Thrift Store find update

Happy Friday!  I am obsessing lately with gold and white, gold and blue, gold and black...ya know. Gold with anything!  Here is a little thrift store find I turned from mehh to yeah!

It's more than just a mug in my eyes :)

All it took to create this look was about 5 minutes and Rust-Oleum's Metallic spray paint!

I love finding creative ways to display flowers instead of a traditional vase.

Have a great weekend!!

Linked up:

[I Gotta Create] [Katherines Corner] [Sweet Bella Roos] [Posed Perfection] [A Handful of Everything] [Life on Lakeshore Drive] [Classy Clutter] [Nifty Thrifty Things] [Lou Lou Girls]
[Homestories A to Z] [Cozy Little House] [Naptime Creations] [Carolyns Homework] [Funky Polkadot Giraffe] [Tip Junkie] [Designs by Miss Mandee] [Savvy Southern Style] [We Are That Family] [Snap Creativity] [I Gotta Create] [Joybee Whats For Dinner] [Chic on a Shoestring Decorating] [A Delightsome Life] [Redoux Interiors] [I Heart Naptime]

Lamp love

Let me start by saying that I do not spend a lot of  money on furniture!  Having 3 boys and their friends' being boys as well...you can imagine the wear and tear on my furniture.  I have gone through 3 sets of couches.  Seriously 3 sets. The bigger my boys get, the heavier they get and the more force they use when they "plop down" on the couch!  (To be honest...my design taste changes so often that I look forward to having to replace them ;) )    The first set made it through the first years of our 3 babies.  I can't explain how much vomit soaked landed on them. I scrubbed them so much, the fabric looked like they had been sitting in the sun for years!  It's funny because it's where all three boys threw up.  Not the bathroom.  Not the floor.  Not a bucket. The couches. And on me, while sitting on the couch. On. The. Couch.  OK...too much information...sorry just keepin it real ;)

Speaking of the first set,  it came with a set of lamps, end tables and a cocktail table. The lamps are ceramic not wood.  I didn't like the color but loved the shape of them and since I'm loving a light and clean look, it's time to bring the love to my lamps!

Sorry for the bad quality of the pic :(

 I know they are not bad ugly but I'm just ready for a change.  And what better way for a change??  Yes, you know!  Rust-Oleum to the rescue and my love...the Comfort Grip :)

Now, I must say that I did clean the lamps with a cleaner and a rag.  They looked and felt clean and smooth.  Well... they weren't clean enough!  Paint doesn't love dust.  Say it with me!  Paint doesn't love dust!!  I should have cleaned with a toothbrush and used a lent free rag :(

You can see lent up close but I didn't see it when they were brown.

Thank goodness that I do not have friends that use a magnifying glass to inspect details... so I think I'm good for now.  But me knowing it's there is going to make me crazy!

They look so much better...even with the lent :)  

DIY Sunburst Mirror

I know I'm way late to the DIY Sunburst Mirror party, but hey better late than never. Right? Right.  I bought a sunburst mirror about 8 years ago when my local Bombay store was going out of business. I love the overall size of it and especially the size of the mirror. 

Recently, I've been looking to add one to my office, unfortunately they are a little pricey.  They range anywhere from $50-$200 and more. I'm not looking to spend near that much.  So when one is looking to do something cheaper than retail...what do we do?? We turn to blog land!  I found some awesome DIY Sunburst Mirrors!

Via Centsational Girl

Via The Frugal Homemaker

Via 9th and Mayne

I liked the color and style of the one from 9th and Mayne, so I bought the materials to replicate it.  As I'm laying out the floral rings and shims, I wasn't feeling the design and felt like I wanted something with more of a clean line.  So thinking about the way The Frugal Homemaker used a piece of scrap wood to secure the paint sticks and mirror, I decided to tweak her design and cut out a circle, in the plywood, the diameter of the shims and mirror.  I will explain as we go.

I bought a plastic framed mirror from the dollar store $1.79.  

I didn't sand, just primed.

For the record, when beginning a project, it may be helpful to sit down and make a list of supplies and actually have somewhat of a plan before diving in head first.  Of course, I didn't have a plan nor did I have what I needed to draw a circle of this size.  I laid out the mirror and shims to determine what the diameter should be.  At this point I haven't considered how I am going to draw the circle on the plywood.  So, I scrambled around my garage and decided to use leftover piping from my DIY project a few weeks ago as my protractor...not scientific and certainly not accurate! This is now a Shabby Chic DIY :)

Behold what I did!

