{front porch art} From Scrap Wood to Chalkboard

The last project for my little front porch makeover was to add artwork to the open space next to the front door.  A chalkboard seemed like the perfect option.  Love that it can be changed with every season.

I wanted something tall to fill the space, but really didn’t want to shell out the cash for it.  I peeked around some stores just to see.  Then a light bulb went off and I remembered we had some scrap wood in the basement.  You can’t beat that price!  And this project is so easy, a kid can do it.  In fact mine did!  Every time she sees me painting something, she asks to help.  This was the perfect opp to let her have at it.  Can’t really mess it up.

I was going to tape it off to create a frame effect, but my laziness won this battle along with the fact I wanted more writing space on the board.  I decided to paint the edge in a green-blue to give a pop of fun and to tie it in with the rug that’s under the confetti dot table.  There’s a chance I may add a little gold banding with my Sharpie, but I’m going to live with it for a bit first.

From scrap wood…

…to chalkboard fun.

I’m lovin’ it!

I’m just about ready to give you the full picture of the porch.  First, I need to paint some more wonky stripes on my other pot.  The wonky striped pot won hands down!

I am diggin’ this porch!  You can be sure to find me hanging here this summer!

Have a fantastic weekend!

- Kim

Linked to the Outdoor Extravaganza - Painted Projects - Our Fifth House and here.

Stripes or No Stripes + An Accidental Update

Over the weekend, I did a couple of projects for the front porch.  In an effort to save some cash on my little front porch update, I opted to buy inexpensive plastic pots to flank my front door.   Hoping to add a little uumph to these pots, I decided to dress them up in stripes.

First, I tried my trusty white duct tape in the hopes I wouldn’t have to paint.  Complete fail.  With the curve of the pot, the tape became wonky, creased and just plain not so pretty.  Next up, freehand with a not-so-steady hand and a foam paintbrush.  Fail again.  Last try, tape with painters tape, had same wonky issues as duct tape.  Results, a wonky uneven, not so crisp striped pot.

So do I keep going with the wonky stripes on the other pot?

Or do I go with the tried and true black pot in its classic form?

What do you think?

This weekend, I also started to gut the playroom so I can finally start the floors.  To be honest, this project is starting to completely overwhelm me.  The whole purging process and being rid of that nasty carpet will all be worth it in the end.  But I will tell you, I keep finding myself walking in the room and just staring at it and walking right out because I’m completely overwhelmed.  Not getting far fast.

Anywaaaays…instead of throwing everything in the basement, I’m trying to keep items close by to make the move in and out of the room easier.  In doing so, I moved a pair of lamps to my foyer table and was unexpectedly thrilled with the new look.

I was getting the itch to wake up this spot by painting the table or the wall with a pop of color, but the shine from the lamps and contrast of the shades has really done the trick for me. 

It’s got the combo of black, white, metal, wood (baskets) and pop of color that I referred to in Friday’s post that I love so much.  And if it saves me from another painting project, I love it even more.  However, that leaves me with no lighting for the playroom when I reload the room.  Oh well, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

I guess it goes to show that a little rearranging of the stuff you already have, can really change the feeling of a space making it feel new again.  So before you go shopping, make sure to shop your house first.  You just never know, you may already have just what you need!

Linked to the Outdoor Extravaganza - Painted Projects - Our Fifth House and here.

My Dark Side

No, I’m not getting all deep and dark with you…I’m just talking about walls, people.

I have a nasty little habit of inventing a new project in my head when I have 10 other projects I haven’t finished.  It usually stems off my latest obsession.  And today, it’s the dark wall.

Obsessed. In love. Ugh.  Can’t handle.

One of my favorite combos…black, white, wood, metal and a pop of color.  Too good.

{unsure of image source, but came from Belle Maison blog post}

I’ve even designated it a stand alone pinboard Dark Wall Love.

