My Painted Palace

Another piece of the storage puzzle

2011-09-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

It truly does pay to frequent Goodwills and thrift stores in your area. I scored again and only spent $34.00 on 2 major pieces that I have been needing. Here it the first one.

She is a little flimsy but for $14.50 she will hold my daughter's undies and t-shirts just fine.

I scrubbed her up well and gave her a coat of white paint.

Oh, I also painted the handles chrome.

I have been seeing this technique of applying decals to furniture and I thought I would give it a try.

First you start out with an image. I found most of mine at
The Graphics Fairy
She has a great selection.
Make sure if you have writing on the image that you mirror it.

I had a heck of a time with that since my printer doesn't have a mirror setting but I figured it out with the copier at school.

Here is where I messed up on this one. See the big glops of glue that I left. I was thinking the old adage that the more the merrier would work here but it doesn't...

Make sure you have a thin layer of Mod Pog and make sure it is smooth, no big glops.

You then want to apply it to your furniture piece. you will need wait until it dries. This is usually overnight, but make sure it it fully dry. Then comes the fun part...

You wet the paper with a damp rag and go to town rubbing the paper off.

This is how it looks now.

Not sure how I am feeling about it but my daughter loves it and that's all that matter!

And we are one step closer to organization in the Painted Palace.

Stay tuned to see the other piece of furniture I bought the same day for only $19.50 and the cool idea I have for it...

As Always,

Karie

Linking to:
The Graphic Fairy

New Kitchen table

2011-08-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

I have finished my $3.70 kitchen table that I scored a while back.

I love the way it turned out. I now just need to finish the chairs. I have found my sewing machine in our storage shed so I now have no excuse not to get them done.

cute little detail on the edge.

Love the legs. Reminds me of the Eiffel tower.

Well now I need to be off and do those chairs. (been saying that for 3 months now)

As Always, Karie

Chalk paint give away.

2011-08-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

She is at it again! Robyn at Robyn Story Designs and Boutique is giving away more chalk paint. I have not used this yet but I so want to! It sounds like a GREAT paint for furniture.
Check her out and sign up to win.

Oh my luck!

2011-08-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of these days, weeks, years... where you are feeling a bit down on your luck? I have been lately. I know the pieces I want in my new house and I either can't find them or they are more than I want to spend. I have been getting REALLY frustrated about the lack of storage and the fact that my old furniture doesn't fit in our new little cottage. Some would be excited to start new but I have a problem with that.

1. I am poor

2. I am cheap.

I guess those kind of go hand in hand. We are trying to decorate this house on a budget and I am trying to stick to that budget. Did I mention, I am not a budget type of gal? The word itself makes me cringe and I envy anyone who can make and stick to one. I was not programmed to even know how to do it.
It is in no way, shape or form in my DNA.

I also know that there are bargains out there because all over blog land I see them every day. These people finding wonderful treasures and then making then even more fabulous. Well all summer long, I have been searching for a table to fit in my kitchen. This table can't be too big or too small, It needs to be round and have a cool base. See I wasn't asking for that much...
Well today the girl and I set out for a girls trip to the Big City. (that would be Omaha and yes it is the closest city we have and it is big enough) Since the main road to the City is closed still due to the flood we took a side trip through the small towns. While in the City we stopped at a few Goodwill's looking for a table but nothing, nada, zip, zilch.
Well on our way home we stopped at a Thrift store in one of the small towns. Not the best store I have ever been in and I was holding no hope for finding my table today. (we were holding our noses though, not the best smelling store either)
Out of the corner of my eye I spotted it. At first glance she was not that pretty, but once you get to looking closer she just might be a keeper. What was that the clerk said, all furniture is half price today. Oh I may be breaking out into a sweat now. I may have found "the one" She has good bones, she is round and had a very interesting base. I think I am in love and the price you ask... (wait for it)... $3.70. yes folks I just found my new kitchen table for under $5. I will have to invest another few dollars in spray primer but it will well be worth it in the end.
Would you like to see what she looks like before her makeover?

Ok, so she is not what you would call a natural beauty, but just wait. I can see her potential.

Look at those legs! I can't wait to get started on her.
And no I did not have a soft filter on my camera lens, it was so hot out that my camera was fogging over. Yuk to the Heat. Ok, I said it. After living in Minnesota for 12 years, I said that I would never complain about the heat but I did. Now it is out there and I will own it. People, it is HOT, melt the makeup off your face the minute you step out the door HOT.
Ok I am over it now and will not say another word about the HEAT,
Can't wait to show you pictures of my new table when she is finished.
As Always, Karie

Almost done

2011-07-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

With the kitchen, that is.

We have been unpacking and sorting through our stuff and I think we about have the kitchen where we want it. there are a few things missing but those will come in time (and when I can find them on my budget)

let's revisit a before picture

Now the after

I am kind of digging my open shelving. I can now get my pretty dishes out and they can be on display.

Some may say that my refrigerator needs to be cleaned off but I just can't live that way. If it is not right in front of me, I won't remember.

Still need to find a table, paint my chairs and reupholster them. All in good time.

Still searching for an island, as well. We are in definite need of more counter space.

These little beauties need to be installed as well. Ok, so my list is a little longer that I lead you to believe but at some point it will get done. WE will have a P.A.R.T.Y. when that happens.

As always, Karie

Awesome giveaway!

2011-07-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

Check out this awesome giveaway!

Oh what I would do with that chalk paint. I have been reading about it and it sounds like a miracle paint!

Check out this giveaway! since I am having a hard time posting her button I will also send you her way by this link for Robyn Story Design and Boutique

Try that and if you win you can share with me LOL.

As Always, Karie

What a month!

2011-07-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have had a chance to sit down and write. We have had a busy July. The first weekend was, of course, a holiday. One of my favorites, by the way. My sister and her family came up and we celebrated Logan style. Street dance, carnival, parade and fireworks. Our little town sure knows how to party on the 4th!

The next weekend found us traveling by by-way and highway to Kansas City for my niece's birthday

Miss Lauren at her 8th birthday party!

My sister planned a party at a horse stable with riding and fun.

How can you go wrong with Sm'ores on a stick?

The 3rd weekend in July, we ventured back up to our house in Minnesota to get the rest of our "stuff". I am still trying to block that trip out of my mind. I was dreading it from the beginning and I wasn't far off on the dread. Our tire blew up when we go there and that set us back a few hours. I still send up prayers to God in thanks that it blew at the gas station and not on the road. He was looking out for us that day!

