Saturday, October 30, 2010

Paper Clips to Plate Hangers

 Remember my plates from yesterday's post?  I purchased them with the intent to display them on my kitchen wall.  I thought about purchasing plate hangers, but I didn't want the metal from the plate hangers to be visible.
 
 After searching online for alternatives I found this post from In My Own Style.

 I don't own a glue gun.  Although I did have a tube of  super glue on hand that worked just fine.

I love the way they turned out. 

Friday, October 29, 2010

Thrift Store finds Part 2

 I get so excited once I enter a thrift store.  A  rush comes over me as I think of all the neat things I may find.  My husband finally gets me and compares my excitement to what he feels when he enters a Best Buy. LOL!  I went "thrifting" yesterday and came home with some goodies.  I purchased a glass container -that I will use to store instant oatmeal packets in.  Also a neat wire basket, a bunch of pretty plates and a huge coffee table perfect for our family room. 
 The table was a great deal @12.99! There are few water stains and scratches on top, but nothing a little TLC can't fix!
I love these plates!  They will look great in my kitchen.  I'll show you an inexpensive way I chose to hang them tomorrow!  Have you been "thrifting" lately? I'd love to hear about the treasures you found!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

"Crikey! What is that!"

 -Were my thoughts exactly as I came downstairs one morning last week and realized there was a bat hanging out in my living room window.  Lucky for me my husband was home with me!  I was a little freaked out, but I soon calmed down once we realized the bat was on the inside of the window. 
How did it get there you ask?  There was a small opening outside the screen where it meets the window.  Apparently just large enough for a bat to fit through.  Needless to say, it has since been fixed! ; )
Have you ever had a bat in your house?

I am linking to:
Sweet Shot Day

Little Stool

 I've been working really hard this week trying to cross, "repaint the laundry room" off my list.  I finally finished painting late last night, now I just need to tidy up the room for my Big Reveal!  In between time I managed to squeeze in a little project.  I've had this little stool for years.  I believe I purchased it at Ross or TJ Maxx.  Since then this stool has become quite ragged from use over the years. 
But with a little leftover paint and fabric she's new again!  You may recognize the fabric from a previous project.  I have a lot leftover, so I've been using it quite a bit.  Now I just have to find a place to put it!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Bakerella

 Everyone knows Bakerella right?  If not, she's a very talented lady most famous for her cake pops.  My daughter and I had the opportunity to  meet her today, during her book signing at Williams-Sonoma here in Atlanta.  She was a lot of fun and I'm glad we made time to go.
 We purchased her new book, and we received "cake pop" buttons as a gift.


There was a cute Halloween "cake pop" display located in the front of the store.
Take a moment to check out her website for lots of yummy ideas!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Guess what's for dinner?


Do you love quiche as much as I do?  Here's a really easy recipe worth giving a try!

I heart Orchids



I love orchids, along with calla lilies they are my favorite flowers. 
Last summer I purchased three discounted orchids from the grocery store.  Although they had a few blooms, they looked unhealthy.  After searching online, I read that orchids were fairly easy to care for.  Unfortunately for me 2 of the 3 didn't last through fall.  I was able to keep one healthy and finally after a year of patience and plenty of sunlight my orchid produced another bloom!  Whoo-hoo! 



*Update- as of 12-31-2010, the bloom is still intact. It's looking a little wilted so I expect the flower to fall off very soon!














I am linking to:




Funky Junk's Sat Nite Special

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Very Simple Birthday Decoration

  My "cutie patootie" turned 9 last month and like most moms I tried to make his day special!  We had a small party for him the following weekend, but I wanted to surprise him with a birthday sign once he woke up.  I've seen birthday banner tutorials all over blog world, but this was last minute. So I used what I had on hand and made it quick.

1.  I gathered my supplies- two bowls (one larger than the other)construction paper, printer paper, craft scissors, tape, glue pen and glitter.

2.  Using the smaller bowl as my guide, I cut out enough circles to spell HAPPY BIRTHDAY using printer paper.

3.  Then do the same with the  larger bowl, only this time using construction paper.

4.  Using the glue pen write out HAPPY BIRTHDAY on your smaller circles and cover with glitter.

5.  After glue has dried attach circles together with glue or tape.

6.  Attach to wall!



Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Old Sweaters Beware!

old sweater

old pillow I used as stuffing

VOILÀ

My sewing skills are below average, but that doesn't stop me from trying!  I am inspired daily to try and make something myself.  Once tried to make my daughter a skirt- Big Fail!  I later tried sewing a handbag and I was pleasantly surprised by the results.  So I figured making pillows shouldn't be that hard.  In the past I've made pillows from cut fabric, pillows from bed sheets and dinner napkins, but never have I thought to use old sweaters!  Apparently I'm the only one since there are tutorials everywhere. Here's a simple tutorial if you're interested! 

