Walls Need Love Too

I love moving things around in my home and making them look new without actually going out to buy anything! Who doesn't love to shop their house?  I have been bugging George to make me these shelves for a really long time, but honestly I am not sure what I was thinking...

A.  We are not handy with power tools

B.  That would've been a whole lot of wood going on in a house that's already filled with wood         floors and wood cabinets 

C.  We are not wood workers and I enjoy having all 10 fingers

So I decided that these shelves would be a good alternative and they are pretty reasonably priced considering how much weight they hold.  Warning: You do have to screw about 36 holes in your wall so if you are squeamish about dry wall demolition, you may want to consider another route.

I love the new look and how bright and colorful it is now.

I filled them with some of my vintage treasures as well as some newer items that I have picked up and of course plants... because green always makes everything better. 

 

I tried to follow these guidelines when I planned out my shelves and what you are seeing is probably the 3rd or 4th version.  I stuck with blues, greens, oranges, and golds. That sounds like a wide range of colors, but I used orange citrus trees as my inspiration. Here in Phoenix, the bark of some citrus trees is painted white to protect it from sun burn.  The bark of citrus trees is very thin and if you don't use the paint, the tree could end up looking more like a bush because the tree will start growing leaves at the trunk to try to shade itself from the sun. Here's a less than stellar example...

So you can see on my shelves, I tried to replicate that same color palette.

I also added a few handmade touches - I added gold glitter to the antler and the felt wreath was made by TheFeltFlowerShop on Etsy. <3

Using different heights, colors, and textures makes this hodgepodge of items feel somewhat organized and put together.  I love it! It's hard to capture in pictures the full effect just because the shelves are so large, but hopefully you have gotten the overall idea.  If something is in your house that makes you smile when you look at it then it's a success, even if it's not perfect or everyone's cup of tea.  :) 

Craigslist Coffee Table REDO

Is anybody else a Craigslist nut out there?

You know you are on Craigslist too often when you search for a category and you recognize things on repeat from your last virtual visit.  Some might call it a problem, I prefer to think of it as a talent.

One lovely lonely coffee table kept popping up every time I searched for midcentury tables.  George and I decided to venture out to the east side of town to see the table.  When we saw it I knew I wanted it immediately - it was substantial but not clunky looking.  It needed A LOT of tender loving care though; the Phoenix sun had not been kind to it and it was completely sun warped.

I paid the nice lady who made us eat the mystery citrus from her tree and went on our merry way home to our little condo, coffee table in tow.

The legs were almost white because the wood was so dry and sun bleached.  George went to work on sanding down the table and staining it.

Once we got our pretty couch delivered from West Elm (all hail West Elm!), we were able to move our finished coffee table into the living room.

I love how it looks, but the only issue was the woven rattan screens were still super sun bleached and didn't look so clean and nice looking.  See below and try not to shudder like I do every time I look at this incredibly up close. Zoom should be illegal...

I decided to paint the wooden weavings an antique gold color. I know, I know, before any one starts lecturing me about painting vintage furniture, I know I "shouldn't" paint it.  Simmer down - it's going to be okay, I promise.

It was super simple and took me about an hour to do one Sunday morning.  First I cleaned up the screens...

Then I taped off the table so that I wouldn't ruin George's handiwork.

 Finally, I painted away! It took me several coats, but they dried relatively quickly so it wasn't the most painful thing I have ever endured.

I love the final result!  It's definitely not super noticeable but it has given new life to this 1950's coffee table. It's not perfect, but it's charming and has a story about it and that's what I love.

Disclaimer: I know the photography skills on this post are not stellar. My beloved camera is on the fritz and getting fixed right now in California (at least someone is having a little vacation!).  My phone is getting a work out in the meantime, but I am definitely missing my little camera and the high quality pictures it takes. One day we shall reunite!

What do you guys think about the coffee table? Have you ever given a Craigslist piece of furniture  a new lease on life?

Chairish Styleboard

I have a lot of wannabe personalities and aspirations...

Some days I want to be like the Pioneer Woman and live on a ranch with my family, homeschool my nonexistent children, and let George take care of the cows.  Does George know how to take care of cows? No. Does he have any desire to take care of anything bovine related? No.

