Rachel Pink Pants

Happy Birthday Miss Monroe!

2011-06-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

I know I have been MIA this whole year...but I am starting my comeback! And I just wanted to send out a birthday wish to one of my inspirations...Miss Monroe!

Happy would be 85th Birthday Marilyn!

A Couple More Pics of Jelly Bean

2010-12-30T14:51:00.000-08:00

Isn't she cute?!? And she is soooo tiny. All of my pups are going to the vet tomorrow so I can report what she weights...but I don't think it could be more than 1.5 pounds right now.

Jelly Bean

2010-12-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

Look what I got for my Birthday!!!

My Mom surprised me with this adorable little 6 week old (now 7 weeks) puppy! I named her Jelly Bean and I am in love! More to come on little Jelly Belly but here are some pics for you guys!

Not So Silent Night 2010

2010-12-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

For those of you that do not live in the Bay Area, every year a local radio station (Live 105) puts on a concert. This year I went with my bestie Sandy and my manfriend Rob. I wasn't as super excited to go as my counterparts...but I really enjoyed myself...and the fried foods and beer I consumed prior (and during) the show! And like any show where Sandy buys the tickets...we had GREAT seats.

The line-up consisted of a local band I don't know the name of (who was pretty good), Broken Bells, The Black Keys, Phoenix, My Chemical Romance & The Smashing Pumpkins. I didn't really know any of these bands well, but I found that when they started playing, I knew quite a few songs from every band!

The three of us started the evening by walking over to a local bar in San Jose called the Britannia Arms Pub. It was a cute little place that is British themed, with cold beer, tasty deep fried foods and horrendous service! But all in all we enjoyed ourselves...especially me!

Once we got to the venue we had some poor guy take some pictures of us after we attempted to do one ourselves...yeah...didn't quite work out!

but even with a third-party taking the photos...look how crazy Rob's eyes came out...it is like he has laser beams for eyes...so funny!

Anyways, we all had a blast and here are some shots of the show...enjoy!

Christmas Cards

2010-12-09T15:33:00.000-08:00

So I got back my adorable Christmas card design from African gray...I love it! While it doesn't quite capture the cuteness that is Miss Bunny B, I understand that really what could?!?

Have you guys ever seen Whitney's work before? She has a great shop on Etsy and she is SOOOOOO talented! I have wanted some custom illustrations from her for all of my furry four-legged friends for some time now, and when I saw that she does holiday card illustrations I knew this was the right time!

She sent me the file so that I can print them myself (I elected this option as I have a print shop set-up in my house) and so I can customize the insides for who I send them to...which was a perfect option for me. So for $30 I got the cutest Christmas card design, plus I can print a large version out and have it framed...a nice piece that I can bring back out each December!

So it started with needing to send her some pics...both pics of the pups faces and their profiles so she could draw them accurately. So I sent here these:

And then I got this...

Which was adorable...but Bunny's coloring was a little off (she looked gray and not the warm browns that she actually is) and her smile was crooked. So Whitney made the corrections in a day and I got the final version...which I love! What do you guys think?

Weezer!!!

2010-12-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

I went to the Weezer concert on Monday night and it was AWESOME!!! I saw them at the Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco and they played the Blue album in its entirety! Actually, they played basically a greatest hits set, took a 20 or so minute break, then came back out and played the Blue Album! The concert was amazing! The Masonic center is a pretty small venue so everyones seats were amazing, plus Rivers came out and preformed songs from the crowd. Here are some pics!

This is a shot of what the stage looked like from our seats. We were in the ninth row on the balcony...just off stage center left.

This was the opening act...the Limousines. They were pretty good.

From the first half of the show...

Rivers coming up to the balcony and singing...

And preforming the Blue album...

I hope you enjoy!!!

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON

2010-11-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

Have you guys ever seen this video? I stumbled across it while reading the oh-so-funny design blog of Manhattan Nest. It just might be the cutest thing I have ever seen! The "my only regret in life is that I will never have a dog" line just kills me...so adorable. I found myself actually connecting with Marcel and feeling bad for him...haha...what is wrong with me? anyways, I have already watched this video like 4 times (and it is only noon) and I suspect I will continue to watch it for a long time...I hope you guys enjoy it!

Floors Update

2010-11-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

So this will be my last floors update until my final post with pictures after they are all done, but I wanted to just share with you how the first day of sanding went. Now I guess it is hard to tell from these photos (mostly taken in the dark with an iphone) but after the finish was sanded off them they are a really light ash colored...sorta like bleached wood. They are actually really pretty.

can you see the difference from the warm honey color that they were before sanding them?

And that lighter colored stuff that appears to be masking tape is actually a sandable wood filler. This filler is around the base of the floors covering up the nail holes that remain from the tack strip that held down the carpets being removed. You also can't really tell from the photos but that filler is actually all over the floor filling in the holes that remained after I pulled up all of those staples.

Now the reason you see so much filler here is that the boards were REALLY bad here in the hallway. Not only was there a lot of staining, but the boards were starting to come apart and there were large gaps between the boards. And this filler will really help keep the boards together, as well as make my home more energy efficient (since removing the carpets actually made my house less energy efficient).

And remember the really bad termite damage?

it is now all filled in:

(the landlord didn't want to pay to rip up the floor boards and replace them...so hopefully it will turn out ok! Fingers crossed!!! And as you can see from this picture...the molded was just at the surface (not throughout the whole board) and it was easily sanded off.

Here is another board that had termite damage that has gotten the first round of wood filler...

And lastly I wanted to show you a picture of where the wood floor meets the fireplace. The nail hole damage was the worst here as the people who put the carpet down put in two rows of carpet tacks and then folded the carpet down onto itself. Which I guess worked great and looked ok, but it left some pretty bad damage to the wood floors underneath. But I guess that isn't something you worry about when you are installing carpet...

More Than We Bargained For...

2010-11-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

So ripping up carpets and refinishing the hardwood floors has already turned into a much bigger project then I originally anticipated.Even with basic things like just ripping the carpet up. I didn't realize just how many nailed down rotten carpet tack strips were going to remain and need to be removed with a pry bar. And I didn't imagine JUST HOW MANY STAPLES were going to be stuck in the floor. And let me tell you...prying up staples in a wood floor is hard work! I mean look at how the carpet was staples down to the hardwood:

And to make the project more manageable, my boyfriend and I ripped up the carpet in sections of the house so that we had time to complete "finish" off cleaning up and prepping that one area before we moved on to the next. This actually worked out really well for us, so that each night when I went to sleep, the house wasn't a complete disaster and I knew that the one section we had just worked on was clean (well as clean as it could be), prepped, and ready to be sanded. Because I am a little crazy, this method worked really well for me. So we started with the dining room, moved on to the hallway, then did the back of the living room/entryway. These were all done fairly quickly (as in rapid succession) and took care of the carpet removal for most of the house.

So the only carpet that was left was a large piece that covered out living room. And since we hadn't found really any problems with the hardwoods underneath in the rest of the house, we surely WERE NOT ready for what we found on Saturday morning when we removed the rest of the carpet! We found this:

Pretty extensive termite damage (like down to the subfloor) and mold! And the mold smelled so bad! As soon as he carpet was removed the whole house smelled of it. And I have been sick for a few weeks now and was out of work last week with what I thought was another bad cold. So I went to the doctor and she told me that she thinks I am having some sort of severe allergic reaction to something in my house! And well now, I have a pretty good idea what that "something" is. So Rob went to home depot and bought me two of these...

We are doing a mold test inside the bedroom (where my reaction tends to be the worst) and one right outside of the bedroom. So hopefully it will come back as nothing...but at least now I will know! Now back to the floors...check out some of the termite damage...

So I cleaned up the mold with the only thing in the house I thought would really kill the growing spores...Kaboom mold killer with bleach!!!

After I was done using this (and then mopping the floor with Murphy's soap) the smell was gone and the floors looked much better...

So today marks the first day of sanding...and I will post pictures of the progress along the way. Fingers crossed that this can be done by the end of the week!!!

And another definite big benefit of getting all of the carpet up to expose the original 90 year old hardwood underneath (and getting paid early and discovering it Saturday afternoon) was.........having a great dance floor for the new Xbox Kinect and the game Dance Central!!! Yes that is right folks...I have a new addiction! Dancing in my living room to Dance Central using the Kinect...it is amazing! As soon as I have the hardwoods refinished you can bet your sweet little behinds that I will be hosting dance parties at my casa!!!! And I am sure there will be more on that latter too! Happy Monday!

I Am In Love With A Font...

