My Silver Tray Wall

Hello, there! Surprised to see me, aren't you? I know. I'm sorry. These past few months have been. . .full. Of various things. But life is back to normal and so am I and I'm ready to plunge back into the world of blogging!

Today I want to share what I did to the wall in my living room. It's the wall directly across from the front door and your eye immediately goes to it. But it's always been empty. I could never figure out what to do to it. Until, that is, I started lurking around blogland. The possibilities were endless! In the end, this is what I did:

My mom and I found a ton of silver trays of various sizes and shapes at thrift stores and flea markets. Can you believe people are actually giving this stuff to Goodwill! What are they thinking?! I polished them up somewhat but I didn't want them to be too bright; I like their patina.

I put my favorite piece in the center and placed two small round trays on the top and bottom; two heart-shaped trays on a diagonal; and two small oval trays on the other diagonal. I couldn't get a good closeup pic. Sorry.
When I bought them, I didn't know how I was going to put them up on the wall. But the solution was really easy; I just used some 3M double-sided tape. Some of the pieces are a little heavy but I just cut off a strip that was appropriate to the weight of the piece and up it went! I love it! They need a little tweaking--the smaller pieces are a little too far apart, they need to be a little closer together--but I love the way they look! What do you think?

Linking to:
Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures party
Mod Vintage Life 
Debbiedo's Newbie Party
Treasure Hunt Thursdays at From My Porch To Yours
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Hall Bath, Part 2

Hi there! I'm so sorry for not posting in a while. To be honest, winter is kind of depressing to me. All I want to do is hibernate. Or curl up on the couch with the dog all day:) So it's been a little difficult to get motivated to write another post. But today was sunny and warm and springlike and it put me in a better mood so I'm back:) Now, on to today's post. Last time, I showed you my hall/guest/son's bath. I meant to take pics of the other side but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I know, I know (head hanging in shame). I'll do better, I promise. But I realized that I do have pics of the vanity that I redid some time ago. I don't have a before pic but the vanity was just builder basic oak. Not pretty.

So one day I grabbed some white paint and went to work. After it was painted, I did the same treatment on the doors that I did on the walls, using the same joint compound. But this time, I used a stencil. It's quite easy, really. You just put the stencil in the center of the door. Take your putty knife and spread some joint compound on it. You can apply it as thickly or thinly as you want. Let it set for a minute then gently lift it off. Once every door is done, let the stuff dry completely. Then sand down the rough edges. You could then paint it the same color as the rest of the door or you could do this step before you paint. Actually, it's probably easier to do it that way. But I didn't think of it at the time, I just wanted to get it done! After all that, I still wasn't finished. I glazed with a brown glaze, putting it on then wiping it off until I had the look I wanted. Then I added new hardware. I like it but I'm not completely please with it. This was my first attempt at redoing a vanity and it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted so I'm thinking of repainting it. Just white this time, no glaze. I'm not sure, though. Maybe I'll try a different glaze color, a darker brown. What do you think?

Linking up to Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style.

Hall/Guest/Son's Bath

Today I'd like to show you my hall bath. It also serves as the guest bath and my son's bath. When we moved into our home, this bath was covered in a blue and white striped wallpaper. It was painted over in red and I used black and white accents. I liked it but it wasn't quite right. Then I painted it green with red and gold accents. I was trying to go for a Tuscan look. Again, it wasn't quite right. I then had the idea to texture the walls in this bathroom just like I had done the walls in the master bath (I'll show that in a later post). I used a trowel and joint compound and went to work. I then painted it chocolate brown and used a metallic glaze over it. After getting a new shower curtain, rug, hardware, and accessories, this is what it looks like today:

Here's a closeup of the wall treatment:

The shower curtain is Ralph Lauren and I found it at Marshalls for a great price. The rug was on clearance from Hobby Lobby. The towel bar was also a HL find and I love it:

The towels were embroidered by my MIL a few years ago. On the opposite wall is a table that used to sit in the hall but we were always bumping into it so it went in here. Above it is a mirror that I got at Kirkland's a few years ago on clearance. It also used to be in another room.

On top of it are some of my favorite pieces in gold. I love ORB and I've started to incorporate some mercury glass pieces in my home but I kept a few of my gold accessories and used them in here.

This wall is opposite the vanity which also got made over but I'll show you that in a later post. Well, that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to Meet Me Monday over at You're Talking Too Much!
Also linking to Debbiedoo's Newbie Party!

One of my first pieces

Hello, there! I haven't forgotten about you, I promise. Still getting over being sick and not yet in the swing of things. But I thought I had better post something or I might as well not have a blog at all, right?

Anyway, today I want to share one of the first pieces of furniture I painted, the standing mirror in my bedroom. I was inspired by Kelsey over at Tattered and Inked. She had a similar mirror that she painted and it looks great. I didn't take many pics at the time and the quality isn't very good but here's what it looked like before (I had already taken it apart to paint):

Just your basic standing mirror in a cherry finish.

Here's what it looks like now:

After I took it apart, I glued on a couple of wood pieces to the top and bottom of the mirror to dress it up a bit. I then painted it using two different colors from paint samples that I already had. I did this because I knew I was going to distress it and I wanted the undercoat to show through. The first layer was a very pretty robin's egg blue. I then took a white shade called Swiss Coffee (again in a sample size) and put on a couple of coats of that. When it was dry, which didn't take long because the paint was in a flat finish, I took my trusty sanding block and lightly distressed the edges and corners, making sure the first layer of blue showed through. Here's a detailed pic of one of the wood pieces. I tried to get a good shot of the blue showing through but I don't know if you can see it:

This is one of the first pieces I did and I must say I think it looks pretty good. I have actually done another mirror since then that I like even better. I'll show you that one in another post.

Well, that's it for today. I hope you have a wonderful Friday and I'll see you next time. Thanks for stopping by!

Little Green Table

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, guys, but I was sick last week and didn't feel like doing much of anything. But I'm back in the land of the living and ready to jump back in:)

I was so excited this morning that I literally screamed. My son came running into the room asking what was wrong.:) Oh, nothing. Just that I was featured on A Stroll Thru Life! I couldn't believe it. I feel so honored. Thanks, Marty!

Anyway, today I thought I'd share a small table makeover. Last year, my MIL needed a small table to put between two chairs. I happened to have this in my garage (a yard sale find for $5!):

It was the right size but the color of the wood wasn't right. Not to mention that the top looked like this:

Anyway, I asked my MIL what color I should paint it and she said green was her favorite color but she didn't care about which shade of green it was. So after thinking about it I bought a few cans of spray paint (I love spray paint!) and the table underwent a transformation:

Isn't it amazing what spray paint and new hardware can do?! BUT if you know me you know that I wasn't content with only painting it. Oh, no. I then proceeded to do this:

I transferred the image of a pair of scissors to the top, using an image from The Graphics Fairy. I know what you're thinking. A pair of scissors? Yes. You see, my MIL is a quilter. She's very good at it. She has won ribbons and I think she's the president of a quilter's guild. So I thought it would be cool to incorporate something about quilting into it. I couldn't find a quilt so I chose these scissors. I had never transferred an image before and so it's not as large as I wanted it to be. It was a lot more difficult to do than I had anticipated and I'm not sure I'll do it again. Oh, well. I also lined the drawer with some scrapbook paper I found at Hobby Lobby. I tried to find paper that resembled a quilt and this is what I found:

The final step was a light distressing and glazing. This itty bitty table was a lot harder to redo than I thought it was going to be but I really like how it turned out. Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to Treasure Hunt Thursday over at From My Front Porch To Yours.

My favorite vignette

Good evening, everyone! I hope your weekend was lovely and restful. My son was out of school today for MLK, Jr.'s birthday and I am so ready for him to go back tomorrow. I love him but. . .:) Anyway, on to today's post.

I'd like to share with you one of my favorite vignettes in my home. I'm not that great at creating vignettes. I agonize over what to put with what and I always second guess myself. But this is one of my favorites (mainly because it shows one of my favorite photos of my son when he was little).

This lamp was a Kirkland's find a few years ago. I got it and its twin on clearance. I love its curvy lines.













This candle and the silver candleholder are from Hobby Lobby, one of my very favorite places in the world. I honestly think I could live there. Just give me a little cot in the back and I'd be a happy camper!

I found this little bowl at Michael's a couple of years ago, also on clearance. You're not going to believe what I paid for it--79 cents. Yes, you read that correctly. A whopping 79 cents. I ended up getting three of them! I bought some white glass to put in it and nestled in the glass is a tealight. It's so pretty lit up at night.

Well, that's it for today. I hope all of you have a wonderful evening. Thanks for stopping by!


Linking up to Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday.

Chair Re-do

I'd like to show you a chair that I made over a few months ago. I don't have a before picture so I'll just tell you what it looked like. And I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. It was a standard dining room chair--cherry finish, ivory seat fabric. I'm sure you've seen a million just like it. Anyway, I bought it on clearance at a nice furniture store years ago. It had a few scratches on it which is why it had been marked down. But do I care about a few minor scratches? Nope. Don't we all have a few minor imperfections?! Anyway, I used it as a vanity chair. Well, I intended to. I never actually used it. It was kind of just there.

So last fall, I took some ivory spray paint and went to town. After several coats, it was finally ready for distressing and glazing. I lightly sanded the edges and corners, especially on the legs which typically get the most wear and tear. Then I mixed some brown craft paint with a glazing medium and worked it into every little nook and cranny. There were a gazillion of 'em, I tell ya! I thought I'd never finish. Then the poor thing got waxed. Not that kind of waxed. Buffed with furniture wax. Then--are you still with me?--came reupolstering the seat. I had never reupholstered anything before. It took me, my husband and my new bff, the staple gun, to do it. I used fabric from a curtain panel that never got hung up, a pretty green and brown toile.
Then it was finally FINISHED! And I'm so pleased with how it turned out. Quite proud of myself, actually. It's ok. You can pat me on the back. I don't mind:)

Linking to Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia (There's a button on my sidebar:))