OK.  I hate looser thieves that come and steal your ideas and blog them as their own!  So I am just gonna tell you right up front that this post is about trying out someone else’s project.  Yvonne over at Stonegableblog.com ( I apologize right now because for some reason I am not able to link or grab her button) has this really great idea for the easiest project ever – distressing an Olive basket!  If you get a chance go on over to her blog…I think you will become a fan just as I have!

If you are like me, my first thought was what the heck is an olive basket and why are people paying over $100.00 for one? Olive baskets are used to harvest olives.  Right now you will see them at  flea markets, antique stores, etc for a pretty hefty price tag.  They are absolutely beautifully aged and worn.  Would LOVE one, but let’s face it, this girl isn’t paying $100.00 for one!  Yvonne found one at Wal-Mart for $9.88.  I know, crazy right?  The only thing it is missing is the beautiful patina.

As soon as I read this I got on line to see if my Wal-Mart had one. Nope.  Out of stock.  And to top it off they are no longer available on-line. Apparently everyone is reading Stonegableblog.com! So I checked in with all Wal-Mart’s in a 30 mile radius and low and behold one in the next town over had one left!  I bought it on-line and arranged to pick it up that day.  Ya gotta love that!

So here is what it looks like brand new.  In all of it’s galvanized shinny glory. Pretty but still too shiny!  Yvonne has a special recipe that you can use to give the basket a lovely patina.  Toilet Bowl cleaner.  Yup.  You read that right.  Toilet bowl cleaner.  She recommended using Zep Acid Toilet Bowl Cleaner.  Which I couldn’t find.  However, her second choice was Lysol.

Yvonne did hers outside in a nice big tub, which I don’t have. I decided to use one of my guest tubs which are porcelain. Just slather the lysol all over it and wait about thirty minutes according to her directions.  Well,  not much had happened in that time so I left it on about an hour longer. OK…so I forgot that I was distressing an olive basket…don’t judge! Anyway, it hadn’t aged like Yvonne’s basket had, but it had been on there so long that I figures that it wasn’t going to corrode any further.  I took steel wool and scrubbed and washed it all off.

Not as corroded and gold looking as the Stonegable one but I still liked the finished result. It had darker spots all over and it had some really great depth to it.  Me likey!

I had chosen some tall plants for it but they weren’t as tall as the basket.  I placed an old container from a previous plant in the basket upside down to give the plant some height.

It worked like a charm. I just add some sweet potato vine to the pot the Bacca’s flowers ( that is the tall purple plant) came in and plopped it right in my olive basket!  This is my finished result.  I really like it in my herb garden…gives it some bling!

This project took longer to shop for the flowers than it did to actually do it.  Especially if my ADD hadn’t kicked in and I hadn’t forgotten that I was distressing the olive basket!  I think I might have spent a total of $20.00 for the basket and flowers, maybe.  All in all- a lot of bang for your money, don’t you think?

Until next time….

Furniture speaks to me… really!  I can usually look at a piece and know immediately how it needs to be painted, re-upholstered  or up-cycled. So when a friend of mine gave me a really old, really primitive, really rustic trunk to paint I was a little shocked that I couldn’t hear a thing from it!  No little voice saying “Paint me red…or I would make a wonderful bench…”  Nothing.  Nada . Zilch.  I finally came up with how to paint an old trunk – sorta.

I started by painting it Napoleonic Blue.  Nope, that wasn’t right.  Then I decided that maybe it wanted to be an ombre – Gray to Black.  Nope.  So I let it sit for awhile.  FINALLY!  It hit me.  It wanted to be a mix of Kate Spade meets Ralph Lauren! Black on the outside and fun on the inside.

My color palate was going to be black, emerald green and white.  Which was kinda funny because as you can see the lid and the inside of the trunk, which has a cute side unit that has a lid and shelving that were already painted Hunter green.  But I wanted something a little more vibrant.  Since I was choosing such a bright color I decided that now would be the perfect time to try and make my own chalk paint.  I had done this before in college but that was a LONG time ago and  I had never used it on furniture!

The recipe:

1 cup of latex paint

2 tablespoons of cold water

2 tablespoons of Plaster of Paris

Pour the Plaster of Paris into the water and mix well, then add the plaster mixture to the the paint. Mix well.

I followed the recipe and began my first coat.

I painted on the first coat.. and the second coat which you see above. Yikes! Way to0 thin and way too yellow!  The consistency of the paint was similar to that of my favorite chalk paint, the trunk  wasn’t too porous – the recipe just didn’t work!  Frustrated much? Oh, yeah! I tried a couple more coats and still didn’t get the coverage that I would have with a store bought chalk paint. ONE. BIG. HOT. MESS.  I finally decided to just put the latex paint on without the Plaster of Paris mix.

Now here’s where the insanity fun began!  I painted the lid of the storage unit inside of the trunk ASCP Pure white.  Using my cricut ( I just lurve that machine!!!) I cut out 1″ circles out of vinyl.

I placed the vinyl circles randomly on the lid, being sure to burnish the edges well.  Then I painted over the entire lid with black.  Waiting a few minutes, I then used a craft knife to help me lift the edges, peeling the circles off.  This will give you an nice perfect circle!  I always remove vinyl or tape not long after painting. This way if you have any bleeding you can clean up easily.

For a little more pizzaz I placed my Chevron Frogtape on the bottom of the trunk.  I could have measured it out evenly but honestly I just eyeballed it!

