a before {and after}

I didn't quite take an effective 'before' pic, but I at least took it before it was done, so props right?

These were a wedding gift from almost two years back and they have been sitting in different part of the kitchen, but because my husband hates clutter and unessential decor, I decided to use them as the focal for this part. They were just white however and a little boring.
So I did this:

I love the numbers trend that is going around A LOT. And the family stand up I found at Ross for $3. Cheap way to change a look for the better! Let me know what you think!

two {down}!

So I'm officially into the third trimester...hallelujah!! Besides not being able to sleep and feeling a lot like death, things are great! lol. No, I really do feel so blessed and grateful to be at this point and to dream about what our little button will look like. If she'll have dark hair, who she'll take after. I can't wait!

In the meantime, I have been doing A TON of projects in the home which I am super excited about. Here are some glimpses, and I'll blog more about the how tos later!

My favorite one of the nursery so far- hand painted murals. Except they won't go above the crib...just seeing how they'd look! And I'll also tell you how to do the board and batten look for super cheap.
My $1.00 salvation army find...spray painted of course.
My first recovery project. And I painted it.
New pillows? Yes please.
These are everywhere on blog land, but you can make your own hurricane for dirt cheap. This one cost me $0.45. Not kidding.
Sorry about the flash, cuz my wall is not orange. Some fall decor! (Those vases were .35 cents a piece...glass but spray painted black)
More dollar store fall decor! Not the painting. That for sure cost more than a dollar. :)

My first curtains attempt. This is part of a much larger project for door and window. Again sorry for the flash at night. And we're missing plate covers for the switches, we just painted. I'm loving the new color!

So excited for the projects coming up, including restoring a nightstand and dresser, making curtains for french doors, another table runner for the dining room, dish towels, Little Button's blessing dress, some blankets, some....

...You can just call me nesting. :) Happy Tuesday!

new curtains

I made these beauties out of broadcloth and some fabric I had around from another project. Total cost was around $10. It was my first curtains attempt, and I winged it, so make sure you don't look terribly close. I needed to design the long curtains so they wouldn't get caught in the door but would cover the windows when the sun came in during the afternoon. I love the bright colors in the kitchen though! (oh and excuse the dust, mess, and random tile saw in the corner. We have been doing last minute finishes on our town home basement and we are both. very. ready. for. it. to. be. done.)

a {new} swan

I'm a big fan of KSL classified. Like a REALLY big fan. I hear Craigs list is also amazing. So many things from my house were bought off KSL. Our latest treasure: this solid oak, six chair set. Total beauty. Price tag for this baby: $75. I was ecstatic after hours (ok, maybe not hours) of perusing the site when I found it. We loaded it up that night and brought it home. Here's the problem. My husband and I are big dreamers. We have all kinds of plans. But not all kinds of time. So this little baby sat. For AWHILE. Until we attacked it one evening and seven hours one Saturday. We stripped and sanded the tables and chairs. Then stripped and sanded them some more.
Then we painted them brown. Then a thin coat of black to give them a slightly distressed feel, without being too obvious. We did the same to the base of the table, then sealed it. The top took the longest, because it had to be perfectly sanded. After acquiring such perfectness, we stained it a cherry color and then lacquered it.

And after a lot of grueling hours, and $20 worth of pain paint and supplies later, here is our $95 table set. Huzzah.



See the tile saw? Yea I promise its not a permanant fixture...basement is almost finished!

an office {paint-over}

When we bought our home, most everything was painted neutral. Except this room. Starch hospital white wasn't really working. After purchasing some Ikea desks, and some goodwill chairs, we decided it was time to paint. We bought less expensive Walmart brand paint called Verde Antique.
My husband does the work...

...and I take funny pictures of myself. Seems like a fair trade.

The initial completeness. The color really warmed it up, or brought it together, or whatever, but you can see the serious lack of shelf/drawer space in the desks. This turned into a problem rather quickly.

So completeness number two. We bought a couple of cheapo walmart shelves for $15 and some canvas baskets on clearance at Lowes and gave myself some much needed de-clutter room. Because my desk would get...sick. I also opted for a simpler wall photo collage because the other one just added to the clutter, despite being some fun work from my day job. Oh and the dried roses are sentimental. I'm a sucker, but I can't get rid of them.

The closet door shuts now and is no longer barfing out its contents. *sigh of relief*

And hubby lost half of his desk to my new sewing endeavors. Poor hubby. And you know the saying, do what you can with what you have? Well maybe that's a saying. Besides the desks and the shelves, this room is a prime example of that. You'll also notice my frames and chairs don't match exactly. I think it brings character and dimension to a room. My neighbor, who got her degree in Interior design agrees. Shazam.