B&A Friday

First of all, thank you so much to those of you who have submitted your pictures recently. I really love posting these and hopefully giving you a little more foot traffic. I could still use more submissions so please send over your before & after pics to be featured!

Here are a few furniture transformations that come from Julie over at The Painted Parlor. She does the same thing I do, but in Utah :)

 This blue is fantastic!

Thanks again Julie!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend :)

Dresser for a Big Girl

This is the lovely dresser I was telling you about.  As of right now, I plan to put it in my daughters room when we update her room.  I chose to go white, because I thought it would be simple and elegant.  And also go with what ever bedding we choose.  Originally I had thought of painting it a pretty color, but thought it might not be in style in a few years.  White is always in style. 

This piece had a lot of chipped veneer on the drawers, that I tried to salvage.  But in the end, I just  peeled it all off.

 I just love the little drawer on top.

Dealing with chipped veneer is usually just a matter of fixing it with some wood filler.

But this time it was not working.  So I got some tools, and started prying off the veneer. It took forever and I vowed never again to buy a piece with badly chipped veneer ever again.

But I probably will, if it's as pretty as this piece :)
The color is Greek Villa by Sherwin Williams

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Shabby Chic Cottage
Primitive and Proper
Somewhat Simple 
Miss Mustard Seed 
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At Home with K 
Perfectly Imperfect 
Alchemy Fine Living

Inspiration for Big Girl Room

I'm currently working on a piece for my daughters new big girl room.  We will be welcoming our little one in August and she will have to for go the crib for a new twin sized bed.  I've been on the hunt for a cool old vintage/antique bed that I can spruce up. I've been looking at these photos for inspiration.

I love, love, love what Holly did for Wren over at

Life in the Fun Lane

 I'm also really loving this trundle bed from

Pure and Lovely

And this headboard looks like it would be pretty easy to make

Pottery Barn

But, alas we are on a very tight budget so I will be hunting through thrift stores and Craigslist for my baby girls new room.

B&A Friday

*** If I want to keep my B&A Friday going I need your submissions! ***

Please email me pics of any of your projects, doesn't matter what it is just as long as you have a great before and after to show off.

betweenblueandyellow@yahoo.com

Happy Friday!  We have been having some lovely, warm weather this week, my soul has needed it. 
I decided to share a couple before after furniture pieces with you today.

This cute little teal side table is from Deborah at Green Willow Pond

And this great lamp shade re-do and tutorial is so great

it comes from Lauren at 31diy

Thanks gals!  

Have a wonderful weekend ;)

Lampshade Upgrade

I know this has been done all over blog land, but I this is my first attempt at a lampshade re-do.

  I took an ordinary lampshade off a lamp from Ikea, and wrapped it in burlap. I plan to spray paint the base in the near future

Here is the plain white shade before

 Basically, I cut the burlap the same size as the lamp shade.  Folding the edges of the burlap around the base of the shade, I hot glued it the the inside of the bottom of the shade.

Pulling it taut, I glued the burlap around the top. 

It was a little rough around the edged so I 

 glued a little trim to the top rim, left over from this chair

Happy Thursday

Penne Franco

This quite possibly may be my favorite pasta I've ever had.  It's a copycat recipe of the one from Carrabba's Italian Grill.

It's not on the menu, just a special they've had before.  I've had it many times, and finally decided it was time to try and make it.  Believe me when I say this is

EASY!

Ingredients~

1 box penne pasta

2 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes

12 artichoke hearts (in water)

4 tbsp olive oil

1/2 pack of mushrooms (sliced)

kalamata olives (as many or as little as you want)

2-3 garlic cloves (minced)

2 chicken breasts grilled, and sliced (I broiled mine)

Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Salt&pepper

Preparation~

 Cook you pasta according to package directions.

Pour olive oil into large pan, and saute garlic for 1-2 minutes over med-high heat.  Add in mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, artichokes, and olives.  Saute for several minutes, stirring frequently.  

Add in the sliced, cooked chicken, and the cooked pasta.  Stir until heated through, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  You can add more olive oil if it seems dry.  Top with shredded Parmesan.

Enjoy!

