Who knows what I’m talking about??  Not yummy delicious buttery home made popcorn.

White, flaky, the so-not-my-friend-popcorn.

Yep, now you know what I’m talking about.

Fortunately since we pulled out every single bit of drywall and plaster in our current house, we could choose to not use this as a texture to cover up seams in the drywall.  We kept our ceilings flat.  In our last house though, it was everywhere.

I have to tell you that I wasn’t a big fan from the get go, but it seemed an overwhelming task to tackle, therefore we sprayed 10 gallons of paint onto our ceilings to give it a fresh white and left it as is.  I have a couple that I’m helping with their cabin this spring, and they had popcorn ceilings in just a few rooms of the cabin.  Since it wasn’t covering over 2000 square feet of drywall, the task seemed much more manageable.  I researched for hours (or quick you tubed how to remove popcorn ceilings) and found a great video.

It’s 11 minutes long, but after the first couple minutes you get the picture:)  So, we gathered supplies.  We needed a sprayers..

I believe this one was used for around the yard, but rinsed out it worked great!

A scraper..

It’s a drywall knife that you can get at any hardware store.

and  a plastic tub..

I took the sprayer and sprayed the ceiling once, let it sit for a minute, and then sprayed it one more time.  You want to make sure to get enough water on it so that it scrapes off nicely.  I found it best to wait about 5 minutes after your last spray to start scraping.

Then, you seriously just start scraping…

Make sure you hold the container so you try to catch as much as you can.

Here’s a small clip of me in action.  Note:  Your arm does get tired, and popcorn does get everywhere:)

Thanks Kelly Jo for taping it:) I didn’t quite know she was video taping, but it was great to show how smooth it actually works!

There were a couple of spot that some of the drywall got nicked a bit that would needed to be patched, but I really think we could have just primed the drywall and painted it smooth.

You might notice the tape lines are a bit extreme and decide to either get them re-sanded, or do a knock down texture (which I like a bit more)

Or if this looks like too much work, you could just cover your ceilings up with a wood treatment with something like this…

The Lettered Cottage

We actually ended up planking the ceiling with 1/4″ plywood, and they are looking so cool!  Hopefully I can show you soon!

Happy scraping:)

It’s a bit more subtle.

1st Disclaimer: I do not proclaim to be an expert in this field.  I will tell you that I was just an ambitious girl that wanted to try tiling instead of resorting to peel and stick tile again.  So, if you find yourself in the same boat, you may want to tune in. 

These are the things that I learned while DIY-ing. 

1.)  You are probably going to need a strong man in your life to help with the durarock, which is the cement underlayment for the tile.  I could not do this part on my own. 

2.)  After the underlayment was laid, I you tubed videos to see “how-to” tile.  One example is this

3.)  I then proceded to Menards to find my supplies.  If you are tiling a bathroom floor you will need mortar, grout, tiles, trowel, sponge, sealer, tile spaces, and a squishy padded flat trowel…not sure the technical name for that:) 

Trowel

Mortar–They do have this and the grout in the pre-mixed option, which is 1.) more expensive, and 2.) I heard it takes a lot longer to set up.  I would mix my own.  A few words to the wise about this.  I just followed the directions on the back of the bag and almost ruined the whole bag and did burn up a drill.  Yep, husband was not happy.  Here’s what I would do.  Add a little mortar in a 5 gallon pail and add water.  The consistency should be like peanut butter.  I had to add a lot more water than what the bag called for, so go by consistency and not directions.  I would have loved to known that!!

I guess it’s called a grout float.  They are only about 5 bucks.

Tiles spacers, read what size you need, it changes on what size tile you use.  I needed the 1/8″ ones.

and if you want to save your knees, you’re gonna want some of these!  Wish I would have put them on right away!

I wish I would have taken some pics during the process, but it was a  bit stressful and I didn’t stop to grab the camera.  My last few tips to the ambitious is to keep a toothbrush in your back pocket if you are putting in small tile.  If there is too much mortar when you push your tiles down it seeps up in the seams and then you can use the toothbrush to brush it out.  If you don’t, like we may have…it hardens and then you can’t fit the grout in….bummer!  Also, measure out your space before so you have straight lines to go off of when you are tiling. 

We ended up going with 2×2 inch while tiles with white grout and here is what the finished product looks like!

The Close-Up!

