Forsaken to Fabulous

I've Neglected This Blog

2010-05-06T23:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been a whole month since my last post! I have been super busy planning for and executing a huge community fundraiser for my sister who is battling Leukemia right now. If you'd like you can read about her journey HERE.

So I wanted to show how I've incorporated my last few projects into my decor. I complete something and immediately begin the task of finding a "home" for it.

My 'B' monogram has a home on the top of my kitchen hutch. I think it's happy there for now.

For my twine monogram, I hung it up on a wreath hanger with a sheer, black ribbon. It actually sits behind my kitchen sink in a little window box there. The picture of it on the counter looked better.

My new hutch has been accessorized. I haven't done anything with the chipped and peeling paint yet, it will have to wait. I had lots of fun decorating this love of mine! I was happy to be able to bring out some of our books. We all love to read at our house.

I found this at Ross- $15. I thought it was unique and would add some color.

I bought this at the antique store- $6. I knew it would fit in somewhere!

Some finials that I have recently painted. I am going to leave the tall one black and gold for now.

My moss ball trio.

I'm planning to redo my decor that is currently above my kitchen cabinets. I have been on the look out. I found a few things the other day at he antique store.

This wire basket has some height to it and I love the look of it- $10. I filled it with fake red apples.

I love finials!! I just couldn't pass this up! -$19

I found this guy at the dollar store. I love the whimsical look of it. It is interesting to me, out of the ordinary. It may or may not find a home, but for a buck, I thought what the heck!

My First Mod Podge Experience!

2010-04-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

I used Mod Podge for the first time last night and now I "get it". What some awesome and easy to use stuff! I am now just looking around to see what else I can do with it.

I found this picture or hunk of wood with a crazy print on top...at Hobby Lobby for 90% off. They had them there when they were 60% and I just knew they would be there for the 90% mark down. I had a plan for it and got it for $1.99...saweet. Here's how my idea panned out:

Tiger print thing before:

After: (I used fabric)

Add a letter 'B' for my last name:

Paint it antique white with just a thin coat so some dark shows through and then add a touch of glaze:

Enlist the help from some awesome glue:

In love!!!!

An Antique Love Story

2010-03-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

I met this gorgeous hutch back in November at a local antique store. It was love at first sight. I have been thinking about it ever since, looking at it every time I shopped at the store. I just couldn't bear the thought of it sitting in that store any longer...the time came to bring it home with me. I LOVE this piece of furniture. I have it in our living room and plan to use it as a bookcase. There is plenty of storage too which will help with our storage dilemma. I am sooo excited to accessorize this beauty! I didn't get it for cheap, but I think it is worth what I paid. It is going to look even more fabulous with a little TLC.

Finally Warmer Weather

2010-03-30T21:39:00.001-07:00

The sun was shining a couple of days ago and I just had the itch to spray paint something. I painted some frames...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And a Hobby Lobby find that is looks kind of springy when it is all painted...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

There is a lot more waiting to be painted. I haven't found a home for these items I painted yet, still thinking up something for the frames.

Thank you Hobby Lobby

2010-03-23T23:02:00.001-07:00

Our Hobby Lobby has been having a bunch of 90% off home accents and I've been snatching up finials like crazy. So many of them are gold, and it's just not my thing. I painted this one antique white again with my Glidden paint.

I like this color because it is super neutral and clean looking. I did add some glaze, but haven't taken a picture yet. Just imagine little bits of glaze trapped in the beautiful lines.

Topiary Love

2010-03-11T21:56:00.001-08:00

I was in Idaho Falls last weekend and went to a small home decor store. Everything was really pricey, but I spotted this cute little topiary and wanted to take it home. I collect them and love them in all shapes and sizes. It wasn't marked and so I inquired about the price thinking it was probably $5-$10. The clerk came back and told me it was $1.99...um, I'll take it. It has a perfect little home and an owner who loves it!

I'm addicted!

2010-03-03T23:36:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Cami and I'm addicted to moss covered balls. There is not a single soccer, basket, grapevine...ball that is safe. By summer I may just have them all covered in moss!

Okay, really this is my last one...wait, doesn't every addict say that?

I found the red bowl at Hobby Lobby 80% off, making it $4.79. I need more color in my house...love it!

I also wanted to share a couple of recent finds. I found this lamp at Hobby Lobby for 80% off, making it $16.00. I didn't love it at first because I thought it was too tall, it has since grown (no pun intended) on me and I adore it!

I found this frame at the Dollar Tree. I like it as is, no painting required. Aren't those three boys divine?

I Can't Wait For...

2010-02-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

The hutch is getting springified.

