Feathered Friends & A Little Project

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!  I've been spending a lot of time out in the yard and have had a chance to do some bird watching.  They've been really active with the nice weather!  And there's a nest in one of our apple trees that is super cool.  Here are a few shots.

My husband actually saw mom feeding the little baby birds.  I was hoping to get a picture of that... but not yet.  Mama is protective!

I'm amazed I actually got this one!... This fella had a hay-day out on the front lawn!

Okay, so now for the project.  I had this old bird feeder and one of the plastic inserts broke in it. 

Nothin that a little spray paint and creativity won't fix!  I simply removed the plastic inserts (they slid right out of the top).  Then I busted out a mixture of brown and black spray paint.  I put a coat of brown on first and let it dry.  Then I used black over the top of that... but before it had a chance to dry I used an old cloth and rubbed some of it off.  Then I added a little extra distressing by lightly sanding off a few areas.

Once that was done, I took the old inserts and used them as a template to create the new ones.  I decided to put chicken wire in where the plastic used to be.  I simply used wire snippers and cut out the rectangles, then assembled them on the inside.  I put a candle in it and voila!

This was so simple!... and FREE!  Plus super fun and cute to use as an accent or centerpiece for an outdoor party.  Have a fabulous week!



Spring Has FINALLY Sprung!

I'm so excited to see the yard starting to take shape!  We had record rainfall here in May so everything is in full bloom.  On the flip side, it was cold most of May too... with temps in like the 50's.  WTF?!  It's supposed to be way warmer than that!  So hopefully we'll get more sunshine!

Here are some cute little areas that I've been working on during the brief breaks in the weather! 

I love this iron spider plant holder... that and the planter were freebies that I won years ago.  And the birdhouse was a $1 thrift store find. 

I found a new home for my Rustic Star... and a second one to pair it with.  Plus this old rustic pot that I've had forever.  I love the finish on it.

Some spring flowers finally starting to bloom.  Seems like they bloom later and later each year.... but they're so beautiful!

Remember that old fire pit I scored at a yard sale for $2?  It makes the perfect planter for the center of the atrium.



And this cool old fencing... I bought this at Restoration Hardware years ago.... and I still love it! 

I just hope that the warmer temps will stick around longer than a day or two.  I'm ready for summer! 

Aged To Perfection

Happy Memorial weekend everyone!  I am so glad to have 3 days off so I can enjoy some time with my guys.  The forecast is looking pretty gloomy, so no spray painting on the agenda.  But I do have a lot of other little things getting done.  Isn't it funny how all the little things add up to bigger things.  If that makes any sense?!  LOL

I love this most recent project so I'm pretty excited to show you.  I picked up this really cool wall hanging that has an ornate carved detail to it.  When I spotted it at the thrift store I knew I had to just grab it right then.  The thing didn't even fit in my cart because it's so big, but I made it work just to get it up to the register.  It had a small hairline crack in it so I asked them if they would take $10 for it rather than the original $15 tag it had.  They said yes!

While I was working on my kitchen hutch project, I decided to put the same dark walnut stain on this as I was using on the hutch.  So I applied a liberal amount of the stain and let it sit on for a couple minutes.  Then I wiped off some of it using an old t-shirt.

 

I wasn't totally happy with how it looked...  so I put some black glaze over the top of the stain using a paint brush to work it onto the surface.  So much better!

 

  

I was a little worried about using glaze over the top of the stain, but it worked out really well!  I just love it :) 

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Lamp Transformation

OMG!... it feels like forever since I've had a spare minute to get on here and post a project.  I've been working like crazy and trying to get things finished up for when I host Bonko at my house next Friday.  Plus squeezing in play time with Carter since we're both missing each other with our new schedule.  Props to all the working mom bloggers out there.  It's tough!

Anyway, onto the transformation.  A while back, I found this really cute lamp at the thrift store.  It was a bit more than I wanted to pay for... priced at $5. 

But I decided I didn't really want to use it as it's intended purpose.  It didn't have a lamp shade anyway.  And it would be worth the money if I could repurpose it into something else. 

I really love wood candle sticks.... and some of them can get pretty pricey.  So my intention was to turn it into something similar.  My inspiration came from some of these... and let me tell ya, they were priced way more than $5 each.  So considering how this project turns out, I scored a good deal!

So my next challenge was to find the top portion.  I was lucky enough to find a small dish that matched the motif of the lamp base to perfection.  It was 75 cents at my thrift store.

