Let It Shine

Country Woman

2011-11-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

I have been looking forward to sharing this exciting news for months. Our kitchen is featured in the Christmas (December/January) issue of Country Woman magazine.

It was an awesome experience. Thank you to Country Woman and to all of the incredible ladies that put this story together. I have enjoyed talking and working with each of you. Your magazine is fresh and fun.

Thank you to the talented photographer, Stephen Karlisch, for the beautiful photographs, extreme patience with a silly four year old, and for making us laugh. You and your crew made it an unforgettable experience.

This was shot last December, while we were awaiting Micah’s arrival. Hence why I look much “rounder” than usual :)

Grab an issue in print, there are more pictures than the online version. The magazine is entertaining, colorful and aesthetically pleasing. There are some fantastic crafts and delicious recipes I can’t wait to try!

What a year……

2011-11-07T11:16:00.001-08:00

It is hard to believe it has been a year since I have last posted. My blogging sabbatical is officially over. Thank you for the kind emails and comments, and for those who haven’t given up on this blog. :) I have missed the creative aspect of blogging, but even more so I have missed the people I have met along the way. It has been quite a year. A year dedicated to our family. We welcomed our son Micah to the family in March. Here we are with Hannah right after his arrival.

We waited five years to have another baby, and this time around I have known better. With Hannah I felt there would always be “more time”, and there never was. I know I will blink and Micah will no longer be an infant. All of the clichés are true for a reason. This time is fleeting. I want to savor and enjoy every moment I can while he is a baby.

So we have snuggled, and cuddled.

Spent as much time as we can with our families.

Laughed and played.

We enjoyed the summer together, knowing it was the last three months of having them both home before Hannah started school.

Hannah started kindergarten this fall.

Josh and I are both trying to volunteer as much time as we can at her elementary school.

I have been doing freelance design work that has been a blast, I can’t wait to share pictures with you. I was also working exclusively with an art gallery in downtown Dallas before I got pregnant. I took time away from the studio because I didn’t want to chance exposure to any chemicals. I thought I was just going to just jump back into the studio as soon as Micah was born – HA! Turns out, I have a really hard time putting him down. ;)

With Hannah in school, and Micah starting to develop more of a routine, I am going to try to post regularly. I have plenty of projects to share, as well as some exciting news.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T12:45:00.001-07:00

We had such a hard time deciding what to be this year for Halloween. I wanted something different. Finally we settled on a sea fairy / ocean princess, with a wave inspired ruffled dress, and coral wings. I love the blue-green color palette and the natural aspects, and Hannah loves the girly, glitzy elements.

I wanted a dress inspired by ocean waves. It is mostly a coffee filter dress. For the frame of the dress, I dyed a yard of broadcloth in RIT and sewed a little A-line dress with an elastic top.

I used 4 packages of coffee filters (640 filters to be exact….and I used ALL of them). I dyed them in batches in the same RIT dye bath ( a mix of the royal blue and teal boxed powders), started with the darkest, and then would dump some dye out and add more water to make them progressively lighter.

I started at the base and hot glued the filters (folded into triangles) all the way around and worked my way up the dress, leaving about 2” between each row. I wanted the waves to be a little more white capped….but the dress got heavier/longer the more I added (although it is not a heavy costume), so I had to take the top up a little bit to compensate….which meant the top isn’t exactly what I envisioned.

She loves all the ruffles, and thinks it looks like a princess dress. I added a piece of ribbon to make an empire waist, then added two glittered sea ferns and a sand dollar (I painted champagne). I added two pieces of ribbon to make halter straps to ensure the dress stayed up.

All of the glittery pieces on the costume came from Christmas picks. The watery blue ferns (the ones on the waist and in her hair), and the sea green ferns (on the shoulder of the dress and in her hair), were both from JoAnne’s (super inexpensive, less than $0.35 per pick, and I only needed 3)

For the wings I started with the green dollar store fairy wings. (they are actually pretty sturdy for $1, and it meant I didn’t have to buy/make the base of her wings) Josh spray painted them blue, and I hot glued the tops and bottoms together so they wouldn’t look so much like butterfly wings.

The “coral wings” are actually Christmas picks from Hobby Lobby, I had to do a little “creative editing” and remove parts of them, but the rest I hot glued to the blue wings.

For her little headpiece (a tiara or crown to her :)), I snipped off a long branch from each wing and wired together a little circle. I hot glued a few of the ferns, and then sea shells. I also found a small Christmas spray from Hobby Lobby (for $1) that matched the wings, and I cut stems off of it to wire to the headpiece for filler.

Hannah loves how girly this costume is. She insisted on wearing her “princess shoes” (aka dress up shoes), because they would “be perfect”.

She even wanted to wear a few “sparkles” on her face.

And last, but not least here are a few pictures from “Trick or Treating” for the family…. She wasn’t quite so sure about walking up and ringing someone else’s doorbell…….

But after she realized she would get candy….she was fine! :)

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Please join Sarah at Thrift Decor Chick for a Before and After Party

Faux Iron Witches Cauldron

2010-10-21T17:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted to add a little ghoul free Halloween fun to our front porch. I am such a weenie when it comes to anything gory or frightening, in fact I still don’t get why some people like to be scared. To me fear = no fun! However, Josh loves Halloween, and I know the kids enjoy it too, so I am trying to do a tasteful version (no severed arms please!) I have had this project in my head awhile, and when I ran across this cheap, plastic cauldron ($1) I knew it was perfect. (I have seen these everywhere now…Wal Mart, Target, etc) In an effort to stay away from chemicals I did not prime this……but it would have gone so much faster and been easier if I did! So prime first (if you are not pregnant :))! The reason being, because the plastic is so slick, it will give the texture something to grip to. (otherwise you will have to wait a week for it to cure like I did…) I mixed low voc latex paint, with lots of sand (for texture) and some flour (for glue). I left it pretty lumpy and used a brush that could be tossed to smear it on.

I left it for about a week to harden., then coated it with flat black. I sponged on small amounts of craft paint in spice brown and gray. I then drizzled watered down white paint down the sides. This witches sign came from the Dollar Tree. I put some used tea bags on it to stain it and left it for about an hour.

I filled the cauldron with newspaper.

Then covered it with half of a cut creepy cloth. (This will make it easier to pick the moss up out of it)

And topped that with some Spanish moss (also from the Dollar Tree)

Now the fun part: filling it! I had several ideas of what I wanted to put in it….next year I think I will put either a witches boot or some glittered red Dorothy shoes. The possibilities are endless, candy, pumpkins, signs, skeletons….

Here is the tea stained sign.

A peanut butter jar turned jar of spider webs. I printed it out from here. (But changed the worms to spider webs)

I painted a Dollar Tree pumpkin creamy white, added a crow, a glitter skull, and two spiders. (All of which I had, but came from the Dollar Tree) The witches brooms came from a thrift store for $1 and Josh painted them black for me.

Easy transformation of a cauldron from inexpensive plastic to rusted, iron. Looks like a witch made quite a few brews in this one! And best of all, cute Halloween porch decor for under $5!

Check out these fun blog parties:

Just A Girl

Finger Prints on The Fridge

Tatertots and Jello

My Repurposed Life

DIY Showoff

The Shabby Chic Cottage

Not your Grandma’s Kitty….

2010-10-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a super simple, kid-friendly Halloween project. You know those ceramic collectable cats everyone had in the 80’s? I am pretty sure I gave one just like this to my Grandma back in the day……(Love you GG!)

I picked up these two felines from a local thrift store for $1, but I have seen similar ones at the dollar store. Hannah carried them around for two days pretending they were her “pets”.

I let her paint them with non-toxic craft paint. (no primer necessary)

Although at first she was very anti-black because she insisted it made them look “mean”…..and wanted to paint them pink instead.

Perfect scary Halloween black cats.

Let me know if you find some kitties to paint, would love to see the before and afters. :)

A Spooky Dining Room

2010-10-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

In my continued effort of ghoul-free Halloween decorations, I wanted a dramatic dining table and buffet. Let me be honest, we eat in here less than five times a year….so go having the table covered is not an issue.

I have had that neat bird cage/shelf thing for awhile. In fact I am not really sure what it is…it was gold, with an Asian inspired print all over it. I used it for Hannah’s birthday party to hold cupcakes, and I knew for Halloween I wanted to use it for glittered skulls.

I first covered the table in a few packages of grey creepy cloth, and added the urn of white sticks from Christmas.

I found these “BOO” letters for $1, and thought I was going to stick them in a jar, when I remembered I had these angels from last Christmas. I took off the colored robes, the white gowns seem a little more Halloween-ey.

I am still not crazy about their faces (although I think they suit Halloween far better than Christmas), but I like the hands. And they hold these letters perfectly!

I made these glass cloches, or antique looking apothecary jars. I was going to put either a small bust or a sea sponge to look like a brain, but opted to print out this.

When I found this cage, it was missing the shelves. In a lazy girls attempt to skip the saw, I cut out some thick cardboard to fit in the spaces.

I covered the cardboard in paper that I dyed and stamped.

I discovered these glittered skulls at the Dollar Tree last year and love them! (Ha! Mostly because trying to contain glitter while crafting is futile, I don’t think HAZMAT could keep it from spreading!!)

A frightful black cat. I am going to post a quick little how-to project on these next.

