Pinterest Inspired Spheres..

I have been collection embroidery hoops for almost a year now. Avid embroidery enthusiast? No...haha! I saw the cutest project on Pinterest on how to make these orbs or sphere's like the ones you are seeing everywhere. It is so easy to make this and all you need are 2 sets of embroidery hoops. There are 2 in each set so a total of 4. I stain them first using a walnut stain, then I glue them together with a hot glue gun into the desired shape. I made a lot of these for my Son's Wedding that was in June so I ended of using a few different designs to make it more interesting.   I then did a dry brush with Annie Sloan Country Grey, any kind of grey paint would do the trick. This gave the look of aged wood or even a rusty metal. I purchased glass votives and battery operated votive candles at the Dollor store and some moss at Joan Fabric store. I glued the moss on and around the glass votive and then hot glued it into the bottom of the Sphere. With the help of my new daughter in law and a crew of lovely Brides Maids we finished making these a few days before the wedding. Thanks Pinterest...You Rock!

 

This little Princess

My sweet Grand daughter was the most precious Flower Girl for my Son's Wedding in June. She wore the fluffiest dress and you could tell the way she felt in the dress. Just like a little princess.... I love the way it looks hanging on my Wardrobe Armoire. This Armoire is from Good Will. I found this little beauty a few years ago and bought it for a mere $100! I painted it with Annie Sloan Paris Grey and waxed in both clear and dark wax. I lightly distressed it. It is one of my most favorite pieces I have done in my home....

All some things need are a little LOVE...

One of my favorite things to do is to go to thrift stores. I love to just walk around, drinking my  coffee and look for that one special item that inspires me. Sometimes I do go away empty handed and that is really ok but there are the times when you see that special something and you just have to take it home. I saw this chair right when I walked into Salvation Army. It was so striking that I couldn't stop looking at it. At first I walked away from it and told myself that I really do not need a project right now as I was super busy getting ready for my Son's Wedding at our home. So I tried to ignore it but something about it kept me going back. Was it that it reminded me of the chairs I have seen recently at Restoration Hardware? It had great bones! I took her home for $19.99! Yeah!!

One thing I am really bad at is taking a before picture, I wish I would have because this chair had wicker sides that were broken and very distressed! Not good distressed either... I love the look of aged wood and this is really easy to achieve and takes no great talent. I removed the wicker, made a slipcover for the bottom chair cushion. That's it! This chair is so pretty I cannot believe I only paid $20 for this:) Really happy that I didn't let this one go!

Fixer Upper/Rustic Farmhouse Style

A pretty way to store your pretty wine glasses. I bought 3 crate boxes in 3 gradient sizes. Grey washed them for a rustic look. My sweet husband screwed them all together and hung on the wall for me. Love this look!

Instant Gratification Project

This is a Pedistal Tray I made from a wooden bowl and a plaster vase. I glue the two together and painted it in Annie Sloan Graphite. So fun to put in bathroom with all your essentials. This project costs under $10

My Office...aka...The Coffee Shop and a love story.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and while this can be true, sometimes you just need to hear the story. This room is my baby boy's room, my baby boy who just happens to be almost 24 years old, who is married and also who is a daddy to my beautiful granddaughter Emilia. Go back farther in time and this room was my first born son's room who will be 26 yrs old tomorrow. This room is special to me, it has been through every design change that you could possibly imagine. I can remember the crib and the changing table and rocking chair and I see it in my mind so clearly, the dancing bears on clouds wallpaper, the time it was a playroom for the boys and so full of every toy and how they dumped them in a pile for me to put away every night. When my youngest son decided he wanted puppy wallpaper because he loved doggies so much, he loved his room! As he grew of course the puppies had to go and so the hard work of scraping off wallpaper ensued. New wallpaper emerged with new interest and so on. Change..change..change..Sometimes it's hard to keep up. And so they grow up and they go away but the memories are always here, the bedtime stories, the tickling and giggling, the up all night sick times, the good times and hard times all here in this small room. My oldest son's room is right next to this one and of course the story is the same for that one. I wanted and needed to redo these rooms so I would not feel so sad that my boys are all grown up so again time to change and move forward, create new memories,do new things! Everything I did in here was upcycled. The office chair is from Goodwill and painted in a chalkpaint called Sheepskin. I got the open shelving unit when my husband bought a snowblower on Craigslist and the guy had this in his storage unit..Score for me. It is from Pottery Barn and we only paid $20 for it. I used a greywash technique on it to get the look I wanted. The chalkboard was made from a very ugly old picture from GW. I used black chalkboard paint and also painted the frame in same color of office chair. What I love about it is that it was a canvas so I can use it as a pinboard for ideas from magazines. Sorry Pinterest.. this is how we old timers used to do this. The shelf above it was my son Jonathan's and because as you can tell from my story that I am very sentimental I kept his name on it. I just greywashed it like the shelving unit and now it matches perfectly. The Darling I love you sign was made from another canvas from GW painted in black and I used a white marker to write the words over and over again. I sit in here everyday on my computer drinking my coffee and I don't feel sad, only happy memories to think of and the darling boys that used to live here.      

Cocktail Hour..the cutest Mini Bar

I can't get enough of the many exciting ways to display your glasses and drinks for entertaining. I just love Bar Carts but if you don't happen to have one this is a great option. This is a small console painted in a pretty navy blue with white accents. Gold frame courtesy of GW,  chalkboard was purchased at Home Depot. Give them the dimensions and they will cut it down to size for you. All you have to do is glue it to the frame. Accessories are also from GW aka Good Will. If you don't know me by now..haha! They always have Silver trays and pretty bowls and glasses. I also got the cookbook there. Dinner with friends, Love it! If your not into the mini bar you could use it as a Coffee Bar. There are so many ways you could set this up. The main idea is to have fun and make it your own. Happy Decorating!