A Catch Up Of Many Projects!

Yeah!  I actually remembered a ‘before’ picture!  Here is a ‘before’ picture of our plain and boring mantle.  It has been like this for years. Why?  Lack of inspiration, I guess.

Well, I got inspired!  Here it is now!  The black mirror was a $3 ugly brass garage sale find that I spray painted glossy black.  The tray on the left was a Goodwill find for $2 that had ugly tiles glued to the bottom.  I removed them and had my boys cut me a piece of thin wood that I sprayed with chalkboard paint.  Love it!

The books are antique books I already had.  The super sweet birds nest was compliments of my step dad, eggs and all.  The black and white ‘Blessings’ sign was a $2 garage sale treasure.  The white and green tin was originally an ugly brass that I picked up for 50 cents.  I sprayed it Heirloom White and dry brushed it with my favorite green, stuffed in some hydrangeas I had and, viola!

Another wonderful idea I discovered was this under-the-sink stroke of brilliance!  I have been nosing around a website called “Pinterest” and getting all kinds of ideas. I have always been bugged by the spray bottles falling down under the sink.  Someone recommended a tension rod to hang them from.  I just so happened to have a rod that was the perfect size.  It cracks me up how the simplest things make me happy.

This is another project I have been working on.  My quiet time table.  Sorry, no ‘before’ picture, just an ‘in the middle of’ picture. It was a nice enough table, but I wanted something more fun.

So, I sanded it.  Painted it with my favorite green.  The same color I used for my headboard.  Then I ‘crackled’ it and applied a top coat of creamy white.  I then sanded it in spots to remove chunks of paint here and there.  The more I took off, the more I loved it.  Next step was wiping it with a glaze mixed with some brown paint and wiping it off.  I finished with several coats of a spray clear coat.  I love it!

Some people don’t ‘love’ the antiqued and distressed look, but I do.  I wouldn’t want every piece of furniture like this, but this is perfect.

Here it is in its rightful place, next to my quiet time chair.

Sneak peak!  I got this table at Goodwill for $15.  It was love at first sight.  I called Brian for permission to buy it, anything over $10 I like to check with him.  I can get carried away with this passion.   Being a furniture lover, he said yes!  Wait until you see what I have planned for this!

Hope you enjoyed this lengthy post on what I have been working on lately.