Thank you Funky Junk

Wow, was I ever surprised to visit one of my favorite blogs Funky Junk and see my Ballard Knock-off  DIY project highlighted.  I am humbled that my project was considered worthy of  being posted on this fantastic blog.  Thank You Funky Junk!  

Please visit Funky Junk to view all these fantastic DIY projects as well as the current giveaways.  You can also view my Ballard Knock-off DIY with tutorial  Here.

What is black,white & green all over?

There are so many parties going on today! I am linking my newest project to Naps on the porch, The girl creative, Cottage instincts, Smiling Sally, Making the world cuter, Silly little sparrow, Sanctuary art  Domestically Speaking and  A soft place to land.

This is the before picture of my home office the day the furniture was delivered.






Here is the after with "Lettuce" paint, craigslist settee recovered, new window treatments and accessorized.













Believe me... it's not normally this organized!



I love the black and white fabric!





Free Chandelier from my son and daughter-in-law. This was removed from their kitchen.





Monogram ordered from Etsy







Valance found on ebay and she made a custom size for me.



I hope you enjoyed the tour of my office and  I would love to hear your comments.



 I almost forgot my post for Blue Monday: at Smiling Sally. These two Italian vases were an anniversary gift from my Hubby. They have special meaning because we were married in Italy. Could I ask for a better husband...absolutely not!











Aren't these just gorgeous?







The photos above the buffet Hubby took on our honeymoon.  Not only totally sweet but also talented!

Snippets of my home

This is an older post that I did of our Master bedroom.  Debra over at Bungalow is having a Parade of Bedrooms party and I thought it would be fun to join in. There have been a few changes to the bedroom since these pictures were taken. I have added a matching toile duvet cover folded at the bottom of the bed. There are also a couple of new pictures and accessories added. I will have an updated picture in a future post.

January, 2010

Over the last couple of months I have been showing you Christmas, silver and blue but very little pictures of the actual rooms. Today I plan on changing that with little snippets of  our master bedroom

Hubby and I moved to Virginia from Florida a little over a year ago and we brought only 4 pieces of furniture with us! No, this is not a typo! Who would have thought at my age (which we won't discuss here) that I would be starting over decorating a home. It's a long story and one I'll post about at a later time.

Anyways, we bought this new home in June and I had to start furnishing, and decorating, 4000 square feet from scratch. We didn't even have a mattress, lamps, cooking utensils ect.  On top of that we knew we were going to have lots of company visiting starting in just four months.

I was on a tight budget but I also knew I could be resourceful. I  am a strong believer that you don't have to spend a lot of money to have a beautiful home. Auctions turned out to be a blessing, Craigslist and I became the best of friends, garage sales, estate sales and thrift stores became my go to places.  That is not to say we didn't buy some pieces from furniture stores. You can bet I was able to negotiate some excellent prices.

Yes, the house was completely furnished and decorated within four months and I was able to stay within a tight budget.





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Bed was bought on-line for almost half of the furniture store price. Two matching nightstands bought off Craigslist for $10.00 and I painted them to match the bed.





Toile bedskirt and shams bought new and still in the package for $12.00 from a yard sale. The owner told me they were purchased at Country Curtains so I was able to purchase matching curtains.







Country French dresser bought from auction for $175.







And here is his twin brother.







This French armoire is one of my favorite pieces in our home. When I purchased it from the auction the armoire was painted black and I painted and distressed the piece to match the bed.


I hope you enjoyed this little tour of our bedroom.  I'll be posting more pictures soon so please check back often.

Two beautiful giveaways

Check out the wonderful giveaway at Robin Egg Blues today. The tulle flowers are beautiful and she even has a tutorial for making these yourself.  I think this is a project even I can handle.






A gift wrapped life has this fantastic giveaway of Charlotte Moss candles. These would make a fabulous Valentine gift to yourself!





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Silver Hearts

I am linking up to Silver Sunday no 3 at The Gypsy Fish. and Smiling Sally for Blue Monday. This is a small part of my silver flatware collection that has been accumulated over the last 20 years. Most of the pieces I purchased for very little money at garage sales, 2nd hand shops and junk stores. I have never paid more than $2.00 for any item and some of the pieces were purchased  recently for 15 cents each.











