Ethan Allen throw away's

This is one of those "Ethan Allen Throw away's" that were very popular in the '70's and 80's and considered totally disposable.  I had two that were the same that I finished in two totally different ways, just to give you an idea of how versatile they are. The green piece I added wood appliques and trim and the other just painted it. I think both of them I paid about $10-$15 a piece. I think  a lot of people pass them by because they are so dated looking,but they have so much potential and are such great blank canvases.

                              

 If you notice, the holes were also moved for the knobs. 

       Have a great weekend!   ~Jen R  :)

Are you Blissfully Domestic?

Now that everything is set, I wanted to let you know I am going to be a contributor at Blissfully Domestic! Have you been there? I want to say a big thank you to The Nesting Place too for letting us know about this great opportunity! It's a very cool place with groups for crafting, cooking, decorating, gardening and more! Everything a girl could want and they are having a re-launch Labor day! I will be among the wonderfully talented bloggers such as Melissa of the Inspired Room and Rhoda of Southern Hospitality and of course Julia from Hooked on Houses! I couldn't be more excited or honored! So please stop on over and check out the re-launch! It's going to be  a blast!

Martha beat me to it...

I really thought I had an original idea. I had been upholstering a chair and I thought "this webbing would be really cool woven into something." I thought a rug would be cool, so I took what I had left and started playing... I was pretty impressed with myself when it was done too... Searching the web to see if there were other colors I could buy, I came across Martha's project. Well, and of course, not only did she do it first, but of course better..:)  So here is my version of "Martha's" rug project...

Cut your strips the size desired depending on the shape of the rug. Once they are cut, start weaving your strips. Put a dot of hot glue on the corner strips to keep them in place while your weaving.

Once you have your strips started. Hot glue them down onto one another and continue until all the strips are done, making sure they are tight against each other before gluing. Once the glue is on, they are really hard to get apart. 

Hot glue the ends under and use one long strip on each side to finish the edges or you can do like Martha and use fabric which is really cute too.

Let's take the china out of china cabinet...

A subject near and dear to my heart....  For the last 8 years my china cabinet and hutch dutifully sat across from each other in my "dining room". 

Why? I don't know. 'Cause they were supposed to?

 I had junk jammed in them that I never used. I hated dusting everything because it never got used (Okay, I admit, I never dusted .), and it looked, well, stuffy. 

When I was moving my furniture around, it occurred to me that my house is small enough that I need every piece to really work for me. There was no room for things to just take up space.

With my china cabinet, I realized I didn't need to display  40 china place settings that just sat and dusty wine glasses from Sweden that no one else really noticed any way.  I packed them up and put in the things  I really put the miles on, cook books, decorating books, serving platters I used a lot, and even candles I rotate...  and placed it in our new sitting area.

The  antique buffet that belonged to my Gram became our new TV stand. Some day that flat screen is going to look good there...

Then I started brain-storming.. how can we get all of that stuffy furniture out of a stuffy room and really USE it?....

How great would this piece be in a baby's room after a coat or two of paint or even cleaned up really well in it's natural state? The changing station could go right on top and the baby could look at their reflection as they had their diaper changed.

MBW furniture

Wouldn't this be sweet in a little girl's room?

 Through a garden gate

What about these flanking a fireplace holding books or even DVD's almost like a built in?

Heritage furniture restoration

What about this one in a huge hallway or ginormous bath full of crisp linens? 

Magnussen

How pretty would it be to put all of your sweaters in here instead of using  a dresser? 

As extra storage in a kitchen, even a box of cereal or a can of ravioli would look good in here.

This is from Cottage Living.. Love this idea.... How great would this be for craft supplies..? I can only dream :)

Don't you think this would be great in a contemporary boy's room? Model trains galore could run around some tracks on top of here..it has just as many drawers as a dresser and baskets could fit underneath.

 Select furniture outlet

And when I see this one, I think forget the plates and junk; just fill it with books, books, books.

