Sunday, September 30, 2012

What goes with a Leopard or Giraffe chair?

The question is......What DOESN'T go with Leopard and Giraffe chairs??? I am a firm believer everything goes with them :)

I found these chairs at different times while doing my regular "Ross" stroll.

I got them for about $60 each on the Leopard print chairs and about $80 each on the Giraffe chairs.

Love them and will always find a spot for them in my house.





Bedframe - 20 years old and still going strong.

I have had the bed frame in this picture for 20 years. It has traveled with me on 6 different moves. I have painted it every color. It was black, brown, pink, white, and now a metallic brown. Bless you little bed frame. You were $200 and have given me 20 great years. I hope you can make it 20 more years and several more paint jobs.


Sometimes Good Things come used and cheap

Everything in my living room/family room is either bought from Ross, garage sale, or from someone selling used items (aside from the L-shaped couch). Sometimes I have to spray paint, but a little elbow grease is worth it! Especially when it saves you hundreds.






Design on a Dime - Fireplace Mantle

Our fireplace was an old plain oak color that made it look outdated. I painted the oak taupe and got all the decorations on top the mantle at yard sales. I painted things and added  the color of candles I wanted. It made the room look updated and was under $50.




Design on a Dime - Child's Table

I wanted to have an small table for my kids (5 and 6). All the tables I looked at seemed cheap and didn't go with my decor.

1. I bought 2 cheap red plastic chairs and spray painted them a hammered bronze color.
2. I found an old yellow side table. I painted it taupe and had the kids help me decoupage paper on top. I then sprayed a clear coat on top so it would be okay to wipe down if the kids spilled.

 The kids love to table and it fits right in with the other colors of the home.






Design on a Dime - Teenage Room/Adult Room

This was for my other cute step-daughters room. She is 17 and chose a "French" type room.

What we did:

1. Found old lamps that were white and burgundy. Painted them black and put a soft yellow and black trim around the lamp shade along with some black flower ribbon.
2. Got a basic cork board at walmart for $4. Sprayed it all black then put the ribbon trim around it.
3. Bought old pictures at a thrift store with the glass still in them. Sprayed the entire picture -- glass even sprayed (Frame black, glass silver). Then went to hobby lobby  and found some items on sale for about $15 (aluminum and wood items). I glued them on the frame to make a cool 3-D art picture for her room.
4. Had an old bedding set (used to be a waterbed years ago). It was an orange wood and we painted it all black.

The room turned out fun and the girls and I had a great time doing it. It showed them how much you can do without buying new items.







Decorating on a Dime - Teenage Room

This is a "Shabby Chic" room I did for my darling step-daughter (she is 15). She had a room that still looked like a young teen. I told her we could re-do her room but she only had $350 to spend. This had to include comforter, room paint, rugs, pictures, etc.

Pictures are of the below:
1. We took old oak furniture with bronze knobs and painted them.
2.  We painted them white then spray painted the handles a hammered silver.
3.  I then found a foam board and glued items I found from their dress up box when they were little. It was fun and whimsical for a shabby chic room.
4.  I bought some old lamps, spray painted them and then glued ribbon around them. I even spray painted the lamp shade.
5. I found an old frame and bought 4 cheap mirrors at IKEA. I sprayed the frame and glued the mirrors on.
6. I had an old clock that was brown and yellow. I took it apart, spray painted it pink and white for a great shabby chic look.

This is only parts of the room, but we got the entire room redone for that price. We even sprayed an old brass bed with the hammered silver. It turned out beautiful!











Friday, September 14, 2012

Mom/Wife/Gangster/Duck Lips Master



I tried to explain to my husband he has the entire package in a girl. I had to prove it to him with this picture:

Mom/Wife/Gangster/Duck Lips Master

Needless to say....he just walked away when I showed him this picture. Why you gotta' be a hater babe?


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Sometimes Lying is Good.....


The kids made a card at school (it was a questionaire the teacher had them fill out). It asked what I liked and details about me. They said my favorite food is salad, my favorite word is helicopter, I am 100 lbs, and 25 years old. Bless them for learning to lie at such a young age. I guess lying isn't so bad afterall :)


My daughter Libby (5 yrs old) and I were driving home from school on Thursday. She said to me, “Mom, how many weeks do I have left in school? Is it 2 or 3?”


I told her, “You have 2 weeks left”.

Libby said, “No mom, I am pretty sure it’s 3 weeks”

I said again, “Actually, it is only 2 weeks”

Libby said, “Mom, lets have a contest to see who is right. We can look at the calendar at home and see. If I...am right then I get 2 popsicles. If I am wrong then I get 1 popsicle. If you are wrong then you have to clean the entire house.”

