I have about learned to grab the camera and get a "before" shot 

before starting a project, but unfortunately I still forget to

keep snapping all the way through.  Good thing you have a 

good imagination.  It will help you later on in this post.

This little table was on its way out.  It had already made it to the trash

bin, but not all the way to the curb.  The poor little thing was so wobbly

it could hardly stand on it lovely turned legs.

The top was disconnected from the leg and the garish nail holes from a poorly attempted repair were filled with wood putty and sanded.

Now is where you imagine the table top painted white.

Got that?  That will help you recognize it later on.

The edges of a pressed wood letter from 

Hobby Lobby  have been painted pale pink.

The "B" is about to be covered with this gingham paper.

I brushed the letter with Mod Podge then smoothed the paper 

over the letter.

After allowing it plenty of time to dry, I used a sharp blade 

to trim the paper from the back side of the letter.

The edges will be rough.  I simply sanded off the paper remnants

with 220 grit sandpaper.

I attached the "B" to the now-white table top plaque

with hot glue.  

By now, your keen sense of deductive reasoning has 

probably clued you in on what is happening here.

The "is for" is free-handed in pink marker.

Miss B's name is written with stick on letters.

This sweet name plaque is hanging over Miss B's crib

waiting for her arrival, at which time I will

be a liberty to announce what the "B" stands for.

In the meantime, there are a couple more nursery projects

to share in future posts.  I had better get to posting, because 

we are down to just a couple of weeks....or less!

There will be a full nursery tour at Miss B's mama's blog

that I will link to in a future post.

Recipe for success

Take one solid wood desk, well used.

Sand remains of stickers and a few screwdriver 

marks off the top surface.

Paint in the carport on the first below 100 degree day

you have in 6 weeks.

Freshen hardware with 

brushed nickel spray paint.

Move into newly painted pink nursery.

We are now minus 30 days and counting on

Operation Granddaughter!

This one's for you, D.

After lunch yesterday my friend and I had just a few minutes

to hit a local thrift store that helps victims of domestic abuse

 where we found this beauty:

 I whacked off the big ol' elastic band, took up the sides,

 narrowed the sleeves and made them three-quarter.

It's made of a soft lightweight silky fabric.

Just right for a little jacket to throw on when

she's working in the super cool AC at the library.

I see more lunch hour thrifting in our future.

Baby butterflies

Technically, not baby butterflies, but butterflies for the baby.

You may or may not have heard that we are soon to be

blessed with a granddaughter!  

After three wonderful, delightful and adorable grandsons, 

we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a

little bundle of pinkness, bows and lace.

I helped Amy with some nursery preparations this weekend.

She is embracing the butterfly portion of her online persona.

To that end, I have been collecting a wildly colored

 assortment of butterflies.

The motley crew

After a few coats of Krylon's Watermelon pink.....

Pretty delicate butterflies to decorate the nursery.

Even with natural light, I could not get the color right.  

For the true shade, refer to the product image above.

There are more projects I am excited to reveal

 as we continue our decorating.

You never know

I'm considering renaming my blog to something more descriptive of what you find here. These are the possibilities:

A Box of Chocolates

 (because in the words of Forest Gump, you never know what you're going to get.)

or

Monkey See, Monkey Do

(because I just bounce around blogland copying what I see and like.)

As of late, I have been enjoying such blogs as 

 ReFahionista 

and

Brand New Vintage

and

Ali Foster Patterns

There are tons of them out there--just Google 'refashion'

What these gals do with ugly thrift store clothing is amazing.

You know what's coming, don't you?

Monkey went to the thrift store and tried her hand at it.

Before: a rather tired peasant blouse

What I did to it, in a nutshell

Add a casing and elastic across the top--Viola!



Shirt to skirt!!




Coaching the photographer



I have to wonder if these refashioning gals have as much trouble or hear as much grumbling from their photographers as I did.   ;)  Something tells me they do.  (Thanks, hon!)

Changing time, just because I can

Kristin's run-of-the-mill, off-the-shelf clock,

cute, but suddenly clashed when she moved:

Customized to match her new decor:

Easy Peasy

1. Deconstruct clock

2. Paint the frame

3. Seal with Mod-Podge

4. Cut paper for the face

5. Attach numbers

6. Reconstruct clock

Viola!

Come together

There has been a project waiting in the wings at our house for several months now.

We have a little dinette set that has been around for a few years. 

Even though a couple of the chairs are no longer with us, I was reluctant to part with the sweet little table and remaining chairs.  

The wonderful world of blogging opened up the beauty of painted furniture.  After getting my feet wet with a few miscellaneous pieces, I picked out my next project: the dwindling dinette set.  

All this could not have been accomplished without a lot of hard work by my husband.  Thanks, Bobby!

I mentioned there was more to come about these chairs in my last post.

They collected with a purpose.

A motley crew

Chairs in waiting

The lineup

A "matched" set

Mission accomplished

Be our guest

Many moons ago, someone gave this old desk chair to the library.

It has been shuffled around from one random place to another, 

never having a spot of its own.

Recently, we have been creating cozy little seating niches.

We found a perfect spot for this chair, but it seemed to disappear into 

the oak shelves it sat against.

Since it's finish wasn't in that good a condition,

I decided to give it a white wash.

A little pillow makes it cozy.

From drab to fab

We enjoyed the weekend with Kristin and Matt at their home in Arkansas.

We had planned on some painting projects and the weather

cooperated beautifully!  

We took a sweet little table that had seen a few college years tossed to and fro from this:

to this:

Drab:

to FAB!

Then there was the matter of these chairs, which were the color of dirty dijon:

But no more!

Ta-da!  A cozy eating nook:

Added bonus: they have gorgeous hydrangeas in their yard!

Chandy redux

For the wedding reception, we had the task of transforming a 

very high-ceilinged, multi-purpose facility (gym)

into a beautiful bridal reception venue.

To give the illusion of a lower ceiling and a cozier, less industrial space

we began collecting the biggest brass chandeliers we could find.

We were amazed at the bounty once we began searching and gathered five in all.

Here is the before of one:

You get the idea.

We hung them outside and went through a bunch of cans of white spray paint.

I found a site online where I ordered dozens of crystals.

The Christmas ornaments came out just in time at Hobby Lobby

for yards of iridescent beads and crystal baubles.

Voila!

We even carried a smaller one on location for the bridal portrait shoot.

It was around these chandeliers we built the whole

shabby chic theme of the wedding and had a great time doing it!

Sooner or Later....Before & After

No explanations.  No excuses.

Just a new post.

This is a desk my maternal grandfather built in 1936.

It has been various shades of blah in my memory.

And living hidden away in the utility room.

Until now!

Hello, pretty!

Welcome to the Family (Room)!

This is a shabby little bench my husband drug in from an estate sale.

There is good potential here.

Ta-Da!

And here is the handsome couple.

Aren't they a lovely pair?

Linked to  Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Party 5/7/10