Useful Pumpkin

After seeing this idea in Better Homes & Gardens I decided to steal it! I stopped by my local store and scored some pretty nice blooms on Manager's Special, seriously, $1.39! I then carved and gutted the pumpkin. I have to say though, I left a few seeds in there to see if anything would sprout. Then, I added some water and some blooms. I had to cut some greens off of my bushes to fill in space and hold everything together with some twine to center it but all in all I LOVE IT. I love harvest festive decorations!

I Heart Staple Guns

So I was able to borrow my M-I-L's staple gun to get a few minor things done at the house and I am in love. I need one. NOW. I decided to complete two little reupholstery jobs that I have been putting off and since I have yet to make it out to Williams-Sherrill I had to settle with what I had in house. I found an old linen duvet that somehow had a tear in it (Newton!) and decided to use that to cover up some unsightly and outdated materials in the house. First up was a chair that I scored at a yard sale this past summer. I really want to give the whole chair a makeover but I figured this would do for now. It's very plain but at least I was able to ditch the putrid floral pattern leftover from its previous owner.

Before After

Next on the agenda was a piece of furniture that I hold very dear to my heart. I feel fortunate enough to have this piece in my home, because lets be honest, my big sis could have totally snatched this before me! When I moved in my parents brought me our old toy chest. This was something my dad made by hand in 1985. I vividly remember this chest being a big part of my childhood. We would store all our favorite toys in it and sometimes we would even pull all the toys out and play hide and go seek in it. The colors were very reflective of the 80's, or at least our home decor in the 80's. The wood is painted a dark brown and the material was taken off of an old couch we had in the first home I can remember as a child. Since this chest is currently in an empty bedroom in our house I am not quite certain what identity it will take on in the future. I am hesitant to paint it though as the inside of the doors have my fathers chicken scratch from 1985, surely written with one of those square construction pencils. I did go ahead and use the same linen material to cover up the heinous fabric that has been on there for 23 years. Let me tell you, this was no easy feat. Removing the doors from their hinges made my poor hands cramp up beyond belief. Apparently, they didn't have screws that were compatible with a Philip's head or flat head screwdriver back then because I spent the better part of an hour removing 8 screws with a pair of needle nose pliers. There was a lot of rust and maybe a few angry words. Anyway, here is my little project that still has a long way to go.

Before After

I will keep ya'll updated with more furniture conversions and let you know what becomes of these two pieces.

New Look = NotSoGood

I was so pleased with my dresser makeover that I began to look for other things to paint. I think I was just pleasantly surprised with how much more I enjoy painting smaller pieces of furniture compared with the agony of painting large rooms. Those feelings are what ultimately led to my old coffee table becoming the next victim of my paintbrush. The back living room in our home is pretty dull in my eyes, very neutral and bleh.... I am not opposed to neutral but this room bothers me, maybe because there are about three different shades of green on the furniture and nothing nice really pops out, or maybe because this room is filled with all the old furniture. Needless to say, I felt that this room could benefit from some Colonial Red as well. While I don't think end result of the coffee table is heinous, I cannot promise that it won't be changed soon. Maybe this time I will try sanding down the red and adding a nice stain on top to being out some more gloss that this room could benefit from. Here is where it stands as of now.

BEFORE

AFTER

Old Dresser, New Look

I finally got around to painting an old dresser I picked up at an estate sale over the summer. I stopped by Lowe's and picked up a little can of Rust-Oleum red paint, I believe it was called Colonial Red, or something rustic like that. After lightly sanding the dresser I went ahead and started slapping some paint on it. My vision was to have it keep it's older appearance and not look glossy... and I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I left the knobs the original wood but sanded then down a bit. The dark wood comes through the red perfectly and I am pretty pleased with my quickie paint job. I may go back and redo it sometime but for now it adds some color to the guest bedroom.

BEFORE

AFTER

Stained Glass?

I am so relieved that we finally got some more house projects completed this weekend! Above 3 out of the 4 entry doors in our home we have transom windows. I have had mixed feelings about these windows since moving in... On one hand I love them in that they are original to the home and they let in a ton of light, on the other hand they can also offer an unobstructed view for those on the street of one walking up and down the stairwell. Our home has two front entryways, this is a result of the house being a duplex in its former life, but we really only use one of them, so after growing paranoid about the main transom window P purchased some decorative film to block the view.

Let me first say that after reading the instructions I gave up on it, but within 10min P had it up and looking lovely. We both noticed the amount of light it took away from our main hallway but the exchange for more privacy was worth it and it almost fools you into thinking that it is true stained glass. I would certainly recommend this product to those of you looking for solutions to their wide open transom windows or sidelights. Now I am stuck trying to decide whether the other front door needs to have the film applied as well.....? I like the idea of continuity but at them same time that would mean losing light in the dining room....

My P, My Hero

I don't know whether P is just terribly sweet or whether he knew in his heart of hearts that there was no way in hell I was going to paint another coat of aquafresh in the bedroom, but he was quick to take on the challenge. By time I returned home from the gym last night, P was already finished and off to work. I was very pleased with the outcome, although I wish the guy working at Sherwin Williams has suggested a glossier finish. Now I suppose I have to get on touching up the trim and what not. All I can see in my head is this endless back and forth of white paint and aquafresh...ugh! Or maybe I will take P's advice and tape the aquafresh in order to nicely edge the white paint back in.

Now I can get the curtains back up and starting hanging things. Yea! I also need to make a mental note to go ahead and put the non-slip mat under the bedroom rug in hopes that I will stop slipping and tripping over flat surfaces. Two rooms down, 5+ to go! EEK!