Happy 2014 & a Sweet Little Desk Makeover

Happy New Year!!

I hope you guys had a great holiday!  Mine was actually pretty swell, save for a small case of the flu infiltrating a portion of my family, but all in all, I had a really nice holiday.  And I gotta say, not being overwhelmed by Christmas projects was such a relief.  That feeling has inspired me for 2014 and how I want to "run my life."  I have no resolution for this year.  While my past resolution {to try new things} has served me well, I feel like it has become enough of a habit, or second nature to me, that I can let it go as a standing resolution.

And I didn't want to give myself anymore pressure with a new resolution, continuing that relaxed feeling I had during Christmas and New Years.  I am going to keep that feeling by not creating a goal list for myself and my business for this year.  Not that I don't have goals or things I'd like to accomplish this year.  Because I do.  More than I'd like to admit to, ha ha!  But if they get done, they get done.  If they don't, they don't.  I'm just going to go with the flow and see how it goes, and while that goes against EVERYTHING in my personality, I'm excited to try to break away from that planning restriction.  Although, I am still going to make my lists so I can cross off what I do {such a feeling of satisfaction there!} and because it seems to be the best way I can organize my mind.

Know what I mean?! / via

Ok, enough of that!  I've got a couple of fun things to share with you to start off this new, carefree year!

If you follow me on Instagram {which, if you don't, you should.  It's the best way to get to know me and my quirkiness}, you probably saw a few fun things from this last month:

{1}  My hubby informed me he had NEVER seen "White Christmas!"  At the time I thought he had to be from another planet or something because that was a holiday staple in my house -- and everyone elses, too, right?! -- but I quickly learned there are countless others who have never seen it!  Crazy!  I'm thinking a social intervention is called for.  Community-wide "White Christmas" festivals.  Or something.  Who's with me?!

{2}  I watched both my nephews (18 mos & 4 yrs) Christmas Eve Eve, and upon arrival at my house, Matthew (the 4 yr old) asked me if we were going to make cookies for Santa like last year.  Uh, yeah, sure.  We took a quick trip to the grocery store to get sugar cookie supplies, which were next to none the day before Christmas Eve.  Lucky for me, Pillsbury heard my pleas for help and provided me with instructions on how to make cookies from a cake mix right on the box.  Santa cookies saved!  They are pretty yummy, btw.

{3}  I have seen the entries and winners for Design Within Reach's cork chair competition for years and have always wanted to try my hand at creating a mini chair just using the cork, wire and foil from the New Year's champagne bottle.  After years of saying "I wanna," I did.  I'm not going to submit them but it was fun trying to imagine what I could do with those small parts and what I could create with them.  And that cork is harder to carve than you'd think!  

I also got back to designing our Christmas cards after a hiatus last year.  It took me a little bit to find inspiration but eventually it found me, via the hubby.  He found this cute little graphic of Santa and his reindeer that had been heavily pixilated on purpose -- like the classic video games.  I've also been drawn to the winter sweater pattern {you know, the snowflakes & deer one} that seem to be everywhere now, so I thought to combine the two.  I was quite pleased with how they turned out.

There was a project I completed just before Thanksgiving but with the Christmas posts and my blog on hold until the new year, I haven't shared it yet {unless, of course, you saw on Instagram}.

I love color.  Like, all colors.  I hate being asked what my favorite color is because I don't know!  But as much as I love color, I have always stayed away from it in my interior designs, especially my own home.  You can see this in all my makeover posts.  Mostly whites and browns with hints of color here and there, but nothing bold.  Nothing that really says, "Look at me!"

I did have a brush with boldness when I redid this little metal student desk.  That green was just perfect.

And this little desk inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and do something bold again.

But this new redo may be my favorite makeover to date.  Well, maybe second, but just barely.  That metal student desk still holds my heart.

A tiny bit of history before the before and afters.

I had this chair forever.  We had bought it several years ago at a garage sale with the intention of making it over.  But some major life events pushed that project to the back-40 burner and we just used it as a chair here and there.

Great little back detail!

I really wish I could have gotten a true before pic of the chair so you could get the whole effect.  The seat was upholstered in this creamy satin stuff that would have been all that in the early 90's, but obviously over the years it got dingy.  Plus, the seat base was made of particle board and time had taken its toll, and it had begun to disintegrate, until one day I sat on it....and fell through.  Ugh.  Yeah, that's a boost of confidence, lemme tell ya.

So we replaced it -- der! -- with plywood so it's super sturdy now.

Then one day the hubby came home with a desk in the back of his truck from our landlord, saying he was just going to throw it out but wanted to see if I wanted it first.  Heck yeah!

