Monday, October 28, 2013

Mission Style End Table Makeover

Happy Monday everyone!!  We had a busy weekend around here, filled with trick-or-treating, soccer, birthday parties, and a karate tournament.  I’m pooped!  In between all the madness fun, I was able to finish up a little project I’ve been working on for a while: making over this Mission Style end table gifted to me from my sister.

Aubusson Blue End Table

When she gave me this table, it was in good condition except for a little wear on the varnish.

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I knew I wanted to stain the top, so I sanded it down and after applying MinWax Wood conditioner I stained it with one coat of MinWax dark walnut.  A coat of poly protects it from future wear and tear.

End Table Stained Top

I painted this with Annie Sloan Aubusson Blue, and rather than distress it, I used my smooth chalk paint technique and then applied wax.  I used Miss Mustard Seed’s wax on this piece cause I’ve been dying to try it… It is very different from Annie Sloan wax.  It’s much softer and smells wonderful – it did take off a little more paint color with it, but since it wasn’t formulated to work with this paint I wasn’t surprised.

Chalk Paint End Table Redo

I love the contrast between the matte blue and the soft sheen of the dark walnut top.

Mission Style End Table Makeover

If you remember my post about searching for a living room sofa, I’m giving you a peek here of my final choice.  I’m not quite ready for the full room reveal yet (still a few more projects to finish up), but here’s a little glimpse at the room redo.

End Table Styling

This little table has found its new home on “my end” of the sofa, with a good book or magazine and a hot cup of coffee always nearby.  I sorta love it.  Huge thanks to my sister for sending this gem my way!

Did you guys get any projects finished this weekend or were you running around crazy like we were? Have you used MMS furniture wax?  What did you think of it?

Linking here:

Savvy Southern Style

Inspire Me Please Party

The Inspiration Gallery

Fabulously Creative Friday

Somewhat Simple

Whipperberry

Tatertots and Jello

Funky Junk Interiors

Too Much Time

I Heart Naptime

Three Mango Seeds

The Sunday Showcase

Home Stories A to Z

Inspiration Exchange

Power of Paint Party

The Scoop

Tuesday’s Treasures

The 36th Avenue

Transformation Thursday

Be Different Act Normal

It’s Overflowing

Beneath My Heart

Happy Housie

Monday, October 21, 2013

Batty Halloween Wreath

Happy Monday y’all!  Today I’m sharing my Batty Halloween wreath – after a few days of rainy, gloomy weather, I finally got a little bit of sunshine so I could take some pictures!

Spooky Bat Wreath

This wreath started out completely different – my original idea that seemed so great in my mind turned out to be an epic fail so I had to go back to the drawing board.  A trip to Walgreens for some allergy meds ended in the Halloween aisle, where a new idea was born and I then proceeded to wipe ‘em clear out of fake bats.

Circling Bats Wreath

I wrapped the wreath form with burlap ribbon and secured the bats with just a few straight pins, which luckily worked because hot glue does not stick very well to whatever rubber/plastic material these things are made of.

My inner English teacher is cringing that I just ended a sentence with a preposition but hey, I’m a rebel like that.

EEK Bat Wreath

The flying bat in the center carries a Halloween message on a burlap banner… EEK!  (My daughters told me that bats don’t say eek, they squeak.  Love them.)

Spooky Bat Halloween Wreath

And now just a few more pics…

Circle of Bats Halloween Wreath


home made Spooky Bat Wreath

It’s a little batty, but a lot of fun… only 11 sleeps til Halloween!

Linking here:

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Whimsical Witch Halloween Mantle

Morning lovelies!  I’m finally getting my Halloween on around here… I typically begin with a wreath reveal but since my wreath idea is still being tweaked, I thought I’d start by sharing my Whimsical Witch Halloween Mantle!

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I kept most of the elements from my Aqua and Wood Fall Mantle and just added in some fun Halloween touches.  The inspiration was a sassy little ceramic pumpkin witch my sister gave me a few years back.

Witch Pumpkin Halloween Mantle

I dressed up some small pumpkins with decorative witch hats from the Halloween party section at Hobby Lobby – I just slid them on over the pumpkin stems for a perfect topper.  My youngest hoards saves all of her glasses when we go to 3D movies and pops the lenses out for some reason, so I took advantage of that and used them as props for my little pumpkins.  Said daughter also convinced me she needed sticky glow-in-the-dark eyeballs from the Halloween aisle, so I happily obliged and stole a few for my pumpkins (I secured them with a straight pin).

Witch Pumpkin Mantle

The purple LED lights are battery operated – which is great because we all know that electrical outlets by mantles are never close enough for our decorating needs (you know what I’m saying)!

Witch Hat Garland

I added some “creepy fabric” for some extra texture and then made a teeny witch hat garland with some leftover stash ribbon trim.

