Some Sneak Peaks at what I've been working on lately.....

A dining table and chair set for the shop.  My biz partner here did the table while I tackled the chairs.

 Re-doing the older girls room which includes paint, bedding, curtains, blankets and possible new furniture...

A Union Jack buffet (inspiration from Miss Mustard Seed) for the shop.

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As you can see....its been a bit busy around here.  Plus summer is in full swing.  It seems that our summer is busier than the school year, if that's possible.  Will put up more picture and tutorials soon...I hope!

Mod Podge Letters

The original one I did a few years ago and posted about on my monogram wall.  I cannot find the picture on my computer, so this is as good as its gets.  Can you see it?  Or the bottom part of it?  Up at the very top? ;)  Sorry!

The "B" and "H" were Christmas gifts for my mom and sis.  Christmas 2011, not 2012.  This is why its Finish It Challenge #4 and #5. :)  Yep....I'm behind. Although these were finished a month or so ago, I just haven't had time to blog them. 

I thought I had done a tutorial on them....so if I didn't, I will....soon. ;)

Fall Burlap Pennant Banner {quick tutorial}

A quick and easy fall banner.

Supplies:

Burlap

Acrylic Paint and brush

Permanent marker (to match paint)

Jute

Sewing machine and matching thread or hot glue

How to:

I die cut my burlap, but you can easily cut the shape with scissors.  I used my computer to write "fall" then sized it to what I needed.  Print the letters in outline.  Using either a lightbox or your window, put the burlap over the paper and trace the outline with a permanent marker.  Paint in your outline.  Be sure to put a scrap piece of paper under your work, so it doesn't bleed through on your desk/counter.  Let dry.  (Crucial step.  Trust me.  I had paint all over my sewing machine because I was too impatient.)  Line up your pennants in order and sew the burlap onto the back of the pennant using a zig zag stitch.  (This would have been a bit easier if I had used a cording foot, but once again...too lazy/impatient to get it out.)  Optionally, hot glue or fabric glue the jute to the back.  Or hand stitch.

Here it is on my (undecorated) mantle.  Hey, its still September....for one more day.  

It was 90 here yesterday.  Not feeling too fallish yet.  

Tomorrow.  Tomorrow I'll decorate.  Then it will at least be October!

Painting a tree on the nursery wall {tutorial}

(Note: photo taken with cell phone) 

 I've always wanted to do this and I usually wait to see how long we will stay before I decide if I'm going to put forth the effort just to move and let someone else enjoy my work.  So I jumped.  (You'd think I'd take it one project or one room at a time, but nope.  Not me.  I *LOVE* to start projects.  Finishing them is always hard, but I'm working on that part!

Supplies:

Picture

Projector (or not if you can draw :)

Pencil

Paint and brush
(These were all on hand, so basically free art!)

How to:

Find your picture.  After searching and searching for the picture I had created in my brain, these were the closest that I found.

I ended up going with the one on the right, because I wasn't sure how the wispiness (its a word...really) would show up.

Print out your picture.

After getting the projector setup and the picture centered, which was harder than it should of been because you have to think backwards and upside down when moving the picture around.  My picture wasn't small enough to completely fit under the projector square so I had to fiddle with placement and move it half way through tracing.

I put the pic up on the wall and closed the binds.  Stepping back I was worried that it was a little too scary looking, but I knew I was painting it white and hoped it would turn out pretty, not scary.  (Should have taken a picture but was too excited to start drawing.)

Then I started drawing.  The first few pencil marks were the hardest, then I had fun.  I had to laugh because three of my kids were watching Mommy draw on the wall, which is something they've gotten in trouble for in the past.  I went through 3 pencils sharpening trips to get it all on there we have really textured walls which ate the lead.

What???  You can't see it?  Yah...me either.  Which makes is a little difficult to actually paint in between the lines!  My camera had a really hard time focusing to take these pics.  Trust me...the tree is there. :)

Then you just start painting.  Outlining first, then filling in.  Here it is after a couple of hours.  (It really shouldn't have taken me that long but I started with a small artist brush for the tips of the branches and forgot to grab my painting brush.

Here's another angle of the whole top part. (The room is really small...more of an afterthought for the builders I'm sure....and I don't have the right lens to get the whole tree.)

Here is the whole thing...

I still need to finish erasing the pencil marks and touch up a little.  I actually gave me some anxiety before I started, but heck...its only paint!

I want to add either a few 3D flowers or birds or something.

At least I got to check something off my summer to do list!

Two-sided Welcome Door

An old door that I picked up at a garage sale for like $5.  We originally planning on making it into a table, but since we have 3 tables in storage to paint, we had to come up with plan B.  This was plan B....and it turnout out so much cooler than expected.  LOVE it when that happens!! 

 My partner in crime here couldn't wait, so I can't take credit for the actual painting, but we conspired on the idea.  Didn't she do a fabulous job???  (She doesn't have a blog, so I'm posting it.)

Its for sale here. SOLD

Linking here:

Sometimes patience pays off

This is the latest step to finishing my bathroom.  There is still a bit to do, but I've added a little character.  (Looking at this picture its evident that the next thing I should check off the list is a valence, right?)

We have this blank wall above our bathtub that, to me, always seemed like it needed something.  For months I had been looking, but nothing was quite right.  They were either too big or too small or to new...  Anyway, last November, I walked into an antique/junk store and found this in the very back...

