Shabby Chic-ing my TV Armoire

One of the first things I did after I started my blog a couple years ago was to buy this TV armoire from Craigslist.  I loved it then and still do, but the heaviness of the furniture in my living room was starting to get to me during the long dark winter.  So I decided to paint it.

I've painted several things white so far, and while it still takes forever to do, I am getting better at it.  I invested in a power sander and using it made a big difference in my prep time.

I used Sherwin Williams "Creamy" which is a popular choice of Miss Mustard Seed.  I actually used SW "Marshmallow" on some other pieces before I ever heard of her, and it's almost the same color.  I sprayed the hardware in Krylon Oil Rubbed Bronze, and I like the contrast and patina, it's kind of a cast iron look.

I removed the doors, the inside shelves and all the hardware to paint it, and that took nearly as long to do as the painting part.  Putting it back together took even longer, but I only had 2 extra screws, so I don't suppose it's going to fall apart. I hope. :)

I did a minimal amount of distressing on it, and I intend to give it a couple coats of wax when I get around to it.  I thought about a glaze or stain, but I really like it the way it is now.

One problem is that I can't get the doors adjusted properly and they don't exactly line up.  My dad is making me a shelf for dvds to put in behind the TV, so maybe he can come by and help me out with the doors too.

Overall it really lightens up the room and looks fresh and spring-y.  I'm ready for as much spring as I can get!  I also just love to change things up from time to time. Maybe next year you will find me stripping it again (or not!)

I'm joining up with Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Friday.  Have a great week-end!

Making a Basket Liner

I took off work today, using up some of my leftover vacation. I seem way more productive on off days than on weekends, not sure why that is. Anyway, my mom gave me one of her Longaberger baskets this Christmas and she said I ought to get a liner for it, so I decided to make one. I cut a rectangle from muslin to fit the bottom, then 2 lengths to do the insides with several inches folding over the top edge. I pinned the insides to fit. My mom made me this huge pincushion, which is really handy to have. One thing I learned, when you are loading up a pincushion, don't just grab a few pins and jab them in. One or two may be facing up and your fingers will become the pincushion when the ball hits the felt. Yes, blonde is my natural color, why do you ask? :)

The outside will be fairly snug if it's a good fit.

Needs a iron, but you get the idea:

Then is the fun part, figuring out how you want the outside to look. I have been experimenting with fabric flowers and so I decided to use some of those. This one is a long stip with a center ruffle that you just roll up into a flower shape. I love that something so simple can be so pretty.

I also wanted to put some ruffles on it, so I made a zillion miles of them.

I put on 3 rows of ruffles all sewn closely together for a full fluffy look. I wasn't sure which flower style I preferred, the roll up ruffle rose above, or the folded over rosette below:

So I did both sides differently, that way I can turn it around from time to time for a new look.



I am pretty happy with how this turned out. I'm not really one to do the same thing twice, but I have a lot more baskets. We'll see if I can think of something a little different next time. This one is all ready to hold our throw blankets in my living room.


**EDITED to add - It just occurred to me that this basket is Katie's Rose Cottage inspired! Never even hit me til I went back to her blog and this is her style all over - thanks for the inspiration Lori!**
Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a good week!

Linking up to Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming.

Miss Mustard Seed's Copy Me Challenge

It wasn't until a few days after I'd slipcovered my ottoman following Miss Mustard Seed's directions that it occurred to me to enter the MMS/FJD Copy Me Challenge. And while I haven't done nearly as well as Donna mimicking her style, I did sew (a lot), and that should count for something, right? Let's hope so! Here is a rundown on the projects I undertook (on a low budget) for the challenge:

- Slipcovered my ripped leather ottoman using bleached dropcloths with pleats and cording accents. I love, love, love how this turned out and I have MMS to thank for that. What I did differently - I used skirt pleats rather than box pleats, and didn't do the paint stripes. This brush with success makes me want to cover the couch, but the cushions don't come off so I think that would not work out well. So I'm going to cover my daughter's loveseat. :)

- Covered some of my pillow assortment with dropcloth fabric. OK, I realize I blew it here because again, I didn't add any frenchy stripes and monogram letters. Honestly, much as I love MMS's style, I am not sure about the stripes, so I ruffled instead. Fatal mistake, maybe, but copy challenge or no, I gotta be me. Though I might work up to the monogramming thing.

