Lamp Transformation

I know I have been MIA for months! The world has been so blasted crazy for me I have not had time to keep up my blog. So sorry mi amigas y amigos. But I am working on getting all the projects I have done all summer posted and we shall start here:

So I am really on this major white kick! Everything I touch has to be painted white! I wanted to refresh these lamps (shown below) just because... so they ended up being my next white spray paint victim :-) 

These lamps were purchased on clearance at Target for $14 each oh around 2 years ago. 

They made their way around the entire house. First they were here in my previous home office (pictured below) and then they ended up in my stepdaughters room (sorry no pics of that) and then one made its way to my Real Estate Office. I tell ya...they've been around the block a time or two :-)

Well, I finally decided to paint them white!

So here's what I did.

I taped off all the pieces I didn't want white which meant the piece where the bulb goes and the cord. Then I sprayed...and sprayed... and sprayed with Krylon Dual. I am sooo glad I found this stuff! Its a primer and paint in one.  One less step makes me a happy camper 'cause I am laaazy!

I had to use what I had on hand because I didn't want to spend any money....as usual. The finish was in a flat finish and after looking at it I decided I didn't really like it. So, I scoured my garage hoping to find that can of Krylon Crystal Clear that I KNEW I had from a previous project. Whew!! Found it! NO MONEY SPENT! YAY!!! Now I can spray on the shine!

LOOK!!! It's gettin' shiny!!! But not shiny enough!

That's the shine I was looking for!

And here is the finish product. I love it so much better in white than black.

Because I had house guests coming just days after I completed this I didn't have time to fancy up the lampshade. But don't worry, Amigas...that will be a reason for another a nice little post soon since the weather is getting cooler here and I will need indoor projects to do :-)

Aaahhh... I love spray paint!

Adios!!! 

My Fab new finds!

HOLA!!

I thought I posted this back in May but I have had such a crazy summer I just noticed I did not so here goes :-)

So you guys know I was hoping to find another set of bi-fold doors...well...I didn't quite find another set on the side of the road for free but I did score this old door at a community yard sale for $1!!! SOLID WOOD!! Boo-ya!!!

I am so stoked about this door because I was looking for one to make a head board for my step daughter's room/guest room. I think I am on a roll with the head board door thing ;-) 

Ok..so its got a little water damage on it but so what? The amount that needs to cut away will make it perfectly even with the top of the door. How crazy the ay THAT worked out OH yeah!!! 

     

In an effort to get started, I had hubby, Will,  remove the hardware and pull out his handy circular saw to cut out that nasty ole' water damage. He had a time trying to get the door knob off. 

Man they made 'em different than they do today. 

I taped off where I wanted him to cut and voila! It's ready for sanding and staining. I will be on a hunt for the right stain or paint over the next few weeks.

Full Instructional Post to follow :-)

  

But wait...that's not all! Guess what else I found! Well looky here! My new craft storage cabinet. I have been scouring Craigslist for a cheap armoire in hopes to find something I could refinish. Well...the heavens came through for me on this one. It's brand spankin' new and was custom finished by the guy who I got it from. OK so you wanna know what I paid for it??? 

$20 smackeroos!!!! YUP YUP!!! Now this one I am REALLY stoked about. Check this baby out! 

                  

 It is fully loaded!!! 72"h x 20w x 18d, Adjustable shelves, file cabinet, pull-out shelf and just lots of storage! I don't care for the finish much but for now it is gonna work.

                 

 

And last but not least...how about this $2 slipper chair! OOOh I can't wait to reupholster this chair! 

After I bought it, I figured I'd either try it myself of have a pro do it. Well, the guy who sold me the door for $1 (smile) told me about a place here that holds upholstering classes where you just bring in the piece you want to finish and they will show you how to upholster it. 

How ironic that I ran in to him :-) 

Now I just have to go choose some fabric and sign up for the classes.

What a good day it was for me today!!! Gosh I love finding a deal! Stay tuned to see the progress. Look like I have a lot of projects to get done.

BTW: I am preparing for an art show on June 9th and I just got a few new Buyer clients so my posts will be sporadic as a lot of my focus will be there.

But I will try my best to keep you in the loop with all I am doing.

See ya!

My New Office Whiteboard

Hola!!!!

