Life lately

I tend to slack off from blogging in the Summer, and since you liked my last post on what else I'm up to, I thought I might share another one to help you understand why my blog posts dwindle during these months :) I used my new Instagram app to take these pics.

With friends at the Dixon Art and Soul party.

Playing frisbee with this sweet baby...who could say no to those puppy dog eyes?

Riding my new bike! Happy to report no injuries (yet)

With my dad and brother at Talladega!! And yes, I am the race fan. They just came along to humor me :)

On the start/finish line at Talladega. (My pants were coral...this filter turned them red)

The winner Brad Keselowski and his celebration burnout!

At the FedEx Forum to cheer on the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 7 of the first round of the NBA playoffs.

 Still optimistic and ready to wave my towel, before they lost...

Helping raise funds for St. Jude at a Tri Delta alumnae "Sip and Sign" where we wrote letters to friends and family for support. Such a fun group of ladies!

So that's what has been going on lately! A little bit of everything...

Master Bathroom/Closet: Latest Updates

The closet is starting to look more like, well, a closet. Here are a couple of pics.
From the last POST, just the base:

And here it is currently...with areas sectioned off. Straight ahead will be a shoe rack, with hanging areas on the left and right.

Here is another before pic:

A similar view now...this gives you a better idea of the layout.

The left and right sections will be for hanging, while the middle will be drawers/shelves. There is one more section on the right for hanging that wouldn't fit in the picture. I have created a special "Master Bath/Closet Project" label, so you can see all of these posts in one spot. Find it under the "labels" section on the right side bar!

Thrifted Thursday: Vintage Typewriter Table

Hey guys!

Sorry for flaking on Thrifted Thursday last week! I am still working on that stool that I showed you two weeks ago, but I think the verdict was the ombre paint job, so I'll give you the final results soon!

This week's item is an adorable antique typewriter table that I picked up for a few dollars.

It is metal and has two drop sides that pop up for extra space. It also has a small drawer that needs a little bit of repair. It is still pretty dirty right now and I haven't decided whether I should keep the blue or paint it a crisp new color...input is welcome!!

Aaaaannnd, I just realized there's a dog nose in that second pic. Perfect.
I'll update you when I figure out where this little guy is going! Lot's of updates to work on for y'all!!!
Thanks for reading and if I would love it if you picked up my button below for your blog!!


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Recent Client Work

I thought I would share a few pics of a job that I have been working on lately. Linda has a beautiful home, but wanted some fresh updates throughout the space. We are working room by room and we started by tackling her dining room built-ins. She just needed some "staging" help to make her shelves make sense.
Here is one of the shelves before:

We pulled all of her blue pieces from around the house and made a collection on the shelves. She also had some great vintage and coffee table books that help add dimension! Just some simple changes.

 Here is a view of both shelves before:

We took away the fake plants and used the same blue collection from throughout the house on the right hand shelves as well. The chairs were set up for a party, but you get the idea. And by using some fresh blue flowers we pulled the blue from the shelves to the center of the room as well.

Next we moved on to the living area. I made a few new pillows to replace the dark and dated ones that she had...I had a helper while measuring :)

I paired the pretty brown, cream and blue print with a complimentary stripe to add some dimension to the pillows. Natural piping finished off the look:

 I am THE WORST at getting "before" pictures, but here is an after with the new pillows and some fresh lillies! We also replaced a dark throw blanket with a bright cream one.

We are still working on this room in terms of art and placement, but it is already freshened up!

Placing two slender lamps on the console behind the couch adds some needed lighting. Eventually a taller and skinnier art piece will be here to complete the vignette!

I'll be sure to update you as we work through this beautiful house! Thank you Linda for letting me share how small changes can make a big difference!

Monogram Tray DIY!

Last week, I had the honor of guest posting about my latest DIY project for Inside My Present. I thought I would share that project here for those of you who missed that post...

What I used:

A wooden tray from my closet

Acrylic paint/brush (already had)

A stencil from my craft drawer

Painters tape (already had)

A plastic cup (from my kitchen cabinet :)

 This lady had been sitting in the closet for oh, 5 or so years, and it was time I did something about it.

I decided to paint the inside of the tray to give it an updated look. I wanted to personalize it as a gift to someone, so I dug through my craft collection and got busy.

First, I taped it off and gave it a spray-paint primer coat. Once that was dry, I went back over it with acrylic paint to make sure the old image was gone. 

I love the bamboo look right now, so I decided to paint a bamboo-type pattern in gray, as kind of a tone on tone effect. I didn't want anything too bold for the print. Then I used a plastic cup to trace a circle in the center.

I did all of the painting by hand with no measuring (because I'm impatient) so it's not perfect, but lets just say that adds to the charm, Ok? :) I chose a bold tangerine for the center so that the monogram would pop.

Once everything was dry, I used a stencil that I already had and centered it on the dot. I used the white paint again to really make it stand out.
Tip: Try to remove painters tape when your paint is still a little tacky for nice lines. As for the stencil, I like to remove it immediately for the best results.
Now, for a quick reminder:

And here is the finished product! About an hour and a half total time spent, all with things I had on-hand!

