Obsessed With Checking Things Off The List

Do you ever get so focused on a project that you let everything else fall by the wayside?

That's how I feel about our "get the house ready to sell" list. I look at it several times a day to see how much progress I've been making. I scour it looking for things I can delete off the list.
Yes, delete. 

The list is on a spreadsheet on my computer. I have a list on the spreadsheet and a calender with the projects on the list scheduled for during the week and on the weekend. It's booked with things to do to get the house ready to sell ever single week and weekend until the end of April.

Unfortunately, the items on the list aren't very exciting...you know, something that would make a good blog post. The things on the list are things like painting the front door frame, painting the back of the guest room door, finish the kitchen shelf paper, etc. 

Yes, very exciting!

I think there are 4 blog posts in the list: 
1. New tile and frameless glass shower 
2. New paint for the master bathroom 
3. Garden tour after the new mulch is down and 
4. A final house tour when it's all done.

That's it.

If you've been following me for awhile you know that I've been sick (sick in bed sick) since last year because I'm healing from lyme disease. I haven't been in bed the whole time, but I've really lacked the energy to do a lot. Fortunately, I've been feeling really great and have energy(most days) the past 3-4 weeks. I've had some energy and felt ok since the beginning of September-off and on. You can read my other blog if you really to know the details. You can find it HERE.

I'm so grateful that my energy has returned just in time to work on this list. Mr. DIY could not have done this large list all by himself by the end of April.

Mr. DIY painted the walls in the toilet area of our Master Bath. He'll be painting the rest of the bathroom after we reno the shower. I love the new paint color - It's Silver Strand (taken down 25% lighter) from Sherwin Williams. 

I've been busy painting all the trim in the house, including the baseboard and door in this area. 

I painted the little box that's on the toilet with some Annie Sloan chalk paint and used some sandpaper to distress it a bit.

Here's how it looked before:

Here's my favorite quote these days...

That's all I have for now...back to painting!

Hope you're having a good day

Pam

Repurposing Old Art

Most of you know that we're working (slowly) on getting the house ready to put on the market. We were hoping for this summer, but it now looks like it's not going to be until next Spring. 

One of the rooms I've been working on (slowly) is the guest room. It's the first bedroom you see when you go upstairs and I wanted it to look good. The colors were dated and since we needed to make room for a special treasure from my mother in law's estate, the dark furniture had to go, especially because we were lightening things up.

What does all that have to do with the above photo???

A Little Painting Project

How have y'all been?

I haven't posted in awhile or been on Facebook or Instagram much since Sunday June 28th because I had a.. a...

well, we'll just call it an episode...

Lighten It Up With Paint

Mr. DIY is still working hard on the project list and trying to get things done and I've had more luck finding things online to organize and spruce up the house. 
This week I finished an little afternoon project.

Another Painted Vintage Style Stool

Mr. DIY made me a little primitive style stool awhile back. I liked it so much he made me 2 more.

The last stool I painted with a mixture of black and light grey paint I already had. I painted this stool  with some Satin Valspar paint, then sanded down the edges for a slightly distressed look.  

I  might put a coat of satin poly on it or I might let it get naturally distressed a little more. 

We've finished the outdoor Spring chores and the garden looks great. Will have to share it with you next time.
If you'd like to see my other vintage wood stool, you can see it HERE.

Hope you are having a great day!

Pam

Dining Room Lamp Makeover

I've always loved the pineapple lamps in our dining room. They look a little like artichokes, except for the leaves on top. 

I painted the lamps a few years ago, but I wasn't really thrilled with the finish.

Painted Vintage Style Wood Stool

Remember last month  Mr. DIY made me a cute wood stool. Our daughter really liked it, so I gave that one to her and Mr. DIY made me another one. 

I had him change up a few of the dimensions  on the second stool. 

The inspiration for my stool came from this cute one I found on Etsy.

Old Stuff Love on Etsy

This was the first stool Mr. DIY made for me. 

 If you would like to see how we made the stool, you can see it HERE.