The weather was horrible, as well. 110 degrees is not an ideal temperature to be loading and unloading a 26' Uhaul. It was not fun and tempers were flaring. Even though that part was terrible, we did get to spend some wonderful time with our friends and we got to meet their new baby. We always have such an awesome time at Camp Schieffer! What is not to like about good food, fun, friends and FIREWORKS! My son was in heaven when he got to personally choose the display we would be witnessing. He and his Godfather are very much alike in their love of fireworks and many other things.

The look on Baby Aspen's face tells the story. These kids are CRAZY!

Our month has died down a little with the last weekend and this weekend being spent unpacking and figuring out what the heck to do with all our stuff that use to fit in our big house but will in no way shape or form fit in to our little house.

Next weekend will be spent having a garage sale in our town park. I will be participating in the

Lincoln Highway Buy-Way 5 state yard sale. I have already started my sale pile. I have yet to tackle the storage shed for more treasures...

Hopefully I will be able to sell some of my treasures next weekend. I just have no room and my house is looking like an episode of Hoarders. Wish me luck and if you are in the area stop by the park.

As Always, Karie

Project for the day

2011-07-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

I have shown you my pile of feed sacks I have been collecting

Well I decided to put one to good use. I chose an Alfalfa sack. It even had some seeds left and now they are all over my floor.

It turned out great. It lined up so well on the chair.

Here is the before

(we keep the kitty bowl under this chair so that the dogs can't get to her food)

After

Love the stamp on the front of the chair, too.

That's about as creative as I got today, but it was a fun little project.

As Always, Karie

Linking to: Debbiedoos Newbie party

Just a note and an invite.

2011-07-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

It's almost scary how much I got done today. I am a bit nervous. We are getting the rest of our stuff from Minnesota this weekend and there is no way it will all fit in our new house. I had to go clean our the storage shed today so that we have room. It is going to be GREAT to actually sleep in a bed again. The little mat on the floor is not cutting it. There is so much to do that the anticipation may just get the best of me.

Wish us luck!

Also, join me for the before and after party over at

Thrifty Decorator Chick

As Always, Karie

My $5 desk

2011-07-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

So I told you how I am hooked on auctions and my recent purchase of a desk for $5.

It is great now but I didn't get any before pictures so you will have to take my word that it

was in pretty bad shape. I didn't know what color I wanted to paint it and searched through my boxes and boxes of paint. Red kept speaking to me so I thought, What the heck...

Let's go red!

Ok, so I have to still work on my cord routing...

but I was in a hurry to show you how cute this turned out.

Here is a close up of the glazing that I did. I also spray painted the handles a brown.

Ignore the wires... just look at the cuteness.

I even put one of my flower frogs to good use holding pictures and coupons. I love the picture of the kids because it shows me that they really do (or did) love each other. Some days I have my doubts.

There may still be hope that they will like each other again :-)

As Always, Karie

Sharing with Thrifty Decorator Chick before and after

My 1st Auction

2011-07-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I went to my first auction. I have to say, I am addicted...

I didn't bid on much and the one thing I really wanted was up

for bid the minute my son decided to have a meltdown so I miss out on that one. Lesson learned there,

leave the kids at home!

I did end up getting a few things and only spent $9 plus I had a great time.

First item

Ok, so I didn't get a before picture but we will call this the in-between picture.

I scored the vanity/desk for $5. Woo-Hoo!

Next up

This cool crate and all it's contents was $1. I have been collecting the feed sacks so I just threw them on top of my cool crate because it hides a little secret.

It's perfect for storing our pop or soda, depending on what part of the country you are from.

Inside the crate were these cuties.

Love these flower frogs and the planter works in my bathroom to hold soap

See, perfect. Trader Joe's has 2 bars of smell good soap for $1.99.

Yet another perfect thing!

I have yet to figure out what I am going to do with the flower frogs.

I also bought a small TV for $3.

So total, I spent $9 and got some great stuff!

I am off to cruise the paper for my next sale

As Always, Karie

Upstairs room

2011-06-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

Our upstairs room is almost done and I am OVER THE MOON excited! This is where the kids will be and all of their ~~crap~~ stuff will live. That is the plan anyway. It is a pretty big room and they will have to share for now. Sharing a room builds character, at least that is what I have been told...

before

another before

Here is the before. I know you are all digging the carpet. It was cool (in the 70's) but we are not carpet people. With kids and animals I prefer wood floors and there happen to be some under this pretty blue stuff.

and the after

Ignore the dots on the picture, guess my lens needs a cleaning.

I did a border of white paint all the way around because there were some imperfections around the edges of part of the floor and I have learned floor paint hides a ton of imperfections. I stained the middle Ebony from Min Wax. My daughter chose the color and I think it looks great.

We had one problem though...

I ran out of stain. I was trying with all my might to stretch what little I had left but I just couldn't pull it off. It was 10:00 at night and I was a little stressed. There is 40 miles and flood waters between me and my next can of stain. I am still adjusting to moving to a rural area and now it's a real journey to get to the city with all the water around us. Guess I will have to wait until Sunday to get more stain.

Here are the steps going up. They had the same beautiful carpet on them and were just a basic plywood so we filled the holes and painted them white. We found these cute little carpet treads at the HD. LOVE THEM! And you can't beat the price of $9.99 for 13. What a deal!

We will be moving the kids up there tomorrow and we are all excited!!!

As Always, Karie

A little more of the bathroom

2011-06-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

I am revealing the bathroom bit by bit because that is how it is coming together. I have the major pieces in place now and just need to add the finishing touches.

Here is the newest addition.

Of course, no before pictures but she was pretty rough. I found her at my dad's house and she was being underused and I just happen to think I could give her a better home.

Found the cute little basket at Hobby Lobby cuz you have to have someplace cute to put your extra toilet paper, blow dryer and brushes.

She is pretty well wore but that adds to her character. I painted it a yellow that I came up with after mixing a few yellows I had left over. Actually a few of my new rooms are paints that I just came up with... hope I don't need extra since they are a one of a kind.

Now I have to sort through all my pretties to see what pictures I will use and then come up with an idea for curtains in this room. Slowly it will come together (I hope)

I like this picture because it shows all my painting projects for this room. Walls, door, mirror, wall storage, and table. Wow, that's a lot of work and this is just one room I have been working on :-)

As, Always, Karie

Kitchen Reveal Phase 1

2011-06-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here goes my first remodel reveal. We will start with the Kitchen since with a little money we have the biggest transformation.

Here is the before. Might I also add, there is NO cabinet space in this kitchen. Yep, you are looking at ALL the cabinets that we have in the kitchen... An island will added as soon as the money fairy drops a load of cash in our direction. hehe

Yes the quality of the picture is less than great and when that fairy comes we will be purchasing a camera as well.

Do you see a difference???

We painted cabinets and walls, changed out the hardware and added laminate flooring.

