Shelf project idea and laundry area 95% complete!

Happy Easter weekend, ya'll! It is rainy and very windy here today in Colorado, but that persistant ol' sun that we enjoy so much is trying hard to peek through the clouds! I really wanted to go out and work in the garden this morning, but it'll have to wait for another day!

We are going to my niece's house this afternoon to have an Easter egg hunt and enjoy some good food and good company.

Here is the shelf makeover I promised you. Remember the before from my last post? I bought it at a thrift store, and didn't look on the back until last night, when I went to spray paint it. It's marked Longaberger! What a cool find! I almost was afraid to paint it, and then thought, well, I hate it the way it is, so here we go!

Here's another pic of the before:

First, removed the pegs. To do this without losing your mind, take a kitchen towel, and wrap over each peg to protect the wood. Take your hammer, tapping firmly on the end of each peg, to loosen from the hole. Wahlah! Pegs are out!

Then I spay painted it black. Note to self: DO NOT buy the cheapest spray paint, thinking you're saving money cause well, spray paint is spray paint, right? WRONG! I had to do about 1,000 coats to get it to cover, and I just about threw the shelf across the room. (Just kidding, but close!)

2nd note to self: DO NOT think that matte spray paint, and flat spray paint are the same; they ARE NOT. Flat is awful, so I had to finish the shelf off with a satin finish spray paint. Then all was well in Chickadee's land.

After everything is painted to satisfaction, measure your shelf, and pick a coordinating scrapbook paper to accent your shelf with. I settled on paper #3, after trying assorted prints that would go with my family room downstairs.

I then decoupaged the paper onto the flat front under the shelves edge. Feel with your fingers for the original peg holes, and push gently to open the hole back up. Then take your pegs, and pound them back in with a hammer, making sure again to protect your wood by covering the peg top while pounding.

Here is the finished shelf. I love the vintage look of the pattern on this paper. It is old letters and postcards

A close up

Here it is on the wall, complete with all it will hold. Underneath is two metal bins I got at a thrift store a few weeks ago, that are marked PotteryBarn (I'm all about the name brand!). They are perfect to hold all of Macie's shoes.

This area I created with the shelf and the bins sits just as you walk in from the garage into the family room. It's the perfect spot for her to hang coats, her backpack, and drop her shoes.

I feel so organized, what can I say?

My laundry room makeover is also almost complete. Read about it here. The only thing we haven't yet done is to move out the W/D and use our stick on tiles to complete the floor. We did finally get the cabinets hung, and I put my knobs on the doors last night.

I don't have a pic of the before, but trust me, it was bad.

The walls had so many nail and screw marks, and it had never been painted since before we moved in. There were open shelves, so you could see all the junk we were storing on them, all jumbled and messy.

I painted it with a color called Navajo White, took the shelves down, and replaced it with my Craigs list cabinets. Added knobs, put a clip on shade over the bare hanging bulb, and added a nice pull chain.

I pulled all the metal together, color-wise, by using my oil-rubbed bronze I talked about previous.. Like I said in my other post, really underwhelming for most people looking at the pics, but HUGE for me, with how bad it was before!

My lovely new pull chain!


New knobs with new finish

My clip on lamp shade with spray painted finial

Now I just need to add a cute little sign, or some rub one vinyl lettering, to spruce it up a bit more. Thanks for tuning in, and let me know what you think!

Have a safe and fun Easter, everyone! God bless you all!

Thrift store Thursday

No, I'm not starting another weekly tradition (I don't think) but it's pretty catchy, don'tcha think? I went thrift hunting, it's Thursday.... you do the math!

I thought I'd share pics of the cute things I found today. Someone commented to me that I needed to go down to Lakewood and check out Mile High thrift, which I did today. I also stopped at Savers, too, cause it was about 4 minutes from there.

Here's what I found:


A yummy decorating book by Jo Packham. If you've never seen her stuff, you just gotta! Price: $2.99

Love this layout, with the bird's nest pillow and the bird bath statue in front of the plants.
Nice mantle layouts.


I'm a sucker for holiday items. I already have too much Christmas stuff, so I need to step away from accumulating more! This is a cute quilted table runner (folded in half) and a Hallmark Christmas CD featuring Amy Grant. Price: Runner,$ 2.99, CD $1.99.

