Project #2

I think I've definitely found another hobby!  I am having so much fun refinishing this furniture.  I got this little beauty at DI for $30......

 

and turned it into this......

As you can see, I added some beadboard to the door where the glass had broken out and some new hardware.  It turned out so cute, don't you think?

I still have 2 dressers, 2 night stands and my headboard to do, so be on the lookout for my next unveiling!!

My Creative Zen

In my quest to find some vintage looking lamps for my bedroom makeover, I have been unsucessful in finding something that is cheaper than $40 or $50 that I actually like.  Multiply that by 2 and that was WAY more than I wanted to spend on lamps for my nightstands.  I just couldn't stomach paying more for the lamps than I did for the nightstands.  So, I took

THIS

(cheap Wal-Mart PLASTIC lamp post)

and THIS

(cheap Wal-Mart lamp shade)

and did

THIS

(with red spray paint and faux glaze)

and THIS

(with faux glaze and some vintage trim, which wasn't on yet because the glaze was still wet)

and made THIS!!

I am THRILLED with how it turned out!  I LOVE doing stuff like this on the cheap!!!!

Here are a few close ups of the detail:

My New Toys

I got a couple of new toys over the weekend!!  I'm so excited about them both.  =)  The first is a new stove.  I never realized how I'd have to adjust to a new appliance like this, but it is so different than my last one.  I actually look forward to cooking and baking now!!!  And because of the flat top, clean up is a BREEEEEZE!  That was always my biggest complaint.  I HATED cleaning the stove top on the other one.  It was such a pain.  This new oven is a convection oven.  I have yet to really know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.  I guess I'll find out soon enough.  One of my favorite features in the oven is it's steam clean cycle.  Not to confuse it with self cleaning, which it has also, the steam clean feature allows me to pour 1/2 cup of water in the bottom of it, turn the cycle on so it can steam the spills loose, and then 20 minutes later, I simply wipe it out!! The bottom element is hidden, so I don't have to fuss around it.  I LOOOVE IT!!!

   

My second "new" treasure is this DARLING, rustic antique scale that I scored for pretty cheap on eBay.  After I redid my buffet, I knew exactly what I wanted to put in it....and this is it!!  I shrieked with delight when I pulled this baby out of the box.  The pictures the seller posted did not do it justice.  It's so charming and was meant just for me!!!  I absolutely LOVE it.  =)

I'm hoping Chris can help me put the hardware on sometime this week.  He's busy, busy, busy trying to fix the leak in the fridge and then he's going to paint it black to match the rest of my appliances, so I'm not sure it will happen anytime soon.  If I didn't think I'd screw it up and make them all uneven, I'd do it myself, but I'm not good at that kind of stuff.  I'll post another picture when it's done.

A New Life

I have wanted to give the buffet in my kitchen a makeover ever since Chris put the wood floor in 2 years ago.  Although it was a beautiful piece of furniture, I felt like it blended into the floor too much.  I wanted it to to pop, so upon discovering and becoming motivated by The Frosted Gardner, I finally gave new life to my beloved buffet!!  I am so tickled with how it turned out that I can hardly quit staring at it!!!  It's still not completely finished though.  I still have to put the hardware on, but I'm in the process of making it over as well.  

Part of the reason  I wanted to redo the buffet myslef was so that I didn't have to spend a lot of money on my "new" piece of furniture.  When I began looking at new hardware to put on it, I nearly fainted at what it was going to cost me.  I was standing there, looking at different options, when my eye caught sight of these nasty, UGLY, very outdated brass pulls that were on clearance for 51 cents a piece. 

I scoffed and rolled my eyes at first, but as fast as I did that, a light bulb literally turned on.  The idea was so clear to me that I'm sure people around me probably saw the light bulb above my head.  SPRAY PAINT!!!!  So that's what I did.  Spray painting takes a lot of patience.  You have to do several fine coats so that the paint doesn't run and you have a smooth look.  I think if they were wood, I wouldn't have had to be so careful, but the fact that the slightest run would show, I took it nice and slow.  Which is why they're not on the buffet yet. 

