Jewelry Organizer for the Grad!

I followed up my heckuva week with a fabulous weekend. The graduation party was FUN and I think we all needed that. I wish my brother could have made it..upside is - we'll be seeing him next month.

So here is what I gave Shanley for her to use as a jewelry organizer in her new life as a college student:

This is a cabinet door with hardware cloth attached on the back. I hung some of my bling on it to get an idea of where to put the hooks.

I painted swirls in the corners with gold paint and used small 'S' hooks to hang the jewelry. I used Martha Stewart's Ballet Slipper, then sanded and rubbed dark stain on it. On this piece, because she would be moving with it, I followed up with a coat of satin poly spray.

I love the hinges!


I bent the hooks slightly with pliers, so they wouldn't come off easily. Earrings can just hang right from the wire.


I love the keyhole!

Here's the back..just bent nails to hold the HW cloth in securely. Oh and one thing about HW cloth and chicken wire..they are the devil to work with - I tore.my.hands. UP! I had so many cuts along with scuffed up knuckles - I guess gloves are in order the next time I work with this stuff!


I didn't get a picture of it before the pink paint but it was just a wooden door.

I took the glass out and added wire to the back. That way, she can hang it on its own or lean it against the wall.

She liked it (thank goodness) and I think we ended her high school career with a bang! I am putting together a post of the party..the theme was birds & nests, it was outdoors and lights were everywhere..it was sooo pretty. At the end of the night, we all had a glass of wine under the twinkle lights..it was magical.

I'm linking to Trash to Treasure Tuesday at Reinvented..c'mon over and see what's new!


Thank you for coming by!

What a week!

I've been busier than a one armed paper hanger (is that redneck enough for you?) Seriously, it's been one thing after another BUT I've been able to finish a few projects. I can't post them yet because they are gifts for my niece(s). The oldest (Shanley) just graduated high school this week and she's heading off to college! We're having her party on Saturday in Harvest, Alabama to celebrate. Her sister (Delaney) is not too far behind. The fact that they aren't little girls anymore makes me want to cry, but I'm thrilled for them at the same time.

The fun part is that Shanley is moving into her own apartment with one of her besties and we get to help decorate it - woohoo! Girls day out at Ikea with a Swedish meatball lunch..sign me up.

Here's a peek:

I don't usually hand paint on my projects but I thought a little touch would be cute here. Plus, this was easy and I figured I couldn't mess it up.

Happy Thursday ladies!

I'll Fly Away

I love Sundays...I love them because it seems to be the day to press your reset button. For me, it's time to STOP and worship with friends. I have devotional time during the week but sometimes I'm thinking of all I need to get done for the day...not good, but I'm working on that. Today, we sang "I'll Fly Away" which is a hymn that reminds me of my grandmother, so singing it while standing next to my mom this morning was really nice.

Speaking of flying, this little birdie was too cute to look over and I knew a date with a paintbrush was all it needed.

Coat of cream acrylic and then a blue drybrushed on..

That's better.. I rubbed on a tinted wax & buffed for a bit of shine.

While I was at it, I had this cute little bunny that was a very dark green color. I painted her a pale pink & rubbed on the tinted wax.

And finally, our California countdown. We're going to visit my brother and all go to Disneyland, Universal Studios, San Diego Zoo and of course, the beach!!

I hope your weekend was restful. I know I'm ready for another week of TPS reports..

Garden Sheds & Table Redo!

I'm back! I've been out of pocket the last few weeks...between my job, family & the gym I've been one busy bee!

I need to get outside and get my back garden in shape..it's a total jungle out there. We have fruit trees (apple, pear & mulberry) with some great foundation plants but it all needs some TLC. I have 3 outbuildings that have TONS of potential. They need a little elbow grease and some imagination to transform them into charming and I think I'm up for the challenge. Here are a few ideas I have for them from HGTV.com. ADORABLE!

