Jute Twine & A Glue Gun

I've been stalking a couple of blogs lately, one blogger in particular has a obsession with monograms - and her home is filled with the initial of her last name.    So I thought I'd give it a try.    I forgot to take the before picture but did remember to get a during picture.

I started with a simple press board M that I picked up on the cheap some time ago.   I was going to just paint it and be done, however; with teenagers in the house - keeping things not broken, bent or otherwise doomed can be as challenging as a house with toddlers.   So just painting it has gone by the wayside since one of the girls cracked it.    Enter jute twine and glue gun.  And some burned fingertips. Here is what I ended  up with.



I tried a couple of different locations in the house and decided it looked best on top of the antique cabinet with pictures of the kids.

linking to:  http://lbratina.blogspot.com/

Tin Ceiling Tile

For the last eight years I've been holding on to a great tin ceiling tile.  I got it from an old building here locally, took it off the ceiling myself - that was a lot harder then I thought.

It has a great design on it.

I finally decided what to do with it.   It was in dire need of some TLC.   Bryan trimmed the uneven edges off for me.  Steel wool and some elbow grease and it was ready for some paint.   I used Rustoleum Desert Bisque and got the result I was looking for.  



As easy as 1 2 3

I've been loving the numeric tags and plaques I've seen all over the blogs and decided that I needed some of my own.  I found these plaques for less than $2.00 each and house numbers also for less than $2.00 each over on the closeout isle. 

A quick sand and primer on both the numbers and plaques and I was ready to go.   I decided on St. Croix for the main color and antique white for the accent.  I used the tiny nails that came with the house numbers to attach them to the plaques, I still need to touch them up a bit (and the three just has bad lighting in the pic - I really did paint the whole thing!).



These turned out fantastic and they were super easy and inexpensive. 

Beaded Headboard

Here's a project Bryan and I completed a while ago, a headboard for our bed.  I've had a water bed for the last 21 years, it's one thing from the late 80's that I just can't give up.  It's always warm when you crawl in in the winter and it's gives me just the right amount of support. 

When we moved to our current home in '98 we ditched the standard bookcase headboard that most water beds have.  It was not very attractive and it left us with very little room between the bed and a dresser.  When we painted the bedroom and got a new comforter I decided we needed a headboard.  I knew I wouldn't find what I wanted for a price I was willing to pay, so we made our own.   This project was BB (before blogging) so there are no how to pictures, just the finished project. 

A piece of plywood, a large rectangle of 2" foam, fabric, buttons and some great beading.   I definitely needed Bryan's help on this one.  He cut the plywood to the size we needed and drilled holes for the tufting.   I cut the foam down to size, I highly recommend using an electric knife for cutting the foam - it worked like a charm.  We used spray adhesive to attache the foam to the headboard and then attached the fabric with staples.   We made the buttons and attached them to the headboard with some heavy gage wire through the holes that Bryan had pre-drilled.    We used fabric glue to attach the beading to the headboard and then pinned it in place until the glue dried.  



The beading is a little off thanks to a couple of cats that would not leave the beads alone while drying, All in all though, I think it turned out really well.



Spring has Sprung

For those of you who really know me know that I do not like warm weather.   My biggest reason is allergies.  My allergies started about two weeks ago and I have stocked up on three, yes three, different allergy meds.   Otherwise - spring is an okay season.

As the world starts to green up I start thinking about spring/summer projects.   First I decided I needed to change out the picture in hallway, I still had a Valentine's Day themed picture  up.   I replaced it with this - it should be ok for several months.



This is a $3.00 frame and $3.00 worth of scrap booking flowers and a sheet of plain white scrapbook paper. 

In the yard - my chives have a great start



as does the honeysuckle

and the mint around the birdbath is also beginning to show itself also

I guess I'd better go take some more allergy medicine.

Auction Time

Ahh my first auction of the season.   Boy was it cold!  I was so glad I had my winter coat and my raincoat - 40 degrees with rain and hail.  As the rains came some of the crowd left and they started selling fast.   The two things I really wanted, an old pie safe and an even older crock, went way way to high for me, but I'm happy with what I won.  

For starters I snagged this cool retro kitchen table.   I'm not sure what the top finish is but I'm fairly sure I can do something with it.  The sides under the table are just painted metal and just need a little TLC and some paint to get it looking good.   Or I may just leave it "as is" and use it as a project table. 



I also won this great old book, I love the new trend of stacked old books and have even seen some fake old books for sale in a few stores. I think I'd rather stick to the real thing, plus you can find these dirt cheap at auctions and garage sales.  :)



I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that these feed sacks wash up and look good since I have a couple of ideas.



Of course, everything I won they added other boxes to it.   Therefore I also won some miscellaneous dishes, a Wagner Power painter (this could be good), a small shelf with hearts and some other miscellaneous books.  I guess I'll be putting some of this out at garage sale time. Maybe I'll redo the shelf first. 

New Old Fabric Balls

I have purchased several old quilts over the years, some in good shape, others not so good.  I decided to use a not so good one for a little project.   I cut the quilt, which I forgot to get a picture of, into 1/2" strips and started making fabric balls.



I have a new appreciation for anyone that has made very many of these.  It took me a little bit to figure out a good technique for making these.  Wrapping them as tight as I could was the trick.   That and a couple of drops of hot glue to secure the loose ends. 

The biggest problem I had was keeping the dog away from them - he thought I was making him some toys. 

Linking to:

 

A Few Goodies

I found a few goodies over the weekend.   I think I could have found even more had I actually gotten out of bed a little earlier.  There was one garage sale in Iola this morning and I was still asleep when it started - not a good thing.   They were selling stuff at half price by 9:30 and all the prices I saw were great at full price.  I guess I need to decide how important sleep really is. 

After the garage sale Bryan and I hit an auction - not worth saying for.  Then on to the local flea markets and a few good finds.  Here's a peek at what I got. 

I really didn't need any of this but I just couldn't resist. 

Nor could I resist this - the price was right and we love crates. 

And these tin shingles just had to come home.  I have an idea for these - I hope to get to is this week.  I think I should have bought more of these. 

A Sign of Spring

One of the first signs of spring at our house is this lonely little crocous.    



I planted several of these the first year we lived here.  This is the only one that has survived thanks to the black labs.   



Although I am a winter / cold weather person, I do enjoy spring.  I just don't like what it leads up to - summer.  More on that later.

Rocking Chair Makeover

A few years ago I was at a farm auction just outside of town and got this rocking chair for a cool $4.00.   I recovered the seat the week after I got it and this was the result.  It worked really well in our living room, green walls, brown sofa, cream drapes. 

Then a while back, we were the recipients of a fabulous dining room table and put the captains chair in the living room and the rocker went to the dreaded storage / laundry room.   

In January we painted the living room and changed out the drapes – I love love love the colors.  So I decided to give the rocking chair a second chance.  I dismantled the seat and now have nine great springs for a future project and asked the hubby to cut me a piece of wood to fit for the new cushion.  Some 2” foam, fabric and a staple gun makes a nice new cushion.  

The frame took a whole lot of sanding, some wood glue and several coats of primer and paint.  A little sanding and/or distressing and I have a new to me rocking chair.  

Linking to:  http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/03/just-white-and-wow-us-wednesdays-5.html,  http://typeadecorating.blogspot.com/2011/03/anything-goes-party-7.html, http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/, http://todayscreativeblog.net/, http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/  http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2011/03/show-and-tell.html  http://www.domestically-speaking.com/  <a border="0" href="http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/search/label/Show%20Off%20Your%20Stuff%20Party" http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/2011/03/show-off-yoru-stuff-party-65.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FXVSbu+%28Fireflies+and+Jellybeans%29  http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/2011/03/serendipitous-shutters.html

Gotta Love Hobby Lobby

I have a slight addiction, to Hobby Lobby.

  Here is why . . .

I love that they put items on sale all the time - we didn't pay full price for anything.

Yes I said "WE" - Miss Jorie has also come to love Hobby Lobby!



A Day with Mom

I was lucky enough to get to meet up with my mom in Topeka the other day.  She had an appointment at 11:00 and then we had the remainder of the day to do whatever we wanted.  First things first - food - a girl can't shop on an empty stomach.  Famous Dave's really hit the spot as I've been on a BBQ kick lately. 

There were several stops on our shopping tour - Hobby Lobby, Tuesday Morning, K-Mart, Burlington Coat Factory, Kohls, Pier 1 and an antique shop on my way out of town.    I saw so many things I wanted but refrained from purchasing.  I did however get a great tray for the living room, all I need is a couple of nice candles and I'm set.



The end table it's on is on my to do list.  I have plans to paint it ivory or almond and do some glazing
I also got some great ideas for future projects.  More importantly, I got to spend the day with Mom.