Project Organize

Yes, I call myself organized but these first few pictures will prove otherwise. We have an area upstairs that we call "the loft" although it is basically just a bedroom minus one wall. It has a closet that we store everything and anything inside. It is the catch all closet and needed some work as is evident in this picture...

And here is a close-up of the madness...

It is amazing what you find when you go through a closet. I found a small file box full of index cards, one for every one of the people invited to our wedding. It was in ABC order and listed everyone's address and reply. Why do I still have it after 7 years? That is a good question. I threw it away along with tons of other junk that was just cluttering up the closet. I love getting rid of stuff. It feels so good.

I found a treasure of mine in the closet too. The one and only trophy I have ever won. I was so proud of that thing for years. Who am I kidding? I'm still proud of it.

That's right, it's a spelling bee trophy. I won it in 5th grade. Such a proud moment. Hey, I didn't play sports so spelling was my thing. Pretty pathetic, huh?

So, we got to work. I emptied out the closet and we began to give it a fresh coat of white paint. It was already looking better...

However, "the loft" was not looking so great since I unloaded the entire closet into the room. Yikes...

We had some wood leftover from a sandbox project so Jason used that to construct shelves for the closet.

This is what our garage looked like during the organizing of the closet...

So, it was finally completed and here is the after picture...

We got rid of a ton of stuff in this process which makes me so happy! We only bought the orange stuff that you see plus a little extra wood for the custom shelves that my amazing husband built. It was a cheap project that has made a world of difference already. I loved going through the house and finding stuff I could use to make the closet functional and pretty...

I had spray-painted some black cardboard magazines holders awhile back. They weren't working for me in the closet so I just cut fun scrapbook paper to fit the front and I liked them again...

Also, the story behind the messed up #'s on each shelf is this...I used sticker outlines of the numbers as stencils. I painted the numbers with black paint. When they had dried, I went to remove the stickers. Well, it turns out the stickers worked too well and they did not want to come off. So, after some work to scrape them off, the numbers were left looking crazy with scrapes and marks all over them. Well, what do you know? It turned out that I liked them that way so I did not bother fixing them. Gives the shelves some character.

Oh, and I love me some scrabble tiles so they had to be included...

I had saved a couple soda bottles from my son's birthday party (which I will share about soon) so they are proudly on display in the closet now...

We used a little wooden shelf from the basement on the bottom to add more shelves to hold computer paper and my trusty iron-on transfer paper. We also set the charger for the camera and video camera on top of the little shelf so we can just throw in the battery, plug them in, and close the closet door. I love it.

Now every time I open the closet, I smile instead of feeling overwhelmed and crazy. It's a great feeling to be organized. And anytime is the perfect time to tackle that closet that makes you crazy. You don't have to spend money to get organized, just a little elbow grease and time and it is well worth it!

So, go forth and get organized my friends! Also, join me in checking out these link parties for some inspiration and fun!

Happy Tuesday!

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New and Easy Displays for Old Trays

I had a few trays around the house that I loved but were really under-appreciated in their old location, on top of the cupboards, so I really wanted to put them somewhere a bit more prominent. But with a grabby toddler running around I've learned that I can't really put up any fun sort of fun displays that he won't get into, so instead I went for this.

My first tray has a fun pattern on the bottom that I didn't want to cover, so I made a little wreath and hung it from the tray's handle.

It was a fun way to frame the wreath without putting it in a frame, which is how a few of the other wreaths are displayed around my house. (I just think it looks so cute that way!) I was trying to do something that was slightly different, so I guess that is as far as I got, slightly different. Oh well, I still like it. :)

For my other tray, I have always loved when people have those "Eat" signs in their kitchens, but I never found a little piece of wood or a space for it that seemed like it would work. But as soon as I thought of putting the word on a tray, I knew I had to do it.

I painted the bottom a whitewashed white, and then used my tried and true pencil transfer method. I printed out the word in the size I wanted, outlined the back with pencil, put it on the tray where I wanted it and then rubbed over the front of the letters with a lead-less pencil.

It transferred the letters perfectly (can you see the light outline?), and I filled them in with black acrylic paint.

I sanded over the letters and background a bit just to give it a broken in look, wiped over it with a light coat of stain, and then wiped off the excess.

I think they both turned out just right. They're a fun little addition to that corner of my kitchen, and re-purposing them from other areas of the house made the price just right.

They also are a great compliment to my newly re-finished blue chair.

Can you guess where my new favorite little corner is?

I have a few other tray projects that didn't get completely finished this week, so please come back next week to see a few other ideas. I am going absolutely crazy over one of them, I can't wait to show it off!

Have an amazing week and check out these parties for some great summertime projects!