The dining room buffet. Mostly a random hodgepodge of things from around the house.

A birdcage on a candle stick.

Lots of creepy cloth (Dollar Tree), and a few old books.

A gargoyle who either looks really bored or in deep thought……..he came from the Dollar Tree too.

The pumpkins I painted with champagne paint. And another glass cloche with a print out from here.

More migratory pieces from around the casa…..including a bust from the bedroom, a lantern from the bathroom, and a tray from the kitchen. The Halloween sign I made last year.

It’s surprising how many things could fit a Halloween theme when thinking outside the box. My “theme” is black and white, but I used mostly non-Halloween items, pulling them together with the creepy cloth, pumpkins and the skeleton (keeping it under $3). You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a big impact.

I am a little late….but joining Beth’s Halloween Mantel Party, DIY Show off Fall Festival, Blue Cricket Design, The Shabby Chic Cottage, My Repurposed Life, A Few of my Favorite Things, House of Hepworths, Beyond the Picket Fence, Somewhat Simple, My Romantic Home, and at Fingerprints on the Fridge.

BOO! A little Halloween decor!

2010-10-08T17:58:00.001-07:00

Wow! It’s hard to believe that it has been 5 weeks since I made a promise of a big blogging comeback! The day that I wrote the last post, that night I ended up in the ER. And then on the “don’t do anything but rest plan”. Not quite bed rest, more like “booty rest”. It’s been an amazing dose of perspective and gratitude. One little twist can change your entire outlook and perspective in mere seconds. All of the small stuff I was sweating was gone. And believe me when I tell you that sitting on your bum for over a month can make you miss all the little things that once seemed like “chores”. I took for granted what I used to accomplish in a day.

God delivered me that reality check of what it means “to just want a healthy baby”. No more worrying about gender, names or nurseries. As of this week, we have both been cleared by our Dr, and are blessed to both be healthy. Sorry to get serious on you….so back to what you came to this blog for….pictures and eye candy. :)

I wanted to take this years Halloween decorations up a notch from last year. I wanted dark and rich. An elegant illustration of Edgar Allen Poe’s the Raven. I found two of these wooden plant stands for $1.49 and had Josh add a coat of oil rubbed bronze. (the third came off my Christmas “North Pole” mail box)

These were the faux silver pumpkins from last year. My better half added a coat of Rustoleum antique brass to give them a nice rich golden color.

The pachyderm planter (or elephant side table) was covered with creepy cloth from the dollar tree! This stuff rocks! Instant Halloween drama without the feel of that oogey , messy faux spider web.

I found this black urn at a thrift store, it was covered in red glittered poinsettias. BUT, the inside is one solid piece of Styrofoam, which made it easy to put some giant twigs in. I covered the Styrofoam with moss, added a few black ravens, and painted pumpkins.

I had seen it similarly done last year, and then the fall Pottery Barn catalogue came out and I love the pumpkins in the urn.

For the entry table, I scoured the house for things I already had. The long paper filled frame was from Christmas.

The framed silhouette was out of the guest room. (A local antique dealer liquidates her stock twice a year, and I scored it for $1)

The mirror is the only (new to me) purchase. It was a cheap tacky plastic gold, and I added a black glaze. When I found it (for $3) I thought I wanted to do an elegant version of a “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall” theme for Halloween. With gilded apples, crowns and masks…maybe next year. :)

The typewriter is still on loan from my Mom (although I have filed for adoption :))

I dyed some white printer paper with coffee and printed out Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven.

I made this little glass cloche (actually three of them), and printed out this vintage print from the Graphics Fairy.

The birdcage ($1) and the sign hanger ($1.50) I have had for awhile, with good intentions of using them for other projects. I added a black glaze to the gold birdcage, and angled a stick in with two more black birds.

The ball and chain I borrowed from Josh (kidding… :) ……although I did think it was funny to wrap it up and give it to him as a gift) I found it in the garden section of Hobby Lobby a few years ago, and it’s HEAVY!

My brother gave me this cool, old violin he picked up from an estate sale. Thanks Uncle Tate!!

I have missed all of you sweet, blogging friends! Thank you for your comments and emails! I am looking forward to getting back to blogging, and I have lots of fall and Halloween projects to show you!

Outta Hiding....

2010-08-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

The summer is coming to an end. School is starting back, and soon we will hear the sounds of football and the smell of chili. My three month blogging vacation is coming to a close. We found out at the beginning of the summer we are expecting our second baby. I just felt like I needed to put the brakes on a little. We have busy lives as is, and then on top of that I spent so much time focused on projects and blogging. It was a little much. As most of you know, blogging can be so time consuming, and for me it felt like I was trying too hard to make it all "perfect". So with Doctors orders I completely laid off the projects (no painting, gluing, etc). (Don't get me wrong....I went through about a three week spray paint with drawl.....and then kicked myself for not doing about a hundred other projects "before" when I could have) I decided to just spend the summer and focus on my family. My daughter is 4, and next year she will be going to kindergarten, and she won't be an only child anymore. We spent time in Tennessee and Louisiana with family. In between we have had lots of guests and visitors. Guess I just feel like I owed everyone an explanation.
I do have lots of projects I finished before this summer that I will be posting. My Doctor also gave me permission to start painting again (water based only) in a few weeks. And you know the nursery will be soon to follow :)

Antiqued Smokey Moroccan Mirrors

2010-04-05T12:56:00.001-07:00

I wanted to make decorative wall art for the walls of the arch that divide our dining and kitchen areas…something fun and inexpensive. When I ran across these Four Mirrored Moroccan Panels from Horchow, well… first I scoffed at the price tag ($2,250), but I thought how easy they would be to make. I wanted mine to look older and not so polished, more like aged plaster.

I started with basic frames from the Dollar Tree.

And cheap 8” mirror tiles with the plastic frame. Two mirrors per picture frame.

I taped off the mirrors, putting a piece of paper in the center.

I hot glued the mirror frames directly to the glass. (I am sure there is a better glue for this, but it’s what I had, and I didn’t want a trip to the store :)) In between the mirror frames and the picture frames I filled in the gaps with caulk (DAP Alex Acrylic Painters caulk…it’s about $1). I used my fingers to smooth over any empty spaces and ended up rubbing it over both frames to make it look more cohesive.

I primed the caulk with spray gray primer, painted it with Folk Art acrylic in black and gave it a subtle wash of Folk Art Antique Gold. After they were dry, I used a box cutter to score the areas around the tape and pulled it off. I used a brush with black paint to touch up any areas that were white.

I primed the mirrors with Delta CeramDecor Perm Enamel Surface conditioner for glass. (OK, I probably would have never purchased this product before, my Aunt D gave it to me, but it rocks!) I made a stencil in Adobe and cut it out with an x-acto. I used a small part of a sea sponge to fill in the stencil with antique gold and black acrylic.

After the stencil work was dry, I began to work on the smoky antiqued effect. I first used the sea sponge and lightly and randomly added small sponge marks in a combo of black and brown (mostly in the corners for the super worn effect) . I then took a toothbrush and flecked watered down grey paint in small amounts all over. I used two colors of grey (Anita’s Charcoal, and Anita’s Grey from Hobby Lobby). The key was to keep the paint drops as small as possible to mimic the smokey mirror look.

There are a lot of really neat techniques out there to distress and age mirrors that I would love to try sometime. Most involve lots of chemicals to strip the backing off and age the silver. They are very cool with some stunning results. But for the time being I am trying to keep our house as chemical free as possible for Hannah, so I am going to stick to a faux surface technique with water based materials.

Here they are right before I hung them up.

A close-up of the frame texture.

A close-up of the stencil paint finish

(I also used double sided industrial strength tape to insure they stay put.)

A view from the entry way.

I decided to space them out, but I also think they would look cool if they were made to look like one long mirrored piece. You could glue the backs together (on a piece of cardboard or wood) and then caulk and paint.

The other side, facing the entryway.

If you wanted them to look more like the ones at Horchow, you could not add texture and paint straight on the mirror frames.

These next two photos are my favorite, they are actually both taken from the same angle and perspective. The first gives you a view of the reflection from the mirror.

And the second gives you a view of the smokey antiqued mirror finish.

I am linking up to these fun DIY parties:

The Thrifty Decor Chick’s Before and After Party.

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday.

The DIY Show Off Project Parade.

Just Something I whipped Up

Making The World Cuter

Make It For Monday

Made By You at Skip to My Lou

DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land.

Please visit them!

Lettered Eggs

2010-04-04T21:49:00.001-07:00

This was simple and fun to do.

I started with the basic paper mache egg. ($0.80 at Hobby Lobby) I painted it Robin’s egg blue. Tutorial here.

I painted some plain terra cotta pots a verdigris finish. Inside the top rim, I added a thick line of hot glue and immediately stuck some moss on it.

I set the eggs on top while the glue was setting.

I tied black and white gingham fabric around the top and into a bow.

The scalloped circles are actually bolos (don’t laugh!), the old-school western kind. I glued some chip-board letters on top to disguise them.

The bunny silhouettes were another thrift store find.

The lanterns are filled with painted chocolate bunnies,

painted eggs, and toile wrapped votives.

Dining Room For Easter

2010-04-04T21:39:00.001-07:00

Here are a few last pictures of Easter. Our dining room buffet.

