The Daily DIY: Mercury Glass

You'll need:

Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint

Vinegar

Any Glass Jar

Music: Generator^First Floor by Freelance Whales

Depending on how thick you spray the paint on and how much vinegar you let sit, will decipher what look you end up with. I like the way this turned out because it looks a bit aged now, but it's subtle.

This is such an easy way to add a little "antique" to your decor even if you don't have the real thing.
Have a lovely day!

vintage wear: Bows

This is one of my most favorite finds. First off, I think I paid $7.50 for it. Obviously, I love the bows on it; I also love the details on the top and the sleeves. However, as always, the length was so unflattering on me... so off it went!

I cut a few inches off making it hit just a bit above my knee which is what I always prefer. Add a sparkly gold belt, and some super cute heels and I have a favorite new outfit.

*SIDE NOTE* I wore this outfit to an outing at The Orpheum Theater where The Godfather Part 1 was being shown. As I was waiting for my date to catch up with me afterwards I was waiting at the back of the theater and a couple asked if I had dressed up for The Godfather. My reply was that I was dressed up because my three children were at home in bed and I was out on the town to which the man then said, "Huh... well, you look like a Corleone."

Lately...

It's been an interesting few weeks here lately...

For the last several months I haven't really felt like myself. I wasn't handling things the way I would normally handle things and just felt like a completely different person. So, I finally went to the Doctor. Blood tests came back fine, nothing too out of the ordinary except... oh yeah, he felt a mass on the right side of my abdomen and scheduled a sonogram to figure out what it was. The sonogram was almost a week later, and then the results weren't given to me until many days later than that. It was agony. However, the results came back fine with the sonogram as well. So, we figured out what it wasn't... but still no word on what it IS. I'm scheduled to see a specialist this next month to figure some things out, and hopefully we will. In that time though, it's as if a little reset button was pushed in my head and I all of a sudden was just back. It's very strange and so very interesting how our bodies work.

Through it all though, we were still working and creating and enjoying the beautiful Kansas days (which at times were slightly too warm for my taste in October)...

The girls are loving their school work and their minds are amazing to me. It's incredible how much they soak in... I am loving it as well.

My friend, Erin, made an Asian Coleslaw for Book Club and it was unbelievable. I loved it and gave it my own little twist (and by twist, I mean I put it in a egg roll wrap and flash-fried it to a golden, crispy beauty!) and I crave it daily. Perhaps a recipe will be shared soon.

That sandwich is just pretty. Those tomatoes are from my Grandma's garden and were the juiciest, most perfect things I've ever tasted.

My beautiful camera bag that my sister made me was also one of the things stolen in The Great Thievery and the one that I would like to replace it with is still over $300. So, needless to say that is still not an option when I can easily make something just as practical... but even more beautiful. That's an old purse that I had in my in-house Thrift Shop, aka the basement, which was given new life with some foam and Chevron stripes.

DIY Mercury Glass... coming soon... possibly.

So much to catch up posting about: a Baby Shower where it was revealed that I am having another NEICE!!!, a beautiful family photo session, a HANDMADE SWAP, and more to come this next weekend!

vintage wear: Polka dots

If you've ever read my profile description,

you'll have seen that I have a love of vintage dresses.

I can get a little crazy when I see potential in something

(you may have noticed from past posts that this is not limited to vintage dresses).

I realize not everyone can look at something and see the potential in it

(those people also probably have nicely organized basements, garages, and sheds

that are not full of treasures waiting to have their potential revealed to them and the world),

so I thought I'd start a new series to share some of my finds

and the potential I saw in them.

I saw this beauty and fell in love.

First, it's polka-dotted.

How could I pass up a polka-dotted dress?

I could not.

Secondly, that accordion skirt is the twirliest skirt you ever have seen.

I had to have it.

So, for this particular dress, I:

Shortened the sleeves;

I loved the sleeves, however I have short arms and it just wasn't working.

Cut out the mid section;

You can see on the before picture that there is fabric between the top and the skirt.

The length of the skirt was just a tad too long, 

so by cutting out this fabric and attaching the skirt back to the top,

it came out the perfect length for me...

because my legs are kind of short as well.

Removed the buttons, added a bow;

because the only thing that could have made this dress cuter,

was a bow.

Paired with some black tights and heels,

this little number danced the night away at a recent wedding reception.

Why waste a twirly skirt by just sitting around mingling??

A Fresh New Coat of Paint.

Sometimes my Uncle

(who manages a paint shop)

gets me free paint;

and sometimes on a whim I decide to 

re-paint my kitchen...

in the middle of the night.

Sometimes this happens 

in the midst of A LOT of other projects

going on.

(Obviously, my husband loves it when this happens...

hehehe!)

Just sometimes though...

Have the most wonderful week!

DIY Vanity and a GIVEAWAY: Petie Mae Jewelry

I go a little bit crazy with jewelry.

I just love a great accessory... I can't help it.

My dresser, however, was not appreciating my crazy love,

and frankly, neither was I.

I needed to do something.