The second stool has  two difference from the first one; the skirt on the new one is  1 1/2" high instead of 2" and the legs were moved out a half an inch more on either side.  

 I mixed up some black and light grey paint I already had.

Both stools were made from scrap wood we had in the garage. I'm hoping we have more scrap wood in the garage because I could use a few more of these.

Do you use stools around your house? 

(I'm only 5ft 4" tall and I seem to always need one.) 

Pam

joining:
Power Of Paint

New Paint For A Quick And Easy Update

We have about a gazillion unfinished projects that we are working between the mountain cottage and at our house. 

There are more like 20, but it FEELS like a gazillion. 

Ever been there?

Each project needs time between coats of paint, or needs to sit in a jig for a week while the glue dries or has to wait until we get up to the mountain cottage or....

you get what I mean. 

Well, this week, I started one more project in the midst of all the others, which, in turn, created at least 5 or 6 MORE projects for the room. Oy!

I started on the new paint for our laundry room! 

I brought home the paint back in March, but we always seemed to have something else to do on the weekend or during the week. Mr. DIY didn't even know I was going to start on the laundry room while he was at work and was surprised when he came home and had to help me by moving the washing machine and dryer. Most of the laundry room is finished (even most of the trim), but I still have to paint two doors and trim...

and do a few more projects.

I am happy to announce that I finished a painting project for the laundry room! 

Yay!

Sometimes when you're in the middle of a gazillion unfinished projects you have to do a small one to give yourself a sense that you've accomplished something!

Here's a peek at the new paint on the walls. It's Rainwashed by Sherwin Williams...

Our laundry room was green paint and black accessories. 

It was definitely time for an update. 

This accessory above our key rack needed a makeover since we are lightening things up in the room. You have to love spray paint for a quick and inexpensive update. 

So, off to Lowe's I went to pick up some supplies because of the 20 cans of spray paint on my shelf, none were white!

This was the first time I used Rustoleum Paint & Primer In One. 

I really liked the ergonomic handle and spray trigger. I sprayed several coats, letting them dry thoroughly between coats. 

After that, I sanded the metal to let it show through the paint. 

Ta da!

One project down...

... 5 or 6 projects to go.

A fresh coat of paint makes a big difference.

Thanks for stopping by,

Pam

joining:
Savvy Southern Style

Burlap Canvas Art

 Yesterday I showed you how I made a  super easy stenciled burlap wall art.

Today's  burlap canvas is super easy, as well!

Once again, here are the supplies I purchase for both projects.

SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR THIS PROJECT

large wood letter

spray paint 

11" x 14" burlap canvas

hot glue and glue gun

popsicle sticks

1 1/2" wide ribbon

narrow ribbon (1/4)

(If you don't like the bow, just leave it off.)

(you could also Mod Podge some cute craft paper to the letter instead of painting it)

HERE'S HOW TO MAKE THE PAINTED LETTER BURLAP CANVAS:

 Spray paint the ampersand with the Krylon ColorMaster paint.

The label says it dries in 10 minutes or less and it did. 

Spray several coats, letting it dry between coats.

Sand the edges once the ampersand dried thoroughly.

These little eye hooks were in my stash and I screwed them into the top corners.

But, you could  hot glued the smaller 1/4" hanging ribbon directly to the canvas, instead.

The next step is to tie the bow on.

I used 40" of the wide, striped ribbon, tied a knot in the center, then tied a bow.

I attached a 1/4" ribbon to the eyehooks as a hanging ribbon

The canvas hangs from the 1/4" wide ribbon. 

Hot glue the 1/4" "hanging" ribbon to the striped ribbon at the knot. 

Also hot glue the striped ribbon to the 1/4" ribbon about 2/3rds down.

Finally,  hot glue the ends of the striped ribbon to the burlap canvas.

Once the ribbon is attached, "dry fit" the painted ampersand on the canvas. 

Place it exactly where you want it to go and place popsicle sticks around it so you know where to place it once  you put hot glue on the back. 