I wanted kind of an earthy garden feel. I already had everything. The bunnies I painted white last year. Much of the other was from different parts of the house and Christmas.

This Quails egg wreath I made last year.

I used the plastic painted eggs and glued them to a Spanish moss wreath frame.

I added a little extra moss in and wrapped it with grapevine.

I (temporarily) glued the birdcage in the candlestick to give it a pedestal.

Here is our dining room table. I used the base of the burlap table cloth from Christmas.

White feathered birds in a nest in an antique flour scoop.

Another Christmas ornament :)

More painted eggs.

Hope you have had a joyous Easter!

Living Room Easter decor

2010-04-04T21:00:00.001-07:00

I could have also titled this post “Yet another topiary….” I made this egg one last year.

And another bunny topiary.

The egg topiary started as a kids bouncy ball from the dollar store. (because I couldn’t find a Styrofoam ball form there) I wrapped in in masking tape and hot glued painted plastic eggs and moss to it.

Hannah painted the large pink egg.

The plaster rose was another dollar store find last year. It was super neon pinkish red. I painted it cream and added a wash of soft blush.

My Aunt gave me this neat wood crate.

I started with a small grapevine wreath, unraveled it and added burlap threads to the center.

Some painted Robin’s eggs.

Here’s a before of the bunnies.

I painted them chocolate brown and gave them a quick spray with a glossy clear coat.

I filled in with a glittered feather, a baby chick, moss and an antique tile.

Pebbles, moss and white birds fill a simple hurricane.

A bucket filled with faux eggs in candy colors and a paper mache bunny.

Kitchen Easter decor

2010-04-04T20:39:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pics from the Easter decor in our kitchen.

A chalkboard painted charger.

Repurposing some trash.

A Baby Burt's Bees Milk bath container painted white. (P.S. if you have children with sensitive skin this stuff ROCKS!)

Stenciled and distressed.

I found the cute ceramic eggs for $1.99 at a thrift store and the burlap nest and birdie were taken off the top of a Christmas present.

This (faux) chocolate bunny has been oh, so tempting to my sweet three year old. He has been licked more than once.

I found this egg wreath at a thrift store for $0.75 because several of the eggs were cracked. I added silk to the top to disguise the boo-boos and looks good as new!

Basket Egg Wreath

2010-04-04T20:21:00.001-07:00

Hope you have had a wonderful and blessed Easter! I am going to post a few last pics from our Easter decor (Hey, better late than never!!)

I found this wreath basket at a thrift store for $1. It was actually worse looking than this, I had already taken off the yellow fake clover when the picture was taken.

I painted the egg picks a Robin’s egg blue, and added a few more painted eggs.

Hot glued a little more Spanish moss between the eggs.

Instead of traditional ribbon, I cut strips of black and white gingham fabric to hang it from and glued a bow to the top. A little plaster bunny completed the look.

A close-up of the eggs.

Look! Snow. In Texas. On our Easter eggs. (yes, I am still amused by this :))

Mossy Cross Topiary

2010-04-03T09:34:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter! Do you recognize this cross from Christmas? I added a thin coat of chocolate brown paint and hot glued moss to make a mossy cross.

I had a thin strip of lattice leftover from Hannah’s bed (I used it in the canopy) I primed it and painted it a flat white, then added a little bit of Benjamin Moore raw umber glaze to distress it.

I hot glued the lattice straight to a piece of burlap and hung it on the wall.

I rarely buy anything new, but fell in love with this sweet white terrarium. (Hobby Lobby still has some in the garden section if you are looking…)

I filled it with fake grass.

The Angel wings from Christmas.

The garden bird was $1 at Wal Mart (also from Christmas….noticing a trend? :)).

The little nest was a tiny grapevine wreath that I unraveled and stuck some shredded burlap thread in. I added a few painted eggs and some sticks.

After watching every member of the blog world decorate with the Pier One bunny topiaries last year, I decided to hop on the bandwagon.

I added it to a cute galvanized watering pail found at a thrift store for $1.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Shabby Egg Tree

2010-04-02T14:52:00.001-07:00

Ahhh, the ever changing seasonal topiary. It’s been fun to decorate it with each holiday.

For Easter I wanted simplicity. (I think I will change it again after Sunday to something fresh for spring.)

I added some of the smaller painted eggs I made here.

I used a push pin to poke a small hole. I cut small strips of floral wire, stuck one through the hole and added a dot of hot glue to hold it in place.

I shaped the wire into little hooks on the end and hung them on the tree. Christmas ornament hooks would have worked too, but there was NO WAY I was gonna go sort (~~wade~~) through all of our Christmas stuff!

(Whoops. Forgot to put the Glade Plug in back after vacuuming…..but I think it’s a nice accent :)) Can you tell that I am having a Robin’s egg blue Easter? What do you think?

I plan on posting the rest of our Easter decor over the next two days, so check back!

Robin’s Egg Topiary

2010-03-30T14:15:00.001-07:00

If you have been reading this blog for anytime now, you know how much I love topiaries. Egg topiaries are not new, but I wanted a fresh Robin’s egg blue.

I started with a basic double ball Styrofoam topiary form, scored for $1.99. (any shape will work)

I used the painted plastic Easter eggs and started hot gluing them on the Styrofoam. (put the glue on the egg, not the Styrofoam, push it onto the foam and hold it for a second while it sets)

I used the larger size on bottom and a smaller size up top. I tried to have them point in random directions.

After I had filled in as many gaps as possible with the eggs, it was time for the moss.

I put very generous amounts of hot glue between the eggs.

(almost puddles)

I used a paint stick (because it was handy) to push the Spanish moss down into the crevices.

I used a brown filler moss (from the Dollar Tree) on top of the bright green Spanish moss.

I stuck it in a pot, and covered the base in the brown moss.

Here are a few detailed shots.

I completed the look with a mirrored Christmas topiary, a little Pier One mossy bunny in a galvanized watering pail and a blue bird from the Dollar Tree. I plan on showing you the rest of this vignette tomorrow!

What do you think?

Painted Plastic Eggs

2010-03-26T11:51:00.001-07:00

Ok, it’s official. My paint addiction knows no limits. I started painting (my daughters) plastic Easter eggs last year. I made a topiary and an egg wreath, which I will show you over the next few days. This year, I have a few new projects that used these painted eggs, so I wanted to have a little tutorial on them first.

I needed so many of them (last year) that I would have needed a shopping cart full of the paper mache ones, and real ones are just out of the question. (I am a germaphobe when it comes to raw meat/eggs so there is no way I would risk salmonella for Easter decor.) So I used the generic plastic Easter eggs (the kind you fill). Bonus: they are super cheap (40 cents a bag at Hobby Lobby and they have three different sizes) and they don’t break when kids play with them!

After some trial and error, there are two ways I would recommend doing this. If you plan on using acrylic craft paint, then prime them first. I used cheap-o Wal-Mart gray spray primer ($1 per can). I like to paint them in those giant Rubbermaid containers because the paint doesn’t stick, you can easily roll them around without getting your hands covered, and the overspray stays in the box (which wastes less and doesn’t make as much of a mess). Let them dry and then add the acrylic base coat. (The brown ones were done this way, I used Anita’s acrylic in Cafe mixed with a little cream for the base)

OR you can skip the primer and use latex instead. I mixed a couple of colors I had in the garage and came up with this pretty Robin’s egg blue color. (Baby blue, a small amount of a mossy green and a teeny bit of a nutmeg brown). It took two coats to get really good coverage.

After the base coat was totally dry (with either acrylic or latex) I used three different colors on top along with the base. Taupe (Americana Mississippi Mud is the perfect shade) Cream (Americana Light Buttermilk), and a tiny bit of burnt umber (Anita’s)

I put each on a lid or bowl, and used a sponge brush. I would dip into a color (lightly) and randomly sponge over the egg. While the first color was still wet, I would do the other two. I only used the burnt umber to darken the shades, not as an accent color.

The good thing about doing it this way is that it stays wet so you can easily wipe it off if you don’t like the way it looks.

I stuck them all back in the plastic containers to dry and then splattered them with burnt umber (that was really watered down). I used a one inch paint brush, but a toothbrush works much better to give you the perfect small speckles.

I would shake the box around and do it again to make sure the other sides were covered. Have a paper towel handy to wipe off any large splatters.

I can’t wait to show you the six different projects I have made with these.

I also have them in bowls, jars and nests all over the house.

These are in a vintage glass bowl on an antique tea cart.

These are on the kitchen counter under a cheese dome. (Ha! If you look really closely these have holes in them, they were the first batch…from the Dollar Tree…don’t get this kind :))

In fact, if you look super close at any of them, you will see the seam. But they survived a group of Hannah’s little friends last week :)

What do you think?

Crucifixion Nails

2010-03-25T15:11:00.001-07:00

Easter isn’t just about bunnies and eggs. It’s about pain, suffering, hope, and love. I want to celebrate that. I want to see that. What better way to symbolize it than the crucifixion nails? When I originally envisioned how I would use them, I thought I would use railroad tie nails. Hannah was sick that week, and a trip to the hardware store was out of the question. So I made my own :)

Sprayed them with gray primer.

Used acrylic craft paint and dabbed on (with a wet paper towel) spice brown and rust colors.

Dark chocolate browns.

Dark and medium gray tones. And a final wash of really watered down black.

