Monday, October 12, 2009

Mistreament Pas Duex

(I'm getting into that French thing!)

My home is seriously lacking some personality when it comes to... well when it comes to just about EVERYTHING! Last Christmas I made some quick window valances for my living room using two placemats - but I sewed those bad boys. Now I know better!

I found two CUTE placemats when I was unpacking my fall/Halloween items (I think they were originally supposed to be a purse... maybe...). Anyhow, a few strips of that fusible stuff that I love and VIOLA! My second window mistreatment!

I had the rod up there already, so these were easy peasy nice and cheesy to get them hung. I added the leaf garland for some more depth.

 Now if I could only finish fall decorating!!


So here goes! I'm linking to the wonderful Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch. And of course Transformation TUESDAY at A Soft Place to Land. And I won't forget to join the party at The Shabby Chic Cottage and the always fun Transformation Thursday. And once again Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville (links will be added as these parties go live).

Phew - I'm quite the little joiner, aren't I?

Enjoy!!


DIY Day @ ASPTL
 
And LOOKIE!!  Always Nesting is giving away a giftcard to TJ Maxx!!  Go, read, comment and get a chance to win your!  WOOT!!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Saling Saturday (Week 3)

So this is ever so slightly late, but here it is, none-the less!

I spent the weekend with my friends in Charlotte and we had Yard Sale Pas Deux (I hope that's right - I never studied French).  Since I was tied to one location, I ended up shopping what was available to me - their really cool stuff.  I ended up with 3 items that I am très excited about. (What is it with the French this morning?  Maybe it's my YUMMY French pressed coffee??)


First I got this VERY cute basket that will be making an appearance on a surface top soon.  I'm seeing it filled with fall stuff now with a cute ribbon.  I dunno...

THEN I have been WAY overly inspired by Sarah over at Thrifty Decor Chick and her corner fireplace.  I live in a home that has a corner fireplace and it has been the bain of my existence since the day I moved in.  The only time it looks even REMOTELY cute is at Christmas.  For the other 10 months it sits nearly bare.  But look at what she did!!



(Shine isn't that the sweetest corner fireplace you've ever seen???)  Unfortunately since I currently rent where I live, doing the whole painting, molding treatment is out, BUT decorating it is NOT!  I'm working out what to put on the walls (which is going to be a combination of something else I saw in a blog and something I saw at TJ Maxx) and I hope to find something for the middle today, but I got the candle holders!  WOOT!!



These are going to become black... I think.

And then finally these are probably the thing I'm MOST excited about.  I hope to get them done this week or next weekend, and I'll reveal them soon.  But I think it's going to be COOL!!!




So what did you find this week??

It's MckLinky time!! Join the fun!

But first, check out Tales from Bloggeritaville and the always cool Thrifty Thursday!  



Sunday, October 4, 2009

My Very First Mistreatment

Here it is - my very first window MIStreatment. I've been oh so impressed with the uber cool window mistreatments that so many have done (especially Nester and so many others) and thought that one day I'd attempt my own.  Well Saturday night at 10:30 PM was my "one day."

Here's what my very lovely before picture (it was 10:30 at night - I'm just impressed I thought to take a before!!)


So with a little help from my "friends" (I love this stuff and I NEVER burn my fingers on it like I do my hot glue gun)..



And VIOLA!  About 90 minutes later, I had this!!
 

I didn't take pictures until today (I was kinda tired by the time I stopped).




No lie - I used a STAPLE GUN to attach them to the wall and I did use the hot glue gun to attach the buttons.  I wanna add more buttons, but those were all I had last night.  And I do want to attach it to a piece of wood and maybe line them, but for now I call them DONE!

I'm linking to the ever wonderful Metamorphosis Monday over at one of my favs Between Naps on the Porch.  And of course the always wonderful Transformation TUESDAY at A Soft Place to Land.  

And of course, I'd be silly not to join the party at The Shabby Chic Cottage and the always fun Transformation Thursday.  And a new one this week - Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville.

WOOT!! 

Enjoy!!






