Tuesday, June 28, 2011

A Salvaged Swing


My sweet friend Brook found this swing on the side of the road. One man's trash...ya know?

We started by sanding it with the orbital sander just to get the chippy off.  (I never thought I'd say "get the chippy off")  Somethings are just nasty, old, chippy though.  We just wanted to take the old flaky paint off not making it smooth like a baby's bottom.
Sanded and ready for primer.


She picked this beautiful aqua turquoise color to match her super cute seat cushions on her outdoor chairs.  Now she's got a great looking and functional swing for the cost of a quart of paint!
I love it!



Parties I've Linked To...

Monday, June 27, 2011

More Signs

I could do these all day!  I love them!  I recently saw this quote on Pinterest.  (if you haven't been sucked into Pinterest yet, you are missing out!)  It's an online place to catalog the things you love.  Now I don't have to rack my brain and say, "Now where did I see that?"  It's all in one place and nice and neat in my folders (or boards as they call it).

OK.  Sorry about that little rabbit trail.  Back to the signs.  Please, please, if you try these send me a picture.  I'd love to feature it.  They really are easy to make.  This first one is painted on, well...I actually don't know.  I found three of these on the side of the road. 
Love this saying.  It's so our family!
This one is mine I just don't know where to put it yet.



First I painted the wood.  Then I printed out the letters to the quote in the right size.  Next, I "colored" the back of the letters with a pencil creating my own homemade carbon paper.  Then I put the paper in place and traced the letters.  The pencil transferred to the wood.  

Lastly, I painted the letters by hand with a small paint brush and then distressed it a bit.



My second sign is for a very dear friend for her birthday.  She just doesn't know it yet.  :)
I used the same technique I described in a previous post about tracing the letters with a pen and the impression is left in the wood.  Fence board is softer than most.


Hope everyone is having a great week.  I can't wait to show you my new living room.  I should be able to post pics soon!
Kerrie

Parties I've linked to:


Monday, June 20, 2011

Dictionary Wreath Tutorial

Hello again!  So good to be back in my blog world.  I have a special tutorial for you today.  I really enjoyed doing this and it's so easy you can too!  It's a totally "green" project too because we are using things that we already have or can buy at a thrift/resale store.  All the supplies you need for this is a wire hanger, an old dictionary (the older the better!), and some ribbon.  

A Recycled Dictionary Wreath

I cut the hook part of my hanger off and formed it into a circle.
I bought a HUGE, very old dictionary at my local resale shop for a buck.  Tore out some pages.  
OK. ALOT of pages. 



Next, I tore them in half, long ways from top to bottom.
 



Then I softly folded each one randomly.  Do not crease them and make a harsh fold.  You want the soft, curved look.  Here I am saying random folds and I'm showing you how I folded them.  I know, I know, but I wanted you to SEE how random.  

Fold again.

 And again.  You can make any size of wreath but you want your pieces of foldedpaper to be roughly the same size each time. 



Then pierce the folder paper with the hanger and move it down to the others.


Here is another way I often folded my papers. Just be different.  Under, over, diagonal, etc.



Now you may be tempted to quit after folding your 1,000,000th paper but don't!  They seem to squish together when they are hung and you are left with empty space.  Pack it pretty full.  When you are satisfied with the amount, hook and twist the too ends together.

I cut some leftover burlap that I had and made a loop out of it but you can use ribbon.



So?  Whatcha think?  Something you can do, right?  It's easy and when you are finished, send me a picture!

Have a great week!
Kerrie

p.s. yes, I know that I should have washed the paint off my hands BEFORE doing the tutorial but that's pretty much what they look like 24/7...  :)


Parties I've linked to:
Dittle Dattle
Between Naps On the Porch
DIY Showoff
Coastal Charm 
Vintage Wanna Bee 
Momma Hen's Coop 
Lollipop's 
Handy Man Crafty Woman 
Savvy Southern Style 
Goobye City Hello Suburbs 
Blue Cricket Designs 
Trendy Treehouse 
Passionately Artistic 
Wandering Wednesdays 
Paisley Passions 
Brambleberry cottage 
Somewhat Simple 
House of Hepworths 
Finding Fabulous 
Chic on a Shoestring 
It's a Hodgepodge Life 
The Shabby Nest 
At the Picket Fence 
A Little Knick Knack 
Monday Mad Skills 
Mad in Crafts

Saturday, June 18, 2011

I'm Back!

OK I know I'm in big trouble, right?  Where have I been for the past few weeks?  Why haven't I blogged?  Am I out of projects?  Heck no!  This time I can honestly say I can blame it on my little sister!  Hah!  We have been having so much fun with my whole family for the last few weeks getting Kelly's house ready to move in.  Not only is open heart surgery a family affair in my family, but gutting and renovating an entire house is too! 

Right before Kelly found out she had a hole in her heart, they closed on a new house.  Crazy timing huh?  So for the past few weeks we've been out of town helping them with big and small things.  So I'd like to share with you some of the projects I worked on and show you a little bit of what we've been doing.  I don't have all the completed pictures yet, but will get some when we go back and everything is in the right place.  You'll LOVE her house!

 Here is a before and after of a dresser I did for my nephew.  He shared a room before so he need a new one.  I found this gem on Craigslist for $10!!!  The paint is Tuxedo Tie from Lowe's and I got the drawer pulls there too. 
OK.  Here is a little before picture of the kitchen.  It is truly amazing what it looks like right now but what I want you to notice are the pieces of paper taped to the right cabinet doors.  That's my sister's way of bossing us around organizing, even when she's not there.  Love it.  Bad thing is we referred to those stupid pieces of papers quite a bit.  My dad and brothers are electricians and did all the electrical work.  Under counter lighting, recessed lights, etc.

 This is me and Katie painting.   (Have I ever mentioned I love my SIL? )  We did this until our hands fell off.  Every room.  Every inch.  Every crack in that house got painted.  My mom is a painting machine too and that's where we get all our "wisdom" from.   I have to mention my baby sister Katherine watched my boys for me so I could paint.  Thanks Katherine.  We couldn't have done it without you!!


If you want to know what I dream about at night...
this is it...

Anyway, back to the projects.  For some reason Jason and Kelly decided to let me faux their fireplace.  You wouldn't think I get nervous about painting anything anymore, but this made me nervous.  They had their last fireplace professionally done and I had big shoes to follow.  It was gorgeous, but I wanted to save them some money so I went to it.  Here is the before and after without the finished mantle.  

See my cute mom?... painting machine!


So there are a few projects and some of the work we've been doing over at my sister's new house.  I can't wait to give you a tour and hopefully give you some ideas for your own house.  I will have a list of all the colors she used with each room.  

OH!  One more thing.  If you want to know what the men did when all of us women were working?
Here ya go!



A friendly game of tether ball.  Get to work Jason Allen and John!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Summer Mantel


 I'm trying to be a little better about changing my decor to fit the season.  Once we get the living room painted and decorated I think I'll be a little more motivated to do it.  Right now, it's just the mantel.  I picked up some things around the house that were beachy, summer colors, and textures.  Here's what I came up with. 




Here are some other mantels to inspire you!  Have you changed your mantel decor?  If not, the summer is a fun place to start!

The Shabby Nest



The Lettered Cottage



Embracing Change