Once the hot glue is on the back, place it on the canvas, remove the popsicle sticks and press it until the hot glue dries.

I told you it was super easy!

I hope y'all will come out and see me at Michaels on Sunday from 1 to 4. If you can't visit me in Charlotte, be sure to visit the Michaels store near you. 

Pam

An InLinkz Link-up

New Paint For An Extra Bedroom

Our oldest daughter moved to Southern California two years ago this past May and since then, her room has pretty much remained the way it was when she left. 

You can read about that day HERE, but I'm warning you that you may need a tissue.  

This weekend, we had some time and I was brave enough for a change and decided to get it painted a more neutral color...Mr. F even admitted to getting a little sentimental when he went up to patch a few holes in the wall.

Our oldest daughter's room had been painted Valspar Lucent Purple about a year before she moved. 

This is how it was painted when she lived here...You can see more of the details HERE.

Here are  some of the holes that had to be filled before we started painting.

And a few more holes that made Mr. Fanatic wax nostalgic...

We didn't spend any money on paint for this project.

 We had 1 gallon of Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter leftover from when we painted the Kitchen and Breakfast Room a couple of years ago. Ben Moore paint is pretty amazing and covered the previously goldish paint in those rooms with one coat, which is why we had a gallon left over. 

We weren't sure if the Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter would cover the purple in just one coat, however, and didn't want to chance having to purchase another gallon of paint, so we mixed 3 quarts of samples from Sherwin Williams we had from when I was trying to choose the kitchen paint color. 

Here's how the first coat looked:

Here's how the bedroom looks now after a top coat of Revere Pewter:

Not bad for a no cost project! Now I just have to add a little color besides the purple pom poms from Jess' graduation party a few years ago.

Maybe one of these days, I'll find a new home or a new purpose for the armoire that was once Organized. I wish there had been some way to move this out to SoCal with her without having to spend $500 to get it there. She could sure use it now the way it was configured to hold all her makeup and hair supplies.

The bookcase still has a few of her awards in it...Maybe I'll box them up one of  these days too...

The planters and mini tissue pom poms are from both daughter's graduation parties. 

sniff sniff.

My, how time flies... 

Pam

You can see a little update of this bedroom by clicking HERE.

How To Make A Framed Chalkboard From A Mirror

Do you ever need a vacation after you take a vacation?

Mr. Fanatic took last week off  to do projects around the house and he now needs a vacation.

A RELAXING vacation.

Spreading 23 + yards of mulch is hard work.

(That's about 621 bags for those of you who get bags of mulch.) So thankful our daughter helped us.

As if that weren't enough, Mr. F picked up a couple of yards of cypress chips for our path, then several yards of composted horse manure for our organic raised beds. 

In addition to the mulch, chips and compost, Mr. F finished installing our gas cooktop and helped me with an easy project that's been on my project list for several months. 

I found this mirror on Craigslist awhile back and it's been so long I can't remember what I paid for it. I'm pretty sure it was $55 or $65.

First thing you need to do if you want to transform a mirror to a framed chalkboard is to take off the hanger...

...and all the staples in the backing.

The mirror was held in by some spacers which we took out. 

We bought a full 4'x8' sheet of hardboard for $13.47 at Lowe's and had them cut it into pieces. 

The surface was roughed up with a sanding block and then primed with Zinser. 

I decided to buy a quart of chalkboard paint in a can rather than chalkboard paint in a spray can. Sometimes spray paint can be a little tricky with coverage. 

After putting the first coat of chalkboard paint, I knew I would need several more to get good coverage. 

After a few more coats (for a total of 4), the board looked perfect. 

After drying overnight, the board was chalked...

...then  wiped off.

I put two 3/16" boards in the frame so that I wouldn't have the spacers in between the painted board and the  backing. 

All finished!

Now, all I need to do is write a great quote on it.

I've since painted the frame with chalk paint, but left a little of the gold showing through You can find how I did that HERE

Pam