Late Wednesday.....

Oh man this week has been NUTS!! So sorry for not being able to post on Wednesday. I figure better late than never...RIGHT?! =) I have company in town & we have ALL been sick!!! So this week I wanted to show you a fun thing I made a while back & I enjoy it SO much that I have to share it. Since I use it EVERYDAY!!!

1st item: A dry erase board made out of an old picture frame. I painted the frame black & then to add some color I simply added scrabook paper to the back cardboard piece to the frame & added a ribbon & a scrapbook flower. Then I hot glued 6 heavy duty magnets onto the back & it hangs on my fridge. So when I am cooking dinner & I run out of something or I remember something I need to buy next shopping trip. I simply right it on here!! WAHLAH!!!!

2nd Item: My Menu board. Also an old frame that I painted black. I then used the same scrapbook idea. My amazing sister-in-law owns...www.vinylwallenvy.com & she ROCKS!! I had her print off a grid with all my meals & days printed in "mirror" format. I then carefully placed the Vinyl on the inside of the glass. So that when I write on it the vinyl wont start to peel off with multiple cleaning....Because I have some MAJOR cleaning O.C.D.'s!!!! & WAHLAH....A Menu board for the fam!!

I hope you enjoy & give one of these FANTASTIC crafty/organizing thingy mabobs a try!!! =)

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Stop Me Now!

Okay, I admit it.  I love crafts.  In fact, I enjoy looking at craft blogs almost as much as I enjoy crafting itself!  And a lot of times my days are too full to sit down and craft, so looking at crafts is the second best thing.   Of course that leads to finding all sorts of cute things I want to try which then leads to a list of items I need to get at the craft store so I can try them.  And of course then I go to the craft store and get those items and add to my stash of "as soon as I get time I'm totally making that" craft supplies.  So, since I haven't had a lot of time to craft lately, here are just a few things on my never-ending "must make" list:

Nursing cover from Sew Much Ado

T-shirt Hat from At Second Street

Candle Mirror Centerpiece from Thrifty Decor Chic

Picture Charm Bracelet from Stories by Me

Sunburst Mirror from Room to Inspire

And yes, I could go on and on and on because my list of bookmarked pages is quite long!  Anyone else have this problem?  I am a craft addict!

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A dresser re-do

My cousin Jenny was inspired to do a little before and after work with some furniture. She took the plunge and painted her dresser!  Wahoo!  Look how awesome it turned out! 

BEFORE

AFTER

Close up of the hardware. She stuck with the original and it looks so good against the blue!

Way to go Jen!  We love it! Isn't it amazing what a little paint can do?

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Do it Yourself Wall Texture

This is the BEFORE picture of my basement. I actually don't hate the green it was painted when we moved in, but after two years of living with it, I was ready for a change. The walls were pretty hammered, so instead of fixing every ding/hole individually, I decided to take on the not so small task of re-texturing the walls all by myself.

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! Is it called old world texture? I'm not sure.

Here's a quick how to. I used light weight joint compound (drywall mud) for the texture. Using a 6" plastic paint scraper spatula thingy I smothered the walls with it. You want to thinly and smoothly cover a 3'x3' section at a time. Then with the clean side of the paint scraper, drag it slowly over the top of the wet drywall mud to create the different lines and/or spots. Try to avoid leaving paint scraper lines. You just want the natural looking lines that appear while slowly dragging the scraper downward. Hmmm. That sounds confusing. Maybe I will video tape myself doing it sometime for a better explanation.

Next, let the mud dry completely and then sand over all the walls lightly with a swiveling sandpaper stick? Wipe dust particles off of walls with a damp cloth. Now you're ready to prime. Priming on top of drywall mud is very important. I used two coats of primer because the mud soaks it up like crazy. AND primer IS less expensive than paint. Then I used one coat of beige colored paint on top of the primer. You only need one coat because you will be covering any imperfections with the glaze.

Last but not least, GLAZING. USE DISPOSABLE GLOVES FOR THIS. Get yourself a few cheap sponges. I prefer to use the car washing sponges at Wal-Mart, cut in half. I bought a quart of Van Dyke colored glaze from Kwal Paint and only ended up using 1/3 of it for the whole living room in the basement. Dip one end of the sponge in the glaze and don't be afraid to just start working it onto the wall in small sections. Really get into the different grooves that you made with the drywall mud. You want the grooves to be darker. The glaze is oil based, which makes it easy to play with since it won't dry fast. Then using the other end of the sponge, wipe it off. Use circular motion and heavy pressure to put it on and circular motion and lighter pressure to take it off. If you like the darker look, do it dark. If you like a lighter look, do it light. Clear as mud, right?