Ok, so here is the table that I finished yesterday...

Before
I found this for an outstanding price at HFH. I've seen them sell for upwards of $120 & I got this one for $35. It was wobbly but some Titebond wood glue took care of that.

I did the usual..used Silky White from Behr then lightly sanded and aged with dark oak stain.

After
I'm happy with how it turned out. I like being able to store all of the dinner dishes and some glassware on the shelf. I'm a lamp fanatic so they are everywhere..I found a glass lamp that I'm thinking about putting here but until I rewire it, this will do just fine.

I played around with flowers & greenery for the vase and made the balls in the glass dish out of fabric strips. I collect old tins because they are great for adding height to a display & layering.

I like how the stain is uneven in some places on these turned legs. I think it makes the aging look a smidge more authentic.

So do what the scabble tiles say & have a good day!!!

I'm linking to Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating & Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Jessica's "Daily Affirmation"

"My whole house is great! I can do anything good!"

Take this with you...

My niece is graduating high school in a few weeks and moving onto college, Auburn University to be exact. We're proud of her and she's worked very hard to get where she is (so have her Mom & Dad!) She is grounded in her faith and a clever little cookie...

So to you, my dear (and all of your friends), I offer these words of wisdom as you strike out to start living as an adult in this world. While I believe in cutting corners where you can..you must know that some things are not worth the savings.

Brian and I have had conversations about what you don't cheap out on and we have come up with THREE essentials:

1. Sheets..This is something that took me a while to realize. Go to Ross, TJMaxx, Marshalls, etc. and get a high threadcount and by high I mean no less than 400. I used to get the lower threadcounts and my mom wised me up FAST! You will be so glad you spent the money when you are wrapped in soft, comfy sheets instead of the kind that feel like sandpaper...I think the 250 means how many times you have to wash them for them to soften up and by that time there's holes in them.

2. Toilet paper...this is a no brainer. I know in college you count every penny and want to make sure you have plenty left to go out with friends and tear the town up BUT this is not where you squeeze the budget.

3. Aluminum Foil..this may be a surprise to some of you but Brian swears by the 'good' foil..heavy duty Reynold's Wrap. PERIOD. Once you've tried to clean a casserole dish with burnt whatever on it and end up throwing it in the trashcan you'll see what I mean about foil.


Does anyone have anything to add to the list?

Do over!

So for every project that turns out exactly the way I saw it in my little imagination, I have at least one that ends up right in the ditch.

Case in point...

Stamps were 50% off at Hobby Lobby last week, so I thought, "hey, I know!" I'll stamp the back of the cabinet that faces the front door. It looks so boring and this will give it some character."

So I started...brushed on black acrylic paint and stamped & stamped & stamped...

And ended up with this..hmmm..can you smell the disappointment? Again, this is what you see when you walk in the front door. It might as well be a big toe. I asked Brian what he thought and he said, "you'll repaint it within a week." He knows me well. Mom said live with it a few days..I did and it hurt my eyes to look at it...I hate it when that happens with a project.

Thing is, I didn't want to repaint it.

I painted it a few years ago. I didn't want to start over.

So I did the only thing I could do...glued my ever handy sheet music to the back and called it a day. I know I've used this alot lately but some of the pieces I've done aren't staying in my house so it's not overkill...yet.

I think this looks better and adds the kind of character I had in mind.

As my Dad would say, I "reached around my elbow to scratch my ***", but it's done...even if I did it the long way!

Take it easy..

Bedroom Reveal!

We FINALLY finished our bedroom..Let me warn you..there are alot of pictures with this post.

I love how it turned out and it was definitely a labor of love. Brian did a beautiful job on the woodwork and helping with the painting and all the little projects that went into the finished look. The only thing that didn't see a paint brush coming at it was the ceiling fan..oh, and the lamps...and the shutters, but everything else got slapped with a brush!