After placing the frog tape securely, I then painted the entire bottom of the trunk black.  This was the result.  Ummm…NO!  And not just because the picture is blurry either.  No little voice saying “Yes!”  It looked like tire marks on grass! Using the frog tape again, I taped off the black edges, leaving only the green showing and painted the green white.

MUCH better!  Remember that I said this piece was very primitive and very rustic? The bottom was extremely rough.  So the chevron stripes are extremely rough.  Honestly, I used the frog tape with this really slick design in mind and quickly realized that it didn’t go with the piece.  So I sanded it all down a little bit, letting all of the imperfections show.  Ah, NOW I heard the little voice saying “YES!!!”

Here she is in her finished glory!  I also distressed the exterior slightly before finishing her out with a clear wax.  She really is a nice mixture of primitive and chic!

So after ALL  of that, here is my breakdown:

Would I make my own chalk paint again?  Probably not.  Not unless there really was no other option.  The cost really wasn’t that much cheaper since I had to use multiple coats due to poor coverage.  With my store bought chalk paint I have never had to add more than two coats.  Also, I think the color was lighter when I add the Plaster of Paris mixture.  No bueno! As for it being convenient to to do… not so much.  I will buy store bought unless there is a world disaster going on!  Seriously.

As for the Chevron Frog Tape?  (No, I am not  being paid to try it.)  I liked the ease of using it but think it would be better suited to a smoother surface.  This one was the opposite of smooth.  I’m not gonna lie, it did bleed through to the point where I had to go back and touch up almost all of it.  And ain’t nobody got time for that here!!!

This piece would normally have taken me a day to a day and a half, at the most, from start to finish.  It ended up taking me four days off and on.  It was just one of my many hot messes that I have had this week.  But I do love the end result! A lot!!!

That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how not to paint an old trunk!

until next time…

Hey, all!  I finally feel as if summer is just around the corner! We have had some really beautiful days and then will have a few really cool, rainy days here in Texas.  You just never know which one is going to show up, which is really strange for May here. I know that summer is just around the corner so I have been planting flowers, vegetables and the Partyio patio is spiffed up and ready to rock!  I finally feel as if summer really is almost here!  Woo Hoo!  It seems like it is taking me as long to change from spring to summer decor as it has Mother Nature to change seasons!  I finally got around to making a few subtle changes in my kitchen. I couldn’t wait to put up my summer chalk board art!

Hello summer!  I decided to write down all of the fun things we tend to do in the summer – kind of my summer bucket list!  That way I can check them off when we have had a ton of fun doing them.  How about you – are you planning a fun filled summer or are you just ready to kick back and relax?  I am feeling as if a little bit of both are in order here at the castle!

Happy Summer!

until next time….

Don’t get me wrong, I love to paint.  I like to paint just about anything. This week however, EVERYTHING I have tried to paint has gone south in  a big way.  Peeps, I am ONE BIG HOT MESS!  So in the middle of just about the biggest mess ever, I decided to quit painting for the day.  I’d rather be gardening!

I know that a lot of you will think I am crazy but I am at my best outside.  Utter, inner peace!  My sisters and I joke about being like a lizard on a rock, we love being in the sun! Add to that the satisfaction of seeing all your hard work bloom and I am truly in heaven!  Hear the Angels sing!!

The weather here in Texas the past few days has been wonderful.  So I figured it was time to do some cleaning and planting.  I started on the patio.

After much sweeping,planting and wiping away the winter grunge here is what I ended up with. My own little oasis in the back yard. This is where I spend all of my spare time until the Texas weather becomes too hot.  I am truly here every day!

Of course I would  have some crowns since it is the Queen’s retreat! I just found these two metal ones at World Market.  I am in Lurve!

It was then on to the Koi pond.  I love hearing the sound of moving water – especially when it gets hot.  I planted a few Zinna’s, Periwinkles, Prairie Verbena.  Now I just need for all of the Lily’s and Hibiscus to bloom and it will be fabulous!

Here are my Lily’s in bloom from last year.  Pretty, no?

The clematis is going crazy!  I love it!  As you can tell by my rain gauge we had almost 4″ of rain earlier this week! Yikes!

And last, but not least I worked in the vegatable garden…. My son built this last year and it was so awesome to be able to just walk out and pick your own veggies.  I love how home grown tastes so much better than what you buy at the grocery store!  This year my Hubs came up with this neat iron trellis to hang the netting on. Practical AND cute too!  My kinda garden stuff!

I still have a ton few things to get done before the summer heat gets here.  More planting, fence repair, the pool area, re-stain the patio.  And some day it is my dream to build a pergola over the patio and outdoor kitchen area.

My list is kind of endless!  Which is a good thing since I’d rather be gardening… at least I would right now1

until next time…

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope that each of you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!  Here at the castle I have been working on a ton of projects. I can’t wait to get a few of them finish to show you!

One of the projects is getting new art together for my new eating area in the kitchen.  Being the super frugal gal that I am, I went to The Graphics Fairy.com for some really cool, free art.  If you haven’t been here, you need to go have a look at all of the wonderful free printable art that they have. WARNING – be prepared to spend hours there just looking!  My only problem with the free printable’s is that sometimes I can’t get the orientation of the art to fit my frame.  Yeah, I KNOW that there are ways to fix this on my computer, but sometimes I just don’t have the time! It also doesn’t help that  I am technologically challenged either. So I finally came up with a way to fit my art to my picture frame! 

Here is the frame I already had on hand.  I got it at Wal Mart for around $10.oo.  It was the right color and fit my space so it was perfect!