After cutting out the circle, I glued down the mirror with Liquid Nails.  Then I laid the shims on the board with the thick part next to the mirror and I used a pencil to mark where I would need to cut off the excess at the thinner part.  This is where the accuracy of a perfect circle is important because I had to measure every shim and cut 37 of them individually.  Not the worst thing but I'm ready to get it done!  I lightly sanded the shims, eyeballed the placement and started gluing them using Liquid Nails. 

To stain, I used Minwax PolyShades in Espresso.

I didn't know if the stain would 'take' to the primed mirror frame, but that is what DIY is all about...the adventure!

1st Coat.  The stain on the mirror frame is looking good!

I applied 3 coats of stain, since I wanted a deeper look and the plywood was soaking it up.

All done and I love it!!   There are so many ways to DIY a sunburst mirror so not sure if anyone has done it like I did but I couldn't be happier with it :)  It looks so nice against my grey walls and the thrift store piece of furniture I restored (I will be posting it soon).

Linked up:

[Shabby Nest]

Basement Photo Collages

Although our basement is finished, it was in sad shape...as in just blah.  It was painted a light yellow and nothing on the walls.  Literally, NOTHING.  When you have 3 young boys who have a lot of young friends that like to throw things as well, you really just avoid the inevitable. Ya know :)  Now that my boys have gotten older, it's time to take back the basement!  Adult space!

We hung up the dart board and set up the folding poker table.  I will not be showing close ups of the poker table!  Many spills... and that's all I have to say about that (in my best Forest Gump voice).

These pictures are of Wildwood, NJ.  We vacation here every year.  The kids are never to old to hear "watch the train car please".  We love the games and rides, the sounds and food....oh the food.  There really isn't anything like it.  We get slices of pizza that are bigger than my two hands put together! The funnel cakes...the cheese steaks...the fried oreos...the saltwater taffy.  I have to stop!  It's really what these pictures represent.  Some of the best times of our lives were at the Jersey Shore!

I just used an online editor to make them black and white (it's a phase I'm going through) and then printed them on regular paper.  No need to have them printed anywhere but home.  FREE!!  I got all of the small black picture frames at the dollar store!

 Yes...we LOVE Elvis.

I haven't thrown darts in years. Years I tell you!  Hubs, who by the way is very good at darts, and I decided to play one night..well let me show you my first 3 throws:

I have to document this because it will NEVER. EVER. EVER. happen again!  I am at peace  :)

White Picture Frames Collage

I have so many pictures of the kids, vacations, family, celebrations...fun times.  Literally hundreds of hundreds of pictures!  OK, thousands upon thousands :)  Since I take at least three shots of every photo I take, thank the heavens for memory cards!  Those (goodness gracious I forgot what those things were called that we use to put in the camera...those rolls..film rolls!!)  film rolls in the camera use to be such a pain. For real!

I have wanted to do a collage with black and white prints with white frames for so long, but I didn't want to spend a fortune either.  IKEA is about an hour away and it just doesn't seem worth it to drive that far, for white picture frames...who am I kidding...I never leave IKEA without a fully loaded car. It. is. impossible. And is why I rarely go.  So what is the next best thing?  Thrift Store!  Check out my good luck!! All for $10.50! Hello 11 frames for $10.50 :)

When a girl wants a paint job done quick, I wouldn't know what to do without my Rust-Oleum!   :)

Via

They are about to be beautified!

Take a look.  They are so clean and fresh looking.  Btw... I went to JoAnn's for fabric and was looking around as always.  Then.  Lo and behold!  See through frames!   They were 50% off (they forgot to change the sign and shouldn't have still been on sale) AND I had a 20% off total purchase coupon!  Ka-Ching! Seriously, friends and family think I have a slight problem when I get a good deal because I have to make sure EVERYONE knows!  Notice the exclamation points...I'm still a little hyped up :)

I hung them on a wall in our basement.  We spend so much time down there and needed to fill up a very long wall.

I have the other side of the basement to show you in another post.  Til then....keep rockin!

Mirrored Vanity..Found It!

I have been looking for everywhere for a mirrored vanity.  They are not cheap let me tell you!  To the tune of $300-$800 and upwards, for the size I wanted.  I was really having to reconsider the mirrored idea until about my 6th trip to Home Goods.  I saw it!  I was like a cat stalking it's prey.  I am serious.  I pounced on it as if there were a dozen women surrounding it (no one was even looking at it).  They were asking $199 and because there was a small damaged place in the back, they gave me 10% off!  Excited is an understatement.  I got flushed and giddy as if I hit the lottery!  Well, maybe not the lottery but you know when you feel like a vision isn't going to be revealed and you get all mopey?  Come on, you know.  I thought the mirrored vanity wasn't going to happen for me but not today friends! I'm doing the happy dance inside and giving mental high 5's.  Now that I'm typing my inner feelings, I'm questioning is it normal for someone to be so excited over such a thing.  I'm going with YES!

