Painting the Town... errr... Table... Red.

So, a few weeks ago, Ryan and I went to a few garage sales. 

And I did pretty dang good!  My itty bitty car was a little crowded... thanks mostly to the little pine table I scored!  See it other there, holding my other loot?

I think it must have been a shop class project.  The legs are hand made, and it's solid pine... not a single scrap of particle board.  It's not exactly level (one of the legs is just a touch short, lol) BUT it cost me THREE DOLLARS!!  Three... as in One, Two, THREE! 

Seriously, a solid wood sturdy table for that little!  I was all over it!  Plus the lady threw in a little toy phone for Ryan (not pictured, because he was dragging it around the house) for free!  Anyway, the top was in really bad shape, it needed sanded something fierce.  So last weekend, that's what Evan and I did. 

Then it sat in my garage while Evan and I discussed how we should paint it. 

I was thinking something like this:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/109120507/ .  Love the yellow... or maybe a fun green... but that got nixed.  So every night, the dinner conversation would go like this: 

Evan:  How about NAVY BLUE?

Me:  Well, I was thinking the top would be black, like a chalkboard, so that might be too dark.

E: Well, I really like navy. 

M: Well, I really like yellow.

E: Okay, so navy AND yellow are out, we can cross each other off.

M: I see.  Well, what is your second choice?

E: (Grinning like a Cheshire cat) DARK BLUE!

M: ORANGE!

E: Ugh, this could take forever!

Anyway, after a week of THAT... we both decided RED would be a good color. 

Bright.  Glossy.  Cherry.

And, yes, Evan helped me paint! 

For now, because I forgot to buy the stuff to make chalkboard paint, it has a red top.  Next spring, after the snow melts, we will make it a chalkboard, and I think add casters.  For now, it has a home in the basement, so the boys have a place to draw and play. 

The Giant Wall

Well, after hanging everything up, I came to the realization that this wall will always be a work in progress.    I have a few more ideas... but, alas, they are still in my mental "queue".

Here's a reminder of what it looked like before:

And here it is now (excuse the picture quality, I wanted to get them posted quickly!!):

Oh, man it looks so SMALL!!

Here's some close ups, and more info:

I found this window frame at an antique store in Montana... and I got it for just $9. 

It's 24x42... and beautifully weathered.

I need to print a picture of myself to go just to the left of the D... I just haven't found got around to it... so just pretend it's there!

This letter press drawer is from Germany... it's one of my most favorite "finds"... even though I'm not the one who found it... my sister snatched it up for me!

It's approx 21x26. 



I used some scrap ... errrr ... scraps to embellish chipboard tiles with each of our names and the "est" date.

 The rest will slowly fill with time I'm sure.  On Saturday, I put these together:

One for each of us!

And finally, the tin.  It's actually a sheet pan used to make eclairs.  And it's a beautiful rusty green color, and the clean pattern looks really nice against the randomness of the letter press drawer.  Again, I'd love to take credit for finding it, but my sister pointed them out to me, and arranged for one to find it's way into my home!

It's 19x28.

 

The little iron piece I picked up at Hobby Lobby a few months ago thinking it would be a simple piece to move around and add balance as I added to the wall.  It seems really small right now, lol.



Well, like I said... it's a work in progress... ideas are welcome!

Funny story about it... When I first got home from Montana with the window, I hung it and the letter press drawer up, just to get a feel for the size, and what else I needed.  Mark walked in and said he hated it.  However, within a few days, he commented on how much he actually liked it because it made it feel more like home.  Silly boy. 





Sneak Peek of Decor in Process

Remember my post about the HUGE wall in my living room?? (< click if you need a refresher)

Here's the wall:

Well, after a lot of "figuring", some hunting, a little help from my sister, and a lot of thrifting, I've got it figured out. 

It's going to take a little bit of time (there are a few DIY craft projects involved), and so far Mark HATES it, lol.

But while I'm working on it, here's a little sneak peak.

Fire Engine Red and... uhh... White.

Well, I guess that makes the "white" sound a little boring!

If it helps, it's actually "Hammered White" 

Anyway...

Remember these??  A thrifting find from a few months back.

Here's the spice rack!!

I spray painted it white (I used a RustOleum "Hammered" which has a little bit of texture to it) and then, of course, I distressed it a little with sandpaper.

And the silverware caddy got several coats of fire engine red spray paint!

The rest of the room is coming along... as soon as I clean up my MESS, I'll post some more pictures!

Stuff I found.

Oh, did I ever find some good stuff this weekend!!

First of all...

Cute Ryan and his "new" Tricycle.

And Evan, who has never really been "into" bikes, discovered he loved riding his cousin Trevor's, and, well, if this $5 ride gets well loved, Santa might bring him a nice one.

And... not pictured, but I did find some fun scrapping embellishments and TWO pair of very expensive (I know because the tags were still on them) Capri's for me.

All in all, I think it was a well spent $11!

I need a Dishstrainer.

HOW have I never thought of this???

eclectic home office design by other metros media and blogs Cozy Little House

Friday Thrifting

Well, it just so happened that after the car was done at the car doctor this morning, Ryan and I ended up with some time to blow before picking up Evan at school.

So... hmmm.... What to do?? 

First we went to my favorite little consignment shop.  They sell mostly reclaimed furniture.  I drooled a lot.