I had the oval chipboard wood (originally came from the dollar store) I used white copy paper, dyed it in coffee and let it dry. I ran it through the printer with my text (formatted in Adobe, but you could easily use Word). I used my script stamp and stamped over the top (if you look closely, you will notice I did it upside down.. Whoops :)) I cut out the oval shape and Mod Podged it to the chipboard.

I ran twin through two hole on the top. I hot glued my nails on top. Raided the backyard rose bushes for some thorny braches, and hot glued them on top.

On our mantel in the living room I went simple with a grouping of apothecary jars.

I used the same dyed and stamped paper for the backdrop.

Filled the bottom with moss, and added the nails.

I wired more than one thorn branch together to make a crown of thorns, and was bleeding by the end of it. It gave me amazing perspective.

“He chose the way of the cross where mercy triumphs justice because of love.”

~William Paul Young

Join Transformation Thursdays!

A sweet bench makeover

2010-03-22T15:36:00.001-07:00

My cousin had a garage sale with several family members and friends all adding things to sell. Her friend wasn’t able to sell this cute children’s bench, and encouraged me to take it.

First thought: Sweet! Free furniture!!

Second thought: Hmmm, Josh is not going like it if I bring home another piece of furniture… ~~Maybe I will hide it in the garage.~~

It needed some fresh paint, and I originally envisioned tufting the back.

Here it is today. (I can’t find the pictures of the paint process.)

I have it in Hannah’s closet. It’s the perfect place to read a story to one of her (many) babies…~~or dinosaurs.~~

First I primed it with a brush on white water based primer. The previous colors were really bright so I used a really generous coat. (I think it was Zinnser, but I have used both Kilz and Zinnser and they are both great).

Then I top coated with Dutchboy’s Sugar and Cream (just a creamy white….I had it leftover from these cabinets.)

I then glued on the piece of decorative molding (which I had already painted the same color as the base). I added it after painting the base because, the latex is thick. This gives it crisp edges, if I had glued, then painted, the thick paint may have puddled around the edges, from where I was trying to get in the small nooks. I used my favorite Benjamin Moore , Raw Umber finishing glaze. I painted it in the edges, corners, and crevices. I wiped away the excess with an old sock. I took the same small brush I was using and splattered small amounts randomly to simulate water marks. The cushion is actually……..from Hannah’s crib bumper. It’s one of the small end pieces.

I just tied it to the back. It fits perfectly (the exact dimensions). I am a sucker for sentimental too!I had originally intended to cut a piece of wood to fit the back, add foam and cover it with a sweet blue floral fabric, then tuft it with covered buttons.What do you think? Leave the crib bumper, or tuft the back?

Excuses Schmooses…….

2010-03-22T13:34:00.001-07:00

Oops, I did it again. I had really good intentions with the blog and let life get in the way.

We did some traveling to see family. Hannah got sick. Family issues came up, we got busy, and life happened.

We have also had a whole lot of this.......

Which has resulted in this......

And not a lot of painting or projects. The weather is getting warmer, which has meant parades...

And lots of projects to update you on!

The Easter decor is up, and I have a bunch of fun ideas to share with you….in fact, I had the house ready to photograph, and it snowed 5 1/2” yesterday…in Dallas…in the middle of March! It’s that pesky global warming, thank you Al Gore! So instead we had snowmen, hot coco, and snowy children trekking through the house :)

Thank you for all of the sweet emails and comments!

(P.S. I moved over to Windows Live Writer (which rocks!!!! so much faster) …so let me know if you are getting updates. It seems so much more efficient, which means more blog posts, since they don’t take 6 hours apiece!!)

(P.P.S……haha…Lisa, you are right, it took me FOREVER to get Christmas in the attic!!)

The Man Space Christmas Tour

2009-12-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

I hope you are having a blessed day!

Here is a quick view of one of my favorite rooms in the house.

The "ManSpace".

(Given the name because I wanted my husband's "hunting souvenirs" restricted to one room.)

The bar is covered with a natural pine garland and items from around the house.

A faux fur snowball (tutorial here) "preserved" in a homemade cloche. I took a broken candle scone (it's upside down), and glued a painted dowel end cap to create a knob. The wooden white candle holder is upside down to give a flat space for the cloche to sit on.

Dollar Tree birds in faux snow in a hurricane candle holder.

I layered the heights with old books; and filled in the empty spaces with pine cones and twigs.

Glittered feathers (also from the Dollar Tree) in another glass hurricane.

The resin bird was a WalMart garden center clearance for $1. I gave him a coat of white wash to instantly age him.

The lantern was filled with a burlap (hand stamped here) wrapped candle, painted sugar gum berries, a bird ornament, and faux snowflakes.

The lantern was another WalMart garden center clearance find for $3.
I painted over the original copper finish. (tutorial here)
The silver cracked glass votive came from the Dollar Tree as well.

The garland has the same elements throughout the house. Feathers, stamped burlap ribbon, pine cones, grapevine and birds. (Tutorials here)

Fabric and faux fur covered Styrofoam balls are tucked in for texture.

Here are a few closeups of the silver bird ornaments on the tree.

I found them at the Dollar Tree (4/$1), but they were bright orange.

I used a green paint thinner to strip the flaming orange paint off.

I splattered them with my favorite raw umber oil glaze. They remind me of beautifully aged mercury glass.

The poinsettias (and sugar gum berries) were once Liberace gold, but have been repainted with Krylon Nickel in satin, and raw umber oil glaze.

The tree has tons of grapevine, pine cones and stamped burlap woven in.

I wanted a natural but elegant look.

I found an old oak end table at a thrift store for $8. I painted it a soft black satin and distressed the edges. To create the illusion of a custom base, I mounted the tree stand to the tabletop.

The no-sew tree skirt was made out of muslin and burlap.

I started with a yard of each ($1.20 muslin and $1.80 burlap)

The muslin I dyed in coffee and then washed, this made it very soft and worn feeling. I stamped it with a ledger script stamp (basic black ink), and then went over and randomly stamped crowns, angel wings and lions.

I cut both fabrics into squares, making the muslin about 4 inches shorter overall than the burlap. I cut a slit halfway through each square and draped it over the tree stand (arranging it so the slit was in the back). I hot glued a small piece of grosgrain ribbon to each side of the slit and tied it back together. (Although I do not think this was necessary).

To create a little extra volume I hot glued the burlap underneath the table top.

The presents were wrapped with brown craft paper. The backside of grocery bags would be just as beautiful.

Strips of stamped burlap, twine, newspaper were used in place of ribbon.

The newspaper was rubbed with scrap booking stamps to instantly age it.

Poinsettias, birds and rosettes decorated the tops.

This bird's nest was created with a tiny grapevine wreath (6/$1), and burlap thread in the center.

The flowers are coffee filters that were dyed, and then stamped.

I layered five together and twisted the center until it created a full flower. I hot glued painted berries to the center and leaves (from the painted poinsettias) to the back.

The Dining rooom and entry way

2009-12-24T13:36:00.000-08:00

We just got finished putting out our reindeer food and plenty of cookies and eggnog for Santa.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas Eve with your families.

I wanted to wrap up the Christmas tour....here is our entry way.

It's open both to the dining room and the man space. (My Husbands room :))

Here's a close up of the wreath on the back of the front door.
(I painted it last year)
Our Dining room

The REASON for the Season.

The cross was 0.99 at a thrift store, but was mirrored red. I took it apart and gave it a fresh coat of paint.

I made the burlap crown with hot glue and a clothes hanger. (Tutorial to follow)

The banner was
made from brown craft paper and grapevine.

The angel wings were from old gold Christmas decor I painted.

I had all of the other items too, the apothecary jars cam e from a thrift store, the lantern came from a garage sale for $2.

These glittered feather ornaments came from the Dollar Tree.

I painted two red frames oil rubbed bronze. I used craft paper and dyed it with coffee, then stamped it with a ledger script stamp. I hot glued it inside the frames.

The sconces were originally 70's gold, and got revived with a tortoise shell finish.

I hot glued them onto the paper.

You may recognize my table scape from this post.

Here is a view of the other side of my dining room.

The arrangement is normally on the buffet.

(It is just painted sticks, berry picks and feathers in a $5 thrift store urn)

This fantastic verdigris metal planter was also a thrift store find!

The floral ball is actually dyed coffee filters on an old Halloween lantern.

A wire urn full of pine cones with my Grandparent's old flour scoop.

The numbers were stamped onto dyed paper, framed and put under a cheese dome with faux snow on a painted glass plate (originally clear, I bought it at the Dollar Tree).

The champagne bucket is filled with antique looking silver ornaments.

(I stripped the paint of some very blah ornaments....Tutorial soon to follow)

Hope your Christmas Eve is magical!

Christmas Kitchen Tour 2009

2009-12-23T16:14:00.000-08:00

I hope you are all having a blessed Christmas season!

Welcome to the kitchen part of my Christmas home tour.

Our home has a very open floor plan, you can see the kitchen from the front door.

Just when I thought I was "done" decorating, I couldn't resist making something to hang from the sconces.

A painted Santa cookie jar.
(Just wait till you see the before...check out the kitchen projects here)

A tray painted with chalkboard paint, and covered in berries. And I covered the wicker pot in moss and added a jar candle.
I found the cute bust at a flea market on our last trip to Tennessee.

