Headboard Makeover

*****Update: The Master Bedroom Makeover is DONE!!! Check it out here and let me know what you think!*****


For some reason, I've decided that this summer I will makeover my living room/dining room (which doubles as a guest room/craft room) and my Master Bedroom. I know, I must be crazy to take on all of those projects at once, but I just can't take it anymore! I have to redecorate!

The Master Bedroom is almost complete and I am soooo excited! I've already repainted, hung new curtains, almost finished all of the accessories (remember my Subway Art project?) and finally finished redoing our headboard. I'm going to give you a little sneak peek and show you the headboard. I'm not ready to show the entire room yet, but it will be done soon and then you'll get to see the whole thing. I can't wait!

Here's what the headboard looked like before. We bought it unfinished and I didn't know what kind of decor I was going to have in the room so I just painted it a neutral cream color and then glazed it using a stain. There was nothing wrong with it, but it was just too boring.

So I pulled out some turquoise paint I had from a previous project and got to work. Here's what it looked like after I painted it.

I just LOVE this color and it is anything but boring! But I wasn't quite done, yet. Next I glazed it using a dark wood stain. I simply rubbed on the stain with a rag and then wiped it off, making sure to leave some areas darker than others (you want some inconsistency in the color).

Don't you just love the POP of color?!? I do! Here's a close up so you can see some of the detail (the color is not accurate, my camera was being difficult. The bright color above is the true color).

And here's how it looks in the room.

I absolutely LOVE it! It makes me smile every time I walk in there. The old headboard just disappeared in the room. This headboard is definitely NOT invisible!

Hopefully I should have the rest of the room put together by the end of the week and it will be ready to show! Stay tuned!



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Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T.

Garage Sale Treasures

Before we had children, it seemed I went garage saling (is that a real word?) every weekend. Since having children...not so much.

Well thanks to my terrific, understanding husband, I've managed to make it out to garage sales several weekends since the "season" began.

This weekend, I hit a couple of church sales (love those!) a thrift store and a few garage sales. Here's what I ended up with - 2 kids' chairs (solid wood), handmade wooden table, brass lamp, 5 picture frames, 2 wire baskets, 3 wooden plaques.

I got all of this for just under $30! I think I did pretty good!

Here's a closer look at that beautiful (not) brass lamp (I've already gotten to work on this beauty!) that I got for a steal at $3!

And the handmade, solid wood table I got for $7!


I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to do with the table and kids' chairs yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something. I do already have plans for the picture frames, though (stay tuned!).

So how about you? Any luck at the garage sales this weekend?


Showing off my treasures at:

Future Project Friday #6

Silhouette Tutorial

It seems that silhouettes are making a comeback in home decor. And I am totally in favor of it. I love the simplicity of the design and let's face it, it's just another way for us moms (and dads and grandparents) to admire our beautiful children!

I have been seeing a lot of tutorials for making silhouettes out there in blogland. I came across this tutorial by Nancy at My Blonde Ambitions (love that name!) and this is the one I bookmarked.

Her tutorial is very comprehensive and easy to follow. And I really like that she used the scrapbook paper rather than just a plain white background. What a great way to really customize your silhouettes to match your decor!

Aren't they so cute! I love the sweetness of her daughter's ponytail :)


I was at an antique mall not long after seeing Nancy's tutorial and I came across these beauties in the $1 bin!

They're a little scary now, but I knew they'd be perfect for my future silhouettes! I'm in the process of a master bedroom makeover and living room/dining room makeover. I think these would be perfect in either room. The hardest part will be getting my kids to sit still long enough to get a picture of their profile!

It's a Social Parade!

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm happily participating in Smart and Trendy Moms' Social Parade Blog Hop. If you're stopping by for the first time, take a look around. If this seems like a fun place to "hang out" feel free to follow along with me. Be sure to leave me a comment letting me know you're a new follower so I can go check you out, too! And thanks for stopping by!

