No Rest for the Wicked~

Usually I try to have a makeover of DIY project to share on Mondays but I have gotten way behind on projects lately. Probably because I've taken on a little to much as of late...

Today while both kids were in school/ MDO I tried to play catch up:

That would be the 3 wood projects I was working on today. The moon is a photography prop for a friend. I need to get it finished so she can start using it for her newborn shoots.

The wood slats in the foreground will hopefully be a modern hang-all in the near future, and the wood slats in the background are some more of my gym floor table top. Which now looks like this after the work I put into it today--

And since I just scored this off the classified page, (since we don't have a Craigslist this is what our town uses to sell stuff) cutting the slab down will be easy. 

I talked them down to $30! Because the AF Base Wood Shop closed down (thanks a lot furlough!) I was in need of some tools of my own. I'm excited to try it out!

I've had some recent acquisitions as well! I had been drooling over this gorgeous blue chair for a few weeks now. 

I saw it in the window of one our local vintage shops and have been debating on buying it. I of course don't need another chair but it was perfect for our bedroom! I finally caved and bought it. It's in perfect condition, soft blue velvet and I love it!! And for $55 I thought it was a pretty decent deal.

I also bought this little table, also from our classifieds page for $5. 

As if I need any more projects to take on... This guy will get a sand and repaint job, then hopefully resell.

And if that wasn't enough I've still been at work behind the scenes on my Retail Shop Design.

And I'm super excited to be helping a friend who is expecting Boy/ Girl Twins design their nursery! Her idea is to bring in accessories from her world travels, she is not afraid of color, and there are going to be lots of fun DIY's. I can't wait to start pulling all our ideas together.

So is that enough to have on one's plate?

A Little Bit of Audrey in My Life

A while back, well more than a while it's been several months; I won a contest for a hand sketched portrait of Audrey Hepburn from Fall Into London's Etsy Shop

I wasn't sure where to hang it until inspiration struck the other day. Audrey Hepburn isn't only known for her famous movie roles but also for her inspirational saying and quotes. I thought it would be nice to create a little inspiration vignette on my wall in the bath room. I searched online for some of my favorite Audrey quotes and framed them with the sketch.

The Quotes read- "Walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

"As you get older you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, and one for helping others."

"The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul."

I like waking up in the mornings and looking and reflecting on these ideas. I also added some pictures of the kiddos and a sketch that my Uncle did of a cafe in New Orleans- I'm surrounding myself with all my favorite things!

And did you notice that Sa-Weet detail on the Audrey frame?

It was one of my thrift store finds from last week! It looked like this remember?

I painted it glossy black and sealed it with laquer. I like the moody vibe it has now- no more brown town!

Have a Happy and Inspirational Monday Everyone!

Latest Thrifty-ness

I feel like I've gone through a long dry spell at the thrift store lately. Besides the bamboo trays I bought last week it's been slim pickins. I don't know if it competition from other people looking for similar things or if people haven't been donating as much the last few months.

All this changed however yesterday when I popped in just looking for a picture frame to repaint. I found a few goodies to fill my basket!

First up is this pair of chairs:

The last thing I need in my life right now is chairs but they were only $5 each! I thought they had good detail and would be worth making over. 

I'll probably pawn them off to a friend when I'm finished overhauling them.

Next up is this lovely duo-

I found the frame I needed and winner of a tray circa 1975 (I'm guessing?)

Both these guys will be hard to recognize when I'm done with them!

Have you had any luck at the thrift store lately? Or have you encountered a dry spell as well?

Just a Quickie...

Ummm I'm talking about a quick DIY project- what were you thinking??? Ew...

Anywho I thought I scheduled this to post last week and I'm all like- "Man, no one is commenting on my project. *Sad Face*" But to my surprise I didn't click publish, so here you go~ one crafty DIY just for you one week late! :)

Last week I found these super cool bamboo trays at Goodwill for only $1.50 for the pair!! Score!

I think bamboo is making a comeback. Not like in the 70's/ 80's where it was over used- but nicely mixed in with modern decor to give a room a touch of natural elements. These little trays are a great way to bring that natural look into my home in a subtle way. Since I have 2 of them I thought it would be fun to paint one and to leave the other natural. I have some Pantone Celestial Blue samples I've been wanting to use and this was the perfect opportunity for it!

I left the "supports" the natural wood for some contrast.

And here is the natural one. I think it will be fun to change them out and use the two to create different looks as needed.

Are you digging bamboo or do you think it should stay put in the 70's?

Linking here

Latest Thrifty Finds

I realized that I haven't shared any thrifty finds lately. That's partly because it's been slim pickins around here but recently I've scored some fun finds.

So what better way to start the New Year than to share them with you!

First up is this awesome Mid Century Nelson inspired bench I found on the Altus Classifieds page:

Quick Stop

Still August Breaking over here! But I have a fun giveaway to tell you about on Friday so don't wander to far off!

This past weekend I made some time for a quick stop to one of my favorite junk stores. I blogged about it a few months ago. 

Last time I stopped there I had seen an awesome vintage metal "S". I thought it would be a fun addition to Sawyers room if it was still there.

Low and behold it was!

But, the owner quoted me $70 for it!! &#(%^(@?! That was way more than I was expecting especially considering the deals I had gotten last time. So sadly I did not buy the awesome letter "S".

They had some other plastic letters I thought about buying and spray painting, 

But I didn't get those either since I didn't think they were as cool as the metal "S" I originally wanted. 

I'm considering trying to make one using this technique. We'll see.

Hope your all having a happy Wednesday!

I'm So Excited and I Just Can't Hide It!

So last week I was whining a little bit about the lack of good thrift store finds in our area lately. I mean, I'm not really a whiner to begin with. Really I'm not....!! Anyway- the thrift store situation hasn't changed much but I've had some other exciting news and finds I just had to share with you. 


For one, I have been trying to get up the courage to reupholster these fabulous orange chairs I bought almost a year ago:

I bought them with the intention to reupholster them myself and even bought the fabric to do it with.

Kravet Haute Este

But I've been a big chicken and haven't been able to build up the courage to do it on my own. I had been searching for a place that taught upholstery classes. (Even back in San Antonio where I bought the chairs in the first place.) I happened to call the local Vo-Tech school here in town where they teach automotive classes and ask if they ever taught upholstery. 

And what do you know?! Here in tiny Altus, OK they are having an upholstery class starting up in about 2 weeks. OMG!! 

The class is new so they're trying to spread the word and get people to sign. I'm telling everyone I know- I hope this class happens because I cannot wait to try it out! YESSS!!!!

My other exciting news is an awesome dumpster find. They are redoing the gym on base and have been tearing out the old gym flooring. I heard through the grapevine that over Christmas the were giving the ripped out flooring away- and I wasn't here to take advantage!!

Well, over the weekend the workers were at the gym again tearing out some more floor. I found the general contractor and asked him if what they were doing with it. He said they were throwing it away that afternoon! And that I could have some if I picked it up myself.

So what did I do? Ran over to the Hubs office, switched my car for his truck and loaded up 3 5'x5' sections of basketball flooring!!

SCORE!! Basketball floor is made of solid maple- and I got it all for free! It's going to be hard to get the pieces into shape to make something with them; but I was looking online and people have done some pretty awesome stuff with reclaimed gym floors.

Awesome Tables!

Cool Mirror!

And who knows what else? I'm super excited!! I know this is a lot to take on when I'm also working on Con-Man's new Big Boy room, and soon a nursery. But what the heck? Let's do this!

Have you ever been excited to learn a new skill? Or been super excited to tackle a big new project?

Oh ya- and I changed my blog header again. I missed my spunky red haired tool wielding DIY chick.

Thrift Store Waste Land

We're on our way back from our Disney Vacation! Sad- but all good things must come to an end.


Anyway, I don't know if you've noticed or not but I haven't done any furniture makeovers lately. This isn't because I haven't been looking for pieces to redo- I have! But our thrift stores have been barren lately. Ugh- so depressing.


I've scored some good stuff since we moved here:

Sewing Table Makeover

Cane Chair Redo

Cafe Chair

Even found some cool stuff in the trash:

Small Dresser

Coffee Table Turned Bench

Cafe Chair

But lately I've had no luck at all. The only interesting stuff I've found were some extremely retro dresses:

Woo Woo!

And some excercise equipment peddled by a woman who is seriously excited about getting in shape:

Nice...

So what gives? Are people hoarding their stuff because of the economy? Did they give everything away before Christmas and I just missed it?

Is anyone else having this issue or is it just here in good ole' Altus, OK?

Feature Friday and a Shopping Spree

Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is having a Fabulous Friday! How could it not be fabulous? The weekend is right around the corner. YESSSSSssss!


Before we jump into Feature Friday this week I wanted to show you some goodies I bought on a recent shopping spree. I only bought like 3 things so it's not a spree so much I guess... There is a neat little store here in town called The Enchanted Door. They are one of the few places in Altus who sell home accessories. They have lots of cute stuff but since they are one of only 2 places in town they can afford to be pricey. 


So I was excited when they had they're after Christmas sale- all Christmas Decor 75% off! Score! I knew one thing for sure I wanted. These berry bush branches:

I had been eyeing them before Christmas thinking I could use them as Valentines Decor. Lucky for me they still had some left.

I also bought some ornaments that were grossly expensive before the sale but are super awesome. I thought I could keep one for me and use one for our family ornament exchange next year:

Bring the Bling!

And I also picked up a few of these glass balls for $1 each. They looked more Easter-y to me than Christmas. Not sure what I'm going to do with them but I'll figure it out. 

And now, without further Adeau today I want to introduce you Betsy Speert owner of the Betsy Speert's Blog! She's a retired designer and is now decorating book author, antique business running, chair upholstering bad @ss!

I am so jealous of her mad upholstery skillz! You know I have a chair fetish; check out this chair she redid for a neighbor:

Source

Dang girl! I wish you were my neighbor.

Some other awesome upholstery projects:

Source

Upholstered walls anyone?

Source

Besides awesome upholstery skills she has done some pretty amazing renovations as well. Check out her budget kitchen makeover:

Source

And look her gorgeously remodeled Florida Home:

Source 

Nice! If you want to see more of Betsy go on over to Betsy Speert's Blog for more great projects!

So are you now thinking of learning upholstery yourself after seeing Betsy in action? Anyone else score some great after Christmas deals?