C is for Cardboard

Call me crazy, but I never knew the "card" is card table would actually mean "cardboard." I just thought it was because you played cards on them.

Yeah, I'm a natural blonde-or at least I used to be. It was awhile before I caught onto the purpose for speedbumps too. I thought they had radars in them-what good is that if you have to slow down to go over them, you don't catch the speeders!

If you have been following Decorating A-Z, you saw my last auction revamp. If not, check it out here. Now for my next victim, er I mean project....

I bought about 4 cardboard tables (let's call a spade a spade, are you made of cardboard or not??) at the same auction I got Scarlett in and they cost me $3 a piece. They cost more then Scarlett because I had to fight some people off for them. Anyway, here is one of them before:

They sat in my garage for a couple months until I could get the nerve to try to cutify them. My plan was to Mod-Podge some cute scrapbook paper on them, but I wasn't sure how the messed up tops would handle all the glue and such.

When I finally got up the nerve, I hauled one into the downstairs den and decided to try to tear off the top layer of paper (that was when it dawned on me that it was made of cardboard). Huge mess, but kind of cathartic.

Another side note about me: I am a little OCD about peeling paint and paper. It is all I can do not to peel it when I come across it. If you ever invite me to your home, check the seams on all your wallpaper, it's an illness I tell you. You've been warned.

Here is the during: (yeah I started getting nervous...)

But notice the wooden legs, that is what made me want to pay $3 per table. I love the gams on this thing.

After I ripped all the paper off (which took a little while), I primed the top 2-3 times to seal the rest of the paper. I found several papers that coordinated and starting cutting 4 inch squares to use for the top.

I marked off the diagonals on the table because I wanted to lay the papers on a 45 degree angle. I placed the papers on the table in the pattern I wanted then tried to pick them up in an organized a fashion as possible. I got nervous about using Mod-Podge because I struggle with the decoupage bubble blues, so I opted for spray adhesive. I sprayed the table then began laying the pieces where I wanted them.



I had to work on the "tiles" for the edges and my fingers were a sticky mess, but it turned out pretty good. I painted the sides of the table in a coordinating color (a light aqua blue) then covered over the whole table with a couple coats of Mod-Podge to help seal it. Then the bubbles began to appear--BLIMEY! I let the glue "cure" overnight and I gave the table about 3 coats of polyurethane and trimmed out the paper edges in coordinating ribbon. Aside from the bubbles she is pretty cute.





I did another table later in the week. This time I cut the paper into 6 inch squares and I used Mod-Podge. I thought the 4 inch tiles looked a little "quilty."

Here is the best tip I can give you about decoupaging: use a tool to help you smooth the paper down. I used to just use my fingers to work all the bubbles out, but this time I used a "Pampered Chef" scraper and IT. WORKED. BEAUTIFULLY!!!! You could use a credit card or a tool like the kind you use to put those vinyl words up, just use something other than your hands. I got ZERO bubbles on the second table. I didn't change any of the other steps. It turned out so much better. Here are a few shots of it.




My plan is to sell these two, then make one or two for me to keep. I already have the black and red papers that I want to use. (Any bets on if some of it is toile???)

I'm linking up to the following (make sure you drop by and see all the cuteness!!)

I've also link up to Reinvented's Trash to Treasure Tuesday and Kimba over at A Soft Place to Land:

2nd Installment---GIMME A B!

A bad day thrift shopping.

I had one on Saturday. I had THE PERFECT day planned. The closest big town is Paducah and I just knew they would have some lovely cast offs waiting for me to scoop up (insert hand rubbing, evil laugh here

Hubby and I drove all the way to Paducah (45 minutes), went to Salvation Army, Goodwill and Tuesday Morning and it was a total bust.

Yeah, you heard me. NADA. First of all Salvation Army was closed as was Tuesday Morning---WH-A-A-A-T??? (Hubby said good thing it isn't called "Saturday Morning" or it would be false advertising-yeah I gave him that look too. Don't mess with a girl on a bad thrift shopping day).

Thank goodness for Hobby Lobby, good old Hobby Lobby. You won't let me down.

I have read about and seen so many cute things people have bought for NOTHING at Goodwill. It makes me jealous.

