I HAVE A NEW DINING ROOM CHANDELIER!  TA DA!!! So excited!

For some time now I have been drooling over this chandelier at Ballards. The Claire for $399.00.  But the price???? Not so much. It’s not terrible expensive in the lighting world but there wasn’t really anything wrong with my old one.

Here is my old one.  It came with the house when we moved in 9 years ago.  I didn’t LOVE it, but I didn’t hate it either. So I continued to drool.

And then I spotted this  chandy on Ebay.  I hardly ever go on Ebay, something just said GO! So I did.

And I found this chandelier originally from Home Depot. It is the Hampoton Bay six arm Tuscan Chandelier in Copper originally $369.00.  The Cost on Ebay? $150.00!!!!  Now I know it isn’t exactly the same chandy as the one from Ballards, but it is one that is less than half the price of Ballards. I good with that!

I couldn’t wait to get it.  I was a little worried about the color. Copper?  I was hoping that it was more like the photo on-line and be closer to a dark oil rubbed bronze.  And it was!  Woo Hoo!  Only one issue with it.  The “candle” sleeves. In the on-line photo they are white.

These are what came with the chandy. They looked like something that should have been on a chandy in a slasher movie.  Eeewwww!  Too yellowed. And the antiquing?  A purplish black. Ummm… NO! But that was an easy fix.

Spray paint!  I quickly tossed them into my small paint booth ( a box ) and gave them a light coat of white.  MUCH better!

Here is what my new chandelier in the dining room looks like.  Pinch me!!  I LOVE it.  This room is finally shaping up.  Now if I can just find a rug that makes my heart sing like the chandelier…….

Until next time!

         Tammy

Happy October!  I finally got around to do a little more decorating – very little.  I keep thinking I am not doing any more but then with every little vignette I end up thinking “hmmm…maybe just one more?” Hey, just how I roll these days. I just wanted to share with you my Halloween decor that I have done.

Last post I shared my Halloween Table with you.  I didn’t have any napkins because I just couldn’t find any that I loved.  Well, I still didn’t find any napkins but I did find some bandanas!  Woo Hoo.  Hob Lob had these black and white polka dot and I thought that they would look fab with the table runner!  Me likey!

I found these placemats at Home Goods awhile back.  They work great in the kitchen eating area.  As much as I would like to go overboard and decorate this table like I do the formal dining area, this is where we eat daily and  it is a much smaller table than I used to have in here.  I don’t have the time to remove the cute stuff to make room to eat, so I keep the tablescaping in here to a minimum. I also found this mercury glass pumping at Home Goods and LOVE it.  Glass pumpkin, purple charger, spanish moss, eye balls, skeleton hands and I have my Halloween centerpiece!  So easy and so little time to put it together!

Also in the kitchen dining area – a witch crashed into the fern, oh my! Love her sparkly shoes. They make me giggle. I recently had someone tell me that my home was very whimsical.  Huh?  I can’t imagine why!

A few pumpkins, halloween linens, and an apple that  proclaims how “wicked” we are, dress up the hutch.

These pumpkins were on the dining room table so they found a new home in the living room.

Along with these stuffed pumpkins which I adore!  I love that they aren’t traditional and that they are soft enough that if my Lab’s tail or small hands knock it off of the coffee table no harm is done.  Ya gotta love that!

I do have some lighted haunted houses in the living area too, but enough with all of the pictures already! How is your fall/Halloween decor coming along?  Are you already finished or like me, still trying to get into the fall/ Halloween mood? Who knows, the next time I post I may have the whole house decked out – or not!

Okay… I finally got into the “fall” decorating mood.  I warned you that it might be Halloween decor time before I got there!  I have slowly added things here and there for both fall and Halloween that I will share with you later. Today I want to share my Halloween tablescape.

For me decorating your table is all about the layers.  I didn’t change much from last years table except for a few new touches.

1. Start with a clean empty table.  Add your tablecloth or table runner.

I skipped the table cloth and added my new black table runner with white and orange polka dots.  ( it is just so happy!)

2. Add your placemats and chargers.

I used two different kinds of placemats. I like to mix it up. Half of the table has black rectangular placemats that have silver sequined cobwebs up in the corners, the other half are round lime green and orange placemats.  Then I added orange chargers to all.

3. Add your centerpiece.

I had this metal witches hat for years and never really liked anywhere I put it. Until I used it on the table last year.  So this year I added a burlap bow with leaves and shiny spider and my own magic wand!  Put some shiny pumpkins around it and TA DA!  I have my centerpiece!

4. Add dishes, cutlery and glassware.

I normally would have added white dishes but they looked like a neon light on a sea of color.  So I decided to use my purple and orange Fiesta ware.  Perfect.  Add in the silverware. I have visions of spooky cutlery some day but every time I find something I love I back out. Where to store, is it worth the price if you only use it 30 days of the year?  I think too much!

Next up was the glassware.  As most of you know I painted and sold wine glasses in a former life.  So I use my glassware.  All different styles, shapes and sizes.  Eclectic much? OH, yeah!

I would add napkins at this point but I haven’t found any that I just love! Ugh.  When I do… I am going to roll them up and let these cheesy vampire teeth be the napkin ring.  Ya gotta have a little whimsy in there somewhere!

Speaking of whimsy… I hung these really cute jingle bell glitter bugs from the chandy!  Love them!

Yay!  I finally have my fall decorating mojo going.  Look out house!  I DO have more to share with you so come on back in the next few weeks to see how I get my decorating mojo on!