After  many hours on The Graphics Fairy, I found this bee botanical.  If you look really close at the top edge you can see that the print didn’t quite fit the matt opening.  This is where my OCD  goes into overdrive.  I could have left it alone and probably no one but me would notice.  But I would KNOW it was there and it would drive me crazy!!!!  I  decided to just add black 1/4 ” ribbon to the inner edge of the matt.  I cut it to the exact length of the matt edge and glued it down with stick glue. Problem solved!

 Here is my finished art work!  Sorry about the picture quality but it has been raining here – 4″ inches of rain – makes it hard to get a good pic in a dark house!  But I love it.  Such a quick and easy fix.  And best of all, I had all of the things to put it together on hand.  Gotta love that!

Would I do this with every piece of artwork?  Probably not.  But I do love it enough to consider it with other pieces of art!

Until next time….

Happy Friday Everyone!  I am finally back in the swing of things and actually painting furniture. Woo Hoo! This week my client is actually my son.  He is moving into a new place and needed some new furniture.

Years ago a friend and I found an old dresser on the side of the road. It had great bones but needed a lot of TLC!  I finally decided to take all of the drawers out,  paint it black, add shelving and baskets to make storage for my office.  This worked really well for a few years but as with everything here at the castle-things change.  It was hanging out in my guest room when my son asked if he could up-cycle it for his new place.  Which really means “Mom can you repaint, rework etc..)  He chose a silver metallic with a black glaze and I was more than happy to get my paint on!

Here is how it started out.  I almost forgot to get a before shot! Eeekk! Very tired and Sad!

I have been to workshops where they started their metallic finish with spray paint, but shied away from it because -well, the thought of it kind of scared me.  I had visions of runs.  Would it be hard to glaze over? Would the topcoat I decided to use work well with it?  Yeah, you can see I worry it to death!  I finally decide that this would be the time to test it out.  So spray paint it I did!  Here is how to paint furniture in a silver metallic finish.

Next I painted the whole thing with Martha Stewarts metallic paint in silver.  See the pic above?  THAT IS WHAT NOT TO DO!  I was brushing it on and didn’t like the brush lines.  I decided to roll it on with a  small sponge roller and this is the pattern that it left.  Ugh!  So I went right back to brushing it on.  Thing was, if I had been patient I would have seen that the brush stokes back filled themselves.  In other words, they all but disappeared!  I then glazed the entire piece with a black glaze.

Here is the finished piece..

And here you can see more of the detail that the glaze brings out. All it needs are some cute baskets and It is ready to go!  Maybe some black ones?  Or maybe some antique wire pool baskets with the numbers on them?

I gotta say that I would definitely use the spray paint again.  It made for a super easy base coat that still had the metallic shine.  The Martha Stewart paint really just added another layer of the metallic.  Some day I am going to get up enough nerve to try just the spay paint on its own with the Martha Stewart paint.  For reals.  The spray paint went on perfectly – no drips.  The metallic was bright, shiny and well – metallic.  Not dull at all.  The paint accepted the glaze beautifully.  I couldn’t have asked for a better result than the one I got.  AND to put the cherry on the top – this entire piece took me an afternoon.  The paint and glazes all dried super quickly.  That’s a big bonus for me!

If you have ever wanted to try and paint a metallic piece, this method is a winner!  So much so, I am looking for something else to paint silver metallic!

Until next time….

Ok, I admit it!  I have been a bad, bad blogger this weekend!  Sorry no  usual post this morning.  But, I do have a good excuse! Really… Instead of doing my usual painting and decorating, I’ve been working at other things.

Like this…

And this….

Right now I’m off to play tennis… I will get back to work, I will get back to work!  Tomorrow?

Until next time…..

Whew!  FINALLY!  The kitchen area is DONE!!!  After two rugs, waiting on orders to arrive, finally deciding on curtains, up cycling  chairs and table, new light fixtures and making my own drum shade – speaking of drums, can I get a drum roll please! – My kitchen eating area is done! Ta Da!!!! I am worn plum smooth!

It started like this….

Not a bad start, but just a little tired.  Over time the table had become wobbly and the chandy had a short in it after a  w thanild Bunko mishap. Yeah, we get a little crazy going for those dice!

My friend Siana gave me this table, which was much smaller than the one I previously had in there. I was really skeered to  go smaller, but after painting the base black and refinishing the top to a darker stain.  I really, really liked it!

Here it is refinished.  Much better!

After the table – came the chairs.  I painted them black to match the base and since my floor plan is very open to the living room area, I decided to use the houndstooth in black and white that I used on the back of a chair I recently upholstered.  Then  I add nickel nail head trim to give it a little “joory”. Love. Them.

Then it was on to the rug.  Which was a crazy adventure in it’s self!  I ordered a trellis patterned rug, but mistakenly ordered it too small! Ugh!  Then the wait was on for another to arrive.  I have had to learn patience people!  Finally, the new rug came in and I was so darn happy!

It was perfect for my space!

Remember the “One Wild Night ruined Bunco channeler”?  Well, it had to be replaced and I found this cute thang at Home Depot for under  $100.00.  Woo Hoo!  I really loved it but had been looking at chandy’s with a drum shade.  Unfortunately, all of the ones I was looking at  – WAY out of my price range.  So I decided to make my own.

A few 23″ embroidery hoops, some wire and organza material and Houston we have lift off!  I love it!

And last but certainly not least were the curtains.  It took me FOREVER to make a decision here.  I really, really wanted to do floor length panels.  However, I have a psycho cat and was really afraid that she would be swinging climbing all over them.  sigh….  I finally decided on valances.  Here is the one that was previously in the room.

