Happy Halloween!

Preparing For Haunted Houses...

Lots of Halloween fun has kicked our weekend off to a good start! My youngest child Kennedy (AKA - the witch) had a preschool Halloween performance and carnival today that was a blast.

Two of my kids had Halloween parties to attend this evening, so I thought I would make a festive treat to send with them...'severed bloody fingers' (or just 'sugar cookie fingers' if your kids are too nervous to try them :). 

 

Here is the recipe if you want to give them a try yourself!

Happy Weekend!

Antique Thrift Store Small Table Makeover

Last winter I found this cute little end table at a small thrift shop for $15.  It may look very cool and antiqued from the photo; however, it really was just plain gross.  It smelled, had spider egg sacs, webs, and dead bugs all in it, and was very very dirty.

As you can see from the picture below, the top layer of the table was lifting and peeling off.  This baby was OLD!  I was told from a reliable source that it was made between the 1600-1800's after they inspected it.  After how much love it has weathered, I believe it!

I immediately pried the top layer of the table off to get to the soft even wood below.  Being winter and cold, stripping and sanding this thing took months!

I filled in all the holes, nicks and dents with wood putty to sand some more:

If you look to the back of the table in the photo below you will see I was left with a portion of the table not covered after I pried the top off.  I added a 1x2 piece of wood cut to fit the space, then proceeded to shave and contour the edges to flow with the rest of the top.

And then sanded some more, and more, and more.  It finally was ready to paint!  I chose Sherwin Williams Underseas:

I also fell in love with these beautiful knobs from Hobby Lobby (when they were on sale for 50% off of course :).

It fit perfectly for the small space on the other side of my guest bed!

The room is feeling a little more complete!

I am linking up to the following parties:

Window Valance #2 Complete!

Finally, I am back in project mode once more! My back surgery went well, and after a month of recuperation I have had plenty of time to lay around and think of more projects in store.

Here is one I finished before my surgery. I had a hard time sitting for quite some time after my surgery, the reason for the lack of posts.

Do you remember the window valance I did for my daughter's room here? Well, I completed a second for our guest room. Being in the basement, I wanted to make the room feel tall and large so I installed this one up to the ceiling hoping to give it that illusion.

Here is what I ended up with:

Remodelaholic Feature

A big THANK YOU to Remodelaholic for my featuring my "how to keep a picture level" trick! 

Check out their website here, they are FANTASTIC!

Boy Room Update

I haven't posted in quite some time; however, I have been quite busy around the house.

Now that my son is 8, he felt dinosaurs was a little "babyish".  So, I removed the dinosaurs in my sons room and filled his shelves with "sports" themed items that hopefully he will enjoy until he moves out of the house. :)

Here is what we ended up with:  

 The bat in the above picture used to be my husband's when he was a little boy.  I love how worn and loved it is.  I put it on a hook that he could easily take it on and off the wall with, that way it can serve as both functional and decorative.

Please excuse my absence for the next little while, I am headed into the OR tomorrow to have back surgery.  I'll be back, and have a lot of projects to update you on!

This post is linked up to:

Another Thrift Store Light Fixture

  I have been admiring this chandelier from Overstock.com:

 It costs $140; not terrible, but $3 sounds a lot better right?!

I thought so! So when I came across this light fixture below at our local Deseret Industries for $3 and thought it resembled it, I was ecstatic!  Worth the risk at that price!  I brought it home, cleaned it up, removed the glass, and tested it to see if it worked.

Originally, I was going to spray paint it oil rubbed bronze like the Overstock one above.  However, I ended up liking the brassy finish on it and decided to leave it as it was.

I LOVE it, it really adds ambiance to the space...and for $3 YOU CAN'T BEAT THAT!

Client Back Splash

Recently I helped a client pick out new tile for a back splash for their kitchen renovation.  They painted their cabinets white, and antiqued them with a pecan glaze.  They added beautiful granite counter tops, kitchen sink, faucet, and hardware.  They wanted to keep the back splash light but tie in the darker granite.

The Before:

The After:

Here is a closer up detail of the tile back splash:

The colored glass can get quite pricey; however, by adding it as an occasional accent piece it ties in other colors and keeps the cost down.

They did a fantastic job on this renovation, such a difference to how much it lightens and brightens the room!

Window Valance #1 Complete!

I have been admiring window valances and cornices for quite some time.  Here are a couple that really inspired me, 

Centsational Girl

&

Classy Cutter

I love how Classy Cutter added the wallpaper to the main board, check out their link above to see more pictures...so pretty!

So, after reading their GREAT tutorials (check out both links for the "how to"), I borrowed my neighbors miter saw and got to work.  Learning to make the molding cuts was the trickiest part.  I  had so much fun I am now making a second valance for our guest room.

Here is the before photo of her window and room taken before the slight makeover -

And below is the new window valance and treatment:

 Her room was awfully bright in the mornings, and the 2 inch blinds just weren't keeping the room dark enough.  I ordered a black out roller shade instead from here which only set me back $35.  The roller shade is spring loaded and fits up nicely tucked under the new wood valance.  Additionally, I added a rod underneath as well and hung two sheers I got on clearance from Bed Bath & Beyond.  I was able to use two 20% off coupons on top of the clearance price bringing them from $24.99 each down to $9.99 a panel.  I love the cute polka dots on the sheers, they really break up all that white and match the polka dot quilted squares found in her bed spread.

I really like how it draws the eye up and adds more architectural interest towards the ceiling and doesn't stop where the wall paneling ends.