I will be tackling any more recliners any time soon.  This one just about did me in.  I did learn a lot, and if I ever do another one in the future, I will take waaaaaay more picture.

 
Now I think I will just pick up my book and cup of coffee and rest before I start my next upholstery project.  This time I am doing a sofa I found on the curb with the trash! Oh, yeah, re-purpose other people's cast offs, that's how I roll. 

I am participating in the following link ups: The DIY Showoff, Between Naps on the Porch, Dittle Dattle, Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, Making The World Cuter, Sumo Sweet Stuff, Today's Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Blue Cricket Design, All things Heart and Home, Me and My Bucket, Niikki's Nifty Knacks, Sew Woodsy, The Thrifty Home, Trendy Treehouse, Alchemy Fine Living, Miss Mustard Seed

Its a "Deer" Christmas Tour

Helping our daughter, Lindsey, decorate for Christmas for the first time in her own home was such a hoot.  Lindsey has always been that daughter who has made fun of all the Christmas decorations that I have.  Well, after our afternoon of decorating her home for the first time, she has no room to talk.  Seriously, what gal starts off with her first Christmas on her own, not only with a coordinated Christmas, but so much to decorate with? Boy, was she happy with all of the leftovers from my house that I have been saving for just such a time that she would need them in her own home.  Of course, she had to start with her "deer" friend and get her spruced up for the season. 

 
This is the Christmas tree that has been in Lindsey's room since she was a girl.  It has been in the window of her room at home, as well as adorned her dorm rooms at college as well.

 
Lindsey has been accumulating pink Christmas things since I brought the pink tree home to her years ago.

 
Nothing better than the glow of pink lights.

 
Her hearth looks so cozy. We painted the garland silver along with my painted Christmas trees. I love the way it turned out.  It looks so vintage.

 
Digging through my linens, Lindsey found a bunch of these quilt squares that I had picked up at an auction a long time ago.  She sewed the corners together and made a garland and added it to the painted garland.

 
Her vintage and pink deer collection sure came in handy to add to all of the Christmas things going on the mantel.

 

Again, digging through my old Christmas things, Lindsey found these very old Christmas light bulbs that were given to me by my Mom and they were given to her by her Dad.  My Grandpa had them hanging on their mobile home when I was a kid, so that dates them back to at least the 70's.  Now I am not sure why I still have them, as I am sure they no longer meet the safety standards of today, but don't they look great just sitting in this bowl.  Grandpa Nelson would be proud.

 
Now we get to the tree.  This was a tree I purchased about 20 years ago at Wal-Mart for $19.99.  It was the first "second" tree I ever had.  Not being satisfied with the green color, Lindsey took my lead and painted it a very nice ballet pink.  Didn't it turn out fabulous?

 
To wrap up our "deer" Christmas home tour is her peace wreath that she made out of Target dollar spot balls. Wow, what a great Christmas home for a young gal.

Linking up to the following Christmas Home Tour link ups:  Between Naps on the Porch, Centsational Girl, Home for the Holidays, Its Fun to Craft

Painted Christmas Trees

Last year was the first year that I had acquired enough pink Christmas things to make part of our home pink for Christmas, click here and here to see what I did last year.  It has been mostly contained to the dinning room, but with the front door once again a great shade of pink, the porch has become a very fun pink winter wonderland.  I wanted to change up the look and really wanted some sliver trees but could not justify buying anymore trees, let alone explaining that one to Jeff. 

 
So I figured, I have some silver spray paint in my studio, why not try a little on the small trees on the front porch.  I tested it first on a small piece of greenery to make sure the spray paint did not melt the plastic or do anything crazy.  And it worked, so I went to town with the painting.

 
Once I saw the transformation, I absolutely love it and knew that it would be the perfect change to the front porch and make those pink accents pop.

 
The end result truly looked like the vintage tinsel trees from back in the day.  I not only paint my two trees but a wreath as well.

 
Who knew that spray paint could change a Christmas tree?  Again, Jeff doubted the outcome of my shenanigans with spray paint, and once again he is shocked that it really did work.

 
Next year I just might be brave enough to tackle the giant wreath above the door.

