Lamp Makeover

Hi There. Yep, I'm back. This is my second post today. If you missed my earlier post, please feel free to check it out here. It's just a little story about me and the Mr. Not only is this my second post today, but it's also my 100th post!!

This one's about a little makeover I recently did on a lamp that I hated! Unfortunately I have no before picture to show you. I was having issues with my camera and couldn't take one. But yay for me, I got a new camera the other day and am pleased to be sharing the after pictures. Those are the best ones to share anyway. Right? I'll give you a visual of what the lamp looked like before, to help you see how far its come. I think it was supposed to be done in a shabby chic style, but it did not deliver! It was dirty white, over dirty gold. It was sanded a bit so you could see some of the gold. My description makes it sound better looking than it actually was. Wanna see the after. It's definitely a statement piece in the living room now!

Isn't she pretty?? I love the color! 

I started with two coats of Krylon primer. Then did about four coats of Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze. And finished her off with a few coats of Krylon Clear Gloss. I'm not overly please with the gloss paint and may end up spraying on a couple more coasts. I'd like her to be really glossy! And after she was all finished I noticed some rough patches. I guess I should have sanded her down a bit before I started painting. Oh well, live and learn. Not everything has to be perfect, right? Here's a few more pics for your viewing pleasure.  =) 

So what do you think? Nice? The lamp shade I found at GW last year for $4. I wish there would have been more than one. I really like the linen look to it, especially when the lamp is on. Since I painted her, the pattern on the body is much more noticeable. Before you couldn't really tell there was one. Now it kind of looks like feathers or leaves. Love it! Overall I'm happy with how it turned out. Not too bad for my first spray painted lamp. I would definitely do it again. And the color, I'm gaga for the color!! It's the new accent color in my living room. I order some super cute zig zag patterned cushions cover from Avon and they should arrive next week. They have the same blue/aqua color on them. Don't worry, I'll share some pics once I get them.

Well, I'm off. Got to get out and enjoy the rest of the day. What are you up to this weekend? 

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A Tisket, A Tasket, I Made a Lamp Out of a Basket

Yep that's right, I made a hanging lamp out of a basket. For the past six months or so, one corner of our living room has been without a lamp. It's really bothered me. It's where I always sit on the couch and I miss not being able to read, thumb through a magazine and most recently knit, because there's not enough light. Unfortunately times are tight right now and going out and buying a new lamp isn't in the budget. So I got thinking. Years ago we had three hanging lights from Ikea that had rectangular paper shades, but they don't really go with our decor anymore. However I could use the cord. So I ran out to the garage and found one. While I was out there I found a cool, very old, cage for a light bulb. I'm pretty sure that's not what it's called. I have no clue what the proper title for it would be.

Anyhoo, I grabbed that too and headed back inside. Now you know me, I get soo excited about a project I forget to take pictures while I'm putting it together. I'm working on that, I really am!! Once back in the house I took a basket from the living room that had those decorative wicker balls in it and started cutting a small circle out of the bottom. You see where I'm going with this?  : )

I pulled the cord through, put the light bulb in and put on "the cage". One of you 

must know what it's called. Please let me know! 

Isn't it cute? I know it could be bigger, but right now it does the job.  

And look how pretty at night! Miss A and I love all the 

light flecks it casts on the walls and ceiling. 

I'm really enjoying having a lamp by my side of the couch again. Last week I started knitting an infinity scarf. Now I'll be able to knit at night again and might have it finished by Christmas. Ha, ha. I'm not the fastest or most skilled knitter, but I try. That's what counts, right? I'll show you once it's done. 

Have you made a light fixture out of something odd? Please, do share! 

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Blanket Makeover - Sort Of

Hi There. Hope you all had a happy Halloween and your kiddies got lots of treats. We had lots of fun trick-or-treating with some of our friends. Miss A was a fairy, again. There was also a Lalaloopsy, zombie pirate, Luigi, and the Stay Puft marshmallow man in our gang. His costume actually had a tiny fan in the back that kept him puffed up. It was hilarious!

Sorry the picture's soo tiny. Of course I forgot my camera, this pic was taken with my friend's iPhone. Anyway, everyone had lots of fun until we all got too cold. Notice Miss A has mitts on. Yeah, they're snow gloves and her fingers still got cold. She also ended up with her coat on. But hey, can't complain, there could've been a foot of snow on the ground. Check out the green grass behind them - snow free! 

