Thrift Store Chandelier Adds Whimsical Charm

What do you think I love most about this chandelier?  It's beautiful swirly lines?  It's whimsical charm?  The bright white paint?  The candelabra bulbs? 

While those things are wonderful, they're not what I love most.  What I love most when I look at it, is the fact that - in passing - a couple of week ago I mentioned to Chuck that I would like to find an old chandelier to fix up for the 3 year olds room....and unbeknownst (is that word? spell check doesn't think so) to me he proceeded to stop by the DI (local thrift store) every.  single.  day.  until he found the perfect chandelier that matched my description.  Then, brought it home and surprised me with it! . . .

I had to wait through a week of snow storms before I could get it primed and painted.  I covered the electrical parts with press 'n seal.  I read that it's a good idea to put it in a box to spray paint it so that all of the little paint particles get chance to land on the fixture.  I didn't have a big enough box on hand so Chuck hung it from the tree, and that worked out great! . . .

The next lovely surprise was when I got home last night from a church meeting and he had shortened the chain and had it all installed :O).  I made the material cover for the chain this morning. . .

I wish I was better at taking pictures so that you could really see how beautifully it lights up her room.  It just makes the whole room glow.  I couldn't be happier with it.  Mostly I'm just so in love with that guy.  What a romantic. . .

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

Thrift Store Wall Decor

Awhile back we when we took a trip to the DI (local thrift store), I picked up these three frames.  The two little square ones were a $1.50 each, and the box frame was $1.00. 

I got them out over the weekend.  I started by sanding the globs of paint off of the box frame...

Then I primed it and painted it white...

My sweet aunt just gave me a bunch of scrapbook paper and supplies.  She works for a scrapbook company and often brings home freebies.  I found this adorable green polka dot paper.  I've been wanting to add one more accent color to this room.  I decided green is a great color to add to the pink, brown, and white alread in there.  I Mod Podged the paper to the front of the box frame...

I still haven't decided exactly what to display in it, for now it's her teapot...but she wasn't very happy about that...

The two little frames started out silver...

I primed, spray painted, and added the pictures and bows (the white ribbon is from the scraps my mom gave me last week and I used the same can of spray paint for 3 projects)...

It's fun to have this little wall filled....

I'm excited to add more green now!...

My total expense for this project comes to $4.00

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Sneak Peak - Photo Display

I've got a work in progress going on around here.  The first piece to my plan is complete.  I no longer want my fridge covered in pictures and announcements, so I made this to hold those things on.  It is one of many things that will be going on the wall next to the fridge.  I primed, painted, and distressed the frame.  I took the glass out, used spray adhesive (that I already had on hand) to glue a piece of felt to that glass, used the same adhesive to apply the material (that I purchased in the scraps section of Wal-Mart).  Hot glued the ribbon, and put it in the frame...

The frame originally was the one with the butterfly in it that you see in the bottom edge of the below picture.  I bought it at the DI (local thrift store) for one dollar.  Funny thing is, this same butterfly decor and frame hung in my home as a child.  Makes me wonder if it's the same piece...

I can't wait to finish - and show you - the rest of the wall!!

I entered this in the $5 challenge over at...

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

Kid Project Fail....Or Not??

We took a trip to the DI (local thrift store) the other evening.  The whole fam damily.  The kids had never been and thought it was AMAZING!  LOL!  I told them they couldn't buy any toys (since we saw a handful on display that we'd donated there).  The 3 year old found her way to the far corner and set up a town of 3 Barbie houses, a car, and a horse...it took me a solid 30 minutes to coax her away....who needs McDonald's playland anyway???  My 10 year old is getting quite the kick out of all of this crafting going on.  She picked out the above item for 75 cents with intentions of fixing it up for her own room.  It was filthy and - you can't see it in that picture - but it had globs of paint all down each side that needed to be sanded off.  She got to work this afternoon and sanded, primed, and painted.  She removed the metal piece and I threw it in the dishwasher.  She brought in her block tonight and was crushed when she pulled the metal out of the dishwasher and it was completely covered in RUST!  "You RUINED it MOM!!!"

We put it together anyway.  Dad walked passed and - without knowing the drama - exclaimed, "WOW!  I love it!"....

It may not be what she pictured for her bedroom, but I think it looks great on my mantel :O)...

So, what do you think...trash or treasure?

Speaking of finding AMAZING things at the thrift stores - have I got some fun posts coming up soon with all the junk I found to fix up!  SO FUN!!

