What I'm Up To...

So I told you I've got big plans for my week off!  I wouldn't exactly say I dove in head first.  I couldn't decide where to begin Thursday night so I took a nap.  That's the logical step, right?!

I have been working on my Mom's yellow distressed barstools since January!  At the end of January I got them all painted and distressed, then school got in the way!

So last night I finally got to apply the stain.  I'll explain all that fun stuff later when I show the finished product!  Here is a peek at how they look now!  The chair on the right already has the stain.  See how the wood pops now!  And it made the yellow more golden, just how Mom wanted them!  The poly is drying and in a few days they'll be done!

After I finished at Mom's I headed back to my place to start priming the mirror frame I bought a few months back.  I have big plans for it in my office that I'm renovating!

Here she is with one coat of primer:

I'll apply one more coat of primer tonight then paint it white tomorrow!  Because of the intricate details I'm using spray paint. I've said a million times how much I HATE spray paint! But I'm learning to be more patient with it so it doesn't drip and look bad.

While the spray paint is drying I'll be prepping this beauty:

I picked her up off of Craigslist over Christmas and have been so excited to paint her!  I'm thinking of a pattern similar to these from The Magic Brush, Inc. and Not Just A Housewife.  Love 'em!

I can't wait to finish them and get started on some other projects!!

Don't forget my giveaway ends at midnight!  Good luck!

Cheers!

Giveaway Reminder and An Update!!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!!

You can win a $25 Target gift card and a $15 CSN Gift Card!

Today is my first FULL day of Spring Break and my 10 days of project madness are beginning!

I have about 14 projects planned, so we'll see how many I get done!

Once I'm finished I'll have ALL kinds of eye candy for you!

Wish me luck, and don't forget to enter the giveaway!

You have a high chance of winning, because not many people have entered!

Cheers!

It's A Giveaway!!

(This giveaway is now closed)

You heard right folks!  It's my first ever giveaway!!  I'm incredibly close to reaching 100 followers, so as my thanks to all you great folks I'm doing a giveaway!!

I bet you want to know what it is, right?!

It's a combo of TWO giftcards!!!

TWO!

First, CSN Stores has generously offered one of you a $15 store credit!! Wowza!!

 Do you know how much stuff they have!! You can buy almost anything!  And almost every item has free shipping!!

You remember the home office renovation I'm working on right now?

They have some AMAZING home office desks over there! 

Look at this beauty:

Second, I'm going to give you a $25 gift card to Target!  One of my favorite stores!!

I'm sure you could find all kinds of things to get your craft on with at both of these places!!

So you want to enter?

Here's what to do!

MANDATORY:

1. Hop on over and check out their home office desks!

Come back and let me know which one you just LOVE! (1 comment)

2.  Follow me and leave me a comment letting me know you do! (Another separate comment)

OPTIONAL

3.  Make a post about the giveaway for an extra entry!  Come back and show me your link! (Third separate comment)

Easy Peasy!! That's three chances to win!

I'll keep this giveaway open until Saturday, March 5th 2011 @ Midnight!

The winner will be announced Sunday, March 6th!

I can't wait!  I appreciate all of you and all your kind words! You guys rock!

**Please note that CSN only ships to the US and Canada, and that there may be international shipping taxes to Canada that the gift code cannot cover.  This contest is for US and Canada residents only**

It Went Bump In the Night!

I have a pretty hilarious story unrelated to crafts. Well, it is KIND of related!

You remember when I said here that

"I was going to nail hanging brackets on the back, but the nail was too long.  Because the board is so light weight, I just hot glued the brackets.  Hopefully they won't fall and slam into my face one day."

Last night the hubby and I finally crashed around 12:30am.  I don't think it took more than ten minutes for me to fall asleep, because not twenty minutes later I was woken up by a loud BOOM!

Before I could even sit up and say "What was that!"  the hubby had already jumped out of bed, turned on the light, cocked his gun, and had his flashright at the ready.

I finally  managed to get out "WHAT WAS THAT!" To which the hubby replied "I don't know. Stay here."

What did I do?  Stumble out of bed against his request and start peeking through the blinds.  What was I looking for?  I don't know exactly, I still couldn't focus my eyes!

I finally regained my composure and eyesight and headed out into the living room, heart pounding, thinking I was going to see my hubby shoot a home invader.  Our backporch has three entry points: two windows and a glass door.  Anyone who really wants in our house could get in.

Each time I tried to peek through the blinds I would get blinded by the hubby's intense light.  Now I see what he means about it being so effective against theives.  You can't see a dang thing.

We finally realized no one was in our house and all the doors and windows were secure.  So WHAT WAS IT?!

As I'm peering out the front window onto the porch, still looking for a culprit or a broken pot, I hear an annoyed "OOOOH! I know what it was!"

I could tell by the tone of his voice it was in some way related to me, so I timidly walked into my office.  Yep.  My weekend $5 artwork that was so lightweight had fallen off the wall.  Why?  Because I guess it's not really that lightweight.  The hot glue had come undone  and caused the hanging bracket to rip off the back.

I kind of looked at my toes, then looked up and smiled and said "Thanks for protecting me from my picture!"  =)

$5 Wall Art!

I've been trying to decide what I want to put on the wall above my student desk.  Last week I was watching HGTV and could not stop looking at a painting in the room.  It was just like the top painting, except more orange.  I wanted it.. yesterday.

So I looked at my options from Lowes and found a board that was 24"x48".  It was only $5, so I had them cut it in half and took it home!

First I sanded the edges with my Dremel to smooth them down.

I used my free Valspar paint samples to paint the board.

It was gorgeous outside so I worked on the back porch!

First I painted all the edges, then worked my way in.

I put on two coats of blue, and three coats of yellow.  While that was drying I cut out my stencils.

I found images I liked on Google, then printed them on cardstock.  I used my exacto knife to cut them out.

***Do not cut on your carpet!! It WILL cut through it!  (Not that I've done this...)***

Here they are ready to be used.  I chose a bird and a frog!

For the white I used the leftover paint from my desk bookcase and my  student desk.  I used my foam brush and kind of smushed the white paint on.  Some of it leaked under, but I wasn't going for perfection.

After I impatiently calmly waited for the paint to dry, I ran over the entire piece with my Dremel again.  I made sure to really thin out the white because I didn't want it too brilliant.  I wanted more of an old, worn kind of white.  I probably could have even thinned it out more.

I was going to nail hanging brackets on the back, but the nail was too long.  Because the board is so light weight, I just hot glued the brackets.  Hopefully they won't fall and slam into my face one day.

And here they are in my office!

The entire process took about four hours, but that includes just sitting on the couch waiting for the paint to dry.

So total cost, $2.50 per picture!  I love it!

Cheers!

Linking Here!