And here is what I ended up making.  Yes, I made them myself.  Guess I am just too picky and decided to make them  since I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for.

Here is another view of the valances in the kitchen… Really like how they turned out!

So here is a picture of the completed project:

I am so happy with how it turned out!  I also added new placemats and a new plant ( that I will probably kill soon, but I keep on trying!)

I can’t believe that I didn’t really change all that much but it took FOREVER! Or it seemed like it to me…  I am just so excited to get one room finished.  Well, at least I think I am finished.  Who knows what I will decide to change tomorrow!

Until next time….

If you have been following along with my many on-going projects you know that I have been working on the kitchen dining area for awhile now.  Well, I am so darn excited because:  It is almost done!!!! For reals! Well…almost.  The thing is- I am so close to being done that instead of posting  on Friday like I usually do, I am going to post on Saturday.  Give myself a little time to go over the tiny details now that I have the big ones ironed out.  Here are a few teasers for you, until I get it all put together for your viewing pleasure~

My new lighting….

Rug is in place…under my new/old table.  So. Excited!

These are just a few of the new things that have undergone some change here at the castle.  Hope you’ll come back by on Saturday so that I can show off my new eating area!

until next time…

I usually do my feature piece on Friday  but I  was so excited about sharing What I Learned In Vegas  that I skipped the feature piece.  So I am pretending that my Monday is Feature Friday! Confused much?

This week’s piece is a Drexel Heritage side table that has a little French flare.

When I found this piece it had great bones and was very sturdy, but the top had definitely seen better days!  Instead of worrying about it, I decided to just go with it’s rustic charm and use it.  I like chippy, beat up, distressed pieces! Painted in Annie Sloan Coco and Old White , then  a coat each of clear and dark wax this darling end table turned out pretty well if I do say so myself!

On the top of the piece I went to The Graphics Fairy  and found two different French topography prints and married the two to get  the top writing that you see.  Not too bad!

This was my first time to use the ASCP in Coco.  I think it is a great neutral that would fit in almost any decor.  I am already looking for other pieces to paint, as I love how the color turned out.  Also, I love the mercury glass drawer pull.  I found it at Hob Lob.  I just love their drawer pull selection – especially when they are 50% off!

Until next time…

I recently vacationed with my sister and niece in Las Vegas.  Wow. First time to visit there and let me tell you I am still in sensory overload!  On my drive to meet up with my girls, I listened to a humorist Jeanne Robertson on finding the humor in every day.  Good thought right?  So, I decided to see if I could not only find the humor in everyday but also how good design ties in with every day!  I gotta say that I didn’t think that I  would find much design wisdom in Vegas but,  I was wrong!  Not only did I find a lot to of humorous things in Vegas, I found a ton of design wisdom too!  So instead of writing about “What I did on Vacation” here is “What I learned in Vegas!”

1. Elton John Was Right!

Elton Paid a cool million for his piano at Caesar’s Palace that you see him playing above- well it is a bit blurry but it’s hard to take a picture when your dancing too!  Elton knew that you should put your money in your statement pieces.  His statement piece is a piano that has pictures scrolling across it and also sounds pretty darn good too!  Our statement piece would be a really great sofa with killer lines in a neutral color.                                                              LESSON LEARNED: Go traditional, classic, clean lines, neutral color and add some pop with your scenery – Elton did and the result was fantastic!

2. Invest in great art – THAT YOU LOVE!

I gotta tell you that the art there was fantastic!   I found this outside of the Blues Cafe.  I LOVE it.  Would I have it in my home – no, probably not.  But I am drawn to the all of the color and texture!

I have a weakness for true hand blown glass. When I walked into my hotel and saw that Dale Chihuly had done the ceiling lighting and wall art I let out the girliest scream ever!  My niece and I share a love of his work and we immediately began taken pictures and drooling.  My sister kindly asked us to please start speaking in english! Would I have Dale Chihuly in my home?  OH, Yeah!  Maybe not on this scale but you bet ya!

More Chihuly…

and one more…. last one I promise!  Sorry they aren’t the best quality… did I mention that I was drooling????

LESSON LEARNED:  Use great art that you love.  It doesn’t have to be expensive – but you should love it!  ALOT!

3. Lighting is everything!

You didn’t think I would go to Vegas and not find a crown theme somewhere did you?  My point here is they put up the brightest, biggest neon lights not only so you could see but ,to get your attention.  And it did.  Just like this replica of the Eiffel Tower, your lighting should look great when it is not lit….

But  your lighting should really make your room look AWESOME  when you turn the lights on!

LESSON LEARNED: Not only should you have good overhead lighting for tasks, but also think about lighting at night.  Ambient lighting can really set the mood of your room.

4. Less is More.

This is the only show girl you will find me taking a picture of!  But the point is those girls don’t wear much in the clothing department and they get a ton of attention!  Sometimes – Less IS More!  I think when it comes to decorating there are times when we are tempted to over decorate a room, vignette, coffee table, etc.  If you are having trouble with making a look come together, stop and take some pieces out.  You just might find you like a little less!

LESSON LEARNED:  Less decorating can actually be “more”.  Don’t over decorate a room!

5. Presentation is Everything!

Let’s face it, we all look better when we put on a pretty outfit! In the photo above you can see that the business below is just an average building.  You probably would just drive on buy without even noticing the building.  Except for one thing.  The signs.  Those signs guarantee that you take a second look!  That’s why we add great throw pillows, throws, plants and fun art to our houses.  It’s why we wear fine jewelry when we dress up!

