Dresser Do-over...

My childrens' rooms always look nicer than my own. We re-painted after baby blessing #4, but it stopped there.  I have had this dresser without handles for quite some time and I had had enough!  Over the Thanksgiving holiday while the children were busy watching a Christmas movie and the hubby was running errands, I ran for the paint brush... bye bye gray, knob less thing...

did I mention that I have 2 in similar despair... we use them for our night stands...

first drawers come out and each base gets a coat of creamy off white paint...

Then all the drawers get a golden caramel color...

That was all time allowed me... the plan is to glaze them... but handles and knobs went on so they don't sit there for another few months! we'll see.  Check out my master before... so far the before is still better than the after... just might take some time!

Ethan Allen Inspired Teal Painted Buffet- How to Get this glazed aged furniture look

Finally got a project completed. It has been a while.  Making the home look nice and decorating are hobbies of mine... but it was time to put the projects aside and spend some time with the children. They are growing up so fast.  A priority inventory was necessary and the Fall is the best time to play outside.  We celebrated a special occasion and it was the perfect opportunity to get this project off the ground.  It is so easy. I visited our Benjamin Moore paint store... showed them an Ethan Allen catalog and said, "How can I get this look?"

we couldn't be happier with the final product... 

Started off with this buffet... I got it from my neighbor for $25. He was cleaning out his garage. I love the lines of this piece.

carefully took the handles off, cleaned it and then came the paint.

We need some new color in our home, and I love this blue!

The most economical approach was a flat Ben Moore paint...  

took 2 coats... then let dry.

Next step was to paint on the stain and then rub it off...

When I rubbed some of the stain off with a wet wash cloth... it removed some paint, and created the look I was going for... which was this Ethan Allen piece.

Christmas Family Treasures, Make the Most of your Time Together this Holiday Season

I must admit I like having things in their place, but that is difficult when you have 4 young children.  Being stuck in a consumer world, I have been sold on famous catalog pictures, clean furniture, no clutter and wanting my home to mock the photographs selling me a lifestyle.  The thing is, I love my life now. My children make me laugh, they inspire me, they make me who I am and are such a blessing- so, I ask myself... what do I want? When I can have the catalog family room, I will be missing my young ones wishing time hadn't gone by so quickly.  Embrace the mess, clutter and BE with your children.  Make it their home too.  Don't get me wrong... I still like the inspiration a catalog can give me, and still have some to do's because they are a hobby of mine, but I think my focus is changing. My thoughts are evolving.

I am guilty of having too many diy projects, too much cleaning and decorating- nothing ever feels finished.  This Christmas season, I want to make traditions, focus on the reason for the season and not feel so consumed with trying to make my home look like a catalog.  My favorite Christmas Tree in the home is our family tree with all the treasures and ornaments my children have made so I need to let go and take the same philosophy to every season and the rest of the home.

Wreck It Ralph Birthday Party

My son wanted a Wreck it Ralph themed birthday party.  So I headed to Pinterest for some ideas... For our parties, cupcakes and sugar cookies are a given... and nothing fit better for my 5 year old than the hero heart cookies. You know the medal that Vanellope gives Ralph.  They are super easy to make... make our favorite dough, roll out, cut into hearts, cut the fondant into hearts as well (you can ice and flood) but the fondant is easier for me.  I wet the fondant with a paintbrush and water and sprinkled on sprinkles.  Last we iced the word "hero" onto the cookies.

For the treat table, we bought cotton candy I framed a printed clipart, we made cupcake toppers from Wreck it Ralph clipart... and of course the cake is fondant pixilated cybug scene!

We wanted to wreck Turbo because he is the bad guy. So Turbo is the perfect piñata! Happy Wrecking!

How to Paint Sugar Cookies, an alternative to icing and piping

I have seen on Pinterest painted sugar cookies and cakes. Since, I love painting and baking, I thought this would be a fun alternative to piping, flooding, icing and all the tips and bags and mess. We are throwing a baby shower to celebrate my baby nephew on the way, so these are for the shower.  I drew some mod designs first to try to meet my SIL's contemporary, mod, retro style.

