i wait all year for mother's day...

i had the best mothers day!

mother's day is a big deal around here.

my husband really goes out of his way to make it special.

i woke up to flowers and a freshly made smoothie.

we went to church, and when we came home my husband barbecued steaks, made rolls, and a salad.

(i have no clue he could do those things)

a picture to prove it!



i had this quick little project i have been wanting to do and i couldn't resist doing it.

i found this box at an antique store for $7.

i have seen these all over at antique stores.

i loved the writing on it, so i didn't want to cover it up completely but i wanted to add a little something to it.

here's what you do...




take some paper doilies.

they sell them at the dollar store and at joann's.

take a glue stick and glue just around the edges of a doily and stick it to your box.



get yourself a little helper that makes it take 10 times as long to do but a 100 times more fun.

warning: she may make you take a million pictures of her, with the brand new bean bag you made her wrapped in bubble packaging.



then she'll take a million pictures of you holding her brand new beanbag not wrapped in bubble packaging.



then take your box outside and spray paint it!



when it's dry peal off your doilies.



then take a little sand paper and rough up the edges to make it look worn.



and there you have the cutest little doily box you have ever laid your eyes on!



prepare yourselves for lots more items that have to do with doilies.

i am currently hooked on them!



hope you all had a wonderful mother's day!

we have been busy...

see this baby?
i saw this sideboard on craigslist a couple of months ago.
my husband picked it up on his way home from work and haggled them down to half of what they were asking!
NEVER pay full price on craigslist.
they will almost always come down.

this sideboard and a few other projects have been sitting in our garage waiting for a sunny day.
a sunny day it was on friday so we got to work.

my husband did most of the work on this one while i supervised and painted other little items that are coming to you soon!

remember this wall? it needed some serious help.
i spray painted the stars "heirloom white" by rust-oleum (home depot) and took down the empty frames.

we decided this sideboard would sit right under these stars.

(we didn't sand this. i don't sand if the wood doesn't have a glossy finish. if you are worried you can roughen up the wood with a fine sand paper. primed with 2 or 3 cans of white primer. then spray painted Krylon spray paint in"Satin Fern" you can find it at wal-mart or fred meyer. not at home depot or lowe's. it took 3 cans.)

bam!

here is the finished product!

i love it!

see my sweet little pink rose.
i got that for valentine's day and it is still going strong.

thank you husband for working so hard to help me with this project.
here's to many a more spray painting projects that you have no idea are headed your way.
bless your heart for being so naive and thinking this was the last one.

lucy's little nook questions answered

i have received questions about lu's little nook, so i decided to just answer them all at once!




here are the items on her wall. all purchased at goodwill.

now that i look at this little plaque, i think it's kinda cute. vintage. i would have left it like it was if i could go back. ha!

anyway i just took paper and cut it to the correct size.

i covered the plaque with mod podge, placed the paper on top, and mod podged a top coat.

i really wanted an oval picture frame for her wall and this one was the perfect size.

i just removed the old picture and glass.

i spray painted it using krylon spray paint in ballet slipper.

this is my very favorite little girl pink color. they sell it at wal-mart.

then i filled the frame with this print from dazeychic on etsy.
she has the cutest pictures. check out her you dropped from heaven print.
it comes in little girl or boy. so cute!

the picture was square and wouldn't fit in my frame, so i just made a matte using green polka dot scrap booking paper.

for the dresser i used rustoleum spray paint in candy pink.

i actually wanted to your the krylon in ballet slipper to match the frame, but i misplaced it, so i had to go with the rustoleum from home depot. it isn't that much different. i just like the paler pink better.

the bunny i made for lucy is made from this pattern. i made it without the bib and skirt. the pattern is in my etsy shop if you want to check it out.
i made lucy hers for easter last year.

the size of the bed is toddler. we just moved her crib mattress right over.
someone asked how much the wood cost. i don't remember.
i do remember my brother giving me the top of not buying wood at home depot though.
he said it is way cheaper to go to a lumber store.

so there you have it. now get your hineys to goodwill, home depot, or the a lumber store!

lucy's little nook

last summer we moved lucy out of her crib and in with trey so they could share a room.
she needed a bed...

i couldn't find one that i liked, and i didn't want to spend a ton of money one.
so i did the only thing i could, headed to home depot and bought some wood and paint.
when my husband got home from work i was unloading the wood out my car.
i gave him a "i really hope you are in a good mood and will jump on board with me on this" kind of look. he see's that look more than he wants.

"so what are you up to now?" he asks.

"will you help me make a bed for lucy?" i say with hopeful eyes.

when i can get my husband on board, i know the project will be finished within a couple of hours. he is a maniac when it comes to getting things done he puts his mind to.
i haven't quite figured out how to get his mind on doing the dishes but whatever.

he said "sure" with a smile and i knew we would have a bed by dark.

my husband sanded and cut, while the kids and i painted.
it has been finished for awhile, but i kept wanting to do more with my lu's little nook. i just got tired of waiting so here is the finished product!

the canopy is from ikea. it hung over her crib ever since she was a baby so we just moved it on over.

remember this night stand?
see the before and after here.
i got it right off the front porch of trey's old preschool teacher.
it had been sitting there for months when i finally couldn't stand it anymore and asked her what she was going to do with it.

her bed and night stand just happened to fit perfectly in this nook.
we are talking by about 1/4 of an inch!

i had this shade of green in mind for her bed.
when i saw it, it sang to me and i knew it was perfect.

i think i may have jumped up and down a bit while standing by the paint wall choosing my paint card. no one can really know for sure...except for maybe the paint guy behind the counter.

i like to call it "cottage green"
but it is really just called "garden spot" by behr.

she loves her little bed. she sits on her bed with her friends and they close the canopy while reading books or doing each others hair.

all these items are from goodwill. i just repainted them.
except for the bunny. i made that myself.

uhh is that picture crooked. oh well.


I am linking to "A Soft Place to Land," & "Todays Creative Blog."

a wall and a bench

in the 6 1/2 years that we have been a family we have moved 12 times!

my husband was always begging me to decorate but i have always felt like there was no point because we would just move.

so really i am new to this decorating thing, but i am really catching the decorating fever.

this was our dining room wall....L.A.M.E right!?

here is the after.
pretty much everything i got second hand. the cute little silver plate i got at goodwill for $1 and decided to hang it!



we recently got a table off of craigslist. i really wanted a bench for our table that the kids could sit in. every one i found was around $300! so i hit up craigslist and found this one being sold with a table, and made them an offer for just the bench. they took it, and this little beauty came home to me.



i can't take the credit for this bench though, because trey and my husband cleaned, primed, and spray painted for me!



don't you think it turn out lovely?

the kids love to sit on it! we can even fit three little ones on it when they have a friend over.



thank you craigslist and goodwill for once again coming through for me!



p.s. that black wooden box on the left is my garbage. my husband bought it for me years ago and i love it!

you know you are addicted to craigslist when...

(one of my favorite pictures of trey...he is learning to play T-ball and taking it very seriously-summer 2007 )

your son asks for a baby brother by saying...

"Mom I would really like to have a baby brother. Maybe someone is selling one on craigslist."

remember my little birdie?

hello little bird.

now i know you are just finally recovering from the "traumatic spray painting incident."



but just try to trust me...



here we go...



just a tiny little bit of playdough...



ok you'll feel a little pressure here...



all done!



i think you make a fine little witch.

thank you little bird!


(learn how to make these "boo blocks" by clicking here)

vintage desks

about a month before my little trey was to start kindergarden i decided to home school. i thought about all of the things that i loved about kindergarden and i didn't want him to miss out on any of it. i am doing my best to make it awesome. something he will remember, think back to, and smile. i wanted it to be fun.

i found these two vintage desks on craigslist. they were old, rusty, and ugly.



i quickly sanded off any major rust.



i knew i wanted to paint these desks but i was worried that eventually the rust would become a problem after time, but i had no clue what to do about it.

when i don't know what the heck i am doing i have some simple steps that i follow that get the job done. i am sorry but i have to share this tip :o)

ladies follow the following steps:

1. look your best
2. put on a little perfume
3. head to home depot
4. find a home depot worker who is around your age but make sure you are way out of his league
5. add a tinge of airhead to your voice
6. ask your question

works like a charm every time :o)
(don't worry i have informed my husband of these steps and he is ok with it)

anyway so "i found out" at home depot that if you are wanting to paint something with rust you can first spray it with "rust-oleum" and it will prevent any rust from returning.



i taped off anything i didn't want sprayed and then i primed.



then i sprayed the desired color (chosen by trey and lucy)



i sprayed the seat a glossy black.

my husband had this great idea to spray the tops of the desks with chalkboard spray paint. it worked great!



here is trey testing out his chalkboard desk.



they have loved these desks! lucy will run to her desk and yell "let's do school mom!"






now go to craigslist, find something great and cheap, and spraypaint it.
you'll feel better i promise.