Mantel Spookification

The husband is home (still have to write a post on that one) just in time to get all my Halloweeny stuff down from the garage. I was determined not to buy anything new this year. Okay, determined not to buy a lot of new things this year.

I purchased this Martha Stewart window vinyl on clearance two years ago. I was determined to use it somehow, but my windows wouldn’t have it. Sooo I painted a piece of scrap panel I had in the garage and spray glued it right on there.

I’m not a fan of mantels that don’t have enough height to them, so I always try to find something to balance that issue. My favorite resource? Branches. I simply cut them off trees outside and spray a dusting of spray paint on them. I don’t want them looking too polished. 

Yes. I tend to have a thing for witches. It’s a conscious effort not to buy every little spooky girl out there. This little glitter gal was purchased for $10.00 at Hobby Lobby. Love her.

Speaking of glitter…it’s a must. I tend to like simple colors (how many times have I said that?!), so glitter brings the texture I need! Oh! The skulls? Dollar Store.

The Halloweening is in full force at Just a Girl’s house! I’m sure I’ll be back with more later.

 

Just Another Reason to Love Ikea

Bassett $639  Macy’s $499

Pottery Barn $180 (chair only) $80 (slipcover)= $260

Restoration Hardware $240

Ikea $60

So what if it looks like this when you get it home?

A few minutes later it looks like this. I couldn’t imagine spending all that money on just one chair! I got the look I wanted for the price I wanted.

For $60, I’ve got some beautiful chairs that will wash up quickly and are very comfortable if I do say so myself. However, I can’t guarantee that the room around the chairs will stay as beautiful. Notice how they look this morning.

What used to be warm, inviting, and clean

is currently manly, disgusting, and messy.

While I used to walk in the door to see this…

I now walk in the door and see this.

I’ll explain that later. It’s a whole ‘nother Jerry Springer show.  Stay tuned.

Show and Share Day

Hi there! I’m Chris. I manage this blog—most of the time.  Okay…onto bigger and better things! One of my new advertisers is offering a giveaway this week, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Beki from The Rusted Chain is giving one lucky winner a $25.00 gift card to her store!  She makes some of the most charming and classic jewelry you’ll see throughout blogland.

I’ll change my name to Laney if I can have this necklace. Okay. I’ll change my name to Gary if I can have this necklace.

Oh how I love these earrings. I’m picturing 73 different outfits I could wear them with. If I had my ears pierced. Darn.

Looks like the winning is up to you now! Link up all your fantastic-ness from the week, and I’ll randomly select a winner!

In Media Res

My students try to tell me that they will never use some of the Shakespearean terms that we talk about in class. There. I just proved them wrong. 

That’s where we’re at, however. In the middle of things. The good news is that we went and picked up our new family member this weekend. Because I think Craigslist pictures are horrible, I thought I’d take some to show it off to you. Bee-u-ti-ful. It’s beyond my expectations.  

When my daughter saw that the “secret” desk pulled out, I thought her jaw was going to drop to the floor. It was totally worth the drive. 

What the pictures don’t necessarily show well is that it’s pretty scratched up. It definitely needs some work, and I definitely can’t wait to tackle it!

For those of you who might expect the after pictures soon, let me forewarn you. I’m waiting for this baby. My birthday is on its way, and this is what I’ll be getting. I should probably tell my husband that.

I’m not stuck on this model (Porter-Cable PSH1 Gravity Feed from Amazon). As a matter of fact, if you have recommendations, PLEASE share them with me. I’m a newbie to this stuff, so any extra help is much appreciated!

Something else I could use some help with? How to take a true-to-color picture of this room! Egads! This is by far the biggest project I’ve taken on, and it’s a slow process to say the least. I’m doing all the trim work myself (see the handsome MDF baseboards below?).  I figure my kids will be able to use their bathroom again just in time for prom. 

SAS in Review

I’m just gonna say it. This could very well have been the best SAS day ever. I just could not get over the decorating, transforming, and inspiring that you did. It was SO difficult to choose who to highlight.

As I was sitting at my computer last night and fretting over who to choose, my husband looked over and said, “Are you seriously stressing out over this?” Yeah. He’s really supportive of my feelings. Don’t be jealous.

Cottage Instincts brilliantly transformed this dresser! LOVE.

Kari at Beautiful Inspirations worked so hard on this cabinet, and it definitely paid off! The paint inside was a perfect choice, don’t you think?

Maple Memories showed us that baby food jars + bright hair ties+ chalkboard paint=brilliance! I love this idea!

I can highlight my friends, right? Beth at The Stories of A to Z made these “vintage” spindles. That girl!

You really need to see what Melissa at Veranda Interiors has done with her Halloween decor. I forewarn you now. Her. House. ‘nuff said.

