Sunday, July 31, 2011

Dumpster Drama

This is a long one, my friends, but oh such a good story- stay with me!

Last Saturday night on the way to a birthday party for a friend's daughter, Trina spotted a pair of really cool window panes and a door sitting by a dumpster. A friend and I walked down to the dumpster with Trina to check them out.. The pieces were huge, but we just had to look them over and imagine what we could do with them despite the obvious- they were never getting into any of our cars. Oh well! The three of us decided to climb on the side of the dumpster and peer in to see if we could snag any treasures that would actually be able to make it home. This sounds easy to do- but we were in buggy, humid 90 degree heat, in the dark without flashlights. Did I mention we were all in flip flops and holding on to the dumpster with one hand and reaching for items with the other hand? Who knew dumpster diving was so acrobatic?

Anyways, we grabbed a few interesting [read: dusty/dirty] boards and walked back to the birthday party, leaving the boards in the front yard. I needed to get my keys and we all were in need of water. Well, we got sidetracked (we were at a birthday party, after all!) so it was maybe an hour later when we went outside to put the boards in my car. But to our horror they were gone! I was so upset, but I tried to remind myself that they were free and I did leave them outside for a while...[sigh]

Amidst all this, another friend of ours, who drives a 12-passenger van, arrived at the birthday party and my eyes lit up! I asked him if he would mind loading his van with the window panes and doors and drive them over to my house. He said yes! I was so giddy I think I actually skipped down the street. He and Mr. Lemon loaded up those heavy, heavy windows and door and took them to our house. Yeah!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We owe you some yummy cookies!


I was still upset about the lost pieces- we worked so hard and sweated so much to get them! At church the next day I told Trina the sad news of losing the wooden pieces. Our friend (whose family had the dumpster in their driveway) heard about what happened and said "I thought you two picked those pieces- but my dad put them back in the dumpster!" Hooray! Mr. Lemon and I went after church to get them and there they were! Hooray! We also were able to grab a set of large shutters.

Thanks, friends for all your help!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Ode to Garbage Night

I love garbage night. It is predictable, practical and yet exciting at the same time. The same time every week people put out trash and things that they don't want and in the morning the items are gone!  I am thankful for neighbors who do not take items to thrift stores but would rather leave them out along the curb for me to put into my trunk.  Every week Mr. Lemon and I get into our car with a flashlight and gloves and drive around our neighborhood- not all weeks are stellar, mind you, but we have fun.  We have gained a patio table, a bookcase, and a few other items that just need a little love or a good cleaning and can be brought to life again.

Here is this week's discovery:


I will have to wait to clean him up- my parents are coming to visit (hopefully with a sander in tow)!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

"Candlesticks meet Shabby Chic"

These candlesticks also made their way into my hatchback while visiting my parents. I have always liked them but thought they were too dark and massive to fit our decor.



I decided to give them a "shabby chic" makeover by painting them a creamy white. While it was a better look they still were missing something...


Chandelier crystals!! This would mean ANOTHER trip to our favorite thrift shop! I was there earlier in the week and saw a box of mixed crystals behind the jewelry counter. It took some sorting, digging, and praying but I was able to find a matching set of eight!


I loved the way they turned out!





What do you think?

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

"The Secret Garden"

During my last visit to my parents my only goal was to come back with treasures (aka raiding their attic). Although I have a small hatchback Mazda I was able to acquire four antique frames, two ornate candlesticks, some random decorating props, a large mirror, and this beautiful door knob:


For some reason this reminds me of "The Secret Garden"...maybe it's the contrast of the brick and stone against the vibrant green bushes and shrubs. Either way I loved that book and I adore this piece!







Isn't she beautiful!

I could already envision her being mounted onto a piece of distressed wood, but since I was hoping to keep this project simple I bought a pre-cut pine wood board from AC Moore.



After sanding the board I painted it white and then sanded it again to give it a distressed look. I really wanted to find a vintage copy of "The Secret Garden" to modge podge a page to the distressed board, but couldn't be patient enough to hunt one down. So after talking with Johanna (I always need to hear her opinion) I decided to use vintage sheet music instead. Which meant we would HAVE to take ANOTHER trip to our favorite thrift shop! I'm sure they know us now as "the lady with the orange purse (Johanna) and "the lady with the stroller" (Trina).

Even though I still think the excerpt from the book would have been awesome, I am content with how the vintage sheet music turned out:





All that was left to do was to mount the ornate knob...






I really do love this piece!


Now...what to do with the candlesticks?

Friday, July 22, 2011

Is This a Living Room or a Thrift Store?

I had a good surprise today! I was driving home from a friend's pool today and came across three beautiful chairs in a driveway. I immediately called Trina and continued to circle the block three or more times.
Me: "Trina! Trina! Trina! There are some chairs in a driveway- do you think I should jump out and take them?"
Trina: "How about you say, ' Hey mind if I take these chairs off your hands?' instead?"
Me: "Oh right. That IS more polite and less desperate sounding."

I parked the car and got out, dressed in my swimsuit and cover up, still smelling like chlorine. One chair had some broken caning on the side, one had an issue with the seat and the third seemed perfectly fine, but outdated. I started inspecting the chairs when I saw a friendly face and asked- "What is going on with those chairs?" with the least amount of excitement and desperation I could muster. (This was very hard for me since I am usually very animated.) It turns out that the chairs were indeed for free and the folks giving them away are related to a friend from church. We had a pleasant little chat and then I noticed my husband (whom I refer to as Mr. Lemon) walking from the train station to his car, which he parks on the same street we were on. At this point, I was thinking, "What else can we take, now that we have a whole other car to fill?" We grabbed the third chair and an electric heater and drove home. This is why I always keep bungee cords in my trunk!

