Salvation Army Hutch

I got this hutch for $47.00 at our local Salvation Army.  I got lucky and caught it at a 50% sale. In it's original state it was not bad but just looked somewhat outdated.  I sanded it down and primed it and then painted it a very pale turquoise blue and then put a Burnt Sienna glaze over it. I did not put the glaze on the inside because I wanted the inside to be darker. I also painted the original knobs and pulls and put the glaze on them as well. The glaze does not look orange in real life like it does in the photo. I think it turned out awesome - espeically for a first time project. It replaced  the generic hutch that I bought at a thrift store when we got married 17 years ago. That hutch is currently being painted pale pink and will replace the ugly Oak Express shelves currently in my daughter's room. That project was a little more labor intensive because I had to do some things to make it look like it belongs in a girls room and not in a dining room.  It's almost done and I will be posting photos soon.

What I made today...

Crochet Christmas tree ornaments. They turned out ok, with more practice I think I can make better ones. The instructions were found here at Attic24.

The red and while ones are for a friend who does a red and white tree.
Hope she likes them!

Furniture Projects

Our church had a "Really Really Free Garage Sale" today and they had so much cool stuff. I got this love seat for FREE! There was a matching one but someone else snagged it before I could so I made sure to get this one. I plan on painting it either white, black, Celery green or a light teal, I have not decided yet and I will also cover the custions with a much more modern fabric with celery green, tan and a teal print. I want to try and sell it but I know I'm gonna want to keep it for myself. I do not need more furniture in this house!
And about a month ago I bought this oak shelf at good will - $14 bucks plus $10 in spray paint = a much needed shelf for my kitchen. While painting this I did figure out why I never see painted oak pieces - oak is a real pain to paint and seemed to just soak up the paint even with primer on it. Its not the best painting job but it came out ok.

Floor Pillow

I found a tutorial to make these floor pillows HERE at Living With Punks. Since this was a trial run I just used some sheets I found at Salvation Army. I made two and my kids love them. I think they need to be stuffed a little tighter and they look lumpy but I think that is because the material I used is thin. Probably if I used decorator fabric the lumps from the stuffing would not show up as much. The 4 year old girl that I watch everyday wants me to make her a skirt out of the striped material. The stripes are totally her and I will post a photo when I get it done. :)

New "old" furniture for Gracies Room

The headboard came from Goodwill and it was $24.99, the posts and top part are wood and the center is laminated wood. It is a very heavy piece and is stamped "Made in America" on the back - you rarely see that statement anymore! I forgot to take a before photo but trust me, it looks much better painted antique white. The dresser I got about 5 years ago at a garage sale for 20 bucks and it has been setting in Grace's closet and it was funky blue color with red painted knobs - quite ugly. And finally the mirror above the dresser is something I picked up at a garage sale about 16 years ago for $5.00. I'm not an expert at painting furniture but I am learning fast and even though some of the paint bubbled when I put the protective coating on - I was able to fix it somewhat and I think it came out pretty good for a first try.

Fabric Pinwheels

My big bare teal wall in my guest room finally has something on it! I found a free pattern/instructions HERE and made them today. The hardest part of making them was deciding what fabric combo to use. Instead of glueing down the corners to the center I punched a hole in the corners that would be glued down and I punched a hole in the center of the pinwheel and then I put a brad through all the layers of the corners that get turned in to the center and then but that same brad through the hole in the center of the pinwheel. Once I find some cool buttons I will hot glue them over the brad in the center. To attach the pinwheels to the wall, I took clear push pins and put them under each folded sections of the pinwheel and stuck it to the wall. Clear as mud? The largest pinwheel is 18 inches, the next size down is 12 inches the two bottom ones are 9 inches and the smallest is 6 inches.

I also made the throw pillows on the bed - but not today, I'm fast but not THAT fast! lol

Hoot!

As part of De-stashing (is that a word?) my craft stuff I made this little owl. The original idea used scrapbook paper but I wanted to make it out of some felted wool and other cotton material that I had on hands. The owl fits perfectly on 12x12 scrapbook paper. I plan on framing it and hanging it on the wall. The original idea and pattern can be found HERE.

Angels and Package Bow

Just a few more items made from the class by Betz White . I haven't made all all the projects and probably won't before Christmas - just not enough hours in the day.

Pillows, Pillows, Pillows!

I made these pillows! I am silly-proud of myself. The teal pillow on the right has bead fringe and I had to sew the whole pillow by hand because my sewing machine could not get close enough to the edge without running over the beads. I made the tan pillows about 10 years ago but I am going to keep them since they look good with the other colors. I am finally getting around to thinking about decorating our guest room . Hey, we have only lived in the house 3 years, it's about time don't ya think? Anyway, I am going to paint 3 walls a light brown and the wall with the bed is going to be teal. I think with all the strong colors in the room I am just going to put up sheers on the windows (over the blinds). I think it's going to look great.