Valentine's Decorating...lots of pics!

I wasn't going to decorate for Valentine's Day, but I was guilted into it by my mother......then once I started, I couldn't stop!  I LOVE all of the Valentine's stuff that people have been posting and pinning!  After a trip to Hobby Lobby and digging around my craft room a bit, I got on a roll.

I started by making a heart garland.  I saw several cute ones on Pinterest, so I combined a couple of ideas to come up with this one.  The inspiration garland was made of paper.  Since I had lots of fabric scraps and no Valentine's paper, I decided to try it with fabric. 

Each heart is two-sided (two different fabrics).  I sewed each one up the center and then allowed for about 5-6 stitches in between each heart.

It looks cute hanging vertically too!

 I strung it through the candelabra above my buffet.

Next, I decided to make something with some cool jute webbing that I picked-up at Hobby Lobby for only $0.99/yard.  Whipperberry blogged about a really neat growth chart made of this stuff awhile back and I wondered where it could be found.  I found it by accident in the drapery section at HL when I was buying trim for my new sewing chair rescue.  I got out my stencils, some red paint, a Sharpie, and went to town. 

I paraphrased a Scripture passage from I Corinthians 13 and here's what I came up with:

I was going to use it as a table runner, but then I didn't want to cover-up any of the words.  So, after moving it around the room several times, it ended-up on the wall above my antique ceiling tile display piece.  (I use the tiles to display family photos and plan to put any Valentine's we receive up there too!)

It says: "Love is...patient, kind, not easily angered! Always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres!"

Next, I finished up my buffet decor by scattering paper doily hearts and adding colored candles to a silver-plated candle holder (thrift store find!).....easy, cute, and cheap. 

I added Valentine's chocolates to my tiered candy holder (I made this at Christmas out of dollar store glass candle sticks, glass glue, and nickel trays!) and cute little ornaments (from Hobby Lobby) to my re-bar tree!

The buffet decked out for Valentine's Day!

The dining table got an updated centerpiece...simple and not too fussy.

Next, I "Valentine-ified" the wreath on my door.  I just added some glittery hearts and the word "Love" to my current red winterberry wreath.

For my entryway nook, I purchased this cute DIY frame craft at Hobby Lobby (30% off this week) and spray painted it silver.  Then, I antiqued it a little with a dark stain and added my son's picture! 

I was super excited to find that Alison at Oopsey Daisy Blog had posted a FREE Alphabet Printable that is ultra-cute!

I was also inspired by Lovely Crafty Home's post on coffee filter flower wreaths this week.  So, I used this great tutorial on how to make coffee filter flowers and made a dozen pink flowers!  Aren't they so much prettier than store-bought silks?

I found the red and white ribbon for 50% off this week at Hobby Lobby.  A few more doily hearts, glitter heart picks, sparkly red & silver tissue paper, and viola: a Valentine's nook!

Much Love,

This post is linked to: Tales of a Trophy Wife, Creatively Living's Tell-It-To-Me Tuesday #5, Not Just a Housewife's Show-Me-What-Ya-Got #59, Oopsey Daisy's Wednesday Wowzers #5, Gingersnap Crafts' Wow Me Wenesday #36, Uncommonly Yours #13, Someday Craft's Whatever Goes Wednesday #102, I Gotta Create!'s Kiss & Tell Week 5, Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff Linky Party, Shabby Creek Cottage's Transformation Thursday, My Repurposed Life's Catch As Catch Can 60, Rustic Crafts' Shabby Shares Saturday, Be Different, Act Normal's Show-and-Tell Saturday, Our DIY Diaries Fab-Not-Drab #5, I Can't Stop Crafting's Head-to-Head Showdown #12, Weekend Wrapup at TaterTots & Jello, Lovely Crafty Home's Lovely Crafty Weekend #58, Wayward Girls' Wayward Weekend #3, Nifty Thrify Sunday #43, Flamingo Toes' Think Pink Sunday #47, Under the Table & Dreaming: Sunday Showcase #87, Homemaker on a Dime's Creative Bloggers Party Hop, Keeping It Simple's Motivate Me Monday #108, CraftOManiac Monday, Singing 3 Little Birds: Inspire Me Monday, The Girl Creative

Sewing Chair Rescue

I decided that I could not-should not-would not start another project until I finished the chair for my craft room!  So, I put the Valentines' stuff aside and got back to work on the chair!Remember these guys? 