DIY Day @ ASPTL

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Saturday Sale-ing (Week Two)


I didn't have to go very far today to enjoy one of my favorite past  times.  My very own subdivision had a sale.  I pulled out my boxes of stuff that I didn't think I wanted anymore and got to pricing.

Turns out I did want some of my old stuff (thanks to reading some of  y'all blogs).  Now some of my stuff is going to be re-purposed and  give new life.  WOOT!















So for the low, LOW price of ZERO dollars, this is what I scored today.


I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the silver pieces (clean them first obviously) but I’ve already started on the sconces.  I’M SO EXCITED!!  I saw this done on another blog, and I’m going to find them and link them here, but here’s where I am with them now.  I most DEFINITELY see some ORB in my future, eh??


HOPEFULLY I’ll have them done by Tuesday (for Kimba’s party).  Cool, eh?



So – what did YOU get today??  Click on Mr. MckLinky down there and join the fun.

I'm linking this over at 2nd Time Around at  A Picture Is Worth A 1,000 Words

Monday, September 28, 2009

THIS IS IT!! The Dresser Transformation How-To!

DIY Day @ ASPTL

(Kimba GRACIOUSLY is allowing me to post about the exact same item I did last week. I certainly never expected the response I got!! Thank you each and every one of you for your AMAZINGLY kind comments and emails. Check out the rest of the GREAT items on DIY Tuesday. THANKS KIMBA!)

Several folks have asked me how my sweet girl became the beauty that she is (and prior to yesterday’s post, I never EVER referred to her as, “my sweet girl” or even gave her a gender! Ah what blogging will do to ya…)


First off let me assure you that DFE is well spoken for and… well… not available. (AWKWARD!) Though I am sure if you were in the area (and he were in the area) that he’d be happy to assist, but alas he is regretfully back in his home country (though my many projects on my list that have E written besides them keep growing and growing… November 8th just can’t get here quick enough!). But I digress…


So, in lieu of a DFE, a DH or any other semi-handy male-type specimen in your life will do just perfectly fine (I absolutely cannot believe I just wrote that (head hanging in shame) (head hanging further in shame as I realize I just put a parenthetical statement WITHIN a parenthetical statement!) YOU CAN DO THIS YOURSELF!!! I just couldn’t. But you could. Oh yes you can!).

ANYHOW – obviously you need a good SOLID dresser. I say solid because of the revamping, etc., that needs to get done, you need to make sure whatever you use can withstand the alterations (ie particle board – probably not gonna do it for ya).


A good prybar, sawzall, and general tools (screwdrivers, hammer, etc.) should be handy.

Remove all the drawers and then figure out how the top is attached and remove that. My goal was to reuse nearly every thing I took off, so we didn’t throw a single piece of wood, screw or bracket away (Did I mention the test of our relationship? Enter OCD me with laid-back DFE. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU THREW THAT SCREW OUT???” “It was bent and the head was missing.” “SO?!?!?!!”)

The top of my dresser was sitting on a BEAUTIFUL piece of molding. “We” (ha ha ha) carefully removed it and DFE reconfigured it to frame the very top.


Then “we” removed the pieces that framed the area for the top 2 drawers. At this point we knew we were only keeping one of the drawers, so we figured out which bottom of which drawer looked the best and retained the least amount of smoke-smell and cut the piece down so that the top now lay flat. (Ok, I’m just gonna stop saying we now, by this point this project was all DFE. As a matter of fact, he FORBID me from coming into his workshop until it was done.)


I was lucky in that the piece I had was WELL built and instead of the drawers just sliding in and out on a track, each drawer sat on its own shelf. This made the top and bottom shelf easy-peasy and gave us the perfect piece to do the middle shelf. So at this point all we had to do was figure out the spacing.


I thought one day I’d like to have spacers for plates (#7 on my list with an “E” beside it), so we made sure one shelf would have enough height to accommodate the plates. The bottom shelf and top shelf were “obvious” because those are exactly where they were to begin with. So all DFE had to do was position the middle shelf. He did this by placing mimicking exactly how they were done when they held drawers, setting the shelf in and reinforced it from the outside with some countersunk screws.

