Garage sale to Baby gift!

For a long time now I have wanted to make the subway type canvases with birth information that I have seen on Pinterest. I needed 12 x 12 canvas but did not want to pay a big price. I scored these "lovely" pictures at a garage sale for a dollar each and knew they would be perfect!

I used my Creative Memories scrap book software to design my template. I added the baby information for some friends who recently had babies. I sent the pictures I created off to be printed. (I use Costco printing)   I painted the canvas white, painted Mod Podge on it and set the pictures on the top. After it was stuck the way I wanted, I painted the side of the canvas and a little on the top as a border with a matching color. When dry, I used  Mod Podge on the picture to give it a more matted effect. I love them and I am sure the recipients of the baby gifts will too!

Let me know if you need a baby gift and I will make one for you. Your choice of designs and colors. The possibilities are endless!

Master Bath Redo, Part 1

Pool season is upon us so it is hard believe I even had time for redecorating and blogging, but here I am! We had a rainy day last week so I decided to finish painting my master bath.
I forgot to take a picture before it was tore up, but here is the color of the wall before:

 (I know bright right?)

 So, I decided to change the decor to chocolate brown with turquoise accents. I had been collecting items that I found at garage sales or Goodwill to use. 

  The towel holder is a wine bottle holder I got for 2 dollars.

  I already had the little lamp on the vanity and the jar and letter D on the shelf as well as the tin on the wall, I bought the towels on sale and with a 30% off at Kohl's I love what new towels do to a room!
and last is my trash to treasure chandelier that I redid hanging above the tub below:

I still have some work to do, new floor, shower doors, painting the counter, figuring out what to do about the gigantic mirror and making roman shades from a tip I saw on Pinterest! But the pool awaits so it will all have to wait until pool season comes to an end.....

Trash to Treasure

I have been known to dig around during bulky trash pick-up in our neighborhood. I have several things that I re-purposed for my home. Last week my neighbors had this in their trash can:

 So I first cleaned it and removed the parts that usually hold the electric wires inside the flower thingy. Then I grabbed my handy dandy bronze paint and painted it.

I went to Goodwill and found these juice glasses for 50 cents each, I already had the tea light candles:

Here is the finished light:

It is going in my master bath that I am in process of redoing. Pictures of that later!

Tiki Time!

I have had a tiki bar under my deck for the pool area for several years. The chairs that came with it did not last after the first year. So I have been on the lookout for bar chairs to paint in bright colors. I found some last fall and found time to paint them this week.

I bought a spray paint at Hobby Lobby called Gesso Spray. It was a great primer for the chairs and allowed the other spray paint to stay bright. I used an idea I found on Pinterest to use "Glad Press n Seal" around areas that you don't want sprayed. It worked great on the metal foot rest. I used the caps from spray cans to rest the feet on during painting.

Here is the orange chair during painting:

and here is the end result.... I can see many good times with a cold beverage on one of these chairs!

Paint Paint paint

I was so excited to have a three day weekend to be able to finish some projects that I had started. I painted my powder room a week ago and was able to put in the finishing touches. I also had my guest bath done a few years back but never quite pulled it together. This weekend I painted the cabinets in both bathrooms and added some other touches. I love the end result. Here is my powder room before:

I added the counter paint last year, but here is what I did this weekend:

I used Rustoleum Antique Black paint kit. I had bought it a few years back for my bedroom dressers and had a lot left. I used it for both cabinets, the mirror and the toilet paper holder. Unfortunately the pictures don't look as well as it does in person.The basket on the wall was a garage sale find and I added the D which was a paper mache' that I painted black. I got the word emblem from Kohls on sale and with a 30% off. I think I spent a total of maybe 30 dollars on the whole room. The tile sitting on the back of the counter is a sample. I am going to use that as a border as soon as I buy some. Here is my guest bathroom:

I had painted the walls a few years back and put in the shower curtain and the baby pics but that was it. I think the painted cabinet and the wall border pulled it together, I used a toilet paper roll to stencil the white circles (the idea from someone on Pinterest) then I just painted various circle in the green and gray. Pretty neat for zero money!

Canvas project the good the bad and the ugly!

I love all of the canvas projects I have been seeing on Pinterest. I wanted attempt to make one myself. There are several different ideas that I saw. I had a picture that I had taken of  my grandsons with their monkey hats that I wanted to make a canvas picture















I used my scrapbook software to jazz it up a bit and I decided to try the one I saw on this blog:
http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/10/make-your-own-canvas-portrait.html
 It did not quite turn out as well as hers turned out as you can see by my picture. I realized after I started doing the rub, that I did not put enough mod podge on it (which by the way, I made myself!)
 

So I tried this idea that I found on this site:
http://blissfullyever-after.blogspot.com/2011/12/diy-photos-on-canvas.html

                                                       I love the way it turned out! 

A baby gift

A co-worker at work just had a baby last week. I wanted to share the picture I made for him. I am still working on my canvas picture. One attempt turned into a disaster. I will show when I get the other one I am doing finished. Happy crafting, everyone!