A beautiful desk.... an amazing farm table... GORGEOUS wood dining chairs... wooden boxes, wire crates, old doors... A bright red console table that I WOULD LOVE to put in my living room... and the cutest little green set of drawers. 

All told, the wish list from that little stop was more than I add up in my head.  But it was worth drooling over.  And Ryan was SOOOOOO well behaved.  He would mimic me when I said "OOOO PRETTY!!" and then lay his head on my shoulder and tell me he loved me.  He didn't attempt to break ANYTHING (other than my heart).

So, then we had a little more time... so I thought a trip to the DI was in store.  Mostly because it's the type of place that Ryan can run the aisle and touch just about anything he wants. Of course, after we walk out of the store, I slather him in hand sanitizer!

There, the things I saw added up to $6.  And I bought each and every one of them!

Here's my loot:

First up: 
Nothing mind blowing, but a cute little wooden spice rack.  Future plans include:  Paint and distressing. 
It will be perfect to hang in front of my scrap work space for odds and ends I like to keep withing reach... like adhesives and punching tools!  Especially since it was a WHOLE DOLLAR!!  Score me.

Second: 
A wire utensil basket.
Future plans include:  I think some spray paint... It's a little too shiny and new for my liking, lol! 
It will be perfect to hold MUST BE ON DESK at all times while scrapping tools... like scissors (yes, plural), ruler, my journalling pens etc.



After exploring the basket/wood/crap aisles (my favorite place to dig for treasure), we wandered through the furniture.  I was tempted by a chair... it would need a LOT of love... and with the basement currently occupied by contractors, I am out of space to store large items that need love.  So we left it.  But it was a beautiful shape and felt solid... just would have to be completely reupholstered.  Not in my realm of possible right now.

So next, we went to the book section.  And I found these two beauties!  The bottom brown one is titled:  The Complete Home Handyman Guide.  It was published in 1949.  The top blue and orange one is titled:  The Record of America.  It was published in 1935. 

They are both filled with the most spectacular information!  I love books like this. 

The first one, all sorts of (mostly out of date) home owner information.  I totally love the illustrations. 

The history one is soooooo interesting!  I glanced through several sections while we were waiting for the school bell to ring.  It's really fun to read the perception of a pre World War 2 historian.  The section on the Great Depression sounds a lot like our current news broadcast... reserved optimism that we will one day have a chicken in every pot! 

They were both $2,  totally worth it for the smell alone!  They just smell like old paper... and those of you who know me well know I LOVE the smell of paper!

I was so excited about the books, I never made it over to my third favorite section of the store... the frames!  As I drove away, I was kicking myself, because you KNOW there was something fantastic there that I totally missed, lol! 

Before I close my thrifting post... I do have to say, people at thrift stores CRACK ME UP!!  Now, please don't get me wrong... I am all for digging for awesome crap.  I am not above throwing a few elbows to get what I saw first. But hovering around the door to the back room and attacking the poor employee pulling the cart out before it's even completely on the sales floor is a little much for me.  There was this one woman who Ryan and I watched for 5-10 mins who seriously did just that.  As soon as the door opened, she was right there on top of them, pulling anything that looked remotely interesting to her out and dropping it into her cart.  Then, after she had a chance to look it over and realize she did not actually want/need it, she would toss it onto the nearest shelf.   One employee actually threw her hands up and walked away from her cart with it still halfway through the doorway.  The woman pulled it the remainder of the way out, don't worry!

Anyway... that was our thrifting adventure.  And even though I wish I wish I wish I could have come home with these:

I still think it was a pretty good day!

Thrifting

So, a gal I work with gave me a SMASHING idea for a craft/home decor project... and I needed a frame. 

So I decided to make a trip to one of our local thrift stores, the lovely DI (Deseret Industries). 

First, who KNEW there would be a line to get in!!  Honestly.  We were a few minutes early thanks to an uneventful and easy Target Diaper Trip.  There were easily 25 people standing outside the doors waiting to get in.  As soon as the bell tolled the hour, 20-30 more got out of their cars and walked up.

There are some SERIOUS thrifters out there! 

Anyway... I went in specifically for a frame, but figured I might as well dig around a little.  And WAHOOOO!  I got some great loot. 

Now, one thing about thrifting... you have to use your imagination a little bit... so it may not look like much, but I got it all for less than $20.

And as much as I do NOT like the idea of second hand shoes... I could NOT pass up those cuties! 

FOUR DOLLARS!!  I almost bought this exact pair a few months ago, but didn't think they were worth $40... they are SO worth $4 and some clorox wipes!

The wire baskets are so adorable... I'm a sucker for baskets!  75 cents a piece!!  Love it!

The frames... well, the big one is for the project I had in mind to begin with... I'll post about it later... still working on it!

The two smaller long ones will go on either side of the mirror...  Of course, before I can do that, I needed to make the "match" because Cherry and Oak don't really look smashing together.  I will post an explination of the steps soon... but for now...  My $9 Dollar Entry Wall.

Sorry for the crappy lighting... I had to wait until I put the wee one to bed before finishing them, so it was late and those dang CFLs really are not very kind to photographs!

Here's a little closer... they look flat in the picture...

In other news... I've got to figure out what is wrong with my printer!  Everything is coming out very pinkish... I think my "yellow" tank is plugged or something.   The other project... at this time... has some printing... so unless I figure out an alternative...it's in a holding pattern!