Under the Sea!

I have been going postal going coastal!  I have decided my upstairs addition would be a coastal theme.  I don't really know why.  I am not crazy about going to the beach.  I only like to swim in water that I can see in.  I have watched one to many River Monster shows with my son!  To get inspiration, I started searching on Pinterest.  I came across some mermaid decor.  Like any good DIYer, I found my inspiration and got to work.

I started out with a piece of wood. Sketch out my mermaid and started jigsawing!  I think my husband was waiting to call an ambulance.  I would say I felt I was safe.  I mean, I knew where all my fingers were in relationship to the blade at all times.  Anyways, here is my shape cut out (and I didn't even cut off a single finger).

Now for the part I felt was agonizing.  What should I do?  Stain?  Paint?  After much deliberation, I decided to go for painting it.  What color should I go with?  So many options!  Since my walls are a light blue, I decided to go with an orange and navy for the color pop.  Here is pictures from beginning to end.

 

After all of that work, I don't know how I feel about it right there.  

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Fluffing the booth

After a ridiculously long, cold, snowy filled winter, everyone is itching for spring.  My booth was in desperate need of a revamp.  I originally thought having a chalkboard wall would be so cool.  Little did I realize how difficult it would be.  There is no shortage of beautifully drawn on chalkboard walls out in blogland.  My problem is that I am not the best at drawing a picture, let alone filling a wall!

While blog hopping, I came across my inspiration from Maison Décor:

I just love the stenciled wall with the metallic paint!  I have never tried stenciling but thought it would be fun it give it a whirl. I grabbed a stencil from Hobby Lobby with my coupon.  First, I had to cover the black chalkboard paint with two coats of primer.  Then, I applied some oops paint I picked up at Lowe's.  Then, the fun started with the metallic paint and stencil.  I gotta say it got old after reaching the half way point!  I pushed my inventory just enough to give myself enough space to squeeze in a ladder and myself.  Okay, maybe just a little more than that but it felt like I was working in a drainage pipe!  Of course my partner in crime, my mom, was there to help out.  I have to say that it turned out great!  It was a bit of work but it gave my booth a much needed change.

Better?



Horsing around

Don't mind me.  I have just been horsing around! 

I am sure you all have seen Miss Mustard Seed's delicious restoration horse.  If not, you can check it out here.  Beautiful isn't it?!  Because I am cheap (I am not sure hubby would agree), I found two horses to satisfy my need to horse around.

First up, a little wooden horse from Goodwill.  It had a hole through the middle which leads me to believe it was part of the carousal horse phase back in the late 80's.  In fact, I remember my oldest sister having one all decked out in mauve and blue.  Anyways, I saw the potential.  Do you see it too?

 

Not quite like Miss Mustard Seeds, but a poor man's substitute.  In honor of Miss Mustard Seed, I used her milk paint, Grain Sack.  The wood was pretty much unfinished so no chipping.  Just a little sanding and wax.

 

 

I like my MMS inspired horse that was a mere $3.  The second horse I actually redid over Christmas time.  This guy was in my garage forever.

 

 

Not really a fan of the hand painted scene.  With this horse, I used ASCP Pure White.  I used ASCP Graphite on the details.  Then gave it a coat of Annie's craqueleur followed by some dark wax.

This close up is not the greatest.  I am not sure if you can even see the cracks.  I could only get so close on my 8' ladder. 

 

 

 

 Still not close to MMS's horse, but I still like it!  I would love to know what you think!

 

Linking up to:

The Shabby Nest:  Frugal Friday

French Country Cottage:  Feathered Nest Friday 

 

God Bless America

I hope all of you are enjoying this week.  I am surprised at how fast June has been flying by.  As we approach July, it is obvious that everyone thinks of the 4th of July.  With that in mind, I knew just what I was going to do with my most recent auction purchase.  Again, another piece that no one bid on.  I know, I just don't understand either.  Doesn't anyone else see the potential?!