There is a local surplus store here that

can be a treasure chest of amazingness,

or just a giant junk drawer.

One day when I was there,

it was a treasure chest.

I've had my eyes open for a little desk

or a little bookshelf that I could place

next to our bed as my own

girly space,

so when I saw a little metal bookshelf for $10,

I was just a little bit excited.

With a little paint,

it would be perfect.

I also had in mind a place for all my jewelry,

which in the end, ended up costing me nothing

because I had all the materials.

Tada!

Since I'm WAY into metallics right now,

it's only fitting that this be covered in them.

I love it.

The frame is from an old mirror that had broken.

I've used it for all kinds of things through the years,

and found it out in the shed begging to be used for something.

The wire was already attached,

as it's most recent use was for pictures to hang from.

The wire and screw that it's attached to are from 

a picture hanging kit... super easy.

Just measure out how far apart you want your wires,

screw in the little screws and run the wire through it.

So, once it was up on the wall and my space was coming together,

I was noticing that A LOT of my jewelry are creations from 

Petie Mae Jewelry.

My love for Petie Mae

(the girl and the jewelry)

is a bit unabashed.

I love her creative style.

Her pieces are unique (right up my alley!),

feminine and just altogether lovely

(a lot like the girl, herself!).

She's SO lovely,

she's giving away one of her beautiful pieces

to one of you!!

This giveaway is only open to US residents and will go through
Monday, April 8th until midnight.
The winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 9th!

Lace Fever

First...

A little sneak peek at what I've been working on this week.

If you can be in love with a curtain,

I am.

A few weeks ago,

some lady friends and I were working on these:

It's a jar

wrapped in lace and twine.

Seriously.

Find a jar,

get some lace,

hot glue the ends together,

and wrap some twine around it.

It can't get any easier

or more lovely.

They just add prettiness to the room.

I find myself wanting to don a petticoat and parasol

when I see them.

THAT'S how pretty they are.

Have a very lovely weekend!

I Wear My Heart On My Sweater

This suits my fancy a bit more.

I told you I was loving all these hearts I was seeing!

And I needed one.

I bought this sweater for $1.50 at my favorite thrift shop.

I already had the felt and thread, 

so this was one of my less expensive projects 

(You're welcome, Love).

All you need to do is cut your heart out;

pin it to the spot where you'd like it to be and then sew it on.

Pretty easy...

I ended up cutting the collar off 

(I used a zig-zag stitch to keep it from fraying)

because I felt claustrophobic in it...

well, and I like ribbons.

I just wove a little white ribbon through the knitting

to keep the neck a little more secure.

We'll see where this leads,

because now I have all kinds of ideas for patches.

One Wall Down...

Sure, it may be the smallest space of wall to cover

in our home...

but it's complete!

To some of you, 

this may seem like small potatoes...

however, it is a major feat in my book.

Here's a view of how it fits into the room:

See those curtains??

They're gettin' the boot!

Who knows when though... 

(I DO at least have all the materials needed to

make new ones;

it's just a matter of cutting, piecing, pinning, sewing...

you know, things that don't take much time at all.)

But, at some point...

I WILL CONQUER THEM!!!

Also,

I just would like to point something out:

see the shade of gray in the top picture

compared to the shade of gray in the bottom picture??

This drives me crazy.

Most of the time,

with the way the lighting is in our house,

it's the top shade of gray,

which I love.

There is a certain time of day

in which the light creates this

blueish-gray shade,

and I am not a fan.

I just needed to share that.

I have one other wall that is ALMOST complete.

It's been ALMOST complete for some weeks now.

It's just waiting for one more piece in order to

go from ALMOST complete

to officially complete,

but I just can't quite figure out what I'm wanting there...

it'll come to me, I'm sure.

What are some of your favorite pieces in your home??

My Spare Time.

Despite little rascally children

getting up and out of bed

numerous times these last few days,

decorating and evening projects have still been taking place...

just MUCH more slowly than I prefer.

Tis the season, though,

the sowing season.

I was just telling some friends the other night

who were feeling sorry for my

hustling and bustling and wrangling of crazies

throughout the evening

that I'm quite of aware of this season that 

I've chosen to be in and not to feel sorry for me at all!

Three little ones who are four years old and under

teach and train me CONSTANTLY the virtues of 

patience

endurance

perseverance

diligence

and flexibility.

It's not always easy,

it's certainly not always enjoyable,

sometimes it pushes me to my breaking point,

but it's so worth it.

Always.

Here are a few more peeks though

of what I've accomplished in my

"spare time":

Enjoy this new day!

Oh, and PS:

I love, I mean LOVE it when you all comment!!

It gets me happy AND motivated...

so thanks!

PS2:

My lists are kicking booty around here.

And The Winner Is...

Since I'm all about doilies right now,

I've been looking forward to sprucing this 

lampshade up for awhile.

As soon as I dabbed one little spot of paint on,

I knew it was headed for utter failure.

So, I moved on...

Stencil, of course...

"How hard can a stencil be??", 

I thought to myself.

Ugh! Gross.

HAHAHA!

