Christmas Comes to Town

I'm a jingle bell baby....born just before Christmas and brought home to spend my very first Christmas Eve with my proud parents at just 4 days old!!  So maybe that's why I love this time of year so much!  Everything about it is fun and festive and fabulous!!!

This year I think I took it to a WHOLE 'nother level...putting up my Christmas tree the DAY after Halloween.  But I gotta say -- to all of you who think I'm missing a few of my marbles -- it was TOTALLY worth it!!  I got to sit back and enjoy putting up the decorations, not feeling rushed to get things done in just a few short days.  It was almost as if my holiday spirit grew and grew with each new decoration that I put out!!  

I finally finished getting everything done earlier this week, and now I can sit back and relax.

HA!!  Not really....shopping to do, parties to go to, gifts to buy and holiday goodies to make!  But at least I can now do it in a home where I'm surrounded by the Christmas Spirit.  Here's just a sneak peek and some of my world these days!

 Part of my reason for getting the tree up so early was because I wasn't very happy with it last year....so I needed to put on my creative cap and come up with some new decorations.  

I already had plenty of white and some green....what I really wanted to bring in was some blues.  And I wanted something that was BIG...that would totally make a statement when I looked at the tree.  So here is what I came up with....

 I took these reindeer silhouettes and painted them in white and gray, then added a little extra sparkle for fun.  You can't really see it in the picture, but they definitely shine on the tree!  I mounted them on painted cardboard cake plates and then just added a few pom poms and jingle bells for a added touch of whimsy.

 I found these PERFECT cupcake liners....how could I possibly say no to lime green AND polka dots all in one cute little package?!?!  So I decided to turn them into garland using white yarn and some white poms left over from the reindeer.

 I still probably need a little bit more, but I LOVE how it all came together!!

 This sweet Santa was given to me by a dear friend a few years ago.  I absolutely love his squinty eyes and his rosy cheeks.  He is the perfect image of what Santa should be.  And surprisingly, this is the ONLY Santa decoration and ONLY red decoration I have in my house.  But it's so perfect that it is just enough!

 Love my mantle with my Christmas tree collection...feathers, sparkles and glitter.  How much better can you get?

 I've always wanted to do this and this year I FINALLY did!  I've had this little Christmas Village for years...and I probably haven't put it out for at least 4.  It was cute, but dated and just didn't really "match" anything else I had.  So this year I was bound and determined to bring it back to life.  And I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!!  Just a can of spray paint and and some white paint brushed on the top and I've got myself a whole new village that matches perfectly with the rest of my decor!

And FINALLY...this marquee sign has been my really BIG project this year, something I wanted to do from the moment I saw my inspiration on Pinterest!  Soooo much work, but soooo very worth it!!  I love it and it totally tops of my holiday home!!

Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season and making it your own!!

Pretty Floral Hamper

OK folks....who's ready for Christmas???

What???....you haven't started checking off your list yet?

Well guess what??

We're here to help just when you need it the MOST!!

Over the next few weeks we will be posting several of our pieces at some AMAZING prices just in time for your holiday hustle and bustle to find that one perfect gift for EVERYONE on your list!

First up.....

This absolutely DARLING clothes hamper!

So pretty, huh?  

And the perfect way to hide your dirty clothes with it's breathable wicker woven back.  

Or better yet, use it to store extra towels or toilet paper so it's ready and within your reach at any time.

Dimensions are 22 3/4" tall, 19" wide and 10" deep.

Available for just $42.00!

Email us with inquiries.

Thanks for looking!

Cheerful Chair Set

OK.....confession time!!

I'm a procrastinator!!  

A tried and true, 

waiting until the night before, 

saving it for the very last possible minute, 

making everyone around me crazy with anxiety, 

kind of procrastinator.  

(Whew....it feels better to get that off my chest!)

BUT.....in my defense, the last minute is when my best work is done!  I know right now you're saying, "Sure it is!" ....but I'm telling you that's the real truth!

I'm what I would call a T-H-I-N-K-E-R

and sometimes that can cause me more time, pain, & frustration than you might imagine.

For example....

Let's just say I'm out on my normal junkin' & pickin' routine and 

just when I'm about to give up....

THERE IT IS!!!!

That ONE perfect piece!!!  It is practically illuminated in lights with angels singing all around it!

(or at least that is what I'm seeing, which probably tends to alarm all the other customers around me when I'm giddy doing my jumping for joy dance!)

Anywhooo....back to my point.

(as you can see I'm not only a procrastinator, but I'm also VERY easily distracted!)

So I take my "perfect" piece home and I want to have an equally perfect refinish, because that's what it deserves, right?!?!

So I think, and I think, and I think.....

and I thunk, and I thunk, and I thunk.....

And the more thinking I do the more confused I become about what I should do!!

(hopefully I'm not the only one this happens to!)

And eventually what happens is that I've "overthunked" (is that even a word??)  it soooo much, there is no way on earth I can ever be happy with the piece...because there is no WAY it will EVER live up to my 'THUNKING" process!!