Now onto my blanket makeover of sorts. Years ago I found a gorgeous quilted silk throw blanket on clearance at Home Sense and had to get it. I loved it! Then Miss A came along and let's just say when she was a baby she ate like a puppy. And we all know what usually happens when puppies eat too much, too fast. Well my blanket got washed and dried and washed and dried. Eventually the seams started coming undone and it didnt' look soo pretty anymore. I never had the heart to get rid of it and kept it for the last five years, knowing that some day I would find a way to repurpose it. About a month or so ago that day finally came. A light bulb went off and I got the idea to turn it into a throw pillow for our bed. 

That once lovely blanket turned from this, 

to this! 

Isn't it nice? I'm really pleased with it. I made an envelope cushion cover and used a pillow from a sleeping bag to fill it. Then I got out my scissors and hot glue gun and made rosette after rosette. I really, really like rosettes! Don't be surprised if my next post has something to do with them too.  ; )
After they were all made I had a tough time deciding how to place them on the pillow. I tried a zillion different ways, before I came to this. Instead of stitching them on I just used my hot glue gun to attach them. This pillow is only for looks, so I'm not too worried about it getting washed. Although, I'm pretty sure hot glue doesn't wash off easily. Never tested that, but I have a feeling. Anyhoo, once they were all glued on I added the pearls to the centers and viola! I had everything I needed to make this pillow, so the cost of this project was $0. LOVE that!

Here's a few close-ups for your viewing pleasure.

What about you, have you made a pillow out of something that your couldn't bare to part with? Maybe an old sweater, t-shirt or baby blanket? Do share. Thanks for stopping by!

Click here to enter my giveaway!! 

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Halloween in da House

Happy Halloween weekend!! 

Hope you're all have a good one. Any partyin' going on?   

I realized last night that I hadn't showed you the Halloween 

decorations I'd put up the first weekend of October. I 

don't do a lot of decorating. I shared the Halloween 

wreath I made for our front door here. 

Other than that, I hang pumpkin lights in the front window

and our entryway gets a little decorated. 

Have a peek.  

The bats and spider web were added in 

Picnik. I had lots of fun editing the 

pics for this post.  : )  

Don't you love the lightening? Very cool!! 

I like how the candle light cast shadows of the little 

spiders on the wall. Oooohhh...

I just love Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin. Reminds

me of being a kid. I've had Charlie here for 12 years. 

When you push the button on the base he dances to the Charlie

Brown theme song. Very cute! 

These are the cutest goodie bags I've ever seen. I found them at Winner's last year. 

That's it. Told ya I don't decorate much. It's cute though. 

I know lots of people love the evil gory stuff 

at Halloween, but not me. I like the cute little

ghosts and pumpkins. 

Have a very happy and safe rest of the weekend! I'll

be back tomorrow to share the cutest cookies

ever made. I know that's a pretty 

big claim, but after you see them I'm sure

you'll agree. If you follow me on facebook you've

already seen a sneak peek.  : )  Hmm, maybe

you should head on over and follow me on facebook

to check them out. 

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Living Room Tour

Hey There. I finally got around to taking some shots of our living room, and boy are you in for A LOT of pictures! Hope you're sitting down, it may take awhile.  = )

Welcome to our home. 

 Here's the little wreath I've mentioned. I felt it still needed something, so 

I hot glued on a few pine cones from our evergreen out front. 

Our entryway. I bought the dresser and two side tables off Kijiji for $60. I love all the  storage! Everyone has their own drawer for mitts and hats. The bottom drawer holds lots of scarves in the winter.

  

 I made the leaf garland and just stuck some faux leaves in the wire of the hurricane lamp candle holder. The leaf on the glass candle holder I glued to a piece of twine so I could just tie it on instead of glueing

it directly to the holder. Once it's winter, I can take it off easy peasy.

 There's our free ultra suede, down filled couch. Yep, it was FREE, and it's suede, and the cushions are down filled! Long story short, my sister in law knew I wanted new couches, her friend's mom was getting rid of one, this is what we got. We've had it for nearly three years and it is still just as comfortable as the day we  got it. I love that I can just fluff up the cushions and it's good as new.  = )

 This cutie side table was $10 off Kijiji. The vintage sewing box my mom gave me when I was in jr. high. I LOVE it!! The built-ins on the left house all our movies. Why do we have soo many?

 The green velvet throw pillow was $4 at GW. The other pillow cover I made from a twin sized pillowcase. I got a set of two at GW for $2. They're from Ikea and match my favorite pillow on the left. Miss E and her mom, Miss J, got it for me for Christmas. I had wanted it for over a year.

