Can this cabinet be saved?

Today I have a confession to make.
Almost 7 years ago, I wallpapered my soon to be born daughter's room. It turned out lovely.
Note: Don't wallpaper a room with your husband unless you REALLY love him, otherwise you may be headed for divorce court.
Back to the subject... Well, the confession is, I never returned the large wallpaper sample book I borrowed.
Yikes, I know!
It has been sitting under our couch for about that time span, and gets pulled out occasionally, and then put back under, due to guilt.
But now I think, heck, it's been SEVEN years since I borrowed it. Do you really think they're going to want it back, let alone that the samples are now obsolete?

Time for a project!

I decided my bathroom cabinet could stand to be cleaned out, so here's what I did.
I went through and pulled out everything, and yuck, I guess I don't clean in there enough, cuz I was grossed out!


I then went through the wallpaper book, and here's the trick: depending on the size of what you're covering, you may need to piece the samples together, and you definitely need two of the same pattern to make it work. I didn't end up having a lot of that, so I had to improvise.
There are some great patterns in this book.
Makes me itch a little to wallpaper something in my house!
Look at some of the fun ones:


Love this one for the laundry room!
So I basically went through the book, and tried to find more than one sheet of the ones I thought would work in my small cabinet.
Alot of the patterns in the book were large, or not the right colors for my bathroom, so I picked something neutral for the project.
I took an exacto knife, and carefully removed the sheets I chose from the book.
Then I fit them in, and cut them to size, again with the exacto knife. These samples were not pre-glued on the back, like regular wallpaper would be, so in my hurry to get it done, ( I am an instant gratification kind of girl) I used tacky glue to adhere them to the bottom and facing side of the inside cabinet. It worked, but I think next time I would use spray adhesive to get a good stick. The tacky glue made it bubble a bit here and there.
'Oh well, no project truly is perfect, is it?

The back has a wider stripe, and the bottom has a narrower, darker one.


A view of the second shelf

So nice and clean! I didn't have enough of one pattern that was the right color to do the back of the second shelf, so I left it as is.
I'm looking for ideas to use the rest of the book with, so leave me a comment if you have any bright ones!

Painting: large and small

So I saw on someone else's blog about spray painting patio furniture. I have a set that I picked up at a yard sale about 3 years ago. It was in decent shape then. It has since gotten worn looking and a little rust here and there. The hail storms we've gotten have really beaten it up.



After seeing it's not that hard, I went to Lowes and picked up the following:

So first, spray the rust inhibitor in the spots where it's the worst, and let dry for a couple of hours. I was doing this out in 90 degree heat, so it dried instantly, but it was too hot to go back and paint, so I left it for the rest of the day.
Day two, I got an early start after dropping my daughter at school. I laid an old sheet underneath each piece, which you can pick up at the thrift store, and is great for large projects. Also, it doesn't stick to the furniture, like paper does.
So just start spraying, doing a light, even coat, working from top to bottom. I used satin sheen, which I really like.
This is the first time I've used the Valspar brand spray paint, from Lowes, and let me tell you, I LOVE it! It is by far the best I've ever used, and I've used ALL the brands.

Here are the after pics.

My little angel day dreaming on the new glider

Literally looks like a brand new set!
Of course, then I had to go buy new cushions for the seats, which I got at Home Depot.
Paint project #2.
I took this fruit holder, and spray it black, from white. It looks so much better, I think. Would you care for a sweet clementine?

Then there's the little ceramic dish, that started out an avocado green. It screamed "Save me, please take me home and paint me!"

Doesn't it look so cute, spray painted black, and repurposed as my new sponge holder?

And last, but certainly nor least, was the painting of our house.
I told you in a previous post, that the former homeowners were PPP, or pink passionate people. Our carpet throughout the house is pink, the kitchen (which was promptly painted upon move in) was pink. And hey, they didn't stop there. The entire exterior of the house was... you guessed it. PINK.

Seven long years we've lived with the pink, and not by choice!

Our three final choices....