The Halloween "BOO" candles were replaced with JOY.

A sweet glittered dove (from the Dollar Tree) was hung with twine to a knob in front of the sink.

The bar height counter over the sink, is covered in a vintage looking vignette.

I was striving for a look that was rich, but natural and wanted the non-traditional items to look old and collected over time. With a Christmas twist :)

Most of the items I already had.

I found the birdcage at Goodwill for $3, and added a white wash to it.

I hot glued one of the tarnished glittered snowflakes from the hall on top.

A hodgepodge of random items.

The gold halo (around the finial), came off of the angels I used in the living room projects.

This pretty bird my aunt gave me, but was a little too gold, so I spray painted it nickel, and flecked some umber on top.

Sheet music candles.

Three Christmas topiary trees.

This paper tree was featured in the Dallas Morning News article.

The flowers are made from dyed and stamped coffee filters, and painted berries.

Jingle bells (from the Dollar Tree of course!)

A painted bird ornament.

I love the way the paint is peeling back to reveal the silver underneath. (I painted when it was too cold outside...)

Another lantern with a candle, sugar gum berries, faux snow and a bird ornament.

The garland hanging from the pot rack in the center of the kitchen.

(I added molding and painted the fluorescent light box)

A view from the master bedroom.

It's really hard to get a great photo of it with the light on!

From the other side of the kitchen.

In case you wondered what it might look like if you were standing on my counters :)

Here are a few aerials.

A closeup of the end.

And the other side.

I had to keep it all very cohesive from room to room, because our house is so open. You can see the kitchen from almost any spot in our house.

So throughout the house all the garland has wired in pine cones, stamped burlap, grapevine, feathers and silver bird ornaments.

The buffet.

I added painted and monogramed :) plaques. (With angel wings)

The antique French nightstand at the end of our island is draped with red berries.

To see how I achieved this look, please check out the Kitchen Christmas projects HERE.

Kitchen Christmas Projects

2009-12-23T16:12:00.000-08:00

I found this cute Santa cookie jar at a local thrift store in November.

He reminded me of Joseph's coat of many colors.

I primed him with a gray spray primer and then top coated with Krylon Nickel. While the nickel was still wet, I very lightly and randomly misted the surface with Krylon silver and Rustoleum Antique brass.

The mirrored (disco ball) ornaments came from the Dollar tree in a package of 4.
I love to paint things inside Rubbermaid containers to try and contain the mess.
I splattered raw umber oil glaze randomly, and shook the box from side to side to get the balls rolling in the wet paint.
They came with a loop, and I strung them on brown grosgrain ribbon and tied them to the sconces.

The silver candles were from the D.T.
I added the J and the Y (already had an O from Halloween).
The metal is western studs from Michael's. You could easily use upholstery tacks, push pins, scrapbooking brads, or even glue something unexpected like coffee beans on.

To start this vignette, I cut a long strip of burlap and a slightly thinner and shorter strip of stamped muslin (I also used this for a tree skirt and a table cloth...tutorial to come)

One of my mirrored and and tarnished topiaries.

The moment I saw the birdcage, I knew I wanted to put scrolls of Wish Lists inside!

To make the Wish Lists, I started with white copy paper on a cookie sheet that has a rim. I poured strong coffee over to cover it all and to make sure each sheet was wet (not so much that it's drowning in a pool of coffee, but a little extra.) The more coffee added, the darker the result. I stuck them in the oven on the very lowest setting. (And proceeded to pace in front of it for fear of fire in the name Christmas decor...)

I kept watching it, and when most of the liquid had evaporated, I took it out and let it finish air drying.

After they were 100% dry, I stamped them with a script stamp and regular black ink. (I lined up the edges so they wouldn't overlap)

I ran them through the printer to add the words "Wish List". I rolled them up and added a tiny dab of hot glue to hold them in place.

The bells were really bright and shiny, so I did the same thing I did above (with the mirrored balls), a little raw umber oil glaze, and voila.

To create the paper tree I started with a Styrofoam cone for the base. (You could even use a party hat or a plastic cone for the base) I painted watercolor paper (you could use any paper including scrapbooking, I liked the heavier weight of this paper)

I started with silver spray paint, and then stamped the ledger script across the entire surface. I went back and randomly added crowns.

I cut 1" x 2" sections, and starting at the bottom, hot glued them to the cone. I went around, and when I got to the next level I tried to stagger them.

I hot glued a plastic crystal onto the top for a finial.

The lantern was a steal for $3 on clearance.

(Below is the one on my mantel, and is identical to this, but the "before" color.)

I taped the glass off, and primed them gray. I painted them a flat black, and then with very watered down white craft paint, randomly let it run and drip down the sides.

The insides were filled with fake snow, a candle (Actually, to be honest, it's one and a half candles...one was too short, and two was too tall....so I cut one in half and hot glued them together and then wrapped it with stamped fabric to cover the seam). I added painted sugar gum berries (Krylon nickel) and a sweet birdie ornament.

This one was fun! I am not even sure what you would call it.....a random conglomerate of pretty things?

I filled the container with newspaper, and added the feather pick (fake feathers). I was not sure which direction I was going, so I just started to pile stuff in. I ended up with an acorn ball, a painted bird, an ornament, the painted berries I showed you from the living room projects...

A white finial, and a gold halo off a thrift store angels (see the living room projects), a nest and I added some shredded threads of burlap inside.

The flower was made from dyed and stamped coffee filters (tutorial to come tomorrow with a post about wrapped presents)

Dollar Tree glass candles were wrapped with faux sheet music. I made it using the same process as the "Wish Lists" above. I glued it on using Mod Podge, and added brown grosgrain (with the edges frayed), and a button.

These wood plaques came from Hobby Lobby for $1. I troweled a small amount of drywall plaster over the top to add texture. I let them dry and spray painted them nickel. I stamped the top with a script stamp, and then stamped the angel wings and "W". I screwed a small eye hook to the back, and ran floral wire though to attach it to the garland.

This old charger came from a thrift store and got a quick coat of chalkboard paint in the center. I hot glued floral wire to the back and attached it to the wreath.

The garland over the pot rack has loads of pine cones wired in, and stamped burlap is woven throughout.

Grapevine was then wrapped around.

Feathers, feathered balls and a silver bird complete the look.

OK, I know this picture is REALLY bad. The light fixtures look like alien motherships coming to invade my kitchen......

I keep trying to express just how open my house is, and this is the only picture I can find to give you a visual. The living and kitchen are pretty much one giant space. You can see the dining room on the other side of the kitchen, and you can see the long hall and front door.

So, now you can see why I have so many reucurring elements (feathers, pinecones, burlap, grapevine, angel wings, birds, silver paint, stamped fabric, etc) It has to be cohesvie.

To see the complete kitchen Christmas Tour go HERE.

Christmas Living Room Tour 2009

2009-12-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome and Merry Christmas!

I have been saving the full Christmas tour because I wasn't sure what would be published and I didn't want to spoil the surprise! I do want to show you our Christmas decor and many of the projects I created.

Since we are running short on time I have broken it down by room, and will post each a final overview of the room, and a separate post for projects.

Our living room at night

We are blessed to have three Christmas trees this year, this by far, being the most classic.

Some closeups of the ornaments and grapevine.

Here are some photos taken during the day.

I love the softer green tones of the tree against the deep red and champagne glass.

Out tree started with sugared berry picks in soft gold and red, and then I added the ornaments and bows.

This year I added the stamped burlap and grapevine.

Santa's toy chest, filled with a classic toy horse, plane, blocks and presents.

The mantle covered in garland. It's full of pine cones (from my Grandparent's farm :)), burlap and grapevine.

I also added tons of non-traditional elements. Feathers, berry picks, seashells, curtain finials, scraps of silk leftover from other projects, fur covered balls, and feathered balls. I shopped the house for this and just used what I had.

The candles were wrapped with burlap and wings taken off of a trio of thrift store angels were added to the back.

The lantern was a clearance garden center find, that I filled with candles, sugar gum tree balls, faux snow, and an ornament.

The living room is the only room in the house with traditional Christmas colors, it is also the only place where all of the "Santa" decor is located.

I was going for more of an elegant look with the fun Santa stuff.

The mailbox received a coat of champagne paint, and stenciled letters.

Coffee stained letters were added to the top.

I painted the Christmas paddle last year.....I obviously have a "naughty"sense of humor!

Milk and cookies for good Ole' Saint Nick!

The library draped in garland.

I used the same natural elements; pine cones, grapevine and burlap.

Feather and fabric covered balls, painted berries, and stamped paper in a metal frame.

I decided to change up one of our other Christmas trees this year, so I used the extra jewel tone, shatterproof ornaments to fill this tiered plant stand.

My Uncle's old grandfather clock received a fresh coat of paint, and a festive banner.

Twas the night before Christmas....

Merry Christmas!

To see the projects I created for this room click HERE.

Please join DIY day for more fun

Christmas Living Room Projects 2009

2009-12-22T19:25:00.000-08:00

Since my motto this year seems to be "The more pictures, the merrier", I decided to post the projects themselves separate.

Following is a collaboration of short tutorials, and before and afters.

I found these three angels at a local thrift store for $1.50. I loved the wings, but was not so crazy about the faces.

