Old to You. New to Me.

M and I (ok fine, it's been mainly me) have had a plan of making a farmhouse table for a while. The chairs from our old table were oversized, and I have endured sitting on them while eating meals, with my feet not being able to touch the floor, for 7 years now. (And I am pretty average height, just shy of 5'4") I was getting tired of the whole legs falling asleep thing but didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for new ones. Well, to be honest, I wanted to pay the least possible for chairs that would actually be sturdy enough to someone without collapsing.

SO.....I began my search.

I looked on Craigslist, yard sales, and local thrift stores. It actually took a lot longer than I thought. And I wasn't even very picky about the chairs since I was going for the whole not matching thing anyway. FINALLY, I found 2 matching chairs (I was aiming for 5 total, since we are going to make a bench for the other side) at a thrift store for $10 each! And I LOVE the shape of the back. So, I repainted, distressed and covered the chair cushions (which I IMMEDIATELY scotch-guarded as well. I failed to do this last time which was a BAD idea with two toddler boys and all their mess. Needless to say, I didn't want to ruin these).

I forgot to take a BEFORE picture, but here is the final product!

So, 2 down, only

Then, my mom called me one day and said she found 3 more chairs. One that looks almost identical to the one above for $7 and 2 (pictured below) for $9 each. Yes please!

Here is the before of the chairs. Again, very sturdy but not exactly the look I was going for.

And here is the AFTER picture. The green is actually the same green as the above chair, the yellow nighttime lighting just makes it look a little weird.

This style may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I love the look and it was done for MUCH cheaper than buying them new or even used ones in great condition.

I have yet to paint the 5th chair, but I'll post a picture as soon as I do.

By the way, I used the same process of distressing as I did for the dresser in our living room (including the wax coat). It can be found HERE if you are interested.

{ SIDE NOTE: All of these projects have not been completed over the last couple of weeks. Rather, these are projects were completed as early as the beginning of the summer. Just FYI }

My hubby is 'da bomb' - DIY project

Please don't let your jealousy of my oh-so-hip lingo cloud your view of the main point of this post. (Because we all know 'da bomb' is 'hip'. Not to mention the fact that to say something is 'hip' automatically disqualifies you from being 'hip' in the first place. But, I digress.)

M built both of our boys toddler beds about a year and a half ago and they were really cute, but I hadn't settled on decorations and colors for the kids' room at the time. Last week I decided to paint (clarification: I decided to paint, but we both actually painted) the boys room after 2 years of living in the house. (Pictures of the newly painted room coming soon!) This led me to pick out bedding that would go with it, which led to wanting to change the look of the beds. You know how that goes.

I took the beds Mike had already made and removed the fabric and batting to reveal the wood underneath. Mike then built the headboards based on this pin I had on one of my Pinterest boards. Then, he attached them to the beds.

I sanded them down and used a stain made from leaving a shredded piece of steel wool in vinegar for 24 hours and then applying it with a paint brush. I sanded once more after the stain dried (it dried SUPER quick; literally a matter of minutes)

The bedding is Dwell Studio from Target. I love the print, it is super soft, and is one of the only reasonably priced toddler bedding I actually liked.

M did such a great job and E especially loves that his headboard looks like a barn door!

What DIY projects have you been working on lately?

love, life, and a smile

We had a fun time at the zoo this morning (a post on that later) with great friends. I am utterly exhausted so OF COURSE I needed a project to keep me awake (since the kids napped at the zoo and in the car - doesn't it always work out that way?). I've been wanting a Mumford & Sons quote displayed somewhere in our living room area that I can see every day. Their music and lyrics brings an instant smile to my face.

So here's a not-so-glam, but super quick project. I already had this frame on one of our living room bookcases with "family" on it. I just ripped off the paper from the circle scrapbook paper backing and replaced it with a quote I designed on the computer using a Pea Noodle font and one I found on another free site. It is just printed on color and printed on a piece of card stock. If you haven't checked out the fonts on the Pea Noodle website, you really are missing out. They are SUPER cute!

It says: "Where you invest your love, you invest your life" from their song Awake My Soul

Happy Thursday everyone!

Oh nap-time, how I love thee (mirror project)

Some days nap-time is filled with working out, taking a short nap, cleaning or reading, BUT the other day, I was feeling an urge to do something crafty (and FREE, since I already had the supplies on hand). I've had this old mirror since college and it's been sitting its lonely butt in the closet for quite some time. So, I decided to revamp this bad boy.

