Sunday, October 30, 2011

Jewelry Organization


Hope you all had a great weekend and did something fun! 
My youngest daughter has been asking me for something to organize her jewelry for quite some time now.
It's not that I haven't been thinking about it, but I just couldn't come up with the perfect set up for her.

My oldest daughter had a great set up in her armoire. If you haven't seen this post, you can see it HERE.
We set up a hair/makeup/jewelry station for her inside an armoire we found on Craigslist.
This is what the jewelry part looked like:


My daughter already had a cute ring and earring holder and wanted me to do something for her necklaces. Found these hooks at Hobby Lobby this  past week that didn't cost too much, but it was the wrong finish.


 My daughter wanted her necklaces on the inside of her closet door.



I had some off white spray paint, so I painted it, then sanded off the finish on some spots. Her room is Shabby Chic style, so it would fit right in.
Here's what the inside of her closet door looks like now:




Awhile back I painted and covered her little dress form to hold one of her necklaces.


It works for now...and I didn't have to make a big production out of it. Overthinking a solution is not necessary. 
Anyone else do that, or is it just me???

Hope you had a great weekend!

Pam

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Upgrade The Look With A Stencil

I finally did it! Yes, I did! 
What, you might ask? A stenciling project! 

Inspired by Debbie and all her wonderful stenciling projects, I finally decided do one of my own. Well, another one. My first and last attempt at stenciling was a disaster and didn't turn out so well. I was brave and decided to do try it again.


Ya'll know I've been working in my closet lately...I'm still working on changing out our seasonal clothing. This little cubby is backed with burlap covered cardboard. While I love the texture of the burlap, the color just didn't go with the brown baskets on the shelf above.

Paint can fix just about anything, so the burlap was painted with some Valspar Mediterranean spray paint I had left over. Lucky for me it was just enough to cover the whole piece. : )


Then I used a stencil I found at Hobby Lobby and used a mixture of craft paint. (Americana Burnt Umber and DecorArt Rich Espresso Metallic). I brought out my mirror for placement of the stencil.


Voila!


The backing to my cubby now looks so much prettier and goes so much better with the brown baskets that sit above this area. You'll have to wait and see how the whole closet looks until after I finish organizing it.


Hope you had a great weekend!

Pam


Monday, October 17, 2011

Must Have Basic Tools For Your Home Tool Kit

*this post contains affiliate links



Since I'm truly a "do it yourself" at heart(hence my blog name), I thought I'd  talk to everyone about some basic must haves for DIYer's, especially those of you who are new at this or have some hesitation to doing anything yourself.

If you've been doing some of your own DIY projects for awhile, I'm sure you'll agree with many on my must have list.


My list includes basic tools for doing projects from simple crafts to checking things off your honey do list. (This post doesn't include power tools that you would need to for building projects)

The first must have for the DIYer is an adventurous attitude and  willingness to try something new. 



I believe you can do more than you think you can...and there's either a neighbor, or someone at the hardware store or even someone in blogland, that can help you if you need it. I love seeing someone share their first attempt at a project and it comes out really fantastic. That is so exciting!


The first tangible must have for the DIYer is a cordless screwdriver. I carry mine in the trunk of my car.  A cordless drill is such a time saver when changing out cabinet hardware or putting outlet and light switch covers back on. My Skil cordless screwdriver is compact, lightweight and so convenient.(not that I'm partial to it or anything...lol!)

It's easy to carry anywhere in it's compact case. (the new version doesn't come with a case anymore)




The next must have on the list is your own DIY "toolbox". Mr. Fanatic gave me my own toolbox full of tools for Christmas many years ago. Don't worry, he gave me a girly gift  that year, as well, ~ I have no idea what that gift was, but I still have and use the tools he gave me. 

Here's a good basic kit from Stanley with great ratings.

In that toolbox he gave me was a hammer  that didn't weigh a ton, needle nose pliers, wire cutters, snips, a level, a six in one screwdriver, a box cutter and a fold out saw. You might not need the fold out saw, but definitely everything else. The best thing I like about having my own tools is that I keep the in my craft room and don't have to go searching in the garage to find them.



Of course you'll need a tape measure or two.  Uh, I have a thing about having tape measures in several places around the house or in the car. It's always really handy to have a small one in your purse, too, so you'll know if that fabulous bench you just found at the Goodwill or HomeGoods  is going to fit on the wall in your foyer.




 As a DIYer, you'll definitely be doing some painting and you will be needing a good paint brush and painting supplies. You can do a lot of great projects with spray paint, but some makeovers need a good brush or two. My favorite brushes are made by Purdy. A good paint brush is worth the money and will last years if you take care of it.




One of my most used diy tools is my hot glue gun. Does yours look this bad, or is it just me?


This one has 1000+ great reviews on Amazon.com 

And last, but not least, a sewing machine. 

I can't imagine not having one (or two) of these, but then I've been sewing since I was 12 years old. My mom didn't know how to sew, so she had me take a class.  As you can see, I've had this machine for quite awhile. Brother machines work great and are inexpensive. The sewing machine I had previously was a Singer. I think I bought it when I was a teenager and traded it in many, many years later.




 

I know some of you use that fusing tape and are quite proficient at it, but I would encourage you to be brave and take a class and learn how to sew.