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Lap Desk

On most summer days I sit in the yard and toss the ball to Moose (my dog). I try to catch up on some of my magazines or do some lesson plans for summer school. (yep I'm teaching summer school...can't get enough of those youngin's..ha!)

Anyway...I'm always dragging more items out of the house than needed because I need a hard surface to write on or something to rest my laptop on. So, I decide to make a Lap Desk.




At Hobby Lobby you can buy the pre cut wood piece (50% off for a grand total of $4.00) for the top. You also need some fabric, acrylic paint, batting for the cushy pillow, and any other decorative items for the front. (I originally planned to mod podge some imagines then changed my mind..that's why the Skirt Magazine is in the picture.)




Next, you'll want to paint the entire lap board allowing each coat to try. (which with the weather we've had lately it only took about 20 minutes to dry rather than 1 hour...bonus!!)



Considering my sewing skills are slim to none, I turned to the trusty hot glue gun for the remainder of the project.




I hot glued the fabric to the board on the sides, and along the center, leaving a pocket for the batting. This is for the pillow part of the Lap Desk.






Once the pillow was stuffed, I glued the edges together and trimmed it out with ribbon. I chose to run the ribbon around the board for an added decoration.

Next, I tied the ribbon in a bow, added a fabric flower that matched the back pillow and some decorative clothespins to hold any work or memo's while I'm reading.




Thanks for stopping by, I'll be linking up to these awesome parties..won't you see what they're cooking up! Until next time!

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Simple Tufted and Upholstered Headboard

When we moved into our house almost two years ago, I couldn't have been happier with the hand-me down furniture we'd received. Unfortunately, if you've read some of my previous posts you know that I am notorious around my house for constantly wanting to change things up. So, about a year's worth of dwelling in my new home left me needing a 'master' room change. (And I use the term 'master' lightly because the nursery in our house currently claims more square footage.)

So, with change in mind I set out to upholster my black wooden headboard. I started by purchasing and wrapping two thick layers of quilter's batting to the existing headboard. I simply used a staple gun to attach the batting. I realize that quilter's batting is not the most luxurious padding I could have chosen, but it was certainly the cheapest. For about $5.00 at a local fabric store, I had all the padding I felt I needed.

For the fabric, I checked out the clearance section at the same fabric store for upholstery grade fabric. Because my bedding is heavily patterned, I was looking for a light herringbone pattern. I was extremely pleased with this light grey herringbone pattern I found, and lucked out to purchase close to 6 yards of it for only $7.00! I attached it with a staple gun as well, making certain to pull the fabric as tight as I could get it. I recommend having some help on hand for this part. It was nearly impossible to get it tight enough and staple at the same time myself.

To finish the edges, I just wrapped them as neatly as I could with a v-fold, and stapled them in back.

At this point, the headboard was completely covered and definitely giving off a different feel. However, it left me feeling a little bland. So finally, I toyed with the idea of attaching buttons or tufting. It was a difficult task to figure out seeing as how the headboard is wood and I didn't want to prepare my upholstery with buttons BEFORE attaching it to the wood. In the end I went with the cheater version of tufting. I decided to hammer in poultry net staples to pinch the fabric in 4 places, 12 inches apart. I then simply used the buttons I had pre-upholstered by hot gluing them to the net staples. It's been almost 6 months and they are holding strong!

And there you have it! My new headboard. I loving the warmth it provides. The picture below is sans- bedding/ pillows because we still need to raise the headboard a few inches. We recently replaced our boxsprings, leaving the mattress sitting higher and blocking part of the headboard. (Anyone have any great ideas for how to make it taller? I've just been trying to talk my husband into adding some 2x4 support at the bottom?

In truth I realize that this post is a little late coming. I finished my headboard in January, but have had it hiding in the archives. Since my creation, I have seen some of the most gorgeous headboards out there in blog land. I apologize if you are left feeling "underwhelmed" after seeing mine. I certainly have bigger and bolder ideas now after seeing what some genius ladies are up too out there!

I'll be linking up to these parties this week. Hope you'll stop by and check out what's been floating around!

Happy Thursday...

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Monogram Pillow

Let me start off by saying that this pillow idea came from one of these magazines...

I know that is not super helpful but my Mom and I went through a ton of magazines for ideas awhile back. We found this cute idea for a pillow and tore it out. If I had it, I would scan it and share it with you but I left it at Mom's for her idea stash. I'm sure you have seen a million versions of monogram pillows, maybe even this one but I love it and just had to share anyway...

Okay, back to business...the magazine had a great picture and simple instructions on how to make this adorable monogram pillow. Of course, you could also use pictures (like a birdie shape), numbers, or symbols too.

First, I bought some brown felt from Hobby Lobby. I then cut out two 12" squares. Next, I used chalk to draw the letter S on a square...

