SECONDHAND SHOPPING, A TIP, AND A SNEAK PEAK

Have I told you how much I love getting great furniture for next to nothing?  I am almost exclusively a Craigslist/Thrift Store/Garage Sale furniture shopper now.  I've found so many quality, solid, unique pieces that are so much more well made than most of the new things sold today.  They're not always perfect, but that's ok with me.  It adds character, right?  Usually with some inspiration and elbow grease, they can be made into something beautiful once again. I do draw the line on some things.  If there is damage where the integrity of the piece is in question, walk away.  If it takes more than you are able to do, walk away (unless you have a handy dad or hubby).  Mattresses, buy new.   A while back I found this table at a thrift store.  It was still the regular price of $6.99...I didn't even wait for markdowns on this one!  The top was in pretty bad shape-there were some slight bubbles in the venee......

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EASY FABRIC FLOWER ACCESSORIES

This isn't the post about bookshelves that I had planned for today, but my posts rarely turn out the way I schedule them.  We'll get to that another day.  I'm flexible, and wanted to share a quick craft with you today that you will love if you have a daughter, a niece, a friend, a teacher, or need a birthday gift.  This is such an easy project.  If you can cut and hot glue, you're good to go! This year for Christmas one of my nieces requested "headbands."  No other specifics, just headbands.  So, I pulled out my fabric scraps and went to town!  Tip: Save an old pair of jeans, khakis, t-shirts, or a blouse that you don't want anymore if the design on it is cute.  That red floral fabric is from a pair of pants that I bought at the thrift store, just to use for the fabric.  All of these items are perfect to reuse for making flowers. For several years this tutorial from Shelley at House of Smiths has been one of my favorites for......

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SOME DRAMA FOR THE BUILT-IN BOOKSHELVES

Hello there!  Thank you all for your sweet wishes for Caleb's birthday.  Other than half of our family being sick and not being able to attend the party, he had a great weekend! Today I have my first project of the new year to share with you.  In those lazy days between Christmas and New Year's, I broke out the paint brush!  I've wanted to add something to the backs of the shelves in the living room, and with the busy pattern of the curtains I decided to just paint them a solid color. I tried a color I've been seeing pop up a lot lately, "Urbane Bronze" by Sherwin Williams.  It's a rich charcoal.  Dark, but not a stark black. I really like the color because a few of the black frames and accessories I have still stand out from the background (even though it's hard to tell with the lighting in the photos).  See the fun sparkles from the left-out-from-Christmas disco ball? I kept most of the styling the same exce......

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!

  Our sweet boy turns 12 today! Caleb, we're so proud of you and the incredible young man that you are becoming. We thank the Lord for you and can't wait to see what good things He has in store for you this year!  We took our guy out for a quick birthday lunch and rather than going out tonight he requested that I cook his favorite-Breakfast for Dinner/Biscuits and Gravy-for his birthday meal tonight.  We'll celebrate with the family tomorrow. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB! You can read more about Caleb here. In the midst of all the festivities, I'm trying to finish this up.  One more coat.  I think.  I hope! Happiest of weekends, friends!  ...

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RETROFITTING THE CHINA CABINET DOORS

Yesterday I showed you my current project, the china cabinet for the dining room.   The outside doors had a wire screen rather than glass.  I like the charm and texture of the wire, but it was not in good shape (surprise!) and I decided that I wanted the clean look of glass all the was across the doors. I was hoping for a simple trip to the glass shop for a few rectangular panes of glass, but upon examining the backs of the doors I discovered the door frame around the glass was cut in the same curved shape as the front of the door.  Boo.  A much more difficult cut for the glass and much more $$$ to replace it. However, the doors were nice and thick and I thought it would be fairly easy to notch out the corners of that curve to make the back into a rectangular frame for the glass.  So, I called my handy-dandy dad for some help.  We decided this would be a fairly easy project with the router. First, we marked the section that ......

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