Toy Box Make-Over

As most of you know I have been working on creating Lil Sara's "big girl" room...The look...Country Chic

(to see the previous Sara Room posts CLICK HERE)

I want to create her a space that she can entertain her dollies and care for her babies, take naps and generally just get her toys out of my living room...(yer I'll be honest, this project is really all about me *wink*)

So my challenge was to blend in a white melamine toy box with all the lovely country looking painted furniture...Well obviously painting it was not the answer since a box is a box is a box...and I really did not want to make it bulkier by adding trim detail...And since she needed some seating...

I created her a pillow top using one of her old crib comforters and some pink check cotton fabric from Walmart...Added giant buttons and VOILA...now she has a cute little bench.

I made it like a giant pillow case so I can remove the inch foam padding and wash the cover...Notice the ribbons...they are holding the buttons in place...again so the cover can be removed easily....I also used Velcro strips (the kind you sew one side to the fabric and the other glues to the hard surface)...this will keep it from slipping when she opens and closes the toy box.

You may remember these flowers I got on clearance for 28cents each...
Well I butchered 3 for the giant buttons...Actually I butchered 4 but one did not survive the carnage.

Now not only does she have a place to store her toys that blends in nicely with the rest of the room, but a great place to host a tea party with some of her favorite friends...

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing For:
Show and Tell Friday @ http://romantichome.blogspot.com
Pink Saturday @ http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com
Wow Us Wednesday @ http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

Sara's Room - Book Case Complete...

One more step closer to Sara's Big Girl room....

These shelves started life as a cheap ($20) melamine kit in a light pine color we brought 10yrs ago from either Lowes or Kmart, I forget which...

Added little trim ($21) and a little paint ($0 because we used left over paint) and you would never know of their humble mass-production beginning.

How good did the trim turned out once painted and destressed a little??

I love how cute and antiquey (word?) they look now...I also love the green of the shelves with the soft blue of the headboard, I wanted complementary pieces not matchy-matchy.

Actually I tried to give these shelves away last yr and they never got picked up...Turned out to be a blessing and just want I needed to give Sara's new big girl room some display space for her favorite toys.

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing today for
Metamorphosis Monday @ http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com
Wow Us Wednesday @ http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

Book case so far...

These are taking much longer than I had planned...but so far so good...All that is left is painting the trim and loose shelves then I will distress them and they are done..

Blessings Kelsie

Sara's room - Headboard complete...

I am really loving the look of the furniture painted "Heavenly Blue"...

Here is what the headboard looked like before...

Lovely soft Country Chic feel going on...

Quilt was handmade by Sara's Great Grandmother as a gift to us when we first married..

Draw Pull Note: I am leaning towards a crystal pull and received 2 comments suggesting the same...I have reattached the original hardware until I have time to shop for a crystal one.

Today we are going to tackle the bookshelves and sorting the toys and bringing them in so she can start using the room...

The to-do list for the room includes:
Creating a padded cushion for the toy box lid..
Painting mirror frame blue...
Paint small wicker chair white...
Creating her a custom Pennant Banner...
Removing the wall mounted shelves and patching the wall...
Removing the TV cable and patching the hole in the wall...
Finding my packet of Children Proof Outlet Covers...
Finding just the right fabric for the curtains and making them..
Shop for a floor rug..
Paint large frame white and make into a memory board..

Sharing for Show and Tell Friday @ http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Before and After Bedside Table....

From 70's classic to country chic...

Total cost $0 ...the Heavenly Blue paint was left over from painting the nursery wall mural a couple of years back...

Now to decide on hardware..To paint original white or look for a cute crystal draw pull...hmmmm..suggestions??

Blessings Kelsie

Baby decorating steps...

Sneak Peek at the side table for Lil Sara's big girl room...2 coats of paint...one more to go then sand and Glaze?...hmmmmm...Chalk?....maybe...Wax...possibly...and this is why we started with the side table and not the bed head.

As soon as I drop her at daycare we are heading to the local hardware store to buy trim for the bookshelves and check out what they have in the way of glaze, chalk and wax....then home to see how much I can get done before it is time to pick her up again.

Blessings Kelsie

Black & White Country Bedroom Update

Spent a little time fluffing up the Black and White (French) Country bedroom today...It is kinda losing it's "French" along the way oops...This room was (is) my eldest daughters, though now she has moved out of home, it is where our guests get to stay...You can see how the room looked before I fluffed it up today by clicking here

I finally got around to sanding the head board a little, giving it that lovely shabby chic finish...alas before I finished the foot of the bed, I ran out of sandpaper being I could only find half a sheet to begin with.

This is the view as you enter from the hallway...

Behind the mirror hides the flat screen TV...The lovely looking vintage chair in the right bottom corner is actually husband's computer chair covered with a vintage style lace table cloth and a cute golden pillow...I keep begging hubby to upgrade to a laptop but he declines, so plan B is getting him a computer Armoire to hide his ugly old computer, which has now also been moved into this room to free up the old "guest room" to become lil Sara's bedroom.

View from other side of the bed...

I got this little cherub a few weeks ago from Orlando. I have since given him a little glaze/drybrush treatment with burnt umber and then another over coat of vintage white to add some definition to the details and give him a little bit of a vintage look....

This is what he looked like when I brought him...stark white..

I still need to finish the lamp shade. It is currently just pinned together and I want to paint the base as well...As you can see I have begun to bring my porcelain dolls into this room also...

This would be the biggest change to the room...I finally found a round piece that fits the bed netting perfectly...The netting I have had since my eldest was a baby, it was over her crib and bed as she grew up...Over the years the plastic frame that held it up disintegrated...I am so happy to finally be able to put it back where it belongs...

And finally the white "doily" pillow case...This I have also had for years and it came from my mother...I paired it with a pink under pillow case to add an even more of a girlie touch to the bed...

I hope this is enough to Wow Us Wednesday over @ http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Don't forget Kim is also hosting a great give-away as well...

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/02/its-giveaway-time.html

And I am also posting to Pink Saturday with Beverly @ http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com

Blessings Kelsie

Dining Area Updated

The dining area is starting to feel more like a part of a home, and not just a blank space where we eat...Today we hung the framed navigation chart on the wall...I moved the side board table into the space and turned the table around...As you can see the chairs still need to be painted to match the table and recovered...Now I have the artwork on the wall I can start thinking about what fabric to use on the chairs.


The navigation chart is of the waters around my home town of Albany, Western Australia and came from my father's commercial fishing boat...


I have waited 10yrs to get it mounted and framed and have to say a huge thank you to David from Main Street Framing and Photography for making it a reality...He was so patient with me as I selected the framing and ummed and arred over the right matting color...


Below the chart is the narrow side board that I borrowed from the front living area...I am still working out what to use to replace it as an entry table, so after this photo shoot it was temporarily returned to where it had come from...I hope to rectify this problem in the next couple of weeks.


So jealous of all the lovely cloches out there, I am still improvising in this department too...A cheese platter houses this lovely vintage plaster face that had belonged to my grandmother, he is supposed to hang on the wall but this helps to keep him dust free until if/when I find him a home on the wall.


I finally put my nativity scene away and replaced it with my 3 blue and white orphan cups and a couple of sea shells...I want to avoid going to "nautical' in the dining room for now...Just a couple of touches to compliment the chart.


In the middle of the table I created a small center piece using a wire basket, my favorite scented candle and more sea shells all nested on a wicker plate charger I found on clearance and kicking myself I only grabbed one.


Looking in from the kitchen, you can see the family photo wall...Still many more photos to go up just have not had time or money to purchase more frames yet...I do like that I can enjoy all my loved ones from my computer work station.

I forgot to take a before image so grabbed this one from the Christmas tour...you can see how stark the dining area was and also where the side board was being as an entry table.

One last look before you go

Blessings Kelsie

Linking this post at the following parties this week:

Table Top Tuesday - http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com
Boring to Better Party - http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com
Show and Tell Friday - http://romantichome.blogspot.com

Quick Pumpkin Make-Over

The count down has definitely begun for T-Day...I did a dash to Dollar General this morning hoping they had a pilgrim or 2 left for me to make a center piece for the table...I know leaving it a little late most places have already sold out of all things Thanksgiving...

Fortunately for me DG still had a few things and yay already on the clearance rake...I did find my pilgrims but will share those another time...I want to show you the super quick make-over I gave these little fellows I found on the clearance rake for just 80 cents each...You can believe I grabbed the last 6 in a hurry...I have been coveting all the lovely white pumpkins I have been seeing the last few weeks and finally I have a chance to make my own...yay

Here is a before paint but with flowers, berries and leaves removed...and then with the first layer of paint added and rubbed back...I used Vintage White craft paint...

The finished pumpkins have 2 coats of paint rubbed back for a lovely shabby chic look...The berries were part of the original "garland" the pumpkins had on them, I simply used my hot glue gun to reattach them after the paint was dry.

I can't show you the rest of the table yet as I want it to be a surprise, but I am super happy with the results..Another thing on my Thankful list :)

Blessings Kelsie

Finding treasure in the old garden...

Today I was able to grab a few moments to myself and wandered over to the old house and take stock of the over grown garden and what can be moved to the new house...(For those of you that are new to our blog, we have lived on the property for the last 6yrs in a mobile home while we saved to buy/build the new house on the opposite side of the 5 acres)...
Who would have thought I would find a perfect before and after candidate during my little stroll thru the weeds..

While poking around in amongst the weeds, I found this long forgotten plant trellis I purchased from Dollar General on sale years ago...At the time it caught my eye as cute, but it has never really POPPED for me...UNTIL TODAY.

After a couple of coats of white spray paint, it takes on a whole new look and is perfect against our little blue and white house.

Originally I thought it would look cute just poking our of the dirt, but then inspiration completely hit and I hung it on the wall between the two windows as a piece of delicate artwork above the garden bed where earlier this week I planted the Mex petunias and the butterfly bushes...This garden has now been officially dubbed the "butterfly garden"...Maybe some time this weekend I will get the mulch laid.

Of course I had camera with me on my little walk today and took some pictures of some other lovely treasures to share with yall.

No surprise one of my favorite flowering shrubs is the bottle brush...This was also my school flower growing up in Western Australia...

I hope in the new garden to also add some Kangaroo Paws.

The hibiscus have given a really good showing this yr, once they are done I will transplant them.

Can't remember the name of this flowering vine but the blooms are gorgeous, another one I can't wait to transplant.

This lonely lovely is a volunteer from some long ago mixed seeds packet..

Was thrilled to see the water lily bloomed again this year, even though the fish pond is so over grown with the leaves we can no longer tell if there are still fish down there..(last time this happened the fish bred like bunnies...so here's hoping lol)

And last but not least, we have dozens of these shrubs growing wild all over the property...If anyone could tell me the name of them and if the berries are poisonous I would appreciate it.

I hope you enjoyed visiting my old garden with me and the transformation of a newly loved old treasure.

I am sharing this today for Show and Tell Friday at Cindy's Romantic Home

Despite the rain I finally got the chair finished.

It took a few more days than I had hoped but FINALLY I got the chair for the French Bedroom painted and the cushion covered to match the curtains.

This was taken thru the french doors of the little summer rain shower we had yesterday afternoon...Literally minutes after I finished applying the final coat of paint to the chair on the front porch.

This is the chair before...It is one of those pieces of furniture that has been knocking around the house since before we got married...Meaning I have no idea where it came from to begin with, but I have always loved the shape and style of it and knew one day I would have use for it.

Another pic of the finished product...
Now I just have the throw pillows to go and the room is complete.

Today we are heading into Walmart for a Dora the Explorer Birthday party so I doubt I will get much done in the way of projects today....But one can hope.

Have a great Saturday.