So now all three of the newly acquired chairs, plus the two chairs I need to weave seats for, my Frenchy blue cane chair, and Harriet the velor chair are in my living room with my couch and love seat. Walking from one side of the room to the other is like going through a maze and definitely is poor Feng Shui, however, I couldn't be happier!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Topiary Tutorial

I made three topiaries today. This is such an easy project I thought I would show you how I made mine.

There are the supplies you will need: Newspaper, rusty buckets, lots of hot glue, sicks from my yard, sheet moss and ribbon. I needed a little over half of a bag of moss to complete one topiary.

I wanted to show you the progression from stick to small ball to full size topiary. Once you get the topiary top to the size you need, you can start gluing the moss to the paper ball. I like to start at the top since that is what you will see the most. Take your time and cover the entire ball using the larger pieces of moss first and then going back to fill and bald patches. When you finish covering the ball, cover the base section with moss.
Each bag of moss is a bit different, so try to mix in the different colors to make it look more natural and less like patchwork.
I tied a ribbon on the stem to add a little interest. Looks cute! You can change the ribbon with the seasons if you would like, so don't have to hot glue the ribbon.

Again I apologize for the quality of my photos... I know I don't have a top of the line camera or even great photo skills, but I am happy to be able (and remember) to document each project. Thanks for your patience.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Hot Hot Hot!

This July has been really hot, which always slows me down.... waaaaaay down. The humidity means that I cannot paint furniture, so I have been staying busy indoors with smaller projects (more on those a bit later). I have been trying to keep my plants on my back porch alive, but this is proving to be more difficult than I thought. So far this growing season I have:
  1. planted and killed three trays of basil and zinnias that I planted from seeds. I am a little sad about that since I thought that zinnias were "no-fail plants". I guess Burpee never met me...
  2. destroyed over half of the herb garden I was given as a teacher's gift. I guess it is okay since I am not really in love with cilantro.
  3. over-watered a pot of flowers given to me at the end of the school year. I didn't realize the pot didn't have any drainage holes, so maybe it is not entirely my fault?
  4. watched my once-healthy house plants turn from green to brown. Don't worry Mom- I think I can salvage some...
I have managed somehow to keep my tomatoes from being fried in the sun and/or eaten by the rabbit family that lives under my shed. Maybe there is hope for me yet!
My little tomato plants are doing better than I expected...

Whoa! Someone should take care of those weeds in the background!

Semi-thriving herbs on the left and dead zinnias on the right. No more seed packets for this girl!

What have you been growing this summer?

Monday, July 18, 2011

Thrifting Success!

Today Trina and I went to one of our favorite thrift stores. It is so much fun to go with a friend! I bought a pair of chairs and a box of weaving materials to create the seats (including a VHS tape!). I never would have bought the kit outside of a thrift store since these materials do not come cheap. I am excited to learn a new skill and to see the end results.


The other big item I purchased was this chair.  I thought for sure it would be out of our price range judging from the woodwork and quality. It ended up that it didn't have cushions and they were going to chuck it! Apparently another woman came into the store earlier and purchased the matching ottoman and the cushions off of the chair, saying she didn't know how to upholster. How odd to buy only cushions from a chair! We were told we could take it if we wanted to for the price of $1!!! Trina and I squealed with delight and were jumping and giving each other high-fives in the store aisle. The guy at the thrift store probably never saw two people get so excited about a chair before! 


I don't know which project to start on first!

What about you? Have you ever used chair weaving materials? We'd be happy to hear about it!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Another Lamp Re-vamp

Yet another lamp that came with my house. Mr. Lemon and I  are very thankful about the free lamps that were left in our house. We moved from an apartment with overhead lighting, so we did not need table or floor lamps therefore we didn't have any lamps, so thanks, past owners!

Anyways I liked the shape of the base but hated the shade. This lamp sits on my sewing table so I found myself picking away at the shade, but I had to keep rotating the shade so I wouldn't have a bare bulb in my face. I ripped off the vinyl "ribbon" shade- it was one long strip of off-white vinyl wrapped over and over and over around the frame. Using some leftover drop cloth, I hot glued the material around the shade. To redo the base, I just applied two coats of white satin spray paint. I finished it off my adding some white gimp around the edges to the shade. The white base and gimp trim looks good against the off white hue of the shade. I am happy with this project and I hope it inspires you to give new life to an old lamp you may have in your home.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Johanna's Living Room Pillows


The pillows in my living room were looking drab and were in need of a makeover. The small brown pillow is filled with down feathers, making it uncomfortable and itchy. The large bolster never had a cover so it always looked unfinished. I recovered both in a brown and cream zebra print to give the room a little pizazz. They pop against my red sofa.




I added the bows to keep the pillows together.

These pillows were a nice break from my larger project: slipcovering a pair of chairs. More on that project later...

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Lamp Re-vamp

When my husband ("Mr. Lemon") and I  moved into our house, we inherited some interesting pieces, including this lamp.  I mean I love America as much as the next person, but I do not feel the need to include my patriotism in my home decor. We have eagles on many random items found in our house- light switch plates, garden gate hooks, etc, but this lantern-eagle-candle lamp with the huge shade takes the cake! Obviously this had to go.


I came across this lamp. I liked the base but the shade did nothing for it. (I apologize for the bad photos- I guess I was just too excited about the new lamp!)


When I saw this shade I knew it would be a good match! I put it in my living room for now.

What about you- do you have any quirky decor in your home?