The past week has been suuuper duper crazy for me! I coordinated a Home Staging Class at my office that took place the first part of last week. Well, it just so happened that my church Women's Retreat overlapped at the latter part of the same week. Man, was I hustling trying to work that out...got it done in between having an asthma attack - ha!!! 

I am woman hear me roar!!! 

I had to take off Monday & Tuesday to just to try to recuperate :-) 

What better way to get some rest...than to do something fun! 

WORK ON MY OFFICE WHITEBOARD! YAY!

Here's how it all got started.

When I ran across this on Tip Junkie's  blog. I knew this would be the perfect solution for me. But...as usual how do I make it happen with no money. 

Hmmm....ding, ding ding (that's the bell going off in my head - smile) 

I had an art piece that I got about 10 years ago at a festival that could work perfectly.

As much as I hated tearing this thing apart...I just had to do it.

So...after looking at her and remembering my friend's son seeing this in my house and asking "Why is that lady naked?" I decided she had to go :-)

I flipped her over a proceeded to tear off the backing. First I scored the paper with my handy EXACTO knife thinking that would make it easier. Not so much!

Just tear that paper off, Stacey and stop being scared - LOL!

After tearing off the paper, I pulled back those little metal things that hold the mat in...Sorry...don't know what they are called. uuuh...picture holder thingees maybe :-)

 Next I grabbed what paint I had left in the garage. I reeeeally was on a mission to do this without spending any money so this was all I had...and when I say I was stretching that paint I mean I was streeeeeeetching it! They were both practically empty.

I took my empty frame outside to sand and spray. It was too cold and breezy so the paint started to crack and bubble. So in to the garage we went.

How ya like how I jimmy rigged a covering for all our yard stuff that sits under the counter. That big bulky thing in the middle on top is my mitre saw. I had to have some way to hang the frame so it wouldn't sit on the floor so I hung it from the handle - LOL

So once it was all done I flipped the "naked lady" picture over to expose the white part. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of that. Well, it was looking kinda dingy against the white frame. So I took a mat from another frame that I got free (yea! I love free) and cut it to size, plopped it in and replaced all the picture holder thingees (smile).

VIOLA!!! MY FREE OFFICE WHITEBOARD!!!

Can't wait to hang it in my office tomorrow!

So what do you have lying around that you can get creative with? 

Easter Sunday Thinking - Planned Projects

Happy Easter to everyone! 

As the husband was napping after church and the stepson was reading (his favorite past time) I went out to the yard to play with and brush the "family" dog (we'll he's really my husband's - smile). While Tyson, ran a few laps and mischievously dug in the yard I sat on the porch thinking of all the projects I want to do. Whew!!! I got tired thinking about them :-) Especially when I added all the "unfinished" projects to the thoughts LOL


Well, here are just some things I want to try as well as two unfinished projects of my own the will, for the life of me, get done LOL


I painted these frames black to white a few weeks back. Simple enough, right? Well, I need to get some photos in them but I'm not sure if I want to re-insert the family photos or put something more artsy in. Hmmm...suggestions??

Been looking for a creative way to display my Buyer and Seller Clients in my office without using the traditional, boring (yeah I said it) whiteboard that you see in most Real Estate Agents' offices. Booyah!!! I think I found it!! Thanks soooo much Tip Junkie and Aesthetic Writer for this one. You answered my prayers :-)  Who knew you could use dry erase markers on glass??? Not me :-)

I ran across this fish scale art and soooo fell in love. Thanks to Two Thirty Five Designs and Kara for these super cool ideas!!!  I'm doing this one asap!!! But I won't be using poster board and spray painting as they did...stay tuned to see what I do :-)

      

                                  Two Thirty Five Designs                    Kara Paslay Designs

This old patio rug is in major need of an update. So, for two summers I've been saying I am going to try my hand stenciling it. Well, doggone it I AM gonna get it done THIS summer...seriously...I am :-) Wanna know my excuse? Well, I have house guests coming from Connecticut in June. Well... not REAL house guests...its just my brother and his family (smile). But any excuse to make new and fun stuff for the crib! 

And thanks to Vicky at Decor & Harmony for posting this awesome paper wreath that she did!! I want that for my office! BTW - Stop by her blog for a chance to win it. She's giving it away in celebration of her updated blog name.  And check out her blog while your there. She's amazing! Woot woot!!! Go Vicky!!!

I snagged this little all wood beauty off Craigslist for $40 in December. It was too cold to get it outside for a makeover so I spray painted the knobs and leg tips silver just to make me happy for the moment :-) Welcome warm weather! She'll be getting a new dress soon :-)  

Alrighty then...that is just a snippet of things I intend to get done and I will journal them all with you. I hope you come back and follow.


Hugs,


Stacey :-)

How to make a headboard from bi-fold doors

So as you know from my March 25th post I made a headboard out of bi-fold doors that I found on the roadside...yes...I dug those things right out of a pile of junk, threw them in my car and went about my happy, merry way determined to make my long awaited headboard! Well, here are the instructions on how I did it!

MY BORING BEDROOM WALL (AND BEDROOM) WAS TRANSFORMED FROM THIS...

 

TO THIS!! WOOT WOOT!!! HOW ROMANTIC!!!

HERE'S HOW!

First get you some good ole' fashioned bi-fold doors. They sell them at any major hardware store for cheap but if you're like me you wanna just find some on the roadside (smile). That is a lot more fun ;-)

You're gonna need some room for this because these things are HUGE so put them in your garage or take 'em in the back yard. I just set them up in the garage. See how tall they are??

Now check out your hardware situation and get the right tools to get all those hinges, knobs and other hardware you won't be needing removed.

Now turn on some music and get ready to sand your little heart out!!! 

Really...be prepared because there's ALOT of sanding. 

I pulled out the electric sander, the block hand sander and...

For more help...and entertainment...I got my 12 year old son in there too :-)

SAND KENNEDY!! SAND!!! PUT YOUR BACK IN TO IT KID!!!

Once you get her sanded like you want, its time to slap on the stain...or paint or whatever finish you choose. Because I can be lazy and impatient, I chose to use one quart of the Polyshades stain and poly combo because I didn't want to have to go back over everything with a clear coat.  I put this project off for a year...I was not about to push it off for one more hour - smile

You maaaay want to get some gloves too! It may get messy and who wants to ruin 

their fresh, new manicure LOL.

I used a sponge brush to apply the stain instead of a rag because I wanted to give the effect of streaks in the stain. And...because, like I said, I am lazy and impatient (smile). The brush was easier.

hmmm....lookin' good...let's do a few more coats :-)

I let the four panels dry over night and then brought them inside and laid them on the bed so I could reattach the panels.  I used nine 3.5" Mending Braces  that I purchased from Lowes to do this.   

I placed them so that the screws could be attached right in to each door as you can see in the picture below. Sorry for the dark photo. To compensate (LOL) I am attaching a clearer image of what you should be looking for  when you head to the hardware store.

Next I attached the 18" picture hanging system that I also got at Lowes. I was concerned about how strong it would hold so I purchased two of them. The packaging said it would hold up to 200 pounds but I was still "scurred" - LOL They were $10 per set and well worth every bit of the $20 I spent of my comfort level.  It would have been cool for that thing to fall down on us in bed...

NOT COOL AT ALL!!!

Here's a better shot of the part of the system that I hung on the actual headboard. It comes in two pieces and one part hangs on your wall and the other hangs on the item you want to hang. Make sure they are spaced the same on the wall as they are on the headboard. So if you have a 2" space between the brackets on the awl then do the same not he back of the headboard.

Here are some shots of the part that hangs on the wall.  I spaced them out instead of putting them right next to one another because I made the assumption that would evenly distribute the weight.  The system even comes with this little mini level that sits in the middle of the pat that you hang on the wall to make you you get it level. It kept falling out so I just used my 24" level.

You can see in this pic that the top piece kinda sits out a bit. Well, the piece that is attached to the headboard sticks out to and sits right over this one to form a strong hold. Get ready to hang it!!! And you WILL need two people to do this. 

Much love and thanks to my super strong hubby who helped me.

The almost final product :-) 

The ACTUAL final product...

after I pulled together my other great finds and getting these cool lamps off

Craigslist for only $20 for both! 

I did have to finish painting the room too but I won't count that cost :-)

TOTAL HEADBOARD PROJECT- I LOVE THIS THING!!!

Headboard - FREE

Stain -  $5

Brushes  - free (I already had them)

Gloves - free ( I already had them)

Braces - $10

Hanging System - $20

TOTAL = $35!!! 

OH YEAH!!! THAT'S THRIFTY :-)