To Blog or Not to Blog?

When I started this blog, I had no idea about the whole world of blogging. There are sooo many great blogs out there! In the beginning there were so many people looking at my blog and lots of sweet comments. I was so excited that my blog was somehow growing! Then, the traffic started to slow down, which is understandable...it is summertime. Then, last week I got my first not so nice comment. I think this comment is what really made me start questioning my blog. Blogging takes a lot of time, and is so personal. We, as bloggers, are putting ourselves out there sharing with the world our ideas, and it is (in my opinion) quite rude to leave a comment that is anything but completely nice. Sure, there are going to be things that I create or ideas that I have that aren't going to be to everyone's liking, but if you don't like it, why must you say it?

Thank you soooo much to all my sweet readers who are continually reading my blog and leaving kind & encouraging comments!!!

Faux Metal Letters

I have had a few people ask me about the "metal" letters that hang above my newly transformed bench in my little boys' room, so I thought I would hurry and share with you all what I used...

I wanted a galvanized metal look so I went with Rustoleum's "hammered" silver spray paint (love the added texture) and finished them with a coat of clear matte.

The lettering and stars were purchased at Micheal's.

Thanks for reading!!!

Vintage White Chandelier

Not long ago I was watching HGTV and one of the designers said that she likes to paint vintage chandeliers in a nice flat white. As soon as I found this beauty at an estate sale, I knew that it would soon get a coat of flat white paint.

Here it is now...

*rewired

*spray painted flat white
*new candle covers from Lowe's (also painted flat white)

*vintage crystals

Just need to find more vintage crystals...eBay maybe?

Click on the links on my "Favorite Places to Link" page to check out the linky parties that I have joined.
Thanks for reading!!!

A Light Fixture Revived

One light fixture in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint....

Plus a can of my favorite black semi-gloss spray paint (no priming required), just tape off your glass and surrounding areas and start spraying
Equals a light fixture revived...

I always love projects like this...easy but with great and noticeable results!

It makes me happy to be greeted by a fresh, clean light fixture...no more dingy, dirty light fixture here!

The bench is finshed!

I love this bench! It makes a perfect little reading area (and added storage) in my little boys' room.

Here is a picture of the bench just a few short days ago...
The spindles were fixed...
The bench was then sanded...
Moldings were added...

After the bench was painted and distressed a bit, it was glazed using Valspar Antiquing Glaze.

This was my first time using the "Antiquing Glaze", I usually use Valspar "Mocha Glaze". I really like the end result that the Antiquing Glaze gave my bench. If you want to know more about painting and glazing, check out my paint and glazing tutorial.
Love it!!!

Click on the links in my "Favorite Places to Link" page to check out the linky parties that I have joined.
Thanks for reading!!!

Projects, projects, projects

There are a few small projects in process at my house this week. Here is a glimpse of what's to come...

This charming vintage chandelier was only $7.00 at a garage sale! It is going to get re-wired and painted. I have been collecting vintage crystals for this chandelier. I need to find more, but these will be a good start. Why is it so hard to find vintage crystals?

Aren't the colors on this bench perfect for a little boys room? It is going to make a perfect storage area! My mother in-law gave it to me and I am quite excited to fix it up. There are a couple spindles that need to be fixed. Some moldings will be added, then sanded, painted, and glazed. It is going to be a fun piece to work on for sure.

I have gathered all of the unused picture frames around my house; they are all going to be painted white...perfect for a gallery wall somewhere in my home.

This light is going to get a fresh coat of paint and cleaned up. It is going to look new again as soon as I am finished with it.

Thanks for reading!

Fun Beach Craft for Kids

While on vacation a couple weeks ago, we spent our first week at a beautiful ocean front beach house in Nags Head, NC. with my entire family. We absolutely LOVE the beach!

This year as my two little boys and I were searching the sand for sea glass and shells, my boys found a lot of cool creatures, shells, and other fun things. All of the little creatures (crabs, sand dollars, star fish, etc.) were obviously dead, but my boys had no problem picking them up and playing with them...they are true boys! We ended up with quite the collection of shells, sea glass, crab arms, a set of vertebrae, starfish, sand dollars, etc. It really was so much fun to see the excitement in my little boys' sweet faces every time we found another interesting thing in the sand.

Today my boys and I created a shadow box full of their beach treasures. They were so excited to create something so "awesome" to hang on their wall.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for reading!!!

Charming Ribbon and Button Napkin Rings

Sorry this post is a day late, I had planned to post yesterday but accidentally had it scheduled to post today. Anyways, here are some super easy and charming napkins rings that I made with little time and money.

The idea for these napkin rings came from one of my favorite books, Shoestring Chic.
All you need for this project is a little ribbon, some buttons, and napkins.
First, I rolled each napkin and then tied them with a piece of ribbon.
Next, these vintage buttons were each threaded with a piece of white embroidery floss.
The buttons were then tied to each ribbon on every napkin.
Simple as that...you have some charming napkins rings that will be perfect for any table setting.

I placed my napkins in a jar, ready to pull out for any family meal.

Thanks for reading!

Click on the links in my "Favorite Places to Link" page to check out the linky parties that I have joined.
Thank you!

Happy Fourth of July!!!!