This is a good picture of the floor and my labor of love. I snapped every one of the boards together and I am here to tell you it is NOT as easy and they make it look on HGTV but the results are fabulous, if I do say so myself.

I am also having a bit of a love affair with Fireking green Jadeite. Can't wait to find a few more of my pieces in storage. I am also loving the hand-me-down Ikea shelf. My kitchen is not even close to where I want it but we have a good start.

Here is the before of the eat in side of the kitchen

Here is the after with a little project waiting for me to finish. Can't wait to show you what I have in mind for this area and this cute chair!

As Always, Karie

Little projects I have finished

2011-06-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

We have been working 30 days straight on our house now and there is light at the end of the tunnel. We have actually gotten the main floor done with the remodeling. All that is left to do in this area is unpack and decorate (the fun stuff)

In the midst of all the painting and scraping and floor installing, I have managed to finish a couple of cute little projects for my bathroom.

I did not get a before picture of this cabinet but you can imagine what it looked like. Just an ordinary bathroom cabinet in an oak color.

Here is what it looks like now.

And the cute little knobs

I even get a little burst of color when I open the cabinet in the morning

Love my new cabinet.

I also made this mirror. I was going to buy a similar one at Home Depot a few days before I found this one.

I found this beauty at a garage sale for $10. Beats the heck out of $99 that I would have paid at HD.

Here is the before

Yes I started painting it before I got a good before picture but you get the idea.

Here is the after

Loving the detail on the top

Way more charm and character than the one I was going to get at the hardware store.

As Always, Karie

Progress

2011-05-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

We are gaining... We have been scraping, painting,sanding... and I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. This is where we were a few days ago.

All hands on deck. This is a family project so we are all pitching in :-)

My mom scraping the endless wallpaper.

Gross dusty mess. Glad we haven't moved in yet but it is no wonder I have been coughing.

The original wall. Plaster and lath with a cute little stencil.

Trying to collect all the different layers of paper. This is 5 of the 14.

So here is our mystery. Look what we found under all the paper. Wonder if that is where the original phone was? It's fun discovering things in an old house.

More to come.

As Always, Karie

The New Abode

2011-05-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

In the middle of moving to a new town and trying to start my own business, we purchased a fixer upper. Here are some before pictures of our new little cottage. I still have no idea how a family of 4 with 2 dogs and a cat are going to fit in this house so stay tune....

The house. Having grown up in a house with a big front porch, I had to have one!

The living room

The dining room. There was 14 layers of wallpaper on these old walls!

The kitchen. Oh the ideas I have for this room!

Here are just a few pictures of the house and yes there is some work to do. I will show you what we have gotten done so far in a few days. Can't wait until we can move in!

As Always, Karie

Well I did it!

2011-05-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the bank... I presented my business plan to start "My Painted Palace" I found a great building in my home town and now I just need to wait and pray that all goes well. I had a great feeling when I left my meeting. I am on an adrenaline high as we speak. This part is the worst process of starting a business, for me. I HATE asking anyone for anything so I have stepped WAY out of my comfort zone today.

I have so many plans and dreams to start this business. I have folders of ideas and lists of products I want to display.

So here's to the start of my new business. Wish me luck!

As Always, Karie

More progress on the basement

2011-04-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have been able to sit down and really work on my computer. Let me just say, I HAVE MISSED IT SO MUCH!!! Working full time has also put me behind in my blogging. I HAVE MISSED THAT SO MUCH, AS WELL!

Here is an update on the remodeling of my dad's basement.

Let's revisit the before picture

Yes as you can see, desperate need of an upgrade

Now let's move on to what I have gotten done so far...

What a difference a little paint makes!

Ignore the "mauve" chair... still need time to make a slipcover for it.

I will have to wait to show you the rest of the remodel project until after we move out.
We are in the process of buying a house and there is so much to do there! Can't wait to share our adventure of moving a family of 4 (plus 2 dogs and a cat) into a small bungalow. It's a great house and I we are excited to roll up our sleeves and make it ours. Stay tuned!

As always, Karie

Fixing ripped snow pants - a tutorial...

2011-02-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

Having moved to rural Iowa, my kids horizons have expanded (well their area of play has expanded) There's a lot more places to explore, climb, hike and scale. It appears my daughter decided to either take on her first barb wire fence or some sort of tree with her new snow pants on...

I was trying to figure out how to fix this without slapping regular old gray duct tape on it.

While cruising the aisles of Michael's yesterday I came across the stuff. It is beyond genius!!! Duct tape on a sheet in cool colors!

I gave my daughter the option of this pattern or a plain purple that would blend in. I was so excited when she picked this one! Girl after my own heart!

Next, I needed to figure out how to cut it in a cool pattern...

Cricut to the rescue!!!

Locked and loaded! At this point I am patting myself on the back for being so smart :-)

Mission accomplished!

As Always, Karie

uhoh...

2011-02-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

I found my childhood desk in my dad's basement and thought it needed a little makeover. There is nothing safe from my paintbrush...

Here is the before picture. It's your basic black little desk and when I was little it help all mine and my sister's treasures. I don't know that we actually ever studied at it, but it was there for us to do our hair and in the 80's there was a LOT of hair to do.

Here is the priming...

Here is where the UH-OH comes in... I have a mystery on my hands. What could have made this mark on my newly primed desk???

hmm... they left a trail...

How could she possibly be the culprit? She looks so innocent...

NAUGHTY KITTY!!!

She was lucky that I was able to get it off the sofa.

Not a very good after picture but I love they way it turned out. I painted it a very nice blue and glazed it with a black. I think I should have asked Santa for a better camera...

Now that it's all painted it will hold all my bills. It was much more fun when it held my childhood treasures.

As Always, Karie

Quick fix

2011-01-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

I found these pictures in the basement of my dad's house as I was redoing my remodeling. My grandparents got them in Mexico, probably in the 60's maybe the 70"s. They are of birds and the birds are made of real feathers. On the back it tells the story of the Mexican feather craft. They are pretty cool but they just needed a little update. Notice I already started taping the pictures before I even got a before picture...

here they are in the process...

And the finished product.

I love that a little paint can give you a whole new look!

As Always,

Karie

Starting the remodel

2011-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

We are moved. I can't say that we are settled but non-the-less, we are moved in. We have moved in to my dad's house for now while we figure out what to do with our house in Minnesota.

I have been SO busy the past 3 weeks scraping, painting and redecorating the basement of his house so we have a little apartment of our own.

This house has been in our family for 50 years. My grandparents built it in 1960 and it is full of their treasures. I am using as many as I can to give the room a retro look.

here is where we started...

I needed to get the sleeping area done first and work my way around the room. I moved everything out of the way and started ripping up carpet. I didn't care what was underneath I just knew this carpet needed to go.