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it -- makeover-wise -- but I knew I would be painting it because it did have a bit of water damage at the bottom.  Plus, I knew we wouldn't be keeping it because we just had no use for another desk, so maybe that's another reason I was ok with doing something different.  I wouldn't have to live with it, ha ha!

But since I was going to try and sell it, I knew it needed a chair, and that's when I remembered that poor lonely garage sale chair.

From there, I found my fabric I wanted to redo the chair in -- something fun -- then picked a color from the flowers to paint the desk.

Initially, I was going to go with the lighter blue for the desk.

However, when we got to the paint swatches, the blues just weren't doing it for me.

But the pinks were!

So I picked the perfectly Pantone "Raspberry Wine" pink, shaking in my boots the whole time.  Was I nuts to paint a desk this bold of a color?  This bright of a pink?

Hubby said no, and I trust his judgement when I doubt mine, so I went with it.

And I love it!!

He does too, believe it or not.  In fact, he said if it didn't sell, it looked good where I had it for photographs and we would just keep it there.  Wow!  I was shocked!  But that made me feel good when this Army-green-&-neutral-lovin' dude was diggin' my bright, bold pink desk!

Ok, ok, without further ado.....

{Before}

{After}

{Before}

{After}

I thought it would make a perfect desk and vanity, so I styled it as such for the sale photos.

Kitty photo bomb!  She couldn't resist trying out the new chair.

Isn't she lovely?!  I just loved how it turned out, and so did everyone else.  After I nervously posted her for sale, I had all kinds of interest, and she sold rather quickly.  Now I am earnestly looking for my next redo to sell and spread the beauty!  Exciting!

Wow, that was a lot for my first post of 2014, but I'm thinking its a great way to start!  I'm hoping to share some other new stuff -- including an Etsy shop announcement that's been way too long in the making -- but I'm in no rush.  I know non-regular posts are a turn-off to readers, but, selfishly, I'm looking forward to the go-with-the-flow plan and only bringing you guys posts I feel are valuable and not time wasters.  Because that annoys the heck out me!

So here's to a low-stress, carefree 2014!!  Hooah!!

TTfN!

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Mini Christmas Advent Calendar

I know, I know.  December is well under way and I'm bringing you an Advent DIY for my last Christmas project.  Really, this should have been my first, right?  As much as I'd like to say I'm on the ball with getting stuff like this done on time, I'm not.  I could say that I've had this done for a while but took forever to write the post, but I didn't.  I finished just a couple of days ago.  Just a few days into December.  Ah well.

To be honest, I'm not sure how much of a DIY this will be.  The little shelf I used was something of my mom's that she had forever.

I mean, check out this sticker on the back:

When was the last time you saw that logo from Wal-Mart??

Like I said, I'm not sure how many of you would have a shelf like this, but I did a quick search and found a few on ebay, and this board on Pinterest shows a couple of options as well.  I love the typesetter drawers, and those are fairly common in antique venues.

My mom loved cats, was a collector of all things cats, and she kept her miniature cat collection in this knick-knack shelf.  But after moving a couple of times, I guess she figured she wasn't going to display them anymore -- I'm not sure -- but I found the shelf in a closet one day and asked her what she was going to do with it.  She told me nothing, that I could have it, and when I counted 25 spots, I knew it would make a cute Advent calendar.

That was a couple of years ago actually, but life happened and I remembered this year I had that thing and decided to do something with it.

First of all, the sad brown wood would have to go.  It was just not in good shape, and overall was too dark.  But before I painted the thing, I had decided the numbers would be done like I did my design on my corkboard redo -- I'd pull off the stickers to reveal the background color.  {Side note:  anybody know what that process is called??  Apparently I like using it and I'd like to know what to call it, ha ha!}

I wanted my calendar to be fun, so I picked different Christmas-y colors and randomly painted spots in each section.

Then I picked my numbers from several different sticker sets in different fonts.  I also decided to spell out a few of the numbers, just to mix it up.

Once I had each number in place, I painted the entire shelf.  Which took much more paint than I thought it would, and was much more tedious than I expected.

That's why I finished last night.  Instead of before December 1.  That, and painting with an 18-month old running around thinking he needs to be painting, too, can be a little difficult!  O, but I love it.

After I painted the whole thing white, I painted the little decorative brackets at the top gold, and then free-handed a gold star on the top of the roof, where the roof "hip" is.

Once the paint was dry, I began peeling off my stickers.