2010-11-09T16:55:00.000-08:00

And his name is "Feel Script!" I have been lusting after this font after seeing it on a few different Blogs...especially this one:

After seeing this font I knew I need to find out what it was and get it!!! So I started doing some research to find out what it was called and I wasn't having any luck. And then I saw it spring up here:

And here:

In fact, these three blogs gave me total design envy...and inspired me to commission the amazing Torri of Digital Confections to design my website. So I sent Torri on the search to find the font as well...but both of us were unsuccessful. So I settled on the font that you currently see on my website (which I like A LOT), but it just wasn't "the one!" And I know that all of you out there KNOW EXACTLY what I mean by that!

But yesterday I FINALLY FOUND IT!!! The font is designed by none other than Alejandro Paul and it can be purchased on Veer! After reading a little more about the font I see that "Feel Script has more than 1200 glyphs including: stylistic alternates, contextual alternates, titling alternates, swashes, and ligatures." -- isn't that amazing?!? So on Monday morning when I get paid...this will be the first thing that I purchase!

If you are obsessed with fonts the way that I am, I am sure you will be compelled to do the same after seeing some of their promotional material...

Now I just wish the font didn't carry a $99.00 price tag!!!

Testing...

2010-11-08T17:16:00.000-08:00

> Testing out my new mobile blogger application with a picture of my
> Buddy Man!
>

Refinishing Hardwood Floors

2010-11-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

So I currently live in a house I rent. The house is very cute but definately has its quirks. Here is a picture of the front of the house from when I first moved in.

One of the quirks the house has is that when in was built sometime in the 1920's it was not built on a slap foundation. You can see that from these two pics of the back of the house:

And just for fun so you can see the rest of my dwelling, here are two shots of the backyard:

Now back to the no-slab foundation -- besides the fact that this means that walls tend to crack (messing up your freshly painted walls) and during some seasons certain doors in the house won't open/close (due to swelling and house movements), this is a little bit of a concern when you are a constantly-looking-for-projects-to-complete freak like I am. Originally the house had hardwood floors, and when I moved in there was wall-to-wall cream color carpeting which looked nice, but with me living in the house along with 4 animals...the carpets didn't stay cream colored long. Even with regular carpet cleaning...it is just hard to keep cream colored carpets cream if you really live in your house. But I could see the hardwood floors in my closets looking out and me and laughing because they were there but I couldn't have them.

So I really started thinking about what hardwood floors would be worth to me. I did some reearch and found that I could take care of the refinishing of these floors myself, and it wouldn't be in the thousands of dollars like I had initially thought (and by thought I mean told by friends who had worked with professionals doing their own houses). And I determined that hardwood floors would definately be worth $50 a bucks more in rent to me, so I proceeded with contacting my Landlord...who surprisingly was fine with the idea of redoing the original hardwood. Turns out, she even has a friend who is a professional who might be redoing the floors for me! If she likes what she sees, she will come in and sand and seal the floors for me herself...I will just have to rip up and dispose of the carpet & pad, pull up all of the staples and nails (the floor is tongue and groove) and pry up all of the carpet tack and dispose of it.

Turns our that "just" I mentioned is A WHOLE LOT OF WORK! I really didn't know what I was getting myself into!!! And remember when I mentioned that my house "moves" and it does not have a solid slab foundation? Just imagine what this means to toungue and groove floorboards that are 90 years old and have been covered in carpet and not maintened in a couple of decades?!?

Now my puppies are potty trained to pee outside; however, sometimes they have to use puppypads that are strategically located in the house in case I cannot let let outside. Now for the most part the are really good about using the pads, EXCEPT that my little girl Bunny Bear will not use a pad that someone besides herself has gone on. And her brother Bowser will "mark" a pad as soon as she goes on one. So what this means for me is that I am changing out pads several times a day due to my finicky little girl...although I really can't blame her. If you ever saw what Bowser could do to a pad...you wouldn't want to use it after him either!

So I realized that Bunny B was having little accidents (if you can call them that) on the carpets while I was at work or during the night sleeping. And then Bowser would mark those accidents seeing that he is a typical boy dog. And while I was pretty good about alwasy find these accidents and throughly cleaning up after them, last week when I met with the lady who may be helping me redo the floors last week she terrified me that the hardwood floors under the carpet were going to be ruined. I was so scared ripping up the carpets this weekend as I was fully expecting that in the two places that Bunny Bear "goes" the floors were going to be warped and black with urine stains.

Well thank goodness this was not the case! However, it isn't as nice as it sounds. There was a little puppy piddle staining on the hardwoods near the bathroom door, but that was NOTHING compaired to the condition that most of the floor was in. Here are some picstures to show you what I have been up to. I promise I will post a full reveal and tips to what I have discovered along the way once I finish the project.

These is the floor in the small hallway between the two bedrooms and the bathroom (where the floors really were the worst...so far):

And do you like the not-so-little cutout of the floor where whoever installed the wall heater (obviously put in since the house was built in the twenties)? I am not really sure what can be done about that...

And how the carpet installers thought it was a good idea to prepare the inside of the house for a hurricane...seeing that the insire floor was covered in staples ensuring that the carpet pad was adheared to the floor VERY WELL...

The first area of carpet I ripped up was in the dining room...and the floor boards are not in that great of shape there...this is definitely where the non-stable sub floor has come into play the most.

And as you can see from this picture, whoever installed the cheap vinyl linoleum at the front door entry way was A REAL professional...got to love the uneven cuts and excess glue that is everywhere...

But after sweeping, moping the floors a couple times and then polishing them with wood cleaner, the floors look MUCH better!

Dining room:

Living room:

And the entryway:

While It May Be A Little Early For Christmas...

2010-11-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

I was just browsing through my picture files and I found my "Christmas 2009" folder. Last year for Christmas I had flown home to Wisconsin to celebrate the holidays with My Dad, Sister and Step Mom. My Dad comes from a big family (like really big...his Mom had 15 children!!!) and last year he hosted the annual Skifton Christmas party, so it was s good time to come home!

So a little background on my Dad...he was a Christmas buyer for 20+ years, but recently he has made a switch to reping Christmas products and even designing some himself! So while Christmas has always been one of my Dad's favorite holidays, the last few years it seems like he is in a competition with himself to top his previous year!

So I just wanted to share some pics from my last Christmas with you, and share some of the AMAZING decorations at my Dad's house. I hope that these pics inspire you!

This is the formal dining room set-up as the "head table" for my Dad's brothers & sisters:

And did you see that mantle ?!? that has to be one of my favorite areas in the house decorated by my Dad.

And these are the angel collection also shown in the formal dining room:

And this is the ever growing Santa collection...

These are just some of the animated pieces that my Dad has throughout the house...

Here are some pics of the snow village that my Dad creates ever year. In fact, he designs many of these little houses that you can buy in larger retail stores and they are titled with family members names...like my sister Madeline has a "Maddy's Dance Studio" Christmas house!

And my Dad likes to be funny and put "interesting" little details into the village each year, so here is a close-up of a man being eaten by a bear...

And my personal favorite decoration every year is our "Snow Baby" collection. I absolutely adore them and we have had some of them since I was a little girl. So I really enjoy watching this collection grow and seeing them get put out every year!

This is the main front door (there are several)...

Another great area of decoration is the Christmas trees! Now my Dad and Molly have a large house -- it is 3 stories, 5 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths and a full gym. But last year they had a ridiculously high number of trees in the house! They had 39 trees, and 8 of them were fully hand decorated...CRAZY! So here are just a couple of my favorites trees from last year...

And last year my Dad won the best outside light display in the Chippewa Valley! This was their picture that was in the paper!

And this was the little excerpt that Molly had included in the competition...in case you were wondering just how crazy my Dad may be...

"As some of you may know, our Christmas light display this year can be seen from outer space. Rolly has truly out-done himself, not only creatively using store-bought items, but inventing some brand new, one-of-a-kind items for our front yard. The entire yard, house, shop and treehouse are timed to 25 different Christmas carols playing from 6 outdoor speakers. This is not a computer generation! We have also gone green using almost exclusively LED lights. Features include the most extensive blowmold snow man collection I've ever seen, a Santa/snowman inflatable motorcycle gang coming down the wooded path, a runway for Santa to land, LED trees, a 14' tree of lights and so much more. We hope you can come see the spectacle in person, but if not attached is a short video displaying some of his hard work." -- Molly

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and inspiration. I will try and get my step-mom Molly to send me some pics from this year's set-up!

Halloween Fun!!!

2010-11-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of my Halloween party on Saturday...the bar and food table came out really good!