This carpet may have been cool in 1970 but it has seen better days!

This is the floor I found when the carpet came up. I was EXCITED!!! I can work with this.

It definitely was not an easy project. This area took me 8 straight hours of scraping. I did have a supervisor making sure I did my job correctly :-)

and here is the first phase of my basement remodel...

Nice and clean!

On to phase 2...

As Always,

Karie

We are MOVING!!

2010-12-26T17:20:00.000-08:00

After a long debate and thinking we have decided to move back to my hometown!!! I am excited, nervous, happy, nervous, overjoyed, nervous.... this is a big step (not to mention culture shock for my kids) We have lived in Minnesota for almost 12 years and we have decided it is time to go home. God has made my decision a bit easier, too, thanks to the 3 foot of snow he has dumped on us up here the last month. Now we are not going any place tropical and yes we will have snow, just not as much for as long of a period of time.

Deck after first 2 feet of snow

my car after the first 2 feet of snow, we have had another foot on top of this.

We have also made this decision to move home so we can be closer to family. WE will be living with my dad until we can get our house rented out up here. I have MANY plans for my dad's house and can't wait to get my hands on a few projects there :-) My mom wont be far away either so I will have free babysitting now! (another exciting prospect for me)

We are moving in 3 days so wish us luck and stay tune for the trouble I will get in to fixing up my dad's house. He is going to LOVE it!

As always, Karie

It's been a while...

2010-11-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

It has been quite a while since I have felt like blogging. My life has not been very rosy lately but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. A few things have crashed down at us all at once and I hope that the solution that we have chosen is the best one for my family. We are moving back home!!! Which is a small town in Iowa and I am SO excited. We have lived in Minnesota for almost 12 years and although most of it has been great, it is time to get back closer to family. This being said, I want to share with you my latest project. Funny how once our decision was made to move home, I felt creative again...

I painted this cute little night stand for a very special little girl. Her name is Avi and I use to get to take care of her for about 2 hours every day when I worked at the gym. Her and her brothers were my buddies.

Here is the night stand that her mom, Lulu, found at Unique (mine and her favorite thrift store)

and here is what it looks like now...

I painted it Spring Green from Sherwin Williams

Gave it a little sanding

And a little antiquing...

and painted a cute little knob for it as well.

I gave it to Lulu yesterday and she told me it far exceeded her expectation. You gotta love that!
Well I am off to do some packing ~ well a lot of packing. I will keep you updated on our move south...
As Always, Karie

Halloween decor

2010-10-01T07:04:00.000-07:00

I love fall and I have been trying to decorate for it but it has been a slow go.

Here is what I've got so far.

I need a bigger boa to hide the cords from the TV

and give it a little more punch. Back to

Michael's

found these baby ghost pumpkins at my grocery store. Love them.

and since my birthday is in the fall, I get lots of presents that are related to the season. My sis gave me this cool pumpkin one year.

Better get back to decorating...

As Always, Karie

Almost done.

2010-09-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

A while back I started a project for a friend. She had these chairs and matching table. She bought 2 sets of them and just uses them side by side. There is a total of 8 chairs and 2 tables. We have been working on this is phases since July. We didn't want her family to go without a kitchen table and chairs :-)

Here is the color they started out as.

and here they are now

She wanted a little distressing

and here are some more

Sorry there was a spot on my lens when taking this picture.

And finally I got to do one of the tables.

Can't wait for her to see the table. She is coming tonight to get the chairs and I will deliver the table on Sunday.

Only one more table to go and I will be done!

As Always, Karie

Another fun little project

2010-09-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

I was cruising through the free stuff on Craig's list the other day and someone was giving away these gems...

I have been looking for spindles for a while now and have been finding them for about $8.00 a piece. HELLO I will take these guys for free!!!

So I gathered my supplies

And away I went

A little cutting, a little drilling and a little paint

Just what this corner needed (also a preview of my Halloween decorations)

I love free home decore.

As Always, Karie

Hooked on Canvases

2010-09-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

I have ordered 2 more canvases from the Canvas People they run great deals and I got the 2 small canvases for just the price of shipping!

I love deals like that.

Again I have to thank my friend Angela for taking the pictures.

Please check out the Canvas People and see the great deals they have.

As Always, Karie

Quick fix

2010-09-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

I have wanted a globe for a while now. I thought it would look cute in my blue office. I finally found one at Goodwill that was in good shape,

and a price that I was willing to pay.

I just didn't like the goldish color of the base so I got out my trusty silver paint and had a go...

Much better!

I love it! Just what I wanted for my shelf. With a globe in my office, maybe I will look smarter ;-).

As Always, Karie

Back from Junk bonanza

2010-09-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

I had great fun at Junk Bonanza.

I got to see gorgeous beautiful things

Isn't all of this fun! I really wanted it all.

here is a sofa, my friend Amy made from a claw foot tub. Isn't it awesome.

Would love this for my little guy's room.

This whole booth was great.

I even met Layla and Kevin Palmer, from the Lettered Cottage, as they were filming a segment for a project they are doing. I applied for this project but they chose someone else :-( I forgive them...

Can't wait to see what they are doing.

I was also so excited to meet them that I didn't get a picture of them. Maybe next time...

As Always, Karie

So excited!!!

2010-09-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

If anyone is looking for me today, I will be at the JUNK BONANZA. I am so excited. Heard many wonderful things about it so far.

Hope they are ready for me!

Junk Bonanza

New Gig!

2010-09-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

I am SO EXCITED!!! I have a new part time job! I no longer work at the liquisation furniture store ~ remind me never to do that again~ I found a new part time position at Pottery Barn Kids as an in-store designer. I can't wait to start. There product is so cool and it will be fun to design with.

Wish me luck! I start on Sunday!

Bathroom cabinet

2010-09-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have been working on my powder room since we moved in, 5 years ago. It had a horrible wallpaper and it took me weeks to take it off. It was a floor to ceiling pink and green floral nightmare! I pained it my favorite brick color and got the cool picture for $18.00 at Gordman's many years ago. Last week I decided I was sick of the oak vanity. I had been checking out Craig's list for a pedestal sink, but thought I would give painting a try first.

Here is the before.

Boring ol' oak cabinet.

for the base coat I used 2 coats of tinted primer.

Sprayed the hinges silver.

Then I glazed with a brown.

TA-DA... Bathroom is complete...

or is it???

I may want to paint all the woodwork yet. I really have way too much oak in this house. We will see, my work here is never done...

