When FAB happens by accident. (And for FREE.)

So I've never considered myself a dumpster-diver. I mean, I will dig through the Goodwill shelves with the best of them, but trash just ain't my thing. But a couple months ago on the way out of the neighborhood, I saw something sitting at the end of a neighbor's driveway with the trash.

I couldn't really tell what something was...I just saw it had GREAT legs. Long, curvy, sexy legs. I slowed..but my pride got the best of me. I mean, really. Was I going to pull over, grab that thing and stuff it in my car in broad daylight? In my own neighborhood?

No way.

I totally sent my sister instead.

Ah yes, she is ten years younger and used to doing my dirty work people. When she was three I was elated that we could make a game of "Go get sissy a snack!" and "Go pick up sissy's room!" It was fab. And still is. I begged her to go grab it. By now it was raining and I was panicking. She must get it NOW!

She did it and called me cursing because it was "soooooo heavy Sarah, seriously" and babbling on about "like 50 pounds" and "you totally owe me" -- blah blah blah. I was all, "Toughen up Sister!" and "It's good for you!" and, "Go get me a snack!"

Well, I felt bad later cause this sucker was HEAVY. Like, what the bleeping bleep is in this thing?, heavy. Upon some inspection, we realized it was a very old sewing cabinet:

She was in really, really bad shape. I had a vision though...

First, I put on my super cute accessories -- a mask (dollar store) and goggles:
Up till a few months ago, I never used either one when sanding, but now I try to use them all the time. I see the HGTV guys do it, so like always, I do as they do.

Next I took all the innards out of the table and she lost about 40 pounds like that. (Wouldn't that be nice?) Then I pulled out Mr. Cutie Patoot Sander. This little guy is cheap and will do just about any job in half the time as sandpaper:

After you finish sanding, you must wipe it down, like, fifty trillion times. I swear it takes longer than the sanding. I just use wet paper towels but tack cloths work great too:

Keep wiping till no more stuff comes off.

Because the top sanded down so easily, I had a wild hair to stain the top instead of painting it:

But I just wasn't feeling it. It was beautiful, but it wasn't my original vision. I did a little freak out that I had just wasted all that time, but I had another wild hair as I started painting over it:
I did one thin coat so you can see the red wood coming through. Um. People...I LOVE it. Ack!

I was so excited to get to the next step -- my inspiration for this was a beautiful little side table that was one of my few real furniture splurges. It is black with a very faint gold scrolly design on the front and I love it. So I gathered up my stenciling tools to recreate the look:

My shimmer/faux paint (bought it at Lowe's years ago and it has lasted FOREVER) and my glaze paint -- also has lasted forever, like a freaky long amount of time:

You need very, very, very little -- just an itty bitty dollop:

Mix them up and use the little stencil foamy thing (also has lasted about five years) and just dab it in:Get all the excess off, you want as little on the foam as possible:I taped the stencil down, and taped over the areas I didn't want to get painted:

Then I pulled it off and....

FREAKED OUT. I hated it. It was waaaaaay too bright. And I completely forgot about the handle that had to go back on as well. I thought I had taken a pic but I think I was freaking out too much.

I decided to paint the whole front panel black and just be done with the whole thing, so I started sanding over it. And a beautiful thing happened -- exactly what I wanted:

Well, I'll be. It was perfect. By accident.

Then I distressed the whole table just a bit. Because distressing stresses me:

I didn't use poly to protect it, I don't think this one needs it. I just scrubbed the old hardware and love how it turned out:
SWOON people!!

I'm still playing around with accessories:

The print above is going -- I'm making something else for that spot I'm very excited about. Let's just say the two little words: Ballard. Designs. Ack!

Here's a really bad, dark before picture with my GORG little Goodwill side table that was just too short:

And here's a really bad, dark daylight after picture:

I love!! Here's the Singer that was inside...she's a beaut:

Anyone know if these have any value anymore? It really is gorgeous. Wish I had a spot to display it.

This whole project was FREE! Free trash and free Glidden paint. Say it with me... Awwwwwwwww yeah.

I want to thank Kelee for highlighting me this week over at The Katillac Shack -- if you head over to see her beautiful site, be sure to comment! You'll be entered to win this FANTASTIC headboard!!:
Not even kidding, that is awesome!

P.S. I am so humbled and thankful for all of your wonderful, helpful and inspiring comments and and e-mails concerning my last post. I can't thank you enough. I am SO excited!!

Another lamp transformation!

Ohhhh I am sooo excited about this! I have been looking for new bedside lamps for, like, EVER. Like ohmygawd forever!

I found these for $20 each a month or so ago...and had to dwell on what I was going to do with them. I loved the shape of the bases and the shades, but the color was wrong for our bedroom:

The color was an easy fix. I spray painted them with my oil rubbed bronze paint (all the sudden I can't find this anywhere? Anyone else notice this?). It made a huge difference, but the shades needed something. Usually I cover my shades or add some bling to them, but I wanted to do something different.

It hit me. I used this:
(My large stencil I've used all over our family room.) And this:

(My stencil sponge.) I taped the stencil around the shade a couple times and did this:

Oh good Lord I love it! Here it is lit up:

Oh good Lord I love it more! Hubby's side, just because I love them so:

Seriously, it turned out exactly how I wanted. Squeal! I would have taken a pic of the whole bed with both of them but that would require making the bed. I do that about three times in a year, and this is not one of those times. Sorry 'bout ya.

I love how it looks different with the light on and off -- here's off:
And on:

I used regular paint (the wall color I had leftover) and a little bit of glaze. The glaze is not needed - I should have used more. (I wanted it to be a bit shimmery but it's not.)

Here's a peek at the old ones...