I spent a lot of time on the bar...making labels for all of the alcohol and tonic water bottles and buying cute cups. The large skull bucket I used for holding the 30 gallons of blood punch I made, and it worked out great with a 7 lbs block of dry ice to keep it cold and fogging...

And here are some close ups of the bar. I really wanted to create some height and depth to the bar, so I went to a local thrift store and spent a few dollars buying some old books...which really gave the bar a nice old feel to it!

I got these straws and the cup from the dollar store...and the drinkers all seemed to really appreciate them!

I used these labels from Somewhere Splendid only I didn't use them on favor bottles...I used them for tonic water for the "non drinkers" to make there own sparkling beverage...

And these are some labels I got from Martha Stewart that I tea stained and applied with a little spray adhesive. These were some more of the the toxic tonic mixing potions for all of the non-drinkers...

And I also spent a bit of time working on the food table...I was really pleased with how it turned out! This is a picture of it all laid out before I got any of the food actually made and set out...

And here it is in all of its food glory!!!

The "congealed blood" label for the ketchup was one of my favorite labels...it just came out so good!

I have a white couch and so I wanted to protect it from me and the rest of the drunks at my party, so I decided that covering my furniture in white sheets would be a nice way to protect the couch AND add a creepy effect to my house for the party...so I ran to Target and picked up a $9.99 set of their Twin XL sheet set & a $19.99 Queen sheet set on my lunch break on Friday. It was TOTALLY worth the $30 when I saw how dirty the sheets were on Sunday morning! Plus I can keep using them every year I throw a Halloween party to protect my poor white furniture!

And man do I love cheese cloth! It really is the best Halloween decoration out there! I added it to the tops of all of my lamps, tables, candles, flowers, you name it and I probably covered it up with some cheese cloth for Halloween! Although I wasn't able to find any black cheesecloth out there like some other Bloggers have shown...

And here are some pics of my mantel decorations. Sorry about the TV being on...but I was NOT about to turn off the world series just to get some pics of my decorations...haha...

I got the letters for the Halloween banner from Jenny at All Sorts. It was as simple as printing on some Superfine Softwhite Cardstock from Paper Source on my work printer! Shhh....don't tell my boss...haha!

And for what you have really been waiting for...THE COSTUMES! I will start with my lovely boss Mychele and her husband Dave...they are such a groovy couple...hahahaha...I crack myself up!

And another one of my bosses is dressed up as Ariel. And here husband is dressed up as a cross of Price Eric and the Situation...haha...typical boy just trying to take his top off all night!!! (sorry about their creepy eyes...stupid camera phone!)

Miss Sandy Pants the Pirate and her friend Julie the Pimp!

Lori the Witch, Lorna the Referee, Lili as Cruella Deville, and Michelle the Hippie...

And here is Lori, myself and Sandy!

My friend Rob as Michael Knight from Knight Rider, my pup Bowser dressed up in a costume I made him as KITT from Knight Rider, and me the sailor! I also had my little girl dress up as a yellow submarine to coordinate with my costume...but apparently I am a bad pet mommy since I didn't get a picture of her!!!

As you can see Bowser is just LLOOOOVVVVVINNNNGGGG that costume...haha....

And while you can't really tell from this photo, my dress was SUPER SHORT! Like so short that I got a little petticoat to go underneath it so it would cover up my buthigh (you know the part that isn't quite your butt and not quite your thigh)...so I wore a different costume to work on Friday...

I was Amelia Earhart!

Tanya made the best dork...no surprise that she won the costume contest!!!

And the Amelia costume was pretty easy and cheap to come up with. I had everything except for the goggles and hat. But I was able to buy Harry Potter quiddich(?) goggles for really cheap on Amazon, and get a fur lined pilots cap as well. All in all...easy costume that was pretty comfortable!

I hope you enjoyed my super-longgggggggggggg Halloween post!

From Halloweens Past...

2010-11-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

As I was organizing all of the Halloween pictures from my phone today I came across some pictures of Halloweens from the past few years...so I thought I would share. I hope you enjoy!

So last year at work I dressed up like Pippi Longstockings complete with floral wire in my hair. I threw together the costume at the last minute with some stuff I picked up at Goodwill...

And then I changed into a "Roman Gladiator" costume for a CD release party that I went to for my friends band, Vitamin Party!

Last year at work we had a pumpkin carving contest...HOWEVER, we only got 20 minutes, we had to use those thick Styrofoam artificial pumpkins and we didn't get anything to carve them with except the knives that we in our kitchen. So I decided to print off a Martha Stewart template of a Chihuahua!

I didn't win...but I think mine was the best...haha!

And this is from my Halloween party a few years back...me and the Paper-Source crew!

And this is from Halloween 2006...WOW that seems like a long time ago! I went as Tinkerbell and the highlight of my costume was the little slippers I made!

I bought white ballet slippers and then dyed them green, and added little sparkly white pom-pons to the slippers to make them more fairy like.

Coming Soon...

2010-10-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

So I am having a Halloween party on Saturday, and prepping my house for this party has kept me VERY busy! I invited EVERY SINGLE person that I work with...and I work in an office of 50 so people...and that is not to mention my friends. Sooooo, I have been one busy lady!

I just wanted to share some pics I took on my phone to show you what I have been up to, but I will post some additional pics and instructions on what I did later. I hope you enjoy!

These are the invites that I gave out. I had my friend Liz do the calligraphy for me, and I made all of those little plaster fingers. I first bought a mold making kit to mold my own finger...but that was just a WASTE of money...so I broke down and bought a candy making mold to make the casts from...

As you can see I painted some of the finger nails and some I left unpainted. And I tied a little double-sided satin around the index finger to keep in line with my "don't forget" theme...

I bought 5" x 3" x 2" mailing boxes that I assembled, filled them with a mixture of Spanish mosses and laid the finger on top. For the spiderweb background I simply printed the graphic on some vellum and I printed the actually invite portion on Stardream Opal paper from Paper-Source.

I will post a picture of how I packaged them a little later!

And here are just a couple pics of some of the decorations I have so far done in the house...more of these to come as well!

And what I am sure will be the highlight of the evening...THE BAR!!!

Madeline's Pumpkin

2010-10-26T15:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with all of you the pumpkin my Dad carved for my sister last Halloween...it is AMAZING!

So since most of you don't know what my sister looks like, here are a few pics of her:

Isn't the pumpkin a great likeness? Anyways...just thought I would share! And I promise I will post pics soon of all of the Halloween related things I have been working on that have kept me so busy!

Have You Ever Heard of Bear Hill Interiors Before?

2010-10-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

So I just discovered an interior design team called Bear Hill Interiors. While I don't plan on hiring somebody to design any rooms for me in the near future, their work is truly inspirational. While I have never actually had a post where I simply post pictures of somebody else's work before, I think you will all appreciate how design-crush-worthy their work is.

The first picture that drew my attention is this amazing foyer. I just love the picture railing and the crown moulding, which really stands out against the wallpapered ceiling. This fairly small room looks so much bigger and inviting don't you think?

The next image that caught my eye was this living room. I just love how a huge rectangular room becomes a very inviting family area by creating a few different seating areas. I love the easy comfort that it all has (if that description makes any sense) and that it just all seems to work without trying to hard.

The next image is simple but inspiring. I think that using a simple white parsons desk as a nightstand in a guest bedroom, would be a terrific use of space for those of us who have limited space and want both! I just love how it works, simply by being the same height as the other "nightstand."

While the warmer colors are not necessarily my thing, I just love this dining room buffet artwork display. Everything looks so crisp and clean, yet it also looks warm and inviting.

Next up is this great pinkish bedroom. Many of you might know that pink is my favorite color, but I love this room for so many other reasons! I LOVE the disco ball hanging down in lieu of a chandelier, I love the classic Louis chair covered in what looks like patent leather, I love the very feminine patterned wallpaper that complements that beautiful draped headboard, and the zebra stripped rug that should clash, yet seems to tie it all in. Such a great girl's room!

Now these kitchens really speak for themselves, but I just absolutely adore them both!

And last up from Bear Hill is a dreamy bathroom. I just love the wallpapered ceiling! And if somebody had told me a year ago that I would REALLY be loving wallpapered ceilings now, I would have laughed at them.

And my last picture is not from Bear Hill, but isn't this bathroom to DIE FOR! I have never though of putting a bathtub INSIDE of the shower, but this combination is genius! I can't image designing the bathroom of my dreams now and it not including a combo just like this! What do you think? Are your a tub-in-the-shower convert now too?

