Roadside Find to Nursery Dresser

 So, it's no surprise to any long time readers that I LOVE to pick up furniture off the side of the road. Okay, well truth be told I hate to actually do it, but I am really goo at convincing my husband to do it for me! I have gotten quite a few signature pieces around my house from another man's trash.

The latest addition to the trash to treasures stash was a dresser for our coming baby's nursery. I had been searching garage sales ALL week long, and low and behold my husband happened to drive by the perfect project right around the corner from our house. My favorite thing about it, it was FREE!

So, follow my journey as I turn this:

Into this:

 

First, I wiped and sanded down all of the surfaces that were to be painted. 

 

To keep with the 'free' theme, I used some leftover 'Manhattan Mist' paint from our living room makeover last summer. It is the perfect gray/ blue hue to tie the other nursery elements together. 

 

It was a slight bummer that the dresser didn't come with knobs, but who am I to complain? I found just what I was looking for at Hobby Lobby, and wouldn't you know, knobs were 50% off that week. So, for a grand total of $23.00, I purchased 17 new knobs for my dresser. (Yes, I need 18, so I am on the search for just one more!)

 

While this dresser is old, all of the drawers are in working condition, it is the perfect size, and it was just the right price. I love thrifty finds! And with all the other money we are putting into another nursery, I am sure my husband doesn't mind either. check out the sweet detail on the base of the dresser below, it might just be my favorite part!

 

What thrifty finds have you had lately? I would love to see them!

Now for a little reminder:

Next week begins July, and a new weekly layout for us here at LTC. We hope that you will join us for our first ever LINK party next Thursday! I cannot wait to see what you have to share with us then!

Happy Thursday!

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Cutting Edge Stencil Giveaway

Now here is another chance for you to win a Cutting Edge Stencil of your choice!

You know that I am in love with their new Polka-Dot Stencil, of course.  

But they offer a ton of other great options like these...

The Harlequin Trellis Stencil

The Daisy Crazy Flower Stencils

The Poppy Field Flower Stencil

To enter all you have to do is:

1.) Visit Cutting Edge Stencils and then leave a comment letting us know what your very favorite stencil is and where you want to use it.

Random.org will choose a comment and the winner will be announced on Saturday!

Thanks for participating in the giveaway and good luck!

Happy Wednesday!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!  THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!!!***

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Polka-Dot Closet

I shared my son's stenciled closet with you a few weeks ago.  I was so excited to find that it made the Top 10 on The CSI Project.  It was among some absolutely amazing painted walls and I couldn't believe it.  

When I discovered that Cutting Edge Stencils had a new polka-dot stencil, I knew that would be my next choice.  I love polka-dots.  Really though, who doesn't?

Last summer, I made over the girls room to accomodate both new baby and big girl which I shared here, it instantly became my favorite room in the house.  It filled up quick with all their "stuff" and when we had to make room for a dollhouse, it only made sense to take the closet doors off.  It makes the room appear larger and it is pretty fun to look at all the sweet dresses hanging there in the closet.  And after seeing the finished product in my son's room, I am now a huge fan of stenciled closets.  It was the girls turn now and their closet needed some polka-dots, of course.

So I got my husband to help me this time because it was a bigger closet and there was more shelving to mess with.  I convinced him it would be a great way to spend our Saturday!  : )  

So I cleaned out all the "stuff" and had a blank white wall to work with.

My husband so kindly took down all the shelves for me.

Now it was time for the fun to begin.  I purchased 2 half pint Valspar samples.  I wanted a light and subtle pink.  My big girl and I chose the color Utterly Pink and it was just right for this project.  And at $3 a pop, this was the perfect amount of paint at the perfect price.

I poured it into my paint tray and applied it to my mini roller provided by Cutting Edge.

And this time I used spray adhesive to apply my stencil and the clip on stencil level from Cutting Edge to get my polka-dots straight.  

This project did take me awhile but when it was complete, I quickly realized it was well worth it.

I was kind of wishing I didn't have to put anything back in the closet because the polka-dots were so fun and pretty to look at.  But in the spirit of functionality and organization, everything had to be put back in its place.

The polka-dots were subtle just like I wanted.

They make the perfect backdrop for cute little dresses and fun girly things that fill up their closet.

The polka-dots even make not-so-pretty things like humidifiers look cute and fun!  : )

My big girl was thrilled with the polka-dots!

Also, I have fun news for YOU...tomorrow will be another chance to win a Cutting Edge Stencil of your choice!   

Happy Tuesday!

I'll be participating in these link parties this week!  

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New Baby on the Block

Hi everyone!

Hope you've been enjoying all of the fun guest posts that we've had every Monday this month! I'm so grateful to these talented ladies for sharing some great things with all of us, and giving me a bit of a break to get adjusted to my new sweet girl and her addition to our family.

Speaking of, I figured that since I have been talking about our new little lady so much for the past several months, that you just might like to meet her.

Allow me to introduce Miss Hannah Louise.

Born June 8, 2011. 7 lb, 10 oz, 20 1/2 inches long. Perfect.

We are spending lots of time staring and snuggling these days. Can you blame us?!

I finally got to try out a few of my photo props this weekend as well, so this is 2 1/2 week old newborn gorgeousness. Isn't she lovely?

Also, the baby bowl and baby cocoon are from this shop, which is currently running a 20% off discount for Lemon Tree Creations readers until the end of June, which is this Thursday!

Simply enter the code LEMON at checkout to receive your discount.

Well, I need to get back to baby duty, but I'm looking forward to sharing more projects with you all soon, including the rest of the nursery reveal, which I've been able to get back to a bit now that I'm not on bed rest any longer! Happy Monday!!