I think I know the perfect spot for this too.  Dare I say it out loud, errr, type it for all to see?  Disclaimer:  just a thought, not on to do list, might not, probably won’t happen.  I say this because I’ve got to paint wood floors, take up more carpet and paint over the mismatch of paint swatches I’ve made in our family room first.  And I guess if I’m still obsessed at that point, then maybe the half bath will get the dark treatment.

Thinking something like this with the high contrast of the white on bottom and dark on top.  My half bath art even mimics the art in this dining room.

{source - View Along The Way}

or this…

{source - It All Started with Paint}

These images get me all jacked up to get my paint brush out and ignore my other projects!  Good stuff, I tell ya!

I’ve ventured on the dark side once before when I painted our kitchen cabinets black and it was one of the best things we’ve done to update our home.  So who knows, maybe this project will make it to the real to do list one day.

Have a very Happy Memorial Day Weekend !

- Kim

{diy} confetti dot top + gold dipped feet table

Well, that was a mouthful of a title.  Over the last week, I’ve been sprucing up my front porch.  One of the projects was to resurrect this roadside rescue.  This old kid’s table used to live in our family room until it got banished to the basement when I found its replacement.  It desperately needed some love. 

Nothing some paint and duct tape couldn’t fix!  With a fresh coat of white paint, some gold confetti dots on top and gold dipped feet, I’ve fallen in love with this table!

I used my gold Sharpie paint pen to dress her up with the confetti dot effect.  At first, I was going for bigger spots and well, that was a major fail as you can see.  Yikes.

So then I just started pouncing around with the tip of the paint pen creating a clustered grouping of dots on the outside and lessening towards the middle.

I’ve been loving the dipped look, so she even got some gold shoes.  Instead of paint, I wrapped some gold duct tape around the feet of the table.

I also wrapped the edge of the table with gold duct tape to finish it off.

Sooooo much quicker and easier than paint!!  Gotta love duct tape!  Seriously, what can’t you do with that stuff?

Ain’t she purty?

More to come…I’ve got a few more projects to finish up.  Then we can do a full before and after, cause we all love before and afters, right?!!

Be back soon…

Linked to the Outdoor Extravaganza - Painted Projects - Our Fifth House and here

Paint, Floors, Refrigerator Tip, + a Burlap Wall…

Hello, hello!

Just popping in to share a few things…

1.  Getting close to painting the floors in the playroom.  Figured out the paint color and possibly a pattern.  Just need to get the dirty work out of the way…sanding, priming, yick!

2.  Discovered a new trim, door and cabinet paint that is supposed to work like oil paint.  I refuse to use oil because of the fumes and clean up issues, so I’m totally geeked about this product!  I’ve got a LOT of trim work and possibly some spindles ahead of me.

3.  Have you seen fridge coasters?  I thought it was a super cool product, but decided to go the cheapo route for now.  Picked up super cute plastic placemats at my grocery store and slid them onto my shelves to catch drippy milk and other spills.  This way I can just grab the placemats and hose them off.

4.  I took Jennifer at Dimples and Tangles advice and moved the black and white pillows to the chairs and brought the other two together on the bench.  The black in the Trina Turk pillow pulls it all together.  After all my rearranging, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this.  Thanks, Jennifer and everyone else who weighed in! 

Also, there’s a garden stool that’s there that wasn’t before.  Thinking too monochromatic for this space, but a great piece for the price.  Found it at Home Depot’s garden area.  I could paint it, but will probably just return it.

5.  This makeshift burlap wall just makes me happy.  Shhhhh, don’t look at its ragged and wrinkled state.  I’ve been thinking about doing something here for a while and finally just started pinning burlap to the wall one day.  Eventually, I’ll take it down, iron it, and do some detail work to make it a bit prettier, but it works for now.

Hope the sun is shining in your neck of the woods! 

Have a fabulous weekend!

- Kim

The Pink Flamingo Happy Hour

So I’ve been sick over the last few days and yes, that means on Mother’s Day too.  But to be honest, it was actually one of my favorite yet.  Anyhow, while vegging out on the couch, I watched an HGTV marathon of Curb Appeal the Block.  There were tons of fabulous transformations, but the thing that stuck with me most was a pink flamingo.