Before:

I had this duvet cover since '04...LOVED it but this looks a little pitiful.

Now that I look at it..it reminds me of a hotel room. It seems very flat.

During:

Oh, mother of pearl - look at this mess...


Bless his heart...

After:

Ok this is better. I totally love a fat, squishy bed.

Here's the breakdown..

We have an older house so "master bedroom" only means there's a bathroom attached. It's not a huge room..it's 'cozy'. This is what you see when you walk in the room. The trunk is an old find from years & years ago. I repainted the lid but left the rest alone. The white paint is chippy with a soft pink showing through in some places.

Chest of drawers that I repainted and added cuttings from the backyard. They smelled really nice..I'm going to start doing that more often. Those are framed hankies. I got the clock recently at a yard sale ($4!) and music sheet covered books with an old tin & Brian's junk basket. I put a little basket in it for his change & a couple of tins for random stuff he had in there. I think it looks nicer now & it's still functional for him. (When I was cleaning out that basket I found a sucker stuck to the bottom still in the wrapper..that was fun washing out).

This is the nightstand to the dresser & chest of drawers that I inherited from my parents. I kept it white just to break it up a little..I didn't want it to look matchy-matchy too much.

My mom gave me this bride & groom - they are so sweet.

This is decorating the crib end that I hung. It was Brian's when he was a little baby..hard to imagine him tiny. I hung it up there & I think it works. The little decoration here is part of a storm drain (we think) my mom found in her yard and then I glued a little something on it that I had in my junk box. Voila - art!

I collect vintage sheet music & use it all over the house.

Brian has to put up with me putting something on every flat surface in the house. This is his nightstand. He reads most of the books I decorate with, so he's busy with these 2 now.

I started this makeover by deciding on color palette then looked for bedding. I found this PB coverlet on ebay.

This is my nightstand..I hung empty gold frames behind the lamps.

I found these at Goodwill...well Mom did. We were out hunting for furniture and she spied these. I didn't give them much thought but I sure am glad she did because they are perfect for storage.

This is what they looked like when I brought them home. They were $11 each and solid wood. I took the wood thingies off them, filled in the holes, sanded, painted and replaced the knobs.

I liked the texture of this blanket and it's perfect for napping, which I actually used it for this past week.

I repainted the dresser & chest. I used Creamy White by Behr Ultra & the wall color for the drawers to contrast. I used a tinted wax & dark oak stain to age it after sanding.

My mother's sweet neighbor gave me the metal trinket box and antique compact that the glass doorknob sits on. The doorknob came from my grandmother's house. I have kept that with me since 1982. She had them throughout her house. She also painted everything that sat still long enough (including bathroom tile)..I come by this honestly.

I found this armless girl at an antique store here in town. I made a hat for her to include my lucky number and a little bird with its own party hat on.

My mom and I bought this jewelry box at a yard sale in Marietta in the 80s. It was the first piece I rehabbed...I sanded it and she painted and stenciled it for me. I LOVE this little jewelry box and the memory. She also gave me the Italian gold & alabaster boxes on top of it.

I bought a white chenille bedspread on eBay for $20. Out of it I covered the headboard...

...and made this pillow for the bed..twisted some strips for the rosettes..

..and have these 2 extra pillows for my guest bedroom. You can see the pattern in this picture.

Here is another chenille bedspread that I snagged. I did a little sewing and made a closet covering. When you turn on the closet light it glows..so nice at night.

Here's a close-up of the pattern and swag at the top.

This is what I took off for the chenille covering. I didn't like the look of these doors in this room - they seemed boxy & short and made the room feel smaller. I wanted to hang a curtain higher to draw your eye up. We're putting in a closet system but that's for another post.

Now I'm going to be like Mikey here and get some rest.

Have a good day and thank you so much for reading! I'm linking to Funky Junk Interiors
and Between Naps on the Porch , Thrifty Decor Chic Before & After Party & House of Hepworths!