Christmas Decorating

So, I'm totally slacking on posting and skipped a couple holidays! So ashamed!! But for now, I'm going to share the Christmas decorating that I've worked on so far. My big tree is decked out in my favorite color (turquoise!) with accents of royal blue and bright green. I'm pretty happy with it for my first attempt.

Since the tree is in my front room - dining/living room - I continued the color scheme to my table and shelves.

I spray painted some pretty wood reindeer I got at Hobby Lobby (which FYI they finally opened in So California - hooray!!) and placed them with a couple acrylic reindeer from Kohl's.

The turquoise tree is really just a yarn wrapped cardboard cone - so easy!

The turquoise chargers came from Target ($1.99 each - love that!) and the clear plates were from Dollar Tree...a bargain! My mom gave me the white tablecloth and napkins. I don't remember where I got the snowflake placemats in the center of the table since they're from a few years back, but the silver placemat on top of them is from ZGallerie.

Oh, and can't forget my plastic margarita glasses - just threw a couple strands of curling ribbon in them & I think they add some extra sparkle to the table.

The snowflakes hanging from the chandelier (which I got for $39 at Home Depot - marked down from $139...awesome!!) came from Wal-Mart in the crafts section. They're foam and both the white and aqua came in the same pack so I just stuck a couple of each color together & hung them.

As for my shelves, I just used some Christmas items, and then gathered up miscellaneous items from around the house that went with the color scheme.

The Christmas tree on the mirror came from Dollar Tree, the turquoise sleigh on the left is from Tai Pan, The silver reindeer are ornaments from Hobby Lobby, and the other items I had on hand.

I'm still adding little touches here and there but overall, I'm pretty happy with the results. Thanks for checking it out! =)

Goodwill Hutch Transformation

So, I found this hutch/bookshelf/not quite sure what it is piece at a nearby Goodwill store for $9.99. Well, for that price, it's totally worth trying to fix into something cute, because if it doesn't work out quite right, you're still not out a whole lot of money.

Good deal, no?

Cute piece - could be used for lots of things.

First step was to remove the backing to get it ready to paint & stencil.

Primed and starting the paint - the color is the same as my bedroom walls, Sweet Rhapsody by Behr.

My tools - stencils, pouncer and white pearl paint all from the Martha Stewart line at Michaels. I think I fell in love with ALL of these items! =)

About halfway done with the stencil - liking how it's turning out.

Finished - whew! Plus plenty of time spent touching up any bleeding or errors  - the mistakes were hard to see from a distance but I noticed them & they were bothering me! Haha

Time to fix up a couple cosmetic things on it - nothing a couple drops of wood glue won't fix.

I set it to dry with a clamp while I was doing the stenciling - problem solved!

After priming, I covered it with ultra white Behr paint mixed with the leftover pearl paint. On a side note - this little container on the right is fantastic! I got mine from Dollar Tree & there are measurements on the side plus a lid that allowed me to shake and store the paint in. Perfect!

Filled in a few little gaps with some DAP caulking.

Voila!

The finished product! I love it! I was planning to put it on top of the dresser I also purchased at Goodwill but once we tried it, it didn't quite look right, so for now it's on the floor of my bedroom, set up like a bookshelf. Either way, it's a cute little piece to display some things and it was a great bargain! Works for me! Till next time...



My first post...

Well, here goes nothing! =) I guess to get this started off, I should probably give some background of the things I plan to write about. I've been in my house going on 5 months now. It's still a work in progress but getting closer to "finished" everyday. Although finished probably isn't the right word because I'm sure it will continue to change depending on my mood, the seasons, time of day...kidding, of course. : )

So anyhow, since we're starting from the beginning, we better get started...sit back, this could take awhile!

I closed on my home in April of 2011 - it was built in 2006, has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, a 3 car garage and way more space than I need, but I love it! And for the price, I think I'm very blessed for what I was able to get. So anyways - here's the grand tour pre-paint/furniture/decor, etc. Plus I've included some after (more like in-between) pictures that show the progress but not quite the finished product.

View from the street (taken from the MLS listing) - not my car in the driveway. : )

Dining room facing the front door.

View of dining room from front door looking into living room.

Looking into living room from kitchen island. (The air mattress has since been replaced by couches!) : )

My kitchen counter/desk turned bar...I mean, I already have an office upstairs. Might as well use the space wisely! : )

Stenciled pantry.

The backyard - no before & after here, only because I didn't take pictures when everything was blooming and now that it's turning fall it looks about the same as when these pics were taken - oops!

Downstairs bathroom - not much changed (yes I  left the walls the color the previous owner had painted - just looks a little different because of lighting) however, I added the cabinet I bought at a thrift store in Vegas and have more ideas planned.

Downstairs hall closet became a utility pantry with a few cheap & easy shelves.

Vegas/Game Room Themed loft...sorry for the blurry camera phone pic on the bottom!

Laundry room brightened up.

Cool aqua master bedroom.

Looking into master bathroom from bedroom - lighter shade of aqua (same as laundry room).

Pink walls (and ceiling!) are long gone in the office/craft room.

So, there ya go - a few of the spaces in my house and the changes they've undergone...so far. Many of the rooms look even more different than they do in these pictures, but of course, there's still plenty left to do. However, yes, the paint at the tops of the walls has now been painted all the way to the ceiling! As for the dining room and the jagged paint line between the two colors - that will be covered by molding very soon. Although, I think it could work the way it is! Maybe? No? Ok, you're probably right! I'm trying to work on projects when I can - I'm very eager to see all the ideas in my mind actually completed.

For now, thanks so much for taking the time to read this far! I want to give a HUGE thank you to my parents who have been such a big part of me having a home. Though I may have purchased it on my own, I wouldn't have been able to do any of it without their support, love, generosity, knowledge and manual labor! =) I appreciate it more than they'll ever know! Til next time...