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?

I'll be back, countdown to school

I intend to post again. Really.
Summer had gotten the best of me, and we've had so much fun! Besides our trip to Durango, we have gone to the pool, the water park, the spray park, two museums, the movies, shopping, and various assorted other fun things. We've only had 5 weeks of summer, due to my daughter being in year round school, but none the less....
I am really ready for her to go back!
Don't get me wrong, there's a part of me that knows we've hit another milestone, and gone are the days of 1/2 day kindergarten, and messing around. I'll miss my little boo when she's in school all day, however....
I have a long list of projects to accomplish and share with you!
1. Paint the blue shelf for Macie's room I bought at a yard sale
2. Paint the bookshelf in our living room black
3. Clean out my file cabinet (luckily it's only two drawers!)
4. Catch up on my photo albums and organization
5. Paint the darling headboard I bought at a thrift store (again for Macie)
There seems to be alot of painting in my future!
6. Create some things so that I can actually open my Etsy shop. Journals, magnets, small wall hangings, tags, boxes, etc.
7. Start making freezer meals
8. Make some freezer jam with the frozen strawberries waiting in the freezer
9. Yard sale BY MY SELF on Fridays-- Yeah!
10. Blog more!
Yes, my sister friends, I will be back on the band wagon with many exciting projects, and recipes (look forward to a weekly segment featuring my most requested and loved recipes of all time).
Now let's just count down the days until next Tuesday, when I have two whole days a week to myself!

I love the mountains

Hi Ya'll! I'm back from vacation, and ready to share pictures of our adventures!
We drove out to Durango, and stayed at the Riverside Resort about 15 miles outside of the city, in the cutest little cabins. They were right on the Animas river, and were so peaceful.
Ours had a deck that overlooked the river, and a picnic table, with big trees over the top of us. Nice and quiet, just what I like!
You could walk down a steep embankment to get to the river below us, and wade in the shallow parts. Macie did, but she said it was cold!
The first day after we got there, we drove up the mountain, trying to find this particular lake that I had read about on the internet, called Potato or Spud Lake. We finally find the turnoff, and it turns into a dirt road right away. So we're driving down it, and it's getting worse, and worse, and we're in our family sedan, which is NOT made for 4x4 type trails, let me tell you. We tortured through it for close to a mile, (with 2 more to go!) and just couldn't do it any longer, so we had to turn back around, go through the same torture again for a mile to get out of there.
We ended up going back down, and finding Lake Haviland, which was right off the road, which allowed fishing. It was a beautiful small lake, and Macie and my hubbie had fun practicing casting and reeling. They didn't actually fish, they just go for fun.
These funny little sparrows kept landing right by us, catching these little winged bugs, several at a time. I think they were Fox sparrows.
After that we drove into Durango, to catch out Hummer 4x4 tour, which takes you up into La Plata canyon, all the way up to the top. This was a 4 hour ride, and was way rougher than I thought it would be, girls. I expected it would be dirt roads, and a little rough here and there, but I was sadly mistaken. the trail was full of huge rocks and ruts.
I have neck issues, and can't be jerked and thrown all over the place, and this is exactly how it was!
I had to end up sitting in the front with the tour guide, looking through a small windsheild and side window most of the trip. Expensive ride. Bummer.
At the top it was beautiful, though, and we had a wonderful sunny day. My daughter laughed and was just in total joy the whole time, so I guess it was worth it since she had a blast.
We also saw several cool waterfalls, from all the snowmelt up there.
Oh, and I saw my first Marmot. Looks like a beaver without the long flat tail.
When we came back down, I checked to make sure my neck could still turn, and we headed off to the Bar D Chuckwagon show and dinner.
This was really fun, eating a traditional cowboy dinner, complete with BBQ chicken, baked beans, baked potato, biscuits, chunky applesauce, and sweet spice bread. Oh, and all the lemonade and coffee you could drink. The show was pretty funny, too. There were 4 cowboys singing and bantering jokes. We laughed about a misfit Old McDonald's farm, including a dyslexic sheep (aab, aab,) a snake with a lisp (Hith, hith,) a stuttering cow (Mmmmm, Mmmmm).
The next day was devoted to Mesa Verde, and seeing the cliff dwellings left behind by the ancient Puebloans. I remember a little of going there when I was about 9 years old with my family.
We did three sites, two of which you had to get tickets for. The most strenuous was the Balcony House, in which you had to climb a 32 foot ladder to get into the dwellings, which was a little scary.
You stand at the bottom, ready to climb up, and all you can think is, don't fall, stupid, don't slip off and break your neck (although the day before's Hummer tour almost did!) Don't be the first in Mesa Verde's history to go flying off this thing, taking out everyone under you! Oh, and DON'T look down!Here's Macie crawling up out of one of the Kivas.


So we all make it up safely, and then soon after have to crawl through a very small long narrow tunnel. Some of the people who had at some point eaten too much Taco Bell in their lives barely shimmied through, let me tell you!
At the end of that tour, you had to climb up an open rock face hanging on to these rails secured(?) into the mountain, trying not to fall backwards or look down. Pretty crazy, that tour.
We all made it out alive, though, really!
The night time brought a nice campfire, and plenty of roasted marshmallow.

