Featured at Knock Off Decor!

I wanted to give a HUGE thank you to Beckie at Knock Off Decor for featuring my Pottery Barn knockoff lamp shades!  I was super excited to be featured on her awesome blog!  You'll have to go over and pay her a visit.  There are lots of amazing projects to try over there.  You will definitely come away inspired.  Becky is also the author of Infarrantly Creative and Roadkill Rescue.Thank you Beckie!!

Infant of Prague

Would you believe me if I told you that this used to be an old plastic night light that I found at the Goodwill?

Seriously!

Take a look again.

When I found it, the plastic had taken on a shiny, peachy color and it wasn't in very good shape.

However, it is the Infant of Prague and since I do collect them, I just had to bring Him home with me.

The other thing that was bugging me was this blue paint.  Do you see how it was over sprayed onto the body and other sleeve?  I needed to fix this.

A can of gray spray paint, a bottle of white gesso, a paintbrush, and plenty of paper towels.  Yep, that's all I needed.

For those of you who read Rosemary's blog Villabarnes, you've probably already seen this technique.

If you haven't, you've got to visit her.  I discovered this painting technique while reading her blog.

FABULOUS!

Anyway, you just paint your object gray.  When it dries, brush over it with white gesso (small sections at a time - it dries quickly) and wipe off with a paper towel.

Brilliant.  Thank you Rosemary!!

So here He is again 

He's lovely!

I couldn't stop there though.  I painted several frames that I had too. 

These were just plain wood with little metal filigree scrolls in the corners

and this one was one of those gold plastic Syrocco frames.

Cool huh?

Have a great weekend!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Happy Anniversary

Today we celebrate 13 years of marriage

and you still make my heart flutter.

I love you more and more

every single day.

I thank God for the Blessing that is you and our family.

Happy Anniversary, my love.

I love you with all of my heart!

Make Your Own Pottery Barn Grain Sack Lamp Shades

This is the story of how two thrift store lamps, a vintage suitcase, and a mini trophy cup changed to whole course of the bedroom decor...in an afternoon.  During nap time.  I even rearranged all of the furniture.

AGAIN!!

Funny how just a few simple items can do that to you.

It all started with these fabulous lamps that I found at the Salvation Army on Friday.

Yep...you read that price tag correctly...$5.00!

I needed them because Jack {the naughty puppy} chewed the cord on my favorite bedside lamp and then proceeded to knock the remaining matching one over about a month later - completely breaking it in half.

Anyway, I've needed some new lamps for awhile now but let's face it, they're expensive!

So I'm in the Salvation Army looking for something totally unrelated when this pair of lamps seemed to jump out at me.  It was love at first sight. 

But of course, I couldn't leave without this vintage suitcase or mini trophy cup either! 

Okay, so back to the lamps...

I had every intention of just using my existing drum shades on these new lamps, but when I got home, I happened to see these amazing Pottery Barn lamp shades here on Pinterest.

I couldn't stand it!

I HAD to make some for myself!

So I did. 

First, I made slipcovers out of some leftover drop cloth.

Then I just pulled them onto the lampshades that I already had...

...like this.

Then I taped off my pattern and used this method here for painting on the grain sack stripes.

Here they are all finished in the bedroom.  Pottery Barn inspired lamp shades.  Turns out I like these lamps even better than the ones that Jack broke.  I'm so glad that I came across those PB shades on Pinterest.  The best part?  They didn't cost me a dime.  {I already had everything I needed to make them}

I love them!

~ ~ ~

Have a wonderful evening!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Pottery Barn Inspired Hamper

img source

I love this hamper from Pottery Barn

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and I love this one too!

The price on the first one is a bit high and the second one is currently sold out.

Soooo...

I was out at Ross one day and I found this hamper you see below

not an exact match, but close enough.

I thought that maybe I could fix it up a bit and make a new liner for it...kind of like a cross between the two hampers.

I took out the original nylon liner and painted the wire basket black.

Then I used the liner as a pattern and made a new one with blue striped ticking fabric.

and now I have a brand new Pottery Barn {sort of} look alike!

For about $14 including all the fabric...not too bad!

Have a great weekend.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

It's All in the Numbers

 I love old, vintage enamel numbers but let's face it, they're not exactly easy to come by on the cheap!

I did however, find these.

to me they're just perfect and I love how they look adorning my laundry baskets

storage baskets

and in the linen closet too!

You want to know where I found them?

They're not old, vintage, or thrifted.

Nope, I found them at the craft store in the scrapbooking section.

AC Moore

I have a feeling that I'm probably the last to know about these...I don't get out to the craft store very often but when I do, they always seem to have all kinds of new goodies that I never even knew about - haha!

but just in case you're like me

and didn't know about these

I thought I would let you in on the secret ;)

I think they're fabulous!!

Have a happy day!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Diary of a Sofa

I have always longed for this Ektorp sofa.

It's neat and it's tailored but also comfy and casual.  It invites you to come and sit awhile...

but best of all, it is slipcovered.  With a husband, 3 boys, a girl and two dogs...it has to be.

We love everything about this piece of furniture.

There is one thing that it's missing though.

It doesn't yet have a story to tell.

I have always enjoyed old things for the stories they have to tell.  The long lives they have lived and the way they have been loved.

Something occurred to me though as I sat in the quiet dark that first night we brought this brand new sofa home.  I missed the stories that our old sofa held.

The seemingly endless days that I spent lying on it, suffering from all day morning sickness.

Little ones with tummy aches, scratched knees and pinched fingers sitting upon it with ice packs or bowls of chicken noodle soup.

Quiet evenings spent long after the kids were tucked into bed, snuggled up with husband watching old re-runs of the Andy Griffith show.

Do you know, I even went into labor late at night with our second baby while sitting on that couch?

It was our first furniture purchase when we got married and moved into this house.  Without even realizing it, that sofa was keeping a diary of sorts.  It was building a history right there in our family room.

  It has worn many different slipcovers and has witnessed several different style changes in its day.

All of a sudden I realized how much I would have missed this old sofa if we had passed it along to someone else.  Thank goodness it only traveled as far as our basement where we will continue to enjoy it there.

For now though,

a new story has begun.

Do you ever find yourself attached to a piece of furniture?  Have you ever had a really hard time getting rid of something that you don't use anymore because of the sentimental value that it holds?

I'd love to hear your stories!! I have been working on de-cluttering and I find myself running into this sentimental roadblock over and over again.

Have a beautiful day!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen