Monday, February 29, 2016

Chalk painted frame redo

I painted my master bedroom about 2 years ago from a light blue to a chocolate brown color.  The windows are large and even with a lot of natural light coming in, I'm still on the fence about the dark brown color.   I'm always drawn to light colors, but thought I would try something totally different.  Can't make up my mind if I like it or not.

  Maybe with some pops of white here and there, I may start coming around to the brown color more.  I'm trying to work with what I've got, but I definitely need some white in there.  ASAP

So starting with the walls....

I picked up this dark gray frame from the thrift store.  Sorry for the dark photos










It's actually plastic, not wood,  but I loved all the pretty details.  And it already had two sawtooth hooks in the back ready to hang.   

A quick spray  of Heirloom White changed the whole look.







This was the chalkboard that was inside the frame.   I hope this couple are together and still in love.:)

 Since the idea is to put light colors on the wall, I am going to use beadboard.

  Using the chalkboard as a template, I grabbed my jigsaw and some scrap beadboard from the garage.    My scrap wasn't wide enough to fit inside the frame, so I had to cut two skinny pieces and place them side by side.    



I brushed on a light coat of a creamy white paint that was also from a leftover project.  When that was dry, I lightly distressed the beadboard and placed in the frame.



Behind that, I squeezed in the chalkboard.  It was a snug fit which was really helpful.  It not only kept my beadboard in place, but one day I may use this as a chalkboard and everything will be right there.



A teeney hook in the center holds a muslin wreath that I made ages ago.

A little white on the walls is making me feel better already.













Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Spray painting a metal flower pot

I am making progress with my goodies that I picked up last week from the thrift store.






The metal flower pot will be an easy makeover.  Sometimes a simple coat of paint makes all the difference.

Here is what it looked like before.   Way too much color for me :)

First a coat of Rustoluem's Heirloom White.  I love this stuff, it's a warm, creamy vanilla color.  Don't know what I'd do if they ever stopped making it.




I sprayed one coat and when that dried, I turned the pot upside down and sprayed into all the nooks and crannies by the flowers.  They are "raised" so I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any spots.



I noticed some teeny little cracks in the flowers, so I grabbed some ready to use spackle.  With my finger,  I gently smooshed a small amount of spackle into the cracks and wiped away.    






   I like to use a scrunched up brown paper bag for sanding delicate areas.  This was an actual sandwich bag...they're a little softer then the bags I use for my groceries.   





Another light coat of Heirloom White.

And a coat of sealer to protect.

And more flowers, cause I am soooo ready for Spring.



Monday, February 22, 2016

Baby's Breath Flower Basket

I found baby's breath in my grocery store marked down to .50 a bunch recently.     These were coming home with me, because last week I bought this basket at the thrift shop.  Price $2.00


A perfect match.



This is what it first looked like.    I decided to give it a more aged feel.


First I brushed a light coat of a vinegar/steel wool mixture to stain the wood.  If you never used this before, fill a glass jar of white vinegar and drop in a few PLAIN steel wool pads.   Let this sit for at least a week.  I would give it a shake every now and then.   


It goes on almost clear, but darkens in a few minutes.   It took about 30 min to completely dry.

My first coat was a thin layer of gray color.   I used 

Over that I dry bushed a light cream colored paint that I had from another project


I hot glued some foam blocks at the bottom of my basket to hold them  in place.   I experimented with wrapping it with burlap, but decided to keep it simple.


Gently insert those delicate baby's breath stems.   

And you have a pretty basket for about $5.00











Friday, February 19, 2016

Shabby chic basket makeover

I have become a thrift store addict, for several reasons.    

  As my kids moved out on their own, some furniture from home went with them. Years ago, when my son turned 19, he and his three childhood friends decided to get an apartment together.    Between the four of them, they managed to scrape together one sofa, a PlayStation and a huge screen tv.   Three brought their own beds from home.   The poor fourth guy only had a sleeping bag.  But these boys were in heaven experiencing their first taste of new found freedom.   Until the rent, utilities, and cable bills starting coming in...not to mention buying groceries.  Four guys eat a LOT.   All these expenses must have been quite a wake up call.   Home must have never looked so good before.   Still, they were determined to make a go of it, so we moms donated dressers, coffee tables, lamps, a vacuum (which was probably never touched) from our homes so they could at least live like civilized human beings.   

My kids are educated, hard working and I am enormously proud of them, but starting out is expensive.  And to be honest, as a-soon-to-be-empty-nester, how much stuff did I really need?  I was tossing things at them faster then they could catch them.   Pictures, lamps, knick knacks etc.  Goodbye to stuff.

 My life felt clutter free.  Less things to dust.  I was a true minimalist for nearly a year.

But when my brother came for Christmas and casually asked   "What happened to all your furniture?"  I had to admit things were looking pretty bare.

Ok. Time to buy some stuff 

But keeping in mind that downsizing is in the not too distant future, I wasn't about to run to RC Willey and spend a small fortune.  So thrift store shopping was the answer for me.

And more importantly is that I get a chance to get really creative, to make something over that is personal to me. To think outside the box.    And honestly, it's waaaay more fun.
 
So here is a picture of my latest haul.   Except the basket that I want to show you is not in the photo..I had already started to paint it.

 Its some kind of fake wood but I'm okay with that .  And it only $2.00.     Here is a picture of the bottom with the original color. 

Not wanting to sand, I grabbed my Martha Stewart chalk paint.   This time I used Ivory.   

Here it is after one coat of paint.  Sorry for the bad pictures.

And here's the second coat.
 

I lightly ran the sanding block around the edges for a distressed look.  The  brown color peeking through gives it a nice contrast.

I attached a hanger on back because I was going to place it on a wall.  

I picked up some silk flowers that were 40% off at Michaels this week,   The flowers were going to hang upside down inside the basket.   I placed the flowers down on the basket to measure their length.   Too long.  I had to trim the stems a few inches so they would fit inside.    And with these wimpy clippers, it wasn't easy. 


    The bottom of the stems were tied together with 8" strips torn up from an old cotton pillowcase.    To hang the flowers, I used the tiniest little metal hook I had.  Silk flowers are super light, so I'm sure a thumbtack would work just as well.
 
I really like how this looks on my wall and for a total cost of $6.00, that makes it even better.

   












Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Chalk Paint Easter Eggs

I bought these Easter eggs last year at Walmart.   Easter was over, and these were in the clearance section.   At 80% off, I couldn't pass them up.    They look and feel exactly like ping pong balls, only egg shaped.   They were already white, but had no texture to them.



I bought a few bottles of Martha Stewart chalk paint that I was dying to try.   I haven't used her paint before, but her colors sure are purdy.


I used Linen (similar to ivory)  and Smoke (the palest shade of gray) for the eggs.   It took 3 coats to get the coverage I wanted.


One coat of Wedding Cake ( a white white) went on this little wood box that I had forever.    

                                                                               
I added some white crinkly paper from the dollar store 


And got some pretty eggs with just a little paint.