Blue Birds

One of my favorite places for a little retail therapy is our local Goodwill. 

Last week I was running through on my way home when I spotted this little lady. 

Not to insult her ego(she has beautiful lines) but the textures and colors are all wrong. 

She needed a makeover. 

(I apologize for the crummy photos. I was using an iPhone.)

My favorite go to paint is at Lowe's.

Valspar Premium Finish Spray Paint + Primer 

This time I chose Tropical Oasis Gloss. 

I have been drawn toward all things island or avian lately. 

The clothes I pick out for the kids are covered in flamingos and cabanas,

 colored in orchid pinks and Caribbean blues. 

I guess you should go with what moves you...

After a few light coats, she was looking like new. 

She looks at home on my shelf by the front door. 

I think it added just the right amount of color for spring. 

Coffee Break

For the last three years, we have had a piano in our kitchen/dining room. Mainly because there was no where else to put it. A few months ago, I re-arranged the furniture and was able to move the piano to our living room. 

Which gave me a whole blank space to fill up as I wished. 

And presto, the coffee corner was born!

And I have to say, it is my favorite part of the house. 

Here are a few photos showing the (practically) finished product. 

1. I moved the microwave cart over (minus the microwave) and it became counter space. Added baskets underneath for tablecloths, kitchen towels and washcloths, and place mats. 

2. I found these old cobweb shelf brackets at a flea market in Prairie Grove. The shelves are old boards found in my grandpa's barn and painted grey. For an autumn touch, I added fabric leaves from the dollar store. I stuck them on with mounting putty. No muss, no fuss. 

3. The hanging wire basket was found at a flea/vintage/handmade/junk market called the Junk Ranch. This was the first time I attended and despite the cold, blustery weather, found some wonderful pieces (others to come in a later post). 

This wasn't actually for sale but I am a big believer of "You'll never know if you don't ask". I asked and it came home with me. 

4. My sister was going to throw away this stool and I snatched it up before she could change her mind. Add a coat of bright orange spray paint and you hardly recognize it! My rosemary plant was the only herb that showed any growth this summer so to reward it, I gave it a place of honor. Plus, I like the splash of verdant green. 

Project Breakdown

Shelf boards -- Free

Shelf brackets -- $6 apiece

Wire basket -- $5

Stool -- Free

Woven baskets -- $10 from Joann's on sale

Grey paint -- mis-tinted can from Lowe's $2.50

Total cost = $43.50

Finishing touches will be 

*painting the walls, but that includes the whole kitchen so it will be a while.

* a new coffee pot. This one leaks like crazy, thus the towel underneath. But it has served us faithfully for over 5 years, so I don't want to give it a bad rap. It deserves to retire with honor. 

*maybe a striped rug for our feet. That tile is cold on an autumn morning. 

Where is your go-to spot in your home? 

A cozy reading nook?

A comfortable bed with fluffy pillows? 

The back porch on a fall evening?

Leave a comment and let me know. I would love to hear about your favorite places.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

First attempt at Turban Headband

DIY Pottery Barn 4th of July Banner

 

Since the 4th will be upon us before we know it, here is some inspiration for a patriotic banner for your back porch, dining room or outside BBQ cookout. 

I saw this cloth banner (below) on Potter Barn and thought

       "I could make that easy-peasy."

And it was. 

 


                           

DIY Ballet Flats

For a while now, I have been admiring this new trend of ballet flats. I saw a pair on a lady on Target and she informed me they were by Jessica Simpson. I googled them online and found that they were $70. Sheesh. After further research, I found another pair for over $400 dollars!

 

These are those crazy expensive flats. 

Since I don't have seventy dollars laying around, I decided to make my own. It was very simple and easy and cost about $10 total. 

The above photo was so, so difficult. I mean, I had to take at least one "ballet" pose in these shoes. So imagine this, I am standing on a picnic table, feet as straight as I can, then leaning way over to take a photo. I nearly fell over on my head. 

 

DIY Ballet Flats

• Plain black flats - look for soft material 
• 1 inch wide black elastic - I used two 16 inch long pieces
• Black thread 
• Needle and scissors

1. Put on the flats. Wrap the elastic around your ankle and position one of the ends inside your shoe. Hold with your fingers or use a clip while your slide your foot out of the shoe Sew the elastic in place. My shoes were suede so it was easy to push the needle through the shoe. 

2. Put the shoe back on and re-wrap the elastic around your ankle and position the elastic on the other side. Make sure the elastic is comfortably tight. It will stretch over time so you don't want it to get floppy too fast. This part is a bit trickier as you have to slide your foot out while keeping the elastic tight. 

3. Sew the opposite end to the shoe. I clipped the excess elastic off inside the shoe to about 1/2 inch long. I can't feel it when I have the shoes on so it doesn't bother me that it is loose and not sew down flat. If it bothers you, just tack down the ends. 

DIY Patio Chair Makeover

                                                                                                                                             
                 

This was my Memorial Day project. Or I should say, the project I wanted finished before we had company over for a cookout. You know how you clean like mad before company comes just so they can see the house clean when they walk in the door? It doesn't matter that it will look terrible after all the cooking, swimming and playing. As long as they saw it clean first, you know that THEY know that your house was, in fact, clean at one time. 

Same thing goes for DIY projects. I only tried to finish the one chair so that they would know that the ugly chair would soon look like the pretty chair. 

I bought the pair for $25 at Savers. They sat on my patio for almost 3 years before I attempted to do anything about the chipped brown paint and the faded 70's print cushions. I initially was attracted to the clean lines and the low framework which reminded me of Bertie Wooster's armchair in the BBC Jeeves and Wooster movies. Watch them here. 

Almost an art deco look. I stress the almost. But they looked like, with a little elbow grease and imagination, they could turn into something fun and comfortable. 

The before almost makes me want to cry.