As a coping mechanism for this personality defect of mine, I've resorted to the

COMPLETE OPPOSITE 

strategy....which is to buy pieces, take them home, let them sit around (some for a few years or more) and then wait for the day when I'm ready to start on them!

That little story was probably MUCH longer than I intended and if you're still reading, then 

THANK YOU

because you are probably my Procrastinating Bestie!

But that is exactly what happened with these chairs.

I saw them,

I wanted them,

I bought them.

I thought they were so cool and would need a makeover equivalent of their greatness!!

But I got overwhelmed....

and distracted.....

and found other projects that were calling my name.

That is until about two weeks ago, when I was looking in my shed and happened to see the arm of one of these chairs peeking out.

It was like it was calling my name!

So out they came and off I went....immediately with a plan in my head for what they needed to become ---

A plan that was only THREE years in the making!

(I would like to say that's my personal best....but sadly, it isn't! )

So here is YOUR reward for sitting through that little story with me and letting me share just a little bit about myself!!

Check out these beauties BEFORE:

Cool, right?  Worthy of a fabulous makeover, true?

And here is the 

AFTER:

Hopefully you agree with me that these were sooooo worth the procrastination and the wait....because I don't think they could get much more perfect than this!

Kitchen Cabinet Makeover Reveal

We're so excited to share this kitchen cabinet makeover with everyone! 

The owner of this kitchen is a girl after my own heart!!....fearless, loves color, has a great eclectic style and is willing to try ANYTHING!!  We LOVE that about her!!  And that's what makes it so fun to work on projects for her.

Here is her kitchen BEFORE:

Very nice...but just your average oak cabinets.  And definitely not special enough for this gal. 

As you can see, she had already started some framing on the kitchen island for a very unique and super cool part of this project. 

And get ready for this....because here is the transformed kitchen AFTER:

And check out these fun and unexpected "extras" she included in her refinish.  This girl LOVES her chevron....& who wouldn't when it looks this cute!  I'd be opening the cabinets ALL DAY LONG just to see this unexpected surprise!!

 She also added some chalk paint on the inside of another cabinet to keep "To Do" and grocery lists.  Super fun and functional idea.

 And if you're anything like me, I can NEVER remember measurements!  So it's this conversion chart handy to have!

Some really fun ideas and a gorgeous cabinet makeover might we add!  We love the color combo, the barn wood, and this creative gal's passion for mixing it up and doing what makes her happy and gives her the kitchen of her dreams!!

Sneak Peek of Cabinet Refinish

So very giddy with excitment because....

Guess what we get to do again???  CABINETS!!!

Oh My Gracious there is NOTHING in the world like seeing an amazing transformation with just a couple of cans of paint and some elbow grease!!  Seriously....it's the BEST!!!

We hope to have AFTER pictures of this amazing kitchen transformation soon, but we thought in the mean time we would share some of the BEFORES and DURINGS of this fun project!

 Here is the kitchen before.  We love her decorating style, fun and adventurous with a flare for the unique.  This girl is not afraid to try something new....a woman after our own heart!  We could be soul sisters!!!

 The first stages of painting cabinets are probably the most boring part.  True, there is excitement because you know something amazing is about to happen, but taking all the cupboard doors down, cleaning, using the sander deglosser and priming can take a looooong time, which can test your patience because you dont get to see any results yet.  Your vision hasn't quite come to life so it can sometimes be hard to stay motivated.  But can we just tell you....this project was so FUN because our client was there with us every step of the way!  She wanted to learn so she worked right beside us and even did a lot of the work on her own!!  Wish all  our jobs could be this fun!!

 Here is is a picture with our first coat of white on the cabinet doors.  You can finally start seeing all your hard work pay off.  And who doesn't love a fresh coat of white paint?!?

 So the request was that all the cabinets be finished in a cream with light distressing and dark walnut stained finish.  BUT.....for the island she wanted a fun (and beautiful we might add) pop of teal!!  How gorgeous is this color?  She is going to have some fun barnwood to the island as well when everything is all done.  Love, love, love this color!!!

 Here is a quick pic we took when whe had finished our first coat of the cream and teal.  You can start to visualize the dramatic difference this will make in the kitchen.

 Now here's where it REALLY gets exciting!!!  We can finally get an idea of how these beauties will look when they are finished.  These are pictures of the cabinet doors after they have been primed, painted, distressed and now stained.  This is where we get our second wind of energy and excitement, because you can truly see the benefits of all the many hours you've put into this project.  Love the color combo and the richness that the dark walnut stain adds to these doors!

 And one more final sneak peek we wanted to share before the big reveal.....how genious is this idea?!?!

I have to give complete and full credit to our client, because she is the one that totally suggested this, but what a great way to keep your cupboards off the drop cloth when you are applying the final clear coat protective finish.  This way it doesn't stick to the drop cloth and you can get a good coat all the way around the edges.  We've propped pieces up before, but never with Red Solo cups!!!  So very smart!!!

We hope to have pictures of the finished makeover to show you all very soon!!