I said, “Uhhhh, what do I get if I am right?”

Libby said, “ I already told you the rules of the contest. If I am right then I get 2 popsicles. If I am wrong then I get 1 popsicle. If you are wrong then you have to clean the ENTIRE house.”

I said, “You don’t think that sounds like mommy is getting the short end of the stick on this bet?”

Libby said, “No”

So, we went home and checked the calendar and guess what? Mommy was right. There was 2 weeks left of school.

I looked at Libby and said, “Well, it looks like I’m right. I should get something”.

Libby said, “Mom, at least you didn’t lose. You should feel happy you don’t have to clean the ENTIRE house.” Then she went on to remind me I owed her 1 popsicle because she had lost the bet.


I have learned to never underestimate the power of a 5 year old.

Apparently needing glasses means you can’t clean anymore.....



My 5 year old went in for her kindergarten wellness shots the other day. The doctor did an eye test and we found out she needed glasses.

No big deal, we will get the glasses and she is good to go, right? Well, what I didn’t realize is apparently when you need glasses you don’t have to pick anything up around the house because you can’t see...it (at least that is what is going on in my house).

Conversation with Libby (my 5 year old):

Mom: Libby, you need to pick up the toys you left out.

Libby: Mom, I can’t see. Remember, the doctor said I need glasses.

Mom: Libby, you just played with your toys and could see them just fine. Not to mention you saw two ants outside today and told me to smash them. Those are much smaller than your toys.

Libby: But mom, my eyes hurt because I can’t see.

Mom: Libby, we just found out last week you needed glasses. You were fine for almost 5 years and now your eyesight has become a disability?

Libby: MOM (as she is trying to make some fake tears), I can’t help it if I can’t see.

Mom: First of all, you are near sighted which just means you can’t see things far away. Plus, it is only in one eye. If you don’t pick up all your toys then you don’t get a snowcone.

Libby: Fine mom, I will use my good eye to clean up my toys.

Baby Shower Examples

Here are a few more examples. This is showing the tiles made with the nursery colors being Lime Green and Pink. I also showed a few styles where the tiles were spaced out and the background has color -- you can use decorative paper or paint for the background effect.





Fun Baby Shower Craft Idea - Everyone Can Do

My sister was pregnant with her first child - a girl.
I hate throwing baby showers as I am not a game person -- and we all know that most of us dread baby showers.
I tried to think of ideas on what would be fun for a shower and would get people to talk without having the same boring games.
I decided to do a craft project. I thought it would be nice to get everyone together and make something for the new baby. I asked my sister what the colors of the nursery were before I went on my search. She told me she was going to do a Shabby Chic theme...mostly pink and white.


I went to the store and found plain wood frames that had pre-cut squares (9 to be exact). They sell them at walmart for $6 or $7. I wasn't sure how many people would be at the shower so I bought 4 frames which equaled 36 squares. I then bought some paper, ribbon, paint, and stickers that were the colors of my sister's nursery. This made it so the colors would match and people with different craft skill levels could all do it (this makes it error proof for everyone). The not so crafty just used the paper and stickers. The craftier people used the paint and ribbon. Once each person decorated a square, they signed their name in the corner of the square. Once the shower was over -- I ended up with 27 finished squares. I then glued them onto the frames and gave them to my sister. My sister loved it. She hung the pictures in the nursery. They match with her style and it is sentimental because everyone she loves decorated them.

It turned out nicely as I had food set up in the kitchen and the "craft table" set up in the living room. Everyone was able to laugh and visit while doing their tiles. The cool thing was, everyone helped each other.



This is inexpensive, sentimental, fun, and it's not the same old boring showers we hate to go to.



You could do this for a wedding shower as well but I think it is the cutest or a baby shower.


Items Needed:
Wood Frame with Panels -- Found my at Walmart but I am sure a lot of places sell these
Ribbon - Make sure to get the colors the nursery will be (ask ahead of time)
Stickers- These should also coordinate with the nursery colors or theme
Paper - you can but it in booklets or individual pieces. I think variations in paper color and textur work best
Paint - Just a few shades of paint in case someone doesn't want to use paper
Extras - You can get buttons, decals, or anything fun that you can glue on and match
Glue - Any cheap glue is fine. I prefer using a glue stick.
Scissors - Cheap ones work fine

You can get these items anywhere. The dollar stores have a lot of scrapbooking items which is perfect for this project. I usually just go to Walmart for everything above. But, if you want really specific items, you can get it at a craft store like Joanne's or Michael's.

Once you have all these items, you are ready to craft.













I am posting examples so you can see how everyone made a square and what the finished result looked like.

Other Examples of different colors (Tuqoise, Orange, Yellow):





Green, Hot Pink colors: