Little Table

i went into my local thrift store looking for a picture frame for a project i was asked to do...as soon as i walked in the door i saw this cute little thing...i have been wanting something small to sit a plant on in my dining room...it was love at first sight

 before

after

not much to this makeover...i mixed up some white chalk paint...after it dried i did a little sanding...thats it..no wax...no glaze...very simple and quick...

CREATING LOVE AND JOY

Ashley

Best of 2012

i thought and thought...i decided not to do this since my new blog was so "new"...i gave in...so here it is...the top 5 for the year...

#5 Vanity...One Hot Mess

296 views

not sure how this one made the list...i was just posting about how i messed up this piece and had to re-do it...i guess everyone wanted to see my screw up!

#4 Little Girls Side Table

327 views

I loved this piece! i had alot of fun with this one...i used home made chalk paint...i've always liked pink and i hoped someone else would too! 

#3 Broken Chair

496 views

just another example of how you can transform a piece of junk into something nice...i love sitting in this chair...and its still in one piece!

#3 Side Table

518 views

ok, so i loved this one too! my first stenciled piece...i think its so cute...

#1 Outdoor End Table

 624 views

the number one most viewed is this piece...kinda shocked though...even though i do like it, and it turned out perfect, its probably because i was linked up to another blog...which is good because it helped me get blog recognition...

thanks everybody...i had a good first 8 months using my new blog address...i have been rather slow in rebuilding this one but its getting there...i can't wait to share more of my ideas!

CREATING LOVE AND JOY

Ashley

Linking Up To:
One Artsy Mama 
My Repurposed Life 
Blissful And Domestic 
Twiggs Studio 
Rae Gun Ramblings 

The Skull

this post really has two meanings...by the end you will understand why i'm saying that...its about a painting/drawing/picture that my son gave me for christmas...i usually only post things that i've made or done on here...but i felt that this deserved a special spot on my blog...

i developed a fondness for skulls a long time ago...it was before they were really cool...before people were so into them...i have no idea why i like them so much...i'm just a normal girl, or at least i think so...others may beg to disagree...i like all kinds...big ones, scary ones, sugar skulls, girly ones with pink bows...so just imagine...christmas morning my son brings this out...

i'm sure that most people won't be so as excited as i was...i don't see this sort of thing on any of the blogs i follow...but hey, i do things different over here...

i always knew my son had talent...he picked up his first drum sticks when he was about 5 and started beating on a cardboard box...i have a picture of him...sitting there in his underwear and a t-shirt...he is 20 now...he has been playing ever since...i can't count how many broken sticks i've thrown away...or how many countless hours i've had to endure the noise...

 

i didn't realize he had this talent though...it wasn't until he was out of high school that i figured this out...

 

just a couple projects from school...one of his art classes....

 

he has attended several schools...trying to figure out what he wanted to do...right now he is really into art and music...i know its hard to make a living doing that...but, money isn't everything...happiness is...

i just want to say how proud i am of him for being so talented at music and art...not everyone is born that way...its a special gift.... 

here it is hanging up...this is a large piece..18 X 24...i purchased the frame from hobby lobby...one this size is very pricey...i was lucky enough to get it half price and i spray painted it black...(a little bit of a project after all)...

maybe its not all the rage in blogger land right now...but on my wall it is...and it will be on pinterest as soon as i publish this...

CREATING LOVE AND JOY

Ashley 

Meet Myra

sometimes i fall off the wagon...i hate when that happens because i get that sort of depressed feeling and i don't want to do projects...then i get a swift kick in the behind and it all comes back...so that is my reason for lack of posts...

right before thanksgiving, a friend of mine asked me to do a few things for her...i couldn't say no...we go way back and i felt like i would be letting her down if i didn't do it...i was still in my depressed state...lack of projects and no energy to do any...but when she said it had to be done by thanksgiving for her big feast, i had to get going...

this project was so fun for me..i have a fondness of sewing machines and their cabinets...although this one lacked the sewing machine, i didn't care...i just couldn't wait to get started...

here she is...miss myra...named for my friends great aunt...i think it fits her perfectly..

after i gave it a quick sanding, i applied some turquoise chalk paint....i had never used this technique before...i had the request of letting some of the turquoise paint show through the black...

this is after i painted black on top of turquoise...i also mixed the black into chalk paint...since i was on a tight schedule, i had to go ahead and sand...its better to wait until its dried out...it makes the process easier when you aren't working with the dampness of the paint....even thought its dry to touch, the paint sticks to the sandpaper when its not cured

here is a close up of the sanding process...see how the turquoise is peeking out?

i kept the original hardware...cleaned them up with some oven cleaner...years of gunk on them came right off...i then applied wax and it was finished!! i did this in a days time...a little faster than i normally like to go

look at this piece...perfect in her new home....i love it...i hope you love it too shuantale! i enjoyed doing it for you....

CREATING LOVE AND JOY

Ashley

Linking Up To:

Kammys Korner
Be Different Act Normal 

Vintage Life Preserver

i've been wanting to do this project for some time...i searched and searched for a tutorial on how to do it...mine didn't exactly turn out the way i wanted it to...i had planned on adding some wording but with the way i did it i didn't have enough room left...

first i took a green foam floral form...say that fast...i spray painted it white but it didn't fill in all of the little holes so i went back and used a brush to paint over it..it took a lot of coats to fill in...

i bought 2 dog toys from the dollar tree...you only need 2 because each toy has 2 pieces of rope knotted together..they are VERY hard to get apart...it took me quite awhile to get the knot loose enough...

i took some denim that i had saved from some cut off jean shorts and made some strips..i just made a seam down each side and hot glued them on...i then took the dog toy rope and hot glued those on...this wasn't the easiest project...it took tons of glue and the back looks horrible...

here it is finished on my mantel...i really do love it but had my heart set on it saying something...

here it is hanging up...i still have some more things to add...things are coming together! 

CREATING LOVE AND JOY

Ashley

Linking Up To:
504 Main 
One Artsy Mama 
The Little Giggler 
Kammys Korner 

Bathroom Remodel

i've been busy!! i wanted to share with you what i've been working on...this is a bathroom remodel...i'm not quite finished with it but i will post what i have done and explain how i did it...

first of all, let me start by saying that this bathroom is in a 1979 liberty mobile home...its a little different than a normal bathroom... 

this remodel was done on a very strict budget...it was meant to be a quick fix for a vacation home without having to spend tons of money...

this house was not occupied when we looked at it...very basic white walls that had been sprayed with a gun...there was white over spray on everything...

as you can see, the vanity cabinet was in sad shape...paneling, wood trim, white doors...over look the floor...its pretty bad..2 different floor coverings...

shot of the cabinet white i was prepping for paint

i picked brown...not my first choice but this was oops paint that only cost me about $2...i'm on a very strict budget so brown was the color...

before and after...i need to paint the handles...thats on my to do list!

this wall had a piece of paneling cut and screwed onto the wall! it was covering a small hole...instead of repairing the hole, they just covered it with a piece of wood...how lazy is that?

the same wall after paint...i also picked this color based on oops paint...for around $2.50

before and after...i believe the towel holder was $2.99

wall where toliet is...i removed the towel bar for now

couldn't wait to post!!

little fish that i got at old time pottery

shower curtain that i bought at kmart...shelf said $19.99 but rang up for $8...YAY for me!!

bathmats and toliet cover that i paid $9.99 at old time pottery...

 for around $25 i revamped the bathroom...still have some things to do but pleased so far at the progress that i'm making...i will add more pics of updates...

i still have to redo the floor..another project for another day

CREATING LOVE AND JOY

Ashley

Linking Up To:
At The Picket Fence 
 Kammys Korner

Cut Off Jeans

today i'm sewing...i'm finally getting the hang of cutting off blue jeans and making them into shorts...i'm not sure about everybody else, but for a 41 one year old woman, its hard to find shorts...i refuse to wear "mom jeans" shorts...i mean i'm old but not that old...my legs are not what they used to be...there is some serious wear and tear on them...i can't wear booty shorts either...so i chose to make some myself...

the first pair that i tried was some that i purchased at aero for about $19...i never really cared for the way they fit me..boyfriend cut...i chopped them off last year and just wore them with the strings hanging...this year i decided to go a little more "classy"...LOL...

pair number two came straight from the good will...they looked like i just purchased them at american eagle...i paid $2.94 on 1/2 off day...how can you beat that deal? they were a short so it didn't matter since i knew before hand that they were getting chopped...

and finally the third pair...i got them for $1.00 after a semi trade on facebook...they are also the aero boyfriend cut...

southern girls like cut off shorts...but as an older "girl" i like mine not so short...i just made a reversed hem...they sort of look like i just rolled them up one time...i'm happy with them...

CREATING LOVE AND JOY

Ashley