Art Supplies Get a Pretty New Home

I love to create scrapbooks and mixed media journals and all sorts of artsy things, so my stash of supplies is, well, enormous. I have a slight sickness when it comes to organization and my things having a "home," so when the quantity of pretty glitter glues became overwhelming, a new container was needed for storing them. I use them alot, so I wanted them to be easily accessible, and of course, I wanted them to be in something "pretty!" ...in comes that wonderful man again...

A two by four and a drill and he was off to creating.

It was a little rough around the edges, but it was just what I wanted. It would fit perfectly on the art studio island!

I added some layers of paint and took the palm sander to it....then I hand sanded the edges of the holes where it was extra rough from the drill bit.....

 ...it looked so sweet loaded with those soft "sherbety" rainbow of colors!

 Did I mention he rocks?

Shaker Peg Rack

 
Sometimes all it takes is a word....

...I recently mentioned to my husband how desperately I needed a new peg rack. The one I had was small and metal and old. Last weekend I went to deliver some painted furniture I had done for a friend and when I came home there was this most beautiful peg rack waiting for me. Big and scrolly and 8 over sized shaker pegs. I was so thrilled and so thankful...

...today I finally got around to painting it. It looks fabulous! 

I painted it with some spray paint I had in the garage. Glossy Brown Leather.

 Then I slapped on some paint - Heavenly Blue (yes it's my favorite and I use it on everything!)

Then I added some Country White, making sure to not cover all of the blue. I didn't cover all of the

brown paint & then I sanded heavily with the palm sander, taking some of it all the way down to the wood.

I just love how the scroll work looks now!
I will be linking this to some of my favorite parties here.

White Wednesday -Shabby French Sign

      I had the good fortune this past weekend to both spend time with sweet, sweet friends AND go thrifting! We had a great time and I found many wonderful treasures (more photos to come later)...but one of my favorite finds was from a local Home Goods Store that we ventured into at the end of our outing! A sweet faux chalkboard. It was a cross between a salmon and red color....pretty, but not white. (I am sorry, in my haste I forgot to get a shot of the red color before beginning to paint). I wasn't sure what I wanted to paint, but I knew I wanted it to be a sign of some sort. I found a pretty french label on the Graphics Fairy and used some of the verbage on my own sign. I am NOT a detail painter by nature, so I had to give the whole thing a really good sanding at the end to disguise my less than perfect lettering. I love the end result. It looks worn and weathered, just like I had hoped. I will be sharing this inspiration on White Wednesday! Enjoy!

Vintage BreadBox

 When I found this really cool old breadbox many years ago I fell in love with it. It was metal and junky and perfect. I cleaned it all up and have used it forever now, in my kitchen...I finally decided it needed a new look. I didn't want to paint the entire box as I adore the old metal finish, so I just gave the gold "pane" on the front a mini overhaul. Cotton Knit paint and some cool lettering is all it took to make it look fresh and beautiful. Enjoy!

in my house: farmhouse chic

This "too modern for me"sofa table got a soft, sweet makeover today. The table was dark and modern and very clean lined. I wanted soft and shabby... and since it lacked all the scrolly stuff I love, I gave it an extra rub down with the sander and got a sweet vintage farmhouse look!

Thanks to Gina's { The Shabby Chic Cottage } great tutorial I was able to get a gorgeous two-tone "years of layered paint" look! She rocks!

Dreamy Dresser Redo

...another redo...this time a dresser. I loved it's original layout of seven drawers - three on top and four on the bottom...it was appealing to the eye ( I love things in odd numbers ). Suddenly something that was classic in appearance, turned dreamy! I loved the "cracked pepper" top against the "cotton knit" bottom. 

Sanding this piece was a must as it had a pretty glossy finish on it. A palm sander was necessary for this step as the piece was so big in size. Then a coat of primer, two coats of paint. Some minor sanding for this piece, nothing too distressed to take away from the classic look, and a wonderful coat of wax and final buffing.

The original hardware was so awesome that I was sure to use it again, once the piece was complete...and the drawers were already lined with this amazingly cool vintage paper that coordinated with the dresser colors perfectly. The before and after photos are amazing. Take a look at the wonderfully Dreamy Dresser Redo!
Linked to Frugal Friday - Check out all the other fabulous DIY ideas!

Super Sweet Nightstand Makeover

...this awesome thrift store find is transformed into a beautiful shabby, vintage nightstand.

When my friend Sandi asked me to do this piece for her I was a little nervous. I never know just how much "distressing" some people will like...but the more I worked on it, the more it came into it's own. The scroll work on the drawer and the turned feet are just perfect. Two coats of "cotton knit" paint , a super lot of sanding, then more sanding on top of that...lastly, a thick coat of natural wax and a good buffing. Simply Sweet. I am linking this to Metamorphosis Monday, so check out this and other great inspiration here:

BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS SHOW THE SIMPLE BUT BEAUTIFUL TRANSFORMATION!

More Ruffles....these are one of my favorite things!

...if I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times.......I LOVE RUFFLES.....especially WHITE ruffles...
and so this sweet ruffled drawstring bag was born....I just love it and think it will be a dreamy carryall this summer! (oh yea- I love bags, boxes, containers of any kind too- especially white ones!) Enjoy!

Sweet Ruffled Satchels

 I hope this week finds everyone rested after a long holiday weekend. My family and I were invited to the beach by a long time friend and we were blessed with wonderful weather, great company and each other. A much needed reprieve for all! It was while I was on this "mini holiday" that I realized I needed something small and light and summery looking to carry as a little "purse." I dug through a drawer deep in "carry all's" but nothing seemed right...so I survived the weekend with my Burt's Bees in my pocket and my money in my husband's pocket! Today I decided to remedy that situation once and for all. I found these adorable, plain duck cloth zipper "satchel's"{check out the beautiful tray Erin at Peony Wire Works created for me!} as my Olivia likes to call them at a local craft store. All they needed was a shabby white muslin ruffle and a twisted shabby rosette. I love the rope like handle and the overall simplicity of this little tote. It measures 6 x 9 inches. Perfect for the summer here and there's!

{check these "SWEET SATCHELS" on etsy}

Super Sweet Cupcake Tags

 I know I am totally hooked on all the vintage books and papers I have been collecting lately, so here is another sweet way to use the papers. Using a chalkboard style cupcake tag, I cut pendants from a vintage children's book. Layering them with pop up dots really added to the overall dimensional effect of the banner. A touch of pink sheer ribbon for a tie and some vintage string for the banner, stamped goodness in white ink and these adorable tags were born. Enjoy!