Ryan got my vanity in, just didn’t quite shorten up the one side of drawers since the plumbing runs through it.  I have to tell you though, it’s amazing to have a sink again:)

and the view from our bedroom….

So that’s the sneak peek you get for now.  Hopefully next time the finishing touches will be in place!  It’s starting to get exciting to have a house to live in…thanks for being patient with me:)

I ran away to Wisconsin this week, for good reason.  Ryan took my last functioning toilet!  It really is a good thing because that means he’s onto plumbing, yay!!  But, I didn’t really care to stick around to watch him put in the pvc while peeing on a tree if you know what I mean.  So to Grandma’s house we go.  Oh how Grandma loves us:) wink wink

While I was at home I thought I might as well bring a project with me, and while it crossed my mind to throw my wing back in the trunk, I second guessed it when I needed to pack up actual necessities.  So, instead I threw in Kynlee’s little rocking chair we got for free when we purchased her bed on craigslist.  The nice family threw it in for us:)  It was cute, but just not quite the right colors, so since I am in love with slipping these days (the result not the process!)  I thought it would be the perfect project to do while I was at home.  Especially since if I didn’t do it here it probably wouldn’t get done until she was too big to acutally sit in the chair!  Anyway, here is her cute little chair before..

It was fun kind of Grandmas bedspread chenille fabric, but some of it was rubbing off and the stripes didn’t match the new color scheme.  So, to the slip we go.

I started by buying 2 yards of duck cloth fabric, normally 9.99 a yard but I had a 50% percent off coupon and an additional 20% off the entire purchase, so it was only $8!!  I also bought some piping and a 1/2 yard of pink fabric to encase it in.

Once I got home I washed my fabric in hot water and dried it to shrink it up so it would still fit after I washed it once it was made (the beauty of slip covers!!)

Then I started by just draping and tucking the fabric on the chair.  This is allie’s version of “pattern making.”  Super precise :)  And I have a really great helper/expert sewer in the back helping me out!

After you tuck it you can start cutting it, and then pinning it tightly to fit.  Some people say to pin it a little loose so you have a little extra room, but I’m not a fan of the extra loose, sloppy looking slips so I tend to pin it a little tighter and figure it will stretch if it needs to!

This was my first piece.  I like to start with the back cushion seat and then the back of the chair. Then trim to leave about 1/2 inch.  You really do want to try to utilize your fabric as best as possible, so try to be smart about placement.

Here’s the slip all cut out and pinned, and then after it is pinned I baste, which means to loosely hand stitch all the seams.  Trust me, I’m a lazy girl on this kinda stuff, but it’s worth it on slipcovers!!  After this you carefully take the slip off, carry it to your machine, and start sewing on your basted line.  If you are going to do piping this is when you would insert it into the arms and top seams.  I like to do it after I have it all pinned.  I unpin one piece at a time, stick it in and pin it back up so I don’t loose the whole shape.  After an afternoon of sewing with my sister, about 4 hours later I had this little cutie!

I forgot to mention that I added a gathered skirt on the bottom to flirt it up a bit.  The skirt is the best part because it pulls the whole piece together.  Gathered skirts are super easy, you just measure how long you need it and cut a piece of fabric.  Hem one edge for the bottom and then loosely hand stitch the top in about 1 inch stitches.  Then pull your thread until it is loosely gathered, add your piping, and sew it on.  I pin it and then sew it on the right side and just stitch in the ditch.  Much easier than trying to flip it inside out!

It’s definately not perfect, and a cute little pillow with a “K” on it will help to hide some of that, but it’s a one of a kinder…and 8 bucks!  Can’t argue with that:)  Oh, and Kynlee loves it too, if you can’t tell by how relaxed she is, what a goof!

So I know some of you are super intimidated by slipping, but when I tell you that I am honestly not a good sewer, I mean it.  You just gotta try.  I always cross my fingers and say a little prayer that there will be no holes and that it will fit, and most of the time it does!!  Let me know if you slip something at your house, I’d love to see it!!

So I decided this week that I am going to get as many small projects done as I can before we move, because I will be a bit overwhelmed with HUGE projects at that point:)  I had gotten three outdoor pillows at the end of last season for $3.24 a piece and always had the idea of recovering them since they were in a plain jane green.  But, after looking at the price of outdoor fabric I could practically buy new pillows.  And then it hit me….I had that beautiful black and white super thick damask fabric that I had taken down from my kitchen window.  The fabric felt just like the outdoor fabric and was really durable. So, since I was making some simple pillows I thought I would show even a novice sewer how to do it!

