More fun with plates

It's the end of a busy Thursday and my eyes are tired. Maybe it's the weird spring weather or our current level of crazy or something else totally unrelated... but, I'm tired. I wake up tired, feel tired during the day, and fall asleep tired. Repeat. Needless to say, I'm ready for a nice weekend - and what a coincidence that it's Mothers Day weekend!

Many of you were able to see my dining room redo post a few days back. I had such a great time gathering things to make that room a little more lovely. I still have one empty wall but until something comes to mind that I can really commit to - I'm leaving it alone. In the meantime, I've been having a little more fun with plates. Tonight I'll share a quick little project I threw together for our high school banquet last weekend.

.:DIY mini-cake stands:.

First up, do some shopping. I found all of my plates in one rushed trip to Goodwill, all scattered throughout the dish section. I wanted a little variety and it worked out.

Then swing into your local Dollar Tree or even that same Goodwill store. I can always find these candle holders at The Dollar Tree. Consistently. Once you get everything home - give it all a good wash. I didn't run things through the dishwasher this time (no time!), but normally I would. In my opinion it helps glue and paint stick better when all the dust and whatnot is cleaned off.

Then, you'll want to notice your leetle baby who is always by your side trying to grab anything she can get her grubby hands on supporting you. I LOVE this little munchie crunchie faced baby. Love!

Once you've paused to smooch her baby cheeks 49,847 times... get back to work.

Glue the candle holders to the backs of the plates, flip upside down and let dry. I used hot glue this time which DID NOT hold well. Normally I would use Gorilla Glue or something glass specific. But, I was short on time and the hot glue worked for exactly the amount of time I needed it to - 1 night. :)

I suppose the ok-ness of the hot glue is that I can just peel it off and start fresh with something else.
Once the glue has dried its time to take those puppies to the garage and do some spray painting!

I chose to use a chalkboard spray paint because it's what I had on hand. It ended up being a great choice and the matte finish was perfect! This is the brand I used - very happy with it. {and make sure to get one of those spray things - unless you enjoy stained hands for days...}

The painting can be tedious as you have to wait until one side is dry to do the other, etc. I'd say this step took me about an hour or so with the waiting times in between coats. It was super warm this day so it helped to dry faster.

Once they are dry - voila! DIY mini-cake stands. I love the different patterns and how they turned out. The matte paint looked awesome.

This was an inexpensive and easy way to glam up a high school end of the year banquet. :) You could really do any color combination and use any kind of plates or candle holders. Endless options!

I topped them with white pillar candles and they made lovely little centerpieces. Of course I didn't get any pictures of the actual event or the tables... but snagged this shot from hubby's phone.
You can get the idea. :) Congrats class of 2015!

Dining room re-do!

Drum roll please. No, I'm kidding. It's not that exciting... but I am thrilled to FINALLY be 99% done with our dining room redo. This post has the potential to be a picture overload - so if you are up for it, join me. :)

When we moved to 1st street in October 2013 it was such a blessing to be in a home that for the most part was move-in ready. The previous owners did a great job with paint color choices and stayed with neutrals. Although there weren't many updates - it was at least done, no unfinished anythings. Even our basement has a half completely finished side, which I am so thankful for! But, the paint for some reason which I do not understand - is all flat. At first it was fine, but now that we've been in here going on 2 years this fall... the flat paint has absorbed nine trillion fingerprints and started looking gross. I repainted the kitchen a few months back and now it was the dining rooms turn.

I can't find a great before picture to share. But, just imagine fingerprints on flat painted walls and random whatevers hanging up just to make the room feel like home. :)

Ready?

This little girl is my right hand man. She loves, loves, loves helping me with my projects and I think that for a 3 year old she does a pretty great job! It's important to me to try and include my girls in our household processes. They get opportunities to learn life skills and it keeps hands busy. August helped me out for a solid 40 minutes before deciding playing with her dolls would be more exciting.

Progress!

See the difference here. I chose a few shades darker because 1) it hides more 2) the light gray seemed a little too light/white for us. The room took me an entire afternoon to finish painting. I think I ended up doing just two coats - thanks to Behr paint. It's the only kind I use and it covers anything! The color was called Anonymous. Oooh how mysterious.

Finally, finally, after barricading a baby and really getting into it - I got it all painted. Some decor is up, the hutch is moved in! If you missed the story on the midcentury piece you can read that here.

I made these earlier in the year with some salvation army frames, burlap and antique silverware. Super easy, fairly inexpensive and just what I wanted but couldn't find in stores!

There's just have one more wall that I cannot decide on.

The room is small so I don't want to fill up the walls too much and make it seem smaller. But, I also don't want to leave a big ol' blank wall. I have two white shutters that I'm considering hanging up with some kind of wreath. I dunno. For now it's just the pretty dark gray paint. :) I also need to make some curtains - for the window AND our deck doors. But, that's another day.

My favorite part of the room right now is the mini-plate wall. Eventually, over time, I'll keep adding the small plates - a new collection I suppose. Here's what I did for that.

First, recruit your cute and extra helpful middle child. Have her lay out the pop tabs. I used those for hangers on the plates. Hot glue + tabs = cheap hardware!

As far as plates go. You could really use whatever your taste is. I have been collecting them from Goodwill, Salvation army, homegoods, etc. Any time I see an inexpensive little white-ish plate I snag it. I'm also including one from my grandma's china :) Wash the plates and dry them well so the glue sticks better. 

Check the backs of your plates. Some of them are made in really cool places. :)
You can look up these companies online, it's actually really neat.

Once you glue the tabs on, let it dry a few minutes. Then go nuts! I chose a circular layout for now - but will add to it over time and probably just go abstract in the shaping. LOVE how it turned out.

And that's a wrap for now! New paint, new furniture piece, new decoration.  I'm thankful for this home the Lord has given us and the opportunity to create beauty within our walls. Here's to a summer of hospitality and many nights as a family around our well loved table. :)

Blessings friends! Thanks for joining me today!

Midcentury shabby should be a thing.

Happy Friday morning, friends! Another week is in the books and you, like me, are probably ready for a good weekend.

I've been busy around here as April has turned into project month. :) So I'll jump right into sharing what I've been up to. First up: Mid Century Hutch redo.

A few weeks back I found this beauty on Craigslist for $20! It was in worse shape then the ad showed, but it still had descent bones about it. I'm not a huge mid-century fan - I think the pointy legs are weird and all the glossy-weird-70's things kinda creep me out. But, I'm a fan of low-cost projects that I can make into whatever I want. So, much to the chagrin of the people I surveyed for ideas... I decided to paint it.

Here is a before picture and some progress shots.

I sanded it down, removed the legs, got it cleaned up as well as it could be, discovered that the back was a pressed wood board that is crumbling in places {awesome}, sat down and drank another cup of coffee.

First few coats on!

The legs were pretty nicked up so I decided to go ahead and paint them to. Rust-Oleum makes some awesome metallic sprays and I use this bronze color on many things. I thought it would compliment the white paint and it did! 

Spray painted the legs a pretty bronze color

Once the legs were done and the hutch's paint was dry I moved it back so I could see what I was working with. Then I roughed it up with some sandpaper. :) The back of the hutch is this pressed wood - glorified cardboard material that would NOT hold paint. I even tried to sand the crumbling mess. So, plan B was to paint a layer of glue and add some burlap backing to it. Seemed easy enough, and burlap is pretty cheap. I already have several burlap pieces laying around, so it works.

Attached legs and moved in doors

Measuring for the burlap

Burlap applied!

Once the glue dried I was able to start playing around with what will go inside. I have my grandmothers china - that's the final step to this project. It'll be added in eventually, but for now I'm just testing it out with some odds and ends I have. I'm so happy I painted it and roughed it up. Shabby works in our dining room!

I think Mid Century shabby should be a "thing". For $20 and a little more for paint - it works! Project 1 - done! Three to go :)

Found on the Web

Friday afternoon the mail lady dropped off our stack of mail into our mailbox. I hadn't checked it in two days because it's been so cold, and I knew it would be bills... so why rush, right?  But upon sorting through the mail I came across a stack of coupons from our local paper. Admittedly, I've been pitching them right away as they just become clutter {that I might use later...} and I'm kicking myself 3 months later when they are all expired, wasted, trash. I used to be quite the coupon-lady, had a whole system down, deal shopped, etc. Now a-days I can score such low prices with just my Aldi visit and supplementing with our local store. So, unless its a coupon for something FREE - it's trash.

Anyway, while leafing through the coupons I came upon this blessedness....

These, folks, are called Cardigan Slipper Socks. And they can be purchased for $12.99. By way of the coupon offer of course. The description goes on to talk about how they are not only a slipper but a house shoe AND an outdoor shoe. Not to mention the cardigan top can remain up or be rolled down per your fashion needs. Obviously, I'm sold. 1) I hate having cold fee  2) I hate feeling crumbs on my floor  3) I love slippers.

Ok, I haven't bought them... yet. But, I'm hanging on to this coupon mail in order. :) And, for those more web inclined - you can find them at www.dreamproducts.com

While web surfing this weekend I also checked out this site full of yumminess. Azure Standard.

A gal at playgroup this weekend mentioned how she was able to get 20lbs of organic apples for $20! That's a fantastic deal and knew I wanted to check it out. It's an easy to search site and I'm hoping to make a list of true needs and maybe jump on board. Anyone else heard of it?

And while not nearly as healthy or necessary... maybe you didn't know that Yankee Candle is having a last chance 60% sale on some of their candles. I have burnt right through my autumn and Christmas candles - so it's a great time. I chose two and cannot wait for the UPS man to show up with them!

 

 

Doesn't that make you want Spring RIGHT NOW?! 

Happy weekend to all! Happy web findings, too!

Friday Finds :)

Happy Friday! My plans for the start to our Friday changed late last night - and, instead of taking our girls to Monkey Joe's this morning... Daddy ended up at a funeral, and the gals and I headed to drop off some bags at Goodwill.  But you just go with it. Ebb and flow. Right?

Since we ended up having a GREAT time at Goodwill and came across some GREAT finds - I thought I'd do a quick "Friday Finds", which, doesn't exist anywhere else in the bloggy world, I don't think - but, sounded catchy when I typed it in. Because I'm so "on the fly" creative like that. :) If you have a "Friday Finds"... forgive me?

Today was a good day for Ava. I found 3 pieces for her - and got them all for under $5! Are you still not trying Goodwill? :) All 3 pieces are like new and name brands - Old Navy, Xhiliration, and Hartstrings. Also, all are size 5 or 6...because my 4 year old is massive tall. And doesn't seem to slow down in the growth department. She just jumped into a solid size 11 in shoes this week! Yikes! Wanna see the goods? She is REALLY into dresses and I love that I can grab two or three for a buck or so apiece. :) The girls also scored a miniature doll wagon for $1.99 - it's too cute and will be in another braggy post about my beauties. :)

Another fun Friday find was this pic on my phone - we are thinking big sis was attempting a photo shoot with the baby.

 

Daddy thinks she did a pretty good job with the camera {Phone}... I think I agree. 

Girls are sleeping now and once daddy get's home we'll try this Monkey Joe's trip again. 

Have a great weekend! 

Oh Goodness, Goodwill. Sweet finds on a Saturday.

Saturday. Our morning started with pancakes, cups of milk, hot coffee and yummy peppermint mocha creamer {which, Aldi now carries!}. What a sweet time these days are. So much noise. So much urgency. Still, so sweet. 

I'm minutes away from pulling out my Christmas bins from the basement. Hubs gave the green light to decorate before we leave on our Thanksgiving trip, so the house will be all ready when we get home. :) This is new, and exciting! I'm still not entirely sure what direction I'm going in each room - but, I'm looking forward to going through each bin and just savoring the memories. My girls should make this process super interesting, too.

This morning included a quick trip to my local Goodwill. I was hoping to score a basket that I noticed last time I was there - but, skipped. It was gone today :( of course. But, I did find a few others jewels - which I will be sharing with you today.
Item #1 - wooden toolbox {handmade with Carpenters Union stamp on the bottom}

I have wanted one of these for a very long time. There are so many cute things you can do with them... and I love the "old timey" look of a wooden toolbox. I dunno, a metal craftsman box just doesn't have the same effect. ;) Pinterest had a few ideas on what to do with it - but, I'm thinking of spray painting it black, then red, then distressing it so the black cracks through a bit. Then I'll fill it with Christmas bulbs, pine cones, or something festive. :) Woot! Oh, and, it's was $2!

Item(s) #2 - Noritake saucers

Next month, as I've mentioned, I'm decorating a table for our ladies Christmas event at church. I already had my 8 white/silver plates and mugs - but could not find affordable saucers to go with. I happened to stumble across these guys at .79/piece. Didn't realize they were NORITAKE until I got home. The website shows them being about $33/piece. {cough, cough} Seriously. Good find. Might need to find some money from the girls piggy banks and go get the rest of the set.

Item(s) #3 - Clothes.
I still get a little silly about second hand clothes. If it smells funny, it's out. If it hangs weird, out. Etc. But I have been so surprised to find amazing clothing lately at the Goodwill. And for $3ish a piece, it's a deal. I found these two today.

The cardigan is brand new. Merona brand and will look great (I hope) with one of my cream scarves and jeans for a casual look. The gray shirt {Mossimo}, which I loved, bummed me out by being a little too small. Ok, a lot. Apparently I really cannot pull off the "skinny" look. {blush} I did some major underestimating on myself today while at the store. So, anyone need an adorable gray and white striped shirt? I'll gladly give it to you :) And then stare at you every time you wear it. Kidding!

That was the Goodwill trip. I could tell you about the other zillion things I saw that made me say, "oh, that's cute", or along those lines. But, I'll let you check it out yourself.

My ending thought is -
I hate dieting. I hate watching what I eat. It's so boring. And since I had to end my WW membership {to save $} I have not been doing well with weight stuff. That said - THIS magazine has been encouraging lately. I started a free subscription {for taking a survey online} and the recipes are fun, the ideas are fun, it's just fun! Maybe if I heeded some of the articles and workouts that gray shirt wouldn't be a problem. Ugh.

Good day, all!

A shout out

 

 As everyone knows and can clearly see, the cost of food has exploded.

BOO!

This can be especially overwhelming to those of us who are already on a tight budget. I know I mention Aldi frequently, and I acknowledge that even Aldi has had some prices that have blown up...but, this morning I need to give a shout out to the peeps for the quality, quantity and options they are offering during these economically tough times.

Just yesterday I came across a few fun surprises during my shopping trip - and even after picking up a few "extras", I couldn't believe that my total bill still came to only $70! {That's for a week of meals} Last month I was able to grab 2 weeks worth of food for around $60, and they were simple but great meals! Now, keep in mind. I have just two small children who eat the equivalent of food for 1 person per meal, and a hubby who usually doesn't go for seconds on anything. So we use leftover dinners for lunch the next day, often.

Here's why I so enjoy Aldi. For the love of Autumn flavors and all things pumpkiny delicious!

Pumpkin Pie yogurt!

 

Pumpkin Spice creamer! 

 

Cornbread Crackers... um, a new fave and def the BEST cracker I've ever had. 

 

How about this delish Butternut Squash pasta sauce?!

 

All of these are in my home and so far I am beyond impressed with the taste and quality! The best part is the price - WAY under the other stores costs! And, did I mention HUGE pumpkins at Aldi are only $2.99 right now!? Compare that to the $6 or $8 at other stores. No contest! 

And it's not just the seasonal things - tho, I am pumped about the .99 pumpkin ravioli I found in the freezer section, assorted bread mixes, pumpkin pancakes and sparkling apple cider. Aldi is now almost a one-stop-shop for me. They have a great variety of meats, produce, frozen and boxed foods. Their variety of artisan lettuce and cheeses is wonderful, too! 

