Turquoise Rocks!

A few weeks ago Melissa and I took a trip to Goodwill and Home Goods. I was looking for a vase that I could spray paint a fun, bold color to add some pop to my mantel. Currently, my mantel has a lot of silver, glass and white on it.

It's pretty, but needed a little something. I found a fun vase at Goodwill that was a neat shape and cool details. I liked the color but it wasn't that fun, bold color I was looking for.

Here it is:

While I originally bought it for the mantel, I also got a pink glass vase at Home Goods that same day. This pink beauty is $5!! How great??

Can you tell I'm not sure which side to put the vase on?

It worked better on the mantel, so my gray beauty got displaced to the dining room. It sat there for a while until I could decide what color to make it. This past weekend I finally got some spray paint at the hardware store. I called it turquoise in my post title but I think it's more kind of baby blue. I painted it on Sunday and voila...

That looks a little more muted than it is.

There it is in the dining room. I changed a few things around on the bar to make it look a little better.

Here is the before and after again:

I love the pop of color that it leaves in the room and how it pulls some of the blue tones out of the gray wall color. Stay tuned for more updates in that room later this week.

P.S. I realize that I need to get better at taking pictures of my rooms and projects. It looks kinda pathetic now, huh? Thanks for coming back - I promise I will get better as time goes on. And, if you are reading regularly, become a follower!! It makes me keep going to know there are people actually reading :)

Remember my addiction?

The other week I showed you a mirror I had bought at Goodwill for $8. It was a nice thick, square mirror with a pretty awful gold and silver finish on it. Here it is in all it's original glory.

I spray painted it white with a semi-gloss spray paint. It's much better...

But there was something still missing. The hubs and I talked about distressing it a little and maybe adding a little stain to it. I went to the hardware store this weekend and got a black gloss stain with intention of rubbing it along some parts after I sanded it down. Once I started sanding, it was kind of cool to see some of the gold coming through. The sanding really only took to the corners and beveled edges around the glass itself. I guess the rest of it was too flat. But, I like the look. I am kind of a sucky photographer so it's hard to see but here is my best. (The difference is really subtle.)

Kinda cool, huh? So I decided not to do the staining over it. Truth be told, I kind of whimped out! :)

And, here it is in all it's glory hanging on the wall in the dining room. You can even catch a sneak peek at another project I got to over the weekend.

I wonder where the addiction will take hold next...(I say as a creepily rub hands together!)

Productive Weekend

It was my baby's 4th birthday this weekend! I can't believe she is 4 already. Where did that time go? We had all sorts of family in town for her party. Surprisingly I did a few projects. No, I didn't get that headboard done, but I did get some other quick updates done around the house. After last week's plea for time management advice, all it took was a teensy bit of time while the girls were napping. Luckily I had a lot of the supplies on hand so it was easy to get my craft on.

Is your interest piqued? Come back this week for my easy updates!

Hmmm....

So, I have all of these great ideas whirling around in my head. I have a project for almost every room in my house, and most of them are small.

* Finish that mirror I spray painted the other day
* Actually modge podge that tray I was thinking about
* Hang the other mirror above the entry
* Paint a small telephone/plant stand
* Make that big mirror for my bedroom
* Recover a small footstool/bench
* Make that upholstered headboard
etc, etc, etc

There is lots more on my list. It's not too much and the projects don't seem too hard. My question to you is HOW DO YOU DO IT???? As in, when do you have the time to do it all?  All of you amazing bloggers have some really kickin projects that you have done. I am amazed and astonished. I want to make some magic but I have 2 small kids, work outside of the home every day and just don't know when to get 'er done. I guess I need to just do some major work over the weekends?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and any tips for doing it all.

Kind of a lame post today...

Bedroom Musings

I love blue! I am frankly a blue-a-holic. While, it's not everywhere in my house, there are definitely pops of it all around the place. I knew this was the house for us when we walked in and the bedroom was painted the most perfect shade of blue. In fact, so perfect that the bedding and curtains that we already owned coordinated perfectly! AAAAAHHHHH! (That's like angels singing) Sadly, we don't have the can of paint in the basement so I don't know what it actually is.

Here are a few pictures of the very unfinished space:

Our bed is up against a window, so a headboard will really help frame the space.

This picture most accurately depicts the color. I am not getting good color match with my camera!

So, while the colors are just perfect, there are some things missing. I would love a headboard, a bench at the end of the bed, a big mirror. (Read more about that here. We have never had a heaboard! I have been pondering the idea of making one for years. It was much more recently that I decided to really go for it. Well, I haven't gone for it yet, but I am close to actually doing it. My dad is visiting this weekend, so perhaps this is the time to go for it!

Here are some great inspirations that I have come across in the past few months:

Centsational Girl

Colette Bed from Crate and Barrel
I have no idea why the picture is so small!

This one here  from Shoestring Sophistication is what I am going to go for:



And here it is upclose:



I love everything about it -the shape, the fabric, the nail head trim. Awesome!! And, she has an awesome tutorial that tells each step. How great!

I can't wait to post pictures of when we do it! And, more importantly I can't wait to see how it transforms my room :)

Bathroom

I was away for the long weekend. My mom and I took my older daughter to Disney World and it was AMAZING!!! It was such a special experience to be able to see the excitement and wonder in her little face. I couldn't have asked for a better time. So, I didn't do any projects, but I have something old to show you.

I started painting the bathroom, um, a few months ago. I finally got around to putting on a second coat over the weekend. The color is the same color we used in our half bath in our first house. Soothing Celadon by Behr (we used Benjamin Moore instead.)

Here are some pics, (although I need to re-shoot some in the daytime so you can really see the awesome color):

I also made that curtain! Well, my mom made it but I will take the credit. Hey, I chose the fabric and it was my idea, so really I made it, right? I, she, used a beginner's secret weapon - iron on adhesive! So, I am continuing the really professional tools of the trade: duct tape, spray paint, iron on adhesive, staple gun. It's awesome!

Mod Podge anyone?

I am thinking of trying this new fangled thing I keep hearing about...mod podge. I think I first heard lure of it way back in the day when Rosie O'Donnell still had her own daytime talk show. Could that be? So I guess it's not new fangled, but I am just old school. Anyway, I wanted to update my entry area. We have a bench near the door where we store shoes and drop bags right when we walk in the door. Across from that - which is what you see when you walk in the front is a bookshelf that remained empty for 6 months.

Yep, that's right, empty. No books. On top there is some clutter and on one shelf is a basket where we keep hats, sunscreen, etc. But, for all intents and purposes, it's empty.

Pathetic, huh? You can clearly see the junk on top and my hubby's sneaks on the bottom. I can't believe I am showing you this.

I rooted around in closets and found a wood tray from Target that I had used on a coffee table a while back. Then, I looked for some books that would be cool without the jackets on them. (They really do look cool like that.) I then added a candle, a goblet and a picture.

I like having the tray there - at least it fills the space a little more. Something is still missing. So, I am thinking of mod podging. Thoughts? From what I can gather, I can glue some decorative paper onto the tray it and make it pop a little more. Or maybe line the back of the shelf? Am I wrong? Any hints? What if I don't like it - is it easy to remove?

Oh, and I realize that the entry still needs something more. I am thinking of getting 2 different baskets maybe a little deeper and bigger so you can't see the stuff inside of them. Having two would help balance the space a little. Oh, and I thinking of adding this mirror above the bookcase too.

Wish me luck on my new gluing endeavor!