Dear Spring,

I'm anxiously awaiting your arrival. I look forward to the day when your warmth and sunshine melts all of this yucky, dirty snow. I long for your beautiful tulips and the chirp of birds. I crave seeing the green leaves on the trees again. Please visit soon. I love you and miss you!

Making Over A Finial

2010-02-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

Another D.I. find is transformed. This finial had serious potential and I'm glad I saw it. They had three for sale and I'm kicking myself for not buying them all and gifted the other two...arrggg. Anyway,I gave this bad boy three coats of antique white paint and finished it off with some glaze. This piece was really glossy to begin with and the paint kept rubbing off...note to self...prime next time! I love the finished product!!

Before...what do you even call this color? :)

After...oooo...awww...beautiful!

I love how the glaze gets trapped in the details.

Making Over A Pinecone

2010-02-23T23:16:00.000-08:00

I bought this at the D.I. a couple of months ago. It was love at first sight...I saw the potential right away. I have used its little gold self here and there in the living room for the last couple of months, but it finally just had to have its makeover.

Three coats of glidden later...

After some glaze.

I like this color much better than the gold, but all three of my boys have asked me why I painted it...they liked the gold! Sorry guys, the gold just had to go.

Finding Cheap Cuteness

2010-02-23T22:07:00.001-08:00

I found this cute little tray at Hobby Lobby for $2.80. I snatched it up! I knew I could do something with it.

After trying a couple of different things, I ended out putting my moss topiaries in it and adding a grapevine ball.

I just love it!

Two Moss Balls Are Better Than One

2010-02-19T08:29:00.001-08:00

I bought this little dish thingy at the thrift store for $1.50 the other day. It is made out of metal. I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.

Rather than add this little guy to the "waiting to be painted" pile, I got out the Glidden and brush and went to town. It took three coats because I didn't prime...oops. Since I already had the paint out, I decided to paint the small urn from a couple of posts ago too.

For a finishing touch, I added some glaze. This is my first time using it and can I just say that I'm in love! It is so easy to use and really makes the details pop. I will be using it lots more in future projects.

I wasn't able to find a cast away basketball for this project and didn't want to spend a fortune on a Styrofoam ball...but I did have a bazillion of these grapevine balls stashed away and just covered one with moss. Easy peasy!

I love them!! Best of all...they were SUPER cheap and I think they're FABULOUS!!

Happy Friends

2010-02-12T11:26:00.001-08:00

I bought these two items separately and they go together perfectly. I was so happy when I got home and realized this. I bought the easel at an antique store for $6...score! I love it, but it was really all alone in it's coloring, that is until I brought home this statue thing from Hobby Lobby...clearance for $8. So, they are happy little friends.

I won the plaque from a giveaway hosted by Traci at Beneath My Heart.

Quick, Easy Topiary

2010-01-31T21:14:00.000-08:00

This is another borrowed idea. I found it at Creations by Kara. I love topiaries in all their varieties! I would say that I'm a bit obsessed...I have too many to count...okay I just counted them...I have twelve, that doesn't sound like a lot. Anywho, when I saw this on Cara's blog, I knew I was going to do it and began the process of finding the perfect ball. Most of the little balls that our boys have are buried in feet of snow and I thought I was going to have to wait until spring until I found this little ball under our bed! It was a souvenir for our littlest from Disneyland, so it wasn't the cheapest ball, but I think we have gotten our money's worth out of it, so it was the lucky ball to be covered in green moss.

The supplies needed are a small ball (you could buy a foam ball at the store if needed), a container to hold your topiary (I got mine at Hobby Lobby), and green moss. I found my moss at the Dollar Tree. You will also need a glue gun.

You just start gluing the moss onto the ball until it is covered and ta-da, you have a homemade topiary, for cheap!

I plan to paint the urn antique white when it's warm again, to add some contrast.

Valentine's Day Wreath

2010-01-29T20:26:00.000-08:00

I have been looking through blogs for wreath ideas and found lots! I eventually decided to combine a couple and this is what I came up with. This wreath took about 4 hours to do...seriously! I started it last night and finished it this afternoon. I really enjoyed making this. One of our sons helped me last night and it was so nice to sit and visit with him. He was having a hard time sleeping and I was happy to have the help and company. Our youngest was my happy assistant today and it was fun to spend time with him too.

First, you need to cut about a million of these! I used 1 1/2 yards of fabric total. I ran out last night and had to go back to the store today for more. I cut the fabric into strip and then squares and then circles. I won't lie, it took a ton of time.

I didn't take step by step pictures, but I wrapped the fabric around the end of a sharp pencil, dipped it in glue and pushed it into the heart...repeat this step a million times until it looks full.

