Saddle on up to the Bar

So last week I was on a bender, no pun intended, to keep busy. On Friday I painted my kitchen table and chairs and ambitiously brought the bar stools out to the garage as well. Once I got busy with the table and chairs I thought there was no way I would do the bar stools. They would be waiting til another day. BUT I ran out of paint for the table so I since I was off to the hardware store anyway, I took a peek for a little something something for the bar stools. Thanks to my facebook friend and cousin, I eyed this can of spray paint that makes your object of affection look like hammered metal. I thought it would be perfect in my kitchen that I am trying to modernize a bit. So I grabbed it.

I started with typical, inexpensive barstools that were originally white on the bottom with an oak seat. I had already painted them red then black and now onto an new, and likely final incarnation of metal.

As usual I started with my FAVORITE primer in the world, Zinsser. 

Then I sprayed the legs with the hammered silver spray paint and the seat with Ace's orange taffy. I have to say again how I love their paint pods...perfect for small projects like this.

This is the final result. I really like how it turned out. I am just realizing that this picture is sooo out of focus. I suppose maybe I should start carrying my reading glasses on a chain like an old lady because when I looked at the screen on the camera when I shot this pic it looked perfect. Ooop.

No Sew Pillows

I went neutral with the larger pieces of the tv room re-do. This way I could switch out the colors easily. One of the easiest ways to add or change color to any room is with an pillows. So I was determined to learn to sew to do this. After all, how hard can it be?  I can sort of sew a straight line when I scrap book so a pillow should be managable right?  One would think so, right? WRONG! So I found an awesome no sew project with upcycled pillows that I already had on hand. The only cost was the fabric, which was on sale. For both pillows I spent less than 20.00 and if you have priced pillows lately you know that is a steal.  This is the link to the idea that I found on pinterest. No sew Pillows

I started with pillows that I already had on hand and they were about 19 x 19 and one yard of fabric.

I laid out the fabric and put the pillow in the middle.

Folded the  fabric over on the top and bottom.

I used safety pins to attach. These pillows are going on a bench to basically just add a pop of color. If I were using them on a couch I WOULD NOT use safety pins. You could either use more fabric or use stitch witchery and iron the fabric together and slip the pillow in.

Grab the ends and fold in ...kind of like a diaper.

Pull each side in to the midle

Tie into a knot. I didn't have enough fabric to make a double knot so I went with just one and I love it.

The original blog shows the pillow turned around but I love it with the knot showing.

This is the final product.

A Good Primer Can Change Your Life

So my oldest son has broken my heart and left me at home while he goes to summer camp for the first time. Thank GOD for Pinterest!  As it has given me plenty of ideas to keep me busy. Of course, my son's messy room also occupied a little bit of time as well.

I had the old piano bench. My grandmother had it in the house when I was a kid. Strangely, we didn't have a piano so I don't know the back story as to how it came to our lives but it did. I used to use it as a teachers desk when I played school. Anyway....years ago my house was primitive country and I painted it green and drew a scene on it. I am not the skilled artist so I painted over it with a cream acrylic paint. I know ...cream.79cent paint from Michaels Craft... over green!!  What was I thinking?? The bench has been used to pile stuff on and has been underloved for some time. I needed to make it functional. It has too much sentimental value to get rid of so I decided to paint it.


So I dragged the bench out to the garage and began the process.

You can see in the above picture a little bit of the scene I had previously painted. Very country but hey don't judge me on my previous bad taste.

I can seriously not say enough about this primer!! It is AMAZING!!! I saw it on Pinterest and the poster stated that you could use this as a primer WITHOUT sanding. I nearly fell over at the thought! BUT IT'S TRUE!!!  NO LIE!!  I gave the bench one coat of Zinsser primer and then a coat of Ace paint in Turquoise Bay.(It was one of the "paint pods". It's a small sample of the paint and my Ace was clearancing them so it was a whopping 2.67 with tax!! Chaching!!) At this point I haven't done anything else to do it. I was kind of thinking I may put some padding and upholster the seat and add some nail heads. I also considered stenciling on it but decided that was too much a step back in time. Soo...I left it. There was something about it being plain and painted that spoke to me. Tomorrow it may be screaming at me to do something more with it but for today.....

The pillows are upcycled as well and will take pics soon and post about those. They are soooo super easy and NO SEW!! The books that are on the desks are actually antique school books that I used to play school with also.  But I have to say Zinsser primer has absolutely opened up an whole new world for me. Nothing is safe from paint in my house now, except for maybe the dog. 

Accepting the "Crooked Picture" Adventure

So I have tried blogging before. I tried blogging primarily based on my love of scrapbooking. But since I am not the most regular scrapbooker on the planet, I just got off track. So over the course of a couple years I blogged about 2 dozen times and most entries began with..."wow, I can't believe how long it's been".  I fancy myself to be slightly more original than that and yet I wasn't.

I have recently become a Pinterest stalker and have let myself escape into new areas of creativity...like painting furniture and doing some DIY projects.  THAT has led me to embrace the idea of blogging again.  So I am going to try this again and not limit myself to topic...like scrapbooking. Today I am blabbering, next time maybe it's something I have cooked or baked, or a project, a book I have read, or make up or shoes or whatever randomness is coursing through my brain.

I would definately forewarn you of a few things. I love the idea of beautiful, perfectly styled home. Mine, however, is not that!  I have a REAL home, with REAL kids, REAL problems, and REALISTIC budgets. I tend to read blogs that seem to encompass the perfect house, perfect degree of tidiness, perfect, PERFECT, PERFECT!!  When I walk away I shake my head thinking....."they don't really live like that". So this is not a blog that is going to be filled with a "Martha Stewart" mentality. I like getting ideas from her but sometimes I just want to choke on the perfection of it all. I was walking around my house today, wondering want task would I take on and what would I leave for another day, when I noticed a crooked picture. I tried to fix it but just can't get the stupid thing straight. So I left it....collective gasp here....it's not going to kill anyone and it doesn't make me a bad person or bad mom, wife or housekeeper. It just means I don't define myself by that picture being straight. Thus, the title for this blog.

So with new vigor and lots of ideas floating around in my head I am going to embark on this lifestyle blog.