The Numbered Table

Well my new camera is on it's way!! I was hoping that the next time I bought a camera I'd have time to save up for a dslr. Unfortunately, life doesn't usually work like that :) But I'm still very excited and hopeful that my new camera will take nice pictures. One of the blogs I enjoy reading had recommended it so I'll let you know after I've tried it out what I think of it!

In the meantime I borrowed my mother in law's camera to get you guys some pictures of the side table I had fun with over the weekend. Thanks mom! 

I still had a very hard time taking pictures and getting the right lighting, so I apologize for the differences in colors!!

Here are the before's again:

And here is an after:

In order to save myself from retyping the words Annie Sloan Chalk Paint over and over I'll just let you know that every paint color I tell you about in this post is indeed chalk paint :) I started by doing the whole table with one coat of primer red. I then did a second coat just on the spots I knew I'd be distressing heavily. I then painted two coats of French Linen over the whole table. Then I distressed all over showing off some red and even some of the original dark wood.

I've been wanting to try stenciling for awhile now but have been a little intimidated. I don't have a word processing program on my computer and wasn't sure how else to get some cute numbers or letters. I'm pretty sure that I should look into free word programs but for now I used Picasa and just made a plain white collage with text added to it!

I  cut out each number and drew a box around each one. I used a ruler to try and get straight lines but mostly just free handed it. Then I taped the piece of paper to the table.

I traced over the lines I made and around the number. When I finished I was left with very light lines to try and paint inside.

Can you see them? :) I used the color Old White and some children's paint brushes I got at Hobby Lobby for about $2. I started by painting around the edge of the box...

Then I painted around the number...

Then I just filled the rest in, waited for it to dry and distressed it with some fine sand paper.

It turned out to be very fun and my 6 year old son was SO impressed with me. He's a lover of all things crafty just like his momma :)

It's home is next to my living room sofa. The decorations are a bit "spring" I know, staging is not one of my strong points, but I'm practicing :)

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The Shady Porch
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Miss Mustard Seed
Craft O Maniac
Junk in Their Trunk

When Things Go Wrong

I was very excited to show you the side table I worked on all weekend. I checked the weather and it looked like the sun might make an appearance this afternoon so I thought I'd be patient and wait for the natural light. 

In the meantime I downloaded and edited the "during" photos that I had been taking over the weekend. Then my husband and I spent about an hour doing the dreaded health insurance enrollment that we had been putting off. Our 4 year old "Bugs" played so nicely in the basement while watching some morning cartoons. 

Afterwards Scott left to pick up our 6 year old and stop at the hobby store to pick up a model airplane for them to work on together while he's off of work this week. I went downstairs to play with Bugs and found my camera on the floor. Oh that Bugs, she played with my camera! Wait. It's not turning on. 

"Were you playing with my camera?!" 

"No......I was chewing on it."

My camera is busted. My day has become somewhat busted as well. Let's hope this week turns around.....QUICK.

Here's some before photos of the table I can't wait to show you. 

I think I'll go call my mother in law now to see if I can borrow her camera....

                                              

Pottery Barn Wreath Pillow

Last week I made this Pottery Barn Poinsetta Pillow knock off. While I was making it I decided with my leftover felt I could make one of Pottery Barn's other beautiful Christmas pillows too. 

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I just needed to buy 1/2 a yard of linen, some gold colored thread and some more pillow stuffing. I already had cream felt and pom poms. 

I started by cutting 2 pieces of fabric to 13 1/4 inches by 13 1/4 inches like last time. This way when I sew the pillow with a 5/8 inch seam I end up with a 12 x 12 pillow.

I laid down one piece of fabric and tested out some bowls trying to find one that I liked the size of.

I traced around it VERY lightly with a pencil.

I then made a couple of different sized leaves on paper until I liked the size of one. I laid the leaf on my felt and started tracing it over and over and over and over....I used a pen and just cut on the inside of my pen marks.

After cutting a bunch of them out I pinned them to the linen using the light pencil mark as my guide. 

I sewed each leaf on using my sewing machine. I just started at one end, sewed forward a little more than half way up the leaf, then went in reverse back to where I started. This actually went by much faster than I expected!

Then I put my pieces of linen right sides together and pinned in place. I sewed a seam all the way around leaving a space to turn the pillow right side out and for filling with stuffing.

After turning it right side out I used my hot glue gun to just randomly add the pom poms. Then I stuffed it with stuffing and hand sewed it shut. Done! The colors aren't identical to Pottery Barn but that's okay, I used what I had and I love how it turned out :)

I also stuffed some Placemat Pillows while I was at it. Looks like my couch is ready for the Christmas season! Although, these will all be going away until November 24th of course :)

                                                 

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Pottery Barn Poinsetta Pillow

You can count on me every year to be complaining about the Christmas decorations at the mall being up before Halloween. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. I don't start listening to Christmas music or putting out decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. Sure, I wish the Christmas season could last a little longer, but I refuse to skip over Thanksgiving!! :) So I had mixed feelings about posting anything about Christmas this early. But I decided that if you're going to do some DIY projects for Christmas you need a little extra time for planning and doing. So I'm giving in and will probably be posting some Christmas inspiration all month, but it won't be sitting out in my house until AFTER Thanksgiving! :)

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I saw this pillow in the Pottery Barn catalog the other day and thought, "Hey! I could make that!" I had linen, felt, and stuffing on hand so I only had to buy bells, embroidery floss, and a needle. With my coupon to Joann's I only spent $2.32!!

I started by measuring 2 pieces of linen to 13 1/4 by 13 1/4. This allowed me to sew around the whole pillow with a 5/8th seam and be left with a pillow that was 12 by 12.

I should have waited until I was completely done attaching my poinsetta before sewing the pillow together, but I wasn't thinking ahead :) So I sewed three of the sides together. I also should have waited to start until after I picked up my daughter from preschool, but instead I tried to rush through it and get it sewed together before leaving. 

After pulling that all out and rethreading the machine I was ready to start again :) I started cutting out pieces of paper and trying them out on the pillow until I liked the size. 

I cut 5 big pieces, 5 medium, and 5 small.

Then I attached the pieces to some cream felt and cut them out.

After attaching them with pins to the pillow I was getting a big stack of felt in the middle that I didn't like.

So I started cutting off pieces that were hidden underneath the top petals.

Then I attached each petal to the linen by sewing across the bottom and then up the middle and back down the middle going in reverse. I was hoping that double stitching down the middle would help the petal pucker a little and give it some dimension. I think it worked well.

I then hand stitched to the left of my sewing machine stitch on every petal with cream embroidery floss.

I bought some gold bells for the middle of the poinsetta but they were a little too shiny. So I took them outside and lightly spray painted them with some antique bronze. Here they are shiny...

And here they are looking old and antique attached to the pillow.

Then I finished sewing the bottom of the pillow but left an opening big enough to turn it right side out and stuff it. I then hand stitched that opening closed and was done!

Here it is!

I'm in the middle of making another one that coordinates with it and I'll hopefully be finishing it up today and posting tomorrow! 

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Tea Party Table

  I came down with strep throat the other day. Not fun. Getting a shot of penicillin to my nether region was even less fun! But on the bright side it gave me the excuse to lay on the couch and work at making a custom header for the blog. It's not everything I've ever dreamed of, but it will do for now :) I ended up using Picasa and if you follow me on Pinterest you can see the tutorial I used on my "Blogging Tips" board.

So now that I'm feeling better I finally got around to taking pictures of the table and chair I painted over the weekend. 

Of course the last two days were super sunny and great for taking pictures, but today when I'm healthy it's cloudy. I ended up taking the furniture outside for their after shots. Other than the bad lighting I just can't find a good spot for staging pics. It's driving me nuts!

I've been keeping my eye open for a little table for Lainey Bug's room ever since I picked up this adorable chair at a garage sale in Holland MI while visiting my little sis. I got it for only $6 :)

So after only about 2 months I found this cutie at my Saver's store for only $7. I couldn't believe my luck! 

The legs and apron were wood but the top was laminate. I thought about pulling it off and doing some kind of a planked top, but this table is meant to be a place for tea parties and doll houses so I thought a smooth top would be better. I wasn't worried though, because I knew some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint would cover it easily. Turns out the laminate was the easiest part to cover, but some marker and those painted on hearts kept bleeding through! I ended up painting the apron twice, then giving in and priming it twice, then painting one more time. Finally it covered. 

I knew I couldn't really distress the laminate so I kept the top perfectly white and gave the legs and apron a heavy distressing. I finished it off with clear wax, one coat to the legs and apron and three to the top. Polly Pocket's pink convertible will be no match for this baby ;)

I then painted the chair in two light coats of Provence. As I started distressing it I shrieked with excitement. It distressed beautifully without any effort on my part. I love this chair.

I found both these footstools in the same week as the table! They were about $3 each at Saver's again. They'll both get painted and recovered. I think the round one will get a ruffly treatment.

Once they're finished I'll give you a look at everything together in Lainey's room. Now if I could just find the perfect fabric!

                            

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