Here's some advice should you want to try this method:  use plastic stickers.  These would be -- in my experience -- the ones that come on a clear plastic sheet, not on a white sheet where when you peel them off, you see the outline of the letter still on the sheet.  Those are made of paper, and do not peel well when wetted with paint.  Well, their paper layers peel well.  Ugh.

So after carefully and frustratingly peeling layer after layer of my stickers -- and having to touch-up a few places -- my Advent calendar was complete.

I really like how it turned out.  My hubby said it was very Christmas-y.  Well, that works!  :D

When my brother and I were growing up, my mom did an Advent calendar for us, although at the time I didn't know that's what it was.  We just got a little gift everyday for 25 days before Christmas, and it was awesome!

And even though my husband and I don't have kids, I don't see why that means we can't have fun with an Advent calendar, too!  This year I just stuck some candy and then these cute little felt ornaments I found in there.  But I thought it would be fun if he and I take turns -- i.e., he gets odd, I get even -- and find cute little things for each other.  The challenge of finding little, miniature gifts is exciting for me, although I'd be pretty easy.  I mean, a ring or a pair of earrings or a necklace would fit easy in any of those compartments, ha ha!!  He'd be fairly easy, too, with his love of toy police cars.  {BTW, he's reading this idea for the first time just like the rest of you.  Surprise sweetie! ;)  Don't you think that would be a great idea?!}

Just browsing Etsy, I found all kinds of cute, fun things:

Miniature Book Charms

Miniature Nativity made from Rice

Miniature Felted Barn Owl

Miniature Terrarium Necklace

Mini Flashlight

Miniature Vintage Wood Cigar Box

Motorcycle Police with Sidecar

Tin Police Car

Some of those are a bit pricey for an Advent calendar, but I think the hunt will be fun!  Target One Spot would also be a great place to find cute mini gifts.

Well, friends, that's all for my Christmas posts this year.  We got our tree and decorated this weekend, then decorated our house.  We had a crazy strong cold front come through a few days ago, so now, here in South Texas, it is feeling more like winter, which gets me more in a Christmas spirit.  It's just hard to get in the mood when you are running around in shorts and flip-flops!  Know what I'm sayin'??  But its perfect weather for chili, hot chocolate and Christmas movies, all while decorating!  Ya-hoo!

And, in case you're reading this post first, here are my other Christmas projects:
*Tomato Cage Christmas Tree Card Holder*
*Frosted Woodland Snow Globes*
*DIY Fleece Ruffle Wreath*
*Christmas Wreath from a Fan Cover*

TTfN!

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A Christmas Wreath from a Fan Cover

At the risk of giving you back-to-back posts on wreaths, I wanted to share my most favorite project from last year.

Which was a total fluke.

After I had decorated my dresser drawer shelves, I realized there was a huge hole in the entire composition:  at the top middle.  It was just screaming for something...something round...something like a wreath.

See what I mean??

But at this point, I wasn't interested in buying more decor, so I scavenged through my existing Christmas decorations to see what I had.

Nothing.

But inspiration is everywhere, and when I saw this fan grate in the garbage pile, I knew it would have a new life as my wreath.

It. is. so. fabulous!!

And was super simple to make!

All I did was weave ribbon I already had through the grating, a burlap ribbon first, then a lace ribbon over that.

For a bit of Christmas color I wove a wired sparkly red ribbon around the edge, then tied it in a bow.

Even though that might have been enough, you could still see the "plate" on the front that bears the company name.  So I quickly created the "JOY" banner using kraft cardstock and those same little paper doilies I used for the frosted snow globe windows.

The holes in the doilies made it easy to weave a twine string through for hanging.

Once I had it hung, I felt like it still needed a little something.  A little bit of green.

So I found a few faux holly leaves in my decoration stash and simply laid them in the bottom of the bowl.

And voila!  The coolest wreath ever!

I love it, and can't wait to hang it up this year!

Whadya think??

I suppose the lesson here is to think outside of the box and to look at things not as what they are, but what they could be.  Because I would never have thought of a fan grate/cover as being an awesome Christmas wreath.  Would you?

Well, just one more Christmas-specific project coming for you guys, then I'm calling it quits.  On the Christmas DIY, that is, for this year.  I am excited to get my decorations up and absorb their beauty this year.  I think the hubby has decided we are going to put up our lights outside this year, which I'm stoked about!  I always loved getting them strung, then turning them on for the first time and seeing the glowing wonder.  Because we live way out in the boonies, we didn't feel like there was a point to putting them up, but I think we've decided we want to do it for ourselves.  If you follow me on Instagram, you just might get a glimpse!  Yay for Christmas!!

TTfN!

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