There’s nothing that signals Spring more than a robin’s blue eggs. Mama Robin has been busy–considering last year’s nest was knocked down by a certain unnamed someone…I swear she glued this one down. I’m so glad she decided to make this spot home again!
What signals Spring to you?
My sewing machine is still sitting out from the pillows I made the other day, starring me down knowing that I have a few other projects to work on. I tend to go in sewing spurts…do you? Since I don’t have a dedicated spot for my machine, I try to do a few things while it’s…otherwises, out of sight…out of mind.
We’ve had this storage bench from Pottery Barn for years. It’s functional and perfect for our foyer, however I never bought the cushion from PB frankly because I’m too cheap! I thought it was such a rip off and knew I could make one myself for a fraction of the price. Its only taken me eight years…Sigh!
I fell in love with this fibrant fabric–perfect pop of color in our otherwise neutral space.
I went with batting instead of the foam cushion strictly to cut costs.
After a quick stitch down the center and some hand sewing on the ends to close…voila!
Once the girls get home from school it looks more like this…
Pretty nice huh? Even nicer is that it cost less than $20 compared to PB $80!
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[Que the dramatic music as we pick up where we left off yesterday...]
Why is it that I always, ALWAYS, think that painting is a small project?
“Oh I’ll just throw some paint on there and it’ll be done in no time at all!” are typically the words preceding my demise. Sigh.
I forget about the #@$&* sanding, the cleaning, the @*$& priming and finally, the several coats of *BLEEPING* paint.
But usually the end-product makes it all worth it. Usually. This time I wasn’t so sure…
The wood was very smooth and had a fairly glossy finish–there was no way I was getting away with not sanding.
BLEEEEEP!
I usually don’t tape anything off when I paint. (You can send emails explaining how stupid that is to Carin. I don’t need to hear about it.) But this project required some tape or else the wall and brick were going to be a MESS. I reluctantly taped the wall and brick off while I spit out more swear words left and right. (FYI: The kids were at school, besides I think they taught most of them to me.)
Ugh. At this point I was ready to wipe it all off. It looked SO horrible with only the primer on there. I was thinking: What have I done?
[Insert more curse words here.]
Not good. Not good. AT ALL.
After the first coat of paint I felt much better. But I still applied an additional coat just to be sure it would hold up.
And here it is with all three coats, and all decorated, of course:
I feel obligated to remind you of the before:
[Applause!]
HOLY *BLEEEP*! I don’t think there is any comparison AT ALL.
I’m so glad I thought of whitewashing the brick first because I think that really helped the overall look.
I love it but I am SO glad that project is over. Now I can put an end to all those horrible curse words.
Although such a pretty mantel makes me think that now I might need all new furniture.
$#*^!!!!
NOTE: I used KILZ Primer and Sherwin Williams paint. Despite thinking things looked horrible in the beginning, I’m certain that a lesser quality paint would have been an absolute NIGHTMARE.
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This past Sunday myself and a friend attended the 3rd annual Mad Hatter Tea and Brunch at the the beautiful Rabbit Room restaurant located in the Lower Mill in the historic village of Honeoye Falls. Tamara Stopinski of Talulah’s Fancy is the creative brainchild behind this unique event. This being my first time attending I wasn’t sure what to [...]
Today I’m sharing a few items from some LOCAL Etsy shops. I assume if you follow the blog that you are aware of Etsy. But if not, please take some time to browse around. I love browsing by color: But you can also browse by LOCATION? Who knew so many talented artists live right around [...]
We’re in the thick of Christmas shopping, cookie baking and all around Decking the Halls. Thirteen days and counting…yikes! Each year I try as much as I can to shop at local stores. They offer one-of-a kind or hand crafted items that can’t be found anywhere else–love that! Not to say that I don’t shop at [...]
I’m ignoring the fact that it’s snowing like crazy outside and still acting like winter. I’m ready for warmer weather. I’m not asking for much…just some days filled with sun and blue skies. Despite, whatever Mother Nature is doing to us, it’s time to get some Spring bling on! A few weeks ago, Nicole and [...]
What to do with an empty wall? That’s the problem in my oldest daughters bedroom. Last summer we made some changes to her room that you can see here. Somehow the months got away from us without completing some of the finishing touches. With her turning 13 soon, as in right around the corner, {GULP} she wants [...]
We’re in the doldrums of winter. Are you feeling it too? It’s so cold out that the only thing I want to do is stay inside! I decided it was the perfect weather to sew some new pillow covers for our sofa. I’m kinda like a serial pillow cover-er (is that a word?) You see, all I [...]