After all of this, it was merely a matter of finishing out all the open pockets/areas that would normally have been covered by closed drawers. Again, DFE did all of this using scrap pieces of drawers and stuff.


Finally, the call I had been anticipating… she was done. I still had the black paint from when I originally painted it, so I (DFE graciously allowed me to paint it) finished it all off.


I L.O.V.E. this piece of furniture. It’s one of my “5 Pieces of Furniture I’ll Never Get Rid Of.” (Yes, I have a list – don’t you??)

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Sale-ing Saturday

So I’ve been searching for a site that highlights the goodies adopted from yard sales.  I didn’t find any.

Seriously?

There must be one somewhere!  I gots me some good junk and I wanna share!! (Insert really whinny, bad Southern accented voice here.)

So in lieu of another site, I’m going to start my own (PLEASE if someone has done or is doing this, apologize PROFUSELY to them for me, tell me about it and I’ll just link-on over there!!)

Yard sale-ing, junking, picking, has been a passion of mine for a LONG time.  After moving to the big city of Columbia, SC, (ha ha ha) I kinda abandoned it.  Which is STUPID, I know, and I believe is contributing to my feelings of discontentment and such (which I talk here at my other blog, incase for some strange reason, you’re interested).  So I very purposely set aside $20, checked out Craig's List for some hopeful possibilities, and away I went!  (If this post goes anywhere, I’ll share my yard sale-ing points and tips and such, but for now, know that I was prepared – travel French press and all.)

I went to one community sale (my favorite type) and one random home sale (bad choice), and had enough money left over to hit Goodwill (not so good), Kohl’s, TJ Maxx and Michaels (oh Hobby Lobby how I miss you so!).

So anyhow, without any further adieu, here’s my loot from today: 


 Say it with me folks, “WOOT!!!”

I know you can’t see it all, and if I were REALLY good at this, I would have taken the time to take individual pictures, but for now, let me just give you some of the highlights.
  • Two, count ‘em TWO, cheese thingies (and I do think that is the technical term).  I’ve seen several folks take these, paint the bottoms and do the C.U.T.E.S.T. things with them.  I have two now.  I’m thinking giveaway someday soon??  Keep checking back.  $2 each.
  • A slew and I mean SLEW of fall picks.  There were actually on my list to get at Michael’s.  I got all of them, PLUS a wreath that’s kinda decorated for Fall (though not to my liking) for $3.
  • The glass hurricanes – there were 6 of ‘em.  I wanted 2 and the nice lady sold me 2 for 25 cents.  I’m seeing them sitting on top of chunky wood pillars.  
  • Black fireplace thingie (again, another technical term) = $1
  • There’s a shelf that the hurricanes are sitting on that you can’t see that was $1.  It will be black one day soon.
  • Memo board (I am SOOOOOO going to try some of that chalkboard paint stuff) = $2
  • There’s a framed picture that you can’t see.  It’s a watercolor and I just happened to have an eerily similar one at home.  Different painters, same colors.  I’m seeing a robin egg blue mat and brown frame (or vice versa).  $1
  • The orange thing on the corner is a Speck Best Case Scenario for a 15” MacBook Pro.  I don’t own a MacBook Pro… yet… but I hope to in December.  These cases run $25 at a Mac store.  This was… wait for it… $2!!! 
There’s a few other items that I got at Michael’s and TJ Max that brought my total up to $20.  All in all, a good day of shopping, don’t ya think?

So just click on little ol' Mr. MckLinky down there, and join in the fun!

So… what’d ya get??

(Ok - FOUND ONE... well kinda one. Check out Today's Thrifty Treasure over at Southern Hospitality. I did and I LOVE IT!!!)



And another GREAT one over at Homebody!  WOOT!!



Friday, September 25, 2009

Little Ol' Me?!?!!


I'm one of the DIY Divas of the week over at The Shabby Chic Cottage!!!  I think I can honestly say I've never been called a Diva before (at least not to my face) and gotta say, I'm honored!!  Thank you!!!

The other 2 ladies who were also chosen did AMAZING transformations.  Check out Gail's ultra cool house number sign (SHE MADE IT OUT OF A TWIN HEADBOARD!!) and Beachy Keen Girl's GREAT kitchen makeover (I LOVE the black cabinets!!).

Again, THANK YOU SCC!!

I am working on the "How To" of my little dresser that could and twirling around in my mind for some sort of give-away (that does NOT involve DFE!) once I reach 100 followers (or maybe I'll pick some odd number like 107 or something)..

WOOT!!!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

New To Old How To

I am diligently trying to write out all the steps DFE and I took to transform my dresser from this




to this!




Check back over the weekend for the post (I'm going to try to get some close up shots, etc.). Or email me (or, hey, follow me) and I'll let you knwo when I've posted it.

Thanks!! Thanks for all the emails and comments! You guys are TOOO kind!!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The New Adventures Of An Old Dresser


It's DIY Thursday and this is my official second entry.  WOOT!!

This beauty survived a house fire and was sitting in a warehouse with junk all over it. It had great bones, but was just a wee bit tired. I paid a whopping $25 for her, took her home and let her sit for a few weeks and air out (with the help of some charcoal to absorb the smokey smell).

From there she was sanded, sanded some more, and sanded still more.

FINALLY I decided her only hope would be some odor killing Kiltz and some good black paint.


About two years into our relationship, I saw this beauty in a magazine and KNEW "I" could m ake it happen.

So I went to my DFE (darling friend Everettt) and with pleading, begging eyes, convinced him that he could make it happen (confession - I had already tried.  I had ripped off the top and that was as far as I got).  DFE rolled his eyes and came over to pick up my sweet girl.


So DFE went to work (I so wish I had taken more pictures!) and SLOWLY she started taking shape.

(This is getting ridiculously long...)

FINALLY after weeks of sawing and sanding, only one near trip to the ER, more than one 'test' of our relationship (which resulted in "Look, I'll call you when I'm done, ok?), my girl was FINALLY ready to be picked up.

When she got to her new home (which turned out to be a new home for me too) I let her sit for a few weeks while I figured out how exactly to arrange her (something I'm TERRIBLE at).  But finally I got her all arranged and I was LOVING it!!!  DFE even made shelves out of her old top!!


Isn't she love-er-ly?

But, alas, I was never quite happy with how it all was looking and stuff, so NOW she sits by my front door, looking grand (as she should!).


 
Doesn't she just make your toes curl with glee?  She does mine!!

I am NOT at all pleased with how she's decorated, but I'm working on that (Seriously?  I have a red framed lamp and a pink matted picture?  REALLY??)  Yeah... I need to work on that one.

So if you're reading this it's because you wandered over here from either The Shabby Chic Cottage and their wonderful Transformation Thursday or  A Soft Place To Land, Thrifty Decor Chick, and (last, but FAR from least - Between Naps on the Porch and their AMAZING Metamorphosis Monday and one or two others that I promise to come back later and link to, like Hooked On Houses (LOVE IT!) .  So take grab a cup of coffee (and if you haven't tried Storyville, you haven't lived) and click away.

And one more place (because I fear y'all aren't totally tired of it yet).  Funky Junk Interiors is hosting a Saturday Night Special.  Check out some of the other COOL stuff!!

And ONE MORE!!  (I'm sure y'all are sick of this post by now!!)  Miss Mustard Seed has started a "Furniture Feature Friday" and well... yeah, I'm linking.


Furniture Feature Fridays




Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special


























DIY Day @ ASPTL


Enjoy!!

***UPDATE:  I am so T-TOTALLY stoked!!  Cheri over at It's So very Cheri gave me shout out!  She is most definitely one my of my FAVORITE places to stop and visit daily.  Check her out!***

Monday, September 21, 2009

A Bit Of A Tease

By far, the absolute most impressive thing I've ever re-did (ok, techinically I didn't do it, but it was my idea and my dresser and my pleading eyes that got someone to do it for me), is going to be my post on DIY Thursday. But for today - here is where I got my inspiration. It was from a magazine called, Junk Market Style from 2006 (I think).


Enjoy!!