 This two tiered table was my Grandma's and desperately needs to be refinished. I remember her keeping little knick knacks on it when I was a little girl. It came all the way from Chico, Ca in the back of our car 11 years ago. I love that I have it.

 You may remember my free TV stand from this post. It was also from Kijiji. My $80 wool rug was another Kijiji score. I like how it ties both of the couches colors together. The storage ottoman my hubby picked for $30 at Superstore. It had been marked down from $140! It's a great place to hide the guitars for Rock Band.  = ) Where else would I keep them? Oh I should mention, I have a print I recently bought for over the TV. Now I just need a mongo frame for it. I'll be hitting some thrift stores to find one.

 We used to have a black leather couch in this spot. It had to go. I was not digging the red and black in the living room. I sold that one for $200 and got this one for $250 from, you guessed it, Kijiji. If you do the math, I only paid $50  for it! Woohoo! It is soo comfortable. I could fall asleep on it every night. Actually , I do. lol And look at that naked window. It's screaming for some curtains. I may try my hand at some drop cloth ones. What do you think? 

Here's the lovely crates I showed you in this post.

 The built-ins are great for extra display space. Although I think they are

screaming for a paint job. Maybe a nice crisp white?

A few random shots for ya. Isn't my little acorn cute? I got it for 25 cents at a thrift store. When I bought it it was black. I took some heirloom white to the top and ruffed it up. Then wrapped the bottom with some jute. I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

Are you still with me? I told you it was going to be a long post. lol Hope you enjoyed the tour of our living room. It just goes to show you don't have to spend a lot to get great style. Well, I think it looks pretty good.  : )  Thanks for stopping by! 

PS. First person to tell me how many times I mentioned Kijiji gets a prize!!! Aha, just joking!  = ) 

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Fall Mantel

Over the weekend I finally got a chance to makeover my "mantel". If you remember my last post about my mantel , you know it's not really a mantel at all. I use the top of the hutch in my kitchen since I don't have a real one. I had redone it for summer. You can check out that post here.

The before:

The after: 

 The wreath is actually a garland I got on clearance for $5 at a drugstore 

years ago. I just shaped it into a wreath and love how it looks. 

 The small wooden bowl I picked up at a garage sale this summer for 50 cents. I added the leaves, pumpkins and berries. The cloche was also from a yard sale. It may have been 50 cents too. 

I got a whole bunch of stuff there for $10. And the gourds, LOVE them! Every year I can't 

wait to buy a couple bags of them and the little pumpkins, soo fun to decorate with. 

 

 The vintage looking Nestle Toll House tin was a quarter at a yard sale. Every side has a picture of a different season. Perfect all year long. The white pitcher was $1 at a thrift shop. 

My $2.50 mums from Safeway. I love how just the tips 

are a brownish/burnt orange color. Perfect for Fall! 

There you have it, my Fall mantel. What do you think? I am loving the warm colors. The kitchen feels soo cozy now. Last week I made a little wreath for my front door, but I feel like it's missing something so I won't share it with you until it's finished. I also made a cute leaf garland with some twine and faux leaves. It hangs on the mirror in our entryway. There's little touches of Fall slowly creeping into the living room. I will finally be doing a post this week about the living room, so you'll get to see them all. See ya soon!  = ) 

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Fabulous Furniture

Today's post is all about fabulous pieces of furniture. You know, the kind that just bumps a room up to the next level with its presence. I've pinned a few on Pinterest and thought I'd share some of my favorites.

First up is this amazing wicker (?) couch. I LOVE this! It would look 

amazing in my sunroom. The coffee table isn't too shabby either. 

Source: countryliving.com via Catie @ Catie's Corner on Pinterest

The detail on this dressing is gorgeous. And the chair is very sweet. I 

think it has a pineapple on the fabric. What do you think it looks like? 

Source: elementsofstyleblog.com via Catie @ Catie's Corner on Pinterest

Do I even have to say a word? WOW! 

Source: hgtv.com via Catie @ Catie's Corner on Pinterest

Those chairs are amazing. 

Source: knightmovesblog.blogspot.com via Catie @ Catie's Corner on Pinterest

Tree stump side tables. Very cute! 

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Catie @ Catie's Corner on Pinterest

I love every piece of furniture in this room. Isn't it stunning? 

Source: bhg.com via Catie @ Catie's Corner on Pinterest

The coffee table and nailhead trim chair. 

Source: bhg.com via Catie @ Catie's Corner on Pinterest

If you'd like to view more of the fabulous furniture I've pinned, please stop by and have a look. : )

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