Good Monday morning to you! It’s time for another Before and After. Woo Hoo! My sister is contemplating a new business adventure that has a slightly chic country theme to it and needed some seating.  She had scored some pretty steel blue and white material – and I mean ALOT of material – for $3.00!  I have a pile few chairs in my stash here at the castle and this is the one that she chose.

My good friend Shelli called me about a year ago and had found this chair at the curb.  One of the legs had been broken off.  The Hubs rebuilt legs for it and I had been storing it until I could decide how I wanted to give it a makeover.

Here is this sweet little chair after removal of the old fabric, staining of the legs to match the rest of the wood, and adding  the new upholstery with the blue and white material.  I also added the skirt to give it a little bit more  of a country chic feel.

Of course it needed a little bling so I added some white trim and these really cool rhinestone nail heads!  LOVE these and can totally see using them on future makeovers.  Found them at Hob Lob for $3.99 a box.  The cool thing is they also come in about 4 different sizes.  Woo Hoo!

If it seems a little plain, we plan on adding pillows from another fabric and stenciling her logo in the middle of the chair back IF she decides to go ahead with her business adventure.  You can be sure that IF and When she does I will be sharing all of the news with you.

I have to say that this project may just be one of my very favorites.  I love the color, the lines and the practicality of this piece.  I love it so much I would love to keep it – but I have NO place for it.  That’s right, you heard it here first.  I have no room here at the castle. ( So it goes up for sale… and it is a sad , sad day!)   Right now I have a ton of chairs just waiting to be painted, repaired and repurposed. What to do with so many chairs?  I could have worse problems! At any rate, I wanted to share the process with you just in case you want a sneak peek of how we turn chairs into a bench.

I won’t bore you with the building process, other than to say thank goodness for the Hubs!  He took three chairs, two regular and one with arms, removed the middle chairs legs then screwed all three together.  You get that?  Me either.  I basically  let  leave all of the major building to the hubs.  If you really want to know how to build one there are a billion youtube videos to help you with that!

Now it was my turn. I gave the bench a couple of coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Granite, followed by a top coat in clear and dark wax. The dark wax makes the Granite look more black than charcoal. Then I added a few gold accents to the details of the chair backs and legs.

The beauty of this design is that I was able to use the chairs seats.  We just turned the middle seat  around with the long side to the back.   The hubs also cut a board the size of all three seats put together and then screwed the seats to the board.  Yes! Ready to reupholster!

Before covering the seat with material, I wanted to hide the separation between the seats.  I used batting rolled up and pushed it down into the cracks.  Then wrapped the entire piece in poly-fil to smooth it over and make it look like one long, smooth seat.

Next wrap the entire seat in double layers of poly-fil and staple.  Time to cover the seat with the fabric of your choice.

All that is left is to attach the seat to the chair frame with screws.  Did I mention that I love how this one turned out?  Just one or two times?  Love this material… my sister has used it for her bathroom for curtains – so versatile!  It makes me happy every time I look at it!

So what do you think?  Great use of extra chairs? Some day I will have an entry hall big enough to put a bench like this in…imagine me projecting Scarlet O’Hara!

Until next time….

         Tammy

Happy Monday morning!  I haven’t been in the mood to decorate for fall. AT. All!  It’s still in the 90’s most days here in Texas and well… it still feels like summer. Kinda hard to get in the mood when you are still drinking sweet iced tea and getting in the swimming pool.   I started on my fall porch a week or so ago with a new wreath.  LURVE it!  I finally made myself get in gear and start on the rest of the front porch.

For those of you who missed it, here is my new fall wreath… sigh.  I love the colors and simplicity of it.   Now – to finish the rest of the front porch.

Here is what I started with.  It’s really tiny, so decorating has to be at a minimum.  Which so goes against my nature!

As I mentioned earlier, it is still hot here.   Most of my flowers are still going strong.  Usually by now it has been well into the 100’s for weeks and they are looking puny, so I don’t mind ripping them out and starting over.  Cooler temps this year and I am having a hard time ripping out healthy plants.   I decided to weed out the droopy, tired plants and slowly add in my fall flowers.  Genius!   I didn’t realize how genius until I went shopping for new plants.  Not much to choose from.  Remember I said it was still in the 90’s here?

A few years ago I saw a beautiful garland in Southern Living Magazine and HAD to have one.   It even has orange lights.  I do love a little bling!  I staple it to my door surround .( which is why I paint it so much! I really need to go with Command strips.) Now I have instant fall color even if  we don’t often get fall leaves here. Slowly getting a little closer to getting in the mood for fall now!

Now for a little plant face lift! A close up of the before…

After…. a few pumpkins, kale and pansy’s.  A little weeding out of tired plants and we are rocking’ the planters! My mortar looks like it has black mold on it… eeeekkkk!  The sprinkler system went off a short while before I decided to redo the porch and it still wasn’t dry!  I KNOW…. poor planning on my part!  But when the mood strikes….

I did the same weeding  of old and adding new on the opposite side of the porch.

Added a new rug.

Stage 1- fall porch is complete.  For now.  As the flowers get wilty and tired, I will add in more fall/winter plants.  I plan on adding more pumpkins.  Guess I am just too picky and couldn’t find any that make me happy yet!  Maybe a few gourds?  As I said earlier, it is a tiny front porch so I have to be careful that I don’t fill it up to the point where you can’t walk with ease. Maybe  a surprise or two here and there?

Can’t wait to share Stage 2 of the fall porch with you when I get the new stuff.  Although at the rate I am going it may be Halloween decor!

Until next time….