Although I'm giving it as a gift, I thought I would do a little "staging" to give you an idea of how to use this easy and personlized piece!

I can just see some yummy cheeses displayed on it to pair with a nice wine!

 Fresh flowers always make everything better!

I hope you enjoyed my little project today and that it inspired you to get crackin' on some of those things collecting dust in your closet!

If you love tray makeovers, check out the herringbone tray that I painted earlier this year HERE.

Also feel free to grab my button for your blog and stop by often to see more fun projects like this!

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Guest Poster: Lauren from Inside My Present shares a fun DIY project!

I'm so excited about today's post because it is a part of Trading Blogs over at  Serendipity and Spice! Check out Inside My Present today to see my post as well!

Let me introduce myself, my name is Lauren (coincidence, I know!) and I write a little blog called Inside My Present. It's all about cooking, eating, home and garden and anything else I get myself into- truly a glimpse into my present! I am so happy to be appearing on such a chic blog as part of Trading Blogs- Lauren has already got me yearning to pick up a paint brush and hit the thrift store!

Today I'm going to share with you a craft with endless possibilities- beautiful fabric-covered picture frames. A great solution for your thrifty finds and those remnant fabrics, you can take any drab frame and customize it to match your decor or the theme of your photo. A custom frame also makes a great gift! This one is for my mother for Mother's Day- shh... don't tell!

This project started with this frame that just wasn't my style. I wanted to refinish it somehow to blend with mom's decor- paint wasn't an option on the frame's mosaic surface but fabric choices were endless.  I found a beautiful pewter fabric and some coordinating accents and got to work.

Unfortunately, you couldn't disassemble this particular frame so I used painter's tape to protect the glass before spraying the front of the frame with spray adhesive. The spray adhesive worked perfectly for this project- it didn't discolor the fabric or show any lumps or bumps below.

I used an exacto knife to cut out the fabric covering the glass, making sure the edges were adhered well,  and used fabric glue to glue the fabric to the back of the frame.

Depending on the look you want, you could be done at this step! If you have some fabrics you want to showcase, they would look great unadorned and perhaps grouped together on a table. Or you could use some fabric glue to add accents of a coordinating fabric. 

You can decorate your frame with anything your glue will stick to! Have some mementos from your latest vacation? Showcase them on your frame with a photo from the trip. Use your collection of old keys, buttons or broaches- anything! I decided to decorate mine with these pretty fabric flowers I had made and some ribbon- you can read how to make the flowers here. 

I have a ton of nicked up frames I'm looking forward to refinishing- I'm thinking a groups of burlap-covered frames would look great! 

I hope you have enjoyed reading- thanks to Lauren for trading places with me!

How cute and creative is this project?! I love it! Make sure to hop on over to Lauren's blog to see what else she has been up to!

Master Bathroom Progress Report

A couple of weeks ago I shared this picture along with some more master bathroom updates. You can see more info on this ongoing project HERE and HERE.

The master closet is the second part of this project and you can't see it, but there is a door to the right when you walk in the bathroom that leads to it...

It was originally a small closet with sliding double doors. You can see where the old wall was where the floor has been repaired.

This base that goes all the way around the room is going to be wall to ceiling built-ins to house hanging clothes, shoe racks,and drawers.
But let's step back to show you exactly where this is:

This view is looking into the bathroom (on the left) and the closet (on the right) from the master bedroom...before the drywall was up.

If you step into the closet, you can see where it used to be a closet/hallway combo, with the hallway looking into the Great room. That trim around the door is where the closet started. Right along that far right blue line.

And now the door is closed up, floors are patched (and will be re-stained), and the bases are built! This has pretty much doubled the size of the closet. And in case you are confused by this view, the bathroom door is just out of sight to the left.

Like I said in the last post, I will continue to update you on the master bath/closet as it progresses!

See you back for "Thrifted Thursday"!

Thrifted Thursday: In Progress

This week's Thrifted Thursday is a little different, because I am looking for some inspiration for a piece...I figure if I put the "before" up on the blog, it will motivate me to get it into an "after" state!

Here is my stool/plant stand that I thrifted for a few bucks a little while back. It is just sitting and waiting for some sprucing up.

I love these Alvar Aalto Artek (say that 5 times fast) stools, and the fact that they are $285 a pop makes me that much happier about my little thrifted find.

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How great is this coral color??

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Or, I could do one super-bold pop of color.

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Or maybe the dip-dyed look like I used for my Knitting Stand.

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OR...I could get really ambitious and try an ombre effect...kind of like this adorable dresser.

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Do you see why I can't decide? So many cute options! I would love to hear your input/vote on this!! I will try to get it finished by next Thursday to share, but I've got a busy weekend coming up (which I'll be sure to share pics of) so no promises!! :)

Don't forget to grab my button for your blog!

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