I disassembled and removed the cord and then had my husband cut off the post at the top of the lamp.... just above the scalloped edges. I had to use a heavy duty file to smooth off the metal and create a flat edge to set the dish on level.  Once I got it to sit on top evenly I used some Goat Tuff glue to adhere it on.


Once that dried, I sprayed on 2 coats of Valspar primer. 


Ok so this next step was a big oops, that actually turned out pretty cool.  So you all know how cheap I am... and that I'll use whatever supplies are out in the garage before I'll go buy something new.  I decided to use some old brown spray paint as the base color... but when I went to spray it, big blobs of paint came out instead of a nice even steady stream.  So in a panic I started wiping it off.  Only thing is, it left this totally cool distressed look to it.  So what other choice did I have than to just go with it?

I love the way it turned out... and for only $5.75?  Come on!  My only hope is that all of my "oops" projects turn out just as good!


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Hey everyone!  Well, I started my new job this week and it's going really well so far.  I'm having a lot of fun and it's exciting to have a new challenge.  It's a big change from being a Domestic Goddess for the past 3 years.  And I know it's going to take me a while to adjust to a new schedule.  But I'm embracing the change and making the most of this new opportunity. 

Meanwhile, I do have some projects finished... but my camera is a big piece of crap and I have YET to go and get a new one.  I've taken like 500 pictures just trying to get a decent shot.  But no chance that's happening.  So that task is at the top of my to-do list for this weekend.

Once that's done I will be posting projects like crazy!  So please check back and see what's been going on.  Have a fantastic rest of the week.

:)

Thrifting Makes Me Happy :)

I was finally able to go thrifting the other day with my mom.  I have been extremely disciplined in not spending any money right now and utilizing the things I've already bought and stashed away.  And it has been so hard to stay away from the thrift stores!  But since I start my new job on Monday we absolutely had to squeeze in one more day out. 

I started off by finding this wood giraffe.  He was $5 but so cute, and I couldn't leave him there.

He matches my living room decor so I think he'll look pretty cute nestled up on top of the armoire... where evil toddler hands can't reach and destroy him!



Then I found this totally cool candle lamp.  I think that's what they're called.  You can't tell by the picture, but this thing is BIG and HEAVY!... and was only $15.  I still need to find a home for it and then I can decide how to paint it.

I love these little spice tins that I scored for a couple bucks.... I'm working them into the ensemble for my new kitchen hutch. 

Also going in the hutch is this cute rooster picture and plate stand.

And my most recent find is this awesome old fire pit.  I picked this up at a yard sale for $2.  Yep that's right only $2 for all of it!  My husband took dibs on this project.  So that's cool with me.  One less that I'll need to worry about! LOL!





So many reasons why thrifting makes me happy!  It's addicting too.  But I think I'll be good for a while..... at least until I start getting a few paychecks!

I'm wrapping up some other projects I've been working and will have lots to share in the next couple weeks.  Have a great weekend and Happy Thrifting!

It's Done!....

Well almost!  I have been working hard on the hutch for my kitchen.  If you've seen a few of my recent posts you know that I bought this second hand piece for $25.

I started by giving it a light sand, a good cleaning and then a coat of primer.  Once that dried I used some extra paint that was leftover from my kitchen remodel.  I used a dark green that was actually a mishap color.  You know when you get a great color and then it's either a bit too dark, or too light, or just isn't right?  Well mine was too dark and so I took it back to Home Depot and had them play around with it a couple times until I liked it.  So I don't know what color it is exactly.  But for the inside I used a light creamy color called Hazelnut Cream by Behr.  Anyway, this is how it looked after about 3 coats of paint.

I originally wanted to use our power sprayer to paint this.  But the weather has not been cooperating to allow for a good enough day to take it outside.  So I had to paint this by hand... it was a biotch!  (Notice the inside of the cabinet isn't painted!)



After the paint dried I used Minwax Dark Walnut stain and applied liberally all over (working in sections) and then wiping off with an old t-shirt. 

After I wiped it off I went back over it with a dry brush and worked the remaining stain into the wood.  Finally after it was totally done drying (about 2 days!) I sprayed on 3 coats of satin poly.  And the final result........



I decided on no distressing.  I just thought it would look better without it.



But I do like the 2 tone with the paneling on the back.

The people I bought it from used it as a tv armoire... so that's why there's a hole right there.  But I'll just set something right over the top of it and you'll never know! hahaha!  I plan on using the bottom as storage for cookbooks, newspapers, coupons, and anything else that needs to be behind closed doors!