First of all here is my pillow before..

Not bad, but no pizzazz:)

Okay…here we go!

Step 1: Cut the fabric

I just lay my pillow right on top of the fabric and cut around it, leaving about a 1/2 inch on each side for the seam allowance.  I would rather have less than more, so your pillow doesn’t move around in the cover.  You can also trace your pillow and then cut if it is easier for you.  I also knew I was making 3 covers so I cut out 3 backs right away.

Step 2: Cut the back side

This might be the hardest part to explain but it is actually really easy so stick with me.  You need to cut the back the same width as your pillow front but 8 inches longer.  Then you will cut this piece in half and actually have 2 pieces for your back that will be like an envelope closure.  This is a picture of my 3 pieces.  The front, and then 2 smaller pieces for the back.

This shows the envelope closure.  The 2 pieces cover your front to make the same size, they just overlap.

Step 3:  Hem your edges.

First I fold them over twice, about 1/4 inch each time, so they have a nice edge when you sew them.

Then sew right down the middle

We are almost done!!

Step 4:  Pin and sew around the edge

Now I am normally not a pinner, it makes my mother cringe…but with pillows it really does help to keep everything in place.

Make sure you keep right sides together, that means the pretty side goes inside and you see the ugly side.  Line them up so all the edges match and seams are in the middle, sew all the way around the outside and then you’re done!

Step 5:  Flip it right side out and stick your pillow inside!

Ta Da!!!

Now if that seemed overwhelming to you just take it step my step.  I made 3 pillow covers in about 35 minutes…so it’s really not that bad.

Happy sewing and happy Friday:)

I stole!

Shame on me…I couldn’t resist.

Every couple of days we go out to visit the farmhouse to make sure someone hasn’t gone and moved it:)  And when we get out there our fears and worries about finances, fixing a 100-year-old house, and moving all seem to vanish.  It is so incredibly peaceful out there!  So I just had to.  I had to bring some of it home with me…even though it isn’t officially ours yet:)

Can you blame me??? Aren’t they just GORGEOUS!!  I am in love with lilacs, their color, their smell..everything!  If only I could get them to bloom all summer:)

I just love the pop of color they brought to my dining room! (nice head in the mirror allie…that’s me on a stay at home day:)

So shame on me, the Lord will deal with me later…but for now it was worth it:)

I was also going to mention that cute little “L” I got for my pitcher..if you noticed it:)  I found a lady that makes the vinyl letters and numbers so you can stick them onto just about anything.  They come in 4″ sizes and you can get 5 letters or numbers for $15.  The real reason I got them was because I wanted them for my canisters on my counter.

I have a fourth too, just didn’t fit on this counter.  They sure make them pop though don’t they?  Love it!  They spruced up my $5 dollar garage sale buy just perfectly!!  If you’re interested you can find her products here.  I think you can also make your own if you have a cricut…but unfortunately I do not.

So I hope you are enjoying the flowering shrubs and bushes as much as I am…and watch out, I might just be cutting some out of your yard next:)  Teasing!

Chalkboard paint…love it!  It’s ingenious, and cheap!  I first learned about chalkboard paint when I moved in with my sister about 5 years ago and they were making a big chalkboard for their kitchen.  Then I got married and moved into our house and decided that I could find quite a few uses for it as well.  So, I invested in a can of chalkboard paint, made by Rustoleum, found at Menards.  It looks like this…

I think it’s 8 bucks..for sure under 10 and it will last you FOREVER! Or at least until it dries up:)

So, my first project I did was to make these fun little jars.  I got the jars at Target for about $10 a piece and then added some originality to them!

First I measured and made a tape rectangle and painted

Then I removed the paint to leave my cute little chalkboard square

And then the fun part, chalking it up:)

I also used one in my laundry room for soap…

My next project was to paint a door.  My sister had cute paneled doors and painted a panel with chalkboard paint and I loved it!  Since we have ugly flat hollow doors, I wanted to make it work.  So, my brother-in-law so graciously cut a frame for me out of some trim I bought, glued it together, then I measured my door, painted the spot where the frame was gonna go, and glued it down with wood glue.  We did clamp it and leave it for a day to dry before hanging it back up.  But all in all we had  a new door for around 10 bucks!  Here’s what it looks like…

I love it cause you can change it up all the time for seasons, celebrations, sweet notes….to remember the date when you are home everyday:)  You know, whatever suites your fancy!!

