Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Queen of Hearts!

Over Christmas I took a break from painting furniture.  I put all of my effort and time into making memories with my children.  We did everything from Christmas crafts to attending 3 different cookie decorating parties.  We had a blast.  The holidays are so fun now that my babies are old enough to understand. They are already asking about next year.

The day after Christmas, I went out to my garage and grabbed this bookshelf that I had bought last month.  At first glance, I thought it was okay.  I am not much of a heart person, and it had one on each side.  Then I looked a the legs.  The legs were too cute to stay at the thrift store. 

Here is the before.



Here is the after.



I love how she (Yes, she is a she.  Look at the those legs.) turned out!  As I said before, I am not a heart person.  By putting the paper on the back of it, your eye goes there instead of to the sides.











I always have such a hard time letting go of the pieces that I do.  I know I will have to let her go, but I may just put a big price sticker on her, so I can keep her for a while.

XOXO
Wendy

 <a href="http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb119/tightwadtips/SCCTTBadge.png" border="0" alt="shabby creek cottage" /></a>

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Paper Flower Tutorial

 
 
 
 
 
First I would like to send out a BIG thank you to Jeannie at jbsvintage.com She recently contacted me and asked if she could feature my blog.  It seems that Jeanie and I have a lot in common.  We both love all things vintage.  You should definitely check out her blog.  She has some really cute stuff.  She also has an Etsy store where she sells all of her treasures!

On to the paper flowers that I made.  I was on Pinterest the other night.  I saw these really cute paper flowers.  You all know how much I love using paper to make my crafts.  I pinned it to one of my boards, but the link was bad.  So I just came up with my own.

Here are the supplies you will need.


Scalloped Paper  Punch

Brown Paper Bags

Glue Gun and Sticks

Bamboo Skewers

Little Foam Balls (bought mine at The Dollar Tree)



 The first thing that you want to do is, punch out your flowers.  I think that I used three paper bags per flower. 



Then you wan to fold the flower shape in half.  Then fold it in half again.  You want the pedals loose so don't fold too tight.

To make sure the pedal edges stick together, just add a tiny bit of glue. 
 






   

Now it's time to start sticking them to your foam ball.  I just put a dab of glue on the pointed part of the pedal and began sticking them down.  There wasn't a method to my madness. Just glue, stick and repeat!




The last thing you need to do is stick a bamboo skewer to make the stem. 
















  Super simple and super cute!


XOXO
Wendy


















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Monday, November 26, 2012

JACKPOT!

The other night I decided that I wanted to go shopping.  I was on my way to HomeGoods when I was compelled to stop at Goodwill.  I just had a feeling that I needed to go in.  I walked around for 30 minutes without really finding anything that I couldn't live without.  I was about to walk out the door when something caught my eye...

The more I collect Ironstone, the more I can spot it from far away.  Right on the end cap I saw a serving bowl.  Score!  When I looked at the price it said 29.99.  Instantly my high was gone... Until I looked a little closer. It wasn't 29.99 for just the one bowl.  It was 29.99 for a 43 piece set.  What?  No way! I thought to myself.  I looked a little more and BINGO!  There it was.




 I needed a cart, but I had one of those moments where I was frozen.  I did not want to leave my treasures.  I ran as fast as I could to grab one.  I put them in my cart and headed  to the cash register before they realized how cheap it was. 

The cashier picked one up and said "Wow!  These are much heavier than they look."  I remember thinking the same thing the first time I picked one up.  She also noticed the crazing on them.  I still don't know it they are a good thing or bad thing.  I love it.  Makes it look like it has some history.


 


So, I guess the moral of this story is to always listen to your gut.  I knew that there was something waiting for me to rescue it.  I just didn't think I would hit the jackpot!

XOXO
Wendy

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Small White Dresser

I found this little dresser the other day.  I loved how small it was.  I was thinking that it would be perfect in a bathroom or a craft room.





One of my favorite things about painting furniture is that I get to use some of the pieces until they sell.  I love changing things out.  It's a win win for me and my hubby.  I get new stuff all the time, and he doesn't have to pay for it!

One of my favorite pieces was the little chunky night stand that I had put a 1,2,3 on.  It sold the first day, so I didn't get a chance to decorate with it.  When I saw this dresser, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it!



I used two coats of my favorite white paint.  Dove White by Valaspar. I find that it is the perfect white for me.  Then using a sharpie, I drew on the numbers.  Next I distressed it using 150 grit sandpaper.  After that I gave it a coat of wax. 

I kept the original hardware.  I just painted it to match.  I think it was the right decision.  I went back and forth about keeping it.  In the end it came down to not wanting to fill the holes and having to drill new ones. 












I found this really cute paper at the Dollar Tree.  I have been waiting to use it.  I love the  green and white together.

 
Maybe I will get to use this one!  But I'll be okay if I don't...


XOXO
Wendy

Friday, November 16, 2012

Grey and Red

I have been obsessing over grey and red lately!  I think it looks so rich and warm!  When I found these little red rose handles, I knew I had to put them with a grey table.  Let's be honest.  Most of my pieces end up being grey anyway.

I did take a before, but two minutes before I was going to post it, my "Little" erased it.  My fault.  I gave her my phone to occupy her while I shopped.  That's what I get!

It started out as a boring brown end table.  It was in perfect condition, so no filling this time!  Yes!  I am the worst at wood filler.  I never seem to get it right.

Here is what it looks like now.





 I wanted a darker grey than I had on hand, so I just added a little black until I reached the color I wanted.  I used two coats of homemade chalk paint.  Then I used 220 grit sandpaper to distress it.  I used a black glaze to give it a little depth, and then a coat of wax.

Here is a close up on the hardware.




XOXO
Wendy

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

My First Bazaar

On Saturday I had my first bazaar.  It didn't go so well, but I still had fun.  They had signed up too many vendors.  We ended up getting stuck in a weird hallway away from the gym.  It was my table and another girl's.  She has done many bazaars, and said that this was the weirdest one she had done.  Oh well!  Life goes on and I have tons of homemade Christmas presents to give out!  I did snap a couple of pictures with my cell phone.














XOXO
Wendy