Now I still need to decorate it.  I have a few things in my stash that I'll use here ... and also a few more project accessories I need to work on.  So I will post that a bit later in the week. 

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Happy Mother's Day!

Hey everyone, Happy Mother's Day!  I know most of us bloggers are mom's and I've already seen some really good posts in celebration of today.  Being a mom is something I never thought I wanted to do.  I was the working girl, who liked to have fun and do whatever I wanted to do.  But then as my husband and I got older, and we were the only ones without kids, we thought maybe we were missing out on something.  And we surely weren't getting any younger!  So we decided to try for just one. 

Obviously you don't know what to expect when you first start trying.  My best friend was unable to get pregnant without the help of fertility drugs and treatments... and it took her over a year to conceive with her first son.  And like I said, my husband and I weren't getting any younger, so we knew we had to get crackin'!  Wouldn't ya know it... I got knocked up the first month out of the gate!  Well so much for the good time trying to get pregnant.  

 ~ Here I am on Mother's Day 2008 ~

 

But I must say that it was the perfect pregnancy.  I never threw up, I had no complications, and 9 months later I had the perfect baby boy.  He was 8 lbs 15 oz.  A big boy!  

It truly is the most challenging and the scariest job I have ever had.... but it has also been the most rewarding and joyful.  I am so glad that we have him... even through the terrible toddler times!  Haha! 

So here's to all the Mom's out there, I hope you all have a perfect day!  

New Beginnings!

Good Morning!  First thing, I can't believe I have 150 Followers!  Yay!  Thanks for joining my blog and keeping my DIY spirit alive.  I think if it weren't for blogging I probably wouldn't get as many projects done.  You guys keep me on my toes!

Another thing that has kept me on my toes lately is the job hunt.  But I'm happy to report that I was offered a really good position and I couldn't pass it up.  So I start my new job in 2 weeks!  Talk about new beginnings!  It's a little scary, but exciting at the same time.

So the race is on around here to get as much done as humanly possible.  And with that comes more projects hahaha!  So here are a few things on my to-do list:

A while back I showed you this hutch I scored for $25.... well it's just been sitting in my sun room for MONTHS!  I'm planning on putting it my new kitchen to use as extra storage... but it's been waiting for a much needed makeover.  So I busted out the paint and now have it almost ready for glaze.  I'm hoping to have this finished up by week's end because I'm hosting Bonko at my house in a month.  And we typically play out in the sun room... so it's time to make way for that!

I'm also working on repurposing this cute lamp I got at the thrift store not too long ago.  It's going to go in my bedroom as part of a spring update. 

This is another re-work in the works.  An old birdhouse that has a broken insert.  I can't wait to redo this and put it in my new kitchen hutch!

And along with those few fun projects, we've been killing it out in the yard for our Back Yard Makeover.  So an update is coming soon on that one too.

So there are a lot of new beginnings on the horizon.  I'm excited and nervous... but I know I can do this!  Thanks for joining me on the ride :)

Have a great day!







2 For 1 Friday ~ Candle Lantern/Basket Planter

TGIF everyone!  Glad I'm able to get this post on here today even if it's a little late in the day.  Things didn't go according to plan when I started my project for 2 For 1 Friday.  I originally wanted to do a little side table for my Front Porch Perk Up.... but that didn't turn out even close to what I imagined in my head.  Don't ya just love days like that? 

Anyway, I brainstormed a few other possibilities and decided that this is a fun, cute springy idea that is super cheap and so easy anyone can do it and I'm sure you wouldn't even have to go and buy anything!  Just look around and raid your stash and you can totally throw this little project together.

Mine started off with a little basket I got at the thrift store for 50 cents. 

I cut the orange straps off with a razor knife cause they HAD to go!  Then I sprayed on a coat of primer, and used a green spray paint over that.  Once that dried I used some brown paint and dabbed some on in random places to create kind of a rust look on it. 

Then I put some decorative rocks in the bottom.  I have a bunch of these around my house, but they also sell them at the dollar store if you want some on the cheap.

Anyway, easy easy, that's why there's no pics of that process.  ANYONE can spray paint right!?

So for the first way to use this I decided to put a glass candle votive directly in the center and layer the rocks all around it.

The candle votive was one I already owned.





For the second way I used this, I simply swapped out the candle for a small decorative planter.  This is also something I had at home, and just re-purposed in a fun new way.

This would also look really cute with a bird and nest inside, or a small garden statue... maybe a little Buddha would be cute!

Anyway, it's a quick and simple project that cost almost nothing!  Have a great weekend :)


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