It’s finally here!  Week one of So You Think You Can Decorate presented by Alchemy Junk.  I’ve been working on my projects and I am so excited to finally reveal my entry for the week one theme: Accessories.  Here’s what I submitted… For those of you who are familiar with my blog, you know that my specialty is furniture makeovers.  When challenged to create an accessory, I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to go, so I did what I know.  Why not take a piece of furniture and turn it into an accessory?  In this case, I took a $1.00 auction headboard, cut the legs off and turned it into a sign for over my mantle. The headboard was painted a cream color, but I could tell from the back that it was a beautiful wood.  I stripped off the paint, leaving some on the edges to add to the weathered look I wanted. 

1000 Follower Giveaway All of you helped me reach a special milestone for my little blog…1000 followers.  To say thanks, I am offering a custom giveaway to one of you. Is anyone else in love with antique grain sacks, but, like me, can’t afford the real deal?  Picture from 3 Fine Grains Well, I took matters into my own hands and painted my own.  I was thrilled with the result and can’t wait to make more. The giveaway is for a hand painted “antique grain sack” custom made just for the winner.  You can show me a picture of one you would like me to use for inspiration or have me create one for you using a significant name, date, and place.  It can be as simple or complicated as you want, I just have to be able to see and read the inspiration feed sack clearly.  The paint can also

First of all, I just hit 1000 followers!  Thank you, everyone.  Second, make sure you visit my Workshop Series post for great paint tips as well as a link party to share your decorative painting efforts.  There are giveaways for three lucky participants, so join in! Other than the catalog, this is the only Pottery Barn thing that I own.  My mom received a pair of sconce/vases for a Christmas present and wasn’t sure what to do with them.  So, she gave them to me.  Now, one side of me that you girls probably don’t know about is that I am an enormous klutz.  (I once fell off an 8′ ladder into a paint can, but that’s another story.)  In a classic “me” move, I broke one of the glass vases that fit into the sconce holders.  I was so sad that I finally owned something from Pottery Barn and

Welcome to special installment of the workshop series brought to you by Mustard Seed Creations and Funky Junky Interiors!  Girls, I have a treat in store for you.  My blog friend, Marianne from Songbird, has graciously agreed to write a guest post with all kinds of tips and tricks to improve your painting.  As a decorative artist and the owner of my own decorative painting and home decor business, I thought I knew a lot about painting.  Marianne showed me that I was a fool.  I learned a lot by reading her post and I’m sure you will as well.  I have a link party listed below, so you can share your decorative painting efforts and enter a giveaway for a set of acrylic paints provided by DecoArt.  There’s a lot going on in this post, so hang on to your hat… Don’t forget to check out what Funky Junk Donna is up to today.  There’s

I decided I would elaborate on my bathroom mirror that I posted about yesterday.  It came with this vanity that I found at a thrift store for $15.00. It had ugly hardware and a horrible cream on blue crackle finish.  I painted it out in Sherwin Williams’ Creme, added glass knobs, and sold it to a client. The mirror was not original to the vintage vanity, so I kept it in the basement to use later.  Unfortunately, it had the same hideous finish.  I’m not anti-crackle, but this is not the right way to do it, girls. Ahhh, much better. So, I got a new-to-me mirror for my bathroom and made money doing it.  When you bring home your thrifty finds, don’t forget to see what might be the “icing on the cake.”

After three attempts, we were finally able to hang our new bathroom mirror.  This thing was a beast and had to weigh at least 50 lbs.  This is what the bathroom looked like when we bought the house.  The mirror was way too small for the vanity and I hated the oak finish.  Several months ago, I purchased a vanity (the makeover was featured in my Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Crackle post) and it came with this huge mirror.  The pairing was obviously not original, so I kept the mirror for another project.  As you may have guessed from the title of my vanity post, the vanity and mirror had a horrific crackle finish on it.  The mirror’s frame was solid wood, so I stripped it down and stained it in my favorite dark walnut. You can find my furniture stripping tutorial here. I finished it off with a few coats of

Welcome to another installment of the workshop series brought to you by Mustard Seed Creations and Funky Junky Interiors!  This week I’m going to address the, “I can’t draw worth a lick” defense and Donna is sharing her wisdom on how to store all of your cables and extensions cords.   Check it out when you’re done here. Believe it or not, I am not that great at drawing.  Painting is a very different art from sketching.  Even though a lot of my work is freehand, I do use templates and tracing tools on certain projects.  Using these tools is a great way to get a hand painted look, even if you’re not comfortable painting freehand.  Here are some tools I always have on hand: Rulers – I prefer clear rulers that are made for quilters.  They are wide enough to use as a “square” and the fact that they are clear means that

All together, “…you never know what you’re gonna get.”  I bought a few dark wood frames from Goodwill this past weekend to add to my “family wall” in the living room.  Behind two 1970’s raccoon and squirrel prints were these antique French prints. Who would’ve thought?  And who thought the little critters made better art work than these ladies? So, I matted and framed up a storm tonight while watching the Olympics.  Can you spot my faux wood frame among the real ones? I have really enjoyed framing my family pictures.  Every time I pull them out to work on , though, I cry or at least get a little misty, especially when I’m working on pictures of my Opa.  He passed away last September and I was very close to him.  I also matted a free bird’s egg print from Vintage Printables in a gold leafed frame.  More snow is falling tonight