Other days I want to live in a vintage refurbished trailer on the road with George living off the fat of the land.  Nothing but me (well and George, and the chihuahuas, well you get the point...) and the road - cruising my very own paved road of dreams. But then I remember that I need to make money some how and that you can't really live off the fat of the land if you are driving a gas hog all the time. 

Moving on to my point, another dream is that I wish I were talented enough to be an interior designer. However, I have no idea what I am doing and certainly don't even pretend to be as talented as say Emily Henderson (my decorating idol!), but I do enjoy it.  I am in the process of completing of a mini redo of my living room and am having so much fun with it.  

When Chairish contacted me about doing a styleboard based on a rug of my choosing, I was so excited to start and let my creative juices flow!  Chairish is an online company that makes it fun and easy for design lovers, like myself, to shop for vintage and used furniture.  I am a sucker for vintage goods and love the mix of new and vintage in a room.

Here is my style board...

The rug that I selected to focus my style board around was this beautiful Missoni octagonal rug.  I loved the jewel tones in it and decided to focus on picking up the green accents in the rug.   

Missoni Home Nabarniz Rug

Woman in Green Dress Antique Painting

Naples Sofa in Emerald Green Velvet

Vintage Lucite Nesting Tables

Mid-Century Danish Modern Walnut Rocking Chair

Modern Sputnik Chandelier

Vintage Brass Swan Planter

All rugs at Chairish are available to view here.

This was so much fun to do!  Do any of you ever make style or mood boards for fun or before you start designing a room?  If you don't you should! 

"Hello" Yarn Bubble

I have a TON of mustard yellow yarn leftover from the wedding. I could probably knit you and everyone else in your family a sweater with how much yarn I have secretly stowed away.  Because of that, many of my crafts are *shocker* made from yellow yarn!

I saw this pin on Pinterest not too long ago and knew that I had to replicate it. It's got the perfect combination of color and quirkiness that fits right into my home. Except, I am not going to put a picture of the original because hers is way better and you won't want to read my post anymore.

The original creator of the "hello" bubble, used stretchy fabric for hers which would probably have been a way better idea because yarn took FOREVER. It was a nice little mindless task while listening to music so if you have an hour to kill, go for it.

It's really cute because you can put it practically anywhere. I tried several different places until I was happy with where it settled.

Nope, not here. It doesn't stand out enough against the paint color.

Nada. The hello isn't even pointing at the deer. That's just silly. Plus we all know that deer don't say hello.

Cacti can't say hello!

Ah, here we go, I kind of like it here. It adds a nice center focal point to the mirror.

I liked it in the center of the mirror because the mirror is just a little too classy as is; it needs a cheesiness factor much like everything else in my home! I can't get a good picture in its new home, so enjoy the fuzziness that is my masterpiece.  I'll probably move it tomorrow.

Don't forget to read the tutorial on how to make this bad boy. And just remember; don't be like me, don't use yarn.

Desk Makeover and a Surprise!

Oopsies on the countdown! I should've known better than to do a blogging extravaganza during the last week of school. I always forget how much there is to do until you are in the midst of it year after year. To celebrate being on summer break, I decided to do a little desk makeover that I have been wanting to do for a really really REALLY long time!

This desk (we'll name her Penelope) has been in my family for years. My parents gave her to us to have in our home a little before we got married. I used this secretary's desk when I was younger to do my homework on and she has definitely been loved by our family.  Unfortunately, because she has been in so many moves, she has definitely seen better days. I don't know if you can see very well, but the legs are especially scuffed up.  Penelope had some serious nicks and scrapes and even thought I loved the beautiful stained wood, it was a little beyond repair.

Here is the makeover...

Ahhh - there we go, that's better.  I know I am not the first person on the planet to paint a piece of furniture, so it hardly seems blog worthy however I feel like it is such a transformation that I had to share. To be honest, this bad boy was quite a labor of love.

We had to...

1.  Sand it.
2.  Sand it again.
3. Wipe it down.
4. Dang it, sand it again.
5. Prime it - it turns into a gross pink because of the stain. George suggests we keep it that way... we move on quickly after that suggestion.
6. Paint it.
7. Paint it again.
8. Paint it for a 3rd time.  Let it dry for a day.
9. Put on the knobs and move it into its special place admiring your handiwork. What? The drawers don't open and close with ease anymore because of the paint? Eh, deal with that another day.