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Last Minute Valentine Ideas

  Here are some decorating ideas, that might put you in the mood.  These are all very simple ideas, with a trip to the grocery store, they can be thrown quickly together for your sweetheart today. 

I love this idea with the flowers and a vase full of Red Hots

Marthastewert.com

Marthastewert.com

Simply toss some rose petals on the bed or on the floor leading to the bedroom

Or, if you don't have time for any of this, just lite some candles to set the mood.

Happy Valentine's Day!

New Piece (and some news!)

I'm very excited to finally be sharing a new piece of furniture with you today.  I guess, it's finally time I tell you why I've been a little MIA these past couple months.  And why I probably won't be posting as much furniture.  The big news is... I'm pregnant!  So, between nausea and this cold weather, it has been difficult to get motivated.  But by the time this baby is born in August, I plan to pick back up again at full speed.  Anyway, just thought I'd mention it in case you are wondering :)

 Before

 After

 This is the truest version of the color I could capture.

Once again, I used oops paint.  The can has no label on it, so I'm afraid I can't share the color.

It's a very soft, pale blue/gray.

I stained the top dark walnut. And I'm still not sure about the pulls, I plan to replace them.

Have you ever taken pulls off another piece just to take a picture?

Happy Wednesday!

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Domestically Speaking

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The Shabby Chic Cottage
Beyond the Picket Fence
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Fingerprints on the Fridge
Miss Mustard Seed 
Perfectly Imperfect

B&A Friday

I know I'm not the only one who loves to see a great kitchen make over.  I stumbled upon this blog and found this amazing kitchen transformation and just had to share!

It comes form Kelly over at

Kelly Rae Roberts

This is a serious transformation. I'm so excited to share it with you guys! we can hardly believe this is our kitchen.....

here are a few photos of our kitchen when we bought the place. it was tiny, had weird linoleum floors that had been sponge painted with green paint, and a very odd layout. oh, and there were no appliances either:

this was where the stove and refridge were (we think). it was an odd nook. you can't see it in this photo but there is a door inside that nook on the right that leads down into the basement.

 here's one of photos showing kitchen demolition

And now for the grand finale

Isn't this just beautiful! A lot of work but well worth it!

Check out her blog for more pics and details.

Kellyraeroberts.blogspot.com

Chair Upholstery and Cording How To

 This chair was a little bit different than this one, and easier.

At first I thought I would have to take apart like the last one, but it turned out it wasn't necessary.

All I had to do was rip the old fabric off the chair. It was stapled just around the perimeter off the seat.  Not folded under and stapled like most chairs.

 I figured that would be the best way, look what I was up against!  I wasn't about to try and take this apart.

You must make sure that you take the old fabric off gently, trying your best not to rip it.  Because you will need it as a template for your new fabric.

Place the old fabric over your new fabric and cut around it.  There were little notches to cut for the posts that run around the edges. Cut it out exactly like the old fabric.

Once your fabric is cut to size, either use the old batting and cushion like I did, or buy new stuff.  I didn't see any reason to because it was still in good shape.

Carefully place your new fabric in the exact same place as the old.  It is a good idea to take lots of pics before to know precisely where everything was.

Staple the fabric around the perimeter, pulling it tight as you go.  I didn't take a pic of this part.

It's not that hard though, you can always pull the staples out and start over if you mess up.

 

 The cording~

I always thought this was going to be so hard, but really it is quite simple,  if you have a sewing machine :)

I pulled the fabric off the old cording and re-covered it with the new fabric.

But if you don't have that option, you can buy it at any fabric store it looks something like this

So here is what I did.  I'm not saying this is the right way because I was just winging it.  I am by no means a seamstress, but this worked for me and it can work for you as well.

First I cut the piece of fabric to the length of the cord, wide enough to have extra on the sides.

I took the cording and wrapped the new fabric around it

like so.

Holding the fabric tightly closed around the cord I began to sew close to the outside of the cord

Sew all the way down to the end of you cord, it should look something like this.

Cut off the excess fabric

o

Now, take your new cord and hot glue it around the bottom of the seat, where the tattered edges and staples are. If you don't have a hot glue gun, I highly recommend you get one.  You will use it all the time.

The finished look

You CAN do this!  

Please let me know if you have further questions.  

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