So, putting all my creative powers to use...

this is what I ended up with!

Oh yes, you're seeing this right,

it's JUST painted.

No frills, no DOILIES, NO stencils,

just painted.

Okay, there's a little frill,

it is painted with metallic silver and gold.

And honestly,

I love it.

It shimmers.

It sparkles.

And it's just simple.

It was a good life lesson for me to remember.

A little shimmer;

a little sparkle;

and just plain simple

{almost} ALWAYS works.

Also... check out my sponsor, Lori, over at

head above water

and see her INCREDIBLE kitchen makeover!

It will get you excited,

trust me.

Have a lovely weekend!

And the Walls Sang!

Something in me burst on Friday

and sent me into 

PROJECT MODE FRENZY!

I started getting ideas like crazy...

and then ACTUALLY followed through on them

and begin decorating my house.

Over a year ago, 

we had placed our house on the market.

I completely de-personalized our home

in hopes that people would walk in and

visualize themselves cozied up in this little nest.

That did not happen.

We had quite a few interested lookers,

but no takers.

And then I just kept everything down,

because I had two crazy toddlers scurrying 

here and there throughout this small space.

And then I was pregnant...

and not much else went on in our home.

But now,

ooooooh!

I'm excited.

I envision things on the walls...

pieces of our lives

actually ON the walls for us to gaze upon.

It's thrilling.

And then I walked out to our shed

where everything has been stored.

Boxes upon boxes of treasures 

were calling out to me begging to be displayed

in all their glory once again.

It was like walking into your favorite

Antique shop and finding

everything you love

and then getting it all for free!

I must capitalize on this momentum!!!

So, for now, here are a few sneak peeks:

Haha!

Surely, you're on the edge of your seat

with a teaser like that!

Chalkboard Table

I've had this little table since I was a child.  It's been in the Rascals room lately and then recently moved to their play area.  And it just doesn't do anything for me. 

So I decided it needed some work.

I remembered that we had some chalkboard paint, found it, and went to town!

I sprayed it with three coats and then let it sit for 24 hours. I also had this fabric sitting around waiting for its time to shine so I sewed some pockets on the side and then Krazy glued it onto the table (I was a bit concerned about how the glue would hold up to the little crazies, but it has so far.)

And it's a hit... not only as a table to draw on, but also for a place to have tea and a place to hide.

PS:

I also entered this project into the Krylon Dual Duel.

Go over and vote!!  You can every 24 hours.

A Coffee Table that's really a Dinner Table

I've had this little table for years.  I found it at my most favorite Antique Shop  here in town.  It was much taller when I bought it, but we saw it working better as a coffee table so we cut off it's legs. It was a very nice shade of blue as well, a bit worn, perfectly made for our living area.

Fast forward a few years and there are a few more people in this house... 

tiny people; 

sticky people; 

dirty little people. 

Our house was built in 1927 and is really quite small.  But I love it so.

One of the issues that we've run into with a growing family is that is has no specific place for us to dine in.  There's a room off the kitchen that could possibly work, but there's no way an actual dining table would fit in there, so we make due.

Actually this table makes due.

Our children sit around it at each meal and it was beginning to really show.

Plus, as the house is slowly being re-decorated it was inevitable that this table would also need a slight makeover... and so it was given one.

I stripped the top hoping to unmask some hidden beauty;

it was beautiful in its own way, but not exactly what I was hoping for.

But I immediately recalled that I had some translucent glaze that I've used for different paint jobs throughout our home and gave it a whirl. And I really like the way it turned out.

The legs were painted with some leftover paint; the vintage glass knob was bought at Hobby Lobby on a day that was destined for me to be there when it was 50% off; and the two coats of polyurethane were also leftover from another project.

So... this little makeover cost me a whopping $2.14, which is my kind of makeover. 

Chairs in revival

One weekend afternoon a few months ago, I was out... 

by myself... 

in an Antique Mall. 

It was divine.

I was out looking for some chairs that I could set outside on my porch that weren't plastic and weren't expensive.  However, I was also on the lookout for anything else that caught my eye so I was there for quite awhile. And as I was rounding the corner slowly losing hope, I saw these folded up and tucked away. And hope swooped back in like a bandit.

They were a little beat up and a little rusty, but they're metal and the detail on them is beautiful (side note: I'm ALL about the small details!) and the best part... they were $10 each.

So they've set on my porch in their fading beauty now for a few months and I was finally motivated and inspired to bring them back to life (another side note: that motivation/inspiration may also have had room to come back once my most recent little nine pound rascal made his entrance into this world!).

Ooh, and I love them! The detail in them now shines and demands you take a seat. I love it.

But the madness didn't end there.

I had some other chairs inside my house that were also needing a bit rejuvenated. And so they were.

You'll be seeing these again off and on.  About six months ago, I began redecorating my house. And then being pregnant while mothering two toddlers kicked in and the redecorating came to a major halt. But I'm back in gear now and will be updating as I go.  These chairs sit in a little room off my kitchen which has been the first room to be revived. Stay tuned.