Of course I had to include my silver chalkboard tray.







I have collected these little heart charms for many years. Most are vintage and purchased at flea markets, antique shops or at antique shows. There are a few special ones given to me as gifts from my Hubby and Dad.













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Custom sign giveaway.

If you haven't seen the customized signs from Dayspring-Danielson Designs you must hurry over. Two lucky winners will each receive a $50.00 gift certificate for their own personalized sign from The Nester.  I went to Danielson Designs and created this sign for myself but there are many options to choose from. Even if you are not a winner you can visit The Nester for a 20% discount . Enjoy and get creative.







I've been featured. Thanks to The Design File for mentioning this blog and the great comments on the French Chair Project.

French Country Chairs DIY

I am starting the new year with my most recent  project. Thanks to Between Naps On The Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Mondays, Thrifty Decor Chic for having us for her Before and After Party, Reinvented for her Trash to Treasure Party , Decormama's  Frugalicious Fridays and last but not least
The girl creative, Just something I whipped up .  Whew, thats a lot of partying!

I purchased these two identical french country chairs off Craigslist for $17 each. They were really sad looking with outdated upholstery and a maple Early American finish. The chairs were very well made and I knew I could transform them.  Below is a BEFORE picture. Sorry, I  got so excited about working on the chairs I forgot to take a picture prior to priming them. You'll have to use your imagination and think of the maple finish that was popular in the 1960s.





Before and during priming

















The After Photos



I first lightly sanded the chairs and ripped off the plaid fabric. Next I primed with Kilz and painted the chairs a soft grey/green that was mixed from several leftover cans of paint I already had in the garage. The chairs were sanded for the distressed look and Ralph Lauren smoke glaze applied.



 I knew I wanted a heavy canvas material for the cushions but after pricing the fabric at a local shop I knew I could find an alternative fabric for considerably less than $34.00 per yard! I picked up a large canvas drop cloth at Home Depot for $13.00 and it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. Now keep in mind I DO NOT SEW! I had to actually buy a sewing machine for this project. The sewing machine was cheaper than paying someone to make the cushions. It took a little trial and error but I finally got the cushions sewn and the fabric attached to the bottom with upholstery tacks.



 I found a design I liked , modified the design and tried applying it with iron-on transfer. Well, of course I don't have the right kind of printer and the design was  really light and a large part of the design was missing .  I used left over fabric paint and went over the design that was visible and free handed the rest of it.  Okay I know about now you hard core crafters are having a good laugh and  I don't blame you. This little project took me almost two weeks to complete and I know you hard cores could have done it in a few hours. Hubby must have asked me at least 20 times why I don't just pay someone to finish the cushions.  I guess he got tired of hearing me mumble under my breath and throw the fabric on the floor and stomp on it. Anyways my DIY project is completed and I am happy with how it turned out. Just don't expect to see me sew or paint another pillow for a very long time.



Cost of my project: 2 chairs @ $34.00, drop cloth at $13.00 , useless transfer paper $5.00 & upholstery tacks $6.00. Total = $58.00. All the paint was left over from other projects. I did buy a sewing machine for $89.00 but I have already used it for a small project.  Hopefully I'll get over my fear of sewing and tackle some easy projects in the future.



Hugs,

Sherry



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Silver Sunday Party

Thanks to The Gypsy Fish for hosting Silver Sunday. I just found this blog and I am in love!

Hubby and I recently moved to Virginia from a beach home in Florida. I have always loved silver but really didn't have the room to display it in our former home. The beach home was also decorated very casually and I felt the silver really did not go with the rest of the decor.  Unfortunately for the last eleven years these pieces were stored in my attic.  Thanks to Jermaine at French Kissed and her beautiful blog I was encouraged to unpack my silver and proudly display it in our new home.






















I hope you have enjoyed this sampling of my silver.  Check back next Silver Sunday for more.