For more stencil fun:

Adding texture to your stencils.

How I stencil wall words.

P.S. I am eating a whole bag of popcorn.

P.P.S. Ummm...have you been to Hobby Lobby lately? Seen the Christmas decor out? Umkay. I'm so excited for the holidays I could pee, but seriously?

P.P.P.P.S.S. If you are not watching So You Think You Can Dance this season. GET to your DVR and set it for next week. Oh, how I love this show.

How I stencil

I have seen some lover-ly signs out there that I've been wanting to steal copy for awhile now. I'm amazed at how detailed some get -- most ladies I have seen trace the letters on and then fill them in with paint by hand?!

I am NOT that good.

I usually make my own stencils, and have them throughout our home -- they look like the vinyl wall words unless you are right up on them.

On a quick trip into Goodwill today, I found this board for $1.99. I loved it but I wanted to use it for something a little different:
I figured out the measurements, then got on the computer and figured out the font and size I wanted:
Then I use the exacto knife to cut out the letters:

For letters like a's, b's, d's, etc...you'll have to cut out the middle. I use a very small piece of tape on the back to secure it in it's spot.

Then take a sponge brush or one made for stenciling to barely dab on the paint -- you won't need much!:

Peel them up and this is what you'll get!

I love it! And only $1.99?! Awwwww yeah.... I'll probably add some scrolly jobbies on each side of the sign to add a little somethin'.

I did this in our kitchen above our cabinets (I used Italian phrases). Later I thought they needed something too, so I scanned in the little scrolly thing from Uppercase Living catalog, made it the size I wanted, then added it to the corners:

For the larger phrases, you'll need more than one page to print them. Cut them out and hang them on the wall so they line up, then paint:

Here's more in my son's room:

Fun eh? And soooo much cheaper than "real" stencils or vinyl lettering. And when I say "cheaper" -- I mean FREE!!

Our winner for Syndy's bag is........

Tay from Lazy Daisy Design!

E-mail me your address and I'll get it to Syndy. Thanks for commenting ladies, that was fun!

OH!! And I'm so excited -- I'm hosting a Spray Paint Party!! Spring is coming, so that means getting outside to spray some STUFF. On Monday, March 23, join us and show off your transformations!

Adding some texture!

Yes, I am still here!! I felt so much better after reading that you are all (most of you) obsessed with Twilight and Facebook too. Crackbook is still fun but it's already wearing off just a bit.

I'm totally lying. Every time I get a new friend request, I get all giggly and I'm obsessed again.

You all have scared the crap outta me about Twilight though. I need to make plans for my family because it sounds like I'll have my nose in a book 24/7 for a week. I'll be ready...soon. I have about 105 things I want to get done first. I'm sceeeeered to start reading!! :)

But I told you I wouldn't let you down...here's a project I've been thinking about doing for a couple weeks now. Remember these walls in my bathroom that I molded-up?? (That doesn't sound good, huh?)

I've enjoyed how clean and simple these were but in the back of my mind, something was always bugging me. I mean...they are frames...meant to frame something...so I had to do it.

Remember these raised jobbies that I showed you here?



Well it's time to show you how to do it yourself!! You will need spackle, a putty knife and a stencil:


I got one of these at Hob Lob for 40 percent off:


I love these stencils...they have so many options and they are LARGE.

Then I found the center of my "frames":

I taped the stencil up, making sure it was level. Then I taped off the spots I didn't want to be included:

If you are using the whole stencil, obviously, you can skip this. Now, here's where I make this take twice as long as it should...

If you are doing these in white, skip this. But if you want color, like I did (I used extra paint from that room), you just mix the paint and the spackle together:

When I say "just mix them together" -- I mean it. It's easy. Just make sure there's not too much paint. You will need VERY little paint. You want the spackle to have it's spackle consistency. It will end up like frosting and you will want to eat it:

Get some on your putty knife:

See, don't you want to take a lick????

Then putty away on the stencil:

I like a real textured look, so I just kind of slap it everywhere. What I love about this stuff is you can also make it really smoooooth and pretty too. It just depends on what you want.

Then pull off the stencil slowly and carefully. If some of your spackle gets under the stencil:

Just wipe it off! It's like butta people, it will come right off. I just use a paper towel and my finger nail to wipe off the excess. If you really mess up, you can wipe off sections or the whole thing, I swear! Just do it within a couple minutes or so.

This is the result:

Ummmm... I LOVE IT!! I was going to keep going with them but decided I like just one per frame...any more would be overkill. (But in a bigger room, that would be GORG!)

Total cost for this project was $9 for the stencil. Serious. Ask your hubby, I bet you have spackle in your house. I like using the lightweight spackle, but I bet any would be fine. And you don't need much! The amount in the bowl I showed you did all but one of these!

Best part is, you can paint over them. Or make them the same color as your walls...use word stencils...the possibilities are endless!! I LOVE this stuff. (And yes...they can be removed, it would be a bit of a PITA but you can do it.)

This project took about 2.5 hours for the whole thing...obviously, the smaller the stencil, the easier and quicker it will be. My powder room stencils took maybe ten minutes. Also, PLEASE experiment first, on a piece of paper, cardboard, whatever. See what you like and see how hard you will have to press, etc.

I have another small project in this room I hope to finish tomorrow, and then I'll show you better pics!

Off to check my Wall. I mean...go to bed....

**Edited to add...for the most part, you will want these were small hands cannot pick at them. They will be tempted. :) The thicker stencils, like my power room, would be harder to pick at than these. But you will be surprised at how strong the spackle is when it dries. If you are worried about kids or people in general bumping into them -- put them high. Professionals space them out around the top of rooms all of the time, for a little detail.