I unscrewed the wings from the back and hot glued them to the burlap wrapped candles.
The mercury glass candle holders were a thrift store find for $3 (for all three). The cracked glass votive holders came from the Dollar Tree.

This little stool was a steal at $3.49, but the red vinyl had to go!

I removed the legs and painted them an oil rubbed bronze. I used a staple gun and covered the top with gold silk dupioni.
The cute "MILK" jug was from an empty Burts Bee's Milk Bath. I primed and painted it white, and then stenciled on the letters.

You may recognize the metal frame from the entry way vignette.

I found three at the thrift store several months ago.
I cut out thick watercolor paper, and spray painted it silver. I used a ledger stamp over the entire top, and then stamped a crown in the center.

The paper looked similar to this painted.

The black and white fabric balls add a lot of texture and contrast.

I collect samples every time I go to the fabric store, always sure that I will use them "for something".
I hot glued the samples on to Styrofoam balls (my Aunt gave me), adding a dab of glue, wrapping and then tacking each section down as I went around the ball. I tried to make the "fronts" more smooth, and keep the bulk to the back, knowing I could hide the flaws in the garland.

Here are the fur balls. I just love them, and I love the "free" price tag even more!

I found this at a thrift store (notice a trend here? :)) for $0.97
I painted it oil rubbed bronze, and highlighted the edges with antique gold.

I forgot to take a good "before" shot of the mailbox. It was bright blue with metal snowmen all over it. It took pliers to pull them off, and gave the mailbox a nice aged beat-up look.
I painted it Carmel Latte by Krylon and used my favorite raw umber oil glaze on it.
A little hot glue holds the two together.

I shopped all over town looking for just the right shade of burlap with no luck. I ended up getting
a tan one, but then dying it. I used a combination of strong coffee (to make it look aged) and a watered down Folk Art craft paint in a celery green. The green just gives a slight sage cast to it.
(Yes it looks pretty gross.....)

I washed it out really well, and then hung it on the fence to dry.

I used Delta Ceramcoat textile medium mixed with black craft acrylic paint to stamp with. I brushed the paint on the stamp after every five or so uses.
The pattern was really random, no real method to the madness.
I mainly used a combination of script, crowns with an occasional "W" thrown in.

I cut it into long strips and tucked it into the trees, garland, and wreaths.

I bought 5 grapevine wreaths at Hobby Lobby on sale for $2.00.

I let them soak in the bathtub for over 24 hours. I just kept checking them to see when they had absorbed enough water to be pliable.

(Yes, that looks mighty disgusting too!)

I put them on trash bags and dragged them outside.

I undid the wreath form, there is an end tucked in to hold it all together. I used twine and tied one end to the fence (we have a wrought iron fence), and stretched it out as far as I could and the tied the other end. I secured the middle sections with twine also. I do not have any pictures of this because I was too busy getting crazy looks from people walking by. I think if I had taken pictures of it they really would have stared!

The whole process was very trial and error. In the end I liked the thinner pieces stretched out more, so they easily wrapped around the trees and garland. The thicker, larger pieces I wanted to use as accents on the ends of the garland. I soaked them again, and then wound them up as comparable grapevine garland available at the store is $15 for a very small amount.

The thinner pieces wrapped around garland

The thicker pieces used in the ends of the garlands

In the tree

The library garland

The ends of the garland

Some berry picks before they got painted. I used Krylon Nickel, and raw umber oil glaze.

And after:

A closeup

My Aunt Pat gave my Uncle Darrel this grandfather clock for an anniversary. He passed away several years ago and is greatly missed. She is in the process of moving and needed to get rid of the clock. I am such a sentimental sucker, I couldn't see it go to a stranger.

The glass was missing from the center panel. I cut a piece of paintable wallpaper to fit. I primed it and painted the clock and the wallpaper the same Krylon Carmel Latte. I used an old t shirt to rub on my favorite raw umber oil glaze. After it was all dry I hot glued the wallpaper in.

I had grapevine garland from my Aunt, I sprayed it oil rubbed bronze, I added a strip of burlap on top and ruched the ends. The banner was cut out of brown kids craft paper, and spray painted silver. I painted "Twas The Night Before Christmas..." in a darker silver craft paint on top. I hot glued the three together.

To se the full Christmas Living room tour click HERE.

Please join DIY Day and Get Your Craft On for more fun!

Saving Christmas with The Dallas Morning News

2009-12-19T10:10:00.000-08:00

This morning I felt like an eager child, anxiously awaiting Christmas morning. I couldn't wait to get out of bed and see the paper!
I feet a little like Cindy Lou Who with that fabulous title!

Recently I have been very cryptic about "big things" I have been working on, and have all but disappeared from blogging. I had the amazing opportunity to work with Jamie Knodel, and Michael Ainsworth, of The Dallas Morning News on a Christmas decor story.

It was an awesome experience from beginning to end. Jamie came to our home to visit, and to see the projects I created for Christmas. She is a very gifted writer and one of the sweetest and most interesting people I have met in a long time. She is the kind of person you immediately feel comfortable with; I could sit and ask her questions about experiences in her life and career for hours. Michael came to photograph the house two days later. He is such a nice guy and so talented, with an exceptional eye for balance and detail. Wow! Let me just say, I had no appreciation for what it took to get a quality photograph in a newspaper or magazine before. The equipment, the lighting, the balance, and the skill level.

He was so kind and patient to the time to answer so many questions to this "point and shoot" girl!

Thank you to Jamie and to Michael for this wonderful experience!

Please go check out the story here.

8' Carved Angel Wings

2009-12-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

Drum roll please......OK, I promised pictures, and here they are.......um, all 4 of them.
It seems I was a little too busy chatting, than I was playing photographer.
The night was a success, and I had the opportunity to meet some amazing new people!

My best friend, Anne and her husband, Jason came out.

Also, thanks to our friends Kyle and Lysette and my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Tom for coming out!

Mom, thanks for being so selfless and making sure Hannah was in good hands!

I made these using nothing but recycled materials for the body of the sculpture. Green wings, baby!

To see the smaller, original version go here.

To see these going up in the gallery go here.

Join DIY day for more fun projects!

Moss Topiaries and Dining Room Tablescape

2009-12-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

Here is our dining room table and a few quick and easy projects you can do.

I wanted it to be warm, inviting, but not the usual gold and glitz I tend to lean towards for Christmas. I went with neutrals and green.

I started with two blank topiary forms. One with a stick and a basic cone shape. I also used an existing topiary I already had that was a bit too fake looking, I got the idea here. I painted the first two green, and hot glued reindeer moss on top of all three. It took about 3 1/2 bags for all three forms, so I had a grapevine ball and in patches glued the remainder of the moss to.

I scored 4 of these lanterns from the WalMart garden section on clearance for $3!

I primed and painted over 3 of them.

Gave each a nice time worn patina.

(I only used one on this table scape, and have scattered the other two throughout the house)

The finial was a dollar store tree topper repainted.

And this fantastic dollar store votive holder!

Old books, sticks and moss balls.

The dollar store trees tarnished .

A fun faux snowball I made out of faux fur.

A close up of the grapevine with random bits of moss glued.

Dollar store birds, old books.

A fantastic glittered feather(Dollar tree score!).

This silver reindeer candelabra reminds me of the Pottery Barn version for $130.

It makes mine a steal at $5 at a local thrift store!

I have dyed and made my own table skirt a tree skirt. Look for a tutorial over the next few days!

Here is a closeup:

Some glittered Dollar Tree ornaments in an old pitcher completes the look.

I am joining Between Naps On the Borch for Met Mondays!

And to the Nesting Place Tour of Homes!

Because I can't wait..... 8' Angel Wings

2009-12-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

Here are the angel wings going up in the gallery tonight!

I decided to make them 8' instead of 6'.

Tomorrow night is the big night!

SO excited!

Peace On Earth

2009-12-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

Here's a little Christmas hall art.

Cheap and easy.

I started with a gold plastic thrift store frame.

Yes......and The Last Supper......when I told the cashier I was going to paint over it I thought she could scorch me with the look in her eyes.

But, come on now, I don't think Jesus really rocked a neon blue robe. Royal maybe, but not electric blue.

Some inexpensive chipboard letters. ($1 each)

An extra "W', 'cause you all know how much I love monograms.

My cousin had given me these fantastic, old ornate towel rods from her recent bathroom renovation. I took just the part that attached to the wall off, and painted them oil rubbed bronze and highlighted with antique gold. I also had bought a $2 sign from Goodwill for it's five crystal knobs. I hot glued the knobs on top.

Ta Da! Instant letter hangers!

I painted over the frame with a (heavy) coat of primer, and then the same oil rubbed bronze and gold. The inside I painted nickel, silver and antique brass. I used a script stamp to create a background that looks like ledger paper, and created a template in Adobe for two quick stencils for the font "ON" and "Earth".

For the hanging letters I painted the base in nickel and rubbed the edges in antique gold, and the stamped over the tops with the script stamp.

I hot glued burlap strips to the back and hung them on the knobs.

I did the same thing for the door wreath.

I hot glued floral wire to the back and ran it around the top of the wreath.

These are easy, quick and super inexpensive projects!

Tarnished Glitter Snowflakes

2009-12-02T20:28:00.001-08:00

You may have noticed the snowy hallway from previous posts.