As Always, Karie

My Living room

2010-09-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a room that I haven't done much to but really like how it looks. I was fortunate enough to inherit the walls. They are faux yellow, brown and cream. I really like them. I was lucky that the furniture that I had from my last house went well in there. I was pregnant at the time I bought the "matching" set. My husband wanted something for our basement that we just finished and I just went out and picked out the set. I am not a good pregnant person and do not feel well most of my pregnancies. Hence that set... quick and easy. Next time I pick furniture I will put more thought in to it. It works for now and I like the results of this room. The drapery are from Pottery Barn and I got a great deal on them. They discontinued them for a while but then I see them in their catalog again. I love getting deals like that.

We keep the ottoman in front of the window because that is where our dog likes to sit and watch the world go by.

If we move the ottoman and put the tree there this is what she does...

She is not going to let the tree stop her from making sure the neighborhood is safe.

This is also the ONLY room in the house that stays halfway clean most of the time so I really like hanging out in here... mama needs her own space.

As Always, Karie

My new favorite place... Cat and the Fiddle

2010-09-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

So a friend of mine told me about the gem of a store. It is the kind that is only open once a month, for just a weekend. I finally got to go last week since the kids were in school and I finally had time to myself. I have been missing out! This place is great!

Thank you Amy, next time we will need to go together!

What a fun place this is. It is 2 old houses and 2 shops that they turned in to shops. Oh the treasures these shops hold...

Outside one of the sheds.

outside other shed.

please check out their website and visit them if you live in the Twin Cities area.

Cat and the Fiddle.

Have fun shopping.

As always, Karie

My office and my Dilema

2010-09-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

So this will be another project that I will show you in phases...
or will I...
I am trying to figure out if I should rip up the carpet in my office and just paint the concrete. I have been thinking about it for a while and I get up the nerve to so it, then I chicken out. I know I live in Minnesota and the winters here are brutal but I can get a nice area rug to help with the chill.

I have been working on it for a while and I thought if I actually put it on here, that would give me incentive to actually make a decision on the darn floors.

My office is the dump all room of our house. When we moved in here a lot of the house was mauve (yuk)
Let me show you what I have so far and I will still think about the carpet/painted concrete option.

Before, small corner. As you can see I was testing paints on the wall.

Small corner after, cleaned up pretty well.

The dreaded desk... before

Clean and shiny after...

other side of desk before

and after

So now that you have seen my office, I need to get back to thinking of the floors in here.

As Always, Karie

Back to school gifts

2010-09-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from The Magic Brush, Inc. Hers are far fancier and more detailed but I thought I would give it a go with a few items I had in my trusty craft closet and of course a few new items as well.

I bought the containers a while back and the words are from when I use to sell Uppercase Living.

The items inside the container...

Lint brush

stamp set and ink pad

lotion

hand sanitiser

and last but not least ibuprofen.

One of the lucky teacher that received this will be dealing with my son so I may need to refill their pain killer supply about mid semester.

Back side

and as you can see from the clock I had enough time to make a quick supper and get us to school in time to meet the teachers.

Good Luck this years to my kids, Mrs. Emmanuel and Mrs. Maxwell.

As Always, Karie

I think it's back...

2010-08-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

My creativeness that is... As I said in the last post, it left me when the heat rolled in a month or so ago. It has been HOT and we have been traveling and then I was working, and then I was not working (more on that later)... With all of that going on, I have been so uninspired. Well all of that has changed. I no longer work at the sweatshop furniture store so it is time for me to kick it in gear. I have been cleaning house and getting that back in order. The yard is next but in the meantime, I will throw in a few painting projects.

Here is my baby steps back in to painting. I have had this IKEA step stool for 5 years. This is the most used piece of furniture in our house. Whenever I hear it being drug across the kitchen floor, I know the kids are up to something.

It is one of the first things I bought for this house. My brother in law put it together for me and I have had every intention of painting it back then. Better late than never, I guess.

Love the new color. Guess I should, I have painted my powder room, front door, a table and this stool in the same color and I still have over half a gallon left so stay tune for more of this color to come.

stamp of approval :-)

While I was in the garage puttering around, I came across some chairs I painted for a friend and she has never come to pick them up. Guess I will be making a delivery tomorrow.

Here is the before of the chairs.

and the after...

A little priming, painting, sanding and sealing and we have a whole new look. She wants me to do 6 more chairs and 2 tables. Wish me luck...

As Always, Karie

ps.. ignore my messy garage

Question...

2010-08-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

I see all of you people in blogland still creating, painting and having a wee of a time crafting stuff... Here is what I want to know... WHERE THE HECK DO YOU ALL LIVE??? I live in Minnesota and this summer has been a tropical nightmare. We have had nothing but rain and high temperatures for at least a month. It is a steamy hot mess up here. I haven't lifted a paintbrush or even stepped foot in my garage for a very long time. It doesn't help that I work in a place that has little to no air conditioning so it is hot and sticky in there all day as well. All I want to do when I get home from work is lay down in my nice cool basement and read a book.

Oh wait, what is that I see? Next weeks forecast calls for temps in the mid 70s. Better start making my list now of things I would like to get caught up on cuz the garage door is going up and I will be back in business!

Praying for cooler weather,

Karie

Just saw this in my Facebook Friend's post thought I would share

it is NOT supposed to be this hot up here!

Oh so excited....

2010-08-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

I work at a mall ~ hate this economy for making me work there~ anyway... The furniture store I work at is moving out at the end of the month. They had people in today measuring for the new store that is going in to our current space and when I found out what it was I did that Dance of Joy right in the middle of our store. Now my fellow employees are quite use to me breaking out in to a dance or song but the customers usually look at me a bit funny... again I digress... The new store if going to be...

Gordman's

tried to be fancy and put their graphic here but that didn't work. I'm way too tired and it has been way to long of a day...

I love this store and it will be like having a little touch of home right up here in the land of lakes. This store (when it use to be called Richmond Gordman) is where I use to get my school clothes.I even got my first pair of leg warmers there and the coolest purple gym bag on the planet. Every time I go back home I have to stop by the one near my mom's house and see what's new. They have a wonderful accessory selection. I always find something that I can't live without. The prices are amazing too.

So this was my Oh so happy news for the day!

As Always, Karie

Winkflash

2010-08-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

My canvas of the kids came today. I have a friend in Iowa who took pictures of my kids 2 summers ago at an old farm by her house. She got some really great shots but I have not ordered any yet. Well, when I saw that winkflash was having 40% off their canvases, I had to have one. I adjusted the color of the picture on picnik ,my other new favorite website and this is the result.

My daughter thinks it is "embarrassing", but I think it is wonderful.

Thanks Ang for taking such a great picture of my kiddos.

I want to do something with this one, too.

Here is one of the 3 of us.

There are so many more to choose from.