            Tammy

One of my sweet clients asked me to make a magnetic chalkboard for her children’s playroom.  Woo Hoo!  I love kids stuff!  The Hubs made a trip to our local hardware store and quickly had a frame and hardboard ready for me to paint.  I had made a small one years ago using a magnetic primer with chalkboard paint on top.  I wasn’t too thrilled with the results.  After a little on-line research I was assured that the new and improved magnetic paint was far superior to it’s fore fathers.

I purchased Rustoleum’s Magnetic paint at Lowe’s for around $20.00.  All I can say is – WHAT A TOTAL HOT MESS!  You can tell by the can what a mess it was.  Not only was it messy, it did not clean up with water ( my bad) and when rolled on it was a gritty mess.  Now before all of you out there in blog land blast me and tell me that I didn’t stir it enough, let me assure you that fifteen minutes ( I so totally counted!!!)  of stirring this paint to absolute creamy smoothness still left a gritty uneven mess. Total. Epic. Fail.  I give this product a D-.  And that is being generous. Sorry Rustoleum!

On to plan B.

We called around and found a local sheet metal shop that was willing to cut out a light weight gauge of sheet metal for around $30.00. The Hubs sanded the original board painted with the magnetic paint down until it was smooth.

Then applied contact cement to the board…

And to the sheet metal.

After letting both sit for a bit, he laid small scrap boards on top of the black board…

Then laid the metal sheeting on top, being careful to line up with the blackboard that was beneath.

Then starting in the middle pull out the scrap boards one by one, pressing  and smoothing down the metal to the hard board below.

TA DA!   Now as this was glued together using contact cement you basically have one shot at getting it on there – cuz it ain’t going anywhere after it has been pressed together that is for sure!   So be sure that you have it lined up really well before removing the scrap boards!

After cleaning the sheet metal, all that is left to do is roll on two to three coats of chalkboard paint.

The hubs had made a simple frame using molding that was pre-primed.

A few coats of spray paint and my chalkboard was ready to put together!

Here is the finished project.  So darn cute AND it is a smooth, even surface that makes writing on it super easy.  I give the sheet metal and chalkboard paint an A!  The hardest part of this project was building the frame.  However, if you have an existing frame it would be a fail proof project!

Until next time…..

           Tammy

Hi!  Hope you all had a really fun weekend.  Much cooler temperatures here and we are loving it.  I haven’t been all that ready to decorate for fall and… I am still not there yet.  If I don’t get with it soon I am just gonna hold out for Halloween. Who knows?   I did take an afternoon to try and tie in the Master bathroom with the new curtains in the bedroom and the newly  organized closet.  I didn’t do much – just a bathroom mini makeover!

Here’s what I started with.  Eeekk… kind of crazy how you don’t notice that something needs work until you see it in a photo! Really boring.  Not much color.  Yawn….

I thought I had my work cut out for me but, it really didn’t take that long.  I made a valance from the same material that I used for curtain panels in the Master.  I found this cute garden stool at Sam’s for $29.99!  BARGAIN! The perfect color too since I was trying to bring more of the green into the room. I did pick up some new white towels, but otherwise I just used what I had.  Much better!

I pulled out an old brass tray that we received as a wedding present and shined it up a bit.  It was perfect to hold all of my bath jams and jellies. I have collected old bottles for years and like to put my bath oils and bubble bath in them.  And scented bath soap… I am in love with! The floral arrangement  – as you see it here – was a little blah to me so I added some greenery to it later.  I will admit that I would love to put an antique demijohn in here with some natural twigs in it instead of the floral arrangement… keeping my eye out for just the right one!

Here are my new white towels.  I love how white just makes the bathroom looks so fresh and clean.  I rearranged the shelf above.  Again, I may keep my eye out for something else to add to the vignette, but for now I like how this little corner of my bath turned out.

With the new towels and the garden stool, I think I may have spent under $50.00 total.  Not too shabby for an afternoon’s work and a tight budget!   I finally feel like all of the rooms in my master bedroom suite actually go together!  Will I change any of this?  Probably.. when I do, I promise to share all of the new changes with you!

Until next time….

          Tammy

Lately I’ve been doing some fall cleaning on my computer.  Well, let’s be honest. My computer was full and I had to clean it up to make space!  I started by deleting old files, imports and duplicate photos.  Two things occurred to me during this marathon of cleaning: 1. I take WAY to many pictures of my feet!  Don’t ask.  2. I am terrible at taking photos of my “before” projects.   Those that I DID take photo’s of made me a little nostalgic. So today I  thought I would share some of my favorite before and after projects with you today!  In no particular order… here are the Before and After ….

Okay… I will stop there, I don’t want to be one of those parents.  I have enjoyed going back and looking at all of the fun projects that I have done this past year.  So much so that I may be making this an occasional feature post.  So if your favorite project wasn’t in this post – stay tuned, it may be in the next Before and After!

Until next time…

             Tammy

As I told you in my last post, I haven’t really gotten into the Fall decorating spirit yet –  at least I didn’t think so.  I was recently at Big Lots picking up a Pokeeno gift and I saw the cutest Fall Wreath.

Okay… so maybe I was ready.  A little bit.  I loved the colors and the simplicity of this wreath.  It was calling my name.

I added a small bow made of two different types of burlap and some raffia.  My fall wreath was done!  In years past I would probably have added a bigger bow or something glitzy to give it a bigger impact, but this year I am loving the simplicity of everything. I love that the color and texture really make an impact statement on my black door. Sometimes less really  is more!

