Friday Find

Stenciled wood headboard, this would be super easy to do and what a fun project.

I love this little dresser for a child's room, so much personality in this little piece.

Love everything about this last picture - the colors, the white chairs, and of course, the simplicity of the stencil work on it.

Not your momma's stenciling.... Well, since Michalann did a post about stenciling last week, I decided to continue it and show the furniture side of stenciling. I remember when the "country decor" was really popular and just about everyone I knew had a least some kind of furniture that had an apple stenciled on it. Well, stenciling on furniture has come a long way, hasn't it?! I found this website that offers a ton of stenciling options , and I fell in love with some of the Moroccan stencils. I love them so much that I am seriously thinking of stenciling the back of my entertainment center wall of the bookcases. I just recently painted the inside a pale blue color and now I think I would love to de-clutter the bookcases and add only simple accents, then add a stencil to just the back of the wall units. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think. (sorry not the best photo but would love to hear some feedback)

Friday Finds 7.22.11

One of my dream bedrooms . . . gorgeous stenciling . . .

Happy Friday, everyone! As you are reading this, I am probably on the road headed to Minnesota with my hubby and four kids (wish us luck!) and hoping for some cooler weather when we get there! Jen will be holding down the fort by herself - she is working on some really cool projects, so don't forget to check back!

One of the reasons why Jen and I love what we do so much, and why we think that painting is so FUN, is that it is such a great way to give anything a new, fresh, look! When we moved into our home about 4 1/2 years ago, it was more than twice the size of our last home - all the walls were white, and we didn't have hardly any furniture or decorations to fill it up and make it feel cozy. So, I promptly bought around 27 gallons of paint (I only know how many, because I counted one time ) and set out to paint every room!

Soo . . . fast forward a couple years, and I'm ready to change it again - does that ever happen to you?! I have seen a lot of gorgeous homes with wallpaper in them - textured, or with beautiful graphic designs - and I thought I would like to try some in my home, until I saw the beautiful stencil that my friend Tiffany has been working on in her dining room! Although it can be time-consuming, it is less expensive and less permanent than wallpaper, and can be just beautiful! Here are a couple great places to find stencils: Cutting Edge Stencils, and Whitewall & Co. Here are some of my favorite images (most of them were from Cutting Edge:)



Ohh, I am IN LOVE!!! (and look at the cool striped table above - we could totally do something like that!!!!) Maybe I will get brave enough to try one of these after school starts! How about you - have you ever done stenciling? How did it turn out? Any tricks/advice? I'd love to hear back from you!

Friday Find

A few weeks ago I was in need of a Friday Find. I was in Utah visiting family and I dragged my sister to the local thrift store. We looked at all the furniture but there was nothing that caught my eye. We did, however, find rows and piles of dinner ware, glasses vases, cups, you name it. We suddenly had so much fun paring different pieces together, and before I knew it... I had found a Friday find.

We had found this lovely vase and bowl that fit perfect together and became one beautiful shape.

This little vase and saucer were also a perfect pair together.


So after bringing them back to Texas, gluing them together, giving one of them a good spray of white paint... this is now how they look.

I loved the colors on both of these together, I thought all they needed was some glue to hold the plate down.

I should also tell you I only spent $2.58 at the thrift store that day.

Before and After

I know we all love a good makeover. This table and chairs were a perfect candidate for a good change.

Friday Finds: How to find your own great deals!

I guess it's no secret that we find a lot of our great pieces to refinish at garage sales, thrift stores, and even on Craigslist. I thought I would share with you a couple of my favorite finds, and plus a few tips for finding your own treasures!

This chair was $15 at a neighborhood garage sale - I lOVE it! It reclines and is so comfortable!
I haven't decided if I want a modern look or old Hollywood glam for my bedroom, but I think it will be perfect either way!

Jen and I found this beauty at our local Goodwill. Because it didn't have any chairs, I was able to negotiate the price down to$20. What I love about it is that it is STURDY and has beautiful
pedestal legs. As you can see, it needs a good sanding, and maybe even some wood filler in places - but with that, and a fresh coat of stain or paint, it will be BEAUTIFUL!

So, how can you find your own great pieces? Here are a few ideas:

1. Shop Goodwill and Thrift stores at the beginning of the week, first thing in the morning. That is when they will have the most selection - after the weekend garage sales are over!

2. Get there early. If you see something you like, don't wait, or someone else might get it - it might be helpful to bring your kids a long to "save" things for you while you pay (ask Jen about that one!) Same thing applies with things on Craigslist - if it is a good deal, it will not be around for long!

3. Don't buy something without taking measurements first - I recently bought some chairs and had my husband pick them up. They looked great in the pictures, but were way too short for the table I was going to put them with!

4. We also find it helpful to bring a measuring tape and camera with us, in case we see something we like, but aren't sure if it will work.

5. The last and most important tip is this: look for furniture that has a shape that you like, is the right size, and good quality wood. Make sure drawers slide in and out easily, and that the furniture is sturdy. A little imagination and paint can help with the rest!

Scroll down for some inspiration with our before/after shots! (And remember, if you find that perfect treasure, but need some help with the transformation, we will be happy to help! :) )

Happy Hunting!

Some more before and afters . . .

We've been so busy (which is great!) that we've neglected to post all of our projects on here! So, here are before and after pictures of some of our recent projects - don't you just love a good makeover?!

Entertainment Center

Absolutely stunning.This can be used as a Entertainment Center or a Armour. It has two fully removable self's for the inside that can be adjusted (the two self's are each painted black and measure 43" long x 13 1/2" deep).

Full unit measures 84" high
20 1/2" deep
46" across

Inside the top unit measures 43" across x 30" high.
Price is $300.00

Friday Find

I pick up these little beauty's today and can't wait to use the blue stripe ones in my home somewhere.
We have lately discovered a whole new love for furniture knobs! They are an inexpensive way to spruce up your old furniture with out spending a lot of time or money, and can give you a quick change. Hobby Lobby has a really unique selection of knobs and a good variety as well. Most of the time you can find them on sale for 50% off and if you happen to go one day and they are not on sale you can almost always find a coupon for them online.