Mom, can I read this?

This week I got to try my hand at blog design, and I must say it was super fun! The best part is the blog I was "beautifying" is such a cool blog and I am happy to spread the word about it.

It's a blog about clean reads for kids. The two cute Mom's who started it LOVE reading and they have read it ALL, especially when it comes to youth reads. This blog is awesome because it's hard to know what books are clean for our kids, especially the older ones! Check it out...

P.S. If you have trouble getting on the blog for the next couple of hours, there is some last minute construction going on, but it will be reading to go by the end of the day for sure

Bernard nees a face lift...

We recently moved into a old, old house. 100 years old, to be exact. I have been busy moving in and getting settled.... and I have caught the project bug again. I have quite a little batch of projects to post, starting with this one:

Bernard is a little bookcase my hubby and I adopted from Goodwill about 2 years ago....Truth be known, I had grown tired of old Bernard. He was covered in scratches and a not-so-good spray paint job. Not to hurt this little guy's feelings, but if budget were not an issue, I would have sent him back to where he came from and purchased a billy bookcase from Ikea for around $65.00. Bernard gave me a sad look (and so did my hubby Ü), so I decided to give him a little face lift instead...

As luck would have it, my hubby sent some of his HUGE textbooks to the attic. Things were already looking better! I had some gray/blue paint from the Alice project, some black paint from the piano project, and some blue tape (always on hand). Bernard got a fresh coat of black everywhere except the back drop, which I painted gray/blue.

Then, he even got a little friend. My Rink shopping pal and I split some bronze "thinking man" book ends ($4.00 each). I spray painted my "thinking man" white.

Happy corner Ü

I'm on the hunt...

Whilst singing a Duran Duran tune and putting away groceries today, I couldn't help but think about my next projects......my chairs. I have five happy garage sale and free chairs that need some SERIOUS love and attention. They have been patiently waiting in the garage, and one of them has even been half-finished and is sitting, bare, in my office. I found some wonderful inspiration at http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/ and I'm loving the red chair fabric best. What would I do with $425? I would spend it on the red chair, no questions asked. The bad news is I don't have the dough, but I do have a new staple gun that is itching to get used...

My source...

The plates in the pics are all from Pier 1 Imports. I love that store, and they were quite inexpensive. I also found some great ones at Rink Gallery in Betheny(sorry, just an Okey source), and even some at Goodwill ( I know, I know, but you can't beat 25 cents!). I passed some fun ones at Target on the clearance isle too...

Candy Shop

I like to give gifts. Who doesn't?!! Well, this is an inexpensive gift idea, and it's fun to look for the ingredients...The stand is made from an old candlestick holder (I found mine at the Hopefully yours thrift shop, and some at goodwill), attached to an inexpensive, colorful plate. The candlestick holder was brass, and I just spray painted it white. I think clear crystal ones are really pretty for this too.
I wanted a fun visiting teaching gift, and my friend inspired me to make "V-chocolate" style caramel apples, and it just so happens they fit perfectly on the top of these little treat stands...

I tried Apple Pie (crushed graham cracker, cinnamon and sugar, white chocolate and caramel), caramel, chocolate & nut, and caramel, toffee & chocolate.

I think it would be fun to spray the base a crazy color next time....

Happy Plate Giving Ü

Dollhouse

My daughter's Birthday fund was a little low this year, so I picked up this dollhouse for dirt cheap at a thrift store.

This is the little family we picked up to go with it.


All it needed was a little TLC, some scrapbook paper laying around and some paint Ü

I still need to make some little pillows to decorate the bedrooms and couches...

The color scheme is copied from an awesome store in Salt Lake called Hip & Humble. Hooray for bright colors!

Alice

Alice is a antique, 5-drawer beauty. I am in LOVE with her shape! I was able to keep her original, smile-shaped knobs and I love them!

Hooray for the happy Alice project Ü