I thought it would be fun to put my  favorite furniture re dos of 2011 in one post. My first favorite is the painted ottoman it's still getting hits everyday. I was really nervous about this but it turned out great.

Before

Merry Christmas

I  want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  Lots of love and happiness to you all.

                                           Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

An Ottoman Vignette

I decided to add another little vignette. We use our ottoman as a coffee table so I thought it would be nice to add a small vignette there. I kept it simple by adding three milk glass vases.  I added boxwood clippings from my yard to one,  silver balls to another, to the third I made sort of a paper bouquet using vintage doilies and vintage sheet music. It's a fun little vignette. 

My Substitute Mantle

I decorated my newly finished buffet for the Magazine Copy Cat Christmas Challenge. I liked it a lot but it wasn't exactly what I wanted for the season...so I did  another arrangement. I made two arrangements using clippings of boxwood and pine from my yard mixed with some faux greenery. I added twigs also from the yard and added pine cones and silver balls. I made a candle scape on a silver tray in the center. The arrangement anchors my giant wreath lol. I'm giving you a tiny peek of my buffet, but not to much because I'll be revealing it later.  Here are some shots of my new arrangement on my buffet aka my substitute mantle.

Oh Christmas Tree

I finally finished my tree. I didn't  do a lot of extra frills and flourishes this year, but I did keep my color scheme from last year. I really love my tree in silver white and crystal. I have a 7 foot slim tree. It's really hard to get a full picture of the tree with a point and shoot but I did my best. Here's the tree:

Here are some close ups of the ornaments:

Paper Wreath

I showed you a little of this wreath in the  Magazine Copy Cat Challenge. I promised to do a post about it so here goes. First let me say that the lighting was terrible  annnnd the wreath fell off the wall while I was shooting the pics. I used one of those sticky hooks and followed the directions to the letter, I dont know what happened. So my poor wreath is a little bent  LOL.  Here is a full picture of my slightly banged up wreath.

Winter Wonderland

I'm slowly getting the house decorated for Christmas. I had a few days setback  because I wasn't feeling well. Thankfully I'm much better now and hopefully I'll get it all done by the weekend. Today I want to share the side table vignette that I did for the living room. I'm trying to keep it simple and my color scheme is silver and white. I may add a little turquoise to the mix but I 'm not firm on that yet. Here's my little side table vignette.

Christmas Mantle/Buffet

It's time for Christmas Blog parties galore, and the first stop is my favorite, Debbie Doos Blogging and Blabbing Magazine Copy Cat Challenge. I flipped over the Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas 2011 issue. It is packed with beautiful ideas and features several of our favorite bloggers. I was looking for an idea to copy and was fortunate enough to find a picture loaded with things that I had on hand...yippee! I dont have a mantle but I do have a buffet that I talked about here. I didn't get it done in time for Thanksgiving but I did finish it in time for Christmas. I'll share the full reveal on that later, but right now it's all about Christmas. Here is the picture I tried to copy:

Dollar Store Ornaments The Remix

Christmas crafting and fluffing has started around the old homestead. I'm trying to keep it simple and thrifty this year. Every year I try to add  a few new ornaments. Last year it was all dollar store and this year I'm making a few and altering a few dollar store ornaments. I bought three ornaments from the dollar tree and did a quick makeover. I started with this swirly ornament... pretty but very plastic looking. 

I liked the shape but I wanted to add a little something extra so I tried three different looks.

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone. May your day  be filled with love, laughter and good food. May we all be grateful for the many blessings bestowed upon us. Among my many blessings I'm grateful to all of you who take the time to stop by, drop me a line, encourage and inspire me. Have a great day.

Blogging a Year in Review and Thank You

 It's my one year blogging anniversary, I can't believe its been a whole year. I've met so many wonderful bloggers and learned so many great tips and techniques. Overall its been a positive experience and the few negatives are too minor to mention. I'm still amazed that over 300 talented and kind people follow my blog. Each one of you are worth more than a million to me.  I've been through loss and illness with the support of my blog friends and you've been a blessing to me.  I am eternally grateful to all of you who take the time out of your busy day to read this little ole blog. I thank you all for your kindness, your encouragement and support. You've all become a major part of my daily life. For all of you, old and new friends  I thought it might be fun to recap a few of my favorite projects. Number one is my first time at attempting upholstery, my thrift store settee redo.

Sheepish

 You guys may remember When I posted my  French Bee Tray I mentioned my love of trays. Well I had these two old metal trays hanging around. I bought them for a dollar each at the local produce outlet about 12 years ago or more. I was very tired of them, not to mention scrubbing them had scratched them up pretty good and they just looked dated. I decided to give them a new look.

A Chair Re Do

I was visiting my favorite place to shop, Goodwill when I spied a gorgeous chair in a style that I've been looking for. I almost did the happy dance right then and there, but not wanting to embarrass myself I refrained. However a tiny squeal did manage to sneak out.  I was even more thrilled when I spied the price... 19.99 say what? could this be true? I was happy until I went to check out and the lady I've nicknamed The GW  Police  was working the check out. Rut Roe, this lady has refused to sell me things on more than one occasion because she believed they were improperly priced.  Holding my breath and gearing up for an ugly fight I approached the check out. Sure enough she was hesitant about the price. I pointed out the load of chairs sitting there... all priced at 19.99.  With a pained expression she gave in, can I just tell you this woman gets on my last nerve. I'm beginning to wonder if she wants to keep the good stuff for herself. Anyway all's well that ends well and I got my chair. May I add that several  ladies were shocked and appalled when I told them that I would be re doing the chair. I must confess the chair was in perfect condition so I can kinda understand where they were coming from. Here is the chair in all of it's before glory.

A Challenge

Well its that time again,  what time you ask?  Time for another Magazine Copy Cat Challenge. This so much fun, I'm so happy to be able to join in again.. I really wanted to copy a Christmas photo but since all of my Christmas stuff is in the attic and I don't go up there and my hubs is working long hours and he couldn't get it for me, I went to plan B. I used a picture that caught my eye from Cottage Style Magazine from May, 2010.

Happy Halloween

With Halloween fast approaching I decided to make a vignette to celebrate the season. I like  black and white Halloween decor and I like it kinda of creepy but not too gory. I like skeletons, I know strange right? so I incorporated skeletons and something that scares me to death in real life RATS ...eww! 

Fall Buffet Arrangement

In an effort to add a little fall decor to my home I made an arrangement for my buffet, You know the one that I bought months ago that's not finished...

A Litttle Fall

I'm so far behind on everything, but I still wanted to add a little fall  decor to my home. I didn't want to spend a lot of money so I looked at my hoard... er um supplies and found some things I thought I could use. This is what I ended up with.

Final Update

Hello friends,

                    My brother lost his battle and died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday. I will miss him terribly, but I am glad his suffering is over. He fought this battle on  his own terms, with courage and with his mind and sense of humor intact. I wont go in to a lot of details, but I want to thank everyone for going through this with me and for offering me so much love and support. I'll be back soon. Much love, Karen

                                                                                                      

An Update and Thank You

Hello friends,

              I just want to let you all know whats going on with my brother. As you know l2 days ago the Dr. told our family that my brother had days to live. Well my brother had other plans. We all gathered around him and sat vigil prayed and waited. Suddenly he started to improve! He went from a weak and semi conscience state to alert talking and getting himself in and out of bed and is even managing to eat a few bites and drink water. He has had five good days in a row. He is not cured and is still gravely ill but he is still here. We are taking things one day at a time and we are grateful to still have him. His pain is being managed fairly well  and that too is an improvement. We can only attribute this turn around to the power of prayer and the will of the human spirit. I want to thank  all of you for  your prayers and words of comfort and kindness. You have all helped to make this time more bearable. If all continues to go well I'll be back later this week with a project. Thanks again to everyone for being here for me. Love to you all.

Sad News

Hello friends,
This is a post that I've been putting off writing. I will be away for a while. My brother is in the final stages of cancer. He is not expected to live for more than a few days. I will be spending as much time with him and my parents as possible, for as long as they need me.  Please keep my family in your prayers. I will be back when it is possible.

Making Changes

I've made a few changes in my living room. Although I still need to paint and finish  a couple of  projects I couldn't wait any longer to get rid of my dark drapes and sofa. I purchased  a slipcover and window treatments lamps and other accessory's slowly over the course of a year or more. I had to buy things as the budget allowed. Between budget constraints and my other issues this is taking forevah! I just wanted to share what I've done so far. My sofa went from this

Before

Four Roosters and A Chicken

Sheila  at Note Songs is having a fun  Heart Of The Home Party to show off your Roos and Chickens. Well I was feeling a little left out so I decided to take a few pics of my small white rooster and one chicken collection. The first white rooster that I bought came from Target on clearance,years ago. He's the biggest and don't tell the others but he's my favorite.

Bumble Bee Tray

While recuperating I decided to do a couple of little projects. Mind you I've had this tray for years just hanging out in my crafts closet. Since I wasn't up to big things I decided to tackle something small. I love trays for some reason. I have a collection of silver plate trays, but I've always liked these wooden ones too. I am smitten with images using bees  and when I saw  a great bee graphic from  The Graphics Fairy I knew I wanted to add it to my tray. I started with a basic tray from the craft store.

New Thrifty Treasures

 I'm back and I'd like to thank everyone who offered me well wishes. I'm feeling much better but not quite up to speed.  I have some new thrifty treasures that I'd like to share. I bought these before I got sick. Since I love looking at everyone's treasures I thought it only fair to share mine as well. Here are some of my great finds.

Under The Weather, Projects Stalled,and Shopping My Shed

Well I had a lot of things planned for this week.  Unfortunately my health had other plans. I was on a roll and BAM! I was hit with a wicked flair up. I've been in bed most of the time for the last 4 days. I think I've only been able to sit up long enough to visit  my blog friends for about twenty minutes a day. I had energy to write about two or three comments. I miss you all terribly. This ole blog and reading all of you guys great blogs is an important part of my life. It keeps me going. Today I'm shaky but I am able to sit here and write for a while. I just thought I would give you a little sneak peek at some of what I'd been up to before I got sick. I bought this chair at Goodwill and am 98% finished redoing it,

I went shopping in my shed and pulled out a lot of things I used years ago. I have  plans to revamp these mirrors.

The mirror at the top has a planter attached. For some reason I forgot to photograph that part. I'm going to separate  it from the mirror and use it  for storage in a different way. The second mirror is for the living room and I plan to paint it and add some embellishments. Here is a close up of the detail.

I also pulled out this rug, which I had intended to use  in the living room. I was going to use it on the wrong side because it has a more muted look and kind of resembles sisal an that side. Now I'm going to have to rethink that plan because  the rug is a little small for the new seating arrangement. I'm thinking I may make a floor cloth  instead. I want to show you the rug anyway because its pretty and I'll probably use it somewhere in the house.

I also got a few pretty thrift store finds but I got sick before I could  get pics. I'll share them later. That's all I've got for now. I'll be visiting you my friends, please forgive me if I don't comment.  My energy is pretty low. Hopefully I'll have a project to share by the end of the week if I keep improving.  Love to you all.

 I'm joining the The Mustard Ceiling for the Mix and Mingle party.

Copy Me

 Debbie of  Debbie Doos Blogging and Blabbing is having a fun linky party. The challenge is to duplicate a photo from any magazine of your choice. Sounds like fun right? There's only one problem...I have a plain ole point and shoot, nothing fancy, but I thought what the heck, it's a chance to practice  and improve my photography  skills, plus it's an excuse to play. So after looking through my collection of 9 skillion magazines I found something I wanted to try. The copy didn't have to be an exact duplicate so that made it even more fun. I found a picture that was simple but pretty in Jeanne d 'Arc Living. Here is the original:

Paint Party!

 Its a paint party  and I'm painting everything in sight, so I had to join in. I have a few projects that I want to share. The  first things are these mirrors, I have had them for a looong time. I'm tired of gold although I hear its making a comeback. I painted these mirrors silver. Here's where we started.

My Faux French Enamel Pitcher

 I know all you lovers of  Cottage, Farm House and Shabby Chic  design have drooled over those gorgeous chippy vintage enamel pitchers. Well I don't own any but I'd sure like to... the problem is my budget is tighter  than  a  Botoxed face. Getting a real Vintage one for a price I am willing to pay has not happened. However while getting my craft fix in  Michaels  a couple of days ago I saw a whole shelf of clearance faux enamel pitchers in all kinds of funky colors and they were 50% off. Yippee! for 4.99 I got a  Faux French enamel pitcher. It's not the real deal but its cute and its a new thing to play with, I skipped the multi colored  ones and  went right for the white.

An altered planet

I bought a globe from The Goodwill store. I really love the graphics on globes and think they're really beautiful. However I saw a few globes on various blogs that had been altered, some with chalkboard paint, which I love and some had been decoupaged with various graphics....all very pretty. Naturally I got the bug to alter mine. I decided that I wanted a kind of shabby look but not too frou frou shabby. I wanted to keep it simple. So, this is what I started with:

photo source

Decoupaged Table

I needed a  side table to sit beside my sofa.   I  moved  the one I was using to the other side of the of the room.  I wanted the new  table to be larger  so we could set drinks  or whatever on it comfortably. I knew I didn't want to buy a new table and then I remembered a table that I bought from a junk store 12 years ago. I thought it was a really cute table but I could never find the right space for it, so it sat in my shed all this time. I thought it could work but it was  very small.

Thrift Store Goods

 My daughter and I went thrifting last week, she for clothing and me for whatever vintage find  I couldn't live with out. I found a thirty piece set of vintage Homer Laughlin China for 7.00 bucks. Woo Hoo, I was so excited I scooped it up and ran to the checkout. I have a few other pieces that I paid 1.00 or more for each piece so this was a really good buy. The pattern is so delicate and pretty I was smitten. I had to get it  Right? What do you think?

A Graduation And A Shout Out

It has been a busy week at my home sweet cottage. My  sweet youngest daughter graduated from our local Community College with a 4.00 point average. She has been accepted to several top rated Colleges and has chosen one to attend in the fall. I am so proud of her I could just burst.She is a wonderful young woman, beautiful inside and out. A hard worker and extremely focused and disciplined. I know she will be successful in her chosen career as a Cultural Anthropologist. They grow up so fast but I'm so happy with the woman my girls have become.My oldest will be returning to college in the fall to become a Registered Nurse.  I'm a lucky mom. On another note, remember my ottoman makeover?

 

Table Makeover

 I'm still working on my chair. I've been slowed in my progress because of spring cleaning. It's about 1/4 done. Hang on I'll have a reveal soon. In the meantime I managed to squeeze in a quick makeover on a side table that I've had for many years. Its another piece I bought from Bombay Co. boy I never realized how many pieces I have from that store. I guess it's because I worked in the shopping center where the store was located. My paycheck must have been spent there on the regular. Here is a picture of the table before:

Bijoux and Paris

Hello, my name is Bijoux I am a Bichon Frise,  I live in New Jersey with my human companions.

I Was Feautured

Kate at  Centsational Girl featured my ottoman  makeover along with a lot of other great bloggers. Thanks Kate, I'm thrilled and honored. Check out  Kate's blog for great decorating and DIY  tips.

Hello Gorgeous

It's all her fault, I was very happy with  my old girl until I saw her, I was smitten and intrigued. How would she look in my house? I was saddened to know that she could never come and live with me. The price was to high. When you see her you will understand the source of my fascination and desire. Here see for yourself why I was smitten:

Photo shabbychic.com

Isn't she a beauty? I became  so enraptured that I started to look at my old girl in a different light. She had been with me for years, but like all girls eventually do, she needed a new look. We talked it over and she agreed a makeover was in order. But how? What could we do to take her from this

Works In Progress

I'm  in the process of redoing my ottoman and  a chair. I'm trying something I have never done before with my ottoman. I'm a little nervous, but if I fail or succeed  I'll let you know how it turns out.  Here are a couple of before shots:

Easter Softly

I wasn't going to decorate for Easter because my house is in disarray but after seeing so many gorgeous Easter vignettes in blog land  I  decided to create a small tabletop vignette. I love bunnies and chicks but I decided to do something a little different. Easter is a very holy holiday so I went with that aspect.  I used one of my Mary planters and a Cross that I bought from the dollar tree. I added silver leaf to the raised parts of the Cross. I also decorated plastic eggs that I bought from the Dollar Tree with hand stamped tissue paper and silver leaf. I glittered some of the eggs with a mixture of glass glitter and glamour dust. I created an arrangement in an urn that I've had for many years. It used to be a deep burgundy... I spray painted it silver using Krylon spray paint in  Metallic Brilliant Silver.  I added twigs from my back yard and some silk Cherry blossoms that I had on hand. I arranged them in the urn an added moss and tiny birds nest to the branches. I put three of the decorated eggs in the urn  on top of the moss. I painted some crystals turquoise to use on a chandelier for my kitchen. I decided to add them to the branches for a little color and sparkle. Besides my kitchen is a long way from having the chandy hung  might as well put the crystals to good use. Here are some shots of my vignette;

The complete vignette

The Slip

Hello all,

                    I've been m.i.a.  for a while, but I'm glad to be back. I've been recuperating and not able to do a lot of big projects. As soon as I felt like  I wasn't going to meet the true death  (True Blood Fans?) I made a few a pillow slips and did a few other small projects.  I wanted grain sack pillows... however the cost of vintage grain sacks are not in my budget, so I made faux grain sacks from drop cloth  fabric and paint. I also made burlap pillows...two plain and two with images transferred onto them. I don't know about you guys but I really like the Union Jack on pillows, so I made a shabby chic version on burlap. So without further ado here are the pillows:

Grateful

 I'd like to thank Kristen  of  My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia for giving my Settee Makeover a special mention on her blog. Kristen has a wonderful blog filled with great DIY projects and beautiful decorating tips. I'm extremely honored and grateful that she acknowledged my Settee amongst so many other talented ladies. If you haven't visited Kristens  blog you've been missing out. Visit  My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia  and say hi to Kristen. She's a sweet and friendly blogger with great style.

Playing With Flowers

Hello everyone,

                   I've been fighting a flare up for the last ten days so my energy is very low. I haven't been able to do any more upholstery. Between the joint pain and the fatigue I just wasn't up to it. Needless to say I'm a little disappointed. But I am starting to feel better. To cheer myself up I made a Spring floral arrangement. I tried something a little different than my usual style. I  like a tight monochromatic arrangement  but this time I added a little height to the top.  I'm still experimenting with design. Generally if I don't feel well the designs show it. I don't think this is my best work, but its okay. I took a few pics to share  but after I weeded through them this is what I could publish.

I Won

 I can't believe it but I actually won something! Vicki  from The Tapestry Of Life had a really great give away, and I won this cute bunny. I was so excited! I love bunnies  so I was thrilled to win. Thanks  Vicki I'll treasure my sweet little bunny.

My Bunny Win!

                         

Settee Makeover

Last week I gave you a sneak peek of a big makeover that I was working on. I had intended to be finished this makeover by Friday, however it was a bit more of a challenge than I anticipated. I attempted my first reupholstery  ever and it took me forevah!  I knew the settee was old but I didn't think  it was so old that the wood was petrified! It was so hard to staple and nail through the wood frame that I think my eyes are permanently bugged out from squeezing the stapler, and my hands are forever in a claw position from hammering.  I removed the old fabric, retied springs in the back, added more stuffing to  the back and then started the recovering process. I used canvas drop cloths for the back sides and cushion. I used white burlap for the front and inner sides. I made a cushion with  the seam underneath because I wanted it to be removable to launder but look like a solid seat. I trimmed it in nail head trim. The trim is a little wonky in spots... again because the wood is so hard!! It was so hard to try and hold the tacks in place and try to hammer with the force that it took to drive it , that sometimes they went a little crooked. Oh!  I painted the frame before I put the new fabric on. I gave it two coats of primer, a coat of white paint and a thinned coat of Sharkey Grey. Okay here is a pic of what I started with:

Weekend Mini Makeovers

I've been working on a few little makeovers this weekend, I've had this picture since the early 90's when
  I was into country style decor. I still liked the frame but I wanted to do something  that goes with my decorating style now. I took the picture out of the closet, where its been for years. And gave it a fresh coat of paint. I painted the frame in  Glass Of Milk from Martha Stewart paints . When the paint dried I antiqued it with a dark stain and glaze mixture. Here is the before:

Need Some Wood?

 Well I've got plenty of wood  but not enough storage. I found this great box at the goodwill that seemed perfect for the job. I think it was one of those trunks with a lid,well the lid was missing and it was a little banged up but for 4.00 dollars it fit the bill. Since it has to be in my living room I wanted it to compliment the room. It's a box to hold wood so I decided to keep it simple. Here's what I started with:

Plain plywood water stained box

I Did It My Way

Hello out there, I love Pottery Barn. One day while drooling over their catalog I stumbled upon these gorgeous hurricanes             

49.00 for this

                                  

79.00 for This one

 And then I saw the price...RUT ROE... Not in the budget...so I said what every DIY gal says on a regular basis...I can do that! So I set about gathering up my materials.       

The Bench

Before

New Finds

I've been stalking the Goodwill for about a year looking for a dresser or buffet for my living room. I need it for storage, and I wanted to wall mount my t.v. and have the buffet or dresser under it. Finally I found what I had  been looking for.When I cast my eyes upon her I heard ... LAAAAAAH!...  I felt like one of those cartoons you see where the giant heart jumps out of the chest and all the little sparkly hearts surround it.Not only was she what I was looking for , but she was...wait for it...HALF OFF!..not only was she half off she came with a hutch..LAAAAH...wanna see her?

The plan is to paint her in a pretty creamy color and stain the top in a nice deep stain. I think having some dark surfaces in a mostly white room helps to ground the space. Now do you want to see the hutch?