LESSON LEARNED: How we present our home matters.  Not just to outsiders but to those of us who live in our homes too.  Stylize your home.  Make it special.  Make it your haven.  Presentation REALLy does matter!

And my last tip for the day…..

6. There is No Place Like Home!

After all of the shows, museums, shopping , walking, people watching, girl bonding, eating, and relaxing I could’t wait to get home.  I loved every minute of it,but it gave me a new appreciation of where I live.  Vacation recharged me and made me eager to come home and tackle my next home improvement room challenge.  And well, let’s admit it – it was nice to sleep in my own bed!

While I have been waiting for all of the stuff that I have ordered on-line to come in so that I can complete at least one room – PLEASE! JUST. ONE. ROOM! I have started a few other projects.  Imagine that!  One spur of the moment project was my office bathroom cabinets.  Normally you would never find me painting them anything but white.  I like color on the walls, in my fabrics, even in the furniture. But cabinetry? No way!  So what came over me here? I have no idea.  Blame it on Pinterest!  I was looking at a piece of furniture on there that had the coolest finish.  The next thing I know I am doing my version of that finish on my office bathroom cabinets.

They have a little Duck Egg, a little Pure White, and a little Louis Blue.  Followed by clear and dark wax.

This is a tiny bathroom that has no windows so getting good pictures is impossible. plus it has three doors!  Talk about a nightmare.  Can you say poor design? Now that I have cool cabinets, the walls must be repainted.  And a new countertop and sink would be nice.  OH, and who puts carpet in a bathroom???? Seriously?  It has to go but I had that planned well before the cabinet paint!

False drawer front detail…

Door detail and close up of the glass knobs.   The glass knobs were purchased at Hob Lob 50 % off.  Gotta Love that! I think this little make over may have cost me a total of $20.00.   Not bad for a total cabinet upgrade!

Years ago my father-in-law, Joe Lagaly, started an Easter tradition in our family – home-made Honey Bunny’s.  We would go to church without breakfast, skip coffee and doughnuts in the church basement because we knew these wonderful culinary delights were waiting for us.  We knew that when we got to Papa Joe’s and Grandma Shirley’s house that everyone would find their own Easter Honey Bunny waiting for them.  In my book that was better than anything chocolate left by Mr. Easter Bunny!

Many years have come and gone since that tradition began.  We’ve moved to a different state, the kids have grown up, and we no longer get to visit Papa Joe after church. Thank Goodness Papa Joe was kind enough years ago to share his recipe with me  so that we would not go without on Easter morning! While mine may not be as good as Papa Joe’s they still bring back a ton of good memories

Yummm… I can’t wait for Easter morning!  Aren’t traditions wonderful?  I hope you are enjoying you Easter weekend.   Happy Easter!

Have you ever had one of those “when it’s right, it’s AWESOME!” moments?  I had one this past week… well, really it started about a month ago.  I was on-line reading a blog and noticed their curtains.  Oh, man!  It was love at first sight.  Seriously.  The Quest to find that material was on like Donkey kong!

I finally found out that it was a Waverley  Williamsburg pattern in ebony.  I could buy it on-line for $10.99 – as long as I bought 15 yards.  Not sure I could use quite that much material… OR I could  purchase it for $29.99 per yard.  Big Sigh.  The six yards that I needed would cost more than the 15 yards!  So then began the internal struggle of whether I wanted to spend more money and get less yardage or buy too much material and spend less money. Confused much? Yeah, me too!

I finally decided on too much material – less money.  I could always find a place to use material that I absolutely loved, right?  I got on-line and was ready to order and found out that – wait – IT WAS ON SALE!  Instead of $29.99, it was now $10.92 per yard.  It was MEANT TO BE!!

Fast forward a week and the material had arrived.  Peeps – it was even better in person!!!  I swear I heard angels singing, the sun was shining…pure bliss!  I was using this material in the living room.  Here is what it looked like before, without curtains.

Sorry, it is so dark.. it’s been raining!  And did I mention that my house is dark?  For years I had full length panels that went from almost the the top of the ceiling, running down both the left and right sides, all the way to the floor.  It looked great but it was a TON of material.  And then my psycho cat decided that they ruined her view and out went the panels.  So they have stayed bare now for awhile as I debated what to replace them with. As you can see bare was not so good!

Here they are in all of their glory!  And I love them.  Really, really, love them.  They bring back the warmth, add color and just in general make me smile.  I want to just sit and admire them! GIRL SQUEAL!!!!

The curtains are just the first step in a mini up-date of the living area.  In the next couple of months I plan on purchasing a new sofa and rug.  Also, I have a couple of ideas about the TV wall… it’s all coming together!  But first I am still waiting on a rug for the kitchen dining area and have a few things left to do in the formal dining.  It ain’t easy being Queen of this castle!

Until next time…

Hello!  The weather this week has been so beautiful that I have to admit that I haven’t done much painting.  I have been working in my yard getting it ready for summer.  Yes! Spring is FINALLY here! When I was working on my front entry I decided to make a new  burlap wreath for the front door.   I am probably the last person on earth to make a burlap wreath.  Sometimes it takes me a long time to get on the bandwagon for the latest trend.  I don’t know why…I just roll that way.

Here she is in all her spring glory!   I guess I did do a little painting…the letter L!   Burlap wreaths are supper easy and take very little time – which is right up my alley and leaves me more time for all of the million other projects here at the castle.

Have you started your spring/summer outside  decorating yet?  I think that this time of year is my favorite!  I love the clean up, mulching and planting new flowers.  I get giddy when I see all of the perennials  coming back from last year. I know that shorts, swimming and iced tea are just around the corner!

Until next time….

I told you I would be sharing my new and improved, updated kitchen area today.  NOT.  Sigh…

Everything went so well. Chairs were painted, waxed, upholstered and had new upholstery tacks applied. The table skirt and base were painted and waxed.  The table top was even re-stained, which was an amazing feat considering that it has been cold, damp or raining all weekend.  Sunday morning had me up and putting a few finishing touches to  everything – then my favorite time – putting it all together!  That’s were it all went wrong.

Right out of the gate I realized that it wasn’t going to work.  The long awaited for rug was the wrong size. Too small!!!

I finally found a rug that worked for me, and it is too small.  Booooo!  So back she goes and I am either going to order another just like it, only bigger, or keep looking for one locally. Either way, it is gonna take some time to replace it.  Double boo! (Sadie, my lab, photo bombed me! Considering that she goes where I go it is a miracle that you haven’t seen her before!)

So I guess my little kitchen makeover is on hold for now.  I hadn’t found a new chandy that I was in love with, so I guess it will all come together when it is meant to.  In the mean time it is really, really hard not to just have one great big HISSY FIT!  Oh, well….

So today instead of revealing my awesome new kitchen eating area, I am going to show you one of my new kitchen toys that helps keep me organized.  At least, I hope it does.

My new metal hanging calendar! It is so darn cute… I LURVE it!  It has the cutest glass magnets to mark the month and the days. Plus I can use sticky color coded notes to help me keep track of everyones schedule. Yep! My OCD is showing. I still have my family calendar for in-depth detail but this is great for a quick day at- a – glance.  But the best part is just how good it looks!  Function AND Pretty all rolled into one – you just can’t beat that! This decorative calendar has to be one of my all time fav’s!

Hopefully, the next time I post I will have something more to show you in the kitchen eating area!  So stay tuned…

Until next time!

I never know where or what room inspiration will hit.  I really HAVE been working to finish up the dining/entry area of the castle but sometimes things happen –  something breaks, you receive a gift,  or you get tired of the same old thing and the next thing you know you are updating your kitchen table. Hey!  Don’t judge. It happens.

This is my dining room now..

Not bad…just a little tired.  And the table???  I LOVE the size and that it is round but it is on it’s last leg!  Really falling apart. I have updated the turquoise hutch already, but really need a new table and chairs, a rug – maybe an updated chandelier? This one I bought at a garage sale and repurposed it 9 years ago when we moved into the house.  After a really wild bunko game where the chandelier became a casualty, it hangs a bit crooked and one of the lights doesn’t work anymore.  Fun times!

Recently, a friend who is selling her second home called and asked if I would like some of the furniture.  Heck yes!  My house may be full  of furniture waiting to be up cycled, waiting to be sold or waiting for clients to pick up, but I will NEVER turn down free furniture.  Ever! I couldn’t wait for the moving truck to arrive.

Lucky me.  My friends shipment arrived and in it was a round table! My current one is 58 inches in diameter and the new one is only 48 inches…which really makes me skeert.  Just the thought of downsizing gives me the hives!  The up side to all of this is that it was always hard for me to find a rug that I loved and one that was in my budget for the table due to it’s size.  So one for the 48″ should be a breeze.  Also, this table is HARD wood people!  Almost indestructible.  So I am gonna go for it!  Worst case ?  I find something else.  Still skeert!

Here is the before of the new table.

So here is my list of things to do:

Replace table and chairs – this means refinishing the top of the table, painting the chairs and recover the seats.  All six of them.

Find a new rug to go under the table.

Find a new chandelier – in my price range

AND I am sure along the way I will be adding some new decor cuz that is just how I roll!

Easy right? We shall see… come back on Monday when I will show you what I’ve gotten done so far.

Until then….

Not only have I been working on my dining room, I have also started my living room.  In my heart I knew it was coming due to the open floor plan and the fact that my husband HATED our sectional.  I just didn’t think I would be starting so soon.  When the Hubs said that I could sell the sectional,  I did not hesitate. At. All.  I had it on Facebook in 30 minutes and had sold it in an hour.  The buyer picked it up in three!  Woo Hoo!  Right?  Until I had to think of something to sit on!  So we moved the media room sofa down stairs until I can find the perfect sofa.  But that is a whole other post!  So this is how I ended up with my pretty crown pillow.

The sofa we moved down is a neutral and the sofa I will be buying will be a neutral also, so I felt pretty safe in adding pillows and decor to match. Kinda like getting the cart before the horse!  But hey, I KNOW  it won’t be a clydesdale! Just a plain old horse! I was looking for new pillows for the new sofa but nothing I saw really felt right.  I was at World Market and came across the CUTEST hand towel or as my Granny used to say “Tea towel”.  It was perfect for me – french- crowns- topography- right up my alley!  I knew right then I was going to make it into a pillow!

I folded it in half and it measured out at 20 X 14.  Not a common size so I was resigned to finding a pillow form in the closest size and adjusting the towel to the form. Luck was with me!  I found this awesome feather down pillow at Home Goods.

I must be living right because it measured 20 X 14 – exactly! Maybe it is more common than I thought!

And not only was it the perfect size – IT WAS ON SALE!  Woo Hoo!

And to make it even more perfect it had a zipper to remove the pillow form…pure bliss…

I cut the towel in half, put right sides together and sewed up all sides leaving about eight inches open on the bottom to put the pillow form in.  Turned it right side out – pressed and added the form.  Then I hand stitched the opening shut.  I promise it maybe took me 45 minutes start to finish!  And I love the finished project!!!!

