tender loving care

Yesterday I found this bread box at Goodwill for $4. It was brown wood and had a wooden knob on it. I already had some mint paint at home that I'd been waiting to use on something. Another thing on my to do list was to run to Hobby Lobby to pick up some crafts for Johns youth project for mutual last night. So while I was there I picked up this cute little red knob for $1.50. I painted it this morning and love how it turned out. Can't wait to make a homemade loaf with tender loving care and put it in there!

(Thanks for my sweater pumpkin CJ! I love it, even though right after this picture Evaleigh ripped the leaves off of it.)

i need to get organized

So, I made a style board for EJ's room.

Here is the plan:

vintage

grays

bunting over the crib

blues

quilts

greens

art on the walls

mustard

bird mobile

pink

wallpaper behind the book shelves

velvet couch

chandelier

typewriter

square rug

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Things are finally starting to take form around here.  I spent 5 HOURS yesterday re-doing this changing table for EJ.

My mother and I got it from the Monroe Cotton Mills Antique Mall for $35.  That place is worth a visit by the way...it is the largest antique mall in the south and 3rd largest in the States.  Who would have known, right in my own backyard! I am so pleased with how it turned out.  It was a pretty nasty green but I fixed that right up with my trusty Antique White Eggshell Glidden paint.  (also used to do this and this)

I am slowly accumulating things I LOVE.  What is so wonderful about decorating a nursery is that you have several months to do it.  I feel like I have really been able to think and research how I would like to do her room instead of making hasty impulsive decisions (which I am pretty good at doing).  The following project of how I did the dresser can be seen here.

Decorating this baby girl's nursery is almost as fun as making the baby herself...almost.


***Post Edit: here is the link to the finished nursery***

meant to be.

Two weekends ago husband and I were driving home from the Atlanta Chili Cookoff and in an effort to salvage the day we went to do a little shopping.

We ended up with a sweet sock monkey onsie which Mr. Murphy simply could not leave Buy Buy Baby with out.

I love seeing him get excited about baby things, its darling really.

On the way home I spotted this beauty at a yard sale and we made a quick u-turn to take a closer look.  It was just the thing I had been looking for for baby EJ's room.

To my complete dismay and sadness the dresser had already been payed for and sold to someone else FOR $35!!!!

The woman said I could leave my name and number and if the buyer just so happened to not return to pick it up she told me she would call me.  

Of course I didn't think it was a possibility because who pays for furniture then just doesn't come back to get it?

Well, that lady.

Sure enough 4 days later I got a phone call from Miss Mary Jo and I was able to get that beauty of a dresser for baby EJ's room.  It was delivered to my house and all for the low low price of $35.  A pretty sweet deal if I do say so myself.

So, like all good furniture in my house, it got a paint job.  My sister will probably shudder when I say this, but I shabby chic'd it.  Sorry Bek.

Distressing a piece of furniture is the fastest way to give something a face-lift.  I did all of this in under two hours.

All you have to do is paint the piece then when it is almost dry take sand paper and rub the spots that look like they could have acquired some natural wear and tear.

I am beyond pleased with the results.  

Now...to sort through 16 boxes of baby girl clothes given to us by our aunt and uncle.  These drawers are going to be filled with tiny lovely little things.

(see two other DIY Shabby Chic/Distress Projects here and here)

DIY Shabby Chic Antique Table

Refinishing old pieces of furniture has recently become a new favorite hobby of mine.

Since John and I have moved to the new place I have been a home decorating fool.  

I have so many little projects that I've done that I can't wait to share.

Yesterday I shabby chic'd our old coffee table.  It is the easiest way to create a fun new piece of furniture FAST!

In 4 easy steps you can have a new "old" piece of furniture.

1. Sand down the furniture.

2. Wipe down the piece to remove excess saw dust.

3. Paint the piece with your color of choice. (at least two coats.  I use Behr Eggshell Antique White)

4. Let it dry then use medium grade sand paper and rough up the edges. (try to sand spots where the piece of furniture would have been bumped/scraped/hit naturally!)

To see my other DIY Shabby Chic piece of furniture click "here".

Who doesn't love a little before and after?

Once upon a time, by the light of a harvest moon...

...the husband and I 

went to Home Depot to acquire some antique white paint.

We went home to parent's home to do a project on a piece of furniture that my sister got for us.  Her mother and law likes to collect things and store them in her garage.  When my sister spotted this lovely find in the garage she new I would love it and fix it up real nice like.

Every time I go antiquing I always envy all of the shabby chic furniture.  I thought to myself, 

"How hard can it really be?"

So, I googled the directions on how to shabby chic a piece of furniture and got to work.

Take a break and eat a Banana Split.

Meanwhile, my sister was working on a beauty of her own.  Her friend Ashlyn made the stencil to go around the table.  It looked beautiful.

Ok, back to our project.

Only sand the parts where the piece of furniture could have been bumped or hit or rubbed up against.  This is what makes it look more authentically vintage.  I used a medium grade sand paper to rough up the edges.

The deets:

I'm in love. 

Then we brought it home and I fell more in love.

We found this glass knob at Hobby Lobby.  Oh, my beloved mustard color.

So, now we have a brand new gorgeous piece of furniture for the cost of paint and a door knob. Thats the bomb.

What's not the bomb: getting to my video recording session Sunday afternoon and realizing that I still had paint on my legs.  Good thing they only filmed from the waist up.