A silver tray, price tag visible so you can be jealous, that I'll use somewhere, just had to have it!
Price: $ 2.95

Lots more trim, I just couldn't resist, because there were colors I don't yet have. Price :$1.99 for all!

A wooden shelf with peg hooks. This will get a makeover, which I'll be sharing this weekend, so stay tuned! Price: $3.95
Cute vintage style glass jar. This will hold my cotton pads in the bathroom. Price: $1.95
A super cute silk belt, the flowers are more of a watermelon pink that orangey like the pic looks. Price: $.95
Little china man planter. This will be made over into a pin cushion, and put in my soon to be Etsy shop! Price: $1.95

Nice large basket, my current plan is to corral my daughter's many stuffed animals, to keep them off of my family room floor! Price: $5.95

Vintage style heavy glass green bottle. I didn't need this at all, but it was only.... .95 cents!

Awesome white glass compote. I've wanted one of these for awhile. I think I'll use it in the bedroom or eventually the bathroom. Any great decorating ideas for this one? Let me know!

Love the detail on the stem! Price: $5.95

I had fun searching for treasures today, but the funnest is bringing it home and decorating my nest with the perfect new touches! Happy thrifting, friends!

More vintage Jewelry!

Well. folks, I totally dropped the ball On Spice up your life Sunday yesterday! We've had family in town, so we were busy catching up with them last night!


On a better note, I promised you that at some point I would show you more of my beautiful vintage jewelry that my MIL gave to me.

We'll start with some beautiful brooches. This red and white one I love to wear on a coat or sweater during the holidays.


These are the oldest of all the jewelry, Victorian era, and I think the stones are real. Yowza! I've worn these several times, and always feel special when I do.

The shape and color of this one below are so perfect for the Holidays, too.


This one is a beautiful Blue sapphire and heavy. I haven't worn this one yet. I don't wear much blue, but I need to figure out what would match with this one. Any ideas?

This is a set of several rhinestone necklaces, with a matching set of earrings and a bracelet.

Look at the detail on this one! So pretty!

Love this one, too!

This one is a ring, made of pearl. I don't know if they're real or not, but they are attatched by sewing them onto a stretchy gold material, which fits my skinny finger perfectly.

I feel privledged to own these special pieces of history, and the keepsakes of someone long ago.

I want to end with another favorite quote, one I printed and framed in a small frame, that sits at my computer desk, to remind me of the "important things."

Life is mostly froth and bubble: two things stand like stone- Kindness in another's trouble, and Courage in your own.

~A.L. Gordon

Have a great week!

Projects in the works

Well, I'm still waiting for my laundry area to be complete! My husband needs to enlist the help of a friend, to help hang the cabinets above the washer and dryer, so seriously, who KNOWS when that will happen!

I did drag him to Home Depot this afternoon, however, to get a few small things. I picked out 4 knobs to spruce up the cabinets, a cute pull chain for the lightbulb, a clip on lamp shade to cover one and same bare hanging bulb over the W/D. Yes, you can buy a clip on to dress it up. Cool huh?


All of these items had their own shade of metal, from ugly gold to silver, to a fake aged bronze. I saw on someone else's blog, about this Spray paint by Rustoleum called Oil rubbed Bronze.

Here are the pieces, waiting for their friend, Mr. Spray paint.

Here is a before and after of two tall standing lamps I've had for years, that were that bright gold. Cool back in the day, but not now! Yuck....

Awesome with their new coat of Oil rubbed bronze!

I will be spray painting the knobs, finial for the clip on, and the pull chain, which will spruce up the laundry area greatly!

Also, I saw my friend at the salon I work at using this cool stick on "tile" which is actually vinyl tile. You seriously just peel the back off and stick down! We will be installing this on our cement laundry floor, under the W/D, to make it look finished.

We picked a very neutral color called Mojave White (mainly cause it was one of the cheapest!) The whole box, which will cover a 12x 12 area cost $28! Super cool!

When we get it done, I'll post some pics!

I also finally completed my Spice up your Life Sunday challenge to pick out some flowers for myself. If you haven't participated, read about it here.

I was soo wanting to get tulips, my favorite, but I broke the mold and got a Freesia plant, which has beautiful blooms, and can be planted in my garden as soon as it warms up here in Colorado. I just has to take a pic of it in front of my patio door, showing the snow that has returned again today!