Here is my pretty little crown pillow.    So easy anyone can do it!

Until next time!

Happy Friday!  Today I want to show you my latest up-date here at the castle.  If you have been following along with me, you know that I started the up-date of my home right inside the front door – in the dining room. I am still working on a few projects in there, and will be sharing those soon, but it was time to look for my next project. My home is an open concept floor plan so my next project was an easy decision.  It’s in the entryway! And my Entryway is blue!

A few years ago my friend Laura and I were heading out of our neighborhood to do some shopping when we passed a funky asian inspired table lying beside the road.  My head did a  a double take, but since I wasn’t driving I made a mental note to look and see if it was still there later.  Laura knows me well – backed her suburban up and helped me load it up!  After cleaning it up and doing a few repairs my first thought was to paint it a high gloss orange and put it in my sons apartment.  What really happened was that it didn’t get painted and found a new home in my entry.

Fast forward a few years and I am still looking at it wondering what in the heck to do with it!  With everything in my dining room going from reds, golds and greens to shades of blue it was time to do the same with the entry.  Here is a picture of the table and the mirror that hung above it.  Sorry, I didn’t take a picture of it all put together but I am patting myself on the back for at least remembering to take pictures before I started painting!  Argh!

See how funky it is?  This tiny space is the only wall in this large entry that a table could be placed, and this table fits perfectly.

I finally found a small mirror that worked in this space.  Which in it’s own way was super hard since the wall is curved! I painted them both Annie Sloan’s Napoleonic Blue.  I love how it is such a rich color! And my favorite color is navy.. It makes the funky table look more up-dated and ties in the dining room perfectly!!!

Here they are -all finished and partly decorated…. oh, and if you noticed I brought out all of the gold accessories.  That trend is really hot right now.  Who knew that was gonna happen? I still want to change some of the accessories and maybe dress up the lamp shade a bit, add some greenery?  Also, I am now on the fence about the mural behind the table…hmmmm.. OK, so I still have a lot of work to do in this area but I just couldn’t wait to show you the finished furniture pieces!   The area already has a lighter, brighter feel to it.  And that makes me very happy!

Until next time…

Hey!  Good Monday Morning to you!  My weekend weather started out great and ended up kind of cold, so I decided to finish up a project or two.  I must say that I am so excited about this re-purpose, up-cycled chair!!!!  Girl Squeal!

A week or so ago I came across this chair.

It had such great bones, but the ichy-est fabric. EVER.  I had seen a lot of re-upholstery tutorials using drop cloths and was intrigued.  Perfect time to try it, right?  However, I am not a big fan of the trend of using white furniture everywhere in my house.  I love it in YOUR home, just not in mine.  You see, I have a dog, a cat, kids, a husband and well…me!  I can’t even wear a white shirt or pants without permanently destroying it.  No way was I doing an all “white” chair!!  OK..I KNOW that drop clothes aren’t really white, but close enough.  So I thought that using two fabrics would shake it up enough that I  might not mess it up too badly.

I found a great black and white houndstooth that was perfect!  A drop cloth – washed and bleached a couple of times, some trim and a lot of sweat equity and this was my finished project:

I am so in LURVE!!!   All business in the front…

Side view…

And..A Party in the back!

I love it so much that I have kinda changed my mind about the new sofa I have been searching for. Yup, I am thinking of a tan linen color.   Gasp!  I know… kind of close to white but still dark enough that  hopefully I can’t mess it up too badly.

Until next time…

Woo Hoo!  FINALLY, Spring is here!  I know this because my birthday is on the first day of spring.   I am not sure why, but I really get energized to clean and decorate for the coming warmer months after my birthday.  I’m like a spider monkey on Mountain Dew! It’s like I have to get it all done so I can sit back and enjoy all the hard work.

This beautiful Feature Friday I finally finished up all of my Easter decorating.

Chalk board Art…..using my new chalk board markers AND chalk. Cuz’ more is better right?

Finished up my easter table setting.  Silverware polished, place cards and holders,  new runner…

Sweet Bunny that I found at WalMart…he was originally yellow but this is Patina and PAINT.  So he became a lovely off white!

Side table decor..Love the faux chocolate bunny! He looks so real in person…

Bell Jar Birds nest all spring upped !

And this happy little birdie with his top hat ready to dance and celebrate!

Happy First Day of Spring!

I shared with you some weeks ago my plan to update my dining room.  Slowly but surely I am getting it done.  I have always said that I would show you my “fails” as well as my triumphs.  Well, this post is a kind of a mixture of both.  I will tell you upfront that one of the biggest fails was my photography!  Just when I think I got it all down…wham! Not so much!  Apologizing now…darn  photographer camera!

After adding the new curtains and reupholstering the chair seats.  I decided new art was the next big change.  I found these beauties at Ross and hung them immediately!

I did love them…but they kind of disappeared into the wall.   In the store they had some blue in them but when I hung them there was very little of the blue showing up – at all! I decided that if they had a frame they might have more impact.  These pieces of art are an odd size, which meant that a custom frame would be my only option.  And that wasn’t gonna happen!  So  I took them down and painted the sides of the canvas a dark brown.

You can see the dark brown edges did make the art stand out from the wall but still… majorly underwhelmed! I decided to live with it until I could decide if I loved it or was gonna get rid of it.  Fast forward a month or so and I decided that I could live with it, IF I didn’t find anything else!  Not a real endorsement, right?

