A New Candle

I am smitten by a new type of candle.

Yesterday, at Target, I wondered down the candle aisle to check their candle stock. This time of year I start go crazy with candles and I need to start stocking up.

While looking around I discovered they have candles without flames. Really COOL ones. They are made of wax on the outside and made to look like they have been used a little, and they even have scent. Some even have timers to turn on all by themselves - - how cool it that! Now I may be behind the times a little but I feel like it's Christmas early for me this year, I'm just so excited about these candles.

I pick up a votive size with a vanilla scent(my fav) to try out. It seemed a little spendy at $4.99 to me, but I had to check it out.

After impatiently waiting for sunset, I was pleased to discover that they worked beautifully. I am now saving my pennies to spend on more. Automatic pillar candles watch out because here I come.

Color Me Happy

You might remember me rambling and moaning about my longing to paint my family room - -

Well. . . . . .Today's the day I get to show off her new walls.

The top color is new, the bottom the old.

I love the color even though it's a darker shade than I wanted to use(via husbands instructions). It's called Happy Trails(what a great name!) and I think it is fab! I no longer have a dark cave of a room.

Many more plans are in store for this room so I won't show you the whole room quite yet - - stay tuned!

Rally '09

Every year about this time my uncle hosts a 4-wheel rally at his cabin. Uncle and aunts, grandparents and grand kids, cousins and friends all gather for a weekend of camping and 4-wheeling fun. Favorite activities include night rides through the woods with a stop off at the river to watch the moonlight on the water, drag racing and mudding.

Much to my kids delight, they were allowed to join in on the mudding this year. What a delight! They had a blast.

Daddy let Jaz ride a bigger machine this year and she put it to good use mudding it up!

Em rode in the mud hole for the first time by herself this year. In the past she has always loved riding with grandpa, but this time she was all on her own and loving it!

Do It Yourself Day

It's DIY Day over at A Soft Place To Land.

I thought I would show you a bench I use as a coffee table in my living room. My dad and I built it (ok, mostly dad) and I painted and distressed it.

Here she is. Isn't she fetching.

I first painted it red then added a brown glaze to give it a weathered look. Here's a look at it in the room. She turned out great and I love the pop of red in the room.

Quote Of The Day!

Now before I can tell you my quote of the day I need to give you a little tidbit about my sister and I.



We L.O.V.E. quirky little phrases.



Silly, yes, but we enjoy it. We use them constantly and hoot with laughter every time.





So last week, at work, my Sister was on the phone with a client. While wrapping up their conversation, the client mentioned he had something he was. . .

"FIXIN' TO FAX"

Now to my sister and I this is a GOLD MINE of a phrase. She all but inflicted bodily harm scrounging around her purse to find her cell and call me.

I'm dying to use the phrase, but I've sent maybe one fax in the past two years. But you can bet when the time comes to send a fax, this little gem will be use. I'll let anyone within shouting distance know I'm "fixin to fax" something.

If your one of those people that has the pleasure of faxing on a regular basis please do me a favor. Proclaim to all who will listen that your

FIXIN' TO FAX . . .

. . . . then giggle. . .

. . . . ALOT. . .

. . . . It will be FUN!

A New Look For An Old Table

You may have already figured out I DISLIKE medium-dark wood tones.

Unfortunately, most of the hand-me-downs I've received in the past have been like this. Knowing the furniture was not in my style but appreciating the hand-me-down, I have used them around the house and have been happy to do so. Recently I decided enough was enough. It's time to make them mine. I couldn't be happier about it.

Here is an example I finished today. A wonderful, solid wood bedside table. It has large drawers and top surface but is too short for our bed. Instead of using it as intended I've been using it in our family room to hold toys and a lamp. It's worked great and I love it - - except for the color.

Now take a gander. My old trusty toy holder is now beautiful and will look wonderful with my family rooms new decor.

I removed the wood handles and will replace them with new ones when it find the right type. Until then I'm using some simple black ribbon.

Honest Scrap...

Darly at Vermont Cottage was kind enough to send an award my way that other day. Isn't she sweet.

Here are the rules:

1.) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.

2.) Share "10 Honest Things" about myself.

3.) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.

4.) Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving.

Here Goes. . . 10 Honest Things About Myself.

1. I'm a Packer Fan living in Minnesota. And to tell you the truth, I'm tickled pink Brett Farve is now playing for the Vikings. Being a fan of his I now get to watch him play all the time. I know I'm supposed to be. . . angry. . . disappointed . . . etc. but I'm just not. He's done playing with the Packers, I'm over it and fully loving our new QB Rogers.

2. My mind is fuzzy. I have a list of projects to do, kids back in school with all the homework to prove it and back to babysitting full time - - My poor little brain is running in circles. But don't worry, I seem to have this problem every year about this time. It. Gets. Better.

3. I'm trying to lose the "baby weight" I put on 9 years ago. Sad I know, But I'm a sucker for relaxation and my motivation dwindles easily.