Lastly I came up with a project just a couple of weeks ago using more chalkboard paint that was super duper easy, I’m talking 2 minutes easy.  I found an old frame at a thrift store for $3 and then just painted right on the glass.  I didn’t even take the picture out from behind it.  I was a little antsy and only gave it 2 coats, if you want durable paint you might want to do 3 or 4 on glass, but it worked okay for me.  Then I used it to decorate with.  It would also be a great thing to use in a gallery wall or kids room.

Here’s just a couple more fun ideas that I’ve found surfing the web that I might try someday!

For the little (or not so little) artist in your family!

This one is a bit safer for the little artist in the family:)  Or mine at least!

Here’s a door like I was talking about, so cute…but what’s even more cute is her amazing ability to organize!  I’m drooling over here since that is clearly NOT one of my strong points!

A cheap and creative kitchen backsplash!

A statement wall…love this room by the way:)

Simple pots…I think I might have to do this one this summer!

Or make your recyclables actually look cute!

Even a whole table!  Never have a dull dinner again:)

The possibilities are seriously endless….I’d love to see a project you come up with!  So go get yourself a can of chalkboard paint and start creating!:)

P.S.  I know people have said you can also get chalkboard paint tinted different colors if black isn’t your thing, so if that intrigues you go check it out:)

I’m not a huge fan of art or pictures on my walls, more for the fact that I never know what looks good or what goes, and also because I don’t live in an art gallery or museum.  I’d rather hang pictures of my children, wall art, clocks, or useful items, etc.  But when I had these two nice frames left over from the “before” living room, I knew I needed to figure something out.  They previously had flower pictures in from Ikea that just weren’t cutting it anymore.  I want simplicity.  I also needed to tie in little ‘pops’ of black, so this is what I decided to do…

I found a cute saying that was already printed like that on the internet and printed it off, turned my flower picture backward, and double-stuck it to the back.  It’s even more fun to think that it was free!  And that I can change it out for different sayings every season!

Room view.  I knew I didn’t want two sayings, but I wanted to use two frames.  So I decided something simple would suffice.  Needless to say birds are the new craze, at least everywhere I look…and I like them!  So I googled bird silhouette images and came up with more than a handful.  I picked this one because of its simplicity, cut it out and double stuck it on:)  After seeing it all hung I am thinking I should go back and cut right around the bird so you don’t see the uneven square that I cut because I was a little too lazy to trek it upstairs to find my little paper cutter.  Whoops.  Maybe someday…or??? :)

So, go online and find yourself a cute little saying or picture and throw it in an old frame you got laying around.  Add a little pop of spring.  Put it on your gallery wall if you have so ventured into doing one!  Maybe even be so daring as to print it in a color!  A cheap, quick, and easy fix to add some visual and unique interest to your room!

So, remember when I said before my dark dirty little secret?? My lack of organization??  Well that was one of my goals for this year and I have done a couple of things…or maybe just this one (more are in the works) to help simplify my life.  You know that spot in your house that tends to accumulate junk.  You know, the place that you set stuff that you don’t have a place for.  Yeah, I accumulate a lot of that, and this was my spot…

I know, seriously??  On the good days, or when company came over I would at least hide some of the stuff in my “other” problem areas…behind closed doors:)

So needless to say, this has been an area that has been haunting me since we moved in.  I knew it was a fun little nook but didn’t know what to do about it.  I mean, of course built-ins would be great, but those are expensive, and an unnecessary expense for both of us…so I decided on shelving.

I went on another IKEA run with a friend of mine and was on the lookout for shelves.  I had seen some cute wood ones earlier but never measured or looked at price.  When we got there I found out that they were $45 a piece…ouch…and the size wasn’t right.  So I ended up buying some black metal brackets for $5 a piece, and a wood top for $5 a piece.  Grand total for three shelves…$45.  Now that I can afford.

I got home and was super excited to hang the shelves, so I started right away.  I cleared the area and marked with a pencil where I wanted the height of the shelves, and then where I wanted the brackets.  Definitely use a level for this part, you don’t want crooked shelves.

I know I’ve said it before, but sometimes that best thing I have going for me is that I am not a perfectionist…It may not be quite as high of quality but I am never afraid to try, even if it is a little uneven:)

Oh course I ran into a problem…it can never go smooth the first time.  I got all but one bracket hung and the last one I put in my anchors (you have to use these if you are putting any sort of weight on your shelf, a girls best friend:)

You just drill the plastic screw into the wall like a normal screw and then drill the normal screw into that.  Wall-ah!!

