Project Weekend

I've been up to a little bit of everything today so far... such as mulching my front garden, which I expanded a little bit this year to add a hydrangea and some annuals.  I even cleared it with my HOA, which is a first for me (I'm such a rule-breaker!)

I cleared out a little sparse grass in the corner under my back deck, where I'm going to plant a shade garden. Isn't my clay soil turning the siding a lovely shade of dirt?

When I went back there, a tiny bird flew out of this little nest up under my deck.  For the last hour all I heard was chirping as this little bird couple is flying around and making a racket.  I think she was scolding him about picking out a bad place to put a nest.  I hope she gives him a little slack, look at the cute pink ribbon he worked into his design: 

I took a picture of them through my screen door, arguing on my back deck.  She has her back turned!  She was really mad at him.  I was going to clean the deck today but I don't think their relationship can handle it.

 

So with the kids out tonight, I have made other plans.  Yep, I'm gonna STRIP!  (Ha, ha, I crack myself up!)  I got this piece a few weeks ago from my very kind friend Donna, and I sanded the shine off the varnish, put on 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of white paint.  It wasn't going well, which I attributed to the dampness from the constant rain we had.  No dice, even after a week, my paint just would not stick.  The heavy duty varnish won that round, but it's getting more than a sanding this time.  I have a busy evening ahead of me... now where is my stripper music?

For the person who asked, I really don't blog on any type of schedule, I just do it when I have something to share, and since I'm a single woman with a full time job, this is just a fun hobby and a schedule would make it less fun.  I hope you understand, and I'm flattered that you'd want me to post more often!

Yardsale Toolbox Makeover

I found a little toolbox for $1 at a yard sale.  Though it was sporting a cute patriotic paint job, I decided to give it a little makeover to use on my back deck this summer.

I found this hanging cone shaped basket at a little roadside plant shop, and it was prettier than anything I'd seen at the nurseries I've been haunting.  I haven't posted in forever, but I've been working on lots of projects, more to come (sooner or later!)  Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Shaker Kitchen Cabinet

One of the ladies I work with, Donna, inherited some furniture from her mother's estate, which she has no room for.  It's been cluttering up her garage, so she very kindly offered it to me.  Hmmm... free furniture.  Should I take it?  Yes, please!  I'm home alone this weekend, but I'm just hardheaded enough to figure I could handle the smallest piece on my own, so Saturday I picked this up.  Donna helped me load it in my little Honda, Zippy, but when I got it home I pulled it out and dragged it upstairs to my sunroom all by myself.  It's a solid, plain little knotty pine Shaker style cabinet that Donna's mom had made to hold her microwave and toaster oven.  I have a homeless toaster oven, so I knew I could make immediate use of it.  The finish looks really good in my photo, but it wasn't perfect and I'm sitting it next to the cherry hutch you see behind it, so I gave it a paint job to help keep things harmonious. Ok, so I'm in a white phase, I'll admit it.

Looking a bit too plain...

Ahh, that's better.

Now I need some input - I'm thinking this would look pretty darn cute with some feet and with a bit of molding around the top.  Do you think that would seem out of place?  I'm not sure, but I might have to give it a whirl and see how it looks.

Harmony City!

  I'm linking up to Met Monday at BNOTP.  Have a spectacular week!

DVD Storage Shelf

 

I'm still using up my vacation time from 2010, so I took a 4-day weekend. Note to self - 4 day weekends are awesome!  I didn't do a ton around the house, but I had a little paint project going, shown above.  I had been looking for something to set in the cabinet behind the TV to store my dvds, and nothing really worked, so my dad offered to build something for me.  I emailed him the measurements and a couple days later I picked it up, painted it, and it's perfect.

 Almost looks like it's supposed to go there, huh?

Didn't take long to fill it up, and it holds pretty much everything I have.  Well, I do have more CDs but they have a little cabinet of their own, and my LPs are down in the bottom of the cabinet.

My TV fits right in front of it and there is sufficient space to see what is back there.  I put the most frequently used things on top and the rest are easy enough to get to if I turn the TV a bit.  Yay more storage space!

Plus, I can close it!  When I picked this up, my mom gave me these little fleece slipper socks she made.  They make my feet look small so I think I'll wear them all the time.

 

Hope you are having a nice week!

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.