Sunday, August 31, 2014

A Sweet Vintage Window

"They really do like each other"

I hear parents say all the time "oh my kids are the best of friends...they never fight..." Sorry but I just don't buy it. I grew up with siblings and we fought like crazy. It wasn't until I became an adult that I became friends with my siblings. So when it came to my own children and there endless bickering, especially during the teen years I knew things would eventually change. Most days I prayed it would come sooner than later!! 

Well this month it came. My oldest went off to college. I kept telling my kids all summer that things would change once he was in college and they no longer saw each other every day. Both looked at me like I was a mad woman and rolled their eyes and gave me the famous "whatever MOM" line! 

Well guess what...I was right!! He has been away for about a month now and they are closer than ever. They text each other daily, are genuinely nice to one another and look forward to visits. They actually miss their annoying sibling!! YAY!! 

So enter this picture. 
Both kids had an extremely busy summer and so we shipped them off to California for a vacation together. Kinda thought this might be the last opportunity to do so. I am so grateful we did. On one of the last days my cousin Sherri snapped this picture of them. It literally brought tears to my eyes. A moment in time that signifies so much to me as a parent. Just a sweet moment between siblings. They really do love each other. 

After the tears cleared up (LOL) I knew I had to enlarge it and frame it. I changed it to black and white and sent it off to Walgreens. I had them print it in the poster size. 
Last year I had purchased this old window frame at an auction. It literally hung on my wall blank for months. I prayed this picture would fit once it was blown up. Well it did and it was a perfect fit.

Here was the orginal picture taken:


Change to black and white:


And add old window frame:
(all I had to do was cut about an inch off each side and I used the staple gun to secure it to the back)


Forgive the lighting, it's bad. We are remodeling the living room now and a ceiling fan with light is a must!! We have not a single light in there now.
Hopefully we will be done in the next few weeks and I will post all the little projects and decorating, including the DIY Driftwood mirror!!!


****Thank you Sherri for the most A-mazing picture ever!!!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Country Farmhouse Coffee and End Tables

Country Farmhouse Style

MY FAVORITE of the year!!!
This set turned out exactly how I envisioned, a rich country farmhouse style.

These babies were another treasure from my Mom's house in Florida. When we got them the coffee table leg was broken, the insert that it screws into was gone. Mom had been using it by just setting the leg under it and never walking close enough to knock it!! I am so glad she lives near us now!!

They are solid wood and very heavy, just an all around great set, they just needed some help. 

I knew I wanted to make them look beat up and worn. I knew I wanted to bring out the scroll design on the top. I knew I did not want the stained areas to be uniform and perfect.

I wish I had the room to keep them!!

Here is a sneek peek of the coffee table:


Here is what I started with:



And all the "Afters":








What do you think???

Simple Dresser

Clean and Simple

Came across an "oops" paint at Home Depot and loved the green, it's almost a hunter green with a slight hint of blue. Had a dresser sitting to the side until I could figure out what to do with it. So I decided they were a perfect match. Since I was dealing with a dark color and it would quite possibly be for a boy/teenagers room I decided to stain the drawers for a little more of a "grown up" look. The original hardware was more feminine so I changed them out to a set I found at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I think they add a little more masculinity. So this one to me is just clean and simple, nothing fancy.

Here is how it turned out:






And the BEFORE'S:






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Another Paris Themed Desk

Shabby Chic Paris Desk

Found this desk at a garage sale and had to have it. It had a ton of damage but for $20 and a little elbow grease I knew she could be a beauty. The side and back pieces I knew needed to be replaced, no problem a sheet of MDF can't handle. So with those areas replaced I started to look for a chair, because no desk can go without a matching chair. This one came from my Mom's dining room table set I recently refinished. You can see that one here: http://thatsnotjunk.blogspot.com/2014/06/moms-dining-room-table.html
We had five good chairs, so I sold four with the table and kept one. Yay! I then looked through my fabric bin. I found just enough Paris themed fabric to recover the seat and a little extra so I decided to cover the sides of the desk to match. Once I had the fabric secured on the sides I realized I needed something to tie in the stained drawers so I found some trim I had laying around, stained them to match and put them on. I cleaned up the original hardware and added two new old ones since it was missing a few.http://thatsnotjunk.blogspot.com/2014/06/moms-dining-room-table.html

Here is how she turned out:








Here is what I started with:










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Monday, August 4, 2014

Shabby Chic and Pretty in Pink

Pretty Little Liars Inspired Dresser

Love how this one turned out, very pretty and dainty. Despite the pink and green colors I think it is still a very versatile dresser.

My inspiration came from the bedroom of Emily Fields on 
Pretty Little Liars. 
(yes, I watch that show and love it!) 
She has this great collection of shabby chic decor and vintage furniture in pretty pale colors.

Here is how it turned out:








Here is what it looked like before:


And After: