Chandelier is Up!

Yesterday was spent playing musical fixtures.

This room used to be our living room, now our dining room.

This is where the ceiling fan used to be. 

The ceiling fan in my son's room was on its last leg.

Because the ceiling fan in this room was large it needed to go in what is now our 

living room. 

The living room fan went to my son's room. 

Needless to say my husband spent the day swapping out fixtures in three rooms.

He is awesome, and I love my new light fixture.

One of the things I love most was the total cost of the light.

Fixture was $2.00!

Can of oil rubbed bronze spray paint $5.00.

Total cost $7.00!

If I had purchased a fixture like this new it would have been close to $200.00.

Love my new light and love the cost.!

Lots more work to do on this room. 

Sorry about the poor phone picture, 

So excited when a plan comes together!

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Jackie

Chandelier Project

When I chose my title  "31 Days of  Being Creative"

perhaps it should have been 31 Days of Projects or something else. 

I will not be creating in the sense that some might think, but I prefer to look at many 

aspects of creativity. Sometimes this will be seeing things, not necessarily as they

are, but what they can be. Sometimes that means improving upon what is already there.

Here is today's project. 

I purchased this chandelier earlier this year for $2.00 at the thrift store.

I knew that I would need a light fixture of a substantial size to hang over my dining room table.

Often that means substantial $$as well.

When I spotted this fixture I knew it would be perfect and the style was perfect.

The only problem being the slightly pinkish color. 

Nothing a little oil rubbed bronze spray paint couldn't fix. 

I am happy to say the fixture is complete, and looks exactly like I hoped it would.

Stay tuned for the reveal in the next few days.

Hopefully I will be able to show you the improved fixture hanging in my dining room. 

Hope you have had a wonderful day!

Jackie

31 Days: Easy Fall Table Centerpiece

I think I probably said in my last post that FALL is my absolute favorite season!

Right now the weather here is perfect.

Not too hot, not too cold. 

It's Just Right!

I consider my decorating style pretty simple.

 Here are the items I used for this simple table centerpiece in my breakfast room.

Round basket tray was a yard sale find.

Grapevine I just cut and wrapped myself. 

Iron trivet to set the pumpkin on, I already had. 

I don't like setting the pumpkin directly on a flat surface. Too many experiences with rotting pumpkins. 

This time I washed my pumpkin in a diluted bleach and dish washing liquid solution, hopefully washing away all of those things that cause pumpkins to rot.

Roll of burlap for the runner, purchase at half price from Hobby Lobby.

Ends of runner are turned under and hand stitched. I do not prefer sewing burlap on my sewing machine. 

The blank wall in the background will be another creative endeavor that I hope to share soon. 

Blessings,

Jackie

Another Finished Project

Finished painting this chandelier for the sewing room.

In its previous form, it was a brass chandelier, that had been painted to look rusted.

Need some new covers as these have yellowed a bit. 

I am now trying to figure out how to hang a few crystals on it from an old chandelier.

Any ideas?

I was a little worried after I was well into painting this with chalk paint, just wishing I had used a can of spray paint, but in the end I am satisfied with the results. 

The picture does not do it justice. 

I used CeCe Caldwell Vintage White as the base coat.

I then mixed a little Annie Sloan French Linen in some clear wax to give it a slight distressed look. 

The painting was somewhat tedious but the waxing went quickly.

It was definitely the budget fix that I was looking for. 

How about you, what kind of projects have you been working on?

Ready for spring, and some spring cleaning!

We have enjoyed some spring like weather the past couple of days, 

today has been cold and rainy but definitely looking forward to spring!

Is It Cold At Your House?

It's cold at my house!

 I will admit that I have been guilty of complaining that we never have winter here. 

When you live in South Georgia and have as many days of below freezing weather as we have had, we can definitely say that we have had winter!

This is not normal for us. We are so used to having some days that you can wear shorts, even during the winter. 

We missed the big snowstorm that we were all looking forward to. 

In spite of the cold weather, I have been trying to get some things painted for my booth.

Here's a little before and after.

It sold less than an hour after putting it in my booth!

Annie Sloan Chalk paint Old White.

