Just Checking In! {Baby Bed Makeover with Spray Paint}

Hi guys!  Thanks so much to my blog friends that have graciously taken over Curb Alert! for the past few weeks.  It has been so delightful reading through all of your posts and I am excited to share even more from them during the next few weeks! Here is a little recap so far:

 Claire @ A Little Claireification shared her Tart Recipe

Sherry @ Pondered Primed Perfected shared her Alphabet Lazy Susan Makeover

Sherry @ Pondered Primed Perfected shared her Coffee Table Tufted Ottoman

Traci @ Three Dogs at Home shared her DIY Fence Panels

Paula @ Chillin with Quillin shared her Various Quilling Projects

Sharon @ Mrs. Hines Class shared her Project Tips on Moving

More to come so please check back and visit their blogs as well!

The Baby Bed:
Lately I have been in a bit of project withdrawal so instead of carrying the Baby Bed pieces up into the attic I decided to do a quick makeover instead!

Here is the before:  
It has a sticker on it for $5 but last summer when I inquired about it the woman at the garage sale gave it to me for free.  I loved the little details and how it is heavy solid wood (another reason I didn't want to carry it up the attic stairs).

I have kept it for the intention of painting it to match Buttercup's new room so I quickly grabbed a can of spray-paint and had a little fun!   I am going to use it as a little decorative railing and hope it will go well with a few things we already have.  Here's a few hints of what I am using in her room:

Mermaid Picture.  You can read more about her in my Gypsy Blue Mermaid Post:

Revamping the Red Shutters that originated as our Red Shutters in the Entry Way:

And here is the new and improved Baby Bed in Blue!  I think I am loving the new backdrop for my upcoming photo shoots.  This is looking out into the back portion of our new 1 1/2 acre property!  So far I love it! ( and so do the snakes, bugs and scorpions! EEK!!!)  I'll share more pictures once I get the entire room in order.

Thanks for hanging in there with me and on a more important note - WOW!  I have to turn the news off because hearing one more story about the storms is breaking my heart to pieces.  Hug your loved ones and join me in sending a little prayer up to those that have been affected by all of the recent storm devastation!

Sharon @ Mrs. Hines Class is Taking over My Blog {Moving Tips}

Hey friends!  It has been such a busy time for our family.  We are all moved in now (if you consider a messy yard and boxes all over the house all moved in)  One step at a time, right?  I have had a bit of ADD and not knowing where to start so these tips that my friend, Sharon is sharing with us today will definitely help me to stay on task:

"It's as Easy as 1, 2, 3"

Hi Curb Alert friends! I am Mrs. Hines and I blog Mrs. Hines Class where we celebrate home, one lesson at a time. I am delighted to be here today while Tami is in the midst of her move. I'm so excited for her and can't wait to see her new house.

From the moment your realtor places that "For Sale" sign in your yard, the clock starts ticking. To-do lists are endless. Dreams of decorating your new home take over your thoughts. It's a very exciting, but busy time. With that in mind, I thought I'd share a little advice for tackling the bigger projects involved in a move.   The key is to break your project down into manageable tasks.

Let's imagine that you're in the very beginning stages of entering the housing market and are just preparing to list your home.

Day 1- Hire a realtor. ~Ask friends for references. You're not obligated to hire the first realtor that comes to your home. It's important to feel that you and your realtor will make a good team. Day 2- Have the realtor walk through your home before you write a punch list. ~I promise, you're realtor knows the market and, speaking from experience, you don't need to fix, update or change as much as you think you do. Your realtor's list will: 1) be shorter than yours and 2) will save you time and money. Day 3- Now that you have your punch list. Break it down. ~What needs to be hired out? What can you do yourself? You're realtor may also be able to save you money with contractors. Day 4- Schedule contractors Day 5- Divide and conquer the DIY tasks. ~Hire a babysitter so that you can maximize your time.
 

Your realtor may have told you to paint a room in a more neutral color. That room will be builder biege in no time if you take it one task at a time.

Day 1: pick out paint color

Day 2: prep the walls Day 3: prime and paint Day 4: Give the room a second coat. Look for any areas that need touching up. Day 5: Clean up, replace outlet covers.
 

After all of your hard work, your house sold! Now it's time to pack. If you put "pack the kitchen" on your to-do list, you're going to find that "to-do" being bumped to the next week, then the next week, to the week after that...In fact, I was so overwhelmed with out last move, that I didn't pack the kitchen til the day of the move. That's so unlike me.

So, instead, let's take a more manageable approach. For example: Day 1: Determine what packing supplies/materials you need ie. bubble wrap, newsprint, boxes, tape, etc. Day 2: Get your supplies Day 3: Pack all of the kitchen decor Day 4: Start packing the seldom used dishes and small appliances. ~Label your boxes with content and by room. Day 5: Designate a few boxes for your everyday dishes. ~Pack most of them, leaving a set available for the interim.

I hope these ideas make your life a little easier. This principal can be applied to any big to-do list, whether it's moving or your next D.I.Y. project.    Please visit me at Mrs. Hines' Class for more practical tips on home decor and DIY projects.

Thank you so much for having me, Tami.     See you class,

Thank you Sharon for agreeing to Takeover my Blog today!  I cannot wait to see you soon!

     Paula @ Chillin with Quillin

Paula @ Chillin With Quillin is Taking over My Blog {Various Quilling Projects}

I was so super excited when Paula agreed to take over my blog for a day!  She has been a Curb Alert! reader for quite some time and has been such an encouragement to me through all of her sweet comments.  I think she has commented on just about every.single.one of my posts and that makes me smile.  She always takes the time to say hello and I wanted to return the favor by taking the time to share with you some of her unique and fabulous projects. 

She is a super talented quiller, if you don't know what that is just scroll down and check out her skill and talent with papercrafts.  She truly has a gift.  She sells her items and craft fairs and also gives them away to friends and family. 
Here are some of my favorites...with little snippets taken from her blog Chillin with Quillin:

Quilling on CDs: 

 I have seen others use CD's to quill on, so I gave it a try and made these with Calendars, My Hubby sprayed painted them for me, and printed the calendars from Shabby Boutique blog, and there held on with clothespins. hope everyone likes these !!!

Quilled Flowers with Quote:

My Little Pony:

I made this for my Granddaughter, Johanna which is 5 years old and is her favorite, she loves it and said it was Beautiful, such a big word for a 5 year old, lol! 

Quilled Dragon:

My Daughter saw a pic of blue Dragon and suggested I try and make it so, of course I did, and boy is there alot of blue,lol. My Hubby picked out the colors for the background, I think it help make the Dragon stand out more. Hopefully someone will like it enough to buy it, what do you think?

Quilled Tiger:

I made this Tiger for my Son, it took me working on it 7 days, boy am I glad it's done,lol. Talk about a challenge, I think he will like it !!!!

...going to take it with the angel one to see our new Grandson this Sunday, so excited!!!!
thanks for dropping in !!!

Paula

So hey Curb Alert! friends, which on is YOUR favorite?  I am absolutely in love with the tiger above but trust me, Paula has so many more samples of her work on her blog, Chillin with Quillin.  Go take a look and check it out! 

Thank you Paula!  I really appreciate you agreeing to:

      Paula @ Chillin with Quillin

Traci @ Three Dogs at Home is Taking over My Blog! {Fence Panels}

Do you have somewhere to hide unsightly stuff in our yard? 

The garbage, recycling and green waste cans should be out of sight.

And how about those unfinished projects or left over materials just waiting for inspiration?

On the South side of our house we have a large concrete pad where we keep all of this stuff. 

Unfortunately all of these things were visible from anywhere in my backyard.
So what is a girl to do?
Well I decided to make movable fence panels.  I wanted them to be small enough to be easily moved and sturdy enough to stand on their own.

What was the budget for this project?

A big fat ZERO!

So I scrounged around and talked a shop owner and a fence contractor in giving me pallets and old fencing for FREE!  Not an easy task here in California.

So on a Sunday morning my sweet husband and my wonderful son started tearing apart some of the pallets so we could use the 4x4's as feet for the fence sections.

My original idea was to use the 4x4's as the feet for each section and an entire pallet as the fence section.

My idea for the feet worked really well.