4. I love volleyball with a passion. Playing or watching, it all good. In high school my friends and I would play ALL. DAY. EVERY. DAY

5. I dream of being an artist - - but can barely draw a stick person.

6. Mushrooms make me gag.

7. I can't stand clutter although my home is in a constant state of disarray. Every couple of months I can't stand it anymore and clean until I drop.

So there you go...

I'd like to pass this award on to.....

Cherry Checkers

FireFly Hill

Haute Decor Gal

Newly Woodwards

Thrifty Decor Chick

Vintage Chic Home

White Flower Farmhouse

Junk Bonanza Finds

It's time for. . .

On Friday I was happy to attend the Junk Bonanza for the first time. It was amazing and so much fun. Want to see what I found?

My wish list had two items that I was hoping to find at a reasonable price and I'm happy to say I found them both! Oh, a few other items also (heehee!)

Wish List item #1: A white scale. Isn't she fetching? And isn't the red metal toy phone adorable. She'll go wonderfully with the white one I picked up last month.

Wish List item #2: A wire basket. Found this egg basket and it is perfectly rusty - love it!

I'm very excited about this find - - a vintage seed sack with red and yellow on it. I'll be making a pillow cover with it and it will look stunning in my living room sitting on my red ticking stripe chair.

Some reading card which I plan to frame and hang in the play area of the family room.

My daughter loves horses so I picked up these photos for her room. The photo in the middle I'm not sure what I will do with but I loved the house.

And last but not least, a few little baubles to use around the house.

Make sure to head over to Cottage Charm and Family Inspiration to check out all of the Junkin' Monday posts.

Until tomorrow, Robin

A Bit Of Fall

. . . garden blooms still flourish,

. . . the breeze remains warm,

. . . however, tree's are beginning to change their leaves.

To celebrate the start of Autumn, I've added a bit of fall flavor to the top of my hutch.

Grape-vine spheres have been around for a bit, but I my infatuation has just begun. Added a few leaves and berries around them and I like the result. Two of the spheres light up and I think they will give the room a nice glow at night.

Until tomorrow, Robin

Yippeee! It's Done!

UPDATED:

I'm joining Kimba's DIY Day over at A Soft Place To Land. Go check it out!

A couple weeks back I promised to share a bead board project I was attempting and today it the day it is finally finished. After countless trips to Menard's, lots of frustrated mumblings and a fair share of nicks and scraps I am eager to show off my newly acquired woodworking skills.

Here is the space I started with, a weird little niche in the main bathroom. Previously I had added a shelf and curtain to hold a few necessities shortly after moving in. It was functional but I wanted to give it a little more attention.
Here is my finished product! I do believe it is FANTASTIC, GORGEOUS AND DOWN RIGHT FETCHING!
Of course I had to pick up a few new accessories to fill in my new beautiful shelves. Love how my newly completed frame looks and the bottles with cute little tags are beauteous.
Here is a closeup of the bottles - - mmmmmm, yummy!
With this project done I am off to start the next. Family Room here I come!

Until tomorrow, Robin

A Oops and a "Thats Cool"

Take a look at my fantastic, newly distressed, frame I finished this morning.. . . If you HATE it, quick close your eye and blindly click your mouse to get far, far away

BUT

. . . If you LOVE it, giggle along with me because I am giggling with DELIGHT!

The finished frame is "Cool" but it started out as a big GIANT, OOPS!

I had in mind to create something similar to an old frame with large cracks in the paint. First I gave it a base coat of black, then I smeared on the crackle medium REALLY thick, followed by two quick light coats of spray paint.

And that is when the you know what, hit the fan!

After two hours drying time the top coat still looked wet and when I cautiously touch the paint a large section of it smeared right off!

DARN! Now what?

That's when I got the bright idea to use my paint scraper to get as much of the top coat off as possible, in hopes of starting over. It worked great but halfway through scraping I paused long enough to notice how it looked and thought "THAT'S COOL" Within that millisecond a new plan of attack was formed!

I finished scraping off the paint. Then gave it a very light coat of the topcoat color, waited ten minutes, then took my paint scraper to it again.

Let me tell you, paint scraping becomes a little addictive. I. Didn't. Know. When. To. Stop.

I went a little too far, so I gave it another light coat, waited ten minutes, then started scraping away again. The second coat gave it a little more depth so I repeated the process again. In total I painted and scraped four coats. Once it looked good to me I gave it a quick antique wash with watered down brown craft paint followed by a clear satin topcoat to seal it all together.

Here is a picture of the frame after a light coat of paint right before I began scraping.

So there you have it. A fetching new frame from an OOPS beginning.

Until tomorrow, Robin

Blue Monday!

Today I'm participating in Smiling Sally's Blue Monday.

A while back I painted this cute little step stool the kids use in the bathroom a wonderful shade of blue.