I got the knobs from World Market and they make the desk fancy.

The color is called Icy Mint in Valspar's Paint and Primer in One (semi-gloss) from Lowe's.

The color makes me happy and totally transforms the room.

In other news and slightly random - I'm on the cover of a magazine! Bet you didn't know you were reading a cover girl's blog post! It's kind of silly, but that doesn't mean I can't pretend to be a celebrity. So weird though, no one has offered to give me freebies - I even had to buy my own dang magazine! Haha!

NBD.

January Favorite 5

I am so glad I have gotten back into the swing of blogging this past month. I have really missed the blogging community and am so happy to be back!

I was thinking every month I would do a little walk down memory lane to look back on some of my favorite posts from the past month. Sometimes I think I post too many posts and people miss them. Do you ever do a "look back" on your past posts?

Here are my January Favorite Five:

My Affirmation Bags! Love them and use them every day!

I loved all of my honeymoon posts, but the most special was probably the first one. I loved sharing my memories with all of you!

My favorite vintage finds - this post just makes me happy...

My Etsy finds for the wedding - I just love Etsy, don't you?

And finally, my absolute favorite post from January, was my paper flowers DIY post for the arch from my wedding! I loved making these and I think they looked absolutely adorable, not to mention they disguised the ugly white lattice arch beautifully. <3

Wedding Items Repurposed

I have been able to repurpose some items from the wedding. It makes me feel a little more useful in this world.

I had pilfered my parent's house a few months before the wedding looking for things that they did not want anymore. They had a really heavy mirror that they weren't planning on using anymore so I threw that bad boy in my car and was ready to do some serious DIY. Of course, it would be too perfect it I had taken a before picture; that would have been much too sensible.

I spray painted a primer all over the mirror. I think taped off the mirror section and sprayed the frame a pretty sunny yellow. The actual mirror part just got a really good coating of chalkboard paint. I also did not take a picture of this..........

Here it is on the wedding day! I used my great grandmother's toothpick holder collection instead of table numbers, that is why there are random titles with names underneath them. I will write more about that later.

It worked perfectly and it was so heavy and huge it actually ended up being a really convenient door holder as well!

I loved this giant chalkboard so much I knew I wanted to keep it but wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. It's much too heavy to hang on the wall.

I decided to make a little sign for our house and have our guests sign the board whenever they came to visit as a little memento.

The only issue if that I keep forgetting to have people sign it when they come over! Oh well... one day it will get filled up.

I think it is cute right by our front door and it adds a nice splash of color to a pretty blank space. I figure I can change out the saying too when holidays come around.

What else would you guys use this for?  I would love to hear your ideas!

Favorite Vintage Finds

I love vintage shopping - it feeds my soul and is totally therapeutic. The things that I am drawn to are totally random. I used to feel like I could only choose things from one era, but then I got over that and just bought things that made me happy.

I love vintage shopping because the items are unique. You can't find them mass produced in chain stores on Black Friday. It adds character and a homeyness to your abode in my opinion. I also like to wonder about the previous owners of the items, what their stories are and what their lives were like. I am a little picky because I really only like to buy vintage items that I can actually use.

It was really hard to pick only a few of my favorites! I might have to do a part two because I love all of my treasures.

Here's just a few...

A white duck wall hook - this just adds to my faux taxidermy love.

Salt and pepper shakers made from vintage lightbulbs.

Vintage calendar flipper day thingy - haha that's the technical term. I love the sweet little birds at the top.

Vintage pink glass juicer - a lot of you are probably sitting there going, yeah, big deal it's a juicer. I just love the pink glass; it's so feminine and beautiful.

This is my newest find! It's a three tiered tray for entertaining or cute storage. I absolutely loved the diamond handle at the top and the beautiful black and white pattern. Black and white patterns make my heart pitter patter these days.

I turned vintage princess bowls into cacti and succulent planters for my wedding centerpieces. I searched for months for reasonably priced princess bowls at antique stores leading up to the wedding. I gave away centerpieces at the wedding but kept two of them for my memories. These will always hold a special place in my heart. I'll post about my adventures with those at a later date.

I hope you all enjoyed my vintage treasures! Do you like to go vintage shopping? What are some of your favorite finds?