You will need:
iced sugar cookies (or fondant covered)
food coloring
paint brushes
water
plate
paper towels

1. I baked the sugar cookies... if you are new to my blog... I am addicted to this recipe... and for something a little different, I substituted almond extract for vanilla - they are sooo good.  This dough recipe is awesome.  Easy to make, doesn't need to be chilled, keeps its' shape and tastes so good.

2. I thinly rolled out fondant and covered the cookies.  Lightly paint water onto the fondant and it will stick to the cookies. You can ice them too, whichever you prefer. You get a batch of blank edible canvases!  I have let the kids decorate cookies with edible marker pens, read about that here.  But today, we paint with food coloring!

3. I have seen in the craft store, edible paints and dyes, but all you really need is food coloring. Any kind. I happen to have Wilton gel food dyes and love them. I used water to dilute the gel, but read you could use vodka or some alcohol base that will dry quickly. The water worked fine.

4. I have a plastic paint pallette, (but a plate would be fine too), place small amounts of the food coloring into the wells. Use water to wet the brush and it is like painting with water colors! 

5. I drew some designs on paper first, so I had a plan. 

Important tips: Have a plan. Don't be nervous, and have fun, take your time and be creative.

I hope this is helpful to you, inspires you to try something new. Next time, I am letting my kids paint on them!

Nursery Wall Gallery with a Woodland Feel... A DIY for the baby!

We have a 3 bedroom home, so baby number 4 is bunking with the hubby and myself in his nursery nook in the Master bedroom.  It could have been my nesting hormones taking over or just my need to decorate, but I wanted to have a nursery wall gallery for our sweet little blessing!  Since I was bunking in the hospital at week 32 for our little man... I had to save this for a summer project... consider it my summer project series... I bounce from one to another... leaving some unfinished until I get the fire under my tail to continue... Thank God my husband is patient and feeds my creative soul!

First... I laid out my frames to get an idea of how I wanted to hang things and took a picture of it for reference... some are from Goodwill, the lacey wooden cutouts were clearance from Michaels... the "organic" wooden frames, museum white frame (I will spray paint that), and J are from Hobby Lobby.

Second, I started putting holes in the wall and hanging up pictures... I have to admit, I am a little nervous about placing holes in the wall, but you have to take an attitude that spackle and paint can fix it and to just get going... that doesn't mean be hasty, but just take a deep breath and place the nail and hook.

Third... I started to move things around and hole, schmole... the finished product looks great and there are so many pictures you don't know where my first sets of holes are... so it's a win, win.  Honestly there are some great tutorials on Pinterest on creating wall galleries... I am happy with ours.  Some art I made myself, some I found on ETSY, and the owls are from a garage sale!

This owl is one of my favorites and it was my Mother in Law's... she used the frame for graduation photos of my husband and siblings in their old house... who would have known this sweet print was behind it.  I LOVED the owl print! It is super special... first of all, I just love the image. To me, it represents a momma looking after its youngling (heart be still, I love it so much) and it second... I have a special family member that LOVES owls, plus my Mom-in-law gave it to me. Triple whammy special. Isn't it cool, kinda retro special too!

I still have some spray painting and art and pics to fill, but I am happy with it!  Overall cost is inexpensive too because you print out quotes, make your art and get frames inexpensively anywhere.

Just part of my summer projects... so happy to have something on the wall in our little nursery nook!

Painted Crib: Part 2... working on some details

 The characters for the woodland scene started to come alive. The best advice I can give you is to not be afraid.  It is just paint, if you don't like it... start over, try again, but practice makes perfect and paint is forgiving. I went slow, take your time...

Not everyone feels comfortable painting... no problem... decoupage, stencil, wall decals, stickers... find something you love and run with it.  I was so happy with how it came out, but not at first, so give yourself time. Practice first if that makes you feel more comfortable.  Start with something easy- but it is do able.

Reupholster Cane Barrel Chair: Part 1 Tutorial

Part of my Summer Project series... I have a lot going on... closets, organizing, decorating, and spending time with the kids.

This chair is one of a pair that broke the bank at $8.00.

We are going to say good bye to that plush camel velour...

found a spot to start with taking the piping off...

some prying and pulling and got the back and bottom off

poor guy is naked...

I just took off the velour, then primed it

a couple of coats of black... in part 2, I will put the new fabric down. Can't wait to see how they turn out.