I digress, I bought the vanity and went straight to the craft store.  The vanity is mirrored but copperish (I make up words as I go along).  It's funny because it's almost the same color of my walls that I haven't gotten around to paint.  I am definitely over the dark color of the walls and the copperish color of the vanity.

I wanted to silver leaf the vanity but it is such a pain.  I am telling you, the decorating angels were with me because Liquid Leaf was waiting for me!

Via Michael's

A small amount goes a long way!  You can't even tell it was copperish :)

I love it so much and love sitting there getting primped.  Beautiful does not have to be expensive.

Vintage Cane Chair DIY

I have been looking for a chair for my office and wanted a bold fabric pattern.  I knew I wanted something with a zebra or leopard pattern but everything I saw was a small fortune :(  So...DIY it is!  I was in my local Goodwill and found a Cane Chair in sad shape.  It looked ratty and the smell... oh the smell was horrible!  I could see that it was looking to be beautiful again. It turned out really nice!  I will begin with the "after picture" because I can't wait to see finished projects right away so maybe you do as well! (btw...the yellow table is also DIY coming in another post).

Not pretty but has good bones.

I have to be honest this chair smelled so bad. I wasn't sure if something would jump out when I started taking it apart.  It had three layers of fabric, nasty foam and the burlap was goner!

On to making her pretty again!

I  never liked spray painting because of the cramps in my fingers so I couldn't get even coverage. I would get frustrated and try to rush and then I would get the dreaded drips :(   But lo and behold (insert the hallelujah choir) the Comfort Grip!  Thank you Rust-Oleum!  A must have when spray painting.  No joke.

I replaced the burlap, foam, and batting on the seat.  On the seatback, I wanted to add support but couldn't find nylon webbing anywhere.  I found handbag strapping for $.25/yard!  It's quite sturdy. Done. I'll take it.  I also wrapped batting around a piece of cardboard for the back of the chair so it stays nice and cushy looking.

The next phase was covering the chair with my Zebra Patter fabric!!  It has a suede texture and feels luxurious.  I'm so excited and a little nervous.  I must share that the Rotary Cutter was a life safer!  For. Real.  It glides along channels or groves and cuts precisely. It has a spring to cover the blade until you put pressure where you are going to cut and then the blade is exposed to cut.  It's very sharp so be careful.

I couldn't wait to get to this point...the BLING!  I used the nailhead trim that is like a rope, instead of the individual ones.  How hard can it be to tap in individual ones every five holes?  Well, let me tell you!  I am so thankful they provide at least 30 extra because I used every one! I.am.not.kidding.  It was funny at one point until I realized I had used so many extras that the ones I had left, I couldn't break or make a mistake or I wouldn't finish.  Not funny.

Done and beautiful :)

Linked up:

[Miss Mustard Seed] [Liz Marie] [Our House, Now A Home] [Lou Lou Girls] [DIY Vintage Chic] [Redouxinteriors] [House of Hipsters] [Classy Clutter] [Titi Crafty] [Huckleberry Love] [Claire Justine] [Boogieboard Cottage] [DIY Show Off] [The Clever Chicks] [A Pinch of Joy] [That's What Che Said] [Chic on a Shoestring Decorating] [Tip Junkie] [Imparting Grace] [Joy In Our Home]

Recovering my bar stools

I do not spend a lot of money on furniture.  Since my boys were little, there were always spills, toys banging into furniture, and definitely some unrecognizable gunk (mom's know what I mean) that I have chisel to remove :)  Thus...cheap furniture.  I needed a few bar stools for the kitchen and found three on clearance at Target.  The material is NOT kid friendly but I knew at some point I would recover them and all would be good.  Wellllll....3 years later they are still not recovered.  I cannot believe I would just keep scrubbing them every so often only to have them stained at the next meal.  Let me show you how I recovered these nasty things!

Embarrassing :(

I was at the fabric store looking for material to make curtain panels when I remembered these stools.  I promptly went to the leather looking fabric and DONE!  Bar stool project in full effect!

I flipped the stool over and unscrewed 4 screws that held the cushion to the frame.

Not complicated at all :)

I then laid out the fabric and left about 5-6 inches around the entire circle.

I stapled one side of the fabric and pulled the exact opposite side taut and stapled.

I continued stapling all around the circle.

I flipped the stool over and screwed the cushion back to the frame.

I can't believe I didn't recover them as soon as I brought them home!