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

Curbside Bookshelf

who says you can't turn trash into treasure? i mean, i do it all the time...i always have an image in my head of the finished product...now if it doesn't turn out that way, thats another story...

about 2 weeks ago i went out onto my patio and found this piece...my husband had picked it up beside the road to put his shoes on..seriously?

first of all let me say that he was not gonna put his shoes on this..in my room...maybe in a closet...but to me thats just kinda tacky...he also said that he thought his hats would look good on it...jeffrey, i really do love you...

i'm always so quick to fire the spray can..i didn't get a good before pic...this is a pork skin holder..yes, you read that right...pork skins...we have a place in our town that makes them...they put these displays in stores to sit the bags on..each shelf had turkey creek wrote on it in red and i really liked the vintage feel of the piece...i originally had no plans to paint it...but, how could i say no to a 10 year old...didn't i write that this week already??

there was a little bit of damage to the legs at the bottom..paint was the best option but this was the cheapest wood ever...even with primer it took a bunch of coats to cover...my daughter and i painted on it for 3 days...i had to do some nailing and gluing on the shelves...they were a little warped..i guess from getting wet...

so another piece of junk turned into somewhat of a treasure...she thinks its worth a million dollars the way she has been acting...cost of project- $0...i had everything on hand that i needed....the less money i have to spend the happier i am...

CREATING LOVE AND JOY

Ashley

Lamp Redo...Again

this week its all about pink, pink, pink...i have several things i want to share, but today i will be posting about a lamp that i originally redid last summer...

i wasn't very fond of it but it was free...but ugly...

we did a spray paint upgrade to this nice turquoise color..the plan was to be an accent color in my 14 year olds bedroom...she moved out of that room into my sons room...it stayed with my 10 year old....i used burlap on the shade...

when you ask a 10 year old what color would you like to accent your room, be prepared for anything...i kept the same shade but just changed out the color...i think it looks good with the black..i do love some pink...but wait to you see how much pink...i have some more things to post so be on the lookout...

update: picked up this cute shade at the local dollar general...

i have enjoyed this week with my hannah working on so many different things....lookout everybody...i may have some competition in the painting world...maybe even a future blogger??

CREATING LOVE AND JOY

Ashley

Vintage Vanity

i just happened to come across a deal that i wasn't expecting...i have a store near my house that i was going in at least once a week, but since i've had so many projects going on i quit going in there...i had to get my back porch cleared off...

the day i got it...would you like to know how much i paid for it? $10!! yes, you read that right...super excited about the price..

this is right before i got started on it...my husband was not excited at all..he never has faith in me...LOL..i'm sure he was thinking that i paid too much

besides the mirror being broke, one drawer was warped...the other drawers were so smooth for the age of the piece...

finished with paint...a little wax over that and some stain on top...

i used homemade chalk paint...sanded the pulls, which were rusty, and sprayed them a shiny chrome color...i wanted to keep the original ones...

all finished...a little distressing...perfect for the 10 year old little girl in my life...she is more excited than i am...i really wanted to sell this piece...i would have made a nice profit...but how can i resist a sweet blonde?

before and after...how could i go wrong with this? i can't wait to show the lady i bought it from!!

CREATING LOVE AND JOY

Ashley

Linking Up To:
Savvy Southern Style 
Clean & Scentsible 
Kammys Korner 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Curb Alert 
A Creative Princess 
HOH 
Made In A Day 
Decorating Insanity 
Naptime Crafters 
Craftionary 
Redoux Interiors  
Be Different Act Normal 
Twigg Studios