 Here she is before any tlc.

You can see that we have a little veneer issue.  But overall, I felt she was a great little candidate for a patriotic makeover.  First thing I had to do was pull up the American flag to make sure I did, in fact, have the right amount of stripes.  I painted the base with Annie Sloan's Emperor's Silk.  Then, I painted the top white.  After measuring and a little math, I started taping off my stripes.

I picked up some star stickers at Dollar Tree instead of making a stencil.

I slapped on some blue paint from a sample I had.  As I peeled off the stickers, some of the white painted started to pull off.  Therefore, it would have to be distressed.  To finish it up, I applied clear and dark wax.  Now, she is an eye catcher!  All set and ready for a little patriotic guy or gal.

I decided to gear up for the 4th of July in my booth by adding this desk, bunting, and a little chalkboard word art.  I followed how Maison Decor made her bunting.  For the font for the 'Freedom' word art, I used Mutlu font.  I used the good ole' rub the back with chalk and trace over the front with a pencil.  To add even more of a pop, I had to add a little red and blue fireworks.

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Ugly duckling

Ugly duckling. Yes, that must be what everyone thought about this poor little desk at the auction. I couldn't believe NO ONE bid on it!

I got it at an absolute steal! It is true that she isn't the most well made but she had the bones too make for a nice redo. I decided to go with Annie Sloan's Graphite for the body and Old White for the drawers. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture. I took it with my archaic phone once I got it to my booth (I forgot my camera). It is a good thing I did. It was snapped up in 2 days!

See, a little lipstick can go a long way girls!
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Homegoods Chest Redo

Hello all!  I wanted to share with you another redo.  A couple of months ago, I had purchased a chest on clearance at Homegoods.  It was to be my nightstand for my bedroom. Well, you remember my french lovelies right? 

 

You know, my 'they will be mine no matter what!" They are great new nightstands. But on a side note, I may repaint my bedroom thus delaying my decision on how to paint my french lovelies.  I digressed, back to the redo at hand.  So, it left this chest from Homegoods unneeded in the bedroom.

Good thing I hadn't painted it yet.  Not really what I care for but I love the shape.  I decided I would use some chalk paint to spruce it up.  I used french linen as a base coat.  Then, I tried to thin down old white to make a wash.  I decided that it was too much all over. So, I just left the top that way.  So what to do with the bottom now?  Of course, duck egg blue!  Then, you know the story.  Apply clear wax.  It needed a little extra something.  So, I added dark wax too.  A little sanding here and there.  I really love how it turned out!

I am not crazy about the original handles but I am sure I will tone them down somehow.  I just had to share it with you.  Again the before to after:

  

Quite a difference right?!

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Drawers, drawers

Before I get to the quick redo, I thought I would catch you up.  Tomorrow is hopefully my last ever chemo treatment!!!  It is bittersweet.  I am happy to eventually grow my hair back, say goodbye to this port, and get rid of the fatigue.  At the same time, it is comforting to know that this medicine (poison) is killing the cancer.  I get three weeks off before my double mastectomy and placement of the tissue expanders.  I found out on Friday that I have the privilege of getting 28 radiation treatments.  I pretty much knew that would be the case since I have 4 tumors, the BRAC2 gene mutation, one tumor showed aggressive growth, and I am only 36.  I know radiation can produce less than optimal reconstruction results due to damage on the skin but I am hoping for the best.  I was just wanting to give those interested an update.

Now, on to the redo! 

I came across this and just knew it was calling my name. 

Did I need it?  No but knew it needed me.  To transform this with minimal work, the answer would be chalk paint.  I used my mixture of old white and aubusson blue.  Two coats later with some clear and dark wax to age it.  Then, gave the handles a shot of oil rubbed spray paint.  Now, I have drawers and drawers. 

I'm not sure what I'll do with it or where I'll put it but for now I'll just look at it and enjoy it.

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