A Little Fall Decor

In the first picture, my friend Monica made this wall hanging that I just love. Got the idea to hang it on the mirror from, once again,thethriftydecorchick.blogspot.com. I made a trip to Hobby Lobby to make the wreath. It may look a little skimpy but I'm ok with it for now. The centerpiece is made from dollar tree finds. Now all I need is the cool weather!





Linking to DIY Showoff

Faux Wainscoting on Stairs

For the entire summer I have had markings on my wall up the stairwell. Being a math teacher can be a nuisance at times because I lost sleep over this problem. I wanted the faux wainscoting but when you are on an incline and curve that created another dimension! You see, the rectangles become parallelograms in this situation. I could calculate the angles on paper but when I made the cuts, I had anything BUT a parallelogram. I creeped many Woodmen of the World forums to try to get advice on this project. One would say it's a piece of cake and another would recommend ditching the project. I hate to give up! It wasn't until I saw a post on thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com that I understood what I had to do. I used this cheap mdf board, put up the verticals and filled in the horizontals. After 5 months of deciding how to tackle it(can you tell I have been watching football?) and minus a little more caulking, I AM FINISHED WITH THIS PROJECT! And believe me, my family is happy too!

Almost New Dining Room Chandelier

After much thought and sweat "we" finally got the biggest brass piece painted. I had such a hard time deciding whether to paint the fixture because it was the most expensive light we had in our home-solid brass. The glass globes had to be broken off, I never understood why anyone would design a fixture that cannot be cleaned! Painted it with an ivory Rustoleum spray paint and found the mini lampshades at Lowe's for a little over $4. I had some fringe left over from another project that I glued to the shades and I am very pleased with the outcome. It did take the entire family plus one boyfriend to hang it back up!

The "Sore Thumb" Fireplace Insert

I am sure that many of you share my appreciation for the warmth that a wood burning fireplace insert provides in the winter BUT, I have always thought that our insert is sooooooo unattractive. Our insert in our living area sticks out like a sore thumb! We live in the country where gas(propane) logs are pretty expensive to use. I got the bright idea of painting the insert. I used a heat resistant spray paint for grills. It is supposed to withstand temps up to 1200 degrees F. We will see around November!???

Before

After

Framing Mirrors

About a year ago I decided that I wanted to frame my master bath mirrors. Now, in a perfect world I would have had my huge mirrors removed and replaced with framed mirrors. The logic set in when I thought of the amount of repainting, etc. that would be involved. I bought the vinyl strips at Home Depot with the little decorative pieces to hide the seems. You do not have to have a saw for this, you score the strips and they snap. Due to the size of my mirrors this little project was a bit pricey to the tune of $100.

Last week I decided to frame my powder room with a much wider frame. I used a much durable plastic molding from Home Depot that I mitered. During this project I learned a very valuable lesson that I am sure all carpenters know, always cut about 1/4 of an inch longer that you measure. It is always easier to shave wood off since there are no "wood extenders" that I know of. This project costs $20.

Saved From the Trash!

A friend(Debbie), who has a much harder time throwing things away, thought of me during a clean out. I did not have this table out of the car good when my daughter, Mallary, told me that my next project needed to be a nightstand for her room. Manna from Heaven!! I sanded ever so slightly because I hate to sand and put one coat of Kilz. Painted with Colorfast Teal and antiqued it with Minwax Ebony.
Chair $0
Paint $8
I already had the Kilz and Minwax
Total Cost $8

I am lovin the color and I thought it went really well with her expensive bedspread from Anthropologie she conned out of her grandmother and me for her birthday.

Sorry about the quality of the pics, one day I am going to be a good photographer!

Wicker Redo

Bought this from our new pastor for $50, painted it and recovered the chairs. Liking the transformation!