Antique Drum Table

So now that you know about my little obsession with Annie Sloan paint and you also know about my other obsession with going to estate sales, I thought I would show you the marriage of my two obsessions...

Enter one antique wooden drum table bought at estate sale. She's a beauty, right?

Enter a couple coats of Annie Sloan's Pure White Chalk Paint...

Distress and wax to liking and it's a match made in heaven!

Read about how I judged those books (sitting on top) by their covers. Yikes!

I will be playing at these parties this week.

An Ode to Annie Sloan

Once upon a time, (when I was like 15), I read a greeting card that said, "You have my heart. It is for you to hold. Forever." Or something like that. Anyway, I dreamed of the day I could give that card to someone. (Romantic, I know.) Today is that day. And I give that card to... Annie Sloan. (Just so you know, it was a toss up between Annie Sloan and the color Turquoise.)

Yes, Annie Sloan. Since the day I met you a few months ago, all I can do is think about what I should paint with you. I use you until you are all used up, and then I use you some more. I can't walk into a room without picking out every. single. piece. of. furniture. that I would paint with you and I am guilty of doing this, not only in my own house, but also in the dwellings of my friends and family. Obsessed much?

You were top priority on my Christmas list. I drive 45 minutes just to look at you (that's the closest store that stocks AS paint). I turn to you multiple times a weekend just for the fun of it. And it doesn't stop here.

My husband wants you to take out a restraining order against me. He said he would file the papers... he might even chip in.

It's a sickness and the cure for the Annie Sloan obsession is... MORE Annie Sloan!

(I have some fun projects (using Annie Sloan paint) on the way to show you.)

Red Wire Basket

Check out this cute red wire basket I found!

Lean in a little closer and check out the metal plate on it.

I spray painted it with chalkboard paint and now I can label it!

Isn't it fun?

I'll be linking to these parties this week.

Hello Sign

I'm cuckoo for estate sales! See this lover-ly treasure I found?

Here is a close up in case you can't admire the plant life.

I was so inspired by this piece, that I ran right home to get to work. I didn't even stop at any other estate sales- I promise!

I took off the round discs and painted the frame white.

I painted the background blue and I painted the discs with chalkboard paint!

Now I can write quirky messages to welcome people to my home!

I'll be linking to these parties this week.

Guest Bedroom Reveal

Well, it's not completely complete, but I like where it's headed. Our guest bedroom used to be our office. Really it turned into the room where we shoved everything when we didn't know where to put it or if people were coming over. (Shut the door and it is out of sight, out of mind kind of thing.)

This is the color the office used to be. Yup, I liked it when we first painted it. I thought the office would be the perfect place to play with color, but now I just laugh when I see this picture.

After some new paint and repurposing, this is how it turned out. It could still use a little artwork for the walls, but I like how it's coming together so far.

See how I recovered the lamp shade? I also sewed the pillows for the bed (it's bothering me that they aren't laying right in the photo- grr).

I painted the candlesticks yellow, refinished my childhood dresser and made the artwork. It's amazing what a little clean-up can do.

I'll be linking to these parties this week.

Recovering a Lamp Shade

Remember my childhood dresser redo? I mentioned that I've been redecorating our guest room and that is where the dresser is, but I also needed a lamp to provide some mood lighting to my guests. Today I want to share with you this cute lamp that I painted and recovered.

Don't get scared. If *I* can recover a lamp shade, so can you! I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but I love how it turned out. I'm hoping I can shed some light (pun intended) on the subject for you.

This is what the lamp started out looking like.

I taped off the electrical components of the lamp and gave it a nice spray with light yellow paint.

I used the lamp shade to trace and make a pattern. I kind of rolled it as I traced. I didn't have a lot of fabric to work with, I was using a scrap that I found in the remnants bin at the store, that's why I decided to go with the making-the-pattern-approach.

This is what my pattern ended up looking like. Depending on your lamp shade, yours will look different. My pattern is for 2 sides of my lamp, so I knew I would have to cut out 2 pieces of fabric using this pattern.

I cut out my fabric with a little help from Choco. (She has a habit of always making herself comfortable on the exact area of fabric I need to work with. She is too cute to kick off.)

Use some spray adhesive to attach the fabric to the old lamp shade.

Remember how I was working with a small amount of fabric? Because I had 2 pieces of fabric, I had to seam up my edges, but it was easy, I just folded the ends under to finish them off and used the spray adhesive.

The top and bottom are going to have all kinds of crazy fly-away fabric. This is ok. I will show you how to finish it off.

Trim the excess fabric.

Now use bias tape and hot glue it around the edges to finish it off.

Smooth it down and make sure it stays put!

It was really pretty easy!

I have a few more finishing touches to put on the guest room and then I will let you see it! I am also still working on a spray booth tutorial. Good things come to those who wait...

I will link to these parties this week. How fun!

Pegboard Update

I've had this pegboard around for as long as I can remember. My Mom and I painted it for one of my first apartments when I finished college. Now I have hanging up by our back door to hang coats and bags on. I just thought it could use a little update though. This is how she turned out... what a beauty!

I used my Silhouette to cut out the stencil for the numbers.

I measured and spaced out the stencils because I am crazy like that.

Begin stenciling.

Let it all dry.

Hang it back up!

It's a great home for my market bag!

I'm going to link to these parties this week.

Three Tiered Crystal Dish Makeover

I have been hitting up the estate sales lately. I'm finding all kinds of fun things! There was this awesome victorian house on the lake that I went to recently (Ok, I went to it and then went back 3 other times- it was that good).

That's where I found this beauty... She is a three-tiered crystal flower dish. I was totally eyeing her, but wasn't digging the gold posts and handle.

Nothing a little spray paint can't help.

Put it all together and voila!

Totally cute! I can't wait to have a party so I can use it right away!

Please join me at these parties this week.