The hardest part of getting the house painted is picking the color. After 10+ samples of paint over the garage, we finally settled on Sherwin Williams Nomadic Desert. We also ordered Black shutters for the windows over the garage, to dress it up a bit.
I love the way it turned out!

What do you think?

No, our house doesn't say Howdy on the front, I just covered up our address with a friendly greeting, in case there are any stalkers reading today.

My friend came over early last week, and said she drove right by my house, because she always looks for the pink house when she drives up my street! Funny, huh?
Have a safe and blessed week, girls!

A girl's gotta right to change her mind, hasn't she?

HI everyone!
Yes, I'm actually posting! I've been so busy getting my daughter back to school, and then enjoying some time to myself, I just plumb didn't get around to blogging, silly me!
I did complete a couple of projects during that time though. I really DID do more than just eat bon-bons while Macie was at school. Really.
I was browsing at my favorite consignment store last week, looking for a couple of cute outfits, and I spied this cool shelf with mirror and hooks.
Hmmm, that would look so great in the entry way where you come in through the garage, I thought. Wait a minute, said I. You already have a shelf with hooks in the entry way, that you redid, and posted on your blog, showing off how clever and crafty you are. (See this post.)
You don't NEED another one! said I. But I want it, said I.
No, said the other I, the practical cheap one.
So I left it.
And went home.
And thought about it for 2 days.
And went back to the store, hoping it would be there.
And telling myself that I could consign the old one, (NOW who's the clever one), and justify buying the new one.
So I go in the store, and ask if it's still around, and the lady says, No, I think we sold it yesterday.
IKNEWIT! my mind screams. You dummy! You shoulda bought it when you were here 2 days ago!
Then the other lady says, was it the smaller one that was $8.99. NO! it was bigger, and dark green. (don't freak girls, it can be spray painted).
And as I turn, here comes one of the ladies, carrying it up to the front for me. This one? she says, and I shout for joy in the store!
I quickly pay my $16.99 and smile the whole way out. Ya, it's not that cheap garage sale price you brag about, but it screams Pottery Barn, and it will look better in my entry way than the previous shelf, AND I consigned the other one, which will offset the price of this one, so HA!

Here is the before: Kinda ugly hooks, and the greens gotta go!

Here is the after!

I brush painted it black, and replaced the ugly old hooks with some newer ones that are the brushed nickel finish, that I just had laying around. Really!
Don't you just love it! So much better!

I also have this framed saying above the shelf, from Lydia Child, which states " Gratitude is the memory of the heart, therefore, forget not to say often, I have all I ever enjoyed."
If you have a favorite quote, type it out on your computer in Word, using your favorite font (mine was Papyrus), and then print it out on a nice heavier paper, like a calligraphy, or something flecked or textured, like I did. Then frame it in a heavier frame, and it will look like you bought it at a boutique store.

On to project #2 .
I have several vintage brooches that my MIL gave to me some time ago. Occasionally I will wear one on a sweater or jacket, but mostly they are put away. I wanted a way to display them, so I could enjoy them all the time, and I finally saw it.
I was at a local gift boutique, and the lady that had the booth had several old brooches pinned to velvet and silk, and then framed into old oval frames. So easy, and so cute!
Now the hunt for frames. It was hard find a frame with an oval center, and small, and of course, not expensive!
I finally hit the jackpot at a yard sale, and bought several:

Here are some of the brooches:

And the finished product!

I used some green silk leftover fabric I had laying around (again), removed the glass, and laid the silk across the back. Then take a wad of that white stuffing (I can't remember the name of the stuff) and start stuffing it, so it puffs out of the oval, until it's firm, and it looks like you want it to. Then stick the back of the frame back on, letting the fabric hang out a little. Pull at the fabric, working all the way around the back, until there is no puckering in the front, and your oval looks good and firm. Trim any remaining fabric hanging out of the backing to neaten.
Carefully pin your brooch through the fabric and secure the pin.
That's it! I will say that I think velvet, being a little thicker than silk, would be easier to work with, as the silk was thin and flimsy, and hard to make look smooth with the stuffing.

To end, of course, a picture of my lovely girl on her first day of school, my big first grader.
You didn't think I'd forget the most important thing in my post, did you?