Eco-furniture

Do you have a china cabinet or buffet/server you've used differently than what it's intended for? Put the link to your post on your comments so we can all stop over and take a look! I'd love to see what you've done!

Hi fellow spray painters...

If your coming from The Joys of Home for her "break out of the black box spray paint party... check out this post :) on the chair I did... 

~Jen

Putting an end to useless ceramic holders...

Mary at At Home Redesigns  was looking for a solution for a friend who had toothbrush and cup holders grouted into her bathroom tile. I had the same problems( Ahh, the joys of an older house.). Who came up with that idea? There's nothing like leaving your tooth brushes out in the open next to the potty for some good clean germ free fun?! 

I've been meaning to post about this for a while and she finally gave me the  motivation ....

These two little holders just ended up serving no purpose except collecting dust. They really weren't big enough for much of anything.

Short of busting out the wall, I found a stock shelf made of crown molding with an open back, and used these little guys below to adhere it. I LOVE them and use them for everything I can't put a nail into. 4 squares will hold a pound. Even though they say they are permanent, I've never had a problem getting them off a wall when I need to.

I painted the molding black to match my mirror and placed these all along the back. I used about 9.

I then balanced the shelf on the holders and stuck it tight. I did have to cut off one side of the overhang on the shelf so it would fit properly. If I were to do it again or had more molding expertise, I would build on to go over the holders instead of on them. Like a cover.

The white I thought was too bright and stuck out; I used a product called Enamels by Folk Art. Have you used this? It's an air dry ceramic/glass paint  product. You can use it on tile and other things and is fairly durable .My girlfriend used it on her kitchen tile and it's still there 3 or 4 years later with out a scratch. It comes in about 7 or 8 colors and they mix pretty well together. Now we have much more usable shelf space and no more useless ceramic holders.

Dining room make-over , part one...Finally.. or should I say move over...?

To all of my blog friends especially those who have followed me over from my old blog... You have been so patient. I know I posted over  a month ago that I was doing a big make over in my dining room and things are finally coming together... I hope this delivers after all of that hype and doesn't disappoint... 

I've really been waiting on fabric which still not in, but I am going to show you the half that is almost done (sans fabric) so you can see I'm not lying to you and I have been doing something besides eating bon bon's all day as her kid's whack their heads while they eat dust (see earlier post :) 

Here's a before-before picture. I found this the other day. This is the picture on our real estate sheet when we bought the house just over 8 years ago. I had to scan it so I am sorry about the quality..

Here was the "now" before picture. 

I had the table centered in the middle of the room for the last 8 years...

The room is 17 ft by 11 1/2 feet. Having the table smack in the center seemed like a waste

of space  to me  and the computer was where every one could see all of my junk...so here's the design recap.... 

I washed my Polypropylene/Olefin rug.. thank goodness for the versatility of plastic.. 

We replaced one of those old cheap, faux oak entertainment centers that wasn't nice when it was new...

with the 7 foot long buffet. It's great because less junk gets stacked on top and around it. It holds ALOT of DVDs too.

Buh- BYE

 I remember how my husband stood at the window as he watched the old 

particle board entertainment center get lifted into the garbage truck one of the last remnants from his college days.We actually let it sit on the curb for a week, no one would pick it up or come and get it....I think I actually heard taps and saw a tear fall when the garbage truck came by and picked it up.  It crumbled into pieces in mid air before it even hit the back end of the truck. That's some good design for you.  

My other china cabinet got moved to the other wall and was multi-tasked to also hold some cook books and decorating books. All of the china I never used got packed up and put away.

Then there was the unexpected couch reupholstering...well worth it.

this chair make over... this is the one I used two tones of brown spray paint on. Joys of Home 

is having a spray paint challenge. Stop over when you get  a chance...

So.. drum roll for part one.......I did put the curtain fabric up so you can at least envision a roman shade there......

dididididididididididididididididididididi

didiidi........

DAH!