This is the accent wall. I didn't glaze the accent wall. The red is from Behr Paint called Red Red Wine. It took like three coats.

This technique is time consuming, but WELL worth it. I think it turned out great and now I want to do my whole house like this! What do you think?

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REAL Tools for a REAL Boy

My son is six years old and has always been obsessed with how things works.  He loves to figure things out and he's pretty amazing at doing it.  Any time I work with my tools he likes to be right there next to me.  And whenever one of the toys in the house runs out of batteries, he is the first one to grab a screwdriver and batteries and replace them.  (Thank goodness because I really don't like doing it!)  I've never bought him play tools because he doesn't want to PLAY with tools, he wants to USE tools.  So for Christmas I bought him his very own set of real tools!  I found a small plastic tool box and filled it with a small hammer, screwdrivers, a tape measure, a wrench, pliers, oh, and some batteries so he can replace all the old ones to his heart's content.  I also got him a small battery operated screwdriver. 

I've been meaning to put his name on the outside.

Then, knowing his love for using a screwdriver, I made something for him to practice on.  I got a wood plaque and the letters to his name, painted it, and then pre-drilled the letters to the plaque.  I then outlined the letters with a sharpie so that when he removed them, he could put them back and match up the holes. 

He loves his tools! And he has something he can really put together and take apart with them.

Linking up to the usual parties on our sidebar as well as:

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Wednesday....

Well Wednesday came too quickly this week. I had planned on finishing A LOT more projects than I actually accomplished while the hubbs is MIA! Well unfortunately there was a lot more to do than I had expected. Isn't that usually how it goes? I always seem to think I can do more than is possible!

So here is the one & only project I completed......My China Hutch. I have to apologize for the poor lighting. I will post better pictures tomorrow when the sun is in that room. I was tired of the all over white. I have white dishes & I wanted them to stand out. So I painted the inside a barn red. I LOVE IT!!! I then painted the outside an antique white. Once it was completely dry I then sanded the edges for a warn look & polished it off with a "rub" technique. I used a dark walnut stain & worked it into the corners & grooves to give it a hi-lite. I am so pleased with the out come. I hope you all enjoy.

Now I have to try to finish the Living room set before the hubbs gets back tomorrow night.....I just don't see it happening. We'll see though.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

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At home with Jill

My cousin Jill sure has an amazing eye when it comes to design. She has so graciously let us use her pictures for our blog. Thanks Jill! Her and her husband, Rylan bought his grandparents home last summer and have really enjoyed fixing it up. I mean check out these before and after's of the living room. I am drooling.

BEFORE:

(the fireplace is behind the picture)

AFTER:

Isn't this to die for?? I mean complete transformation, right? They just put the built in's and the new fireplace right over the old red brick.

BEFORE entry way:

AFTER entry way:

BEFORE (other angle of living room):

AFTER:

Look at the walls! Look at the decor! So perfect!

Thank you, Jill for sharing your remodel with us. I am excited to see more before and afters of your beautiful home!

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Liberty of London

I L.O.V.E. Target!  Before we moved to our current home, the closest Target was over an hour away.  Aggggg!  But now, there are two Targets within ten minutes of my house.  So happy about that!  Anyway, I am absolutely in love with their new Liberty of London line.  Love. Love. Love.  Have you seen it?  It's in almost every department.  Here is just a sampling of what you can find:

There's a lot more, but I can't show it all!  I have the bag.  I also got a skirt and a swimsuit for my daughter, but they weren't on the website. They also have stationary.  I realize it's trendy and will go out of style, but for now I'm lovin' it!

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Gift Tag Exchange...

One of my most favorite people in Arizona (Shye) started a gift tag exchange.

Since we moved to Nebraska I decided I would need some extra projects to keep my mind busy so I sign up for this year. One thing that all of you should know about Celinda is that I get myself into TOO many projects at one time! I always have & I am afraid I always will. So here are the tags that I created in a matter of 30 min. There are 18 women in our exchange so I will be getting some pretty darn cute tags back.

This months theme was "Birthdays".

Hope you enjoy & maybe it inspires you to make a mess in your

house & whip up some fabulous tags!!

Now onto my crazy crafting MADNESS!!!..........

The hubbs will be M.I.A. for 7 DAYS!!!! PARTY!!!!

Here are just a few projects that I will be attempting to WHIP together before he comes home & discovers my CRAZE!!

1st: This adorable apron. I have been OBSESSED with it since I found it on Etsy.com I will be making 3 of them, 1 for me, my sister Allison (whom you will here a lot about) & my very amazing friend Katie in AZ whom I miss!!