Seriously ladies(and gentlemen), I've seen some of the great projects you've done and I'm 100% certain you can do this:

Imagine the possibilities of just being able to sew a straight line! You don't have to spend a lot of money on a machine...the current one I'm using was about $100 and it sews great.


Below are just some of the projects I used my basic tools for:


I hope you've enjoyed my list of must have DIY tools and have encouraged some of you to be brave and try something new. Any takers?

Pam


This post contains affiliate links, which means if you purchase something from one of these links, I'll make a small commission, so thanks!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Accessory Update

I hope you all had a fantastic week and weekend! Some of you know that my oldest (19yr old) daughter who lives in SoCal surprised us last Sunday evening by walking in the door. We had no idea she was coming for a visit. It was so wonderful to have her here for several days.  She flew home on Thursday.

Needless to say, I didn't get any projects (or house cleaning) done while she was here or visit many blogs last week, but it was definitely worth having her here!

I worked on a small project today.


I only have a few faux flowers and this is one of the arrangements I have. I like it for Fall because it has pomegranates...


and apples...


and pretty fall colors. I always felt like the pedestal vase should be lighter, so today, out came the paint.



Here's what it looks like now:

It's painted with a leftover sample paint~ Ben Moore, Edgecomb gray. I sanded it a little bit for a distressed finish.





Here's the before...

and here's the after:
Hope you did something fun this weekend!

Pam



Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Hey Everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I'm guest blogging for Marty over at A Stroll Thru Life today.

Hope you stop by for a visit.

Pam

Monday, October 10, 2011

A Wonderful Surprise!

Hey everyone! I apologize for not finishing the rounds last night. Sorry if I missed you...I had a good reason!
My oldest daughter Jess,who lives in California, showed up on our doorstep last night around 9:40 pm! We had no idea she was coming for a visit ~ we hadn't seen her since the end of May.

She decided Sunday morning to book a flight and surprise us all. Her sister picked her up at the airport after she got off work. 
After a very busy Sunday, I was sitting at the kitchen bar visiting a few blogs after linking up at a few parties and then Jess walked in the house behind her sister.
I was so surprised and wasn't sure if it was a dream or reality. Ever been there? What a strange feeling.
After the world's longest hug, I called upstairs to Mr. Fanatic and he wondered what all the commotion was.
Jenny took this photo of us on my cell phone.
Jess said she'd be staying for a few days, so needless to say, I will be taking a few days off of blogging, but will be back later in the week.

Hope you all have a fantastic Monday!

Pam

Sunday, October 9, 2011

One Down, One To Go

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! I am so excited that I was able to squeeze in a project that I've wanted to do for a long time.
Here's a peek of the lamp I made over. I have two matching lamps, but was only able to finish one.

Here's what the lamps looked like before:

...and here's the after:



The burlap lampshade is just a mock-up. Will have to finish that later, as well.
Hope you worked on something fun this weekend, too!

Pam




Friday, October 7, 2011

A Simple Fall Wreath


Happy Friday everyone! Are you happy the weekend is here already? I'm always so glad when the weekend arrives. As promised, today I thought I'd show you how I made my fall wreath.
Tuesday I told you how I was obsessed with a wreath I saw on Pinterest so  I knocked it off. It was pretty easy since I already had some Spanish Moss and a grapevine wreath.


 I was all out of dark burlap, so I made a trip to Hobby Lobby. I bought enough for a couple more projects.



I dread using this stuff since it makes a mess, but this is the only way I could think of to make the moss stick to the grapevine wreath.



After gluing the moss onto the grapevine wreath, I attached some faux foliage with wire. I could have hot glued it onto the moss, but I would like to use the foliage again and didn't want to ruin it with globs of glue.

I glued a piece of moss over  the wire so it wouldn't show.

After that, I cut a strip of burlap long enough to make a bow. Then tied a piece of jute string on the grapevine part of the wreath in a loop around 12".(sorry, no photo) The wreath is hung by the string onto an over the door wreath hanger. The bow isn't attached to the wreath and only hangs on the wreath holder.

 
That's it! Super easy!
I think it took me about 20 minutes to make and I love that I had most of the items on hand, so it didn't cost me a lot of $$.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!


Pam


Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Vintage Table For The Shabby Chic Bedroom

A couple of days ago I showed you how I transformed the little table from my grandmother's basement. You can see it HERE if you missed it. Here's a little peek at where it's new home is...



The table has a special place in our youngest daughter's bedroom, right next to her chair with the Paris Market pillow.

I put her lamp from Target with the custom shade slipcover I made her last year on it. Not sure if this lamp will stay here since my daughter likes this one on her nightstand.



Here's how the little table looks in the room. It's painted the same color as the bookcases we made(better). If you missed how we took some ugly bookcases we found on Craigslist and transformed them, you can find the post HERE. I think these bookcases are my all time favorite project that we've done.
The backs of the bookcases and the little table are painted in Valspar Nautical in a satin finish.







Here's the lamp that my daughter prefers.  We found it at Ikea on our last trip there.
I've made quite a few things for my daughter's Shabby Chic bedroom in the past couple of years. If you'd like to see them all, just click on "youngest daughter's bedroom" in the labels section on my sidebar.

While you're over on the sidebar, become a follower, if you aren't one already, so you don't miss any of my upcoming projects. You can also follow along on Facebook or Twitter.


Thanks for stopping by,

Pam