Here's the mirror....not ugly, but not too cute either.

I envisioned hanging it here:

I HAD to include this picture with an ADORABLE boys face reflecting in the mirror. I know, I know. I'm a LITTLE biased. Just a little.

I first taped off the inside edge and painted the edge with an"Oops" paint I found at Wal-Mart for 50% off. It's a deep turquoise color. My camera does not do it justice.

Then, I taped the outside and spray-painted the inside with......

.....THIS!

Here's the new chalkboard up on the wall next to the pantry. I've been using it to display what's on the menu for that night. And this is NOT the kind of food I cook on a regular basis, so please lower your expectations of my cooking skills. Haha.

A quick and cheap project that made me feel like I accomplished something today! :)

wreath re-do already!

I just did this wreath a few weeks ago, but I still wasn't crazy about the ribbon, and it really bothered me every time I looked at it. Sooo....

I bought this wooden 'W' at Hobby Lobby that I spray painted white and some cute green polka-dotted ribbon

and now I actually enjoy looking at it. What other projects can I squeeze in before Jude arrives in 4 days?!?! We shall see!

a quick Thursday night project

Ok, so my mind has been overloaded lately with projects - most will have to wait until after J's arrival (which is this coming Wednesday, by the way...Ahh!) but some are quick and easy and can quench my project thirst for the time being.

I should start off by saying that we have only lived in this house for about 3 months now, so we have yet to do any painting (which is bugging the living heck out of me!). As soon as things slow down a little bit (I'm dreaming, right?) and I've recovered from that minor birthing thing, I hope to tackle some of the bigger projects, which in turn, will help me figure out some of the smaller projects I have in mind. (My best friend, W, is going to kill me for that previous sentence....I know it is major run-on! Ha!)

Anyway, I have had a cute picture of a pear hanging above our kitchen sink since right after we moved. It was located in the exact same place in our previous house, so I thought it should naturally it should go in the same place in our new house. I love the picture, don't get me wrong. It's size was just not working for the bigger space. Long story short, I came up with the idea of using some old fabric I found and our initial to create a cute little monogrammed 'art' thing-a-ma-jig. I love how it turned out....and it cost me nothing! All stuff I had around the house, which of course is the best part!

Here is the before picture of the area above the sink. Picture is much too small.

This is the picture frame I used for the project. I'm not a big fan of the frames with more than one space for a picture. So, although I wanted to display these pictures, I need to switch them to individual frames.

The fabric is actually not the one I ended up using because there wasn't enough to cover the mat (matte?) in the frame. I printed out a large W in the font I wanted and used it as a stencil for the W I cut out of white card stock.

Meet my friend, Mr. Wrinkle Releaser. This stuff is great, not only for getting wrinkles out of clothes when you don't feel like ironing, but also for projects like this. I love it.

And WAHLA....isn't it cute? I like it anyway, a whole lot better than what was there before!

DIY Wreath

I have seen so many houses around our neighborhood with such cute wreaths and fall decorations. A little thing, like a wreath, can make a house look so festive that I began to search for one in stores. (Ok, ok....just Target....I haven't been many other places these days). The only ones I could find were smaller than the one I ended up purchasing and $29.99 on sale. I just couldn't justify spending that kind of money. Soooo...I made my way to good ole Wal-Mart and purchases this wreath for $2.97 and the hanger for $1.97!! Yay!

I spray painted the wreath hanger brown because I wasn't such a big fan of the gold. Then I needed some berries or leaves or something. I couldn't find anything I really liked at Wal-Mart or Target, so I decided to look at Pier 1. Granted, their stuff is always really cute but overpriced, I wanted something I was going to use for the fall holidays, Christmas, as well as next year. This justified my spending $4.99 each for two strands of berries. They are are a great red and orange color and I love them!

Then, I cut small sections of berries off and positioned them through the twigs on the wreath. Luckily I had some leftover fall ribbon from last year and just used that for the bow.

For a grand total of $15.00, I made a wreath that I really like and can use for years to come. It's much easier to change out the ribbon and berries on this one when I decide I want a change (for example, maybe a red or green bow when Christmas rolls around). Simple, but fun project!