Back to deciding which one and what to order, no rush though, it's only been 2 years...

As always, Karie

Great day...

2010-07-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

As days have been going for me, this was a pretty good one! I work at a furniture store and it is not always an ego boost for me. It is REALLY hard to work straight commission and you can get really down on yourself if you have gone all day and not made one sale. That was not the case today, I did an OK job in selling today. It was by no means record setting but it wasn't a big fat goose egg either, so that was my first big good thing for the day.

My second big good thing was that I came home to a package that I ordered from my friend Jenny in California. Jenny and I have know each other for longer than I will mention. Her BFF and my BFF were cousins so we all hung out on occasion and had a lot of fun along the way. Thanks to Facebook we have reconnected. She is now a proud owner of a wonderful company that makes soy candles, lotions, soaps and fragrances. You can find her products at

J Bella Boutique. Become a fan of hers on Facebook and you will see all the famous people she gets to meet, selling her products in LA.

Here is all my great loot. I got a candle, of course, some soap and a fragrance. LOVE THEM ALL!!!

The candle and soap are called Healing.

The little mini soap is called Zen Blossom.

The fragrance is one of her new ones called Bella Mia.

Check out her stuff and tell her Karie sent you.

My third great thing that happen today was my new friend, Amy made me a great necklace. I met Amy through another friend. She make wonderful jewelry. You can check out her website at Little Fish Designs.

I had so much fun at her house tonight looking at all her creations. She is an amazing person who juggles three little guys, a graphic design business, her jewelry making, a husband that builds custom motorcycles in their garage, and one BIG dog. She is busy getting ready form the Junk Bonanza in September. I can't wait to go to see her wears.

Here is my way cool necklace she made me.

Here is the closeup. She put my kids initials on it. So excited about this!

(excuse the quality of the pictures. there was no light in my kitchen at we are in the middle of a thunder storm)

Guess I better call it a night.

As always, Karie

The white table

2010-07-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

This is what I have been working on this week. You saw a preview of in on the pink table post but I will show a few more pictures.

We had a bit of an accident in the back of my truck on the way home from the thrift shop. The table tipped over and sorta fell apart. I scrubbed it down with Simply Green and glued it back together.

Here it is put back together and painted an antique white.

Here it is all finished. I think it turned out pretty good. My daughter said it's not her favorite... humm what does she know... :-)

As always, Karie

Driving through Iowa

2010-07-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

People joke with me about being from Iowa. There is no place I would rather have grown up. Yes, I must admit driving down I-35 is not like driving through the Rockies but there is one thing my kids love to see...
Wind Turbines! Especially my 5 year old. He has a book that explains all the parts of this massive piece of machinery. He likes to tell me all the parts and how they are made. I think I have a little engineer on my hands. I am glad this keeps them busy on our 6 hour drive back to see my parents.

Here is the scenery on our trip through Iowa on I-35.

Are we the only ones on this road???

Look at the bugs on my windshield eeww

More bugs, more wind turbines...

My next trip, I will have to take some pictures of the area of Iowa where I am from. It truly is beautiful in the Loess Hills area of Iowa.

As Always, Karie

Pink table

2010-07-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a little piece that I picked up one my favorite store, Unique! I didn't get a before picture but I am sure you get the idea. It was dirty and stinky! This is what it looked like after a coat of paint.

More on the white table later. As you can see, from this picture of my garage, I have a few projects in the works. I chose the hottest day of the year to start all of these. My husband kept coming out to the garage to check on me to make sure I hadn't passed out yet. It was HOT!

This is the water after wiping it all down with Simply Green. YUK! and the veneer from the bottom shelf pealed off.

Here it is now! Think she is kind of cute!

This was my first time using chalkboard paint and I am hooked. Wonder what else I can apply it to???

As Always, Karie

Stop the Baking...

2010-07-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

As I have stated before, I am not a baker. Especially when it comes to cakes and decorating them. They always taste good but they are on the bad side of UGLY.

While at my sisters last weekend, the kids wanted us to make a Big Top Cupcake. I thought it would be a piece of cake (pun intended)

My Brother-in-law won a mold from one of his company things.

It stated in the directions that if you want a bigger cake that you can use 2 cake mixes. I went for it and did the 2 mixes and even left some out to make cupcakes. I don't suggest you use 2 boxes. Stick to one because this is what happens...

you get a MESS. Mine didn't bake even and I would have had to cut most of it off to make it look right. So... I thought I could make one of those I'm Topsy Turvy cakes. Trust me when I say, they will NEVER have to worry about me putting them out of business...

Still not very cute...

BTW, Like my cake plate I made. See here for instructions on how to make one.

Even adding a flag didn't help.

Look at these happy girls with their sad cake.

They even tried to blow it up with a sparkler :-)

The summer birthday girls didn't care, they liked it. I guess everyone else did too since there was nothing left after 8 adults and 7 kids were finished with it.

I will try harder next time.

As always, Karie

Today's Project

2010-07-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today I had most of the day off. I say that with a little bit of a chuckle... I did a Home Staging consultation for about 2 hours today and came home in time to run the 8 year old to her softball game. When we got home I cleaned the kitchen then she decided it was time to redo her room. I put my foot down on painting the whole thing AGAIN, so we did a few cosmetic things. There was a floating shelf that was hung on her wall and had fallen off a few months ago. That went back up (I really don't like those things by the way, all the measuring and toggle bolts, aarrgghh) I then decided to get the supplies needed to make her a coat rack. I have seen some really cute ones in blogland and thought I could copy them.

Here was the first one I saw at 9 o'clock Dance of Joy

Then I saw this idea at Drab to Fab

And this one was my favorite at From My Front Porch to Yours

Off to the Home Depot I went to get my supplies. I spent a total of $20 and some change.

I already had screws, sandpaper and paint to finish it all off.

This is the Cool Tool of the day. I had them cut my 2x2 in to a 5' piece and I cut the other pieces. I got a 4x1 and a 3x1 and cut 2 pieces each of 4x4 and a 3x3. I then drilled a hole in the center of each of them and ran these bad boys through.

Don't know where they came from but thought they would work for this project.

progress...

Put the 8 year old to work since it is for her room.

The finished product. I will say I should have used a 4x4 to make this. I now need to go back to the Depot and find something to make this more stable. If you notice all the pictures that I was so crazy about, they all used 4x4s. Lesson learned... I think it is cute anyway and you wont even see it once she gets all her bags and hats on it.

I can check this off my to-do list but need to add stabilizer brackets to a new list... The list never end here.

As Always, Karie

ps. I will have some pieces left over so stay tune for what I will do with them. They are cut and ready for me to find more patients to get through another project. Since I tackled two (hanging shelf and coat rack) I am in patients deficit right now.