Slightly distressed with clear wax. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

31 Days: Favorite Paint

 

Here it is, my new favorite paint:

 Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

 

Remember me telling you that I did the extra chalk paint class during the Becoming Conference?

 

I was amazed at being able to finish a complete furniture transformation in a few hours.

The coverage is wonderful, especially if there are a few imperfections that you want to hide.

 

 

Here are a couple of shots of a before picture of a little rocker that a friend of mine wanted me to paint for a gift.

 

As you can tell, this paint job lacks a LOT to be desired.

She actually purchased it this way. Good thing that she could see the potential.

 

Here is the after.

Keep in mind, she will be waxing it. I had the color that she wanted so I painted it, and will deliver it to her this evening so she can finish the waxing.

 

The colors are rich and it took very little paint to do this. It is pricey, but a quart of paint will go a long way!

 

Oh, and I almost forgot, see the basket at the top?

It has :

2 Quarts of chalk paint, 2 ASCP Brushes, ASCP Paint Transformations Book,

Dark Wax and Clear Wax

and 2 Sample pots of Chalk Paint

Well I won this at the "Everything you Wanted to know about Paint"

session at the Becoming Conference.  So excited for the opportunity to try this out on many projects around here that have been awaiting a transformation.

Becoming Part I

If you were not able to attend the Becoming Conference in Asheville this year, you missed a real treat! If I had to sum it up with just one word, it would be REAL. These ladies were real, sharing real stories that encouraged, inspired and motivated.

 

 

Here's Jen at the very end of the conference sharing "Living Large on Less"

Her story was very similar to our family's story. Living through job loss, and how they did it. And steps to take so that you would be ready if you had to face that situation in the future.

 

I arrived with pretty high expectations since I had driven 6 hours to get there, and I was not disappointed.

 

 

The first thing that we jumped into was the Hands On Painting Workshop that was offered. This was an extra that you could sign up for, and I was so glad that I did.

 

 

MJ gave us instruction on the details and How-To  of Annie Sloan Chalk paint, and it was a blast! We were able to bring a small side table that we would transform with the chalk paint that afternoon.

Many wonderful ladies were there to help with questions that we had and offer their expertise along the way.

 

And here is my finished piece.

 

 

The top really looked pretty good, and they talked me into leaving it and just painting graphite on the legs. Just a little bit of distressing, and now I have a new table.

 

Have a blessed Wednesday, and I will be sharing more before the end of the week.

31 Days Abandoned? MIA

I am not sure what made me think that I could post for 31 days straight with no advance preparation. In order to maintain my sanity I had to release myself from this unrealistic expectation! With this said, I did complete some long awaited projects, and some new ventures along the way.

 The trash can is finally painted and is no longer an eye-sore.

The french doors are trimmed and painted, and green tape removed!

YES, I AM SLOW!

In the mean time, part of the reason for abandoning this blog is, that we have  started a new Women's Ministry at our church. I am a part of the leadership team and is requiring more of my time. Our

 Kick- Off event was October 22.

We called it Mugs and Muffins. Each lady was asked to bring a mug that was exchanged randomly with another lady. You were then asked to pray for that person and connect with them. We are praying that this will be the beginning of our women better connecting and getting to know one another, as well as minister to each other. Here are a few pictures from that event. 



I will be making every effort to post on a more regular basis. I will let you in on what projects that I am completing around here, as well as more on events with our Women's Ministry.

Have a Blessed Weekend!

Getting It Done: Day 14 Finished Project!

This little bench has been waiting for a change. The finish was in perfect condition and the cushion just needed a little change.

I took a reproduction grain sack towel that I picked up at Target and it was the perfect size to recover it.

Here's a closer look. I love these towels. It is headed to my space later this morning.

More completed projects to come.



Getting It Done: Day 13, A Box of Pumpkins

Today was my volunteer day at Rachel's House, our crisis pregnancy center. Along with being there today, I managed to finish this little box of pumpkins for my booth. All that I have taken so far have sold with the exception of 1, 'tis the season for pumpkins. I have ironed a few linens to take, and have a few items in my car that need to be tagged and taken before the weekend.  For right now there won't be anymore shopping, just getting all the items that I have ready. Tomorrow I will be working all day, so my Getting It Done, will probably consist of getting our Dave Ramsey budget down on paper.