Here is my tiny entry porch. That wreath just screams Happy Fall!  As you can see, the flowers are still going strong so it may be a while before I pull them up and add Mums and Pansies.  Although I may add a few pumpkins 0r replace my cute little chair for a rustic crate filled with flowers and pumpkins, maybe a new entry rug?  Just not today!   Today I am just happy with my sweet fall wreath!

Until next time…..

                   Tammy

Happy Fall ya’ll! It is  officially time to decorate for fall.  I know… it is really 19 days until the official Fall season begins and if you are like me and live in the South the temperature let’s you know that it is still summer.  However, the powers that be, who ever they are ( big eye roll!), dictate that the beginning of September is the time to dust off the fall decor and get decorating!

If I am truly honest with you, I will admit that I love this time of year.  Especially IF we get a true Fall season.  I love the feel of fall in the air, the smell of pumpkins and spices, and all of the beautiful colors!  And don’t get me started on Halloween.  I love that decor too! The only thing I don’t like about Fall is that they drag out the Fall decor in all of the stores in June!  Get’s earlier ever year. GGGRRRRRRR….

So here’s the deal. I have gotten my Fall decor out of the attic, but honestly I am not ready to go full speed ahead yet.  I’m still enjoying being in the pool for a few more days.  So here is my one concession to decorating…. my kitchen table!

This is where the family eats everyday so I try to make it pretty.  We deserve it!  Normally I stick with white plates, but my Fiesta dishes were callin’ my name. I may pull out the white in a few days, but today I am really loving the color! I decided to go with red, orange, brown, yellow and purple. Throw in some pumpkins and leaves and my table is done!  My motto in the kitchen, in all things, KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Here is another angle.  Really simple, really easy. Now, like I said earlier, I may change my mind in a few days.  I just can’t help it.  I see something on Pinterest or out shopping that I LOVE and the next thing you know everything changes!

So for now, this is as far as I’ve gotten here at the Castle.  I know that my pool time is limited and that before long I will be itching to get my Fall on.  And when I do, ya’ll will be the first to know!

Until next time……

                  Tammy

It all started with a beautiful turquoise door knob.  I have had if for a few years.  At first I was going to make it a “hook” with a pretty board behind it.  That never happened.  Then I was going to use it on the many painted furniture pieces I paint.  That never happened either.  Then today I was at the grocery store taking a short cut through the kitchen isle to the dairy isle and I saw this jar.  And it screamed cookie jar.  But not just any cookie jar, a really pretty jar with bling!  AND to make it even better it was going to be a ten dollar cookie jar!

Here is what you will need to make your own fabulous ten dollar cookie jar:

First thing… you are going to need to drill a hole in the center of your lid to attach your door knob.  If you don’t have a drill you can use a large nail about the size of the door knob threaded post.  Just hammer it completely through the lid to make a hole.  Measure for the center, X marks the spot, and drill!

Here is what it will look like once you have your hole. Pretty easy right?

slide the door knob post through the hole and attach with a nut.  Super easy!

So pretty…. I love the color!  At this point you can put on the Washi tape.  I just applied it around the edge of the jar lid, but you can be as creative as you wish.  What I love about the Washi Tape?  I can change it when I get bored with it  seasonally! AND it leaves no sticky residue.  Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Now to give my pretty jar some more jewelry! A mini chalk board necklace.  I bought mine at Michael’s in a package of four or six awhile back. Using some twine, I threaded it through the holes in the chalk board.

Quick tip: to make the threading easier, I taped the end of the twine – kind of like a shoe lace.  Makes threading it into the hole MUCH easier.  Any tape will do!

Like threading bud-dah!

Just add cookies and write on your mini chalk board and you are done!  Less than 30 minutes from start to finish.  Not only does it look really pretty, but it cost me less than ten dollars.  Ya gotta love that!

While I used a new jar, I think this would be fabulous with an old jar or tin also.  The possibilities are endless. So get your creative thinking cap on and have fun creating your own  one of a kind  ten dollar cookie jar!

Until next time…..

       Tammy

I finally did it!  Made my bedroom curtains. It’s not that it was hard,  I just needed some motivation to get myself moving and get them made.  My sisters are coming in for the holiday weekend. Woo Hoo! So it was the perfect kick in the patooty to get them done!

Here is what I started with… my colors are gray, brown, black, off white, steel blue and acid green.  I know, kinda crazy right?  I was fairly content with it too until  about a year ago. My dog destroyed my bedspread.  Sigh.  Not gonna go there.  I was determined to find something that I could wash, but looked good too.  Kind of an impossible quest unless I bought a quilted bedspread.  I kept going back to my old standard fav – black and white, but  I really wanted a little more color!

And then I found the floral pillow you see in the middle of the bed. It had all of the colors that made this room work AND I could still use my black and white. ( Sorry the photos make it look a lot little dingy, which it really isn’t… remember I have the darkest house in America?) So I lived with this combo for about a year.  And it was OK.  Until I was on a mission at my favorite fabric store and saw the fabric from my inspiration pillow AND it’s companion!  An acid green and off white trellis pattern.  I swear I heard angels sing!  When I saw the price tag the Heavenly choir joined in!  It was a match made in heaven!!!!!  Ten yards, SOLD!

Here they are… my new beauties!  They lighten and brighten the whole room.  The old brown curtains were good, but these babies are fabulous.  I was a little worried that it was too much green.  It ain’t easy  bein’ green, ya know!  In fact, green is so NOT my color. AT. ALL. But, I like it in here.

Here is another angle.   You may notice about ten inches from the top that I have added some green gimp.  If I were smart I would never point this out.  Well, I’m not all that smart!  The reason it is there is because when I cut out the panel,  I mis- measured and cut it too short!  ALWAYS measure twice, cut once!  Sigh. This was my solution – adding the extra fabric and then covering the seam with gimp to hide it.  I kinda like the detail.  Who knew?  Let’s just call it a happy accident and move on!

