W is for Windows: Part II

I showed you my bird windows last time
Now I am going to wear you out with all the other windows in my house.
I have one more window post coming that involves the exterior.
When I get stuck on something, I REALLY stay stuck.
Think about the birds.
I ended that post with about 24.
You can add 10 more to that.
Maybe it's OCD, maybe I was deprived of birds in my childhood or maybe they are just super cute.

Anyway, this window post will be bird-free. Promise.

Here is a window that I use as a picture frame.
It is on the wall as you go down the steps to the den:
I used glass etching solution on this window instead of my beloved Frosted Glass Spray Paint.


Next up is the new window I have on my mantle. Here is what the mantle looked like before:
But I needed the tall window for the screened in porch project (shown in Part I.) And hubby came home from a yard sale with a $5 window that had some great character.
So I tweaked the mantle
("I have a project that needs some tweaking"-name that movie)
and here it is now:

I love this window because it still has the hinges and the old latch on it. Plus I love the panes.
BTW, I am still thinking about painting the bricks, but I am a little skeerd.
What color will I paint the mantle? Will all my accessories get lost in a sea of white?
Maybe I should paint the hearth white
Oh the doubt. Oh the confusion.


Next window up is in Little Man's room. This window was turned into a mirror:



Finally, I found some AMAZING leaded glass windows at,
yes you guessed it, another auction.

I simple leaned one up against the wall in the foyer:
This window was a whopping $12.50. It is almost 5 feet tall and pretty heavy.
I love it!
But, wait til you see his big brother:

I window hangs perpendicular from the wall.
When you walk in the garage door it felt like you just "fell into" the dining room.
Drove me crazy.
This window acts as a faux wall and I love that you can see through it so it doesn't block the view.
Here is the view from the other side:

Oh yeah, big bro was $30.


So excessive on the windows or just enough? I love them, I can't help myself.

Ah, yes, the movie is You've Got Mail. Anyone get it right?

Joining with:

Jenny Matlock and Alphabe-Thursday

Just a Girl Show and Share Day

W is for Windows-Part 1

Home stretch people!
"W" week and I have so many things to show you all.
I decided to put my "windows" in multiple parts because, well because I use ALOT of windows in my decorating.
I don't really know why.
I guess I am just drawn to them.
Just when I think I am a little over using windows I will come across ANOTHER really cool window. You will see some of those later in the week. For this post I am going to start with a window that started pretty bland, but I think it (they) turned out pretty stinkin cute.

It started with an obscure window I got at the local flea market:


Before I go any farther, the pictures from this tutorial will not match up with the "after." The windows are different and the decoration on them is different, but the steps are the same. Perhaps you can forgive me for the discrepancies??

Anyway, it all started with a window. Seeing that clear glass got my wheels spinning. Caught up in those wheels were visions of birds and frosted glass spray paint.
Big shock huh?

I have written a more in depth tutorial of how I use the frosted glass spray paint here so I will just give you the shortened version, with pictures:

Here is the contact paper being measured and cut to fit the window panes.


Here is where I draw out the design that I want on the windows. I "image googled" vinyl bird art and pick something for inspiration.


Next step is to cut out the parts that I want to be painted

Then you spray paint the window with the trusty Rustoleum Frosted Glass spray paint.

Here is the set of windows I did using this technique. One window has two birds (to represent hubby and I) and the other set has three birds (to represent the kiddos). I hung them in front of the screens on my screened in porch.
Oooh, there's a little peek. See the window?? Okay, I'll give you a better shot. or two. okay maybe three.
There are the "love birds"


There are the "kidlet birds"


Here is a shot of both of them hanging between the frames.

I am linking this up with The CSI Project. This week is "Frames, Art and Wall Decor." Come by and check it out!!

So did you see how I HAND DREW that bird design. And I had to do a little research to find the design that I liked?

Well, Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chic could provide the answer to my woes.

She is giving away a Silhouette!! Oh and it comes with all kinds of stuff!! Now I am SUPPOSED to tell you to go to her site and check it out and enter for yourself.

