Ms. Blue

I'm very excited to be sharing this piece with you today.  As most of you know I'm about 8 months preggo, so I have not been doing much work on furniture these days.  But I was literally itching to do something, so I picked up this great piece for $25.  We've been needing something in our living room for the tv/toys to be stored in.

 Before

 I used a mix of dark blue and a dark grey I had on hand.

Linking to~
Primitive and Proper 
Perfectly  Imperfect
Miss Mustard Seed 
Just a Girl

Spray Painted Wicker

 A while back I bought this cute little wicker seat for $40.  

 And not until just recently have I decided on a color to spray paint it.

Being almost 7 months pregnant, spray paint is the way to go.

With proper breathing protection of course.

Here it is after a couple coats of brown

 

 First, I used a wire brush to chip off some of the peeling white paint, then I primed it with a spray paint primer.  After it was dry, I used a brown Rustoleum paint, two coats.

It's a lovely spot to sit and relax.

Keep your eye out for these old wicker pieces, they are very easily fixed with a little paint.

Link Parties
Primitive and Proper

Room Reveal

Over the past few weeks, I've been slowly finalizing the look of my daughters big girl room.  She's adjusted fairly well to her new bed, however she does get up earlier now :(.   She is 2 years old and very independent.  So when she wakes up and comes to find me, she starts rummaging through all my stuff until I get up.
We love her dearly and it's been so much fun to watch her transition from a baby into a toddler.

Here is the room waaaay before (with old camera)

 It was difficult to get a nice shot of the whole room, so here it is in pieces.

 I decided to do somewhat of a gallery wall above her bed.  She loves flowers and they go nicely with the green walls.

 See the full bed reveal here
and the dresser re-do here

The glider chair will soon be transported into the babies room.

Budget Breakdown:

All of the picture frames, mattress, glider, bookshelf, I already had. The bed was free. $40 for the dresser, $40 for the bedspread. The curtains I got for $10 a panel on clearance at TJ Maxx.  

And so in all I spent about $100 on this re-do.

Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

Link Parties
Remodelaholic

My Out Door Space

Two posts in one week whoa, slow down!    

I love participating in fun linky parties and today is no exception.  When I heard that Kate over at Centsational Girl is hosting today's party, I couldn't resist.  She is talking about outdoor spaces, and I love mine.  We are outdoor loving people and I've worked hard on my space and wanted to share it with you all.

The pergola was here when we moved in, shaded by a large Fig tree.

It allows the perfect amount of sunlight to filter through.

 I have a mixture of plants this year.  Begonias, impatiens, marigolds, and many others not shown.

Check out other outdoor spaces here
also linked here
CSI Project

Big Girl Bed

I must say that I have really missed blogging and painting furniture.  I peruse Craigslist and envision all I could do with the pieces I find.  But my husband tells me I must wait until I'm ready to start refinishing again before I buy anything.
Working on this bed for my daughter was so fun, but I realized I wouldn't be able to do it once a week like I used to.
This bed, I believe, came from my great grandmother.  I slept on it as a child and now my daughter will sleep on it.  It's been a great piece of furniture, and I almost hated to paint it...almost.
Over the past 100 years or so, it had it's fair share of dents and scratched.  Along with some mysterious green stuff.

Here is the before

I sanded it lightly just to get a smooth surface, and then primed it with Kilz oil based primer.  I then followed up with two coats of Greek Villa by Sherwin Williams.  (The same color I used for this dresser )
Finally I distressed the edges with a sander.

 We allowed her to watch us take apart her crib and put the bed together, so I think that really helped.

 I did put a bumper on the side, just in case.

She slept on it for the first time last night and did great,

She was so excited, the transition went better than expected.

The bedspread is from TJ Maxx.

The rest of the room is still in progress.  I want to hang some pictures and move in this dresser.

I will be showing the final reveal soon....along with the new baby's room!

Linky Parties
Sugar Bee Crafts
Coastal Charm
House of Grace
Primitive and Proper

Updated Bistro Chairs

Remember these great bistro chairs I got a while back for $10.  I painted them back in the fall, but never really liked the color all that much.  So yesterday I got out some green paint I've had for awhile just to see if I'd like it better. And I did.

Here is what they looked like when I first got them

 After the first paint job, the light green/blue wasn't doing it for me.

and now, perfectly green

 

This picnic basket was not being used, so I turned it into a planter.

 

Happy Wednesday!

Linking to-

Primitive and Proper
Centsational Girl 
Domestically Speaking 
Miss Mustard Seed

B&A Friday

I decided to share a little something of my own today.  Since I'm not really doing much with furniture these days, I've been walking around my house saying "What can I paint today?"

I think I may have a bit of an addiction to turning something from ugly to pretty.

I got this mailbox at a thrift store a long time ago, it was the exact same one my parents had in the 80's that held pens and paper.

 Now, I'm going to use it for stationary, pens and other mailing needs.

I love the little detail of the flowers.

I hope this inspires you to paint a little something over the weekend!

Link Parties
Fingerprints on the Fridge
Remodelaholic

Blog Break

Some of you may have noticed I haven't been posting nearly as much in the past few weeks.  And it will probably continue to be like that for a while.

To put it simply, life is getting in the way. 

My tummy is getting bigger, and there are less projects I feel like completing.

So I wanted you all to know that I thank you so much for you encouragement and support during this venture in my life.

But, as far as this blog goes, it has to take a back seat for a while.  Not sure how long, but I will post when the mood strikes me. There are a few projects that I will be sharing in the upcoming months.  But posts will continue to be few and far between.

Hopefully most of you will follow along, until I get back into the groove of furniture painting. 

Thanks again!

~Kathleen

 

DYI Project- Painted Frame

 Sorry folks for my lack of furniture re-dos, but I have not been very lucky lately finding cool pieces.
I will be updating my old antique bed for my daughter soon, and I hope to share that with you in the next few weeks.

However, I have been itching to paint something.  I've had this old, honey colored frame for years and thought I'd try a technique I use on my furniture.

First, I lightly sanded the wood.  And then started painting it with a pale blue/gray I had on hand.

Once it dried I used the sand paper to lightly distress the edges.

Then I rubbed some dark stain into the sanded parts, and wipe it off with a clean cloth.

Took me less than 15 minutes (not including drying time).

I see these at thrift stores all the time, I may try it with a more ornate frame next time.

B&A Friday

It seems the weather can't make up it's mind whether or not to be Spring or stay Winter.  I'm so very eager to start planting pretty flowers in the yard.  The weather in GA has always been like this, my mom says "If you don't like the weather in Georgia, wait 5 minutes."

So, on to another addition of Before and After Friday.  I love to get your pics so if you'd like a chance to be featured here please send over any before/after shots.  

Here's another amazing re-do from A little place called home sweet home

Here is her hutch before

After

Love the chicken wire!

Great job Leah, thank you :)