Projects Galore!!

I have been working on several projects all at once. I didn't think it would that big of a deal b/c they aren't huge projects. They are just simple little things. But when you take a lot of simple little things it then becomes a BIG thing. So I have finally finished my projects that I started. Only now I have 2 other BIGGER projects that I want to start. Not to brag, but I am proud of what I did. I have discovered that I can be quite crafty and I have become good at using wood putty and spray paint. I'm not so much creative but I do enjoy taking other people's ideas and trying to copy what they did. I won't take credit for coming up with the idea but I will be proud of myself for copying it. :)

Pirate Mast: My cost $11-$12. Pottery Barn $100. I needed to find a curtain that already had holes in the top. The only thing that I could find that was close to that was a shower curtain. I bought the shower curtain at Target for $10. I cut it down to the size I wanted and sewed her right up!! The curtain is hanging on wooden dowels that I got at Lowes for around $1.50. Matt painted the dowels with paint we already had so that = FREE. Also, the rope we already had. The letter "L" was a challenge for me. I thought about getting the L embroidered but that was expensive. Then I tried to find something I could iron on that looked embroidered. But no such luck. Then I bought some iron on fabric from Walmart for $5 and printed out the L. I cut it out and ironed it right on. Looking back I should have just done that from the beginning and saved myself a lot of time. I bought the iron on fabric with a gift card so that was free as well! The felt was about $.50 at Walmart. I printed out the skull and cut it out on the iron on fabric. Done! Good job!!


Dining room light fixture: My cost $10. This took a can of primer and a can of oil rubbed bronze spray paint. The previous owners of our house took down this fixture and shoved it in the back of our attic. They hung up this cute tea light candle fixture that we never touched. I thought for sure we would have some romantic dinner with that....yeah right!! So down it came and up went this beauty. I still want to add some shades to this light fixture. I just haven't found the right ones yet. With this light plus the recessed lighting already in there it is pretty bright. But we do have a dimmer to help out.

Candlesticks: My cost $4. I found these candlesticks at Goodwill for $2 each. They had a pretty wood color but there were just too many dings and scratches. I really didn't like the look of the candlesticks being the same size. So I cut out a section to make them different heights. I glued the parts back together and sprayed them with oil rubbed bronze paint. Ta da!

Picture frames: My total cost $30. This was a great deal to me. I found these horrible colored frames at Goodwill for $5.99 each. A picture frame like this would have easily cost $15-$20 a piece, maybe more at Walmart or Target. But I knew I could paint these and make them look brand new again. Then at Hobby Lobby I found artwork that was half price for $15. The pictures came with a matt but I didn't end up using the matt for the finished product. Wood putty, primer and paint and I have nice frames. These are now over our nightstands in our bedroom. I will have a picture of that later when I finish accessorizing in there.

Cloche: My total cost $3.25. I found a cheese dome at Goodwill for $2.25 and a candlestick for $.99. I glued the two pieces together after priming and painting them. I love this little decoration in my kitchen. I can do so many things with this. I'm seeing so many different seasonal decorations in this little guys future

This last project was all Matt's hard work. He worked for 3 weekends straight to get all of this work completed. Not to mention it was hotter than you know where each weekend. The previous owners put down the pavers in the backyard as a patio. We never liked the look and the bricks were uneven. We've wanted to get rid of these for a long time especially after Levi fell and broke his nose by tripping on the pavers. So we sold all of the pavers on craigslist for $200. We took that money and bought all of the flagstone from someone else on craigslist for $120. We used the rest of the money to buy sand, grass, and dirt. Matt had to cut up all of the sod and put it in between all of the cracks. I honestly wanted to help him so this would be done faster but I had to stay with Jaxon. So the patio itself was FREE!! We didn't pay a dime out of pocket for it. That is what I love. The table, chairs, and gazebo were on clearance at Target and we paid $200 total for everything. We had no shade in our backyard so this was much needed and well worth the investment. We love it! Thank you Matt for all of your hard work and sweat. We can't wait to sit out there in the fall and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.

My next 2 projects involve the fireplace and entertainment center. I can't wait to finish those projects. I started these projects b/c I felt our house was lacking in the decor department. There really wasn't any artwork or accessories that brighten or lighten a room. I still have some other ideas and things I want to do but when I am finished it will all look amazing. I hope you enjoyed my hard work.