I hope you liked my post of my inspirations!

My New Blog Design...Well For Now

2010-09-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

So I am sure that you have all noticed that I have a new blog design...isn't it cute? I have wanted a new design for awhile now (since I was just using a template that Blogger provided) and I stumbled across this post on Torri's blog Digital Confections. For those of you who don't know Torri, she is a very talented graphic design artist and the sister of Holly from Life in the Fun Lane. Man...talent just runs rampant in that family!

Ok...back to my story. Torri recently purchased some fabric from her local Ikea and was inspired:

I mean I understand the inspiration...as this is drool worthy fabric! And for those of you who don't know me that well...I am obsessed with the color pink (hence the blog name) and bunnies! I even named my adorable little puppy Bunny and force her to dress up like a little pink bunny all the time! So this fabric was definitely right up my alley.

And just to give you a little idea of what I am talking about...here are some pics of little Miss Bunny B!

Her in her bed with her little bunny baby...

and with her pink bunny humping "friend" and dressed up in her little Bunny dress.

Ok back to Torri and her amazing design skills and her blog design. So I was reading her blog last Friday and I saw her post where she was offering this template for free:

And I thought it was perfect...for now. I instantly contacted Torri and asked for the template which she customized for me, and talked with her about creating a custom design for me. I would like an amazing header and a blog button, and I want to be able to help personalize other parts of the template to my liking. So Torri and I are now working on my new totally custom blog design...more on that to come.

So what do you guys think? and if you have never checked out Torri's blog before you should head over there...again is Digital Confections and here logo and link our also at the bottom of my blog.

Not Quite the Final Reveal

2010-09-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

So this isn't quite the final reveal yet, as I haven't even really started on organizing and sorting all of my craft supplies that are in my garage, but here is a closer sneak peek into my new awesome crafting room! But to start, let's look at where it was coming from. Here are some pictures of the pile of crap that existed on the right side of the room...

Pretty isn't it...

And on the left side of the room (behind the door) I have vintage school lockers to house most of my paper-based crafts. Although they were just a mess...

And the desk I was "using" before to do any graphic design stuff...

and keep in mind that this was significantly cleaned up so that I could get a picture of it for Craigslist so I could get rid of it. And here is my new computer/printing work area...

I kept the left side of the room very "professional" looking, with clean lines and a monotone color palate to make it much more modern looking, while on the other side of the room I went with a more eclectic look with different storage containers and lots of color and patterns...

The workstation against the wall is 96" long and is a butcher block kitchen countertop from Ikea. It provides enough space so that I have both a crafting area and a computer printing area, and the butcher block countertop makes it so I don't need to use a cutting mat while crafting. I have scratched up enough acrylic tops to know that this will be very useful!

I still need to make curtains for underneath the desk so you won't see any wires, but that will come in the final reveal. I also bought two faux white leather office chairs that I think really look great in the room...

and the chair on the right can flip-flop between the two crafting area I have set up...

I now have plenty of usable craft space, and plenty of places to store my crafts, like under here...

or in here...

or in the newly organized lockers!

What do you guys think? What else should I include in the room?

Craft Room Coming Along...

2010-09-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

So my tiny little house just got bigger! Ever since I moved into my little 900 square foot house I have basically used the second bedroom as a large storage closet. When I moved in I never fully unpacked all of my crafts (I have sooooo much from years of working at Paper-Source!) since I didn't really have a proper storage solution for them. I had no desk and no real craft storage area...so all of the crafts just sadly sat in boxes waiting patiently for me to get my act together. Some of my crafts were stored in the "back room" (but mostly they are in boxes in the garage) but really I just use the room to sort my dirty laundry and as a place to house the kitties' litter box. Up until this weekend that is!

I took a trip to Ikea, and just shy of $1000.00 later, I now how a fully functioning craft room! I will be showing a full reveal here soon, but I haven't got all of my crafts organized and into the room yet...so I will just show you a couple of "in progress" shots.

Here are just some of the boxes I had to put together...and my fingers are still sore from tightening down all of the little nuts...

And here is the desk I had in the room before. In this picture it looks like it was probably usable...but it really wasn't because of all of the laundry that was usually in there...

And check out all of those wires!!! It is amazing how many wires are connected to my damn computer! Anyways, here is the corner truly "in progress." Most of the crafts are organized and the shelves are up...

And that pile of sh*t is actually much higher and deeper than it looks!

Well hopefully in the next couple of days I can get the full reveal up. And thankfully TOMORROW IS MY LAST DAY of the 21 day detox cleanse I have been on! I can't wait to eat food again! Yippie!!!

Start of my 21 Day Cleanse

2010-09-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

Today I am starting the 21 day Clean Detox Program. I am only a couple of hours in and already I am not liking it...but the first few days are suppose to be the hardest. I did a lot of research to find the right detox program for myself, and I found that this was the best program and the kit was perfect. I did not want a program where I had to starve myself the whole time, so I liked that I could still eat one meal a day on this program. The hardest part for me will be the no caffeine (since I drink like 5 diet cokes a day!) and the no drinking! I really like to have a glass of wine at night and be able to have a beer on the weekend...but i can go 21 days without it I guess. I hope this works out...wish me luck!

Sorry I have been MIA...

2010-08-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

I really am sorry about the lack of posts recently! It is all due to the fact that I have had crafting/designing ADD recently. I have started about 15 different projects that are all in various stages of completion...but since I haven't actually finished ANYTHING, I haven't really had a reason to post. So I thought, I love to see what other Bloggers are working on, so I will do a post about projects you will see in upcoming posts...hopefully really soon!

First things first, I am actually fostering a puppy for the next 10 days while her current foster Mom goes to Burning Man for the next 10 days! I actually really want to keep her, so hopefully this will all go well! Here name is Queen Sophie Ann (Sophie for short) and she is a 5 1/2 month old Chihuahua mix.

Isn't she cute? Her foster Mom works with a local rescue organization, A Leg Up Rescue. Doesn't she look like a little fox?

I meet her this weekend at a local dog beach in Albany, where I take my pups to go play in the water and sand. Here is a pic of Bowser chasing the current as it rolls back, and then running away in fear when it returns...haha...and he got some sea water in his mouth and he started to foam at the mouth, it looked like he was rabid!

chasing the water showing it who's boss...

and then running away in fear...

Isn't this picture cute? He is actually smiling!

Ok, moving on...

So this is one of the projects that is started and not finished. I bought this huge utensil sorter (?) from Ikea that I think will work great as a craft sorter.

It is the from the Rationell line...

So I took off all of the attachments on the back so that I could spray paint it and eventually Mod-Podge some decorative paper in each little section. I am still playing with the idea of not putting all of the dividers back it when I am done...we'll see I guess...

Another project I am working on is refinishing these two cute sidetables I found at a local thriftstore. I was thinking of using a gray primer and painting them a creamy white, but distressing them enough to see the gray peeking through.

sadly they have been in this state for quite awhile now...

next I have a lamp that I have finished for a client but I didn't take after pics on (I know...dumb). But she is a friend of mine so next time I am at her house I will take some "after" shots.

The lamp actually has some really pretty lines...it was just looking a little "southwest" and outdated with its beige plaster and brass hardware. So I painted the base a high-gloss teal and used high heat metallic silver spray paint on the hardware...it looks much better now!

And besides these projects I just have a bunch of smaller "little" projects.

This is a Craigslist find that will hopefully find a new home after it gets a makeover...

This is the hutch to a desk I am actually refinishing for my kitchen...

This silver plate is getting some new paint and a stencil to soon house my keys on my console table...

These candlesticks are getting some spray paint and a new life along with this cup...

And last but not least I am painting these frames black to hold some much needed artwork in my bedroom.

Hopefully I can get my butt in gear and stop abandoning projects half way through to take on a new one...I need to finish these projects up! As in addition to what I have posted here, I have some client projects awaiting a transformation, three dressers that need paint and hardware and another nightstand! I am going to be a busy little bee over the next month....whew!

Dave Matthews Band Is Awesome!!!

2010-08-26T12:31:00.000-07:00

So I am very sorry for my lack of posts recently...but I have been a very busy girl! In additional to all of my decorating/painting projects, I have been working longer hours as I try to incorporate going to the gym everyday at lunch into my routine (yuck!). But I did find some time to have some fun last night! My amazing friend Sandy...

(see pic below)

had gotten tickets to see DMB at the Pavilion in Concord and she brought me! And being the incredibly smart women that she is, she bought the VIP package which included front row parking (and a private entrance/exit so leaving the concert took less that 15 minutes!) and our own private bathroom and bar under the stage! Now all of you ladies out there now how important it is to have a nice clean bathroom at your disposal (and the private bar was nice too!!!), and not have to use the gross porta-potties..ewww.