I wanted it that bad that I took a picture with my phone.  Then I looked at the price.  $75.  Yikes.  Not willing to pay that for something I could build, I walked out of the store and left the perfect shelf behind, and always wondered about it...but I kept the picture.  Every time I looked at it I kicked myself for not getting it because it would take me a lot longer to build and paint this than $75.  

Well a few weeks ago, I happened to be back in the same store and IT WAS STILL THERE!!!  (I guess no one else wanted to pay $75.)   It was meant for me because this time it was 40% off.  Sign. Me. Up.  I grabbed it and ran to the front as quickly as I could.

I walked out the door, drove straight home and hung it up.  I LOVE it and all its lovely chippiness that I don't have to try to fake because it was naturally there..  

I'm still trying to figure out how to dress it up, but its there and is a perfect fit!

Now onto the valence.....then the mirror....then...

NOTE:
I pulled these leaf sconces off of our entry wall and put them on either side of the cabinet.

That helps, but still need that valence!

Name sign {quick tutorial}

This was a fun project that I did "pre-blog."  I moved it (again) and decided I should post it for all to see.

I first had it where it is now, but decided to try it here after I found and painted the hutch.  So I had the hubs take it down and I "set" it in place to make sure that's really where I wanted it.  There it sat for....um....over a year? :)  Lazy are we?  I was tired of it on the to-do list, so the other day I did it myself...which is what usually happens.  Hmmm....wait a second....seems like someone around here knows that!

Somewhere between moves, the board warped and cracked, but it adds to the age of it and I love it even more.

It's made from a 1x12, cut down.  I first printed my letters on paper and taped the all together to what it was going to look like.  I then cut my letters in vinyl and figured out the spacing to know how long the board needed to be.  (You could use a transfer method and hand paint the sign.  Sanding off after would make it age beautifully!)

I coated the board in black, then brushed it white, then very lightly and sporadically dry brushed a little, black, brown and red (who knows, there might even be other colors there).  I just grabbed whatever cans I had at the time.  All leftover latex.  Random, I know.  This is before I knew how to sand the age into it.  Which is how I'd do it now.  

Didn't seal it, just waited for it to dry, put the vinyl on a hung it over the window in the kitchen.  It was either there or the playroom and since the tornado playroom is upstairs and I wanted this to be in a place where it would be seen by someone who would actually appreciate it, I chose the kitchen.

This is the view from our living room, but you can pretty much see it across the room when you come into the house.

The wall adjacent on the left is where I'm going to put our giant chalkboard (more on that later) and the wall to the right was my first big furniture piece to paint, and I probably did it all wrong, but its been a couple of years and its holding up just fine!  (Looking at the pictures now, the lone rooster weather vane needs to go....)

Lampshade Revamp {tutorial}

Yesterday I decided I wanted to change out the light in my laundry room.  I'm in the middle of an almost total overhaul in that room, so why not the light too?  (It helps that my Brother-in-Law is here visiting and he is an electrician.)

This is what I started with...

I like the after much better! ;)  I was inspired by a shade I found and posted here.

Supplies:

Wire shade or frame

Fabric

How to:

First I had to reinforce the shade frame, which I picked up for $1 at antique/junk store.  I knew I was either going to fabric wrap the entire frame or fabric tie it.  Either way there were not enough wire supports and it would end up looking like a weird square shade, so I decided to add some more joints.  I happen to have 14 gauge wire leftover (who doesn't, right?) from my Christmas bulb wreath project and mason jar lanterns, so I cut 4 lengths 2 inches taller than the shade.  I wrapped them around the top and bottom wires.

This is what some of my "joints" look like.  I knew they were going to be wrapped in fabric, so I wasn't too worried about how they looked.  (This little project has me wondering what I could do with a soldering tool....hmmm, add that to the Christmas list?)

 Here it is after my alterations.

From here I only have the after pictures as the whole thing happened too fast I forgot to take pics.

I had white eyelet fabric left over from a project 6 years ago (yes, I said SIX years!) and thought it was time to use it up.  I took two long strips of fabric and cut them 1 1/2" wide and just wrapped it around the top and bottom circular parts of the frame (not the vertical). (A sheet would be great for this.)  I almost stopped there and did that to the whole frame, but I have another wire shade I'll try that with. :)  You can see the bottom of the frame wrapped below.

Then I cut A LOT of 1 1/2" strips about 14" long.  Measure the length in between your joints and add a few inches.  It might take a little experimenting to get the right length.

Start tying.  And tying.  And tying.  Put a good movie in and tie some more.  I tied a knot around one wire, then strung it across and tied another knot around the next one and trimmed the end off.  With my next strip, I tied a knot just below the knot I just finished, strung it across and tied on the next wire.  Working my way around back to the first and then kept going around and around, stopping to shove them snug against the top.

After a few rounds I was kinda worried about what it was going to look like, but I kept going.  I figure if I hated it, I could cut it apart and I was only out some scrap fabric.  

Many rounds later, here ya go...

I had my BIL remove the fixture that was there.  I don't have a before pic, but trust me....it was random for a laundry room, and dark.  We actually had to retrofit a pendant fixture.  I bought a new ceiling cap (because that one that came with it was really ugly plain.)  I would love to run you through how to hang a fixture, but since I am not an electrician I would hate to mess up directions.  This shade can be used on a lamp as well.

I even like how the inside looks, which is good because we have tall ceilings and the door opens up under the fixture so it has to be hung rather high.  

This room is about as big as a shoebox, so its really hard to get a good picture.  Plus there is NO natural light.

Hopefully I will have more to show from the laundry room soon....