First I gave it a few coat of black paint and a few of the blue. Then went to town sanding it down, followed by two coats of wipe on polly.

I love how it looks.

What do you think?

Do you think the ferns look to "fake"?

I picked them up at Michael's yesterday and I like the little dash of green it gives my kitchen. I always seem to kill real plants in my house, you would think with all my gardening skills outside it would transfer well to the inside of my house. Apparently it's a whole different type of plant care that I just don't posses. These little guys fill my need for something green and lovely in the kitchen.

Oh yea! Did you see my charging station? A wonderful invention, highly recommend them if you don't already have one.

Until tomorrow, Robin

Is It Necessary?

While you were browsing the latest Pottery Barn Kids catalog did you happen to notice this?

I. Am. Obsessed!

I can't stop thinking about it.

Do you need it. . .

No (I mutter under my breath)

Do you want it . . .

YES (I yell while jumping up and down)

So with hubby's shrug of "yea, we could do something like that" rolling around in my memory I've been standing in my kitchen "accessing" the lay of the land. Here is what we have to work with(sorry it's so dark)

I have never been very thrilled with the table in this small space and have always thought a sitting area type space would be a better use of the space. But now I think a wonderful homework area would be even better.

However I'm not sure if it would work. I thought the area along the window wall would be the best place to set the homework desk but did you notice the low windows. The desk would cut off some of the windows and I think it would look funny from outside.

What do you think? Would you put a desk in here or would you advise me to go find something else to obsess about?

Letters and Numbers Party!

Vintage Junky is having a Letters and Numbers Party! I'm joining in.

I have a few examples around my home and I love them all.

Let the party begin!

Almost forgot my newest addition: Isn't she sweet!

Entry Closet

Today while cleaning the front entry way I realized I may have never shared my entry closet. Last winter I gave it a makeover and having been enjoying the results ever since.

I don't have a before picture but I'm sure you all can imagine a standard builders grade hall coat closet with a simple hanging rod, a single shelf and bi-fold doors. The entryway is so small the bi-fold doors could not be opened if the front door was also opened. First things first I removed the bi-fold door, next hubby and I built a shoe shelf. I liked the improvements but thought hooks would be much easier for the family to use then coat hangers. We took down the shelf and hanging rod and replaced it with hooks on all three sides of the closet. Next we added two shelves on top. Now I love my entry closet in all its workable, organized, glory. Here is a close up that shows the shelves better. Until tomorrow, Robin

Small Changes

Change is good.

And small changes are the BEST - fast and easy.

Today I mixed things up in my living room a bit and love the results.

First I moved a small shelf previously used to hold some of my favorite books and magazines waiting to be read. It's new home is across the room. I'm now using it to hold a few toys for the babies. No more buckets of toys siting next to the couch and being tripped over all day. Why did I not think of this before - - It works so well.

Here is the shelf in it's old home.And now in it's new home. Love my stars hanging above it and added a few vintage toys to place on top. The kids seem to like it too. They enjoy taking toys off the shelves.

Here is a look from the other side of the room. I love how open and airy the room is - lots of room the kids to play and room for me to navigate the toy piles.

Next I changed up the frames on the wall next to me chair. I have always thought the frames were too small and needed to be replaced. Here it is before.I've been on the look out for new frames and found three at Walmart. I was hoping for one more but I think I can make this work. Here is what I did. I still think one more would make the whole thing look a little better but for now it works. Now for something new to put inside the frames- Mmmmmm - I'll have to think about that for a bit.

I'm so happy with the results of my small changes today, how about you? Have you made a few changes of your own today?

Until tomorrow. Robin

Another Day!

Another day of work on a project that seems to be progressing at a snails pace. A lot of waiting around for paint to dry(Boring!). But these pretty blooms from the garden keep me happy!

Here is another before and after for you.

I painted these chair that have been around for AGES. The kids will use them at their computer desk in the family room. Love the way they turned out and can't wait to get to painting the walls down there - - but. . . One project at a time. I did pick up some fabric today in order to get sewing curtains. So far all the furniture is painted, I have an idea for the curtains, and the paint color has been picked out. Still need to sew the curtains, paint picture frames for the walls and then I will allow myself to paint the walls. Although Husband told me since I thought hanging beadboard was so easy I should also hang it downstairs.

WAIT A MINUTE!

Did I just hear you right!

More beadboard?

Well if you insist!

More beadboard it is. I'll be doing a happy dance all the way to Menard's to pick it up.

Until tomorrow, Robin.

A Pretty Step Up

Finished a quick project today by painting a Ikea step stool I've had around the house for a few years. I love how it turned out. First I primed it and then gave it a coat of black paint followed by a coat of blue paint. Love this color blue don't you? Next I sanded off some of the blue in order to let the black show. Finished the whole thing off with a couple coats of wipe on poly(my new best friend). Love how the stool turned out and I think it will be a great addition to my downstairs bathroom which I have been slowly updating when time allows.

Until tomorrow. Robin