I rescued them from the curb and decided to re-do them.  The first one wound-up being painted and used on the porch (see post).  The second one is now in my sewing room.....take a look at its journey.

I put it in the corner so you can see it with the curtains....it actually belongs at the desk!

First, I stripped the old stained fabric off of the whole chair. I mentioned in a previous post that there were a LOT of staples in this thing....seriously, the person responsible for this was really into staples!

The cushion was in great shape and the cardboard backing was also intact (yea!).  So after sanding it down, I spray painted the whole thing.  I decided to have fun with the color since I was going to put it in my craft room.  The colors in my house are muted, but my craft room should be fun and bright, right?  Sun Yellow! 

I found this awesome fabric at Hobby Lobby this past Spring when I was making curtains for the room.  When I decided to put the chair in there, I knew that I wanted this fabric again!  It's a bright, cheery, and fun sewing motif.

I wrapped the fabric around the pad and cushion and stapled it into place...not using nearly the amount that were there before. ;^)  I was able to re-use/re-cover the padding and cardboard form for the back of the chair too. 

In order to cover the staples on the back of the chair, I purchased some decorative trim from Hobby Lobby (same type of rope that was on the original chair but in aqua) and glued it in place.

I think it came out pretty cute and it sure brightens the space! It is quite comfortable and I love having a cushy spot to sit when I'm at the desk.

This post is linked to: Blackberry Vine's Tuesday To Do #47, Creatively Living: Tell It To Me Tuesday #5, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Not Just a Housewife's Show-Me-What-Ya-Got #59, Oopsey Daisy's Wednesday Wowzers #5, Gingersnap Crafts' Wow Me Wenesday #36, Uncommonly Yours #13, Someday Craft's Whatever Goes Wednesday #102, I Gotta Create!'s Kiss & Tell Week 5, Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff Linky Party, Shabby Creek Cottage's Transformation Thursday, My Repurposed Life's Catch As Catch Can 60, Rustic Crafts' Shabby Shares Saturday,Be Different, Act Normal's Show-and-Tell Saturday,Our DIY Diaries Fab-Not-Drab #5, I Can't Stop Crafting's Head-to-Head Showdown #12, Weekend Wrapup at TaterTots & Jello, Lovely Crafty Home's Lovely Crafty Weekend #58, Wayward Girls' Wayward Weekend #3, Nifty Thrify Sunday #43, Flamingo Toes' Think Pink Sunday #47, Under the Table & Dreaming: Sunday Showcase #87, Homemaker on a Dime's Creative Bloggers Party Hop, Keeping It Simple's Motivate Me Monday #108, CraftOManiac Monday, Singing 3 Little Birds: Inspire Me Monday, http://www.sweetlittlegals.com/2012/02/turquoise-lovin-25.html

100th Day of School Cupcakes

Today is my son's 100th day at school for this year! I did not remember this fact until the note came home in his backpack last night, but I felt that we should do something to celebrate.....so, I quickly whipped up some cupcakes and put "100" on each in icing! Fun, right? The teacher and students were thrilled this a.m. when we took them into the classroom!

DIY Chalkboard Menu Tray

I knew that I wanted a menu board of some kind on my buffet....and I knew that I wanted to make it versus buy it.  I've seen a few things here and there, but nothing that was quite right.  Then, I had an idea while shopping at Hobby Lobby last week.....a simple wooden tray!  I was so excited about it.....my 9 year old didn't think it was all that exciting, but he nods and smiles for me (like any good man should do, right?). 