Can you believe there is actually that much room there from looking at the before picture? Really it's an 11 1/2 by  9 foot area. That's a decent size.That doesn't even include the table area I am still working on. I don't know if it shows, but it is really cozy...it's great because the kid's can go on-line and I can sit and read and keep an eye on what they are doing. Our grand plan is to eventually put a BIG window where the tiny one is now so we can see right out into the back yard and watch the kids. We are also going to replace the old chandelier as my poor hubby bonks his head on it. It hangs just  a little low. And I think I'd like to do a big area rug, something in a nice darker carmelly color or maybe a rust? What do you think?

I don't know if these will click to get bigger? Does any one know how to do that?

I am working on part 2 soon...:)

~J

From the file of.. ouch that hurts..

It was a nice , sunny, Thursday afternoon everyone was actually getting along, and my pre-schoolers were upstairs doing something they weren't of course supposed to be doing..jumping on their beds. After I  listened to them for a few minutes laughing hysterically; I decided I needed to put an end to it. Of course just as I started to yell, I heard a "thwack!" and that horrible pause of silence where you just know it's going to be bad and finally that  loud, shrill cry. 

It all ended with a black-eye and bruised cheek. Just in time for school pictures.

After the ice pack was applied and popsicles were handed out, I started the inquisition...

"How did this happen?"

"We were jumping on the bed.."

"I know that, but you're not supposed to do that..."

"We know, but we were trying to eat the dust."

"Eat... The... Dust?"

"You know Mommy, the sparkles in the sun?"

"Oh."

My cleaning skills are obviously detrimental to one's health... I hope some one has revoked my housekeeping  license.

~Jen

In black and white

Here it is, in black and white: My name at the top of a real newspaper article! If you'd like to read it, the post below has the link. I want to thank everyone who left such nice comments too! I hope to have more to share in the future :)

Do you love quotes? I do. I love finding quotes to put on plaques and cards and anything else I can get my hands on. The Quotation Page 

has more than you could imagine. It's even indexed by authors and subjects like these:

A good home must be made, not bought-

Joyce Maynard

or,

None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone.-

Ralph Waldo Emerson

and finally,

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

Scott Adams

It's such a great resource..I could spend hours just reading the quotes and dreaming if ways to use them. And it's great when I am making a greeting card for some one and stuck for something to say! 

If you get  a chance, stop over and visit Kimba at a Soft Place to Land. She does a ton of great furniture make-overs and creatively clever projects and asked me if she could feature one of my chair make overs. 

And my friend. Manuela, used to be the Feathered Nest, now has a new blog The Pleasures of Homemaking , please stop over and welcome her back! 

~Jen

Decoupage fabric table tutorial...