Linking to From my front Porch to yours , Drab to Fab and 9 o'clock Dance of Joy

We are back!

2010-07-06T06:39:00.000-07:00

The kids and I just got back from our Griswold vacation across Iowa and down to Kansas City. We started our trip last Thursday and headed to Logan, Iowa, my home town. The kids LOVE going to Iowa and the whole small town vibe. Every time I talk to someone there I get reprimanded for talking to strangers. I have know all these people for my whole life and the kids don't quite get that concept. Now they just ask me how I know everyone. I love my hometown. My dad was also in the hospital there so we got to get him out and take him home on Friday. He was a happy boy!

Waiting, not so patiently, for the discharge papers. The kids were trying to entertain Grandpa.

After we got him out, we took our customary tour of Harrison county. It is so beautiful there. Growing up there, you don't appreciate how pretty it really is. You only concentrate on getting out of the small town. Now I want to go back to a simpler life...

After our tour the kids and I hopped in our family truckster and headed to KC to stay with my sis.

Teaching the 5yr old how to spit seeds.

What is the 4th of July without watermelon and seed spitting.

The cousins in their Red White and Blue.

My brother-in-law and I had a salsa making competition and I WON!!! Whoo Hoo, I can now add award winning when talking about my salsa.

The award winning salsa is on the right :-)

That is some of what we did this weekend. I have more to share later. I am off to work...

Hope everyone had as great of weekend as we did!

As Always, Karie

My new obsession

2010-06-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

I saw these at a Junk Market the other day and I have been making them ever since. My only problem is, what am I going to do with all of them... I know I can give a few away, but really someone should really stop me...

Here is the one I put in my front yard.

Here is the group I put out for the yard sale.

Now on to the tutorial :-)

First gather all your supplies (as Martha would say)

Real intense so far, huh...

Glue around rim of base.

Center on plate and let dry. Are you exhausted yet, because we are almost done... let dry for 24 hours and tah-dah, you are DONE!

Here is my collection of bird feeders and cake plates.

Here are some more that I saw at the Junk Market.

They are so fun!

As Always, Karie

2 outa 3 aint bad...???...

2010-06-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

So have you ever had one of those days that you just tried to do too much and at least one thing didn't turn out as you had planned? Well Friday was one of those days. I decided on Wednesday to have a garage sale as you can see in this post. It was not a total failure of a garage sale I did make $100.00 that I didn't have before. In between customers I decided that, since I was stuck in my garage, I would start working on some of the projects that have piled up out there.

Here is a cute little chair that I picked up at a garage sale for $3.00.

I had some cute fabric in the fabric box that I thought would work on it. My daughter was in need of a chair for her new "art studio" in my nice clean basement. So we were set to redo this chair.

All finished and ready to go downstairs.

Final home. Again ignore the background decor since that will be getting a redo sooner or later. Project complete and turned out pretty good.

Next I moved on to another chair I had to work on. This one was easy. Just a simple spray and on to the front porch it went.

Again, pretty happy with this one.

Now on to the biggest failure of my painting life...

First I will show you the cute picture of the good part of the piece, which turned out exactly how I had envisioned it in my mind.

not too bad from here

Again, liking it...

Pretty cute and just what I had in mind...

But wait...

WTH... I was obviously getting really tired at this point and didn't get the inside of the table right... back to the drawing board and it will be a while before I try crackle again....

As Always, Karie

ps. I did have a lot of big toys left and I put over 7 items on craigslist, so I hope they sell there. I want all this stuff out of my house... After watching an episode of Hoarders last night, I am very determine to lighten the load around here :-)

Linking to Domestically Speaking

Basement phase I and II

2010-06-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

Phase I

Last Winter I decided to tackle the basement... I had not been down there in a while and, to be quite honest, I was scared to even look... Right after Christmas I thought I had better bite the bullet and do a little organizing. Now the pictures I am about to show you should not be held against me. It was out of my control, really it was...

I had sent the kids down there to play on occasion but had no idea it looked like this.

Notice the empty shelves in the closet, THAT'S BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS ON THE FLOOR!!!

After a stern lecture about the value of the stuff we own, we (I) set out to organize.

3 bags of garbage, I thought it would be more. I also put a few things on Craigslist and they went fast.

The kids are enjoying the clean floor. It has not been seen in a while. I took the clean up this far since it was winter and in my mind had great plans for a garage sale. Well fast forward 6 months and I decided it was time to enter...

PHASE II

I decided this week to have a yard sale. I don't like having them but with this much stuff, I am hoping to get rid of a few things before hauling it off to Unique (our version of Goodwill). I should get my sister up here from KC. She is the QUEEN of garage sales. I need some of her luck to rub off on me.

So here is the garage sale pile. See it is already in the garage. Good start, I thought. Now I have to tag everything. I also need to tackle my daughter's room yet tonight, but that is a whole different story and probably a whole other garage sale. The girl likes her stuff, don't know where she gets it from.

here's the loot, ready for the garage door to open.

Now on to the basement...

The shelves actually have toys on them and they look pretty organized.

Stay tune for Phase III where I will actually put paint on the walls and make it look cute.

As Always, Karie

Jam - Part Deux

2010-06-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well from a few post ago, you can see that I attempted to make strawberry jam. Since I don't follow directions well I got about 7 jars of strawberry syrup. Let me tell you that I am not easily defeated so I thought I would try just one more time to see if I can really make freezer jam.

Here are my 2 cherry trees. Since the branches are bending from the weight of the cherries, I thought what the heck I will only be out the cost of the bag of sugar and 2 boxes of pectin.

I pitted (really need to invest in a cherry pitter, if there really is such a thing any more), mashed stirred, and boiled just like the directions told me (this time) I followed those things to the T.

See my son in the background with a worried look on his face.

I gotta say, I am impressed with myself! It turned out GREAT! It went so well I made two batches. That is 5 pounds of cherries before pitted and 2 pounds of sugar. We will have jam till next year when the cherries are ready again!

As Always, Karie

Laundry room

2010-06-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

So I am not a fan of laundry. I don't see the point. Don't get me wrong, I love having clean clothes but really. Everyday... wash, dry, fold and put away, get them back out, wear them and repeat and repeat and repeat.

YUK!

This being said, I love my laundry room. I have painted it a green color. I was shooting for Apple green but the paint name is actually Green Banana from Dutch Boy.

My cat thinks she needs to be in the same room with me at all times and is showing us how well she eats. I will have to post a picture of her slim physique.

This time of year you can actually see the coat rack!

I'm still in search of a chandelier...

As Always, Karie

Giveaways

2010-06-19T12:41:00.001-07:00

Once again no giveaways from me, will have to work on that though...
The Thrify Gypsy has a great giveaway celebrating her 100th blog so click here to check it out!

