So... life has been pretty busy around here. I went yard sale shopping two weekends ago, so I did not get to work on fixing up anything. I did find some awesome deals that I will share with you later. This past weekend I was out of town visiting friends. It was nice to relax and drink a cup of coffee or two with them. 

 My family isn't expecting company until this weekend so I have most of the week to take over the house with my upholstering and painting projects. A local flea market is having a sidewalk sale the first weekend in November and I am trying to prepare a few things to put in it. 

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Here is what I have been working on these past few days. 

I picked up this table a couple of months ago at a yard sale. I had originally wanted to use it as an oversized coffee table, but after I got it home I realized that it was too tall for that. 

I think it was originally a display table. What ever gave me that idea? Well....maybe it's the giant duck head logo attached to the front of the table. 

Since I don't want to cut the legs down, I have decided to use it as kiddie table for when we have dinner guests over. It is also VERY useful for the kids to do their school work on. We were also able to get a few chairs on loan to use with this.

The table top had a few gouges in it. After I sanded the original finish off,  I filled the gouges in with some wood filler. You can see what I used here.

Then, I sanded it down using a sanding sponge. I chose the sanding sponge because it had the beveled side that could fit in between the detail work. I neglected to photograph the actual table top for you, but I will be sure to in the near future.  

That's all I have to show you for now. I look forward to showing you more soon! 

The Swivel Chair

I have so many DIY projects that I would like to conquer, but I feel like everything is going at a snail's pace. I am having to learn to be patient and take one project at a time. 

With that said, here is what I have been working on this week.

It is the swivel chair that I purchased at a yard sale last month. 

Here is a closer look at the legs. 

They were originally a chrome color. If you would like to see the original you can see it here. The new color is called "Hammered Finish" by Krylon. It comes in a spray paint and adheres to plastic, wood, ceramic, and metal. I used this spray a couple of years ago on the handles of my dresser. 

Sorry, I don't have any photos of it. 

Did you see my friend the spider? It appears that he wanted his photo taken too.

I am still unsure what I need to do with the seat cover because it has some wear on it.

Any suggestions?

Finished Picture Frame Reveal/ Fair Weekend

Over the weekend I didn't get a lot finished, but I did get to pick up one of these. 

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It's called a tack puller. It is REALLY useful tool for stripping a piece of furniture. Stripping furniture takes a lot more time than you would imagine because you have to get every S-I-N-G-L-E tack or staple out of the frame.  If you do not have a tack puller, a flat head screw driver will be sufficient, but it will go A LOT slower. Trust me on this one. 

I couldn't find one at my local walmart or Lowes, but I finally found one at my local lumber store. I purchased my tack puller for under $5. 

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I also finished the chalkboard picture frame. 

The paint has to cure for a week, so I cannot test it out just yet. I am sure this will become filled with my beloved children's artwork.

The "fishbowl" is filled with unrippened persimmons and pinecones. The pumpkin came from my grandfather's garden. He's such a great gardener.

He even won the 1st place ribbon for the best giant pumpkin in the parish fair. 

 I thought I'd sneak in a photo of the kids riding the cars at the fair. You can't make out the expression on my 7 year old daughter's face, but I don't think she's too happy riding on this kiddie ride. My younger daughter and oldest son were thrilled with it though. 

Little Painted Surprises & Cleaning Like a Mad Woman

My children are supposed to be napping currently, so I thought I would steal a few moments away for myself. Though as I type this, I hear a merry little midget trying to hid discreetly behind the couch.  (I quickly shooed him back to bed.)

Today the house is bustling as I try to get ready to entertain a small group tonight at my house. I have a five and a half hour count down until they arrive, which seems like a lot of time IF my house wasn't in total shambles. I have laundry strewn around and in piles in several rooms now, but at least it is all washed and OFF the floors! I already got the breakfast and lunch dishes washed. While I was cleaning the living room I found this.

Here is a close up.

 I left my paint and brushes out the other night when I was painting my picture frame. I am lucky that this is what I discovered instead of the paint being poured out onto the floor or having tiny hand prints on the wall. My 7 year old painted this and I think she is quite talented with a giant foam brush. She is much more talented with a paint brush than her dear mother. She inherits this from her Aunt.

I also wanted to show you what chalk paint I chose for this project, Glidden's "Great Slate" paint with the Disney logo. It was about $11 a can, but it does not take a lot of paint for each coat. I will definitely have enough paint for several big projects down the road. The best thing about this paint is that you can get it all over yourself and it literally washes off with water and light scrubbing. 

The paint I chose to do the mat frame in is from Hobby Lobby and was about $8. I purchased this several years ago, maybe four, and it is still in quality condition to paint with. It is called "champagne gold". In my pictures it does have a gold tint to it, but living room has dark lighting, so it looks more like a silver to me. 

Well, I better get back to cleaning like a mad woman!

Picture Frame & Chalk Paint

Today was one of those days that I felt highly unproductive. I did get a lot accomplished...just not the fun stuff! 

The other day I gave you a preview of the picture and frame that I was going to paint. 

Here is a better photo of it. I have been scouring the thrift shops around town for about a month for a big frame. I really did not care if it had glass in the frame. I wanted to create a more appealing way to showcase the children's artwork...ya know...instead of using the refrigerator door. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind using the refrigerator door to display the artwork, but it just won't stay put. It falls off the refrigerator door at least three times a day. Then, it gets stepped on. Finally, it gets torn and I end up sneaking it in the trash before the kids catch me. (Thankfully they're still too little to realize when their artwork is missing.) It just is not the most efficient place to display things on. 

Instead of using this to display the kids' coloring pages, I decided to make a chalkboard out of it. That's very typical of my style...repurposing things...even the already repurposed. 

So here is my progress. 

As you can see, I painted the frame black and the mat a silver color. It is actually called champagne. When I started painting it, I didn't have any masking tape, so you can see my painting blunders on the frame. When I made my shopping trip this morning, I made sure to grab some frog tape.

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I had to try this tape out for myself because of all the positive reviews that it has been receiving in the blog world. I has not left me disappointed. 

All I have left is to touch up a few places on the frame and then I will paint the inside with chalk paint.