Lessons Learned - Trends, Likes and Seashells

Every once in a while, do you have a question that seems to have no answers? I'm in one of those places right now, in more than one area of my life. One of those areas has to do with the repainted and updated furniture we do.

Have you ever finished a piece, sat back, admired it and then.....sat back and scratched your head when something so gorgeous just doesn't go out the door? I have had this happen more than I like to admit lately; a Seize the Day Table that we revamped with a chalkboard-looking top and also with a periwinkle butterfly stand.

Why do some pieces fly out the door so quickly, while other sit around like the wallflower at your junior high dance?  Is it color, shape, design? Who knows? Maybe it's all of those - or none. What's not to like? Chalkboard, butterflies, periwinkle blue.  

Maybe it's just a fact of a DIYer's life: there are just some pieces that have a hard time finding a new home! I just don't get it. 

Maybe it's just MY emotional attachment to the colors and pieces. Or the time invested.

Remember opening a new box of 64 crayons? Yep, the big one! That periwinkle blue was one of my favs! That's why it didn't make sense to me that the butterfly stand wasn't selling.

Finally coming to grips with the fact that the pieces weren't going to sell as is, and putting our faves aside, we repainted. UGH!! The Carpe Diem table hasn't gone live yet, but the butterfly stand sold within 24 hours of repainting the periwinkle a soft black.

I think the hardest redo of a redo was a pair of cabinet doors that we repurposed for wall art. I thought it was a great idea. I spent hours learning the transfer technique for the shells. I loved the soft arch at the top of the door. That, coupled with one of my favorite colors, sea-glass green, LOVE!

I still like them, but they just wouldn't move. Well, the other pieces moved after a redo of a redo. Maybe these would, too. (Insert sad face here)

I took the leap. I mixed up some chalkboard paint. Don't hate....I did try some spray paint chalkboard, but it came out shiny and the chalk wouldn't work on it. So I mixed up my own. (Insert happy face here)

We all are aware that chevron is so trending. The charcoal, coral and white desk we revamped soled almost immediately. You can read about it here:  http://bit.ly/1hI8O3H  It was worth trying.

I also found a chevron painter's tape, made by Frogtape. It's not cheap, and it's not easy to find, but it's so easy to use. It comes in three different shapes. I will definitely be using it again!  

(I pulled this image from their website.)

The centers of the doors were repainted with the chalkboard paint. The chevron tape went over the sea-glass green and was painted with a dark teal.  They looked so different!

And, guess what? They were gone within 5 minutes!! No kidding?!

Sometimes it pays to put your emotions and likes to the side, and take an objective look at things. Hmmmm....that sounds like more than a painting lesson; that's a life lesson!  Lesson learned!

LABOR Day DIYs!

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day!

Mine was definitely a LABOR day. We're taking a small break from the vintage furniture painting that Sow's Ear usually does, and we're making some updates around the house. This weekend was a crazy-busy one. We did manage to squeeze in a family picnic in between all the projects.  

Stephanie, over at By Stephanie Lynn @ http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2013/09/sunday-showcase-party-210.html is hosting a linky party, asking her readers to share their recent projects. I'm going to her party!

Ready to take a peek at what we accomplished? It might not seem like a lot, but it was labor and time intensive. I have the blisters to prove it!

I'm very frugal when it comes to anything! Honestly, unless it's something that I fall absolutely in love with, I'm always looking for a way to do it myself...CHEAPER!

First, there was the stairway/hallway wallpaper project

I don't have any "before" pictures, but believe me the 1980's wallpaper that graced this space was not graceful in any way. It had a cornflower blue, mauve and beige color palette. Not horrible, but the crayon, pencil and tears were not helping matters.  I had the strange blue/green Berber carpet that had to stay. At our local Habitat Restore I found a paisley wallpaper with the same strange teal color, along with tan, bronze and gold. The best part ---- ONLY $1 per double roll!!  Yep!  LOVE it!

Although this seemed like a straight forward project, there were angles, cut ins, railing brackets. It was really time intensive, but I think it turned out very nice.

By the way, see those nice teal knobs on the dresser? They used to be white! I colored the white glass with a teal sharpie, let them dry overnight, baked them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, and VOILA!! New, updated, color-matched knobs!

Second up -- the Dreaded Deck

It was painted 2 years ago and definitely needed a new coat of makeup! I repainted the floor; UGH!! Drudgery! Then came the fun part!  Putting the eyeshadow, liner and blush on the foundation.

I purchased a 6 by 8 foot outdoor rug at Home Depot for just over $17  http://tinyurl.com/kun6fbf .  I made a stencil and with a couple of cans of paprika and white spay paint, created a one-of-a-kind outdoor rug.  More updates included the pillow covers for the reading area. Fabric Guru ( http://tinyurl.com/l3nwwre ) has become my online go-to for fabric. Even with the $4.99 shipping cost, I can find current patterns at affordable prices. The antique headboard potting bench was a project that my brother completed for me as a Christmas present. He's a good guy!  Another project FINI!

Third up...bedroom curtain tie backs and DIY easy Roman shades

Kind of following the directions from 365 Days to Simplicity (http://tinyurl.com/mbbuh2r ) and some $1/yard fabric that I picked up at Wally World, I made three Roman shades that replaced the worn out, gross mini blinds in my bedroom. The directions for the custom tie backs are found here: http://sowsear2.blogspot.com/2013/09/one-of-kind-curtain-tie-backs.html What d'ya think?

And, Fourth, but not last (sigh) Upcycled Burlap Covered Boxes

Using office paper boxes I recreated the burlap storage boxes found at One Kings Lane for a fraction of the price. The original price for this set of three boxes was $69; and the largest box was 8"H x 15.75"W x 12"L http://tinyurl.com/kr7dzx3    With my trustly glue gun, scissors, and some paitence, I was able to reproduce a much larger box for $.25 a piece. The boxes were free and I found the burlap coffee bags at a local greenhouse supply warehouse for 25 cents a piece!! You can't get much more frugal than that!

Well, I think that's enough for one weekend, don't you? Phew! I'm going to go take a nap!

New Life for a Curb Dweller

Here's a sweet little find. A friend of mine keeps here eyes open for any "freebies" sitting alongside the edge of the road that are crying out for a new purpose. Here is one of her finds.

This little guy had definitely seen better days. No glass on top, kind of wobbly, beat up, and kicked to the curb, literally.  After brainstorming for a couple of days, I came up with a plan: it was about the right size for a little bench or footstool for an entryway or living room.  Hmmmm.... coming up with the plan is always the easy part; carrying it out always proves a little more challenging.

Plan: a new painted surface, a piece of thin plywood that would sit inside the "frame" where the glass used to be, something for over the plywood for a cushion. Finally, a cool, trendy cover of some kind.

The piece was sanded and given a fresh coat of satin black paint. After cutting the plywood to size, I stapled a pillow (ripped open and about 1/2 the stuffing removed) to the top of the plywood. The plywood was then covered with a burlap coffee bag that I had left over from some other crafts. Thin trim was then stained a honey gold and glued to the edges of the plywood to cover the edges and clean up any gaps between the frame and the plywood.  The last step was to distress the edges of the bench.

This is the result of a little ingenuity, some sawdust and elbow grease:

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 His new home?  A new friend's entry way; a place to sit while removing boots, etc.  A new life for a discarded piece. Ahh....

You can see a slew of transformations, great ideas and crafty things at The Shabby Creek Cottage at this link:
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2013/01/transformation-thursday-no-186.html#more