Decoupage (gluing paper, fabric or other textiles for embellishment) is a great way to fix or enhance a table surface. It can hide blemishes or spiffy up a dull top. There are just a few simple steps and supplies. I had this table in storage and because of the damaged top, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. It had a hole where a glass top would go and it was super-dated. Because of the damage on the top, I knew decoupage was the perfect way to fix it. You'll need: *regular Mod Podge decoupage medium (I like the satin finish) *a wide foam brush *braided trim *a water based polyurethane or varnish *cotton duck, or 100% heavy duty cotton fabric with a flat printed surface that is non-stretchy. *tacky glue  I saw this peice in PaintMagic Magazine and ripped it out a while ago. I was going through my "tear sheet" box for ideas and found it. When I tore it out, I knew sometime I wanted to do a piece of furniture with the red and beige like that so it became my "inspiration"piece.  I started with the base coat of red paint *If you are going to paint the piece, like I did, it is best to do that step first and do the decoupaging after the paint is cured. Do not paint the area to be decoupaged. Fill any damaged areas with wood filler or spackle. I opted for spackle this time because I was going to be decoupaging over the hole, not painting. Sand your surface. If it is a leather top, sand it until all of the shine is gone. I normally wet-sand to cut down on the dust. Cut your fabric to fit. If the edge isn't perfect don't worry, that's where your braided trim will come in. Apply Mod Podge to the entire top....  ....and the back of the fabric. Work quickly, as it can dry fast. After completely covering the surface in medium, lay your fabric on the surface being careful not to stretch it. Use your hand to push out all of the air bubbles and excess glue. If you leave either under the surface it will dry that way.If you need to reposition your fabric, pull it up gently, and reapply the medium. It may stretch the fabric slightly, so it is better to put it on right the first time. If it seems like there is a bubble you just can't get rid of, use a pin to poke holes in the top and then push them out again. After all of the bubbles are out, spread another layer of medium completely over the surface. Let dry. Now is the time you can treat the table top like a canvas as I did with acrylic paints on top. I lightened my fabric with a cream and aged brown wash and added a floral motif to match the sides.If you do, let the paint dry completely before adding the next layer of medium. Otherwise, you can leave it as is and move on to the next step. Add another layer of decoupage medium and let dry. Spread on a layer of a protective medium such as water-based varnish or polyacrylic. Follow the manufacturer's instructions. I normally add 2-3 coats of a satin finish.I would definately recommend doing this part in a very well ventilated area. I normally do this part in my garage because it's stinky and I don't want the kids breathing it. It will appear blue or cloudy, but will dry clear. Depending on the use, I put 2-3 coats on, following the manufacturer's instructions. After dry,the surface may have slightly rough feel to it. The more layers of polyacrylic, the smoother it will get. After the varnish/poly has cured, use a tacky craft glue to glue your braided trim around the edge. This will hide any rough or unevely cut edges. Clean the excess glue off with a slightly damp paper towel. Enjoy your table top. It's ready to be used in about 48 hours... There is a Mod Podge that dries in a hard finish so you don't need an extra poly, but that says it takes 4 weeks to cure...I don't know about you, but I don't have 4 extra weeks hanging around anywhere. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an e-mail. Also, if you do this project, please send me a picture or if it's a post let me know... I'd love to see your results! Jen

Chair make-over and finally getting some publishing love!

Remember that picture a few post ago when I gave you a peek off to the right at a make over reveal? I found this chair at the curb.. it had all of the prerequisites... great lines, well cared for..didn't smell... :) I spray painted it a two-tone brown using American Accents Nutmeg and Rustoleum's Universal Spray (I LOVE IT) in Espresso for a bit of depth and covered it with some left over fabric from my bench seat... and I did hand sew that top pillow, it is tad wonky, if I could have a glue-gunned it, I would have ....:) But that's what accents are for!

I found the red pillow at TJMaxx and I have to say, thought it was so perfect, I actually paid full price for it... $12!!! (That never happens! ;) and a red throw...

And as for my cool news, it's an article on thrifting being published in the Chicago Tribune Local Section...! Here's the link if you'd like to read it...

http://www.triblocal.com/Lisle/Detail_View/view.html?type=stories&action=detail&sub_id=24140

They e-mailed me and I get to see the article in black and white on my front door step tomorrow morning!! My name at the top! The funny thing is, I don't know if you have ever read The Secret; but I read a book first called Law of Attraction (I actually thought it was much better.). And I think the biggest thing I got from it is beside just wanting something, you really have to put yourself out there. Get back what you give out. I think it's all about the little risks, not the big steps. I can tell you when I submitted it, I had that insecure,queasy, What if it's really stupid?What if I get rejected and they tell me I should just smash my keyboard with a sledge hammer now and just work on being a really good reader? (okay, that is a tad bit dramatic, but you know how it is when you're nervous....) kind of a feeling... but I decided it was worth a try. (I have been submitting articles left and right to magazines and getting NOTHING back, not even my stamped return envelopes! )... A week later, one of the editor's called me and told me they really liked it and wanted to publish it and that it was really well written. I can tell you to have validation for all of the writing I have been doing was amazing. So, before sounding too mushy and Dr. Phil....if you think you want to do something, do it. There are great things ready to happen out there . Maybe I'll end up in Martha's mag yet! :)

~Jen