Plant Stand Makeover

I scored this little plant stand months ago, thanks to a friend. She was part of a local consignment/thrift sale, and she gave me one of her tickets. The tickets were for the consignors to come to the sale one day early & look around. I was so excited to go!! I found a lot of little things, perfect for repurposing, but in the end, I took only this little beauty home with me...

(Please excuse our lovely basement backdrop.)

It was only 6 bucks too!

I took it straight to the basement & sanded it well all over. I then began by flipping it over to spray paint the underside first...

Easy enough!...

After the two coats on the underside were dry, I flipped it over & painted three coats all over.

Then came the fun part- distressing!! I wanted the finish on this one to be similar to the one on my first furniture painting project, my side table. Both pieces looked pretty with the smooth, glossy white finish, but I am just really into the aged, distressed look lately. And the beauty of it is that I can always change it up later IF I ever get tired of it.

I tried to zoom in on the detail...

You can't really mess up sand paper distressing. I always like to start easily and make a small spot, then if I want it bigger, I can always sand more heavily.

I thought I would immediately put this baby into the yard sale pile in the guest room, but I actually needed to use it, atleast for a little while. I have just three plants left from when my dad passed away. One is thriving & looks beautiful in our living room. The other two are slowly fading, so I need somewhere to house them for the time being. This was the perfect place for one of them...

The lighting is bad in the last photo, because it was a pretty, sunny day & I had the blinds open. So thankful for the sunshine we've had for a few days lately.

So, a quick Before & After!...

BEFORE


AFTER


Isn't it crazy what a little spray paint & sand paper can do??

Hope you all have a great weekend! I can't believe how fast the weekends are rolling around lately. The weeks have been so busy, so they come & go really quickly. Recently, we seem to have things going almost every weeknight too, so that helps. Two nights ago, I went with mom & some friends to see Safe Haven. WOW. Such a great movie! I was skeptical going in to another (cheesy) Nicholas Sparks movie, because he really disappointed me with The Vow, but this one really got me. And if you've lost a parent, it will get to you even more.

I have some really exciting plans coming up, so that makes the quick passing of time more exciting too. I am going to the Elton John concert in Chattanooga in March (which will be here before we know it- yay!!), and my sweetie & I are going with his dad to the Crimson Caravan in May!! I was so excited that we were able to get tickets to that! I am also really shocked that it will be here in our little town, but it is! Woohoo!! I have never heard Nick Saban speak in person (Zach & his dad have), so I am super pumped!

Roll Tide!!

Chalkboard Minis

I'm very excited to share this quick little project with you. This only took me a few hours to complete, not including drying times in between. The idea for this project all started when I found these tiny little silver trays at the thrift store about a month ago...

They only had four, so I got them all. 25 cents a piece. :)

I had repurposed a larger version of these in this post months ago, and I've used the chalkboard paint at other times, like in my mailbox revamp. So, this would be something different. Basically, just a smaller version of my larger chalkboard tray.

I painted each one with two coats of spray paint, all different colors. I just used simple spray paints that I already had-

yellow, red, white & gold.

I then sand-papered each surface to distress the edges & smoothe out the middles to prep for chalkboard paint. I think I painted about 3 coats of the chalkboard paint on each, and they were done! Not much money invested at all, and not much time either.

Love these kinds of projects!

Some pics of the finished chalkboard minis...

So, a Before & After, because who doesn't love a good

Before & After shot?...

BEFORE

AFTER

I (think I) am planning on selling these little cuties. My family is planning a big estate & yard sale, slated for this next Spring, and I may debut some of my creations there to sell. Who knows if that will work out or not? I just feel like I'm creating all of these little projects, then they have nowhere to go. I am running out of room, both in our house & in my crafting area in the basement, so I need to get rid of some clutter. If any "big developments" on this front happen anytime soon, I'll let you know. It's just an idea for now. :)

As I said in my last post, if I don't post before then, Happy, Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Black Friday!! I am so, so ready for those two days! I love everything about them- the family time, the food, the cooking, the clean house (since company is coming), the laughter... then the little rest & lots of shopping on Friday, getting & putting up our tree, and all the Christmas decor being brought up from the basement to brighten up our house.

I am so very thankful this year. Each year, we have more than the last. We are blessed more & more every day, and never want for a thing. God is so good to us. We have all of our family members together once again for Thanksgiving, and that's one of the biggest blessings. Zach's dad is also coming to Thanksgiving dinner at his mom's, so his family will all be together. I keep reminding him how blessed he is for that. You never know which Thanksgiving will be your last, or how different it will be from year to year. Love your loved ones while you have them- I don't know how much I can preach that.

Always remember, there is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere...

... Yes- we are still covered in a plethora of pumpkins at the Jones household...and I love it! I am definitely one of those people who cannot stand to have the Christmas decor out before Thanksgiving is over. I hate to think of Thanksgiving being passed over. It is such an important holiday, and I think it gets overlooked a lot, unfortunately. I know that just by having the Christmas tree, greenery & lights up, you don't automatically forget the meaning of Thanksgiving when it comes, but to me,
it just takes away from it.

Since we always have a real tree every year, we don't have it until Black Friday anyway. These reasons, and the fact that last year, I was already tired of the Christmas decor by December 26th, create the result of us keeping out the pumpkins a little bit longer here. I think one full month of the stuff is enough. For me, less is more. The same goes for Christmas music. I love it so very much, but I do get tired of it after hearing it day in & day out for a full month. I usually turn it on (and turn it way up) on Black Friday too.

Don't get me wrong, I am the polar opposite of a Scrooge. I go all out for Christmas- always have and always will. Every year, I have more stuff out than the year before. I just think every season has its own time. And speaking of, I am (still) loving my pumpkin collection this year. I have added more this year, and wanted
to share some quick pics with y'all...

I have a new addition to the porch this year...

The urn was from my sweetie's precious family when my dad passed away. It housed a gorgeous, full plant, which has now been transplanted somewhere new (more on its new home later in this post). It took me just a matter of minutes to transplant the plant that was once here, clean out the original pot, and add some Spanish moss to create a "nest".

I found this cute little pumpkin at Dollar General for 3 bucks!! I was so excited! My mom & I had made our rounds 2 weekends ago at all the local Christmas open houses- I didn't find a thing. Leave it to me to find what I want at Dollar General or the Dollar Tree. I love to buy cheap base items, spruce them up a tiny bit, and make them work. You can do so much with very little!

The raffia on top really adds to it, and I love the glitter!

This has been my normal set-up for the front porch

for the last two years...

That little scarecrow has hung in there for a few years now, and still looks great, if you ask me. The pumpkin was new last year, from Hob Lob. They have now changed these to where you buy the plain pumpkin & the initial decal separately. Mine is the old school version, which I like much better- my "J" initial is carved into mine. I love it more every year. :)

I tried my hand at another Mod Podged pumpkin, just as I did last year. I started out by making one for my mom, then I loved it so much, I decided to make my own. Speaking of, I need to get on that...we'll have my family over to our house for Thanksgiving

in ONE WEEK. Unbelievable!

I used the same infamous pumpkins as I did in the aforementioned project, and for my recent chevron painted pumpkins. I just bought some cute scrapbook paper at Hob Lob, cut it into strips, and Mod Podged it on. After it was dry, I put a coat of Mod Podge on top to protect. I then placed a cinnamon stick through the top for the stem, and added some Spanish moss for a little something extra. This stuff is great, by the way.

 

Now, as I mentioned earlier, I found a new home for the plant that was in the urn that is now on the front porch. It has gotten smaller since last year, so the large urn was taking away from the plant itself. I got the new pot from my grandmother's, and decided to repurpose it. It was again one of those things I saw, and immediately knew what I wanted to transform it into.

I hate that I did not get a "Before" pic, but you can picture it- it was a cream color with an ugly, greenish patina look. And it was very dirty. So to start with, I cleaned it & spray-painted it
a bronze-y gold...

I knew from the start that I wanted to enhance the raised leaves, and work with the grooves. I did not want to go to the store & buy a glaze just for one project, so I worked with what I had. I used simple brown acrylic paint & a paper towel and went to work.

I just dabbed some paint onto the pot, then rubbed it in, making sure to catch a lot of the grooves. This was really easy, and it makes a big difference. It makes me want to go & buy glaze
for another project. We'll see.

I'm happy with the way it turned out. And, if I ever want to

add more, it's easy.

I hope everyone is having a great week. We are still staying busy. We're a little bummed that Alabama lost this past weekend, but we know it's not the end of the world. The same goes for the election. God knows what He's doing.

If I don't make a post at some point before,
Happy Thanksgiving & Happy Black Friday!

For the Love of Chevron

Well, it's been a while. I love blogging, but I love living life more. It's great to take a break every now & then- from everything-
and concentrate on other things.

A lot has happened in our world since my last post. The weekend before last, we had a very fun, busy weekend! My sweetie got a new vehicle. It was very bittersweet, since he has always been in love with his Land Rover, but its time had come. We are very happy with our new purchase so far, and it's another great family vehicle (for now, that means lots of room for our trips, and plenty of room for the doggies on their vet visits), so we're happy. God is good. :)

We also went to our niece's soccer game that day. Never knew we would have fun while watching little ones run around playing soccer, but we did. We had a great time visiting with his family for the second weekend in a row too. We got to eat lunch at, of course, Chick-fil-A, and shop a little that afternoon. That night, we thoroughly enjoyed the Bama/TN game!! The next morning, I volunteered in the nursery & stayed for church, then got a lot done at home that afternoon. Life is good. :)

This past week was an eventful one. Our "big sister" Jen had a stroke at the first of last week (I call her that because she has always been like a sister to us- she babysat my brother & I when we were little, and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding, and she was one in mine). We never would have thought when we visited her the first night in the hospital's Neurological ICU that two days later, she would be coming home, but she did! Praise the Lord for taking care of her, and for continuing to give her a quicker recovery with each new day. Continue to pray for her as she returns back to 100%, because she will- SOON- it will just take some work. She's a fighter! Again, God is good. :)

We had a good time this past weekend- nothing was accomplished at our house, but we spent tons of time with family & friends, and at the end of the day, that's so much more important than clean laundry & a clean house. I went shopping on Saturday with Mom & Mamaw, then we watched the Bama with Zach's dad that night. We spent most of the day Sunday (after church) with Zach's best friend Brett and his sweet family.

On Sunday morning, I was asked to volunteer in the nursery again (I see a pattern here... but I love it!), then we had one of the most awesome church services we will probably ever witness. A local soldier named Josh Wetzel was injured by an IED explosion in Afghanistan, and he & his sweet wife gave their testimony. He lost both of his legs at the knees, but they have put such a positive spin on their experience. Our choir also had a show-stopping (if I do say so myself) version of When the Saints Go Marching In, complete with trombone, drums & other instruments. Wow- I was so excited!

It made me think- why don't we get this excited when every other Sunday rolls around??

Now, enough catching up...on to the project...

So, I am falling more & more in love with the chevron pattern the more I see it- and it is everywhere these days! I happened to see the cover of the October issue of Country Living magazine while at the grocery store the other day...

Google Images

Wow! I loved the design & the colors. Naturally, I decided to try

a version of these myself.

I decided not to use real pumpkins. Reason One: Because they are too pricey for what you get; Reason Two: Because I did not want to spend all that time painting & decorating to them, only to throw them out in late November. Nope!

So, on to the Dollar Tree I went. I picked up two of the same pumpkins that I got there last year (the very ones I re-designed with a little time, paint & Mod Podge). I also picked up a third (just like them!) at the thrift store, and for half the price

(yep, 50 cents).

I decided that since I had three of these to experiment with,

why not paint them all differently? 

With the first pumpkin, I painted it a white chevron pattern, letting the natural orange shine through. At first, I tried applying painter's tape, but it was too wide for the small pumpkin, and was, honestly, too much work. So, I free-handed it with a paint pen. :)

I then filled in the lines with simple white paint on a sponge brush.

I applied a clear coat on this one to protect, and then it was done!

With the second, I painted it the gray & white chevron pattern. I simply spray painted the gray, then free-handed the white chevron pattern in three lines.

  

I still have the third pumpkin sitting, just waiting for a transformation. I think I have finally decided what to do with it. My mom mentioned wanting one, so I plan on making one for her. I know what I'm going to do- I'm thinking scrapbook paper with Mod Podge. I will post if I ever get it done!

For now, I'm just enjoying these two myself.

Happy Halloween to everyone today! My sweetie & I have made a deal to each watch a Halloween movie the other has picked. Last night was my turn, and I thought I would have a blast from the past & watch Casper. I have forgotten how much I liked that movie. It was neat, because I remembered so many lines from it. It's a cute, non-scary Halloween movie. I enjoyed the movie while gobbling up some sausage balls I had made over the weekend...

Yum! Not so healthy, but they're so good!

The same goes for this stuff...

...not really healthy, but it warms you up so well- it just goes so well with the Fall weather we are experiencing!

Tonight is Zach's turn to pick his movie, so we'll see

what he comes up with. :)

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week & weekend...

and Roll Tide!!

A Frame For Aunt Renea

Wow. We've been super busy lately. To summarize, we've been working every day (& Zach, some nights too), gearing up for an upcoming estate & yard sale, and car shopping. I promise- it's not as glamorous as it sounds. Life is still good though, and we're always blessed. As one of my favorite quotes say, "There is always, always something to be thankful for." :)

I'm still not back in project mode yet, but I did want to share two projects I finished up before we left. I had to wait until I gave this to the recipient, which was my Aunt Renea!

I actually created two things for her, but I wanted to split the two projects up into two posts, because I realized I had taken a lot of step-by-step pics in each one.

So, here's the frame first...

This frame was third in line, right after little Silas Finn's & Bryson's frames. I started this one simultaneously with those. Once the paint was applied & drying on one, I would work on the others. I love keeping projects going like that!

Just as with the boys' frames, I started with a simple wooden frame from the thrift store. They also have these super cheap at Wal-Mart & Hob Lob too...

I spray-painted it white to begin with. I then striped it off with blue painter's tape, and went to work painting this pretty pink. Pink is her favorite color (Aerosmith reference, anyone? :)), so I knew I couldn't go wrong. (Side note on the blue painter's tape: I love it! We used it when we painted the interior of our house, but this was the first time I've used it on a project. I am planning to use it even more- I'm thinking a chevron design on some pumpkins!- so we'll see if I still love it!)

To personalize it, I added an "R" with a white paint pen...

I was pretty happy with the way it turned out...



...and she says she loves it too!

I will post next on the sign I created for her farm, so stay tuned!

Meeting Silas Finn!

I hope to post photos from our trip soon! My sweetie is still going through them all- he took a couple thousand! :) I also want to post soon on our new flooring & new kitchen sink- I just need to take the time to take pics of them. For now, I wanted to post on these two little projects I did for two sweet friends & their baby boys! I had to wait to post on them, because I wanted the recipients
to see them first.

Here is a pic of me & Silas Finn. This is my best friend, Jennifer & her husband Andrew's, little boy! He is now four months old! Mom & I got to meet him for the first time last week. It was so great to visit with him & Jen!! He is such a happy little baby,
and is so fun to be around! :)

We lost Jennifer's grandmother, Ruby Jo ("Mama Jo"), this past weekend. Mama Jo was a precious lady, and I looked forward to it every time she said the offering prayer at our church. She had such a kind heart, and was such a classy, Godly woman who will be missed by so many! She did get to meet little Silas though, which is so comforting. I hate that Jennifer had to prolong her stay because of the circumstances, but I am glad that I got to spend more time with her & her little man!

For Silas, a.k.a. baby boy #1, I knew his nursery colors were brown & green, so I just went with that. I had purchased these little wooden frames a while back, and had been waiting to use them. I painted the first one a simple green (it's still not the shade I wanted, but it works), and then got some wooden letters to spell out his name. It was easiest just to spray paint these, so that's what I did. I painted the frame with about 3 or 4 coats of the green, then spray painted only 2 coats of brown on the letters.

I actually just Mod Podged the letters onto the frame. I did one coat of Mod Podge on the frame, then attached the letters
& two painted stars.

After that, I did two coats of Mod Podge on top to protect.

Here is the finished frame...

Same thing with baby boy #2, Bryson. His nursery colors are yellow & gray (how cute is that??), so I used these colors. I already had spray paint on-hand in yellow (go me!), which was used in the chalkboard tray, and I just picked up the gray later on. I used the same wooden letters & spelled out the name, then attached with Mod Podge & after that dried, I did two coats on top...

I didn't get an actual After picture of either of these- I guess I was just too excited to wrap them up & deliver them! (Jen had to send me the "After" shot of Silas'.) :)

These were so fun to create & I hope the boys, and their sweet mommas, can put them to use!