One of the neighborhoods had a tradition of sticking a pink flamingo in their front yard as a sign to neighbors to come over for Happy Hour.  How fun is that?!

This was one of those, “I’ve got to do this!” moments.  I told my neighbor about it and she was with me.  So we went on the quest for the pink flamingo. 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I kind of love these guys.

Our hopes are to make this ultra easy and ultra doable so the host doesn’t feel overwhelmed to get ready for it.  More just come as you are, bring you own whatever and pop a squat for a few hours.  Can’t wait to have our first Pink Flamingo Happy Hour!

To my real life neighbors, if you see a pink flamingo in my lawn, it’s an open invitation for Happy Hour! We live in a sub, so we’ll actually have to send out a text or email to get the word out, but still fun, right?!

Anybody else out there do a pink flamingo happy hour?  Block party?  Backyard movie night?  Would love to hear about any other fun neighborhood ideas out there for summer!

Deck Update–Need Your Advice…

THE pillow came and its been madness ever since.  Kind of, not really, but it did start to make me cuckoo.  I was trying too hard to create an awesome sauce space.  You know, when you don’t even know what you want anymore?

I was buried in pillows of pink and orange, black and white, then…I.just.let.it.go.  Pillow after pillow after pillow, I decided less is more. 

But I do have to ask… Does it bug you that there’s no symmetry with the chair on the left?  Kind of bugs me, but I can’t seem to find the right pillow to go there.

Had two orangey-reddish ones, but it was too matchy-matchy and balanced.  Yeah, I know.  First too much symmetry, now not enough.  So I’ve resolved myself to leave it alone and let it be.  Yes?  No?

Hmmm….wait a minute…maybe a dip-dyed one could work?  Something like this one from West Elm, but outdoor friendly?  Yes, I think that could be it, but where to find it?  Make one and not worry about the outdoor fabric thing?

Or I could just move the pillow over here and call it a day.

What about this…too matchy?

Thoughts?  Advice?

Anyone…anyone… Bueller…Bueller??

Oh, and how about the front porch…too pink?  These were some leftovers from the backyard that didn’t make the cut.

I’m a bit afraid of letting my pink side out.  Next time you see it, I’m sure it will be totally different.  Have a I mentioned I’m a bit indecisive?

Last Minute Teacher Appreciation Gifts

Although Teacher Appreciation Week is well underway, I wanted to share a few last minute ideas with you.  As I mentioned in my last post about this, I decided to stick with the same gifts from last year.  But as I’m moving along, I’ve added a couple twists.

• I gave the bucket to the teacher empty, instead of full of notes from the kids.  This way the kids can pop their notes in the bucket throughout the week and she can get a little something every day. 
• Each day a new goody will appear in the bucket from the kids too. 

 

Day One 

M&M’s with the M&M poem using a printable from 2 Silly Monkeys.

Day Two

Simply Lemonade with a tag that says “You’re simply fabulous!”

Day Three

A ruler with the note “Teacher you rule!”  {printable from Create.Craft.Love.}

Day Four

A bag of glue sticks with a tag that says “You’re the glue that keeps us together.” {Glue stick printable via g*rated}

Day Five

A candle and artwork – These gifts will wrap up the week.

The candle wrap is actually a chalkboard background, but my ink was running out and did this ombre color effect.  It works out though because our teacher’s favorite color is purple.  Love this quote.  {Candle Wrap Printable via Create.Craft.Love.}

And just like last year, I was able to “frame” this subway art for free by using a piece of cardboard and some washi tape to frame it out.  {Subway art printable via Eighteen25}

Here’s what this year’s bucket looks like.  I opted for the bigger bucket and bigger cards for the kids to use.  The cardstock was sold in packs already cut to size, which was a big time saver.

It was fun to add a little twist to our bucket filling this year.  I hope our teacher likes it too!