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Vinyl Wall Art

A few months ago I ordered this wall decal from allposters.com.  Although I was pleased with my purchase it sat in my hall closet until recently.  

About the same time I purchased a console table from target online.  Unfortunately when it arrived I noticed damage to the top right side of the table.


I immediately contacted customer service and they sent out a replacement part.  While I waited for the part to arrive i decided to put it together to make sure it worked in the space I had intended.  Upon completion I decided it really didn't look that bad and didn't bother taking it apart.  Once the part arrived I decided to use the wood piece along with the vinyl decal, as wall art in my home.


Now i just have to figure out where to place it?!




Monday, October 11, 2010

A Makeover Story


This lovely chair used to belong to my mother.  At one time this chair was very nice to look at.  For the last few years my garage has become this chair's home.  I knew she deserved a better life, but I couldn't afford to have her professionally reupholstered.  So with the help of all my D-I-Y blogging friends and the numerous tutorials on furniture reupholstering...I was inspired!  She still needs some perfecting, but for the most part I'm satisfied!!!!




I am linking to Furniture Feature Fridays

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Zesty Lemon Blueberry Cake

If you love cake as much as I do then you must try this recipe from Gnee over at Singing With the Birds.  My family and I really enjoyed this cake.  There are so many great recipes over at Singing With the Birds.  I can't wait to try this one next!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Tea anyone?!


I love a cup mug of tea in the evenings.  It's how I relax after the kids are in the bed!  On a recent thrift store trip I found a couple of glass jars for next to nothing. 

I decided to use one to store tea bags.

Rather than keep it simple I added some stickers i had on hand.  Pretty cute, don't cha think!!!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Updating and old chalkboard


  I've seen many great uses for chalkboards.  I thought it would be neat to add a chalk board to my son's room.  Luck for me, I had one in the garage not being used.


 To update it, I taped the sides off and painted it red. I added a cup pull-purchased from Home Depot.


I added the letter C for his name and hung it his in room!  He loves it!!


I am linking this post to:
Funky Junk's Sat Nite Special

Refrigerator message board

I've never been the type of person who likes magnets all over the fridge.  It makes the kitchen appear cluttered to me.  Recently though, I added a calendar to the side of the fridge to help keep up with daily reminders.  Going a little further I decided to make a message board to help keep up with misc. items I always seem to stash in the junk drawer and forgot about later.  Items such as coupons expiring that week, notes to myself etc.  I've seen similar message boards all over blog land.  Here is my version!
                                                                                


To construct this board I used an open frame I purchased at the thrift store, leftover outdoor fabric from a pillow I made, and supplies purchased from the dollar store.

The push pins are actually made from erasers.  The keyboard erasers had a small circular cut out in the back that I was able to stick the flat side of the push pins through.  Not bad, huh!!!

 I am linking this to http://www.bystephanielynn.com/ , http://www.thenester.com http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com and http://organizeyourstuffnow.com                   


HOUSEOFGRACE

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Window Finial Pumpkins

I loved Stephanie Lynn's idea of recycling brass door knobs into pumpkins.  Although I didn't have any old door knobs or cabinet pulls laying around, I did have a couple of wood window finials.  I thought this was a great way to reuse items I had laying around in the garage.





Monday, October 4, 2010

From trash to treasure (literally!)

 After dropping my son off at school one morning I decided to stalk search the neighborhood for any goodies that someone may have left out for trash that morning.  I stumbled upon this chair.


It's a rather small chair.  The seat cushion was nasty, so I just threw it away.  I was going to replace the seat, but I thought a little more and decided to turn it into a planter.  I added a coco basket liner and some rocks, in hopes of protecting the wood seat from water.  I'm so pleased with the results!


Sunday, October 3, 2010

Lamp shade re-do


After seeing Alissa lamp re-do post at 33 Shades of Green, I had to give it a try.  After all she made it seem easy enough.  So, off I went to my favorite thrift store in search of lamp shade.  I was very fortunate to find a new shade, packaging and all for under $3.                                                                                                                                          
I purchased some inexpensive fabric at Joann's and began to recover my shade. 
                                                                               

I'm not in love with my fabric choice.  Since this was my first attempt I didn't want to purchase anything too expensive just in case I wasn't happy with my finished product.  What do you think?!?!







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