I covet your Goodwills. Mine stinks. Really, well not literally, but it is really a sad place. Tons of clothes but no good stuff. I would dig through mound of stuff for cute things for my house, but I just can't dig through racks and racks of clothes. My ADD kicks in and I just can't focus.

In my town's defense, before we had Goodwill, we had (and still have) "Angel's Attic." It is a local thrift store that the proceeds support a local free health clinic. What I think has happened is people are trying to support Angel's Attic more than Goodwill. So honestly, Angel's Attic will come to a thrifting girl's rescue on occasion. We don't have a Salvation Army so I can't gripe about that.

Thank goodness where I live we have two "antique malls" that are part junk store, part cute boutique. People rent booths and sell all kinds of junk, er I mean, treasures. But man, have I found some cute things. I am telling you this because not everyone has a great Goodwill, but you may have a neat little "hole in the wall" store that looks weird from the outside, but get a buddy, get some courage and go inside. You never know what treasures await you.

Here are my favorite finds from my local "junk stores"

Snowflake (75 cents)--I hot glued it to a mirror on my mantle

Odd architectural thing ($11)

Christmas trees ($15 for the pair, they had a sticker on the bottom with the original price of $75)

Picture of some unknown kid with a dog (but it reminds me of my youngest daughter and our dog) ($5)

Black bench ($45)--yes this one was pricey, but this thing is about six feet long and thick and chunky. I love it in my foyer!

Cruel-work pictures ($7.50 for 2)

Amazing wood framed mirror--note the detail ($30)

White terrarium thing ($5)

Shadow Box ($6)--you'll have to hear more about this on another addition of Decorating A-Z--maybe that will make you come back!

Wire Terrarium/Apothacary Thing ($12)

Yeah, some of the things are a little more expensive than what should be considered for a "thrift store." But another thing you need to know about me is that I am not very patient to wait for things to be marked down. Plus, as you know, at a thrift store if you see it, buy it or it won't be there tomorrow!

I guess the lesson is that "the grass is always greener on the other side." Or maybe more like, "the grass on your side isn't as bad as you think." Aw, heck, I don't know the lesson, I just need to learn to appreciate what I have in my own town. These stores have been pretty good to me!

Don't forget (when the weather warms up) to hit yard sales and auctions. I love auctions! Maybe one day I'll show you my "stubborn-I'm-not-going-to-let-you-win-it-you-strange-man-chair." But we need to get to know each other a little bit better before I reveal that vindicitive side of me.

I'm not sure who I can link this up to yet, but keep checking back I'll try to find something fun! I am still trying to educate myself on the mclinky, party thing. I really want to include you guys on the Decorating A-Z. Thanks for looking!

B is for Bargain Buffet

I have had it on the "Coming Attraction" section of my blog. And today is the day of her big reveal. Because today begins a new week and, thus, a new letter in:

I went to THE BEST AUCTION ever this past fall. I call it THE BEST because hardly anybody was there. You know what that means, stuff goes for cheapity cheap (that is lower than cheap). If I remember correctly, the auctioneer practically begged me to take this off his hands. He even threw in two end tables for the same price. Are you wondering the price?

$2,

yes you read that correctly!

$2!!!

Okay, so it was kind of nasty, but it only needed a good cleaning. So I brought it home.

Scratch that, my husband took it to our storage shed because I was auction obsessed and had bought several pieces of furniture "for later" and we had completely run. out. of. room at our old house, and our house was going on the real estate market in about 2 days.

I am also obsessed with "Sell This House," "Designed To Sell," and "Get It Sold" so I knew I had to clear out and make my house look as spacious as possible. Wow, did I ever just digress...sorry, back to the regulary scheduled blog...

Here is the before. For $2, I wasn't scared. Oh and it did have drawers, they were just away on business the day I took the picture. (Really, I have no clue where they were, that just sounded funny in my head, at 11:53pm, as I was writing this)

So I set out to prime and paint her.

I am lazy and I DID NOT want to sand it.
And here she is as "The Lady in Red." Perhaps I should name her....

Let's see...

From here on out, "she" will be referred to as "Scarlett."