I don't want to do that. I want it for myself. So, don't go. It's not that great.

But it really is.

Also joining in with:

Jenny Matlock: Alphabe-Thursday

Just a Girl Show and Share Day

"Ladies, Frost Yourself"

Name that movie....

Okay everyone, this is one of those things that turned out even better than I planned it to. I have to give you the whole story before I get to the “how-to” so just hang in there with me.

I have two side lights beside my front doors ( I think that is what they are called) that are solid, clear glass.

Here is a little piece of trivia about me…I’m one of those people who like to drive around neighborhoods at dusk (when it is getting dark and people haven’t put their blinds down yet) and see how others have their houses decorated. I’m not a climb into the bushes “tom the peeper,” more like the drive by kind.

But at any rate, I don’t mind people seeing in my windows, but I would like to have some control about when they can and can’t. I love the light that comes in from these windows so I didn’t want to block it completely and they are pretty narrow and I thought that blinds or curtains would be too heavy. I am a “Designed to Sell” freak and I saw how they used a spray paint “frost” and I thought “I can do that!”

The other exciting thing was I have been reading about the Rust-Oleum spray paint thing at Shanty 2 Chic and I wanted to participate, but I thought “I don’t have time to create a project just to play with the other bloggers.” But last night my hubby and I were getting ready to spray one of the windows and LO AND BEHOLD….the frosting spray I bought a month ago (before I knew about this party) is no other that RUST-OLEUM! Whoo Hooo! I was so excited! I get to play too!

Anyway, here is what I did.
I found a stencil that I loved at your friend and mine, Hobby Lobby. I was going to spray with the stencil directly on the window, but as I thought about it I decided that wouldn’t provide enough privacy. (If I did it that way only the "swirly" parts would be frosted, most of the window would remain clear) Keep in mind, I have had the spray frost for over a month so I have been pondering the how-to aspect for quite some time. Just last week, as I was falling asleep, I had a revelation to use contact paper and make a sticky stencil that would cover the whole window.

So I got the contact paper and traced the design (over and over) all the way down the paper. (I first cut the contact paper to fit the window). This is the contact paper stuck to the window with the design drawn on it.

Next I stuck the paper onto the window, then the tedious part began. All those cute little swirls had to be cut. one. by. one. Remember I wanted more frost than not so I had to leave the swirls on the window and remove the bulk of the contact paper.
Here is where it helps to be very meticulous or, in my ever so grateful case, have a meticulous husband.

More trivia about me, as you have in read in previous blogs I have decorating ADHD. I LOVE projects, but I love quick projects more. Maybe I am more of an immediate gratification kind of girl.

At any rate, each step of this project is a little time consuming. So,put on some good music, put in a great Christmas movie, or have someone to keep you company while you cut, cut, cut away.

Here is my hubby cutting away with an exacto knife. That sweet man spent a few hours cutting out all those little swirls for me.

Next, get your Rust-Oleum Frosted Glass spray and shake it sister. If you are in a tight space where you can’t isolate the item you are working on, use some kind of barrier (Hubby and I held up cardboard on each side of the window) to protect your walls and other close by objects from the frost shrapnel. You will notice on the can it says “spray in a well-ventilated area,” boy are they serious. I would hold my breath, spray about a foot’s worth of window, and then stick my head out the door and breathe! We had the front doors open, but that stuff is pretty stout. At any rate, we put about 2-3 coats on the window then the removal process begins.

As I mentioned, I am not meticulous—I am more the impatient type. I started to take off some of the swirls and a ripped a few small pieces of frost off the window. Then I decided I would have to score around the swirls before removing them. I did a few, but then my precious meticulous man stepped in and scored and removed the rest.

Drumroll please lblblblblblblblblbl...(that's a drumroll)

It looks amazing! I am so pleased with the results!

Thank you Rust-Oleum!! Thanks to you I am off to play with the other bloggers at Shanty 2 chic!!

Oh, now we just have to do the second window…..

P.S. The title is a quote from the movie "How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days"

I am also going to link up to Donna at Funky Junk...I just love her and her great ideas!