My shout out ends with a note about the Aldi workers. Polite. Helpful. Personal. The people know who I am, who my children are, and what might help me out during my trips. My biggest girl has been allowed to choose a bouquet of fresh flowers to take home, been given treats, and even instructed by the cashiers when I was overwhelmed. {which, I appreciate!} 

A wonderful store. Great variety. Friendly workers. Completely in our budget! If you haven't taken the Aldi plunge yet - what are you waiting for?! Oh, and... remember to take your own bags :)

Life in general

My littlest bundle of joy is 12 weeks old today! Now, tell me life isn't just flying by us?!

Both of my girls are down for a nice nap, the breeze is cool and blowing outside and its a perfect summer day. We turned off that noisy central air and opened every single window in our home. I love hearing the cicadas buzz, squirrels chatter and air rush through the tree branches. I LOVE these days.

This morning I was sitting on our closed in front porch just enjoying the day - trying to journal a bit while Ava played and August was in her swing... when chaos began. Potty training took an abrupt turn as my eldest decided to pee on the floor, my little began to cry in the swing out of nowhere (she rarely fusses) and the phone started ringing. And wouldn't you know while I was sitting there trying to meditate on GRACE and TRUTH - all I could think about was how high my blood pressure was going because of the choas of just that moment. Just breathe. I tell ya, once you make a serious choice to SEE the GRACE and live the GRACE - the temptation to blow it lies behind every minute.

Anyway, We are loving today and had a great morning after that moment. My girls are growing and changing and I love being with them. This weekend I noticed just how much my big girl looks like me. Crazy.

Here's a fun thing from our weekend. The girls and I took a trip to our local Salvation Army - it has been lacking in any "Good" finds for a few weeks now, so we quit going. But we had an afternoon with nothing pressing to do so we took a walk up there. And look what I found waiting for me...

This 6- compartment du-hickey was just sitting there, like it was waiting for me. It didn't have a price sticker on it so I hesitated - figuring they would probaby want like $5 (because sal val seems to overprice) but I grabbed it up anyway just to see. The lady says to me, "$1.99?" like asking me if that was ok. I tried to hide my beaming smile. :) BECAUSE THINGS LIKE THIS ARE IN THE $30-$50 RANGE in like pottery barn, williams sonoma, etc. I had been wanting one since I saw my friend Emily's similar piece in her kitchen. I had a zillion ideas on how to use it but def wasn't going to be buying one anytime soon... and now here it was.

I decided to use it in my kitchen as a coffee/tea station. And it gets a ton of use. I {heart} it so much! So much that I will now post two additional views of it. :) Go ahead and laugh.

I love finding a good deal - and love incorporating more and more "antique-y" looking things into our home. :) So, wanna come over and have some coffee?

Seriously... Target!

Earlier this week I was chatting with some friends about Target. We always find deals there. Ever since I was told that Monday's are kids clothes mark down days... it's been on the back of my brain. But, of course, I haven't been able to make it in one.single.monday. And, thankfully, Ava is pretty well set for Winter and the beginning of Spring - so, no rush. But, yesterday, I had an hour free in the morning after dropping the hubs off for work - so, I made my way to the big red bullseye! I couldn't believe that even still on a FRIDAY I was finding clothes as inexpensive as $1.98 to $3.26! I found several pieces that Ava will need this Fall and entering the 3T size... and several dresses for May Baby in the right season! Score! I love these classy dress outfits for May Baby! Both were a whopping...You don't even know how many times I had passed them up because they were still in the $9 dollar range! And now, in the $3's!!!

And, of course - I couldn't pass up this "Little Sister" shirt for just $2! I haven't bought anything like this yet - and can't wait to show Brad! Now just to find a BIG SIS shirt for our special big girl!

And, dont' even get me started about the Dollar Zone - er, whatever they call it. Seriously, Target, I think you hit the nail on the head with that place!

Coloring books, mittens, kitchen gear, infant onesies, valentines decor... you name it they had it! Perhaps the biggest hit was the bag of plastic farm animals - which, Ava eyeballed immediately. She now plays with them NON-stop in her little farm, just as happy as a clam!
I'm so thankful to find little deals and treats like that. I love the hunt for a bargain and love even more when it pays off! We now have a few weeks of fun activies, clothes for both my girls & I even found some house decor that was 70%! {but that's another post}. It pays off to shop for bargains!