Two before and afters and a new piece of junk!

I've been a very bad blogger - and it was totally unintentional! I kept thinking of posts to write, I have TONS of stuff to show you, I just never managed to actually sit down and do it. That doesn't mean I haven't been on the computer, just not using my time wisely (as I've been known to do on more than one occasion). So, I apologize, and I'll try to be better :)

The first thing I am going to show you is the before and after of my mantle. I have a large mantle - and two story ceilings. My mantle spent the better part of two years being a holding ground for toys that were taken away. I actually had to try to find a place to put said toys every year at Christmas. Sad, I know. My house is on the lease market now and potential leasees (leasors, leasers, what is the word?!?) don't find toy decorating particularly attractive. So, new mantle decor, here I come.

I wish I had a picture of the mantle with the toys all over it. It was a sight! Anyways, here it was the first go round:


As time went on (time = a couple months) I added different things in to it (no, don't ask, I don't have a picture - I WILL be better, promise!) but the major pieces stayed the same. White mirror, oval mirror (craigslist find), vintage red vase (handblown - gift from sister about, oh, 14 years ago), the green recycled glass tumblers turned tea light holders, and the orchids. I added in my grandmothers music box (can be seen in the next photo), some handmade dollar store candlesticks, and a clear ball jar with a bail I found in an 'antique' ie. junk store.

So, where is this going, you wonder? Last week my housekeeper accidentally dumped basically the entire mantle arrangement on the floor. The oval mirror (not the wood part), tea light holders, and handmade dollar candlesticks didn't make it. Everything else did! The music box (most important) and red vase (second most important) didn't even move! I was very thankful for those two things - both of those items are pretty special to me.

After all that was cleaned up I went on a mission to redecorate the mantle - WITHOUT spending a penny! Not such a big deal for me I have tons of crap neat stuff laying around. Here's the NEW mantle! While most people decorate for the seasons I really don't. Christmas - that's about it for me. I will change things up when I get tired of looking at them, but for the most part it stays the same for a long time. I'm cool like that ;)


There you go, before and after! I've hidden put the red vase in a safe place. From now on I'll be doing all the cleaning on the mantle. After all, nothing up there is attached to the wall other than the big square mirror.

Quick furniture before and after. Tacky white faux wicker craigslist find. This one was a beaut (ie. a LITTLE bit scary inside). And, it had fancy brass pulls and square corner thingeys too!

Now, it's good as new (and yes, that's fabric on top and braided fabric pulls):



Painted with chalk paint, waxed and topped with fabric (for the life of me I can't remember the name of the designer) and furniture modge podge. It's ready for a new home!


Last but not least, my newest trash pile find. Can anyone guess what it is? Tomorrow (ok, by Friday) I'll post new pictures of it and what exactly it is! Here's a hint: it's BIG. About 3-3.5 feet across and wooden.


Have a great day!



linking to:

Brass candlestick before and after

Aren't these candlesticks beautiful? (don't mind the fantastically focused phone pictures :)

The brass is glorious. Antiqued and shiny and...who am I kidding? I don't like brass all that much - especially not brass candlesticks that are about, oh, 15 inches tall. I found these beauties at the local goodwill and though to self, "Self, these would be fantastic lamps!" On the same trip (at the same goodwill) I found two perfect not so perfect silk, in need of updating, drum shades as well. Nothing a little time and creativity couldn't remedy.

So, after some spray primer and paint, a little burlap and trim - not to mention new lamp kits (and drilling a hole in the base of the candlestick) this is what I came up with:


Simple, understated, beautiful lamps.



The matching pair is now available for sale - contact me if you're interested in purchasing them They're about 20" tall and have a really long cord (just in case you want to put them somewhere a LONG ways from an outlet - AND want them to actually turn on :)




linking to HOH #51

End tables with spunk

In an earlier post I promised to show the end tables that went with the damask coffee table.

Here they are:

And here they are in all their glorious beforeness (is that a word? I don't think so but we'll just pretend :)


Here's the hidden spunk. A nice pull out shelf in glorious hot pink! The table bases were painted in Annie Sloan's graphite and the tops were whitewashed with a mix of old white and water, then graphite and water to tone it down just a little. I thought the hot pink (Rustoleum) would add just a nice splash of color without being too in your face.


Unless, of course, you pull them out :)


Add some color to your life and enjoy!