Metamorphosis Monday

I finally took the plunge and tried my hand at making over my vanity bench. After about 12 years, that poor little bench was in desperate need of some TLC. With some inspiration and instructions from bloggerland, the wheels in my head started turning. Finally, the light bulb went on in my head and I realized that I already had everything I needed (minus the staple gun). After a quick trip to the hardware department at Sears, I am now the proud owner of a shiny new staple gun (hubby has visitation rights, though!). I could have borrowed one from friends, but since it was inexpensive and I knew we could use it for many other household projects, I decided to buy one instead.

Achtung! Warning! The following two photos could cause you to lose your lunch or break out in hives...

Take one dusty, hairspray-laden, grody bench.

I can't believe I'm showing you this shot. Ewww...

Hurry! Flip it over so you don't have to look at it (I'd been using it with a towel on top the seat) and unscrew the seat. Got to use the drill and a hex bit for this part.

Didn't take a picture, but the next step is to glue the sheet of foam down using a glue gun. Now cut your fabric so that you leave enough to staple to the seat bottom. I didn't measure a thing.

I purchased this fabric remnant on clearance at Joanne's last winter for another project but changed my mind. It had the right colors for my master bath--funny how that works out! I wasn't completely happy with how the edges turned out, but that's ok because the next step is coming...

Use a glue gun to add your trim.

Keep glueing...

Place the completed seat back on top of the bench and screw it back into place. Completely forgot to take a picture, but after literally cleaning and scraping the metal for 1/2 hour, I took it outside and spray painted it using Krylon metallic satin nickel. Voila - it's a brand new bench! It looks even better with the colors in the bathroom we redid here. Now I don't have to spend $80 on the one I had my eye on at B, B & B!

As many a blogger has said before--it was so easy that if I can do it, so can you!

If you're looking for more inspiration in making over your home, visit Susan's blog for lots of Metamorphosis Monday posts.

Happy Decorating,

Linda

P.S. We are leaving this weekend for a week at Disney with the kids (9 and 13). We've done lots of research, but I would love your opinion on what not to miss while we're there. Hubs and I haven't been since our honeymoon, and this is the first visit for the kids. