Summer Days Are Almost Over

Wow this summer has passed by so quicly! I have enjoyed every minute of it with reading, tanning, cleaning, organizing, tutoring etc. Being my first summer without having a job, I never knew how busy life is even without a job! I must say to any of you house wives with kids, I give it to ya!

As I relax on the couch without a worry in the world, I just imagine how life will change tomorrow. Those to-do lists never ending, the snotty noses, the tattle taling...it all will start. Well the kiddlies don't come for another week, but still...you get the point.

PROJECT #1 -

In August Clint and I took a trip to the storage unit to take out all my boxes from my last teaching job. What a job! But that's another story! In the unit though we found this old coffee table. So back it came to the apartment. Well then I had my wheels rolling. What could I do to decorate this? Onto to Pinterest I went looking up different ideas. The next day in Winners I found this wooden utensil holder for 5$! I gathered a few votives and pillar candles from the wedding and I gathered the shells that I have collected over the years and away I went. I tried distressing it a bit, but that was basically a fail so here sits a bright little centerpiece in our living room! I love it!

PROJECT # 2-

A big project that I had on my to-do list this summer was the guest bedroom. Since we have moved in it has been full of all of the extra things, moving containers etc. After a few days of organize I got it nicely cleaned, but then I wanted to make it into a cozy guest bedroom. That was so much fun! I am not posting pictures as for any of you that come visit I want it to be a suprise! This mirror was sitting in that bedroom. As a gift from my sister for grad I LOVED the pattern, but it just doesn't go anymore with things in the house. This was my second try with distressing. With advice from a friend away I went.

Step 1: Sand down.
Step 2: Paint base coat. I painted a dark brown. (I just used acrylic paint bc it is 1.97$ from Walmart!)
Step 3: Use Vaseline and rub where you are wanting it distress. From what I have read you need to think of where it would be handled. Ex edges, where fingers would grab it to move etc. .
Step 4: Paint top coat. I used the turquoise that was used in our wedding. I did 3 coats before I was happy.
Step 5: Once the coats are dry then I used a steel wool pad to rub off where the vaseline was.
Step 6: To give it the weathered look I took a cloth an dipped in "Ebony" (the shade) and rubbed it all over the mirror and then quickly wiped it off with a clean white cloth.

The funny but sad part about all of this is I had it hanging by a push pin and the pin broke so now the mirror is broke! Off to the glass shop I go!

PROJECT #3- 

Next project I found on Pinterest was for mason jars. Well I am too cheap to buy them so I decided to use my pasta sauce container. Little did I know that it to is a Mason jar! Ha This is such an easy way to chalk paint. My goal is to get a few others painted to have an ombre look for the piano!

How to:

Step 1: I had some chalkboard spray paint from the wedding that I sprayed one coat on. (It acts as the primer)

Step 2: Paint whatever colour you choose! (Again I chose acrylic paint 1.97$ from Walmart!)

Step 3: With steel wool brush any ridges (top, letters etc)

I love this piece as those twigs were from our wedding. So a little piece of a very special day into the decor of our home!

Tomorrow I will be posting a little of my creative cooker side! Cheers :)