Anyhow, when I was hanging my last one I hit a piece of duct work and stripped the wall out.  Frustrating!!  So, I did have to wait for Ry to get home to help me fix that problem.  Also, when I bought my $5 boards, they were too long but knew that they could just be cut down to size.  I happened to mention that to Ryan the same day I asked him to fix my anchor the second he stepped into the house.  Did I mention I love projects:)  Well, he wasn’t too keen on doing that right away, and we were heading out on a date that night…so I decided that I was going to try to do that myself.  The next day I pulled out the table saw and ripped down my first boards.  I was pretty proud of myself.  Then I screwed them into the brackets and it looked something like this…

I think that looks a little more pulled together than before.  I do want to get a smart station for our i-pods and phones..someday:)

Also, I was going to mention…when you are decorating shelves it’s great to have some unity and groupings.  You don’t want it to look too hodge podge.

I found these baskets at Ikea for $4 a piece.

Then I just printed out some numbers, cut them out, stuck them on with double sided tape, and they look like they serve a purpose.  I also grouped together glasses and coffee cups to give a cohesive look.

And that’s it!  Not bad for $45 and some change to have an organized and useful space.  Yes, I actually use those coffee cups and glasses that are sitting on the shelf!  I hope this helps to motivate you to clean up one of your drop zone areas:)  I only have a couple..several…whose kidding, LOTS to go!

So here’s the deal, the other night for Ryan’s birthday we went out to the usual man stores, Gander Mountain and Scheels…and I lovingly asked him if we could stop off at another somewhat man store, the Home Depot, to get some paint to paint my bed.  I always try to pick opportune times to ask these questions, times  when Ryan is in a good mood, love you babe:)  He said sure, but before you paint the bed you should really fill in the nail holes and give the trim a fresh coat of paint. See, we move in 3 years ago, took off all the trim and sprayed it white, and then nailed it back on.  Since then we have never filled the nail holes and freshened up the trim, and by we I mean me:)  This  is a job that I really didn’t appreciate because 1.)  there was no immediate change, I mean sure…it looks all fresh and new but no drastic difference.  2.)  Because no one else would notice this strenous task besides myself.  I’m pretty sure Ry wouldn’t have realized if I wouldn’t have had the blue tape still on the floor when he came home.  and 3.)  It is a stinky job!!  I’ll show you what I mean.

First of all taping the floors and wall off take more time than the actual painting.  Thank you that my husband works at 3M and we can get painters tape cheap!

Also, you have to move everything off of the walls to get it all.  I did contemplate being lazy and only painting up til pieces of furniture…but my conscious got the best of me:)

And lastly because you have to be on your hands and knees the whole time while painting.  Not a fun position to be in.  But, there was an incentive in mind, and with that incentive….I got it done in 1 day.  I know..the daunting task seemed too overwhelming for 3 years and then when I actually did it, it only took me one day.

So, the nail holes are filled and the trim is painted….so bring on the bed!!  I actually just finished it yesterday and got it back together.  Like I said, when it’s a fun project I waste no time:)  Check back Friday and see how it looks, I absolutely love it!!

Are there any daunting tasks you’ve been avoiding??

So I started collecting  silver frames about 2 years ago in hopes of creating a picture wall going up the steps in our two story home.  Well after 2 years of them sitting in my closet because I didn’t have enough yet, I decided instead to create a gallery wall.  A gallery wall is great because you can mix and match frames, wall art, mirrors, letters…pretty much anything you have hanging around your home.  I bet most people could create a gallery wall without even having to buy anything new.  This is my gallery wall so far, I have not quite finished it yet and actually may change a few things out…but what I have learned is that something is better than nothing!  This wall sat bear for 3 years when it could have been decorated the whole time.  So if you don’t think you have enough, just start anyway.   It is good motivation to keep going!  Here are some of my pictures that I took inspiration from, and then I’ll show you how I created my wall.

This picture is from Pottery Barn, I just liked how they used different frames, mirrors, and little objects to make it all come together.

Another Pottery Barn pic, I love the use of vintage and modern frames together, plus the overlapping brings in another dynamic.  Also I love how they frames letters…I  might have to try that!