Whimsical Halloween Mantle

I’m enjoying this Whimsical Witch mantle so much that I’m already conjuring up ideas about how to modify it to keep it for Thanksgiving… wonder how long those pumpkins will last??

Hope you’re having a great week so far!

Linking here:

Savvy Southern Style

Inspire Me Please Party

The Inspiration Gallery

Fabulously Creative Friday

Somewhat Simple

Whipperberry

Tatertots and Jello

Funky Junk Interiors

Too Much Time

I Heart Naptime

Three Mango Sides

The Sunday Showcase

Home Stories A to Z

Inspiration Exchange

Power of Paint Party

The Scoop

Tuesday’s Treasures

The 36th Avenue

Transformation Thursday

Be Different Act Normal

It’s Overflowing

Beneath My Heart

Monday, October 7, 2013

Round Top Antiques Fair Recap!

Hey hey friends!  Happy Monday to you!

Last Friday I spent the day melting shopping the Round Top Antiques Fair with my sister, and thought I’d share a little bit of it with you.  If you haven’t ever heard of Round Top, well honey, bless your heart.  Round Top is a haven for antique and junk-lovers alike in April and October each year.  More than 2000 vendors set up shop in pastures, barns, and outbuildings for a three week span of junkin’ delight!

Since we only had one day to shop, we stayed on the outskirts of the fair in Warrenton, TX.  It was hot, it was dusty, it was fabulous.

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This was one of the first booths we checked out… amazing, right?  Sadly, I couldn’t find a name for this little gem anywhere in the setup, but I wanted to share with you anyway.

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That chair… *swoon*.  (The price… *out of my range*!)

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This is the first of many fab campers that I will be sharing with you in another post… I seriously contemplated hooking up to this one and taking off!

We missed visiting the Junk Gypsies this year as they set up shop further down the road, but that didn’t stop me from snapping pics of their JG lounge, where fellow gypsies hang out during the Junk Gypsy Prom, which has become a highlight of antique weekend.  I vowed to my sister to attend this prom next year… dressed in my finest treasures!

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Haybales, leather, and velvet sofas for seating… classic Junk Gypsy glam.

We weren’t dressed for the occasion, but my sis and I did sneak in a photo opp at the photo booth!

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We perused the many booths for hours in the intense Texas heat… there’s a mix of what the booths offer.  Some were purely flea market with tables full of a hodge podge of items.  Others were like the first booth I pictured, a storefront for upcycled vintage furniture and homewares and carefully selected new items.  There were also booths that were essentially boutiques, selling clothing, jewelry, bags, etc.  I can tell you right now that I was surprised and a little disappointed by the number of boutique vendors here… I don’t know about anyone else, but I didn’t come here to shop for clothing that I can buy in a shop in my hometown.

There were also a lot of items brought in from Mexico, which isn’t a problem… but there were so many booths selling the same exact furniture, signs, metal roosters… you get what I’m saying.

But every now and then there was something fabulous:

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This is what I came here to see.

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This light fixture was made from an old industrial mixer whisk *I die* … I tried like heck to convince my sister to buy this for her kitchen (she’s a baker… it’s perfect!) but she passed on it. 

I need a moment of silence here…

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Okay… now that I’m composed, let’s carry on, shall we?  Check out this collection of vintage stamps!  The stamps were pictures that corresponded with the text – a nearly complete set – amazing!  I would have loved to bring this home with me but $195 for a set of stamps that I truly don’t need just doesn’t make sense, no matter how amazing it is.

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This bed was begging me to curl up my tired, overheated body on these beautiful linens, as was the one below.

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Custom linen bedding… seriously.  This linen was so soft I almost couldn’t stop touching it.

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My final pic for you is this incredible space: a deconstructed chair, burlap cushion sofa, chicken coop coffee table, ghost lampshade complete with fringe, and corrugated tin walls.  Crazy beautiful.

I’ll be sharing what I brought home with me later this week as well as sharing a roundup of Round Top campers… you won’t want to miss it.

Have you ever been to antique weekend in Round Top or did you go this year?!  Tell me all about it!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

{Tutorial} Embroidery Hoop Pumpkins

Embroidery Hoop Pumpkins

I showed you these Embroidery Hoop Pumpkins with my Fall Mantel reveal, and as promised, here is the tutorial to make some for yourself!

You Will Need:

Embroidery Hoops (mine are 4 inch)

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Instructions:

  1. Separate your inner and outer embroidery hoops and loosen the bracket slightly.  Slide an inner hoop inside the outer hoop. 
Embroidery Hoop Pumpkin Tutorial

2.  Repeat with another inner hoop, separating them equally, and tighten the bracket.

Embroidery Hoop Pumpkin Tutorial Top

3.  You can also make a pumpkin with two outer hoops and one inner hoop by forming a square with your brackets and then tightening the top bracket.

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And that’s it!  Simple and beautiful and perfectly pumpkin-shaped: