Tray Chic

I picked up this cute tray a few weeks ago at ??? I don't remember--I think Sally's. I wiped it clean, sprayed a clear coat on it, glued a ribbon on the back for hanging, and glued some magnets to coordinating buttons. Quick and easy!

And here is a before picture of a clock I bought for $2 at a thrift store. Tune in tomorrow to see the after.

Sunday Verses

Because your love is better than life,

my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,

and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 63: 3-4

Friday night hubby and I went to a Burn worship event for about 3 hours. It is a 24 hour time of worship held monthly. You can read about it here. It was a great experience and we will do it again. Nothing like some time spent in praise and worship to God to give you clear thinking. I gave some things over to God that I have been holding onto. I was reminded of God's overwhelming love and presence in my life. What about you? Have you had some real worship and praise time with Jesus lately? This week, try to set aside one hour of time alone with your God, time to praise him and worship him and just be with him. He is waiting for you.

PS--Yes, I am messing around with my layout--please excuse the mess while I play around for a few days, thanks!

Picture Lotto

I found this picture lotto game recently at a church rummage sale. The poor girl on the front was no doubt an orthodontist's dream.

This is what I did with some of the individual cards. The blue one I made first, with a wood plaque I also got at the rummage sale. I then went to Michaels and found more wood that would work. I painted and stained them and the used modge podge to stick them to the plaque. I still have to put hangers on the back of them, so they are sitting on my dusty piano here. I think the individual ones would be cute on a little stand--I may have to make some.

I still have the 6 large lotto cards that I have an idea for.

Peeling Paint Technique

One of my blogging goals this year was to show you more tutorials. I haven't been very good about that goal. I thought I'd share the technique I use to make wood furniture look like there are layers of paint on it. Here is a basic wooden stool, picked up at the thrift store for $2. It did not have any kind of finish, so I didn't need to sand or prime it.

I started with a coat of cream paint, slapping it on quickly. It is best to use acryclic craft paints for this technique. Latex can end up peeling off in big pieces.

When cream was dry, I used an old candle and rubbed it in different spots on the cream, in long strokes. in the summer, the wax can melt if it is too hot. This time of year, I have to press harder to get more wax on the piece, because it is cold.

I then slapped on a coat of blue (sorry-fuzzy picture, but the only I took).

Lather, rinse, and repeat (which means I repeated the waxing process when the blue was dry).

I then painted my final coat, green. I have done up to five colors before. When the green was dry, I used a paint scraper to scrape the paint off, from where the wax was.

When I had finished scraping, I sanded to smooth out the paint finish. You do not want to skip the paint scraping and go directly to sanding--it totally gums up your sandpaper.

After wiping the piece clean, I used minwax gel stain in aged oak over the paint. The gel stain will sit on top of the paint nicely, and doesn't need bare wood to soak into.

And here is the finished stool after a coat of polyacrylic. I am liking the fresh spring green (especially since I see white out the window!).

Demilune Tables

Kari and Kijsa are having a trash to treasure party. My whole blog is pretty much trash to treasure, so look around if you are new here, but thought I'd share these recent redos. Go check out all of the other trash to treasure links at their blog.

I picked up 2 of these demilune tables at a garage sale for $7/pair. I could tell they were old because they had a tag on the bottom from the Northwest Chair Company out of Tacoma. I have found many chairs in this area with the same tag--they were in operation in the 1930's. I saw that the tables had been glued on the underside of the top, where the legs attached to the table, but they felt sturdy. Sorry--I forgot before pictures. As I started to sand them, both tables fell apart. After some gluing and screwing and clamping, they were as good as new (or as good as old). I painted them with my favorite swirl design and added stain over the top after sanding some of the paint off. They would be great on either side of a couch or as bedside tables.

Goodbye Cabinet

I have had this cabinet (well the bottom half) for 12 years. You can read about how I acquired it here. I tired of it--it was a little too country for me I guess, plus I didn't ever have a great place for it in this house. Friends that own a thrift store wanted a cabinet to display things in, so off it went on consignment, after a makeover. The original top half I am using as a divider. This top was from another cabinet I had, whose bottom needs lots of work (the cabinet's bottom, not mine--well on second thought, both of ours Ü).

The top was this barn red (I had started painted the inside cream and then remembered to take a picture).


I painted some barn red over my brown cabinet so that when I sanded it, the same colors would show through. I then painted it black, cream on the inside, and added beadboard to the back of the top cabinet. I liked how the cream shoewed through when I sanded, it matches the hardware well. I was tempted to stick it back in my house after painting it black, but I was strong and said goodbye!

Sunday Verses

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

--Ephesians 3:17-19

As we get to know God better, spend more time with him, trust him more, we learn more about his amazing love for us. Realizing how much God loves us, gives us strength--strength to get through seemingly impossible situations, strength to do the right thing, strength to love those around us who are not so lovable.

I read this verse with fresh eyes this week. I realized how hard it is for us to truly get how much God loves us. But as I spend more time with Him, I am able to get a better grasp of his infinite love and power that is available to me, and that is an incredible realization. I am not afraid to tell you, I want as much as I can get. I want my roots to grow down deep into his love so that when the storms come, I will not be shaken. I want to experience Christ's love for me completely, so I will keep on keeping on, seeking and trusting our Father.

Stool Re-Dool

Sweet Jen at Sanctuary Arts is having a trash to treasure/ make-over party on the 25th of each month. Here is my contribution for this month. I got this great old stool at a garage sale--$2. It was okay, but I knew it could be better.

I cleaned it up, pulled off the top vinyl stuff, and sanded it a little. I cut a piece of linen-like fabric (it is really a rough type of muslin I buy at Wally World) into a circle, and ironed under the edges. I then printed a bird silhouette from a clip-art program and held it up to a window and traced it onto the fabric. I painted it with black arcylic paint and used upholstery tacks to put it on the top of the stool. I put a thin piece of batting under it and voila, a quick and easy make-over!

Go check out all of the other great links on Jen's site!

$3, Corkboard, and a 1/2 Yard of Fabric

Look what I made with a $3 frame from Hobby Lobby (it was 90% off--I think it must have had a mirror in it. I traced the oval onto a piece of bulletin board (I always buy these at 1/2 price sales at the thrift stores). I used a craft knife to cut it out--you need to go over it a few times. I covered the board, stapled the fabric to the back with a regular stapler, popped it back into the frame, and put the back on again. This is a 10-15 minute project. I also hot glued buttons onto tacks. People are always looking for ways to be better organized so bulletin boards sell quickly. Be on the lookout for cheap frames and used bulletin boards!

Sunday Verses

 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret
when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. -Psalm 37:7

Have you been waiting for something for awhile? Wondering if God remembers that you asked Him? Patience is not my strong point and sometimes answers seem to come so slowly--years sometimes crawl by as I wait for an answer. This verse reminds me that God has it all under control--that He knows what is happening and He has not forgotten me or my prayer. So I will be still and wait, wait for Him. His timing is perfect!