Weekend in Pictures

We had such a wonderful weekend, and I hope all of you did as well. We enjoyed lovely fireworks, weather and food. Over the weekend I did a little shopping by myself since it was over 100 degrees here and just too hot to take little ones out. In the picture above, I found this unique cocktail fork set made of some type of horn and made in Spain. It fit into a little space on my bar cart perfectly!

At a little furniture and home accessory consignment store, I found this inlaid Italian handmade checkerboard. It has some of the most beautiful color wood inlay that I have seen in a long time.

It has has these little slide out compartments to store the checker pieces, and folds up into about the size of a cigar box. This unique item was only $18.95, and I can't wait to find the perfect place to display it.

Over the past week I decided that I NEEDED to have a campaign style chest. I have seen many fabulously redone campaign dressers and other furniture pieces on pinterest. I initially was looking for a dresser, but I found this one at the Goodwill, and I think it will provide so much extra storage that I need in my office. It's a little rough on the top and it is missing one of the corner brackets, but she has soooo much potential and I can't wait to make her beautiful again. I'll post an update when I am done refinishing it.

After researching campaign furniture on the Internet, I came to the conclusion that it may be very expensive to acquire. I couldn't believe that on my very first weekend of looking for one of these pieces, that I was able to score one at the Goodwill for only $9.97! Crazy awesome deal....I almost couldn't contain my excitement.

What July 4th weekend would be complete without gorging on some yummy and festive cookies! Let me know what you did over the weekend and any ideas that you might have for paint colors for my new campaign chest.

♥ Jen

DIY- Chevron Spray Painted Vase

I am always on the hunt for objects that can be transformed. A few weeks ago my hubby spotted this clear vase at a local thrift store. I was totally in love with the chevron pattern on it, but no so in love with the clearness. I knew I could make her beautiful. So, a simple and easy solution to update this gem was to spray paint it. This is super easy and took one afternoon to paint and I let it dry overnight to dry.

 This is what it looked like the day we brought it home.

I just love the chevron pattern on this vase.

 The spray paint I used was Valspar White in High Gloss.

 All finished. I think I did about 4 coats of paint.

 The white paint really brought out the chevron pattern.

I just love the finished product...just add a summer bouquet of flowers to the vase and your ready to go! This is probably one of the least expensive and easiest DIY's I have ever done. The vase was only $1 and I already had the spray paint from another project. Let me know what you think?

♥ Jen

Linking up over at Thrifty Decor Chick

DIY- Vintage Sleigh turned Holiday Glam

Last week I came across a wonderful gold vintage metal sleigh that I knew had sooo much potential to be glamorous! After I cam home with it I ran off to Michael's for some supplies. This was super simple and took about 15 minutes to complete.
Here's what you need:
Mixture of holiday plants- Poinsettias, ornaments, pine cones, or other pretties!
Garland- the amount will depend on the size sleigh you are working with. I used about 4 feet
Glue Gun
Wire Cutters
You can use whatever glue you want, I just love my glue gun!
This is the vintage sleigh I picked from the thrift store.
Cut however much garland you need to wrap and put in the sleigh. I did not glue down this part as it stayed in there good by itself.
Cut different pieces off your flowers and other accessories. I first stuck everything in without gluing just to see the placement and move around items if I wanted to.

Once you have everything where you want it, pull each item out and begin gluing them into the green garland.
Then just keep working around the sleigh. It just came together so pretty!
Here's the top view. All finished! I love how easily this transformed into something glamorous. It looks wonderful on the end of our buffet. All in all I think this cost less than $10 for the sleigh and the supplies....love budget friendly ideas! What items have you transformed this holiday season? Let me know, I would love to hear.

♥ Jen

Linking up over at Thrift Decor Chick

DIY- Fabric Covered Cork Board

Over the weekend I found some vintage inspired fabric at a local craft store and thought it would be perfect for a DIY project. This is an incredibly easy project to make yourself...and won't break the bank. The only hard part will be deciding what fabric you want to use!
Supplies:
Cork board
Primer
Spray Paint- any color
Spray Adhesive
Rotary cutting Mat
Ruler
Rotary Tool or Scissors
Newspaper
Tape
Fabric-I only used 1/2 yard, but it may vary depending on the size of your cork board
I picked this basic cork board up at a yard sale for $2.

Feel free to use any brand and color of your choice.You can use whatever cutting tool you prefer...I just found these easy for me.

First you will want to tape off the cork area.

In a well ventilated area, spray on a light coat of primer. The go over it with about 2 coats of paint, letting them have plenty of time to dry in between.

This is what you should have after you have finished painting, and removed the newspaper and tape.

Cut your fabric to size and spray adhesive on the cork and lay your fabric on top. You'll want to cut the fabric just a little larger than the cork so that it can be tucked under the frame. We used a knife to tuck the fabric underneath the frame...but you could use a putty knife too. If you want to, you could also add some trim around the edge to give it a little more detail.

Voila! You have a finished cork board that is not boring...but FABULOUS

Here is a close-up shot. I am using mine to hang all my jewelry on. Seems simple right? What kind of DIY projects do you have planned or have done? Share with me in the comments...I would love to see!

♥ Jen

Linking up with Thrifty Decor Chick

Fall Weekend

We spent the weekend trolling around our small area of the country. Our trees are in full fall color and it always amazes us how beautiful they are. We came across a wonderful old colonial home while seeking out vintage treasures, and I found a beautiful vintage cocktail glass set at a local thrift store. At the craft store I purchased fabric with a vintage pattern for an upcoming DIY. I was able to sneak some time in to create a few new pieces of jewelry that are very reminiscent of old Hollywood glam. What do you do to enjoy the fall weather?

♥ Jen