Have a blessed Friday!

The Way We Were

Here we were just a few short days ago.

And here is a little comparison of where we are today.

Here is what I have discovered in this process.

• Progress seems slow, but we are getting there.
•  It is hard being a perfectionist and remodeling.
• When you have a huge project going on, a little more seems to be added to the pile. We have a car that died, my son called to say his heat is not working correctly (in the 20's here in the deep south).
•  I have Dr. appt. tomorrow
•  My nephew graduates Friday 
•  For the first time in a long time I am longing for a few Christmas decorations, and there won't be any this year. (another story for another time)

This is what I have to brighten the kitchen right now.

I would love to think we could have this pulled together for Christmas, but my sweet husband is on night shift for the next couple of days. He has already painted the ceiling, so today I hope to trim out the remainder with primer,and trim the walls so he will be ready to prime over the red, and then paint. I then have to actually paint the cabinets. The counter tops should be here next week some time so I need to keep rolling.

Oh, and I forgot to add that even though we are keeping it very simple this year, I have purchased only ONE gift!

Bet you can't guess who that is for. Hopefully I will be able to remedy that tomorrow. After Dr appts. I hope to do a little shopping!

Any more project advice for me? I am needing to purchase a new fixture for the kitchen are and over the sink. We have removed the long florescent light. I would like some sort of pendant light over the sink, and the ceiling fan is coming down (over the table) I am open for ideas if you all have any suggestions. Have a great day, and hope you are staying warm!

Update and Tying one on!

Progress on the closet/bedroom clean-up came to a screeching halt Friday, when, I got the stomach virus. As much as I tried, and wanted to I slept, except for the periods of time while I was otherwise occupied. I hope to have an update and some pictures possibly by Tuesday.

Just as soon as I was able, here's a little project that I needed to complete.

Shower invitations for a couples shower that I am helping host.

So easy to make, and a fraction of the cost of custom invitations. With the exception of the bandanna fabric and envelopes, I had everything to make the invitations. Total out of pocket cost for the items that I did not already have was $7.05.  In my effort to clean out, I am also trying to use what I have on hand, as opposed to buying more. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

All You Need is Rust.

This is what I started with.

 A fairly ugly, green wire shelf.

Add a little rust,

and this is what I got.

My back porch was beginning to look like plants were just sitting everywhere, and this little shelf that was tucked away in the storage building was just what I needed. Hopefully I will be tending to more projects this week.

What projects are you working on?

Jackie

A New Project....

....to add to the other 365 projects that I need to either get started on or finish.
In case you didn't notice, that would be one a day for the next year, if I get started tomorrow!

Not the right color?

 Just paint it like I did!

Before

After

The christmas cactus' that I shared about in an earlier post almost froze with our sudden cold weather here in South GA! I had been wanting to put them in cream colored pots. When I started looking I could not find cream/off white pots anywhere, not to mention the expense of buying new flower pots. I actually wanted old vintage planters, which meant more$$$$$$, so I did the next best thing....I painted what I already had. I am in the process of repotting most of them . I had to wait until they had finished blooming, and re-pot what I had salvaged from the ones that almost froze. They are now inside recuperating from the freezing weather, and getting new pots. The moral of this story...don't think you live to far south for your plants to freeze, and never underestimate the power of spray paint. Linking up to ASPTL for DIY day. Head over and check it out.

Jackie

Fabric, Fabric, Fabric!

As of late I am realizing that I have a thing for fabric! I had the opportunity to do a little shopping while I was in Augusta this weekend, and most of what I purchased was fabric.

1/2  price Moda Christmas Fabric.

75% Off Christmas fabric at Hancocks

    1/2 Bargain Table Fabric at Joann's

And last but not least the biggest bargain of all! Almost 5 yards of linen remnants at the Decorator Fabric Outlet for a mere $1.75. I couldn't believe it when the lady told me .25 for each piece. Each piece is 54 inch wide fabric. I can see some great possibilies here. 

Now to get my sewing machine going. Looking forward to showing you all some finished projects.

Happy Wednesday!