The Hand Me Down House really knows how to transform thrift store finds! Go check out her fall decor!

As for me? I’m off to begin work on the china cabinet (said with echoes). We’re coming up on week 8 of 8! Woo Hoo!  Needless to say, I hope to be a little more productive when I get some parental support soon!

Show and Share Day

Ever have one of those weeks that takes forever to pass by? Then when Friday gets here, you wonder where the week went? Yeah. That was my week.  Thank goodness for SAS Days. I can’t wait to see your inspiration!

Just in case you’re wondering what inspiration I’ve been conjuring up, visit the girls over at eighteen25. They’ve invited me to participate in their Spooktacular September.

Somehow I managed to come up with something to share that I hope is worthy of the event! Go visit and see for yourself!

What’s in My Drawers

I know I’m trying to be less original and more “findable” with my post titles, but this one was just a natural fit. By drawers, of course, I mean my craft dresser. I knew you’d ask, and you didn’t disappoint.  Ready to find out?

Paint, glitter, glue. Every crafter’s must-haves, right? Bins and tins are my saving grace. I didn’t want to get this room around and just throw everything into a drawer.

Remember when I showed you my ribbon organizer? Well, I didn’t say I had all my ribbon organized. At least all most of it’s in the same place. That’s a good start!

My sewing box (another must-have for me) and my glue guns. Needless to say, this drawer gets some use!

Now that my BFF has moved in, I decided she deserved her own drawer. First the drawer. If it works out, I’ll get her a key to my place.  Lots of vinyl, blades, etc. I also house all the cording I need to get work done.

Here’s a not so brilliant tip. I label all my cords so that I know what they’re for. If they don’t already have a tag, I simply wrap a piece of frog tape like below and write on it with a permanent marker. No more trying ten different cords when attempting to upload pictures to my laptop!

The #1 reason I wanted this storage dresser is for my waiting-to-be-altered items. I tend to give gifts for random reasons, so I always like to have some staples around. Ceramic tiles for coasters, tins for packaging, lots of stationery…blah,blah,blah.

Of course, now that I’ve taken out a lot of the office storage that my other desk provided, I had to leave a drawer for a couple of those supplies. I keep tape, envelopes, cards, hole punch and what not in here.  Now if I could just get my husband to remember that they’re in there.

The middle drawers are a work in progress, but here’s a horrible picture of what’s in there now. I don’t know how convenient it will be for my fabric, but I didn’t want to have visible piles. I also keep my craft table cloths in the top drawer. They’re a must.

So there you go. A look inside my drawers! I’ll stop there. I’m just immature enough to continue going with that one.

See you Friday!

The Story of a China Cabinet

If you’ve been following me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that there’s been an on-going saga involving a china cabinet--otherwise known as a pain in my bahoony.  It all started with my daughter’s room.

She had two pieces of furniture against one wall, and it was just taking up too much room. It came to me that I wanted to condense those pieces into something smaller. What I didn’t know is that I would sell both pieces in 22 minutes with a bidding war over the dresser. Woah.

So…the hunt for a china cabinet was on. Cabinet #1 was $50.00! I was in love! I was gonna marry it!  Unfortunately, someone else proposed to it 30 minutes before I did. I was heartbroken. Would I ever find something I loved this much?

China cabinet #2. Well, hello gorgeous. You’re quite stunning, and for $75.00, I think you and I could have a beautiful relationship. Too bad your owner never got back with me. My assumption? It was sold. WHY don’t Craigslisters know that it’s a common courtesy to let inquirers know that it’s not available anymore?

In comes china cabinet #3. YES! I love it. It’s mahogany; it has beveled glass; it’s in perfect condition! It’s $200.00. Ouch. Well, I’ve been saving money. I can afford this. I work. I earn, darn it! My final e-mail with the seller tells me that it’s only 70 inches high. It’s a deal breaker. For that kind of money, it needed to be taller. Again—heartbroken.

At this point, I’m feeling defeated. Perhaps this whole china cabinet idea is not meant to be. Perhaps I—wait…what’s that? WOW! She’s beautiful! She’s only $60.00?? There’s gotta be a catch.  There is. It’s 2 hours away.

What my little one doesn’t know is that it has a “secret” desk disguised as the top drawer. She’s been wanting a desk (hence the furniture sale I had), so this is brilliant!

I think my husband was so happy that I wouldn’t be spending $200, he actually agreed to make the 4-hour drive with me next weekend. We’re on week 6 of 8, so the fact that he’d take a day to do this means a lot. The moral of this story? Wait it out. Craigslist is a frugal buyer’s dream. It just might take a minute (or 120) to get there.