I decided to find a thrift store/junk pile tray and re-purpose it.  I found an old chinese art-themed one at the Goodwill Store for $1.99....can hardly beat that! 

I sanded it down a little (to try to remove the shine) and painted it with some leftover paint in a pale blue.

Then, I taped off the sides with painter's tape. I sprayed it with black chalkboard spraypaint ( that I had leftover from the Chalkboard-footed Wineglasses I made for Christmas) to coat the center (two coats with a little dry time between).  Afterward, I "roughed up" the edges a bit to give it an aged look and rubbed the entire chalkboard surface with the side of a piece of chalk.

I like it!  It serves the purpose and I think it looks in place with the buffet.  Now I want to have a dinner party so I can write on it!

This post is linked to:  Skip to My Lou's Made by You Monday, Sing Three Little Birds: Inspire Me Monday, Craft-O-Maniac Monday Linky Party,  Keeping It Simple's Motivate Me Monday #106, The Blackberry Vine: Tuesday To Do #47, Creatively Living: Tell It To Me Tuesday #5,

DIY Salt and Sugar Scrubs

I know y'all are as addicted to Pinterest as I am, so I also know you've seen the great DIY hand and body scrubs on there.  Just before Christmas, I decided to make one.  It was a lemon SUGAR hand scrub that I gave as a gift to my boss.  I also kept a little for myself that I put in a glass dish next to my sink.  It really does work nicely to remove crafting grime and yardwork dirt!  However, the olive oil makes it a little greasy.  It looks pretty (bright yellow), but next time I will cut back on the oil a bit when using this recipe from Stephanie at Under the Table & Dreaming.


Shortly after I made that one, I received a lemon SALT scrub from a friend as a Christmas gift.  I'm not sure what website she used, but it is wonderful.  Not at all greasy!  The salt seems to absorb the oil better than the sugar or something???  Anyway, I decided to make a couple for my grandmother's birthday this week.  I found the same thing....the salt scrub is drier and the sugar scrub is "wetter".  They both are great and work, but you might want to experiment a little with each type and the amount of oil.  I really like the salt best! 

I made the Citrus Salt Scrub from adelynSTONE (this is almost identical to the one I received as a gift) and the Brown Sugar Body Scrub from The Idea Room (using a little less oil that called for).  I used a Mason jar for the salt scrub and an old pesto jar for the body scrub.  I then made simple labels for each one .  The citrus label was my own...created in Word with a 3" circle and clipart.  The brown sugar label was a cute find at http://frugalliving.about.com/od/canningfoods/tp/Canning_Jar_Labels.htm.  A little scrap fabric, ribbon, and plastic spoon...good to go.

I think they make a cute DIY gift and they both smell wonderful too!

This post is linked to:  I Gotta Create!'s Kiss & Tell Party Week 4, Oopsey Daisy's Wednesday Wowzers #4, Blackberry Vine's Pretty Packages Party #12

The Big Buffet Project: Part 3...how it was done!

This was a fun project...a lot of work, broken fingernails, splinters, et cetera, but fun!  So, how did I get the dresser from where it started to the lovely buffet it turned out to be?  A little elbow grease and a few supplies!  I tried to take pictures as I worked, but the garage lighting does not do the furniture justice.  Here we go anyway.....

BEFORE:

The dresser measures 77"x20"x32.5"

AFTER:

If you read my previous post, you know that I picked this dresser up on Craigslist from another crafty gal (who ran out of time for this project) for $150.  I found out while working on it that it is a Thomasville dresser with a copyright date of 1968 (Read this post to find out what else I found in this dresser!). 

I started by removing all of the drawers and hardware.  Then, I cleaned out the whole thing.  I finally took the vaccuum to it, because there was so much dust and fuzz inside.