The first coat was aged copper.  Over that I did oil rubbed bronze.  Once it was completely dry, I dipped my finger in mineral spirits and rubbed the top layer of paint off so that the copper would show through.  I finished with a clear satin (all of the paints are satin finish) polyurethane coat on top.  Not bad for 51 cents a piece, huh??!?!   And they look just like the $5-$8 ones at the store!  Now, I know that spray paint can be pricey too, especially in the colors that I chose, but that's why I bought it at Hobby Lobby with a coupon!

I have 3 more pieces of furniture that I'm going to refinsih for my bedroom, which is going to get it's own makeover really soon!!  In the 13 years we've lived here, I've never done anything with my room, so this is LOOOONG overdue.  I can hardly wait to get started!!!!!  Oh, and did I mention that I seem to be obsessed with red and black?  I wonder why that is.  If you've ever been in my house, you know that's what colors are in the kitchen/family room, and now, soon to be in my bedroom.  =)     

8th Grade

Todd is an official 8th grader today.  I think the shock of having to get up so early is going to take some getting used to, but I think he's ready to be back in school.  I sat with him on the couch as he waited for his friends to come pick him up, trying SO HARD not to let the dam of tears break.  I'm sure he probably heard my voice crack a time or two as we talked, but I managed to hold back the tears until he was out the door and I was sitting alone on the couch watching him walk down the sidewalk.  He wasn't the least bit nervous, so why is it that I was the one with butterflies in my stomach?

I love the sleepy face that he has in this picture.  His body was completely protesting to being awake so early....and it was actually a bit nippy outside.  We both went inside shivering.  HOLY COW.....fall is just around the corner!!

A New School Year

Last night.......

School supplies.........check.

Boys' FIRST DAY outfits chosen and laid out......check.

Emily's FIRST DAY outfit chosen.......Uuuuhhh, HOLD ON........

SO many cute outfits to chose from that she couldn't decide what to wear.

Outfit #2......

Outfit #3......

Although she had a hard time deciding what outfit to debut the first day of 6th grade in, I think taking the pictures helped.  It was fun to sit on her bed and watch her mix and match her new school clothes.  We had some great mommy/daughter bonding time laughing, giggling and talking.  I can't believe my little girl is turning into a beautiful young woman!  I seriously wish I could just freeze time.  And I guess, in my own way, that's exactly what I'm doing with every picture I take!!

This morning........

Their first day of the 2010-2011 school year!!

Landon, 1st grade

Dylan, 4th grade

Emmy, 6th grade

Off my precious babies go to sprout, in SIZE and KNOWLEDGE, for another year.  And, yes, I cried, just like I do EVERY year.  

Todd has another week and a half before I send him off to the dungeons of 8th grade, when I'll get to cry all over again.  And I will, I promise you that!

The Star Dome

Chris' magnum opus, as he calls it, is coming along nicely!!  The drywall is all done and the sound system is in.  The acoustics are AMAZING and music sounds AWESOME in that dome!!!  It's trippy to sit in there and talk.  The sound bounces all around you and you're not sure what direction it's coming from.  Everything sounds like it's in stereo.  It's pretty cool.  He's currently trying to figure out how he's going to build the star projector.  He's made several prototypes, but none of them are to his liking, so he continues to brainstorm and engineer by trial and error.  His determination is inspiring.  It really is.  Seriously, how lucky can one woman be to have such an AWESOME husband who is the BEST DADDY ever!!!  The kids will remember this FOREVER.  I just can't wait to sit in there as a family and have all kinds of fun.  Until then, I absolutely ADORE watching Chris let the kids help him in every way possible.  He is teaching them so much and shaping their future and they're not even aware of it.  They're having too much fun helping daddy build our very own STAR DOME!!!!!