Lastly I found this one here and loved the look of it.  What I like best is that you really can’t mess up.  Keep frames close together, far apart…whatever you want to do!  If you have enough “stuff” to hang, just start hanging and keep adding and it will become your own wall of art!  I also loved how she used vintage frames that had no glass and put pictures in the didn’t even fit.  First of all how easy is that, and second of all what a cute look!

So here’s a little bit of a closer look of how I did it.

1.)  Go around your house or make a list of some of the things you want to incorporate into your wall.  If you already have a collection going, great…otherwise some great things to hang are frames, new or old, tin signs, letters, wall art, mirrors, silhouettes (which I want to incorporate next, keep them black and white), pretty much anything you have that can hang.  I even read about one lady who put up her grandpa’s old license plate, kinda fun!  I would suggest if you are doing a lot of pics, keep them all black and white, it keeps the flow going!

2.) Then I made patterns of all of my frames and taped them up on the wall to find the best placement.  This way it is easy to move around and see what you like best.  I must admit though, if you are using a wide variety of materials this isn’t always the best idea because of the different colors and shapes.  In that case I would just start hanging or lay it out on your floor to see what you like next to each other.  Remember, you really can’t mess up!

3.)  I also found a font I like online and printed out a word to add to my wall.  I then cut the word out, taped it with double sided tape to the wall, traced it and then painted it with black paint and a fine paint brush.

I love this idea because it is completely free to do!  You know me, I’m cheap:)

I also added a metal star from Gordmans, (a store very similar to T J Maxx) for $5 and bought a letter “L” from Michaels for $4, sprayed it black and added it to my wall.

The finished product!

I am about 3/4 of the way up, still need to add a little more.  I might change some stuff around, add a couple of vintage frames without glass and some silhouettes of the kids, a letter or two.  I love to show off the great pics Sarah took, but also like to keep it interesting and different.  And that’s why I love gallery walls.  There is no right or wrong, you can change them as much as you want, and they are different from anything any one else has.  It’s unique to you.

Let me know if you attempt a gallery wall, I would love to see it.  It’s always fun to get inspiration from others!  I’ll show you the rest of mine whenever it gets finished…hopefully it’s not another 3 years:)

So I’ve had a friend ask me if I could write a blog on distressing furniture.  This is an art that I have come to love, first of all I have always loved the shabby chic/cottage style that it creates, but also because with my somewhat imperfect ( I know, me??) paint jobs, it helps to disguise them and also hides all of the extra “character” that the kids may so sweetly place on the furniture as well!!  Seeing as though I love my home to be functional and lived in, I would hate to have to cringe every time a tractor gets driven across my coffee table or a cupboard gets hit with a plastic mallet, you get the point.  So, these are Allie’s guidelines to distressing, which I have to admit, I have just experienced and this is what I found….not necessarily professional in any way:)

1.)  First you have to decide if the piece you have is a good candidate for distressing.  I have distressed almost all of my painted furniture, but my hutch for example, was too clean line and elegant to distress.  I wanted to keep it that way.

Also, my table next to it isn’t distressed so I wanted to keep the look.

2.)  Once you find a piece that you want to distress you have to decide if the furniture needs to be painted and what color.  I have only bought one piece of furniture that I didn’t paint before distressing and that was the dresser in Tate’s room.

I fell in love with this blue and bought this dresser at our local Little Red Hen shop, which buys furntiure, paints it, and resells it.  It was a little too clean line for me so I took my palm sander to it:)

3.)  You have to decide if you want a color to pop out from underneath after it is distressed, or if you are okay with the color that is already there.

I bought this piece at our local flea market and when I bought it it was painted blue.  I wanted it red, so painted it and then distressed it so that the blue came through as well.

You can see some of the blue popping through.  I also wanted to show you that on this piece I used a palm sander, which is a lot faster but sometimes a little harder to control.  They vibrate a lot:)  You can see here that I knicked the side of the bookshelf with the palm sander but when distressing, it doesn’t really matter.  I was bugged at first but after putting it in place realized that it almost looked intentional. So that brings us to point number 4.

4.)  You can’t mess up when distressing, you just have to be gutsy enough to grab the sander and mess up that beautiful, or if you are like me…not so beautiful, paint job.  It can be a bit nerving at first, second guessing yourself…but in the long run it pays off.  This has been my latest project.  After getting the new couch I realized that the stained top on my coffee table did not go well with the dark color of the suede, so I painted it white.  I thought at first I wanted it clean-line, but after sitting a night I realized it looked to white and neat, it needed some major distressing and character:)

For this table I used a block sander.