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{WANTED} Guest Posters!!!

We would like to invite you to guest post for LTC!!

Every 2nd and 3rd Thursday of the month we will be having a featured Guest Poster. We have such talented and creative followers and we would love for you to showcase yourself and your blog here on Lemon Tree!!

Projects should not have been posted previously on your own personal blog, and we ask you wait one week before re-posting. If you are interested, email your project ideas and some fun information about yourself to ltc.guestposting@gmail.com to apply. I know we are going to have too much fun looking through all of your fun projects!

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OED & Me Baby Goodies & Discount

You may remember a few weeks ago when I introduced you to Amanda, her blog and Etsy shop.

Well today I have some of her lovely baby goodies, courtesy of her Etsy shop, OED & me, to share with you!!

Amanda's shop hasn't been open for too long, but as soon as I caught wind of it I was emailing her about making a few goodies for our little one. I received my package a few weeks ago and was SO excited. A few of my items were custom made, so I wasn't sure exactly what they would look like until I opened them up. They were all wrapped up like little Christmas gifts, (or baby gifts, I guess), and I really had to restrain myself from tearing them open as soon as the package arrived. But my strong urge to photo-document everything forced a tiny bit of patience and then I was free to tear away.

First up, Amanda has a shop full of these adorable little Claire cloches, and can do other colors if you want something that isn't pictured. Isn't it sweet?! Mine is a 0-3 month size and I just love the colors. I can't wait to pop it onto baby's little noggin.

Unable to resist the cuddly baby photo props, I got this SUPER soft baby cocoon,

and equally soft baby bowl. Have you seen these before? Want proof of how sweet they are?

Ahhh...sweet new baby gorgeousness, snug in a soft knit bowl.

Too cute. Seriously.

A fun thing about Amanda's shop is that she has a few custom crochet listings, so if you have a pattern for something, but don't knit or crochet yourself, or have the time too, you can send her the pattern and she will make the item for you. Pretty great right? I thought so, especially since I had been eyeing a few patterns on Etsy that I desperately wanted someone to make for me. I just bought the pattern, forwarded it to her with some details about yarn preference, she made them and sent them to me! Which is how I got this fun little tasseled hat. It's a newborn size and perfect.

Among these knitted and crocheted beauties, Amanda also has prints and notecards of some of her photographs in her shop. She included one with my package and I was thrilled.

Little details like these are one of the reasons that I love Etsy so much! Cute packaging and attention to details makes it feel like you are receiving a special gift, not just something you ordered. Here are a few other goodies from her shop.

**In honor of our new little bundle of joy, you can receive 20% off of your order from OED & Me from now until June 30. You simply enter the code LEMON at checkout.**

If you have a baby on the way, or know someone else who does, head on over to OED & Me now and see what goodies you can have sent their way!!

Have a great weekend!!

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{A Silhouette Project} Vintage Clipboards

I knew exactly how I wanted to design our new nursery if we were having girl. I had a vision of everything I didn't do in my first little girl's nursery, and I wanted to do just that. It was going to be modern, fresh, and unexpected...

So naturally we went to the doctor for our big ultrasound to discover we were having a sweet little...boy! Don't get me wrong, I was very, very excited! I have definitely always wanted one of each, and thought having a baby boy was the perfect addition to our family. I did not, however, have a clear version of the nursery or what I really wanted. So naturally I went searching for inspiration. And let me tell you, I found it in a little known treasure...Restoration Hardware Baby & Child. I mean do you know how fabulous there nurseries are? It seems to me Pottery Barn gets a ton of hype in the blogosphere these days, (and don't get me wrong, I love it too), but Rh Baby & Child is amazing!

I can't wait to share with you the nursery we have designed from it's inspiration, including the bedding we chose, but for now I have a simple project to share that jumped right off it's pages to me: These vintage clipboards...

 

If you look really close, you can see where I got my idea from this great page taken from the RH Baby & Child Catalog.  

 

There are many ideas I used from this room, but I particularly love how the clipboards serve as a great and unexpected display space. For some reason it just screams little boy! Seeing as how I was fresh out of old, vintage clipboards, I decided I would just have to make my own. Here are a few quick and easy steps I used:

1) I purchased memo sized clipboards from Staples. I wanted something that could easily hold flashcards or pictures in the future. A traditional sized board seemed like it would overpower smaller displays, so I decided I could just add some larger ones later when we actually had some art work to display. 

 

2) After some trial and error, I combined two antiquing mediums to get the look I was going for. I followed the directions from the back of the bottles for applying with a sponge brush, rubbing off, and rinsing while wet to get just the right look.

 

3) I wanted to add something to the boards to dress them up just incase I had nothing to display. I decided I wanted to add some simple numbers, so while the clipboard was drying, I turned to my Silhouette studio to look for the right font. I then cut them out in silhouette vinyl to create a super quick and easy stencil. This was the first time I have used the silhouette to create a stencil with vinyl, and I have to say it has revolutionized the way I stencil from now on! The pictures will show you just what you need to finish off this project!

Once I finished the first one, it was easy sailing from then on! I did all three in a matter of minutes.

 

(This picture really shows how the antiquing medium addeed some depth and texture to the very new clipboards.) 

I decided to prop the clipboards up on the  board and batten ledge just above the dresser, securing the stops with a very small 3M poster strip 'just in case.' I am loving the result (though I would love to find a quick and easy way to take the edge off those silver Staples clips?)

 

I'll be linking up to the CSI Project's Knock Off Challenge!

Happy Thursday!

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