Anyway, I still have a few more things to up-date in my master.  We have had this bedroom suit forever and if I came across one that could be painted…well I might have to trade my old one in. Shush…. don’t tell the hubs!

Until next time…..

           Tammy

Sometimes it is the little things that change a room.  After my closet makeover, it was time to focus on my Master bath and Master bedroom.  Recently, I found some material to make new curtains for the bedroom, which I will share with you later this week.  I had some left over and decided that one of the ways to update the bath was to give my tired vanity stool a makeover.

I started with this … I KNOW – Don’t judge!!!  Those feathers look like I killed a turkey and stuck it on the vanity stool.  Some days I look back and wonder “What was I thinking!” It was obvious that this needed a makeover.

This was the inspiration for the vanity stool.  Clean lines, white seat and NO FEATHERS!

After taking off of the feathers and the material on the seat, I gave the vanity stool frame a good cleaning and then gave it a couple of coats of Metallic Gold spray paint.

This is what I ended up with… very much like my vanity stool makeover inspiration.  And it was fine.  Just – kinda of plain.  When I got the new material, I quickly realized that I needed to bring some of the material into the bathroom.  So – I recovered the vanity stool seat with the new material.

Not too bad.  It looks a little more “yellow” in the photo than it really is. It is more of a pretty acid green and matches the bathroom perfectly!  Now, this stool makes me happy!  Not too shabby of a vanity stool makeover!

Later in the week I will share my Master bedroom with you!

Until then….

Tammy

If you saw my earlier post on my closet makeover, you know that it took me seven days to transform my closet and give it a really great makeover.   I left off after day 3 in my last post.  Three days of hard work, painting the walls, trim and staining concrete. Now for the fun part – the organization and putting it all together!

Day 4:  On day four it was time to put the protective sealer on the stained concrete.  Easy in the work load department, but one of those days where you did a little work and waited.  Not a lot of closet makeover action going on – at all! So while I was waiting for the floor sealer to dry and decided to get crafty and work on the closet decor.

First on my list – organize my jewelry!  I had a ton of jewelry all over my closet and bedroom. It was all in jewelry boxes of one type or another but, if asked to list all of the stuff I had, I honestly don’t think I could have told you!  When the nieces were here a few weeks ago I helped them make their own jewelry organizers. So I decided that making one to fit the new decor of my closet makeover was just what I needed!  Now I can see exactly what I have and I have worn earrings that I haven’t worn in years.

Next on the closet makeover list – a mirror.  It needed to be small enough to fit inside one of my closet cubbies.  I had a decorative one that would be  a perfect fit  but, it was too dark.  So I added gold Rub n Buff. Problem solved! I was starting to get excited about my new closet space!

DAY 5:   Decor finished and sealer dry, it was time to load the closet.  I liked the spacious feel of it when it was empty so much so that I almost hated to put everything back in!  So I didn’t.  I took all of the winter clothing and loaded them into tubs, hung them in spare closets and or got rid of anything we hadn’t worn in awhile. No junk going back in!  For the most part I tried to use hangers that were all the same so that the clothes would hang well and it would look good!  I’m not gonna lie, this took me most of the day because I couldn’t decide where I wanted everything to go. Or, I would put something where I thought it should go, only to change my mind later….  At this point I must admit I was a little frustrated!  I had eliminated a ton of stuff and STILL felt like I needed more space.  Plus, the mini chandelier I had ordered arrived – in 500 pieces!  I needed a rocket scientist to help me put it together!  End of day 5!

DAY 6:  My rocket scientist arrived in the form of my Hubs! Thanks goodness.  It looked worse than it was.  He did the wiring and I attached the crystals!  I love, love, love it!  So pretty, so sparkly – my one true splurge!  Looking at the picture here it doesn’t look like 500 pieces but trust me it was a mess!  A bit of rearranging in the closet and we were done for the day!

DAY 7:   A little shopping for  a rug and a few organizational containers and this closet makeover is done! I found a rug, one with a non-slip backing.  I really wanted a white fur animal skin rug, but who am I kidding? I would be constantly freaking out over dirt and fluffing it…. um, no!  So I did what any practical girl would do and bought the sensible rug.  Still not happy with it but, I figure the price was right and if I find one the I am in Lurve with later on I can always buy it and move this one somewhere else in the house!

Overall I am happy with my closet.  Would I love for it to look like all of the Pinterest closets where everything is color co-ordinated – including the clothes?  You bet.  But this is the real world and I don’t plan on wearing turquoise everyday so I am just gonna be content with a well organized closet that actually works! I think that this closet makeover was a success!

Until next time…

Tammy

Yep, it took me seven days to make my closet better, cleaner and prettier.  Much longer than even I imagined.  So I am going to share with you my closet makeover! We cleaned, stained concrete, painted walls and here is how we did it.

I am really embarrassed and can not believe that I actually took a picture and shared it with you!  The thing is, this is the smallest closet I have ever had since before I got married!  Seriously, I have lived in apartments with bigger and better arranged closets. Ugh!  This closet is only 10 X 6.  Shouldn’t a castle have a bigger closet? Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful that it is as big as it is…it could be smaller.  It is just so dark, poorly laid out and in big need of a paint job.

Day 1: Prep for the closet makeover.  Empty the closet.  Oh. MY. Goodness!   Easier said than done.  I kept thinking “If this is such a tiny closet, how come we have so much junk?”  For reals!  I kept hauling and hauling stuff out of there.  Note to self: get rid of some stuff!

