2.04.2011

How nice! Someone featured me!

I don't want to sound boastful or anything, but I just wanted to share that Jessica B. over at Sugar in My Grits featured my blog last week. I am so appreciative that she would take the time to - not only look through my projects - but to have nice things to say about my tutorials in a post. That means so much to me and totally made my day when I found out. 

I also want to mention that you should check out her blog because she has a lot of good stuff! Jessica B. is a military spouse and a mother to both human and canine children. I can definitely relate to her with regard to the furry little ones, but the non-furry ones? Not so much. hehe 

Anyway, I am so appreciative to Jessica B. Thank you!
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On an unrelated note, I picked up some cool-looking knobs at Pier1 for my wood TV stand. This project is not a DIY project at all, though I wish it was. I'm just showing it here because of my post yesterday about spray painting furniture pulls, and it's interesting how much of a difference this one small change can make.

I decided not to use spray paint in this case because I wasn't sure what color would work for my living room (it's full of rich, warm colors). I didn't really want to spray paint it a metallic gold color, any of the pale colors wouldn't work, and the brighter colors can look cheap, so my lil' DIY hands were tied. At least that's what I'm going with...

Before with an outdated pull

After with Pier1 knobs

I'm kind of liking the knobs! They were $4 a piece...not too bad, right?

Obviously, I still need to do something about the beaten up piece of furniture. Does anyone have any suggestions? Paint? If so, what color? Stain? Would I have to strip it first? Your advise is greatly appreciated.

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2.03.2011

Simple change: Spray painted furniture pulls and knobs

Do you have some ugly knobs or pulls that don't match the rest of your decor? Spray paint is the answer, my friends. It is such a simple solution with a HUGE impact. It can completely change the look of your furniture. I am an avid hardware spray-painter and have had really good luck with it! I haven't noticed any signs of paint rubbing off the hardware. It's almost fool proof, which is good for someone like me (haha). 

Have you seen my bathroom cabinet hardware transformation? I am still so happy with it. Since then, I have also spray painted the hardware in my kitchen -- pictures are coming soon! But here is my latest transformation: 

Before

After
I'm not sure the photos do this justice. The bronze pulls looked so out of place in my gray, white, and green room. 


Sorry, this isn't a great photo either, but here is the nightstand table that I did the same thing to. I like it! :)
What do you think? I used Krylon Metallic -- only $2.96! Heck yes! Much cheaper than changing out all of the knobs and pulls. 

Have you spray painted hardware? Have you tried other kinds of paint? I'd love to hear! :)


I'm linking to...
Paisley Passions Thrilling Thursdays; Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Linky Party; The Shabby Chic Cottage Transformation Thursdays

1.20.2011

Pretty Placemat Pillow

So, I haven't posted anything in a while, but thanks you guys for sticking with me! I am so pleased to see I have 82 followers!! What the what?! And many of you leave me lovely comments too. It brings so much joy to my little heart. <3

Just because I haven't been posting doesn't mean that I have not been gettin' busy with some projects, though I must admit I've slowed down. This project I'm going to share with you today is probably not even worth posting, but I am still kind of proud of it because I sewed something. That's right. I sewed something with a sewing machine! If you all are familiar with any of my projects from the past,  then you might have noticed that I tend to use stitch witchery or other iron-on tapes. Well, NO MORE because my amazing parents gave me a big girl sewing machine as a gift. It's the real deal, folks. I should have taken a pic just to prove it. But I digress...  

The project I am sharing today is a placemat pillow I sewed for the sofa. I have seen lots of these lovely pillows around blogland, so I had to try one myself. Here it is:

All you need is...
  • 2 pretty placemats -- I bought mine from Target for $3 each.
  • Stuffing -- I got this ingenious idea from This Thrifty House. You buy an inexpensive pillow (like mine was $2 from Walmart), and then you cut it open and use the stuffing. This is usually cheaper than buying stuffing on its own.
  • Sewing supplies -- because the placemats are fairly thick, I would not recommend sewing this by hand.   
Because my placemat had pretty details on the sides, I sewed the 2 pillows together right side out, which is why the seams are visible. That may have been a mistake -- it looks sort of messy. 


Have you all made placemat pillows before? How did yours turn out?
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I'm linking to...

Thrilling Thursdays @ Paisley Passions; Hookin' Up with House of Hepworths; Under $100 link party @ Beyond the Picket Fence

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All the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. No monetary compensation was received for doing this post, however, I was provided with a discount code.