But when we got the sections together they did not block the view enough and we could still see the junk we wanted to hide.



After bouncing around a few ideas we decided to use the old fencing I got from the contractor on the front of the pallets.
And since some of the boards needed to be trimmed we ended up with boards of different lenghts which turned out to be a blessing.  We love the random rustic look of the sections.



I love how all this junk is out of sight!  And even with the added weight they are still lite enough to move around easily.

Look at all this junk hiding behind the fence sections.  If we need more room we can simple move the secions closer to the lawn.

And now this is the view from the pool. Hurray!

Thanks for reading,


 @ Three Dogs at Home

Traci, thank you so much for taking over my blog today!  I love how you used creativity to hide unsightly items with a budget that can't be beat!

Curb Alert! friends, to visit some more of Traci's projects go say hello over at her blog, Three Dogs at Home!

Hope you are all having a great week so far!  Today we signed final papers to sell our home so it is now a done deal, one step closer to sanity!

Happy Treasure Hunting!
~Tami

Sherry @ Pondered Primed Perfected is Taking over My Blog! {Tufted Ottoman}

Hi guys!  Sherry of Pondered Primed Perfected is back with another great post!

I've been dreaming of turning an old coffee table into an ottoman for a long time.  I spent many a summer weekend scouring yard sales, just hoping to find the perfect table.  Isn't it funny how you can come across a certain type of item over and over again...making you wonder what on earth you could re-purpose it into...then when inspiration hits you there's suddenly none to be found anywhere?

  Yeah.  Really funny.  Finally I gave up looking.  I'd grown weary of the chase.

That's when my Better Half came home with this beat up old beauty.  Just when I'd resigned myself to living without a coffee table ottoman.  He found this solid wood coffee table at a yard sale for $1.00 and brought it home to me.  Perfect price.  Perfect height and length.  Looks like I have my next makeover mark!

I flipped it over and unscrewed the table top.  It had to come off so I could paint this base.  I also needed to add foam and staple the upholstery fabric directly to the under-side of the table top which would be much easier with it off.

Do you see the patina on those little copper feet?  You can't fake that.  So pretty.  I taped those tapered copper feet off before painting the base.  I wanted the patina to stay. 

I whipped up some homemade chalk paint with some Metro Recycling Center white paint and unsanded grout.  I used a hand mixer to get it nice and smooth.

I did three coats to give the table good coverage.  I distessed a bit once it dried.

Then we went shopping for some foam.  Egads!  Have you priced foam lately?  It was $34.99 a YARD.  You've got to be kidding me!  This is supposed to be a thrifty makeover. 

We ended up finding an Ikea crib mattress still in the store wrapping for $7.00!  This left us needing only 7 inches of foam from Joann's to cover the tabletop.

I used a cloth shower curtain I had to upholster the mattress and foam to the tabletop.  I needed to merge the foam and the crib mattress together and add a bit more padding to the top.  I stretched this white fabric over the foam and stapled underneath the table top...pulling tight as I went.  This did the trick.  I love the look of the white but I know it wouldn't be this pristine for long around here.  I only wish!



I sampled this grey chevron fabric also, but decided it was too light weight to stand up to all the heavy foot traffic.

After I added the foam and the white shower curtain fabric I stretched my upholstery fabric over the top and stapled underneath. Again pulling tight as I went. After adding the button tufting I screwed the top back onto the base.

Here is what it looks like now:



This graphic fabric is a Cynthia Rowley curtain panel I picked up at Goodwill for $6.00/pair. 

I had pre-measured and drilled six holes into the tabletop before adding the foam and fabric.  I used the fabric covered buttons to tuft the ottoman.  Here's a good button tufting tutorial if you want to give it a try.  I love the tufted look on ottomans and would have loved to do MANY more buttons...but we were going for thrifty here.



Ignore the ugly couch.  ;) 

Sadie was determined to be in every picture.  I had to lure her out of the way with treats.  Hey!  Smarty pants dog!  She thinks she's so smart.

We now have a soft place to put our feet up and relax!  It's wide enough for everyone to share AND extra room for a tray.