2nd: I will be PAINTING!!! That's right you heard me.....PAINTING!!! If you have read my "about me" blurb you must know that I have a true addiction to painting. I have 3 main pieces that I HAVE to get done before that hubbs gets home. #1 because he wants me to leave them the snot ALONE & #2 Because I am CRAZY!!

The 1st piece is my China Hutch (will post pics later) It is in DESPERATE need of a make-over.

2nd, My Bench for my Kitchen table that I recently revamped.

& Last but NOT least my 3 piece living room set, End table, Coffee table & Sofa table. This is a biggie! My hubbs will FREAK when he gets home & sees this. He wants me to Sand then down & stain them but for all of you who have read the "about Celinda" blurb, you know that stain is a BAD WORD I HATE STAIN!!! So needless to say I will just have to do it while he is M.I.A.

So it is official....I'm NUTS & I LOVE it!!! So till next week keep the creativity Flowin'!!

(I promise to post before & after pics next week!)

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Who says you can't paint laminate furniture?

People ask me all the time if you can paint laminate furniture! I say heck to the yes you can!! I mean is there anything you can't paint? Not really.

I am really sorry that I don't have a before picture of this desk. I got this beauty for free from a neighbor that was moving. It was a dark brown color. If you look close you can see that I was lazy and forgot to paint a part of it by the keyboard. So just imagine that color on all of the desk.

First of all I sanded the edges, because I wanted a distressed look and I didn't want the laminate to show through when I distressed it later on. That's the only sanding I did though. Just the edges. Then I painted (GASP!! I didn't even prime!) with a large bottle of black Delta craft paint that I found left over from a different project. It took about 3 coats of paint to cover. Next I sanded the edges, again to distress it a bit. Then I sprayed it with 2 coats of polyurethane. To finish it off I added new $3.00/ea. drawer pulls. Not bad for a $9.00 redo, eh?

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Ruby Whipped Cream Cheese Pie

Need a delicious dessert that's sure to impress? You must try Ruby Whipped Cream Cheese Pie. The recipe is on the back of the Danish Dessert box. Apparently Danish Dessert has been around for a long time. It's new to me though. My friend April made this delicious pie for me and I just had to get the recipe and try it for myself. Can you say taste bud arousal?!!

Easy as pie!

I used strawberries mixed in with the topping. Make sure the topping is cooled before you add the strawberries.

Like my daughter says, "SCRUMPTIOUS!"

Too lazy to type out the recipe so here ya go.

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Fun stuff to try

Here are a few projects I want to try sometime:

Fabric covered magnet board

Sarah has an awesome tutorial and I LOVE the damask fabric she used.

Family Rules Sign

These are all over the place and I want to make one. Like. NOW!  Just gotta find a place for it in my house!

Ruffle Wreath

Can you say, "Caaauute!"  Love this and my door needs one!

Family Tree

I have a wee bit of an obesession with family trees and this would be great, especially in a playroom!

Rolled flowers

Gorgeous!  I've been dying to make some of these! And you can pretty much use them for anything (hair, necklace, dress up a shirt or purse).

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The Amazing Armoire Makeover

I LOVE armoires!  I think they are pretty and interesting and offer great storage behind closed doors.  I picked up this armoire for FREE from a school that was closing. Originally I was going to use it for supplies for a preschool I was starting. But we moved and the whole preschool thing didn't happen.  So I started using this as my craft cupboard.  It's perfect to hold all of my projects and supplies. 

Well, the brown just wasn't doing it for me, but I never got around to redoing it until now (a year after I first acquired the beaut).  It was suppose to be a quick, easy paint job.  But when is it ever easy?  The paint started chipping and I had to strip her down to the wood.  She had about four coats of various paint on her.  Can I just say that I HATE stripping paint?!  This whole process took way too long because I just didn't want to do it.  I started with a spray paint stripper, but it didn't do very much. So I picked up this awesome gel type paint stripper. 

It worked amazingly!  Plus, it smelled good (perfect since I was removing the paint from this thing inside the house).  Anyway, after lots of paint scraping and some sanding she was ready to be made over. Here she is primed.

 I added crown molding to the top.  She was just too plain jane to begin with.  Then I painted. 

And then I stenciled the doors.  After that I painted and wiped off a glaze over everything and finished with a coat of poly. 

 And finally, I added some bling in the form of hardware.  Phew!  Just typing it all makes me tired.

My husband is thrilled that I am done.  He's not a fan of the mess I make with my projects (neither am I ).  I'm thrilled that it's done because I was getting tired of working on it and it looks sooooo much better then it did.

Here is the before and after:

That's what I call an extreme makeover!

I'm linking this baby up to the parties featured on our left sidebar.  Check them out!

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