Green Night stand

2010-06-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

I finished the nightstand tonight. I really like how it turned out! Too bad I have no room for it or else i may be tempted to keep it...

I sold my other piece of furniture today, so the kids and i took the proceeds and hit the garage sales. I tried to stay away from the ones that had toys :-) Speaking of which, we will be having a ~~toy~~ garage sale in the near future. I visited our basement the other day and got really scared... who knew toys multiplied when not supervised... Well there will be a lot of tears, I am sure, but they need to go. Who knows, maybe that can be my new studio when the snows starts to fly. Wow did I just get off track, I was talking about furniture at garage sales and it turned into a rant on toys.

We did find some furniture to paint so stay tune.

As Always, Karie

Latest project...

2010-06-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

So here is my latest project that I have taken on. I picked it up free on Craig's list.

The drawers needed repair and it was dirty. Did I also mention that it didn't smell great either. What do your really expect for free???

It even had its own residents (at this point my sister would have thrown it away)

I got out my helpers and glued the drawers back together and scrubbed everything down. I was not worried about damaging anything.

It was just a bit nasty...

Well now that it has been scrubbed, glued and primed, we will have to wait to see what I decide to paint it...

Sold!

2010-06-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

I sold my first piece of furniture yesterday and I am OVER THE MOON! I put it on craig's list and within and hour I had an email saying she would pay me double if I met her half way to deliver it. Well, Yeah! Not a problem with that! So I packed up the kids with snacks, video games and ipods and away we went.

even made a cute little tag so she can tell her friends how awesome of a job I did :-)

Bye little blue table. Now on to the next project which I will post sometime tomorrow...

As always, Karie

Strawberry Freezer jam

2010-06-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was on a mission... I wanted to make Strawberry freezer Jam much like Kimba did over at

A Soft Place to Land. Due to my lack of patients and inability to follow directions (that's why I make a better cook than a baker) I set out to make my jam.

My kids and I trekked to the Farmers Market and bought 4 pints of strawberries.

We came home, washed and mashed them just like the directions said but here is where I went wrong. I bought Sure Jell and their recipe calls for 4 cups of sugar to 2 cups of strawberries... Well I know somewhere I read that you could do 1 1/2 cups of sugar to 4 cups of strawberries ~ after some research it was a different pectin product that has this recipe. Well being the sceptic that I am I figure the pectin that I had would work just as well with the ingredients I had in mind. Well wrong-o-reindeer...

I now have 7 jars of strawberry syrup of sorts. It still taste great. I know because I was bound and determine to have some on my toast this morning. With the lack of sleep

I had last night I came up with a few other uses for my strawberry syrup... Warm some up to pour on pancakes, ice cream topping and add to home made ice cream. I was tired so that was all I could come up with...

As always, Karie

Good Ol Summertime

2010-06-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

Summer has officially begun at our house.

The last day of school was Thursday and if Friday was any indication of what the summer will be like, we are in TROUBLE!

By Friday at 1:00 we were having no play date meltdown. We called everyone we knew to come play an nothing. Well, I guess I will have to be more proactive the rest of the summer. Mama got stuff to do like read, paint, dream, nap. I can't be having all this drama on my hands, too :-)

Wish me luck as this summer continues...

The kids best behave if they don't want me turning in to her...

As Always, Karie

2010-06-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

So this week didn't go as planned... I wanted to get at least 3 pieces of furniture done but that didn't happen. I was all full of energy on Monday when I started my mission. Things happen though. My daughter had her last day of 2nd grade this week, I had to work my real job and I had to take care of the family, too. For some reason they think they need 3 meals a day, so over rated ;-) not to mention the mounds of laundry I seem to do but never get put away.

I did manage to go to my favorite store, Unique. It is a thrift store located in Burnsville and they have an additional discount on Tuesdays. LOVE IT! They have everything there. I get my son's pants there since he goes through pants so fast that it doesn't make sense to pay full price for his clothes. This last Tuesday I purchased a night stand, a vase and bowl (more on those later), 2 pairs of shorts for my son and a pair of Capri's for my daughter and the grand total of my purchase was $16.00. Great deals, people!

Here is the night stand I purchased. I think this was $4.95 with 25% off. You have to do the math since that is not my strong point.

Here is what it looks like now! Thought it turned out pretty cute, if I say so myself. I will see how it does on craigslist. I have also thought of keeping all this furniture for my staging business. We will see, so many options, so little time :-)

Free Giveaway For Pottery Barn

2010-06-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

No I'm not that fancy of a blogger yet to be able to give away free loot but check out this blog and see what she has to offer.

Here is the good news. Over at Urban Farmgirl there is a giveaway offering up a $50 Pottery Barn gift card! How sweet is that?

Karie

p.s. I just learned how to do links on my blog, I'm in heaven!!! Oh what fun I am having. Now I just need to learn how to do a fancy signature and I will be in business!

Thrifty Treasures for the week | Southern Hospitality

2010-06-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

Thrifty Treasures for the week Southern Hospitality: "Thrifty Treasures for the week"

My first attempt at Glaze

2010-06-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

Before

Here is a table I found at a garage sale. I wasn't even planning on stopping but when I saw this, how could I not. I offered $3 and it was a sale! It was already painted an awesome color, I just needed to jazz it up a little. I took a detour to Sherwin Williams to buy some glaze and away we went...

After

I love it! I love how the detail of the piece is brought out with the glaze. I am so happy with it. Now to put it on Craigslist and see if anyone else will like it.

Karie

linking to http://southernhospitalityblog.com/thrifty-treasures-for-the-week/-

Morgan's room

2010-06-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

My daughter's room as I had imagined it... before she got hold of a Teen Beat magazine and now her walls are covered with Taylor Swift and a bunch of other people. I still love the pink walls (what I can see of them) I did learn though to not send my husband to Home Depot to buy the paint. He came home with Flat paint and it doesn't hold up well at all! I will eventually need to repaint it with a satin or eggshell.

2010-06-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

So it's done... The animals were VERY curious as to what mama has been doing... now on to the cedar chest that I have been wanting to paint for 5 years...

Almost finished

2010-06-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

Here is my grandma's table, almost finished. I crackled the top and antiqued the sides. Can't wait to be done with it and put it in the house. Oh so many projects, so little time.

The Remake of an old table

2010-06-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a table that my Grandmother tried to give me for years. Each time I would politely refuse. After she passed away, I decided to haul it home and see what I could do with it. My original thought was just to stain it, then I was inspired by this website http://www.themagicbrushinc.blogspot.com/ and decided to give my creativity a whirl. Stay tuned for the finished product...