I am linking to the following link up parties: Its So Very Cheri, The DIY Showoff, The Girl Creative, Cross My Hooks, Between Naps On the Porch, Keeping It Simple, Dittle Dattle, Skip to My Lou, Coastal Charm, Today's Creative Blog, Centsational Girl, Somewhat Simple, Blue Cricket Designs, All Things Heart & Home, Nikkis Nifty Knacks, Trendy Treeehouse, Sew Woodsy, Fine Craft Guild, Creations By Kara, The Thrifty Home, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Life as Lori, Tales from Bloggeritavile, Wildflowers and Whimsy, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Paisley Passions, The Shabby Nest, Truly Lovely

$3 Pink Hall Table

With the girls moving out and the fact that this empty nest is need of some sprucing up, I have been haunting garage sales and estate sales.  I spent one weekend just sweeping out all of the "feathers" left behind by our little chicks.  But now I am motivated to make this new space somewhere that our kids want to come "home" to.  Here is my first project for the empty nest sprucing.  

I purchased this little table at an estate sale near our home for $3.  I thought that it would look great at the top of the stairs between Lindsey and Anna's rooms.  With both rooms having pink in the color schemes I wanted to bring something out into the hallway that would bring the rooms together.

 
Picking up my handy dandy pink spray paint, I covered the table paying more attention to the grooves and details so the the paint would settle into them.

Taking my electric sander, I worked on taking off most of the paint leaving the paint in the details behind.

 
To have this worn pink table at the top of the stairs between the girls' rooms will be just the right touch to bring the pink and brown from Lindsey's room together with the pink, silver and black of the room that is Anna's.  Now I cannot wait to start on the new rooms.

Link up parties I am participating in: Between Naps On the Porch, Its So Very Creative Very Creative, DIY Showoff, Mad Skills Monday, The Girl Creative, Keeping It Simple, Skip to my Lou, Making the World Cutier, Coastal Charm, Today's Creative Blog, Blue Cricket Design, Me and My Bucket, Nikki's Nifty, Knacks, The Thrifty Home, Its a Hodpodge Life, Its a Blog Party, Finding Fabulous, Its Fun to Craft, The Shabby Nest, Paisley Passions, Alchemy Living Fine 

Lamp Rescue

I have been looking for a new lamp for our family room.  Not just any lamp will do, I wanted something that I could not only re-purpose but be fun and creative as well.  One night when Jeff and I were on our way home from working on Lindsey's house, I saw a heap of garbage at the top of someone's driveway and laying on top was an old brass lamp, and some other treasures I knew I wanted.  So after begging Jeff to stop, this trash diving embarrasses him in a BIG way, I loaded up the back seat and was thrilled with my new finds.  After checking the lamp to see if it worked, I knew that this would be my new lamp. Yeah!

This is the lamp before it transformation.

I used this Rust-Oleum antique hammered finish spray paint.  I have used it on several things in the past and knew that it would work great on this project.

I love the way the hammered finish gives a slight texture to the surface.  

Next came the lamp shade, this is where the creative fun begins.  I took this old lamp shade apart that my mother-in-law gave Lindsey.  Lindsey decided she wasn't using it right now so she let me have it.  I am thinking she is going to want it back after she sees what it looks like now.

I started to Mod Podge pages for an old dictionary to the frame of the shade. 

You have to be careful with the pages once they are wet with the Mod Podge, they become very fragile and tear easily.  Go slowly, draping the pages over the frame.  As the pages start to dry you can work out the wrinkles and repair any tears that may have occurred.

When the Mod Podge was dry, I glued gimp along both the top and bottom edges to not only add interest but to help finish the edge.

Using my Cricket machine, I cut out flower shapes to make the flower embellishment for the shade.  I cut three flowers in graduating sizes.  I started with a 2 1/2", 3", 3 1/2", and 4", so in the end I had 12 cut shaped.

I group the flower shapes together and sewed some buttons through all the layers and then using a pencil I curled the edges of the petals.

This is what the paper flower ended up looking like when it was done.  I really like the way this turned out and think I just might figure more things I can use these paper flowers on.

Considering I had everything on hand to do this project, it looks like this one is free.  You can't beat that!

 
Here is what the shade looks like with the light on.  I am really liking the way the light shows where the pages overlap.  Gosh! I can't tell you how much I love, love, love making something out of nothing.

I am participating these link ups: Between Naps on the Porch, Its So Very Creative, Keeping It Simple, Mad Skills Monday, The Girl Creative, The DIY Showoff, Skip To My Lou, Today's Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, New Nostalgia, Me and My Bucket,Nikk's Nifty Knacks,The Thrifthy Home, Blue Cricket Design, Creations By Kara, Fine Craft Guild, It's a Blog Party, Trendy Treehouse, Fireflies and Jellybeans,Tales from Bloggeritaville, It's a Blog Party, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Thrifty Tickle 

Featured On Blue Cricket Desgin

Becca at Blue Cricket Design 
has featured Lindsey's Goodwill sofa.  How fun is that?  This is so exciting to get this kind of exposure not only for the great sofa transformation, but for "In His Grip" as well. Blue Cricket Design is a great place for inspiration and DIY projects of all kinds.  I go to this sight often to see what is out there in the world of DIY and just for plain fun.  I mean look at her blog banner, who would not want to spend some time at this web sight?  Go on over and see what Becca has going on beside this great sofa!

What a "Deer" House

To say that my daughter, Lindsey, has a personal style goes without saying. She began her love for all things deer a couple of years ago when she started picking up small deer figures at junk stores, garage sales and where ever she could find small deery things.  This interest in deers began with her favorite Bible verse: The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like that of a deer, he enables, me to go to the heights. ~Habakkuk 3:19~  She began her search for her mantel piece as soon as she realized she would have a mantel.  The quest for a deer head began back last March.  She soon realized that people who have deer heads are quite proud of them and are none too ready to part with the precious catch.  Besides the cost was way out of her price range.  But she did not give up that easy.  Jeff and I happened to be in Paola, Kansas with the little red truck at a car show and I just happened to go browsing along the square when I came upon a store front for an auction house and what did I see in the window? But a small deer head that would be the perfect piece for Lindsey's fireplace.  The shop owner gave up the "old thing" for a mere $60.

 

This is the fireplace before we were done painting.

 

I know bad picture, but here is the fireplace with the new hearth that was added.  Thanks, John.  Who can have a fireplace without a mantel?

 
Only can a young single gal take a deer head and paint the mount bright pink.

 

This is to the left of her fireplace. The table was a find at a garage sale for $7.

Once again, she has brought her own style here too, with her button confetti.

  
This lamp is an "as is" garage sale find in all of its retro glory.

 

Just add a chunky, spray painted aqua frame and a string of beads and this deer head could hang in any "stylish" young women's home and it goes super great with the Goodwill sofa.

Link ups I am participating in:  Between Naps On The Porch, The DIY Show Off, Its So Very Creative, Keeing It Simple, Making the World Cuter, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to My Lou,The Girl Creative, Costal Charm,Today's Creative Blog, Me and My Bucket, Blue Cricket Design, The Thrifty Home, Life As Lori, Tales Form , Fireflies and Jellybeans, Trendy Treehouse, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Domestically Speaking, Creations By Kara, It's A Blog Party, Finding Fabulous, It's Fun to Craft

Daily Reminder of the Great Commission

In my studio I have a wall above my cutting table that has been blank for a long time.  Recently, I decided to fill it with reminders of what I want my life to represent, where I have been, and what Stitches By Sturman supports.  The pictures are from the several mission trips I have been on.  The quilted cross was made by the women of The Mashia Foundation.  The women live in Nigeria and help support their families by making quilted items and selling them.  Since my first trip to India in 2006, Stitches By Sturman has purchased at least 4 sewing machines a year for women in India to start their own sewing business to support their families.

I bought all the frames at garage sales for .25 to .75.  They were not in the best condition and really did not match.

Using some black spray paint, it did not take long for all of the frames to look a lot better and like they all went together.  I then picked some of my favorite pictures and printed them in black and white and placed them in the frames.  I now have a daily reminder that this is what it is all about and Stitches By Sturman is God's way of providing me with a way to support women 1,000's of miles away doing the same work I do and giving me a connection with them through His love.

I am linking up to: Between Naps on the Porch, Its So Very Cheri, Keeping It Simple, Mad Skills Monday, The DIY Show Off, The Girl Creative, Skip to My Lou, Today's Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, New Nostalgia, Me and My Bucket, The Thirfty Home