Jackie

When Plans Change

     Or this could be titled, When your 30 minute dentist appointment turns into a 3 hour and 30 minute dentist appointment. Here's another one: When your filling replacement turns into a ROOT Canal! Or, my mouth hurt last night, and this morning and my mind can't even think of a good blog post. Take your pick.

     With that said, I thought you would enjoy what I found over at Life in Grace. She is having 12 days of handmade Christmas!  Go here to see some wonderful ideas!

Day 1- Dishmat  ( my favorite so far)

Day 2 - Raggamuffin Garland

Day - 3 Tile coasters

Day - 4 Fabric Birds (these would be so cute decking out their own Christmas Tree)

I can't wait to see what today's project will be, and in the mean time I will be planning who will get some of those dishmats. Have a wonderful day!

Jackie

DIY Artwork

Today is DIY Day again over at ASPTL. Here is a little DIY art transformation done by my daughter. Thought you might enjoy this easy way to make a larger piece of artwork on a budget. She purchased the picture earlier this summer and didn't feel she needed to spend more on a second piece to go with it. Alone, the picture was not large enough for the space where she planned to hang it.

So here is what she did. I will try to get a few more details later if any of you are interested.

• First she took some plain old yard sticks from the hardware store
• Put them together to form a  square
• Equally spaced the yard sticks and attached to the square frame
• Spray painted the yard stick frame with brown spray paint
• Backed it with burlap from a burlap sack that she already had
• Attached the original artwork to the center and hung it over the bed in her spare bedroom

Looks great don't you think? When she was telling me about the project I definitely had my doubts. I am a visual person and I could not even imagine what she was trying to tell me. It looks great in her bedroom, and next she will be working on the windows and bedding. I will have to show you a complete look when she finishes. Here is a closer view of the yard sticks and burlap. She has a lot more creativity going on than me at the moment. For more transformations Shabby Chic Cottage is having Transformation Thursday.

UPDATE. Several of you have asked about her health and how she is doing. She responded well to the prednisone this time, and quickly which was a good thing. She has been backing down the dose also a good thing. Monday we went so they could do a baseline sig for the clinical trial that she will be participating in at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. It showed a lot of improvement since the one last month. Tomorrow she goes for the first infusion. Please pray that all goes well. She gets the infusion, then stays for an observation period to make sure she does not have any adverse reaction. Please continue to pray. I know God knows exactly what she needs, and He will provide. Got to head to bed. Subbing again for the next two days. They are keeping me busy. I had just walked in the door today when they called. I am blessed to have the work and the flexibility to be with my kids. God is so good! Have a blessed week. Jackie

Finished Gift

I know 2 posts in one day! I sometimes have a hard time getting one post a week, but it was a must that I finish this little project, because it is a gift that will be going with me to Maine. I am the family seamstress, and I  enjoy making these little aprons for gifts. I made several last Christmas, and they make a very unique gift. This is actually for my daughter to give, along with a family recipe book that she has made. I have even surprised myself and realized that I can add this to DIY day over at A Soft Place To Land.

I know this is a little blurry, but here is shot of the whole apron.

There is still a little time to enter the giveaway, and I just noticed I am coming up on 200 posts. That just might mean another giveaway is right around the corner! Have a wonderful evening. 

Jackie

Road Kill Rescue?

A little late to the party, but better late than never. Today Becky is having a Roadkill Rescue Party! And, NO, that would not be possums, racoons, armadillos and such. It would be the furniture, fun project, kind.

What a name huh?

My first item is this desk, that we did actually rescue from a pile of trash. I wish I had a before picture, but this was completed long before blogs came along. My husband reminded me that he had to glue some of the drawers back together. The top had extensive writing and scribbling, not to mention that it was plain dirty! We cleaned, sanded, glued, and painted. Now it sits in my son's bedroom and has been a great desk.

Next is this headboard that my husband made from an old door that came from his grandmothers house. He just added some details with molding that we had on hand, painted it to match the desk and attached it to the wall.

So there you have it, my rescues. We have plenty of old doors that are just waiting for a project. Now, head on over to Becky's and check out all of those other Roadkill Rescues.

Have a blessed week!

Jackie