I also completed cleaning out all of my paper clutter, and although I don't have a large space, I have conquered it for now!

All incoming mail goes into the brown basket, instead of getting dumped on the kitchen table.

The black and white caddy next to it I made at a class at Archivers. We painted a plain brown caddy with cream paint, then covered it with cute patterned scrapbook paper. Then we designated each cubbie for certain things, like bills, notes, pens, receipts, etc. It has cute areas on the front to add pictures.

This is a cute pocket to hold receipts, which fits into the caddy.

If you are very crafty, you can probably do this yourself, to create something similar!

I was unable to creat a framed board for clipping notes, etc, to, because I didn't have the wall space in my kitchen to hang one, darn it!

Also, stay tuned for a super cute idea for kitchen decor using these below:

Have a crafty Saturday!

I'm working on it!

Yes, I'm still working on organizing my paper clutter! I've gathered it from the four corners of the earth kitchen, and put it all on the kitchen table to go through.
The hardest part is finding a place for everything, and then having a system in place for keeping it off the table, the microwave, and two other hot spots in my kitchen.
I've also been painting my little laundry closet, and we're going to hang the cabinets we bought off Craigs List, and maybe a cute sign to spruce it up. I'll post pics of the "underwhelming" afters, when we get it done.
It was also a day to clean the bathroom, do lots of laundry, and get several bags ready for an upcoming fundraiser yard sale for our church group. Whew!
Wish me luck on the ongoing battle of paper clutter, and if you've devised a way to keep yours under control, let me know!

Quote for the day:

In April, all over America, the doors fly open, fresh air permeates & the spring cleaning ritual begins. Storm windows come down, blankets & pillows flap from clotheslines (among crowds of daffodils) & dust bunnies are evacuated to the great outdoors to be recycled by home-minded songbirds. The breeze through the open windows carries the fresh smell of the blooming earth.

~ Susan Branch

Happy spring!

Let's get organized

Yes it's Spice up your Life Sunday, once again! I know I'm posting late, but today I just had to take a long nap after church, seeing as I was up until almost midnight last night, painting and cleaning. I'm working on my family room, and laundry area. We're almost there. I bought some cabinets on Craigs List for above the washer/dryer, so I can shut stuff away, so no-one sees MY clutter!


I just read that the last week in March is Clutter control week! Goes right along with the Spring cleaning bug we all get at this time of year. I've been ruthless, cleaning and tossing stuff that should've seen the trash or the donation center a LONG time ago. It feels so good, freeing up the space!


Hence, my SUYLSunday will fit right in with this.


Your challenge for the week is to tackle ONE area of your home that has been driving you CRAZY! If you feel really motivated, do more!

Maybe it's the medicine cabinet, you know, the one that everytime you open it, you have to move stuff and dig around everything to find your toothpaste. (That's me.)


Or the kitchen cupboard that has 2 million Tupperwares that fall out when you open it. And isn't it ironic how you can NEVER find a lid to match the container you need!? (That used to be me!)


I happen to have a couple of hotspots that accumulate paper clutter on a constant basis. I shift the paper from place to place, because I haven't come up with a organizational solution for it yet. That is what I intend to do this week.

Here are a few websites to motivate and help get you started on your quest this week.

clutterdietblog is a good one as well as getorganizedtips. Tons of articles and tips for getting stuff organized. The other one is a blog that also has a ton of good tips and articles, as well as stuff you can purchase to help the issues you're facing. Check 'em out!


The other thing that motivates me to get cleaning and unclutter my life is to look at home decorator magazines, like House Beautiful, or Country Decorating Ideas. Then I can't stand to live in a messy, cluttered house one more second!
I want my living room to look like this one, below. NO Polly Pockets, no mismatched Barbie shoes (oops, just vacuumed one up), and no smashed cereal in the carpet. Just......clean!

I love this idea from Pottery Barn, but I don't like the $129 price tag. I can make these myself for paper clutter, out of an old frame and some material. Stay tuned!
Keep at it girls! I know it's hard to get rid of things we think we'll use again, but guess what? You probably won't, and if you suddenly did need it, you can go buy another one easily.
Free up your space, feel the clutter leaving, and look forward to less stress, and an easier life!

I'll leave you with a quote from my quote book, which I talked about in this post.

Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the small voice at the end of the day saying "I will try again tomorrow". -unknown

Happy organizing!

Happy "Spring!"

My favorite age... 6

I know I just posted, but I had to join (a day late) the writers workshop over at Mama's losin it. The prompt I chose was if you could go back in time, what age would you pick (or something like that).

I picked age 6, kindergarten. Maybe it's cause I have a kindergartener in the house, and she's so cute with her first tooth missing.

Maybe it's cause it was an age for me when I still didn't care about what other kids thought about me. You know, when you're just zen all the time, running around with bed head, mismatched clothes, and food on your face, AND YOU COULD CARE LESS! (Note delirious happy look on my face, DESPITE the fact that my mom chopped up my bangs royally!)

For the most part, you were also too young to help around the house, hence, NO CHORES! How cool is that! No dishes, no dusting, and definately no vacuuming! Just playing playing, playing.

My favorite toys in kindergarten were Fisher Price Little People. I had the house, the school, and the Happy Houseboat, for the bathtub. My friend Lyra had the house too, so together, we had quite a stash. Good times, pretend playing with those little wood bodied people.

Little did I know until Ebay came along, about all the other LP stuff out there that I never had. Wow!

As a kid, I didn't go to the store all the time like consumer savvy kids of today. We got what we got for Christmas, and birthday, and THAT WAS IT! That's all we knew existed out there in the big world of toys.

My daughter, before she could even read, could look through the BIG TOY BOOK, and knew ALL the names of ALL the toys coming out every holiday season, dead on! (Yes, she probably watches too much TV!)

School was easy back then too, unlike today. Kindergarten consisted of crafts, snacks, nap, and recess. Oh, and singing in circle time.

Now? My daughter has no nap, no snack, and has to read and write CORRECTLY, mind you!

She has art occassionally, but it's mostly academic. Thankfully, my admittedly slacker daughter has picked up reading quickly, and is above level, for now.

So that's it. May I go back to be a 6 year old kindergartener, carefree and cute.

Snow Day!

My daughter's principal called us this morning to say that school was cancelled for today! Talk about personal service! Actually, she is an afternoon "Kindie", so they wanted to make sure we didn't show up at 12 and have to drive back home. We're forecasted to get anywhere from 10-16 inches by tomorrow morning. Yikes!

I'm excited to have a snow day with my daughter, and just watch movies, eat snacks, and cuddle.

Here in Colorado, we have had a dismal, dry winter, which in turn leads to wildfire problems around the state, not to mention watering restrictions for our lawns. The city I live in has had water restrictions for years, and so we never have that beautiful, green lawn that I long for. We worked so hard last year especially, on our backyard, to get all the grass to grow consistantly across the yard. We sodded some really sad, bare areas, and reseeded some thin areas. We cheated (don't tell!) on our watering days, and watered longer, to keep the sod from dying.

Who knew you had to water 2+ hours a day for several weeks, in order to get sod to take root? Umm, not us! We killed several batches the 2 summers before, from minimally watering, not realizing how much it really needed! We finally figured it out this last summer, and got it to take root.

Looking at it as things start to warm up, and knowing we've had literally had NO moisture this winter, I can see alot of the sodded area has only bare dirt, and no grass anywhere! So frustrating! Looks like we'll probably have to seed or sod again this spring


On a lighter note, I did the Spice up your life Sunday challenge, and went to the library to pick a book I normally wouldn't read. I actually picked two! Here's what I came up with:

The first book, Babylon's Ark, is an true story about the experience of rescuing the animals of the Baghdad Zoo during the War. It took the efforts of conservationists, soldiers, and civilians, to put aside their differences to save these animals. Not a book I would normally pick, but I think I'll like it.

The second book is the Official guide to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Again, I wouldn't have sought out this book to read, but I thought hmmm, I'll learn something cool if I pick this one.

Picking out something different than I normally would was much tougher than I though it would be! I kept passing stuff by, thinking, Eh, I don't like that one, or No, that looks boring. But then I said, Hey, that's the point of this whole exercise, Susan! To pick something you normally wouldn't!

Have you picked your books yet? If not, get out there and do it, you might be pleasantly surprised!

Me? I'll be reading and snuggling, watching the fluffy snow come down, knowing I'm safe inside.

Have a great day, whatever the weather, and whatever your book! Happy reading!