Then I cut out the letter S. I wanted it down in the left hand corner but I made a rookie mistake and put the S way too close to the bottom, which didn't leave much room for sewing. I was bummed, but it was only the 2nd pillow I had ever made so I moved on...

I had a stash of fabric that I had won from a giveaway awhile back on Lanie Jane's blog. I put some behind the S to get a good idea of how it would work and I loved it...

After I decided on the fabric, I pinned it to the back of the felt like so...

I doubled up my thread on my needle and hand stitched around the letter S. I was already in love (but still wishing I had made the S higher on the pillow - ugh)...

The final step was to pin the 2 pieces of felt together and take it to the machine to be sewn up. Of course, if you don't have a sewing machine, you could hand stitch the outside too. It would be slightly time consuming but would definitely work!

And there you have it...

Thanks for stopping by Lemon Tree. Check out these link parties this week to see what everyone has been up to. You won't be disappointed.

Happy Tuesday!

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Distressed Blue Chair

When I drove up to the thrift store a few weeks ago I was stunned to see this great chair sitting outside by the dumpster in the rain! I quickly threw it in the back and then headed inside to see what was so great that they were throwing beautiful things like this away! It was an old chair, dark brown, with 5 fun bars across the top, and I knew I could put it to good use. (It didn't occur to me to get a before picture until after I had already started in on painting the seat, sorry!)

Anyway, I knew exactly where I wanted to use it, as an accent in my light blue kitchen, so I bought a several-shades-darker blue (Tranquil Aqua by Sherwin Williams), and went to work painting it. This was my first time re-finishing a piece of furniture, so I thought I would share a few tips from my trial and error experience.

#1. Sand it first. Don't skip this step, even if you are impatient. If you skip this step and then try to sand the already painted furniture, you will end up just making scratch marks in the paint and it looks terrible. (Sorry no picture, but it looks bad and is really annoying!)

#2. Before you start painting, decide whether or not you want the furniture to be completely painted and lightly aged, or lightly painted and heavily aged. I discovered that it is much easier to put on another light coat of paint if you want more coverage than to sand off paint that was put on too heavily. (It may be easy if you have an electric sander, but I don't.)

I realized this after I had put this heavy coat of paint on the seat. This is when I noticed that the seat was completely flat, and really looked so with this kind of paint job. So I heavily sanded the spots that would be naturally worn if this chair had been used for years: around the edge, the "leg spots," and a bit of a butt spot.

#3. Try the "dry brush" method of painting first. Get a little bit of paint on the end of your brush, dip off the excess onto a paper plate or the paint can lid, and then lightly brush it across the surface of your furniture. If you don't like the look, it is easy to sand off for a more worn look, and it's easy to paint a second coat for more coverage. (Again, that thing about not too much paint in the beginning, have I stressed that enough yet? Can you tell that the sandpaper and I spent a lot of time with this chair?!)

#4. Lightly paint over the details. Leave the cracks and crevices unpainted.

#5. Sand the edges just enough to let the wood show through. Or sand a little more to show a little more of the wood.

You can even make it seem like sanding is fun enough to abandon Sesame Street over.

#6. Apply wood stain liberally.

Be aware that if you use a lot of stain (like this) then it will change the color of the paint in addition to highlighting the exposed wood. I let the stain sit here for just a few seconds before wiping it off, but the places with more exposed wood (like the seat), I let it sit for a few minutes until it really seeped into the wood.

(See the difference between the horizontal post and the back leg of the chair? It changed the blue to a bit of a brownish aqua color.)

#7. Allow to dry completely. Repeat any steps as necessary. Seal as desired.

#8. Experiment with various decor, use as photo prop for flowers, remain undecided about decor and post pictures anyway. :)

Once I had the blue paint on my chair, I realized that I didn't just want a blue accent, but the combination of a lot of dark brown and the blue, which is why I went with the VERY distressed look. But I also wanted to see how just a little bit of distressing would look with the same colors, so I pulled out this cloche I made a few months ago.

I lightly sanded along some of the sharp edges and a bit around the circle to give it some depth. I used a q tip to apply some stain just to the sanded parts and then quickly wiped it off so that it didn't get onto the paint to change the color.

I had been tentatively planning on painting numbers on each of the spokes on the back of the chair, but decided that the very distressed finish was enough detail for now. So I put a 3 on the cloche instead, and I think it was a perfect touch.

Better huh?

This is no Miss Mustard Seed tutorial, in fact, I wish I had read some of her painting tutorials before I dove into this painting project, but I was just so excited about the chair and had the prettiest blue paint already picked out...

I hope you learned a little tidbit if you haven't done any painting like this before and would like to try it out. And for you seasoned painters out there, please let me know what I have missed! This may have been my first furniture painting project, but it certainly won't be my last.

I'm linking to these amazing parties, and the CSI Project!

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