I used the same paint from the front door (Sherwin Williams Crabby Apple) and then brushed some glaze over the details on the doors. I changed out the hardware to a hammered bronze and I absolutely love it. Here are some close ups of Scarlett, as well as her in all her Christmas glory. (I hate to have Scarlett all dressed up and no where to go or no one to show.)

Scarlett's side view

Scarlett's doors

Scarlett's feet

Scarlett dressed for Christmas

Scarlett with her "Merry Christmas" hat on

I cannot wait for the spring auction season...wood furniture beware! Join me later in the week for some more "B" posts. (A was hard, but I already have 2-3 ideas for the letter of the week!) Check back for updates on some parties that I join in on. There are some amazing ideas floating around. I am definately in on Donna at Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special, come visit!

I am also joining in at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday--come sit awhile!

How about Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered? So much to see and so little time...get busy checking folks!!

One more party to join! Bec over at Beyond the Picket Fence is having a 100 ideas under $100 (in honor of the publication by the same name) Come over and support her and her first Linky party. (She is way braver--or should I say smarter---than I am I can't figure out how to do all this button and linky stuff!!

Okay, I'm not trying to be a show-off, a girl just CANNOT be all dressed up with no where to go. So, you can also visit Scarlett at Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Friday.

Ode to A's

This post is being revisited for The CSI project. This week's challenge is "Frames, Art and Wall Decor." I haven't fared well in past weeks, but my competitive side (and my approval addict nature) keeps me coming back for more!! Come visit the CSI project and get all kinds of inspiration--I have found something fantastic every.single.week!


Happy New Year everyone! If you read my last post, I am attempting to organize my DIY projects alphabetically. Some of the projects have been completed a little while back and some will be brand spankin' new. At any rate, I get easily overwhelmed by projects, kids, work, school, blogging, etc and posting in ABC order (that's the grade school teacher coming out in me) will help me keep my eye on the glue gun.

That being said, this week I will be posting on things relating to the letter A. Some will be in the literal sense (like today's blog) and some may be related to a feeling the project creates that starts with A. In other words, I may be very creative in my blog titles as well as my projects!

My hope is to open this to others to participate, but I really have no idea how to create a button or a McLinky thing, so it may be a little while before I can get social with some of you! Until then, please comment (I am an approval addict) and enjoy my attempt at organizing my mind!!

My oldest daughter had a large blank wall above her bed that was screaming for some love. I felt like it needed some grown up decorating love, NOT 9 year old love (i.e. posters of the Jo-Bros or something similar).

Yeah, I'm a little of a control freak when it comes to my house. I do let the kids have some decorating freedom in their rooms, I just relegate it to places I can't see from the doorway.

Anywhoo. I enjoy using initials in decorating. I tend to emphasize our first initial since my girls and I don't share the same last name. My girls are referred to as the A's. So in Avery's room I decided to do a collage of the letter A over her bed.

First step, collect a variety of A's in different sizes and fonts. If you live close to Hobby Lobby (unlike me) you can get chipboard letters when they are on sale. (Many times my decorating notions don't coincide with Hobby Lobby sales. I am also an immediate gratification kind of person, so I got some of my A's full price.)

Next, I chose some scrapbook paper in the colors that would match my daughter's room and Mod-Podged them to letters.

I decided how big an area I wanted to cover and painted a large blue square above the bed. I decided the sqaure needed some more help, so I painted dots around the square to act as a frame of sorts. Then I layed the A's on the floor to determine the placement I liked best then moved each A to the square and traced around it with chalk to make it easier to hang.

Finally, I started hanging each of the A's. A few weeks later, I felt like it was still missing a little bling, so I added some silver glaze to each of the dots to give them some dimension.

Ta Da! I am very pleased with the outcome and my 9 year-old likes it too. It may not be the Jo-Bros, but it works for her!!

Join me for some more Decorating A-Z and tell your friends!!

By the way, I am linking up with Donna at Funky Junk Interiors and her Saturday Night Special. Come check out all the great ideas she has!

I have also linked up to Roeschel at The DIY Showoff today too. Please drop by and visit her and see some of the great projects she has done and she has found. (Sorry, Roeschel, I could not get the button to work! I had to put the link in another way :( )