Thursday, September 24, 2009

WARNING: Long Post!!

I'm linking this post to Kimba's DIY Day! =)

I've been busy! =)

My fall decorations are done (for now - since I'm addicted to "tweaking"!!)

Buckle your seat belts. There are going to be a lot of photos in this one!

I started with this framed shell that I made over the summer. I had pain
ted the frame black, used pieces of an old book page and added a scallop shell which I love. I
didn't however love the whole thing together. It needed a little help. But, it was ti
me for fall decorations
so maybe next spring I'll figure out just what to do with the shell idea!

I took off the shell and added this little give thanks sign I made last fall.


This is where it ended up sitting on top of 2 old books, along with my favorite lamp (which still needs it's sad, ugly, broken! shade replaced!), 2 stuffed pumpkins bought on clearance last fall, a
nd a leaf shaped plate with a votive on it.


Here's a close-up. Please ignore the crooked pumpkin...a certain very cute 2 yr old keeps picking it up and telling me it's for Christmas. Not quite, but adorable nonetheless! =)

The following is a progression to fully document my obsession with tweaking! ;)


Call me crazy, but I'm not a huge fan of speakers. They just don't do much for me! ;)
So I covered it with a white ceiling tin (LOOOVE!!)


Then I added one more jar with cinnamon sticks.
It's a little busy, but I'm still liking it! =)


These are on top of the 2 tall shelves that are on either side of the kitchen walls.


I tweaked again =) and added pine cones and orange mums.


This arrangement on the front door has also changed already, but I haven't taken a new picture yet.


Here's what I put on the dining room table.


And these are the other projects I worked on today.

First I painted this welcome sign that I got at the dollar store black.
I've been wanting one that says "family" and they had one, but
the letters were very flimsy so I went with the "welcome" one.


Next I painted 2 frames black to complete a project started a few weeks ago.


The fabric in the white frame is what I had started before.
I printed a "J" and made a random circle pattern around it. Then put it in one frame.
Next I traced part of the fabric and put it in the other black frame.
I should have taken a close-up of each. Maybe another day! =)


I also repainted this candlestick. I had painted it apple green in the spring and loved it's unexpected color. This isn't quite the red I was hoping for, but I don't have anything this red and I like that!
I also painted the plate holder. I don't have a plate to put on it right now because I put away the plate that had been on it to make room for the fall decorations, but I've been meaning to paint it and today it finally happened! Yipee! (like the run-on sentence there?!)


This is where it ended up. I'm not in love with the arrangement on this table, but I've run out of steam!!

I hung 3 plates above the mirror on my little white table.
I'm so in love with this table and mirror!
The table was free and the mirror was something like $7! =)
The green plate is from the dollar store (score!) and the cream ones were given to us when we got married.



I hung this barn star above the collage frame. It had been on top of one of the shelves, but now it has a permanent (unlikely!!) home.


Oh, "what were the boys doing all this time?"
Glad you asked!!



Whew! I think it actually took me longer to do this post than to do all of the things around the house today!
Blogger seriously needs to streamline the photo uploading process!!! Yikes!!!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

My 1st DIY Day!! =)

This is my very first entry in Kimba's DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land!!

Yippeeeeeeeee!!! =)

Ok, so it's small and was beyond easy and doesn't compare
to the other entries, but it's mine and I like it so leave me alone! ;)

Here's the cringe inducing BEFORE:

It's a bit scary, but I got it for free so it's all going to be ok! =)
It has a goldish, greenish, brownish color on the frame that the picture just doesn't do justice (thank goodness!!)
{Let the record show that my beloved hubby was VERY skeptical that this could be anything more than an ugly old print in an uglier old frame}
I actually got 2 of them. The smaller one is the one that I made over already because I had everything I needed. The bigger one is going to have to wait because I have $0 to buy anything to do what I have in mind for it!

Here's the AFTER:

I love it!! The frame didn't have a back (and since I'm all about making it look good with little to no money when no one will ever know the difference) I just got glued my fabric right to the frame!
Sweet!!!
Oh and the fabric was a remnant I found several months ago at Joann.
I paid about $2 for it and I only used 1/3 of it for this project! YAY!
{I am now accepting ideas for the other 2/3}
I've already started on 2 smaller frames (that I already had) to hang above and below this one.
I think I'm going to paint them black. I hope that doesn't look weird.
I made a scrolly design in black on white paper for the one and I'm going to work on another later today.
Guess I showed that skeptic! ;)