I purchased silver pre-made snowflake ornaments from the Dollar Tree, in various sizes (the big ones were $1 each, and then 6/$1, and 10/$10 in packages)

Here they are prepackaged:

A before closeup:
I have long admired that beautiful aged patina German Glitter Glass brings.
I wanted to give the same look and age instantly.

I used the same Benjamin Moore Mohawk Finishing Glaze in Raw Umber as I did in the last post.

Same technique, splattered and patted on for an instant tarnished effect.

I hot glued them to fishing line, three to a strand. I looped the fishing line around clear thumb tacks and hung them.

An easy project, but one that adds great whimsy.

Welcome! This is a view from our front door.

And a peek of tomorrow's post!!

Christmas Topiaries

2009-12-01T21:09:00.000-08:00

Hi! Hope you have all been well! Our halls are decked, and I am ready to start the Christmas Season! The elves have been busy (OK, that's a lie.....it's just me). I am going to try and post a daily project or two over the next few weeks, some large and some small.

Here are the first three of several topiairies. Anyone who has been in our house knows my love of topiaries.

I had huge response to the small, tarnished mirrored tree in my last post.

I wanted to clarify just how I achieved this look.

I started with three super shiny trees from the Dollar Tree. They looked like they belonged straight off the set of Saturday Night Fever. I just needed a white polyester leisure suit to complete that look.

I used Benjamin Moore's Finishing Glaze in Raw Umber, and dabbed some on with an old cloth, and then splattered spots randomly all over to mimic an antique mirror. Easy Peasy.

The second one I found at a thrift store for $3. I removed all the beads and fabric.

Primed it grey, and painted the base a flat black.
I had some uber shiny silver beaded garland, but I have also seen the same things at the Dollar store. I hot glued it in rows, starting at the bottom, and wrapping my way around and up.

I used the same B.M. finishing glaze and rubbed it all over with a cloth, to instantly age it. I went back with a clean paper towel and randomly rubbed the glaze off, in a few small areas to let that shiny silver peak through here and there.

The third topiary you may remember from Halloween, and used to look like this:

I spray painted the entire thing a flat white. I dabbed the BM glaze over the branches, and then dabbed it in the nooks and crannies of the base, and then rubbed off the excess. I flecked and splattered it lightly to look like old water marks.

The snowflakes were from the Dollar store and were also tarnished. I plan on posting a tutorial on it tomorrow, hopefully. The weather is cold and rainy and not the best for capturing great pictures.

Better late, than ever:

Please join in on the fun of DIY day at a Soft Place To Land

Carved Angel Wings

2009-11-16T21:00:00.000-08:00

When I first saw these carved angel wings from Pottery Barn, I was in L.O.V.E. Seriously, love.

Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn

Once I started to do a little research, I found several antique French wings, that I loved even more. So I had to figure out a way to make them. Although carving wood was out of the question. I used only recycled materials.

Added coats of browns, golds and blacks. Gave them a slight white washed effect for age.

For the display I used a frame from a french door (we found it on bulk trash pick up day, HA!)

And my best friend gave me the remainder of a roll of paintable wallpaper.

Painted and hot glued together.

My all time favorite Christmas carol, and my Mom's fantastic typewriter.

The paper was stained with coffee, and then stamped with a sheet music stamp, and I printed out the song.

Some dollar store birdies (sans their ugly ornament hangers)

The cute little mirror tree was also a dollar store purchase, but was a little too bright and shiny for me, so I tarnished it with raw umber oil glaze.

A cute little frames and some paper that I spray painted and stamped.

I have wanted to be an artist my entire life. I can remember the first art set I was ever given, I was four. When I think back, it seems like when I opened it it was like that scene from Indiana Jones, when the Holy Grail is opened. Angels singing. You get the picture.

I am so proud to say that I will be exhibiting wings similar to these (but larger) at a very chic gallery, downtown next month. Words do not describe how excited I am.

Please join Kimba for DIY day at A Soft Place to Land!

Kimm at Reinvented!

And Todays Creative Blog for Get your Craft on!

Seasonal Guest Bath Arrangement

2009-11-02T17:57:00.000-08:00

Hello! Look at me, blogging two times in a week! Wow!

I have not been on a bloggy hiatus, just busy.

So I wanted to show you a quick and easy seasonal makeover I did for our guest bathroom.

Here is the before (rather boring, if I do say so myself)

(And no, I do not normally keep my hot glue gun and scissors in the bathroom....)

I got this at a garage sale for $1!

I loved the frame, my BF loved the canvas = PERFECT!

I took the canvas out, and cut two equal parts of fishing line. I looped the fishing line around four times, knotted the ends and hot glued the knots to the back top corners of the frame.

I trimmed the excess.
I have been saving this gorgeous moss wreath I got on clearance from Joanne's last year for $0.97. It was just a little too small for most applications (like hanging on a door).

I used some left over silk from this project. And cut a piece long enough to hold the wreath.

Hot glued the seams under.

No........I do not normally have pine cones in the sink...

Used the screws that hold the mirror in place and loosened them, slid the fishing line over and tightened them.

Had an urn that was formally brass, but I painted a distressed old irony black.
(You can see by the bottom what it used to look like...)

Has some sticks from our neighbors tree I spray painted white. I tied them together with twine, and did not use Styrofoam.

My Mom gave me some random green filler and added it to the base.

Placed pine cones from my Grandparents farm around the base to cover the twine.

I LOVE the outcome. Dramatic, but multi seasonal. It will work Thanksgiving through January.

And, it was free, using things I had around the house!

This is a pic taken with flash "off". I am trying to tweak my camera.

Please join Kimba for DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and a fantastic Halloween!

Hannah's costume looked adorable on, and she had so much fun in it! So girly!

Here is the back without the wings.

Mommy and Hannah.

We went to a Halloween block party and she had a blast.

Too bad our annual photo shoot was rained out last week. Boo!

Family pic.

Before trick or treating.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

If anyone is still interested I can post a tutorial for the wings (maybe for next year...).

As you can tell my Halloween motto seems to be "Go Big, or Go Home"! Ha!

Pleas join Kimba at DIY Day for more fun projects!

Sneak Peek...

2009-10-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry to have disappeared off the blog-planet again.

I have MISSED blogging!

I have had lots of big things going on, good things that I can't wait to share with you soon.

And trying to make a "simple" set of wings. It seems every time I think a project is going to be "easy" and just take a day.......it takes five times as long, and is challenging. It feels like I have made approximately 578 sets of wings. OK, realistically, I have made 7. Seriously. And I have made wings several time before, so I don't understand what the holdup was. I could easily devote an entire post to when a good idea goes really wrong....

BUT, I am done. It's not perfect, but at this point it's just done :)

My daughter is SO much more girly than I ever will be, so I tried to come up with a compromise of both our tastes (Yes, I am saying that now while she is 3.....but I am not agreeing to it when she is 16...)
So tutu dress it is.
When tied behind her back, the painted petals lay like a petticoat.

The halter part that will tie behind her neck.

The avant garde hat, made of painted "petals" (painted and cut broadcloth), a painted silk flower, tulle, a few feathers, and a butterfly on floral wire.

(I wanted something more couture than antennas...........can you tell that I have been watching Project Runway lately????? :))

The wings, this is a terrible picture.....I can't seem to take a good one of them tonight. I promise they look much better than this, though. In real life they are not shiny, nor wrinkled looking....
They are hanging from the ribbon that will tie around her waist (under the tutu dress)

Another not so good pic....sorry. In real life, they move and are a softer looking fabric. (It is painted broadcloth)

We are planning on having the annual costume photo shoot at the park with our best friends
this week, so I will be updating these with better pictures soon!

I have missed you all! Hope you are all doing well!

I'm Back....

2009-10-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

I apologize for being MIA for so long. I didn't plan on it happening. My Dad came to visit from Tennessee (he hasn't been in town since January). It is easy to forget how much you miss someone until you get to spend quality time with them.

Here are some of the highlights: (P.S. My Dad and my brother are going to kill me for this :)

In fact, I expect to receive a call from posting this any minute now.....)

These pictures make me smile, (and it's not because
my Dad and brother look like they have
had one too many yard long drinks at Mardi Gras...)
but because they laughed, let her dress them up, and were wonderful sports as Grandpa and Uncle. (I told my brother all the single ladies love this look :))
I love you both so much!

OK, back to home decor......

I have had my fall decor up for weeks now....and have obviously been procrastinating posting.

Over the living room mantle.

The sideboard (the bizarre white blur from the right of the photo was brought to you in part by Dora.......I am wondering if perhaps she might be radioactive...)

Our front door.

Metal pumpkins in the manspace.

The table scape on the living room coffee table.

A trophy (97 cent thrift store find) , pumpkin and bird on an end table.

In the kitchen.

A pumpkin on the pear topiary.

In the master bedroom, in a hurricane, layered with pebbles, moss and a pumpkin.

Our dining room.

The Moroccan lantern was $2 at a garage sale.

The ceramic bird $.99 at a thrift store.

The faux cloche. I found a broken hurricane candle scone at a thrift store for $.25 - the kind that attach to the wall, and a candle fits in the bottom of it (upside down). I glued a dowel rod end to the end of it to mimic a cloche. My Aunt recently gave me some gorgeous beaded fruit.

The acorn ball was also $.25 at a thrift store.

The nest was given to me, and a piled it on top of a faux fur sample I had cut the last time I was at the wholesale fabric store.