Now this piece I got a little nervous over even though I have distressed quite a few pieces in my day.  My paint for this was really thick though, and when I started distressing it some of it came off in chunks, almost peeling.  I kept going though, since there is no turning back and it turned out great, I really liked it.  So don’t panic if you think your first few swipes are a disaster.

The finished product.

5.)  Sand around the edges, molding, and character pieces that stick out.

This is the bed that came with the dresser set from my bedroom.  It was wood underneath as you can tell in the picture from the dark popping out, and I painted it cream and sanded around all the molding and edges.  To make it look not so perfect I even sanded a bit on the raised part of the leg.

6.)  You don’t want it to look perfect! (yay for me!!!!)

This piece I just used regular sand paper on and went around the edges.  If you notice, you do not want to outline everything perfect, skip a little area, make some areas darker…you want to make it appear that it “aged” on it’s own.

I just wanted to show you that this piece was painted white before I distressed it, I’m not loving the white popping out, but not bugged enough to change it.  If you have a painted piece of furniture and want a different color to pop out, simply paint the edges (not the whole piece) that color and that’s what will show when you distress.  Also, I liked this piece distressed in my dining room even though it’s black, to feel more tucsan?? (that’s what I tell myself at least?) It goes well with the distressed chairs and wood table we have.  I didn’t want it too prim and proper:)

Well, I hope seeing a few images and reading this inspires you to try painting and distressing a new piece of furniture in your house.  It is amazing what paint can do to a piece that looks quite hideous!  So keep your eyes peeled at you local thrift shops and look past the wood lacquer to see the true potential of a piece of furniture!! Happy distressing:)

So, I recently found another Craigslist bargain and wanted to decide if it would work in our home.  I came across a Pottery Barn couch with a chaise lounge.  Now, we already have a couch in our living room that we purchased when we were newly married, but every since we got it Ryan has never liked it.  He always complained of how uncomfortable it was and possibly that I had too many pillows on it:)  I love pillows as accessories.  So I wasn’t actively looking for a couch, but when I came across this one I entertained the thought of buying it, or at least presenting the idea to my husband, since he makes the final call.  A couple other reasons that I liked the idea of this couch was because it would add additional seating to our living room which didn’t have much since we sold the love seat a couple of years back, and no other seating would fit in there.  And lastly, because I love Pottery Barn items, yes I love how they look, but I have come to appreciate the quality of them as well.  Now since we do live on a budget I would never be able to buy Pottery Barn full price…so this is my opportunity to bring some of these items into our home.  I had seen this couch on Craigslist for about a year, it would come on and then off, and then on again.  Most Pottery Barn items move fast so it was a good sign for me that it was back on, because the price was lower!  I quickly emailed to get the measurements, and then that night when Ry got home we talked it over.  Now ladies, I have to tell you that I have learned how to present these ideas to my husband.  First of all I don’t get too excited about it because I know he has to agree before I can rejoice in a fun purchase.  Second of all I don’t ask him for something that I don’t find a need for, I only present items that I know will function well in our home.  Ryan is a good sport and listens to my points and then decides if he thinks we need it as well.  As stated before, Ryan didn’t much like our couch, so he was game for this one.  Plus it had a chaise, how comfy is that!  So the next step for myself was to measure out the room to make sure it would work.

We moved the furniture out and taped out the measurements on the floor.  Tate was loving the free space, and not having pants on:)  Cute chicken legs huh??

Then I moved my other furniture around it to make sure it would still work.

I liked the fit of it and we made the decision to call and see if it was still available.  After being second in line and having the first couple be a no show, we were able to go pick up the couch!!  They had it listed for $500 o.b.o. so we decided to offer $300, they ended up taking $360 and after checking out the Pottery Barn website I found that it is still on there for the small fee of $2200!! What a steal!  I must add it does have discoloration on the back from being too close to a heater, but that didn’t bother us since it was up against a wall anyhow.  So this is how it looks in our home now.

We had to move the lamp to the other side and the pictures around, but it fits quite nicely.  It is a little darker than expected so I am going to “tweek” a few things in this room to help it out, like painting my coffee table all white and eventually fading out the red and bringing in blue/green:)  Always a project, but that’s my hobby and keeps life interesting!

Have you had a great find lately?? I’d love to hear about it!