- Painted the base of my 15-year old cheapo MDF end tables white, distressed and antiqued them with walnut stain, MMS Old-School Style. I left the tops in their "natural" state, which is a laminate of some sort that bears a vague resemblance to wood. I liked it so much I did the same for my wall shelf. French antiques they aren't, I worked with what I had.


- Swapped out my Wysocki prints for framed black and white antique photos. These are school photos from the early 20th century from my instant ancestor stash. I have a boxload of it I got years ago at an auction. Other accessories - white pitcher of flowers (seen in the last photo below) and galvanized lunch pail I got from an auction a long time ago.

- Sewed dropcloth curtains. Now, I don't really know if MMS condones these since her curtains are pretty florals, but they were MMS inspired, so I'm including them.

And that is it! So, here is a before pic:

And here is after:


What do you think? Maybe not a perfect "copy" of MMS Style, but completely inspired by it. Now, please excuse me while I go paint an antique sign.

Now I'll never erase it...

Because really, what could be better than that?

Chalkboard Backsplash

My house came with a white-painted drywall backsplash, which I intended to cover with metal tin-ceiling style panels. Or tumbled marble. Or travertine tile. I might still do that eventually, but until my budget allows, I need to get the area painted. It's getting splattered up and the paint just wipes off when I try to clean it. So hey, why not chalkboard paint as a fun and inexpensive interim solution! If I get bored, I can always draw some tumbled marble on the wall with chalk.



I suppose my kitchen is pretty dark already with the cherry cabinets and black appliances, but it gets a ton of light from the sunroom and multiple can lights, so I decided to just go for it. And that is the beauty of being single - no one else's opinion counts, ha-ha. First I put on 2 coats of white primer. Here in these photos, you can really see the difference that made... NOT. But it covered the spaghetti sauce stains pretty well. ;)


Putting the black paint on was intimidating at first, but I quickly fell in love with it. It dried really fast and immediately it looked chalkboard-like (go figure!) I did have to wait 4 hours to recoat, but after the second coat it looked perfect. I decided to put on a third coat because... well, because I'm an insurance agent. We're cautious. It's what we do.

After it was dry, I had to wait 3 days before writing on it, which I think was the hardest part - I wanted to write on it right away! I painted it last weekend, then started playing with it on Thursday. My daughter Manda and I primed it by rubbing the side of the chalk over the whole thing and erasing it. What a dusty mess that was. She drew the blue sky and clouds on the left, and I've been channeling my inner school teacher in the middle. I kind of want to write out complicated nonsense algebraic formulas. Is that weird? Yeah? Good thing I erased those then.

Please pardon my rumpled tea towel. Professional stager, I am not. Linking up to Metamorphosis Monday at BNOTP. Have a nice week!

New to Me Shelf

One of my friends is doing a bit of paring down in her house and asked me if I wanted this shelf that I had admired when I visited a while back. Uh...YES!

It's very dark green, so dark it appears to be black. I like the plate spindles.

I am not sure yet if this is where it's staying, but I sat it on top of this little black cabinet in my sunroom. It's just a little too big.

I love these plates too, so I'm happy to have an opportunity to display them.


I have a project to unveil on Monday and another one that is waiting for a special copycat linky party. Here is a peek at it - can you guess who I'm copying?
Thanks for stopping by!

Up to Something... or some things

No, I haven't posted in a few days, but I've been working on something... something that requires a little bit more time.


And I started working on something else too. Something experimental for me but potentially pretty cool. We'll have to see if it all comes out in the wash.

Hope you are having a good week!