After we had removed everything from the closet, it was obvious why we need to have better closet organization, not to mention new paint on the walls and trim.  What I didn’t plan on was putting in new flooring.  The floor was – well – disgusting! Cheap builder grade carpet had to go.  It was the only installed carpet left in the downstairs of the house anyway. Since the rest of the flooring was either tile or stained concrete, we decided to go with the stained concrete in the closet too.

So… we removed the carpet and that was the end of day one.  At this point I was getting really excited about this closet makeover!

DAY 2: Staining concrete is easy.  It’s the CLEANING  of the concrete that is hard.  I am talking like trying to scrape dried Fruity Pebbles cereal off of bowls hard!  But once it is clean and dried, it’s a piece of cake!  I like to use Kemiko stain – which is really an acid etching product.  The big DIY stores carry a  concrete stain, which is just what is says.  It only stains the surface area.  Which means that it will wear off and you don’t get that rich, mottled look that you do with an acid etching product.  Plus, when I say etching, I mean it eats down into the concrete.  It isn’t going anywhere! Trust me on this!

I painted the walls the same grey as my bedroom, then cleaned the floors ( HOURS people! Hours!) I then waited for it to dry over night.  If the floor isn’t completely dry it will look “milky” when you put on the sealer. No Bueno!

Doesn’t sound like I make much headway but, that brought day two to a close. Seriously doubting my sanity!

Day 3:  I stained the concrete!  Woo Hoo!  Be sure to cover your walls or you will have discoloration and  acid eating into them! ALWAYS wear protective clothing, shoes, and gloves!  I used a plastic garden sprayer to apply.  Then you let it dry and apply again.  Once thoroughly dry, you scrub off with water until really, really clean!   Again, it has to dry over night for the next step!

So, there you have the first three days of my closet makeover.  Just writing this wears me out again!  I am going to show you the rest on Friday….

Until next time…..

Tammy

Happy Friday! My sweet friend, Miss K, recently decided that she was ready to shed her little girl room for a room worthy of a teen.  As we all know, one of the best ways to makeover a room is with paint.  However, Miss K has just moved and is living in a rental home.  So no paint on the walls!  The next best thing? Give her bedroom  furniture a makeover with Annie Sloan Chalk paint.  

Earlier in the week, I showed you how to make great drawer pulls for painted furniture.  Here is the bedroom furniture set we started with.  A really sweet, white washed pine dresser.  Great for a little girl’s room, but for a teen?  Uh, NO!   First thing we did was give it two coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint in Pure White.

We then slightly distressed it and then gave it two coats of Annie Sloan clear wax, followed by dark wax only where we had dressed it.  This gave it an old used look.  The beauty about Annie Sloan chalk paint is that it is perfect for a teen furniture makeover!  If it gets any dents, dings, abuse or wear it will still look like it was meant to be that way!  And with teens we all know that the furniture is going to get some wear and tear!

Ta Da!  Here are the finished pieces! The mirror and dresser….

The headboard…

I loved this Annie Sloan chalk painted bedroom furniture makeover – and so did Miss K!

Until next time…..

Tammy

Great dresser knobs  for decorative or hand painted furniture are a must.  Really great knobs can make a good, pretty piece of furniture and make it the focal point in the room.  They are like shiny jewelry that dresses up a little black dress. Great knobs are like icing on the cake!

Miss K had gone from a sweet little girls room to a teen room and wanted her bedroom furniture to reflect that.  So we decided that painted bedroom furniture was the best way to go. Before I share the finished painted bedroom furniture pieces with you, I want to show you a little detail that can take painted furniture from just being good – to being great!

Here is what we started with – a pine dresser, hand painted with a white wash.  Really sweet!  However, not what your teen dreams of in the way of furniture.  And the drawer pulls? Not so much.  Really plain and a little boring. So here is how to make those pulls into something awesome.

We took a rubber stamp, a permanent pigment ink stamp pad and the painted dresser knobs.

Stamping the dresser knob was a little tricky since the stamp was flat and the dresser knob was not!  However, with a little patience and using a rolling – rocking motion we got the knobs stamped pretty well.  I wasn’t so concerned with it being perfect as the dresser was slightly distressed and made to look a little old.  So if the stamping of the  knobs wasn’t perfect, then that was OK – it matched the rest of the furniture!

Here is what we ended up with.  Not too bad! However, the dresser pulls needed a little bling.

I found these at my local Michael’s and thought they would be perfect for our dresser knobs.

Here is our finished dresser knob.  A little old and a little bling.  Perfect for this teens room and so easy to do.  These little details can make your painted furniture piece beautiful!

Later this week I will be sharing with you the finished bedroom set – featuring the awesome, rock star dresser knobs featured today. I can’t wait!

Until next time….

Tammy

I couldn’t wait to show you my before and after pictures of my latest find. My good friends Laura and Nichola work for a school that was having a garage sale.  They gave me a call and said “Can you use these and do you want them?”

Oh, yeah…. and there were a pair of them!  Girl Squeal!  At $20.00 each they were a steal.  Not so pretty now, but these girls had great bones.

I took them down to bare bones – being sure to take pictures along the way so that I would know how to put them back together.  I always THINK that I am going to remember the sequence, but I don’t.  Let’s face it, some days I barely remember what I ate for breakfast!

I checked to make sure that the foam and batting were in good shape, which they were.  No replacements needed.   I spray painted the arms and legs  a shiny white to match the navy and white fabric I found to recover them.  If you live in the DFW area, you must go to Home Fabric and Rug in the HEB area and check out them out.  Their fabrics are always below market price and a couple of times a year they have an awesome sale that has designer fabrics at rock bottom prices.