I have always really, really loved botanicals.  I received my email from The Graphic Fairy and there they were -the most perfect botanicals, bird graphics, nest, and egg prints ever!  Woo Hoo!!!! They were perfect.  And what makes them perfect, besides the fact that I loved them, was that they are free.  Yup.  FREE!

I spent  all day a few hours browsing the site and came up with eight prints that I thought would fit my decor.  Now here is where things get a little dicey – even if I didn’t realize it until I was a lot further into the project.  I decided instead of buying new frames that were exactly alike that I would repurpose all of the old ones that I had in my stash.  I really liked the idea that they would all be different in shape, but unified by color.  So I rounded up eight that I like the shape of and spray painted them a deep blue that matched the curtains and the new dishes in my china hutch.  Printed off the prints – mounted them onto card stock and TA DA – instant free art!  SCORE!

Here is a little tip to help you with placement on the wall.  Lay your frame on paper – any kind will do – trace around the frame.

Cut out the shape and then tape them to the wall where you want to hang your prints.A totally easy way to get a feel for how it looks before you put nails in the wall!

Here is what I came up with.  Again, I liked it but it seemed a little skimpy.  I had hung four on either side of my hutch, but it didn’t have the impact that I was looking for.  So I decided that I needed six on each side.  Back to the printer, painting, mounting etc… deja vu’? Yup!

Ah…much better! Six on each side had the weight that it needed to make the impact I was going for.

Now here is where I have a confession to make.  Remember, I said that choosing different sizes of frames was not so great a decision?  On a good day I am mathematically challenged. For reals!  So when I was trying to hang these, it took me FOREVER  to figure out the correct placement.  And yes, I did say to use the paper cut outs. Which I chose to ignore on the second time around – TO SAVE TIME! HA!  It literally took me two hours. lots of hair pulled, a few chosen words and several un-needed nail holes to get these babies up!  But get them hung I did! YES!

Here is the entire room.  Again, not the best photography but you get to see the finished project. I love them! I am still thinking of updating the chandelier, adding a rug, and a few other fun things in the future.  I just don’t want to rush it.  When I see the perfect items I will know it, until then I will just enjoy the updates I’ve made so far.

So there you have it – the fails and the triumphs of my dining room so far.  Do you ever find yourself in the middle of a project only to realize that what seemed so easy just became a major event?  Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Until next time….

Hey!  Happy Friday to you!  So glad the weekend is here – ready for some fun.  I know that most of you had your spring break this past week but Saturday is the beginning of my spring break.  It also just happens to be my birthday week. The hubs is on vaca this week – Woo Hoo!  We have a lot of plans to get loads of things done here at the castle, along with a few fun things too.  But before the week long festivities begin it time for Feature Friday!

This Feature Friday is a continuation of a feature I posted a couple of weeks ago – the Turquoise Hutch.  My friend Kris brought by a mirror for me to match up to the hutch.  It was so darn cute to start with that it was hard to paint it!  Well, not really!  But it was CUTE! It just needed some color!

Here it is in progress – you can kind of see the before color.  A little red, turquoise, and aqua paint. Clear and dark wax.. and you have the finished piece!

I think it turned out pretty good.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Until next time!

We have a few more days before Spring officially is here, but it sure feels like spring today!  Even though the  evil wonderful weatherman is predicting winter weather tomorrow!  I know Easter is a month away but I couldn’t resist getting out the Easter decorations – gotta get this Spring started!  Can’t. Wait!

This year I decided to shake things up a bit.  Seems that some of my Easter decorations have seen better days.  I could have gone with something trendy like a cool lantern or a small glass greenhouse filled with spring knick-knacks, but I decided that I wanted something more traditional.  Something that would tie in with my old stuff.  So this year I am going to mix the old with the new.

I saw this adorable bunny at Hob Lob and fell in love!  He became my inspiration.  I started with an old metal basket that I have had for some years, adding moss, foliage and spring flowers.  I then placed my bunny center stage and added a few eggs.  A burlap ribbon added to the end  and my arrangement is complete!

I found new grass green placemats at Ross.  I love the texture.  I then started raiding the kitchen for dishes.  I decided that I wanted to go with a stack of plates to create some visual interest and add color.  I started with a large white dinner plate, followed by a creamy yellow salad plate, ending with a Majolica lettuce patterned plate.  I topped it off with a linen hem stitch napkin with a pale yellow flower napkin ring.  As I was going through my dishes, it occurred to me that I have a lot of really cool stuff that I never use!  Ever!  I decided then and there that I would start using the “good stuff”.  After all, my family and I deserve the good stuff daily, not just for special occasions!

Here is a look at the back side of the arrangement. Remember, when using an arrangement in a place where all sides can be seen to make sure the back has as much visual interest as the front! In other words – Make it pretty all the way around!  Seems like that would be a no-brainer, right?  You would be surprised at the table scapes I  have seen that aren’t so pretty!  Pet Peeve #179!!!

This sweet salt and pepper shaker set  came from Hallmark some years ago.  They are so sweet and tiny, I still love them!  The basket came from Kroger.  I am lucky enough to live near a super store.  That store has everything.  A jewelry store, Starbucks, furniture… it is HUGE!  It usually has a seasonal isle that has a decent selection.  I just add grass and eggs for a cute mini arrangement.

I still have a few more things to add to my Easter table and I promise to show you the entire table soon!

When you decorate do you start from scratch?  Or are you more like me and use the sentimental things year to year? Do you like your table elaborate and elegant? Or less formal and more traditional?  I think that the important thing is that you do what makes you and your family happy!