We had soooo much fun! Here is a picture of the stage from our seats (which we didn't spend much time in):

we went up front with the other floor seat peeps pretty early in the concert, which left more room for dancing around! But here is a pic of the stage with Dave playing from our seats...pretty close right?

But we moved up to be closer to the VIP lounge and Dave! If you have never seen DMB in concert you really should. I have seen him 6-7 times now, even though this was the first time seeing him in about 8 years...WOW time flies. But they were just as great as I remembered them being.

Much better! And our spot here allowed us to move around more. Although the mean security lady told me I had to put my camera away as there was no cameras allowed! I was a little shocked seeing I was using an iPhone, and so was everybody else around me...oh well...just gotta sneak my pictures in somewhere else!

So we got even closer! At this point we were so close (even though it doesn't appear that way in my pic) that I could see all of the little expressions on Dave's face as he sings...it was great!

Sorry the pics came out so bad...my 3G iPhone doesn't take very good pictures...so I guess I will need to upgrade to the 4! But here is the best shot that I got...enjoy...I know I did!

5th Annual Skifton Soiree - Hollywood Style

2010-08-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

So I have been back in Wisconsin for the last week for the 5th annual Skifton soiree - a HUGE party my Dad and Stepmom put on each year at their house. And this year's theme was........HOLLYWOOD! The party was great and I just though I would post some pics showing the highlights...enjoy!

Here is the Popcorn stand as you were pulling up the driveway:

And the Hollywood sign my dad carved out,

The kids area in the back,

The pinata for the kids,

The "Hollywood Walk Of Fame" leading you through the backyard...

My sister posing with Edward and my dad with James Dean,

And here was the voting both and souvenir stand,

The party tables in the backyard,

And the cutouts for you to take your picture at,

This was probably my favorite area of the party...

And the coolest part of the party had to be the family redone movie posters! Molly did a GREAT job on these!

She had photoshoped members of my family into some great movie posters!

My sister absolutely loved hers, in which she got to be in Edwards arms...

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Thrift Store Shopping In Wisconsin

2010-08-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

So I have been in Wisconsin for the past 5 days visiting my Dad, Molly & Maddy (my sis) for a family reunion. While I was there I took my little sister to a few different thrift stores to find a project for us while I was there. I didn't want to do a piece of furniture because they really didn't have a need for one, so I convinced my little sister that she needed a chalkboard for her room. And while we were at the thrift stores I figured I might as well look around for things for me right? so I bought all the stores out of everything they had in milk glass...apparently this is a sickness. Not only did I end up with like 5 bowls, 4 compotes and 12 vases, I then had to ship out to California 5 bowls, 4 compotes and 12 vases! Lucky for me all of the piece were like $1.00, so I could afford to do that. I can't wait until they show up! I will post some pictures soon of the mirror-turned-chalkboard for my sister soon...as soon as I get them from her!

A Custom Made Sewing Box No More!

2010-08-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

*FYI: There are massive amounts of pics in this post...just thought I would warn you!

So I picked up this adorable little sewing box from a local consignment store here in Walnut Creek a couple of weeks back that I though was just adorable. I didn't know (and really still don't) know exactly what I am going to use it for, but like so many other things (haha), I KNEW that it had to come home with me!

It even has a cute little ledge inside! Probably for knitting needles...but it looks like a great chalk ledge to me! so I guess that means I am trying my hand again with the chalkboard paint!

The night I bought it I happened to be babysitting little Miss Skye, so she helped me sand it while we watched a Care Bears movie...

She was such a good helper!

So I painted the box a soft off-white color that was very sweet. But it had that I-just-got-spray-painted look about it, so I thought I would try my hand at distressing it. After all, this is a vintage hand made piece that should look a little worn...

So now for the chalkboard paint! I wanted to do a little design, so I drew a little pattern on some Frogtape.

and then I did a quick blast of spray paint on them to ensure that the chalkboard paint line would be clean when I removed the tape...

Then I painted 3 coats of chalkboard paint within my stencil...

(that lamp you see in the background is the first customer piece I will be doing...I will post on that soon!)

and when I pulled off the tape the line was definitely clean...but the tape actually pulled up some of the white paint under it! Not what I was expecting!

I was a little disappointed, but I wasn't crazy about how smooth and perfect the chalkboard stencil came out anyways. so I thought I would try distressing it to match the rest of the box...I mean what is the harm in that right?

I actually like this a lot better! It looks so much more authentic...not like somebody took this old antique box, spray painted it and then slapped on some chalkboard paint! What do you guys think?

So I started by putting all of my remotes in it...and until I can think of another use for it, I guess that is where they will stay. I have been thinking about listing it on Etsy, but I might be a little heartbroken if somebody actually buys it from me..haha...I don't really want to see it go!

and I found this adorable mini chalkboard eraser at the Lakeshore Learning center this weekend (and who doesn't love things that come in a mini size right?) and it fits perfectly on my little ledge!

it was like that ledge was built to house a couple pieces of chalk and this little eraser!

Thrift Store Dreaming...

2010-08-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

I may have a little bit of a thrift store shopping problem...problem like an addiction! it has only been like 2 days since I had my last fix...but I am already craving it! I am super busy at work preparing for my trip back to Wisconsin tomorrow morning, and I find myself sitting at my desk day dreaming about being able to go shopping! Normally this wouldn't be a big deal since I could just take an hour lunch break and head over to one of the many Walnut Creek thrift stores, but seeing as i am busy and need to get all of my tasks done so I can go on vacation, I am not taking a lunch today.

I am planning on doing a whole bunch of projects while back home with my sister...so hopefully the thrift stores in Eau Claire, WI are stocked with wonderfullness!!! I am sooooo excited!

Kitty Grass - Milk Glass Planter

2010-08-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

So I have a terrible knack for buying beautiful flowers and foliage for my home...and then precede to kill it off quickly. Lately I have kept some herbs alive in my kitchen, and some potted trees in my living room. the problem that I have been having lately is that even if I am able to keep these plants alive, my cats have been eating the leaves and then preceding to vomit all over my house...lovely right? So I have bought kitty-grass in the past, but neither of my cats would touch it...they would still eat the houseplant, just not the plant I bought specifically for them to eat...go figure?!?

A week or so ago, maybe two, I tried buying some more kitty grass and they both seemed to like it better. My male cat has been eating from it frequently, but my female cat will only eat from it if I don't have fresh flowers cut and placed on my console...because if there are roses available for her to eat...she apparently prefers those! So my dresser/buffet has recently looked like this:

And while the pink flowered saucer under the kitty grass is cute...it isn't really the look I am going for. Now I found this really cute compote this weekend while thrift store shopping and it seems like it will be a good fit...and it was only $4.00!!!

Isn't the grape leaves pattern adorable???

And so I tried sitting the kitty grass container directly in the compote to gage how much potting soil I would need...and it fit perfectly...really...like a glove! (I can't believed I just typed "like a glove" haha...what a lame saying...and the funniest part is as I type it I can just hear Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura character saying it)!

so I threw in a little potting soil and some herb fertilizer and voila. An adorable little kitty grass - milk glass planter for the kitties!

And even the buffet looks better now!

Want to know the real kicker though??? Ever since I potted the kitty grass, I haven't seen the little buggers eat from it once!!! Although I have yelled at Buddy (my male) three times to stop eating from the Madagascar dragon tree, and Princess (my female) twice for eating the roses. No vomit yet...so hopefully they are just not eating it in front of me...only time will tell I guess. Picky damn animals!!!

More Artwork For My Walls

2010-08-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

So some of you may remember a post I did a little while back on framing some artwork to get up on my walls. While I love this framed print that I first went with below,

it just never really looked right there...the scale was off I think. So I found these great oval frames during my lunch time thrift store shopping and I think that these will look much better in that space.

And while the two larger oval frames don't have glass (as there are "original" oil paintings in them now), I figured I would distress the paper I was putting in them and finish it with some Mod Podge...

So i spray painted all of them a mocha color and then distressed them all...

And this was the first time i have EVER distressed something that i had just spray painted...and it was QUITE fun...very therapeutic...haha...

Then I got out some paper that I picked up last time I visited FLAX artist supply store while in the city (San Francisco that is) and went with a primary colors theme. I simply adhered the paper directly to the back of the oil painting, and then cut it out...

So then I took down the "Are You happy" print and hung these up in its place.

It looks good right? And the antiquing came out nicely...it really made the brightly colored papers that i choose fit together more cohesively I think.

And some close ups....

Treasures From Thrift Shopping at Lunch

2010-08-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

So here are some pics of the WONDERFUL things that I found while thrift store hunting this past weekend! I got some really great stuff, and enough stuff that I was able to keep busy this whole weekend...even though I should have been preparing for my trip back home to Wisconsin...OOPS!

Here are my tables full of loot:

I got some great antique cast iron trivets...and I think I am going to spray paint them (with high-heat spray paint of course!)

And I got this great silver plat that I am going to spray paint and stencil. I will probably use it for keys on my console table...but maybe I will list it on Etsy...

And I got this wonderful little cast iron sign...so I put it above my kitchen doorway in my dining room!

I got these candle holders because they have the best shape! Such great ornate detailing and the cutest lines.

Funny thing is that they are apparently old Avon candlesticks...who knew???

I actually spray painted them a bright aqua color to match this cup...

I also got these very sweet little terracotta bird candleholders. I painted them white, glazed them and then distressed them...they ended up coming out really cute! They will be in another post following shortly.

I also got some great frames!

The oval ones I painted a mocha color and distressed, the square ornate ones I painted black and are going to go in my bedroom above my hot pink nightstands, and the last one I don't know what I am going to do with. But it was half-price frame day at the Leftovers thrift store in WC so I couldn't not buy it!

I also got this very sweet little saucer plate that I think I am going to put up in my kitchen...

And I got some really great milk glass pieces!!!

I used the grape leaves pattered one to plant my kitty grass in...it turned out very cute...much better then the cheap black plastic planter that came with the kitty grass...that's for sure!

And I also picked up a few very nice pieces from a local antique store. Usually this antique store is just RIDICOULOUSLY expensive, but the few pieces I picked up were actually fairly reasonable. the traincase is probably my favorite...it is going to make a great makeup holder.

This vase and compotes were just too cute to pass up...

And these beautiful porcelain Japanese birds were actually my luckiest find I think...aren't they just beautiful?

And with a little help from the stuff you see below...I was able to keep myself busy this weekend!

More posts soon showing some of the transformations!

Thrift Store Shopping During My Lunchbreak

2010-07-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from the Garrett Thrift Store here in Walnut Creek...and I hit the motherload! Well not really...but I ended up with some really great finds! I got a few nice milk glass pieces, some great frames, some antique metal trivets, an amazing vintage book, some candle holders, and plates. All in all, a WHOLE LOT of things that are gonna get some much needed spray paint! And I think I am gonna use this to both try my hand at distressing a freshly painted piece, as well as listing some of this stuff on my Etsy page for the first time (I have been refraining from listing anything because I didn't want my Etsy "launch" to be a lonely three items listed )! So there will be more to come from me..and I will post pics of my findings as soon as I get home from work tonight!

FYI: this is my first posting that doesn't include any pictures...and I am not too sure how I feel about that yet.

A Few Things To Come...

2010-07-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a lot of time to blog recently but I have been working on a few different projects. A few of them for about a month now! So I thought I just might do a quick posting covering some of my current projects.

The first project is also the oldest. I saw an add on craigslist awhile back listing a bunch of frames for $25.00. This is the picture that was posted in the craigslist ad:

I saw a couple that I liked and so I figured it was worth to just buy the whole lot. When I showed up at the lady's house, she had 4 Trader Joe's bags stuffed full of frames...there must have been 25 frames. So I picked out my favorites and started spray painting them.

And then I laid them out on my floor to figure out the composition I wanted for the wall...

Now all I have left is to put some artwork in them! Hence the delay...

The next project I have been working on (or at least have done some work on) is a refinishing project for two antique side tables.

I picked these up at the thrift store for $15.00 a piece and so far have only sanded and primed one of them. I think this is going to be the first project in which I paint them and them immediately "rough" them up...I am a little scared...but wish me luck!

Don't they have such cute detailing???

And the last project for this post is a little antique sewing box I picked up at the consignment store around the block from where I work. I am thinking about it as a place to keep my dogs food...but it might also become home to all of the remotes that float around my house.

It has a really cute little ledge inside probably for knitting needles...but I thought it might be the perfect place to store a piece of chalk. Then I could put a little chalkboard paint on the doors so I can label what is inside...because who out there doesn't love to label things???

So the first night I got it I happen to be babysitting Miss Skye...so of course I put her to work sanding it for me! I mean she has to earn her keep somehow right???

I hope you have enjoyed my little rendition of "things to come...."

Yay For Me!!!

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

Kathy over at The Far Fifty has given me the Sunshine Award! Thank you so very much Kathy!!!

If you have never been to Kathy's blog before you should really check it out! Like so many of us out there she has been tirelessly refinishing furniture and thrift store searching! She has some great DIY inspirations and she has some very creative refinishing techniques...like stenciling directly onto the new knows she included on a dresser!

See her post here.

Now back to the award!!! The rules are as follows:

1. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.

2. List 7 things that people may not know about you.

3. Pass the love to other deserving bloggers that you have discovered recently.

4. Let them know that you gave them an award

So seven things you don't know about me...hmmm...

1. I love my puppy Bunny B like she is my child

2. Previously I was a wedding invitation designer

3. I have a really hard time keeping plants alive...I kill almost all of them

4. My favorite TV show is Gilmore Girls...I love it and keep watching it over and over

5. My teenage sister got me in to the Twilight series...I am TOTALLY addicted

6. I have a slight obsession with Marilyn Monroe

7. I really hate cell phones...I have an iPhone for my own convenience, but I rarely answer it and I have not even set up the voicemail system on it because I don't want people to leave me messages!

I would like to pass on the award to three of my new favorite blogs:

Jessica at Sea to my Heart

Melanie at Oops! Redone

Rebecca at Painting the Roses White

Please go check out these very talented ladies blogs! And thanks again for thinking of me Kathy! This award really made my day!!!

My Kitchen...Now New And Improved!!!

2010-07-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

So if you have seen my blog before, you have probably seen the some of updates that have been made to my kitchen. But in case this is your first perusal...here is the wall above my stove.

Isn't that hole lovely??? When I moved in there was a 4 inch metal tube going from my oven to my wall. Its purpose appeared to be for venting...but it wasn't actually hooked up to anything so it was just there for "decoration" I guess...so I riped it down first thing. And now I get to stare at this while I am cooking...appealing right?

It also left a hole at the top of my stove which I have not cleverly hidden with a cupcake shaped trivet.

So I knew I needed some artwork for my kitchen so I landed on adding a large chalkboard (for more on that click here) and some prints. I saw this post on Stephanie's blog Under The Table And Dreaming. I really loved the vintagey feeling of these signs and loved the "if you can't take the heat" message! Too cute!

So I printed two of them out that I thought would look cute with the chalkboard. And since the chalkboard was in a very ornate traditional styling, I thought I should choose frames for the other two prints that had that same feeling. Here is a quick before-and-after of the chalkboard redo:

I picked up this frame awhile back at Marshall's for $8 bucks. I originally picked it up for my Dad (sorry Dad) to use to frame one of his many family western pictures, but the shape is just too cute and so I kept it.

It got a couple of quick coats of ballet slipper pink spray paint and it already looked distressed.

Which inspired my to attempt glazing on the other two frames (more of that story click here)

And since I like this frame the best, I choose to put the print in it I like the best. But what should I back it with to make it pop?

I really like the Japanese papers from Paper-Source so I thought I would start there. and this classic cherry blossom print was very pretty...but I felt it was just a little too busy and not really the vibe I was going for. so I tried out this one...

Again cute...but just not right. The saying is "tough" so I needed a paper pattern to match it.

Now this was closer to what I was going for...but still not just right. I felt it was too busy...so maybe a solid would look better...

Now I liked this the best! But it just looks too flat...too one dimensional. So maybe if I blew the print up larger?

OK I like this, but still too plain (I am a very picky woman...haha)

Then I remembered I had some leftover paper from some invitations I had done that had a great print. So I grabbed the extras from my craft room...

I like that...but the print kind of gets lost because it it so light...

And this was good. But it was still lacking something...so maybe a combination of solids with a print...

And tada! Perfection! Now for the next frame. I started using this cheapo frame that was part of a grab bag of frames I got from Craigslist for $25.00 awhile back, but it just didn't fit with the other two...

See what I mean? The top one is too plain. so I remembered that I recently acquired a few other frames from the thrift store (again purchased for my Dad and once again I kept them...sorry Dad). And these have a much better shape to them.

So a couple coats of spray paint later...

So here is the final product hung up in my kitchen!

Pretty cute huh??? It is a big improvement! This is much better to walk in to...

And the two framed prints look pretty good together...

So here is the final before and after shots...enjoy!

My First Attempt at a Chalkboard

2010-07-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

*WARNING* Once again I have managed to include to many pictures in my post!

So I have known for awhile now that I needed a large piece of artwork for my kitchen (there is a large hole in the wall from the old stove venting hose).

And I have really been inspired by chalkboards lately...and really, aren't chalkboards a great alternative to art in the kitchen? so I have been on the hunt for a large frame with some classically inspired embellishments. So while shopping at a local consignment shop at lunch one day a couple of weeks ago I spotted this little lady...

(Miss Bunny B in the corner)

Her coloring was pretty hideous, but she was heavy and substantial, had great lines, and the artwork was hideous enough that I wasn't going to feel bad about spray painting over it and then just ripping it out.

so I headed to my local Ace Hardware store and picked up some supplies...

A piece of scrap 1/2" plywood that they had in stock cut down to the correct size (I brought my frame in with me and the guy who cut it took it in the back with him so he could get the right measurements), some magnetic spray paint (which ended up being a money pit), some chalkboard paint, foam sponges, spray primer and pink spray paint.

Because I was using spray primer I didn't sand the frame at all; however, I did sand the plywood with a 320 grit sanding block before I spray primered it.

After the first coat of primer...

(Miss Bunny B again...she just LOVES to refinish things!)

So I then moved on to spray painting just the frame in Ballet Slipper pink. (The house I rent was built in the 1920's and has a very cute vintagey feel. So I have tried to keep in line with the feel of kitchen and spice it up with very retro feeling colors and artwork.)

The color came out beautifully but it had that I-just-spray-painted look and feel. So I tried my luck with my first attempt at glazing (more on that here). It came out pretty good in my opinion. so I took to pulling the artwork out and installing my chalkboard painted piece of plywood.

All I had on hand were round staples for my staple gun...so I just went with it! And once I was done, I tried nailing in a finishing nail at an angle to finish things off. Now the first one worked out great...but the second one...went right through the plywood and not into the frame. Oops! Guess I didn't go in with enough of an angle...

So I just moved on and took it in stride! I decided to no longer use the finishing nails and felt confident that my chalkboard was secure in its frame with the staples. So I just touched up the blemish with some chalkboard paint (a pretty thick coat to fill it in, since the rest of the plywood got a three coat finish).

And it ended up being just fine...

You can barely notice it. Now for my little rant about the spray paint magnetic surface. I didn't want to spend $28.99 for the 1 quart can of the magnetic paint, so I opted for the $8.99 bottle of spray paint. Now the coverage on the can says 2-3 square feet. Now my piece of plywood is a little larger then that at just over 4 sq. ft. so I only sprayed around the outside edges and left the middle un-magnetized. I figured this was fine since I would be the only person sticking magnets up there and i would know the limitations. HOWEVER, after it dried, not even my super dooper strong magnets would stay on...the just slid right down. So back to Ace I go and pick up another can, and go over the same surface area again. After this can is exhausted I realized that the super dooper magnets would stick, but no regular magnets (AKA cute ones). So back I go for a third can. Now I have invested $27 in magnetic spray paint and should have gotten 6-9 sq. ft. of coverage out of the cans. But after the chalkboard paint was added (which is fine according to the magnetic spray paint can), still only the super strong magnets will stick...and just barely. Maybe, maybe they will hold a single sheet of paper up. Long story short, don't waste your money on this!

Moving on...now my chalkboard is finished! Although in the end it ended up coating me much more then I thought it would...$96.00 in total! But I guess I will learn from my magnetic mistakes.

All in all my kitchen looks much better with the chalkboard. And tonight will be 3 days since the last coat of chalkboard paint was applied...so I can condition it and use it for the first time!

and here is the before and after for all of you voyeurs out there!!!

linking to:

and to:

My Version of a Glazing Tutorial

2010-07-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

*WARNING* There are a LOT of pics in this post...FYI.

So admittedly I have never glazed before…or distressed anything that I have just painted (that is still to come). But I wanted to make the artwork that I was going to hang in my kitchen look a little older and not so much like it just got spray painted…which it did. So I have read in other peoples blogs that you can create a glaze by simply adding water to acrylic or latex paint. And since I have plenty of that lying around…I did just that. I started with these supplies…

…to get this.

But it turned out a little more blue than black like I was envisioning…but I thought I would try it out and see how I liked it anyways. This was the look I was trying to achieve…or match/complement anyway.

So I started by dipping my little foamy guy in the “glaze” and then pushing it up against the side of the container to get most of the liquid out. Since it turned out to be the consistency of water…I didn’t want the glaze to drip all over (which it did anyways).

Then I just dabbed it all along the detailing that I wanted to antique.

Then I just rubbed it down with a lightly damp sponge (again, not to wet because I already had enough dripping), and really focused on getting the dark paint spots off so that it appeared more glazey (yeah yeah not a word I know). And I ended up with it looking like this. Now it looks good, but still a little too blue for me.

So I added this and this…

To get this…

And I did a second round. I did it on both the smaller frame and my chalkboard frame so they would match the first frame that inspired me.

And this time I wiped it down with an almost completely dry papertowel..

And I was happy with this look. So then I tried the same formula again with the larger chalkboard frame that I was also working on...since these three are going to be grouped together in my kitchen I wanted them to match each other.

So I ended up with a little bit of a mess...but nothing too bad.

And so here they are...all together. Don't they look cute together?

It really made my kitchen look better to go from this to this!

So One More Post About Artwork For My Very Bare Walls!

2010-07-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

While perusing Blogger-land last week I came across this inspirational picture on a post (forgive me…I don’t remember whose blog it was).

And I loved it! Not only for its very sweet message, but also because I need artwork for my walls and it matches the color of my living room. And I just happen to have this bare wall that is crying out for something to be hung on it (not unlike the rest of my walls!)

I also had a frame from the $25.00 craigslist frames that isn’t a standard size – it appears to be 8x11 ½. So I printed this off on the color laser printer I have at my desk at work, and brought it home. The size looked a little off, so I trimmed the edges of the print and backed it with some Italian Bertini paper I had lying around from Paper-Source. This made it look much better.

I know it is strange (or just plain lazy) to back my paper directly onto the backing of the frame, but in this case it worked out just fine.

Now for the frame itself, I didn’t want to leave it the awful Gold color that it was, so I decided to spray paint it using two different finishes. Both are from the Rust-Oleum line of Universals, and I went with the Metallic Silver and Brown Hammered cans.

The way I achieved the effect I was going for was to spray two coats of the silver spray paint directly onto the frame (no primer) and with only about 30 second in between the coats. It’s ok if the coats are a little thick and it is ok if the spray paint runs a little. As soon as I was done applying the silver, I immediately applied two coats of the Hammered spray paint on the still wet silver paint. This mixes the paint colors together, and since the hammered paint settles on the frame in a weird way anyways, once again drips don’t matter. I then gave the frame a good 4-5 minutes to dry a little before I applied one more thick coat of the brown hammered paint and then let it dry overnight. This gives it that sort of marbled looking finish.

I really like this finish and I did it on a couple of the frames for another project I will be completing soon (the rest of the $25.00 frame lot from craigslist). I realize that it is not for everybody, but I like that it is slightly different from the simple “flat” finish that you usually get with spray painting something.

I even really like it on this dresser/sideboard in my living room (the picture is very deceiving as the colors appear to clash here, but in person they match and complement each other beautifully), but my bare walls need it more than the sideboard does. What do you think?

And I am sorry for the poor quality of some of the photos. My 3G iPhone just doesn’t take very good pictures…so I guess it is time to upgrade to the iPhone 4. It seems like it just might be a necessity!!!

Once again, it was really great to go from this:

To This!!!

linking with:

A Little Artwork For My Bare Bare Walls

2010-07-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

So admittedly I have spent a lot of time painting my walls and picking out furniture, but I have spent absolutely no time actually hanging artwork on my walls. So this weekend I though I would get around to actually finishing a project, and I simply added some cute Snow & Graham paper that I got from Paper-Source awhile back into a few frames I had lying around. Here is the poor wall before the addition of the artwork:

I started by pulling out three frames of similar size and color (I say color because I didn't want to have to do any painting...like I said earlier...I wanted this to be a quick project that I WOULD FINISH this weekend). I still had these three frames left over from the $25.00 craigslist grab-bag of frames that I purchased.

These were all 4x6 frames and they were all of similar frame shape & size. I also liked that they were all wood and a nice dark color, as I was going to hang them on a dark chocolate brown wall.

So I cut out the shapes I needed for framing from the paper,

And I added it to the frames...

Super simple, inexpensive, and most importantly (for this project) FAST!!!

Doesn't it look great! A nice desperately needed pop of color!

It was very nice to go from this...to this!!!

And the total cost was less than $5.00...for the paper and the frames!

Mirror Mirror Now Hung On My Wall!

2010-07-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

As featured on:

So I have had an entry way that has been screaming for a mirror for some time now. I didn’t mind spending the money to buy something nice..but I just never could find the right mirror for the space. I have a half moon console table, so something square or rectangular just really seemed like it would be off. I thought an oval or circle mirror would be perfect, but I just haven’t been able to find one that I really liked…or at least liked enough to stomach the price tag. Here is what my entry was wall looked like before:

Really dull right? And definitely in need of something. So I have been searching craigslist online for a mirror when I came across this little gem! (and I forgot to take a “before” picture before I started taping…but you can get the general idea.

It was more than I wanted to spend (it was listed for $49), but when I got to see it up close, I quickly realized that it is actually carved wood with appliques! It isn’t that cheapo molding that you usually find on these classically ornate gold frames…so I thought it was definitely worth the price tag!

So I put 2 coats of Kilz stain & odor blocker primer on it...

and then added 4-5 coats (one whole can) of Krylon hi-gloss white spray paint, and finished up with 3 coats of gloss Verathane brand polyurethane (also in the spray can form). I am so happy with the way it came out!

I was a little worried at first, seeing that when I took the paper off the front I realized that some of the spray paint had seeped through and made its way onto the mirror’s surface. I quickly got out the Windex and that solved the problem (whew!).

I have had it finished for some time now, but never was able to hang it up (keep in mind that it is wood and so it is heavy!), but last night my Man Friend helped me hang it…ok, he hung it all himself…and the picky lady that I am made him do it 3 times so the spacing on it was perfect!

It is really nice to see the first-wall-you-see-when-you-walk-in go from this...to this!

Linking to these parties:
http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/2010/07/its-finally-finished.html
http://www.somewhatsimple.com/
http://www.inthefunlane.com/
http://www.domestically-speaking.com/
http://nightowlcrafting.blogspot.com/
http://www.firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/
http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/
http://itsablogparty.com/
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2010/07/show-and-tell-with-modern-bird-studios.html
http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/
http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/
http://lifeaslori.blogspot.com/
http://www.creationsbykara.com/
http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/2010/07/craft-o-maniac-monday-is-here-my-first.html

Milk Glass Herb Planters

2010-07-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

So I was inspired by Miss Holly to plant some herbs in the milk glass compotes that I have been picking up. I saw this picture on her blog and I knew that I had to plant herbs in my compotes!

I planted some herbs in my smaller compotes (English Thyme & Oregano) and a houseplant in one of the larger compotes. I simply used some of the Miracle Gro potting soil I had in the backyard...

added some Miracle Gro Houseplant Food where appropriate...

and I ended up with a cute little potted plant!

my cats already seem to be enjoying it...

so up on the mantle it goes!

And with herbs planted in the smaller compotes...

I know have a nice little fresh herb garden going in my kitchen! The larger plant is basil, and the herb in the biohazard container is garlic chives.

My kitchen now has a little herb pizazz!

My New Shower Curtain

2010-07-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

So I have the world's smallest bathroom. And as such, I wanted to make sure I had a shower curtain that was fun and added some drama to my space. Well, I think I have accomplished that!

I am still in the process of painting the walls yellow (to match the gray and yellow tile that engulfs my bathroom), but the shower curtain really adds that POP of color I was looking for! I got the shower curtain at Anthropologie of course, but it was definitely worth the $50 price tag concerning the impact it has on my small space.

And I also got the bird hand towel from Anthropologie which was totally a splurge considering the $28.00 price tag for the small towel, but I think it goes great with the curtain, and it allows me to now bring pink accents into the bathroom...so definitely a plus in my book!

Thrift Store Finds

2010-07-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I went to the two local goodwill stores in my area (both of the Concord locations) on Saturday afternoon. And while I didn’t find a super large frame like I wanted, to create a customized bulletin board for my boss’s office, I did find some REALLY great stuff!

Like these two milk glass compotes, which I used to plant herbs in...

And I picked up three of these 8x10 frames for just $3.99 a piece! I have already spray painted one pink to hang some artwork in my kitchen.

And all of these milk glass bud vases which I instantly filled with yellow roses from my rose bushes out front. I think I spent a total of $10.00 for 6 vases!!!

Linking with:

http://apronthriftgirl.typepad.com/apron_thrift_girl/2010/07/thrift-share-monday-july-19.html

http://southernhospitalityblog.com/

A Chic Parisian Bun!

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

I wanted to share this AMAZING Parisian bun I saw here.

So on Saturday when I didn’t really feel like watching my hair and getting ready for a day where I was just going to be goodwill hoping, I thought I would try this look out. I actually love the way it ended up looking!

It was really hard to actually get a good shot of the back of my head using my iPhone…so sorry about the crazy shots. I have actually worn this look several times now, including this very instant while I am typing out this post! It is the easiest (and quickest!) way to do my hair in the morning!

Doesn't my Bedroom Look Awesome Now!

2010-06-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ok...so I will give you that my bedroom is still very much a work in progress. But it has really come a long way in a very short amount of time! And I have so many more ideas that I want to incorporate in...like getting a new alarm clock!

The "matching" pink nightstands really make the bedroom look more complete, and look like a cohesive bedroom set (and I will post more surrounding pics soon!)

The "Matching" Pink Nightstand

2010-06-29T13:32:00.000-07:00

So I don't really have a great "before" picture, but this was the picture shown on Craig's List that made me think "hmmmmm, this looks an awful lot like the nightstand I just refinished...I could have a 'matching' pair!"

so I started sanding off just the really deep scratches with a sander using 80 grit sandpaper...

and I removed the old hardware and sanded it as well, then filled in the holes with wood putty, as I was planning on using a 3" pull from Anthro...

so here it is all puttied and primed...

I used Kilz odor blocking spray primer on the whole nightstand after cleaning it thoroughly

and I really should have used one of the multitude of tarps I had lying around instead of painting directly on the cement...but awwwwwhhhhhh, the joys of renting! But poor grass...

I applied the first coat of paint with a sponge roller and ignored all of the cracks and crevices that still needed to be filled in until my second coat

and again...more paint on the cement...oops!

On the second coat I filled in all the crevices, but didn't really get the feet until the third coat, when I finally got out a tarp (I figured I could be a little nice to the cement)

and so I finished up the painting and moved on to the next step which is adding 2-3 coats of Verathane brand water-based sealant ( I got this tip from Holly's amazing blog!)

so here if the shelf insert drying in my kitchen...upside down on a fruit bowl (and yes, that is a Hello Kitty toaster in the background)

and this is the final product drying...now for drilling the new holes in the drawer for my cute ceramic pull from Anthropologie

and tada....look how pretty and shiny...I just love it!

and yes, that is the Lord of the Rings trilogy book...because why wouldn't that be on one of my nightstands!!!

Doesn't it look nice? I feel like my bedroom looks balanced now!

My Grandma's Nightstand...Now With a Pink Kick!

2010-06-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I do not have any before pics of this little baby...I am HORRIBLE at remembering...but here is how my Grandma's nightstand looks after some much needed TLC and a few coats of bright pink paint! I really love how this turned out...

and the supercute ceramic melon drawer pulls from anthropologie really make it special.

I also decided to paint the inside of the drawer (as this is just a nightstand and I won't be putting my clothes in here) and line it with a adorably cute owl paper from Paper-Source. And the pinks are exactly the same tone...

So here it is making its debut in my bedroom! Just perfectly girly enough for me & Miss Bunny B!

Yeah don't hate...but those are some Twilight books on the nightstand's shelf...

Refinishing My Grandparent's Dresser

2010-06-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

As featured on:

I wanted to share my grandparent's dresser makeover that I just finished. It started like this:

(sorry about the HORRIBLE before shot)...

Then it got some primer lover...

Yeah...that is little Miss Bunny Bear in the corner of my shot...

Then I slapped some leftover paint I had lying around the house from painting an accent wall in the living room on it...and I ended up with this! I think it turned out great.

it is hard to tell from these shots, but the color is really more of an aqua/teal blue.