Adding Character to the ENTRYWAY..

I have always looked to my sisters to help me decorate, but i figured it is time to take matters into my own hands and make it my space. So here it goes, personalizing my home, one space at a time!

  This blasted entry way was so unwelcoming to me. It was down right bothersome. 

I live in a split entry home, and the entry leaves little to NO room to make it inviting. 

Forgive my camera and photography skills, they are not profesh.

Here is the wretched before~

boresballs

 

Found a bunch of random thrift store frames!

 Paint the frames the desired colors you want. I chose turquoise, red, mustard yellow and black. 

And i turned one frame into a chalk board.

 All painted and found the layout i liked!

 

Found this Garage sale goody for 2 dolla!

" Dolla dolla bill yo!"

I made legs for it out of a 4x4 cut in two and screwed into the bottom of this gorg fab good.

 

Next I added Knickity knobs and did another coat of paint and distressed the crap out of it!

 

Finally i mod podged some cute turquoise paper on the inside, to finish my look! 

 

Added pics, kids art to personalize the space!

 

The finished RESULT! Sweet nancy drew she looks cute!

                         
I wish you could see the grand finale, but my wretch lil camera broke.
I painted the door stop to blend and added some fresh flowers and wicker balls.

                                                                   

Another Color Transformation

I will apologize for sharing all my small projects. it seems like these days that is all I have time for. But I do PROMISE I am working on some big projects. They just take some time.

But for now here is a quick spray paint transformation.

I have been loving the simplicity of white lately........GASP....I know....SHOCKER!

I still LURVE me some blickety black, but white is so elegant and clean too!

Remember this antique window ?

It was from my Great Grandmothers house. I kept the  original color 'cause it matched.

But I have been wanting to change it and make it fresh and clean.

With a little of this action.....

I got this!

And one fresh looking window on my wall!

Next a beautiful fabric wreath!

But for now.....here is my quick redo!

Tasty Tuesdays: Apple Streusel Muffins

I love muffins. I love apples. I love streusel. Therefore, this is the perfect muffin recipe.  I am actually crazy about muffins . . . you can check out all of my muffin recipes over at BexBox.

I also love the clipart on this recipe card--I like to imagine that my hair is done up in a cute, retro bob whilst I am baking in the early morning . . . instead how I actually look when I bake in the morning: hair pulled back in a messy bun (and not a cute messy bun that I would take a thousand pictures of and post to my FaceBook profile . . . a true messy bun), socks halfway off, bra-less, and puffy-eyed from getting up too early.  And if I do have an apron on, it's a real apron that covers my shirt.  Those waist aprons are just for show--all the spills happen up top, people.

Helping a Friend

One of my favorite things to do is help others see potential in things. I love showing that you don't have to spend a fortune to make something beautifully your own.

So you can imagine when a good friend called me and asked me to help her with some projects, I was elated. It seems like once you do a piece and realize how easy and transforming it is, it becomes an addiction.

So we set out on the hunt for some end tables and other items to start out. 

And guess what? 

FREE NINETY FREE.

That is right folks, I saw a sign a day or so later that said free items. So I spun my mini van around and stopped. And there they were...two end tables perfect for our project!

So I took them to her house and she prepped them to be painted.

And of course you know my reaction when she choose black paint....HELLO...

LURVING IT!!!!

A few coats of the black and they were finished.

I left shortly after we painted them. But couldn't wait to see what she did with them!

Great job Anna! I love how you decorated them!

Here is a little sample of one!

The best thing about creating is that we get to make it our own. 

And she did a beautiful job making it fit her beautiful home!

Tasty Tuesdays: Perfect Asparagus

Is asparagus grown-up food?  I never liked it when I was a kid, but now it's, like, the most delectable vegetable on earth.  It takes three years to grow your own so that it will keep coming back, and we are on year two.  I can't wait to harvest as much as I want for days on end.

In the mean time, this is my favorite way to prepare asparagus.  It goes especially well with Oven-fried Chicken Monterey.

Spring Fever

Is anyone else in complete Spring FEVER mode?

I have been cleaning, scouring, scrubbing, list making, and wanting to tackle little projects here and there that spruce up the rooms.

One project I have been dying to redo is my willows in my bedroom. I mean maybe it is just me, but it seems outdated already!

I like the drama the branches create against the wall. 

But can we say blah!?

I tried to remove them completely but it looked wrong.

So I took them outside with my trusty bff ....

...yep you guessed it,

krylon.

After several coats of spray paint and patiently waiting for these branches to dry ,

(o.k. there really  isn't a patient bone in me when I am creating. I want it done now and quickly. Sooooo maybe they were still tacky when I moved them in...tehe...shhhh...don't tell!) 

, they were ready to display.

MUCH BETTER

Best part....FREE-NINETY-FREE....... 

just re purposed  an old fav to be a new colored fav!

Vinyl as Labels

O.k. I promise for now just ONE MORE vinyl creation.

I am in LOVE with labels.

I obsessively label everything. 

So as you can imagine while my sis-in-law was slaving away for me on her Cricut, of course, I had her cut me a gazillion labels.

But my favs are for my baskets.

BEFORE

 I found some DI wallet sized frames awhile ago for my baskets.

I spray painted them Ivory

 Sanded and scuffed them afterwards.

Found some old scrapbook paper and cut out the paper to be framed.

Then rubbed on my new number labels!

And hot glued the frame to my entertainment center baskets.

AFTER

Linking up to

  Finding Fabulous

More fun with Vinyl

These next  project was a breeze to create!

Once again my lovely sis-in-law cut the vinyl for me.

 INITIAL frame.

I have wanted to make something like this since I first saw something similar on my friends brilliant blog here at Shabby 2 Sweet. 

So I bought an old DI 5x7 frame and spray painted it black!

I then had my sis-in-law design me a fancy shmancy cutout of my hubsters and my initials.

I found some old yellow card stock, cut it down to size, and crinkled it up.

Then using scrapbook ink, I inked up the crinkles to give it an antique feel.
(*You could use the process in the  below post too*)

Next I assembled my frame with the glass and vinyl, and added the paper for the backing. 

And VOILA!

I loved the way she designed our initials so much I had her cut me two.
Now to decide what color frame to do for the next one!

Inexpensive Antiqued Qoute Ideas

1st~ Type up all the poems, quotes, or sayings that you like. (I just printed mine out on regular printer paper, but you could use card stock too)

2nd~ Cut the poem or qoute to the size of the frame you have.

3rd~ Crumple the paper  into a ball and then unfold it, so it is nice and crinkled.

 

4th- Spray stain your poem or quote. 

( I use Design Master spray satin from Roberts. You could use regular stain, although the spray stain drys in seconds. Or even dip your paper in tea to give it a old weathered look. The more crinkled your paper is the better the creases will appear darker.)

 

5th~ Paint your frames the color you want them. (I bought dollar store frames that were ugly and just spray painted them with a high gloss black spray paint.*hint* High gloss makes it not look like spray paint. So my frames cost me $1.00 each. I also found some bigger 5x7 frames at the DI for .75 cents each and spray painted them too!) Sand your frames down a little around the edges if you like that look too!

6th~ Frame your quotes and enjoy!!