Mom as Referee

Normally at my house, I often feel like the referee. This one is upset because that one has what this one wants. That one is upset because this one knocked that one over. My day is filled with "be gentle", "careful when your sister is around", "this is how we share", "let's take turns", "don't walk on your brother's book" (I'm sure all of you parents have been there!).

Well today may have been a turning point. I'm not saying I'm ready to hang up my whistle and playbook yet, but progress was made.

I was trying to get us all ready for a quick trip to Lowe's (with 2 toddlers in tow, by quick I mean a minimum of an hour). My son was the only one ready and he asked if he could go outside. I usually let him go in the backyard by himself for a few minutes as long as he stays where I can see him. So he went out for a few minutes. Clearly he was bored out there by himself, so he asked if his sister could join him. I was almost ready to go so I said "sure, but just for a minute until it's time to leave for Lowe's."

The windows of our family room that look out on to the backyard have reflective film on them so I can see out but the kids can't see in. So I stood there and watched them (and took pictures). I waited for my daughter to realize I wasn't outside and begin her meltdown. It didn't happen. I waited for my son to run by his sister and accidentally knock her down. It didn't happen.


I watched them blow bubbles together, play in the dirt together, play separately side by side, follow each other around. It was a beautiful sight. I did witness a few things I would rather have not seen (my son dumping dirt on my daughter's head and shaking the bubble bottle with the lid off) but they were having fun so I let them.


I kept waiting for the moment when I needed to intervene, step outside and announce it was time to leave for Lowe's. But that moment never came. They played outside for nearly a half hour. Finally, out of sheer exhaustion from the heat, they decided it was time to come inside. We didn't end up making it to Lowe's (an emergency bath was needed - see photo below), but it was totally worth it. This may not happen again for a while, but I was here to witness it and I know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and my refereeing days will someday be over (at least until they hit adolescence!).

What a beautiful, present day!

Subway Art

I am in the process of redoing our master bedroom and I was looking for something to hang on either side of our bed above our nightstands. I had been seeing tutorials all over blogland for Subway Art and I knew this would be the perfect artwork to hang above my nightstand.

I had this wooden box that some of my children's play food had come in. Since we never put the play food back in the box, I decided it would be the perfect "canvas" for my subway art project.



The first thing I did was decide what I wanted my subway art to say. A lot of people use family rules but since mine was going in our bedroom, I wanted it to be something about love, family, marriage, etc... I found a quote that my husband and I both liked and got to work.

I had some leftover self-adhesive letters from a previous project and I decided they would be much easier to use these rather than printing, cutting, adhering, etc...

After I primed the "canvas", I measured my letters and my canvas, plotted my design...

and began adhering my letters. This part is kind of a pain, but you want to make sure to get your measurements right so everything fits and is fairly even. (My 3 year old wanted to help so I let him be in charge of the camera. Not too bad!)

Here's what it looked like after putting all the letters on.

Next, it was time to paint the canvas. Most of the subway art I have seen has been black with white letters. Unfortunately the black and white didn't really fit with the color scheme in our bedroom so I decided to use a reddish color instead. I didn't like any of the colors that I already had and I see people mix their own paint all the time, so I figured I'd give it a try.

A little red, a little brown, a little yellow and voila!

Then I peeled off the letters.

You can see in the close up below that the red paint bled a little under the letters. I just took a white paint pen and cleaned up all the edges.

I didn't like the stark white letters, so I mixed a little bit of light brown paint with some water until it looked kind of like coffee with a lot of cream (only runnier).

I went over the entire canvas with this paint/water mixture. I tried not to make it a consistent finish in any one area so it would just look aged, not dirty.

Then I sanded the whole thing. Again, I sanded some areas more than others until I got the look I was going for.

Finally, I applied a wood stain to the entire canvas using a rag. I wiped off most of it as I went since I just wanted it to add a touch of dimension, shine and protection, not change the color dramatically. And here's what I ended up with.



Not bad for a project that cost me NOTHING! This will hang proudly in my soon-to-be-newly-remodeled master bedroom.


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Making Monday Marvelous by C.R.A.F.T.














Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home







Spotlight Yourself Wednesday with Santa's Gift Shoppe