On the way home, we drove through Ouray, which was a pretty little town. Every time I saw an antique shop, and there were a few cool ones on your way into Montrose, I wanted so bad to stop and browse. We were all so tired and had such a long drive home, that we really couldn't, though.
There were so many awesome and beautiful areas where we were, that I wish we had more time to explore around, and of course, Durango had so many cool shops down in the historic distric to look at, but we just didn't have the time.
I took lots of fun pictures, which really pressures me to get them into a scrapbook soon. I only have 4,00 other pictures in line, waiting THEIR turn to be put into albums.
Tick tock, tick tock....

Happy Independence Day!

I thought I'd take a moment to wish all of you a very Happy Independence Day!
You know, we don't really ever say Independence day, we usually say the 4th of July. This weekend, let's remember what a blessing it is to live in this country, with all of it's freedoms and privileges.
My flag is proudly flying on our front porch this weekend. I love seeing all of the red, white and blue that pop out during our country's holidays.
Colorado has a ban on fireworks (dang it) but we still buy several fountains and those spinning bloom thingies. My daughter also picked some neon colored sparklers, and in honor of MY childhood, some snakes and glow worms. Big fun back in the 70's, let me tell ya!
I remember my brother, back when you could still purchase firework here, bringing home a large box of fireworks to shoot off. He was always nice enough to buy me some sparklers and snakes. Our church used to run a stand every year, and it was such fun to drive out into what was still partly rural, and look at all of the stuff.
We'll be headed on vacation, down to the SW corner of the state, to climb the Great sand dunes, and see Mesa Verde.
I'll post some fun pics when I get back next week.
Till then, have a great time doing what you love this summer!

Where has my yard sale mojo gone?

Yep, that's right. I've been searching for my yard sale Mojo all summer.
Maybe it's 'cause the season started out to cold and wet. Maybe it's 'cause I really haven't found the mother load of garage sales yet, and nothing to really get my blood flowing.
Yes, I've found small things here and there, but nothing of epic proportion.
However, instead of just giving up (Hey, I'm no quitter), I drag myself out of bed super early, get cleaned up, and hit the road first thing so I can hit alot of sales, before I have to be to work at 11.
I'm linking up with Southern Hospitality for her Thrifty Treasures party to share my finds this week, and a couple from last week. Go check out everyone's finds!
I found these heavy wrought iron shelf brackets at the first sale I stopped at, for a buck a piece. I don't know for sure how I'll use them, but hey, for that price, I'll figure it out.

The little wire trash can was only 50 cents. Cute for under our computer table.

On our way home from my daughter's swim class, I turn onto our street, and I see a yard sale sign pointing up to the top of our street. Hmmm, so close to home, might as well swing by real quick. I saw this bird cage, which I've been searching for, so that we can get a pair of zebra finches.
I'm way too cheap to spend $50 on a cage at the pet store, so I've been hunting for one.
How much did I pay for it???
It was FREE!
The guy said 5 bucks, and I'm thinking Super, but I put it back down to go look at the stuff on the grass, and then he said, "You can just take it".
Really? Allrighty then!
I also grabbed this old book, which I'd guess is from the 1920's.


The cover was missing, so they sold it to me for 50 cents. The pictures are to die for, and I'll create many cute projects with the pics inside.

Then I saw this computer chair. We've been using an oak mission style antique chair, which is nice to look at, but uncomfortable as heck, with no arms, and a hard seat.Yuck, ignore my messy computer desk, it is a WRECK!
I asked the guy again how much, and he said $5. Right on!
I sent my husband back up to get it in our other car.
OK, so I did get some cool bargains, didn't I?
Last week I found this blue shelf for Macie's room, which I'll paint either light green, or bubblegum pink. $3.

One out of the way sale I stopped at, which I'm glad I did, yielded a couple of sets of cute vintage pictures.
These are in the original frame with paper backing, and are really old. I seriously paid 75 cents a piece for these! They are hanging above my Stickley table that I DIDN'T paint black.
This set the lady said was in her bedroom when she was a child, and her sibling's rooms before that. I love them, don't you? I think I'll take them out of the icky frames they're in, and reframe with mats and hang them in my daughter's room. 50 cents for both. Oh yah!
I had also found a beautiful ceramic oval bowl at Goodwill a few weeks ago for $5 (It had the original TJ Maxx price tag on it of 24.99). It really needed something inside it. At the same sale I found the pictures at, I found packages of these wooden carved balls and natural elements for 50 cents. Perfect.
I created a little vignette with candles and my birdcage I found at a consignment store. What do you think? Does it need something more? It's placed up high, on top of a bookcase, so I really couldn't hang a picture behind it.

Oh, and my in-laws also gave me a large bird feeder, which I hung yesterday. I had a mommy chickadee visiting this morning, and she brought her three babies with her. Oh my gosh, they were so cute, splashing in the bath and chattering all morning in the trees.
OK, so whatever! I did OK this last week, but I still feel like something's missing. What is it? I don't know. I'll let you know when I find it.