RECAP:

Coffee Table    $1.00
Ikea Mattress    $7.00
Curtain Fabric    $6.00
Buttons    $7.00
7 inches of foam    $8.00
TOTAL COST        $29.00

For less than $30.00 we have a large, custom, tufted ottoman.  

Sherry @ Pondered Primed Perfected

Sherry, WOW!  That ottoman turned out so great!  Thanks so much for taking over my blog this week! 

Sherry @ Pondered Primed Perfected is Taking over My Blog! {Lazy Alphabet Susan}

Hi friends!  Well we got everything moved out of the house and into our new home.  Boxes and Boxes everywhere and I cannot do a thing with them yet, it's about to drive me crazy.  Instead, I am spending my time this week cleaning up our empty home to prepare for the walkthrough before closing.  My perfume of the day has been Clorox Bleach - what's yours? 

Please welcome my friend Sherry of Pondered Primed Perfected this week as she has agreed to 

Takeover My Blog! 

Here she is...

There is something about graphic elements in design that just attracts me.  I know I'm not the only one since there are so many gorgeous graphic fabrics being used in design and you see typography of some sort in many Designers' spaces.

You'll find faux zinc letters and a subway art poster in my home decor also.  

But I would like to introduce you to my brand new Lazy~Alphabet~Susan.

What do you think?

I'm pretty smitten.  :)

See, she wasn't very smart looking before.  As you can see below, she was looking like she'd seen her best days already.  She came home with me when we stopped at a garage sale and the owner offered to throw her in for free.  In case you don't already know, I'm pretty fond of free stuff.  If there is even a remote chance that I can turn it into something fabulous or useful, I'm game.

So home she came, all tired and worn looking.

At first I just knew I would turn her into a knockoff of those Pottery Barn wine barrel lids...

But that's been done a few (hundred) times before.

...and...uh hem...I have enough stuff that indicates I like wine :)

When I saw this fabulous mirror on one of the Joss and Main events I instantly knew that I would be borrowing this concept for my new Lazy Susan. 

Source:  Joss and Main Event,/Bassett Mirror Company

Although I wanted her to retain her original purpose, I didn't want her to look tired and worn out anymore.

I sanded the little bit of poly finish she had left off.  Then I took some scrapbooking die-cut letters to use as a stencil/template and traced the letters onto the wood in pencil.

We had fun making notes for each other with the letters while we were at it.

I laid the letters on the board and traced them in order.  A few letters were missing so I used the piece of cardboard they came from as a stencil to trace those ones.

Once they were all spaced evenly and traced onto the wood I took an exacto knife and scored the letters into the wood.  These score lines kept the dark stain from bleeding into the letters. 

I used a small paintbrush to apply the stain around the letters.  The edges were not as perfect as I would have liked but scoring them with the exacto knife first kept them pretty sharp.  I used a larger brush to finish the remainder of the surface that was being covered in the dark stain.

I applied three coats of a dark Minwax stain called Jacobean, allowing each coat to dry completely before starting the next.

Once I had the intensity I wanted with the Minwax stain I allowed the piece to dry for a couple days.  Then I went over the entire surface with some Howards Restor-A-Finish to give the unfinished wood (the letters and center) a warm glow.

I love how it looks in my dining room.  Not just any old Lazy-Susan anymore.  No Way!

And remember the kids that hang out here all day, they can practice their ABC's while they eat.  

Plus it will be so much easier to share markers and craft supplies with each other now!

Did I mention that I don't bother using a table runner or table cloth because it would just get destroyed by little kids?  

Well now I have something amazing on my tabletop and I don't even miss those table runners one bit. 

(Okay, maybe a little.)

And yes, that is wine you see in the background.  I'm enjoying some right now as I finish typing this post.  

Don't worry...the kids have all gone home for the night ;)

Sherry @ Pondered Primed Perfected

Oh my goodness, you guys know how much I love stained wood and have loved this project since the moment I first saw her post!   It turned out great, don't you think?

Thanks for sharing with us at Curb Alert!

Sherry has so many other cool projects so be sure to visit Pondered Primed Perfected to check them out.

Also check back here on Thursday where she will share her coffee table turned ottoman - you won't believe how much (or how little) she spent on it! 

Thanks for visiting while my blogger friends