I love it!! It has texture and color which are favorites of mine.

I am growing more and more fond of the color red...

Painting and Twining (is that even a word?)

2010-01-28T22:38:00.000-08:00

Painting

I have a serious back log of projects that I have been wanting to do. I finally decided that I need to stay away from the thrift stores until I'm caught up...now that was a huge motivator because I love to go thrifting! I found this spoon and fork a couple of weeks ago and they have been in the waiting to be painted pile ever since. I ended out using craft paint on these because it is still too darn cold to get the spray paint action going. This little makeover was really quick and simple. I still plan to sand them up a bit and add some antiquing gel. They are good enough to hang up now and they have been moved from the forsaken pile.

Before:

After:

Twining
I used to be anti-monogram, but have since fell in love with the idea of them! I am proud of our family name and want to display the letter 'B' everywhere!!! My maiden name and married name both start with 'B'...just a little nugget of info for you. :)

So, I got the chip board letter and twine at Hobby Lobby. I saw this idea on a blog somewhere and thought it would be so easy. Now let me just say...I was really wishing that my last name started with 'T', or 'I' during the twining process. Wrapping that 'B' was a pain in the 'B'ehind!!! It ended out taking a couple of hours and several hot glue burns. I was so happy to be done with it! I really like it though, it was worth the time and effort.

Looks pretty simple...

Here it is in all its glory!

Marbles, Glue and a bit of frustration...

2010-01-23T23:53:00.000-08:00

So I'll be the first to admit that I'm not really a crafter. I have never come up with an original idea. I am a huge borrower of ideas though and I borrowed one from Jen over at Tatertots and Jello...again. I thought this would be easy and I loved the 3D effect of the marbles.

I painted a couple of Dollar Tree frames black, cut some scrapbook paper, traced my heart, added glue and started to stick the marbles on...sounds easy so far and it was. As I started to add the marbles, I could not for the life of me get those round marble to come together to make a heart! It drove me crazy. I think I finally got it to work, but it was not as easy as I thought it would be. The X and O was way easier on the marble end, but required some measuring and tweaking to get it all centered. All in all, I had fun with this craft and the kids liked it because they got to stay up until 10:30...shh told tell anyone.

The heart is my fav! I love the whole package a lot. This year will mark the first that I have ever decorated for Valentine's Day...I quite like red :)

Decorating Contentment

2010-01-06T12:41:00.001-08:00

We bought this hutch last summer. There is so much I love about it, but don't really get into blonde woods. It is in flawless condition and doesn't need to be painted, but I just can't fight the itch to paint it...I think it's a disease! So, I'm thinking when the weather warms up, it will get added to the paint list, it is getting really long!

For a couple of months this piece of furniture has been kind a drop off surface for papers, ribbon, thrift store finds etc.

I finally cleared it off and attempted to decorate it.

The frames with the letters in them get changed out for each season...have you ever noticed that the seasons all have six letters in them (I use Autumn instead of Fall)? I was super excited when I found that out!

Three of the plates are from Hobby Lobby and the smaller one is from D.I.

The pear is from Michael's...it's actually a gourd, but I thought it looked enough like a pear, if you don't mind the brown color. :) The stand it is sitting on was a D.I. find.

The frame was a Christmas party win and the topiary is a fix up from D.I.

I achieved the balance I have been craving for this piece of furniture and like the color scheme too. Finally it feels right and I am very content.

Onto the next thing...my dad was going to throw this picture out until I arrived just in time and said "No!!!" I mean how could he throw this beauty away? The cross stitch is hideous, but the frame...I saw huge potential in the frame and have big plans for it. I will reveal when it's done. It will be getting a nice fresh coat of black paint in the process. The clapping lady man were deposited in the trash thank you very much.

I'm lovin' the detail on this frame!

Post Christmas Decorating

2010-01-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

So I got the Christmas decorations down and just didn't know where to start. I was tired of my old stuff and the arrangement of the furniture in our living room. I moved a couple of things and it looks so much better. I set out all of my accessories and started working my magic....what little I have. :) I moved things around over and over until things felt just right. My husband seriously thought I was crazy, but he was really patient with me.

Since we are in such a small home right now, there aren't many surfaces for me to decorate. I'm sharing pictures of the three main places I get to decorate...minus my hutch that I'm still working on.

I had some red berries in this jar below, but had know idea what to put it in post Christmas. I combined these three:

Into this...I'm not sure if that plant looks okay in there, but I like it...I guess that's all that matters right?

I eventually took the letter 'B' off, added a different ribbon and tied it to this urn that I got at an antique store...I LOVE the green color, but it needed a little somethin' extra.

Here are some other pics from the living room:

This hutch is the first piece of furniture I ever painted. I bought it at a garage sale in AZ. It is the top part of a bookcase, but I think it looks great as is. I'm going to paint it black in the summer when the weather warms up.

I made these cones a couple of months ago...I love them sooo much! I saw the idea on the blog Just a Girl. The table that these goodies sit on will get a makeover this summer. My husband bought it for me at an antique store. It has a lot of character, which you can't see in this pic.

Decorating this table always stresses me out! I change it up repeatedly before it feels right. I got that pine cone thing at the D.I. and it is begging to be painted...it will just have to wait, it's too stinkin' cold outside. I very hesitantly added ribbon to the candles {I'm kind of unsure of myself}, I was surprised at how much I liked it. I won the plaque in a blog giveaway hosted by Beneath My Heart. I treasure it!! I hung another 'B' onto the lamp and used the same ribbon that I used on the candles.

The 'B' close up. Isn't it cute?

Sweet Christmas Clearance

2009-12-28T19:14:00.001-08:00

Every year I promise myself that I will not buy any Christmas clearance, but for some reason every year I can't help myself! I always end out "just looking" at the clearance. So this year was no different except for I found these great deals on Christmas Eve when I was buying things at Smith's for dinner... cute stuff at Smith's you ask...yes, way cute stuff. Here's the break down...

Three 6 in. wreaths (big plans for these next year) $1.75 a piece.

Snowman plate thingy $1.75.

Five plate chargers $o.75 a piece.

Play money $0.50 a piece (I will be using these for a fun chores incentive for the kids...they will earn fake money which can be redeemed at the Bodrero family store or an outing, that's another post entirely).

10x20 in. picture of Santa. $5.00

Pine cones- $1.25, stocking- $1.00, garland- $0.62, crate- $o.75

Five dessert plates $0.31 a piece...sweet!!

Eight snowflake glasses $0.31 a piece.

The grand total $24.90!! Now do you see why I can't help myself?

I made the star pictured below. I used some paper I had on hand just to see if I could do it...I can! I plan to use this idea next year in some more Christmasy colors. Super easy and I love stars.

Christmas Stuff

2009-12-17T22:11:00.001-08:00

I love to decorate for Christmas. I am trying to add more items each year and have loved the fantastic ideas that I have seen on various blogs in blogland. There are some super talented ladies out there...my word! Here are some pictures of a few spots in our home that are decked out.

The tree. I let our boys decorate the tree together and even though it drives me crazy that everything isn't centered (I have some OCD issues), I have left it alone. I think they did a pretty good job!

I love, love nativities! This is our only full set. The shepherd, donkey, and camel aren't pictured. We have had this for a few years and it brings me so much joy!

A splash of color!

I bought this at Kohl's this year. I love that it can stay up all winter long, it is super cute. I have it hanging on a wreath hanger and it looks great.

This is so old. Is it not dated...big raffia bow, hunter green and burgundy...I remember when it was the 'in' thing. I want to give this a makeover! I have gotten as far as painting it. I plan to distress it and add some pretties to it. I am still looking for the perfect stuff.

There have been ton of ideas in blogland for inexpensive gifts. I saw this on Sisters Stuff and knew it would be something I could make and something useful for our boy's teachers. It is simply an acrylic frame with scrapbook paper inserted instead of a picture. I tied a ribbon around it and stuck on a post it pad. I made one for us too...such a cute idea!

Cute!

Just Add Paint

2009-12-12T00:35:00.000-08:00

I found this at a thrift store for $2.00 I loved the chunkiness and shape of it. I gave it a good cleaning, filled the cracks with wood filler, sanded it down, added some primer and then a coat of black paint.

Here is the sconce it its new home, looking much better. It's amazing what a little paint can do.

An Easy Frame Re-purpose

2009-12-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

I found these pictures at the thrift store. The fact that I bought them (I HATE dogs) is just plain funny. The pictures were not what led me to buy these, it was the frames. I love them. They are a great color as is and are naturally antiqued. After getting the backs off of the frames, I discovered that they are from the 50's. The frames are well built and the glass is actually glass...imagine that.

The first item of business was to cut the matte squared to get rid of the angled corners.

Next, I swapped out those ugly dogs for these cute boys!

Next, I took two types of ribbon and layered them.

Attached the ribbon to the back of the frames.

Lastly, I made a loop to attach the pictures to this hook from Hobby Lobby.

I'm pleased with the way this turned out. Easy, inexpensive and fabulous!