Here is the after photo.  I love how the white looks so clean and updated.   I LOVE navy blue… to me, navy goes with everything!  It is a great neutral AND it is my favorite color!  I almost hate that these beauties are going up for sale in the shop…. they really do match my dining room!  Oh well, on to the next project!

Unitl next time…..

            Tammy

My Closets are black holes!  For reals.  Here is a warning for you: Danger Will Robinson!  If you are looking for a post about a wonderful, color coded, perfect, pin worthy, “after” closets – well, this isn’t it!  This is about how  a super busy, slightly un-organized gal trying to wrangle in a whole bunch of years of her children’s knick-knack- paddy-crap!

Over the years my boys have moved out of the castle –  and back to the castle.  And out of the castle, and back in…. you get my point.  In some alternate universe I pictured my boys leaving and taking ALL of their “stuff” with them. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining, I love it when they are here but, over time their closets have become worse, not better.  So it was time for an intervention!

Here is an example of  my black hole “before”.  (Sorry about picture quality, the strange shade on the light gave me some really odd lighting for my photos!) For some reason my “before” pictures really didn’t turn out well.  Conspiracy theory? hmmmm….

First thing first, I pulled everything out of the closet, sorted the stuff by category, threw out the trash and bought plastic containers.  My biggest disappointment in this whole process was that I couldn’t find matching containers in different sizes that matched AND didn’t cost a fortune.   So while I gritted my teeth, I bought the ones that clashed the least.  What can I say?  For a tiny, tiny moment I kinda had an expectation of a “pin worthy” closet!

After loading the bins, I arranged them all on the top shelf and while it was soooooo much better, I realized that I needed to label them.  Yeah, my type A personality was rearing it’s ugly head!

So using my trusty Cricut machine, I cut out the labels and attached them to the bins with super strength industrial double sided tape.  MUCHO Bueno!

Yes!  My closets actually had room for guests to use.  Or for ME to store things in!  I heard birds and angels singing!!!

Until I opened the closet two days later and found this…..huge sigh!  Not so super sticky tape.

So I was forced to do what I really didn’t want to do.  Use packing tape on the outside of the label to attach the tape to the bins.  REALLY not pin worthy but FUNCTIONAL.

Here are the labels with the packing tape on the outside, and you know what?  You can barely see it!  Bottom line?  My closets are organized, clean and you can actually use them!  Score!

So there you have it.  I won’t be getting “pinned” but I will be using my closets and happy.  So worth it!  I would like to paint the closets and trim work at some point in the future  – but that may be in an alternate universe for a few more years!

Until next time….

            Tammy

My nieces visited the castle this week! Yay!  We had a ton of fun. Always enjoy family time.  While they were here they wanted to do a little DIY, so I showed them how to make a jewelry organizer!

We started with these cute picture frames from Michaels. Plus a little craft paint, ribbon, embellishments of their choice, and some wire mesh.

First thing is first, we removed the back …

and painted both sides of the frame. At this point we could have put a protective coating on and gone on to the next step.  But that is so not how we roll.  A Princess needs a lot  little bling!

The Princesses decided to have them match their bedrooms.  So on Princess A’s we base coated with a hot pink, then drew on zebra stripes, then painted them in with black craft paint!

Princess K wanted chevron.  I had some chevron Frog tape in the castle dungeon so she taped the frame with it, making sure that she pressed the tape on securely, then painted a purple craft paint over the turquoise.

After drying for about 5 minutes she removed the tape. Woo Hoo – we had beautiful chevron stripes!

Time to add the mesh.  Up to this point it was all hands on for the Princesses, but this stuff is sharp.  So it was time for the Queen to step in.  Using the insert that came with the frame, I used it for a template for the wire mesh.  Using tin snips, just cut out the rectangle and insert into the picture frame just like you would a picture!

These frames come with these nifty metal inserts that you fold down over your photo to keep it in place.  I used those to help secure the mesh.  Then for some added stability in all four corners – and anywhere that the mesh stuck up – I stapled the mesh to the frame.

Now it was time for the bling!  Re-purposing furniture – I have a lot of old hardware in the castle coffers.  We decided to use some old knobs.  The Princesses painted them, added some rhinestones and then attached them to the bottoms of the frame to hang their crown jewel necklaces and bracelets on!

We then had a ton of fun with the embellishments – ribbon, flowers, rhinestones… whatever caught their fancy!

Here is Princess K’s finished jewelry organizer.  Love those colors together.  She chose them herself.  I see a Interior Designer in the family soon!

Here is Princess A’s masterpiece.  Matches her room AND  her personality perfectly!

We worked off and on doing these the better part of the day.  That included shopping, painting, assembly, decorating, swimming, eating, watching TV and playing pranks on the King.

A day well spent here at the Castle!

Until next time…..

            Tammy

Seems like everyone is having babies!  I always try to have a few things on hand for the last minute gift – last minute meaning “Oh, dang! I forgot!” I still want the last minute gift to be cute and not look like I forgot, ya know? So I make really cute baby burp cloths! And since I love you so much, I am gonna share with you  how to make cute baby burp cloths!

You will need:

1.  Diapers.  I always buy them in a package of 10 – so that I can make a bunch up at one time – and I usually buy the Gerber 3 ply diapers.  You will need the ones that are thicker in the  middle.

2.  Material.  Buy good material!  I want my cute burp cloths to look cute AFTER they have been washed!  Cheap material means that usually it’s gonna  look BAD after a good washing and let’s face it – you are gonna wash these, a LOT!