Lots of dust and "mouse evidence" inside!

Thankfully, the top was the only truly damaged part of the piece.  I fixed one drawer slat and that was it.  I sanded the entire piece and the six drawers that I was going to use (I opted to remove the center drawers in exchange for open shelving.).  Then, I really set to work on the top.

After a great deal of sanding, it came out smooth. With a couple of coats of stain, it looked like new!  For this, I used a gel stain in a mahagony color to match my dining room table. If you haven't used a gel stain before, be forewarned it is different than a regular stain!  I found that it "sets" faster and you have to work quickly! (I used the same stain on my kitchen cabinets this past Spring.)  I prefer to wipe it on with a soft cloth rather than using a brush. I let the first coat dry for about 3 hours and then put on a second coat.  I let that one dry for over 24 hours and even then, I was careful about handling the top too much.

TOP....before

TOP...after

The top looked great, so I moved on to the rest of the dresser a couple of days later.  I loved the way the thing looked sanded...kinda rustic.  After doing another project in chalkpaint (which was my plan for this piece), I decided to go another route.  I whitewashed the whole thing by painting it (in sections) with a flat white paint and then wiping it off with a cloth.  I liked it, but it was a little "too white", so (after it dried) I used a rag to wipe-on a brown liquid stain (leftover from another project).  This was perfect!  It brought out the wood grain a little and some of the detailing.

Whitewashed and stained

Peeling off the veneer

While the paint and stain was drying, I spent the next work day on the cabinet door and shelving.  The front of the door had some wood veneer that just peeled right off.  The hole where the original pull had been made a perfect starting point for the jigsaw.

The center was cut-out of the door with a jigsaw.

My Dad helped me cut-out the center with a jigsaw.  We also routed the inside a little, in case I ever decide to add glass (too expensive and time-consuming right now). 

I then spent some time shopping for hardware and found it a frustrating task.  The drawers pulls are quite long and the few knobs I liked were pricey.  Then, I found enough crystal-look knobs for the top two drawers at Michael's Craft Store for only $2/each!  I re-finished the other hardware by spray-painting them with an aluminum color then lightly spraying over them with white.  They dried very pretty.

Re-finished drawer pull

I cut shelves for the center section (behind the door) out of thin plywood (only a few dollars at Home Depot for a 4ftx4ft piece) and painted them white.  I also painted inside that area white.  I liked it, but it wasn't quite right. Then, I saw Liz Marie Blog's post about her dresser-turned-bookshelves and was inspired!  I loved the idea of wrapping the shelves in burlap...and I had a ton of burlap left from Christmas projects!

Burlap-wrapped shelves (where the drawers used to be)!

It was all coming together!  I put two coats of wipe-on poly (using an old sweatshirt rag) on the whole thing.  I love the way the wipe-on poly looks...hand-rubbed and never streaky.  I stapled a small piece of chicken-wire (~$6 for a 2ftX10ft roll) to the backside of the door (for a French Country look).

Chickenwire on the inside of the cabinet door adds a rustic feel.

Overall, the project did not cost me much.  I already had the stains, spraypaints, rags, burlap, and brushes.  I purchased the dresser, white paint, chicken wire, plywood, and 4 new knobs....some of which I paid for with a Home Depot gift card I got as a housewarming gift last Spring!  Oh, and the plate of brownies I "paid" my friend for helping me pick it up! Not too bad, huh?

The best part.....I love it in the space!  It is perfect for what I wanted in the room.  So, don't judge a book (or a dresser) by its cover.....you never know what you can make of it!

Here is another pic of the finished piece:

You can get a good look at the top in this one and the contrast of it to the rest of the buffet!

This post is linked to: I Gotta Create!'s Kiss & Tell Party Week 4, Oopsey Daisy's Wednesday Wowzers #4,http://jaimelyn11.blogspot.com/2012/02/its-time-to-link-up-to-huge-link-party.html