Happy Tuesday

Hi there!!! I hope you all had a lovely long weekend. I know some of you had fabulous bbq's and pool parties for Memorial Day. Not so much over here. While the kids played outside, the hubby and I tried (tried) to organize the mess we call our garage. It was definitely a HUGE task and we are nowhere near done, but we made some good headway.

I'm not going to bother showing you the "after" picture because you'll probably still think it looks like a 'before" pic. But, like I said, we made some good progress and there is still more to be done.

We flew a kite though, to make it feel more like a holiday...ha ha. Noah got tired of holding it so we attached it to our basketball hoop.

(it's that tiny dot up there in the sky).

I did manage to finish a project though. Remember this sticky lady???

She got a bit of a makeover :)

I wanted a little pop of color so I sprayed the handle aqua (of course). I think it looks extra fun and fancy :)

And here is where she's going to live :)

It's some super fancy "girly" storage ;)

And now I can look at this cute little guy while I "take care of business....ha ha. Eew."
I went a little extra distressed on this one and I love how it came out :)
Yay for keepers!!!! For $5 and some spray paint, I'd say she's a steal of a deal!
Happy Tuesday people!!!

I {heart} nap time

Yesterday I had a pretty productive nap time. Sometimes I just feel like blobbing out on the couch while my kiddos rest, but other times I am full of energy and get right to work. Yesterday was one of those days. Please excuse the randomness of my projects, lately I've been working on many different things at once. First up, some more sewing. I'm getting a bit better, but still definitely need A LOT of practice. Here is my first official pillow ;)

My lines are getting a bit straighter which is definitely a good thing.

I still need to work on hand-stitching it closed after I stuff it, but I'm sure that will come with time (right?).

Overall, I would call my first official pillow a success. I'm still a total rookie for sure, but plan to continue on until I'm a master :)

Next up are two mini-makeovers for the flea market. My sis and I found this awesome "flea market" resource where they have tons of cheap junk just begging for a makeover. When I say cheap, I mean CHEAP. Both of these pieces were $1 each and I think I can make a few bucks off of them. We'll see.

I totally forgot to shoot a before picture, so you'll just have to visualize it. Picture the most boring light wood colored butcher block type napkin holder. Boring. Solid and practical, but bo-ring.

I spray painted it aqua (of course) and added a little burlap and faux nail heads (aka thumb tacks). If I'm being honest, this little project didn't turn out looking as chic as I had planned. Kind of crafty looking for my taste. But, even if I make $5 on it, I'l' be a happy girl.

I originally thought I could just stick the thumb tacks into the butcher block to attach the burlap, but it was too hard to push them in. So, I snipped off the pointy parts of the thumb tacks and used my glue gun to glue them on. I just free-handed the word "bonjour" on it for some French flavor. I don't know. Cute-ish. What the heck, it's just a napkin holder anyway. Ha ha.

Last but not least, a cow. Actually this little guy may make you want to stop reading my blog. Ha ha! I wouldn't consider my style "country." I am more beach cottage shabby chic - maybe a tad French country. A tad. But, this little cow belongs in a country kitchen for sure. (again, no before pic. Just picture the tackiest painted country cow you can think of).

He got coated in chalkboard paint and now he's a memo-cow :)  Mooooooooooo.

All in all, these last 2 mini makeovers aren't really my fave. But, I think if they're scattered around our other treasures at the flea market and priced to sell, I think they may find a happy home.
Bye for now ;)

Union Jack {LOVE}

Happy Memorial weekend everyone!!! My sister, hubby, and I spent all day yesterday helping my mom move (read more about how fun it was on my sister's blog...Ugh). No seriously, I really really love my mom and never mind helping her. Even if it is hot, exhausting work. Anyway, today the kids and I are hanging around the house, playin' in the yard and enjoying some much needed relaxation. I even managed to squeeze in a project. Here is the before picture of a random box I got a my local thrift store for $5.

BEFORE: (icky)

If you know me at all, you know that I see potential in everything! This random country kitsch box with fruit on it was full of potential in my "trash to treasure" mind. I didn't get any photos during the transformation, but I hope the after shots blow you away. Drum-roll please.....................

AFTER:

Look at all this shabby goodness! Oooooooooooooh, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Ready for an extreme close up!!!

I think I'm in {LOVE}! Likey?????
I just loosely painted the graphic on with craft paint, and then went to town with my sander once it was completely dry. I wanted it to look super worn and aged and beautiful. I'm usually a Frenchy  kind of gal, but today, the Brits own my heart :)

Family FUN on the Farm...

Earlier in the week, my mother in law treated us (along with my sis in law and her kiddos) to a day on the farm. Tanaka Farms is a local organic farm that has daily tours and tasting. YUM!!! Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure :)

Miss Hayden decided that she had to wear her bright blue berry pickin'  boots ;)

Before we started Strawberry picking, we got to taste a few other things that they grow on their farm (carrots, green beans, onions, snap peas, etc).

The most fun part was the actual strawberry picking though. YUM YUM YUM! There weren't any pesticides so we got to eat them on the spot (& we each got to take home a one pound container full of red juicy strawberries). Mmmmmmmmm.

It was a perfect SoCal day and we all had a blast!!!!!! Thanks Grandma, let's do it again :)

Awesomeness............!!!!

Here's another thrifty makeover for the flea, yippeee (hey, that rhymed).
My sweet sister in law Darcy called me the other day from our local thrift shop and relayed some seriously valuable information (at least it was to me). There was a lonely ottoman/bench calling my name at the shop. Just sitting there. Calling MY name (meaning, this thing is right up your alley so you must come see & buy it). Sure enough, I saw it, and bought it. It was full of potential and it was all MINE! Muwahahahahahh.
Anyway, Here is the before:

Definitely sturdy, a bit dingy, and overall kind of blah (disregard my super blah kitchen in the background too, ha ha).

What do I do when something is blah. I chic-ify it. See.......

Chic-ified baby! Ooh La la! Ok, I know leopard print may not be for everyone, but it is definitely for me (& hopefully it's for someone at the flea market). I feel like it has sort of a Ballard Designs appeal, no?? Just look at all that shabby chic goodness ;)

I love how it came out and if I had any space left in this house of mine, I would definitely keep it. But, unless you want to see me on the next episode of "Hoarders: Buried Alive," I better sell sell sell!!!

A little bit of this and that

As I mentioned before, we are planning on getting a booth at our local flea market in July. So, this totally gives us a valid reason to thrift like crazy! Woo hoo!!
Here are a few mini-makeovers that I gave to some of my treasures for the flea :)

BEFORE: ick!

AFTER: Fabulous!

BEFORE: (I actually ended up getting 2 of these guys)

AFTER:

And lastly, some keepers. I went to an Estate Sale the other day and got a smokin' deal on these 3 butterfly prints. These are going to live here with me! Hmmm....now where to put them??

Happy Tuesday people!