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

Opa's Bench Shelf Makeover

My Opa loved to work with wood.  He made all sorts of wonderful treasures in his wood shop.  I am lucky enough to own a few of them.  He also loved to fish...

Years ago he made me this little bench.  At the time I painted it red and hung it in the kitchen.  Eventually it didn't match the kitchen anymore and spent some time in storage.  I pulled it out the other day and sanded it down (does anyone else use old birthday table clothes for their craft projects? :O))...

I painted it white, and decided it would look great in the 3 year olds room.  The tea set is adorable on it...

It sits on top the little white hutch that I had as a child...

My grandmother originally purchased the hutch for me.  My mother painted it dark brown.  When I was 7 months pregnant with my oldest daughter my mother had it repainted white and gave it to me as a Christmas gift...

You may remember seeing the bench in my Mini Spring Wreath tutorial...

I love having items in my home that contain so much meaning and memories -- things like this are my favorite!

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

Black Shutters - Fixer Up

I'll be the first to admit that the front of our house is a bit of an eyesore.  We've worked on many other things in our home, but not much on the outside of our home has been done.  The list is very long out there.  The hubby decided to fix up the shutters.  We've looked at just buying new ones (they aren't really that pricey), but figured why not try a $10 can of exterior paint first.  Here is what they looked like before...

They were SO BAD!  Paint chipping and falling off UGLY....as well as an outdated forest green.  We decided  to do like any professional would -- flipped 'em over to the good non-weathered side and painted them black.  We tried using a fancy shmancy outdoor/primer/finish all-in-one can of Krylon black spray paint (I believe it was called Fusion), but the finish it left was a bit blotchy.  He decided to go with Valspar and use a brush.  He did say that having the coat of spray paint on first made it easy to quickly brush on the good stuff and not have to worry about getting in those little corners that are prone to drips....

See how much smoother the backside is, much less work!...

Love this guy...

We thought about going with white, but I am thrilled with how the black looks...

One of these days the front of our house will look nice enough to post a picture of more than just the windows.  Ignore the finger prints and dog nose smears - I am...

I love that he did this!  It makes me smile :O).

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

Lucky Sign - St. Patricks Day Decoration

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I have this really sweet friend that just so happens to have a birthday this week, AND her absolute FAVORITE holiday is St. Patricks Day!  She is also the Activity Day's leader for our ward, and my daughter adores her.  She always goes way above and beyond when it comes to helping out our daughter's...so, I figured who better to make this sign for! 

I started with an old frame we weren't using.  My daughter sanded it, then I primed it, sprayed it white, and distressed it.  Here is the before...

I love that the backing of the frame has this fantastic texture - almost like a canvas...

I used my Silhouette to cut "LUCKY" out of some coordinating green scrapbook paper I had on hand.  Then I used the same paper to make Mod Podge rosettes.  I also had some white scrapbook paper flowers on hand.  I inked the edges then added a scrap of white chenille I had from a quilt I made.  Held them together with a cute fastener...

I added some buttons and bling to the rosettes and hot glued them to the frame...

Then hot glued the white flower on the opposite side of the frame...

I hung it in various places throughout my house and took pictures.  The front door...

The garden, LOL!  I know, not realistic, but I did love how it looked against the rustic fence...

Now I just wish I'd made two!  Happy Birthday Julie!!  Thanks for all that you do!...

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

His Trash to Her Treasure - Treasure Chest

Does anyone else have a pile of junk they keep meaning to throw out or donate, but they just keep pulling from it for new projects?  Well, I seem to.  The below treasure chest was brought home from my husband's work.  His marketing department used it for something and was going to throw it out.  Our son is really into pirates, so he used it for awhile, but then it just started collecting junk and really didn't look that great.  We were going to throw it out, but then I decided I could fix it up for the 3 year olds room....

I primed and then sprayed it white.  I had removed the rope handles before spraying it - leaving these holes on each side...

I bought these little metal things that you can make belts out of...

I had some satin ribbon, so I pulled it through the holes and tied it to the metal things...

Made for great handles....

I first glued the wide pink polka dot ribbon to the chest, then glued the chocolate grosgrain and tied it on top...

I used the Silhouette to make "Treasures" in dark brown...

Another before...

And after...

You can see that it does have some cracks here and there (just adds character, right?)  It looks so cute in her room!  It's full of her baby dolls and puppy dogs!


For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!