3. Thread.  You can go two ways here.  Thread to match the material, so that after sewn it “disappears” OR a contrasting thread color so that you can see it when sewn.  It’s all personal preference.  I have done both.

4. Embellishments.  Today I have used some trim that I know will wash well… when choosing trim for your cute burp cloths, remember that you will wash them over and over.  I also am lucky enough that my BFF has an embroidery machine and is will to occasionally monogram these for me.  Really the sky is the limit here!  Use your imagination!

5. Sewing machine, pins, and scissors.

Lay your material out wrong side up.  Lay one diaper on top of the material.

Cute the material around the diaper.   Now here is where you will add your trim if you are going to have any.  Pin it to the right side of the material. Sew on the trim.

Pin the diaper to the right side of the material. This is important because after sewing the diaper to the material you will turn it inside out.  After turning, the right side should be on the outside.

Using a 5/8 inch seam, sew all the way around leaving a 3″ to 4″ opening for you to be able to turn the cute burp cloth right side out.  This is important!  Don’t sew it shut!  After you have finished the sewing, turn right side out.

Iron the cute burp cloth, making sure that the opening that you used to turn the cloth’s edges are tucked in even with the edge of the the cloth.  Now sew a 1/4″ seam all the way around.  This will close your opening and sew the diaper and material together making it lie flat. Iron the cute burp cloth again to give it that crisp finished look.

That’s it! You are done.  That is how to make cute baby burp cloths!

Here are a few that I have already made.  No trim here but the material is so darn cute that you don’t need any!

I give this a beginning experience level.  These would be a perfect project if you are just learning to sew.

Until next time…..

          Tammy

I have been looking for a cabinet for my media room for awhile.  Something to hide all of the wires and components and cords – I really, really, really hate cords!  I’ve been looking so long that I had kinda forgotten that I even wanted one.  Then I get a text from my friends Laura and Nichola:

They were having a garage sale at the private school where they work and were kind enough to think of me when they saw furniture!  Rockstars! This is how I got my Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue media cabinet.

I took the Hubs to help me pick the credenza up and as we were driving home he asked me what I was going to do with it.  Hmmm… not really sure. He thought it would make a great media cabinet!  Well, duh!  Of course it would!!!  As soon as I got home I quickly took it apart and cleaned it up.

My media room is navy and gold.  Navy walls, navy and gold curtains, pale gold-ish sofa…. We started out with a ginormous big screen TV. Over time the Hubs put in a projector and screen, which meant lots of components, surround sound, wires, remote controls and various other things that I can’t even begin to learn how to work!  Hence the need for the cabinet. I wanted the cabinet to blend in as it would be directly under the projection screen.  No one wants to try and watch a movie and have the furniture below scream “LOOK AT ME!”  So I decided to use Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue.  One of my favorite colors!

After two coats, a little distressing of the edges and a coat of wax.  I let it dry overnight.  The next morning I couldn’t wait to burnish the wax to create that beautiful patina.  And bonus!  I got to use my newest tool – a burnishing brush that you can attach to a drill.  It gives it that beautiful shine in half the time.  Love it.  Although it does occasionally leave brush marks.

So I used my manual burnishing brush, after using the drill  brush, to give it that really smooth even finish. Even with having to go back over the finish to even out a few spots, it was still done in record time!

Here you can see a few uneven spots on the front doors before evening it out.  I also decided since it was the media room I could go  a little over the top and use VERY gold hardware.

Here it is in the media room. I still have a few more things to do to get it all set up like I want it, but I have to say that it really is one of my favorite pieces of furniture in my house.  Ok, so MAYBE it is because it hides all of the cords… but I still love how it co-ordinates with the rest of the room!

until next time…

              Tammy

I have a Schizophrenic foot stool.  I bought it at a yard sale and it was originally painted white with eyelet lace covering the cushion.  I bought it thinking that I could use it to sit on, at my vanity. The style wasn’t really me, it needed a little facelift.

Plan B: It went from white to this really pretty steel blue that I have in my bathroom.  I covered it in a steel blue and white paisley print.  ( I had pictures but for the life of me I cannot find them… next project – picture organization!)  One HUGE problem though, it was too tall! After much gnashing of teeth and hair pulling I left Plan B and went to Plan C! A footstool/extra table for my living room!

As you can see above, I was in the process of spray painting this schizophrenic foot stool a lovely metallic gold when I took this picture!

I used the same material  to cover the seat that I had used to make zipper pillow covers for my new sofa pillows.  Lots of jewel tones and just a hint of gold!

Here is a picture of the material if you missed my post on How to Make a Zipper Pillow Cover!

So now my stool has a really pretty gold legs and a beautiful top.  But, it lacked something. It just didn’t have the pizzaz that I was looking for. And then it hit me…  Mongolian Lambs Wool Fur.  Hey don’t judge!  Give it a chance – step out of the box! Seriously, I had seen a beautiful stool at a furniture store recently that had this wonderful fur on the seat cushion part and was dying to find something to put it on in my house.  When this came up, I knew it would be perfect!!

Pland D: So I quickly ordered some on-line and recovered the seat cushion- again! Here they ( schizophrenic – remember?)  they are in all their glory!

Here it is at another angle. A little swanky, a little blingy, a whole lot of fun!  After it having four different lives that I can personally account for, I figured it had to be a schizophrenic foot stool!  I love it today, but who knows what it will look like tomorrow.

Getting close to being able to show you my finished living room – soon. Really soon.

Until next time….

                Tammy