Here are the metallic topiary pumpkins I refinished,

I missed you all so much, and am so glad to be back!

Join Kimba at A Soft Place to Land for DIY Day!

Antique Window Turned Wall Art

2009-09-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

I bought an old window off of Craiglist for $3. It was pretty, with chippy white paint.

I had so many ideas of ways to use it, it made it hard to decide.
I ended up painting it. (no surprise :))
I printed out an antique map from Biblical times.

On paper grocery bags. I felt like it added to the aged look. And they were in my pantry, which meant no trip to the store :)
Just taped it to the back!

Hung it over the door to my laundry room.
Ta Da!
$3 wall art!

Please join Kimba at A Soft Place to Land for DIY day!

And Twice Remembered for Make Your Monday!

Painted Ceiling Medallion

2009-09-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

I loved the ceiling medallion in the dining room that came with the house. It just never really stood out against the white popcorn ceilings.

The chandelier is a bit plain for my taste too, but not the focus today.

(I am sure if I scour Craiglist ,that I could remedy that situation.)

I didn't even bother to tape the area off. I just used a good angled brush with Kilz exterior black paint. (It claims one coat coverage, however you can see that's not the case)

Good brushes make it capable to paint a straight line without having to tape first.

I applied a second coat of black and dry brushed acrylic craft paint in burnt umber, with the same angled brush.

I used a sponge brush to highlight the raised areas with gold (acrylic craft paint).

I used some scrap fabric from my bedding to make a chandelier cover. Similar to what I did here, but instead I ironed the seams before hand, and glued it together while on a ladder.

Please join Susan, at Between Naps on The Porch for Met Monday.

And Kimba At A Soft Place to Land for DIY Day!

French Arm Chairs

2009-09-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

I found these chairs on Craigslist for $40.

But they were a little plain for my taste.

The blond, white washed wood looked dated.

Although I think white upholstered furniture is stunning, I am a realist and realize it wouldn't last a week in my house.
The chairs were in excellent condition, the foam and fabric were fine.
In fact, they are even more comfortable than they look.

I took off the trim and painted them.

(Yes, with the fabric on.......)

The fabric was $2 yard from a local place going out of business. I stapled it on, and glued trim around the edges ($0.60 from the same place).

This is by no means a tutorial, just a fun weekend before and after.

I plan on recovering the chair in my studio soon, and posting a step by step detailed tutorial.

Go check out Between Naps on the Porch for more fun!

Kimba is hosting DIY day, go check it out!!

Metamorphosis

2009-09-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

This post is actually going to make me a bit of a hypocrite. I had decided to stop posting personal information, because it is a blog dedicated to creative home decorating.

However, this is a post dedicated to creatively decorating..... my child :)

And I just can't help but sharing with you this fun costume I made last year, and the costume I have in the works for this year.

I have said in the past I am not a huge Halloween fan, but there is something so adorably cute about tiny people in costume. That is sweet costumes, we don't do scary around here.

She looked like the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland with a bit of a Rastafarian twist.

I sketched out what I wanted. Bought inexpensive felt ($2 / yard), and a giant box of poly fill.
I worked with newspaper on a ball to see the most efficient way to create it. I tried several different ways, but in the end, each "ball" is made of six pieces sewn together. It was the easiest way I could find to make it. (3 yellow, three green)
(I am sure that all of you sewing afficionados and engineers have a much better solution for this.....)
The little faux feet were sewn in between.
Purple rick rack was double layered over the yellow seams.
The bodice was constructed in a similar fashion, but I lined the interior with yellow felt so she could get in it and the fiberfill would stay encased. When I went to try it on her, it was too tight, so I had to make side panels with zippers .
The antennae were made from hangers from the dry cleaners (the cardboard tube type they put pants on). I used the metal parts that attach to the cardboard tube, and put them inside the head piece. I covered the tubes with felt and made a ball (just like I did for the body). The antennae easily came on or off.

I bought purple pants and a shirt, and made matching "faux" feet out of purple felt with green and yellow rick rack. But, in the end, she refused to wear the feet, and it was SO hot last year, that the majority of time she spent without the purple top or bottoms either.

So, it is only appropriate that this year she has matured enough to be this:

From one of our favorite books, Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
I can't wait to get started on it!

Go check out more fun at Between Naps on The Porch.

Silk Wall Treatment

2009-09-23T15:13:00.001-07:00

The furniture in my guest room was given to me by my parents when I was a teenager. My taste has changed a bit since then (I am not so matchy matchy anymore), but because it's so sentimental to me, there is no way I would paint it. (This the only time you will ever hear that phrase from me) I wanted more drama and elegance. I decided to do a floor to ceiling silk wall treatment.

I used batting (not brand or type specific, just went with the lowest bidder), upholstery nail head trim on a roll, and some leftover silk dupioni.

I measured the space, taking into account that the ceiling is angled on the right side. I measured the silk I had and figured out the best direction to run it, to get the most out of it. If you choose to do this with a patterned fabric take into account how much extra you will need to match up the repeat.
I had a little over one roll of upholstery tacks, and didn't want to run out and buy anymore, so I planned the size of my squares according to this. Each roll has 10 yards = 30 ft.

I took the width of my rectangle and then doubled the size of the batting. One layer was not quite enough, and with three layers, the upholstery tacks wouldn't stay in the wall.
I made one seam in the silk and laid it on top of the batting. For the edges I just tucked the raw edge underneath, you could easily sew a seam too!
Holding the silk and batting together I pinned it up to the ceiling and held it in place with push pins.

I used a hammer and tapped in the upholstery nails.
When I came to a corner or an edge I just broke the strip by bending it back and forth.
They brake really easy.

Be careful, the edges of these strips are razor sharp and cut like a knife.

Party!!

Please join Kimba for her weekly DIY festivities.

The Shabby Chic Cottage is having Transformation Thursday.

DIY Showoff is having a home accent party.

Metallic Pumpkin Topiaries

2009-09-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

I bought these on super-duper Hobby Lobby clearance two years ago right before Thanksgiving. I suppose if they start putting Thanksgiving decor out in April, it's acceptable for them to clearance them out before the actual Thanksgiving holiday. I guess to make room for Easter eggs......am I alone in thinking this is a little crazy?
Here is the before.

They are a bit much, even for this huge Longhorn fan!
I have never loved them, and they don't really fit my decor, I just bought them because it was our first time to host Thanksgiving dinner and I wanted it to look festive.
They are bright orange, a color not found in nature.
So I decided to give them a little makeover.

I took them apart, pulled everything out.
I glazed everything with a coat of black first just to make it all darker, and not so eye blinding.

I glazed the pumpkins with burnt umber and then antique gold.

The urns got a little sponge bath with burnt umber. I made super runny white glaze and let it drip down. Patted down the excess with a paper towel. Gives it a nice weathered aged appearance.

The mini pumpkins were painted a champagne and gold.

The leaves were glazed with copper.

The pine cones and berries were brushed with titanium gold.

I put it all back together, and hot glued anything I thought might move.

Here is the after. What do you think?

I am not so sure I love all the "extra stuff". Are the leaves and filler to much?

Should I just stick to urns and pumpkins?

Join Kimba, as she hosts DIY day at A Soft Place to Land

And The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursdays.

Burlap Wine Cozy

2009-09-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

I saw this post from Layla, awhile back and it got my wheels spinning.

Not one to let the giant burlap bandwagon pass me by, I thought I would jump on.

We had a party a few weeks ago, and I thought this glass jug was to pretty to be recycled.

I really think this would make a beautiful Christmas or hostess gift (On a full, regular bottle of wine). And for non-drinkers, what about a covered bell jar with dry recipe ingredients, or a hot-coco mix.

Only the finest wines for our friends. :)

(Kidding)

(Actually if you mix it with half club soda and fresh fruit it isn't bad and will serve a lot of guests (obviously))

Took the label off.

I made patterns with newspaper. First I traced the bottom, went about an inch outside the diameter.

Then wrapped it around the circumference. Allowed extra for the seam, and made it taller on top, because I wanted to fold it over.

One of my very best friends moved back to Denmark a few years ago, and she taught me this before she left. "Jeg elsker dig". It means "I love you" in Danish.

I wanted something fun to remind me of her.

I made a template for a stencil like I did here.

Used an x-acto knife to cut it out.

Centered it and used a dry sponge brush with a small amount of black paint on it.

It would have been perfect if I had left well enough alone, but I got overzealous and went back a second time in the middle. Oh, well. I think once would make it look much more nice and faded.

Keeping the painted part on the outside, I glued around the circular bottom.

After the bottom was attached, I glued a seam (towards the inside)

I officially had burned my fingerprints off at this point, because I failed to recognize just how thin burlap is.

It still needed a little something extra. So I found some vintage scrapbook paper, and card stock. Also, it wasn't quite complete without a monogram, love the clear stamp. (Random, impulse, clearance purchase from Hobby Lobby)

I had some giant eyelets left over, and thought it would make it look more tag like.

I shredded up some grosgrain, and added some cute numbers.

Also, you will notice, that I glued some twine around the top, because I wouldn't want anyone to know it's a screw top :).
Found an old champagne cork that fit perfectly!

I wonder what Carlo Rossi would think of it now??

I am linking up To Reinvented, Trash To Treasures.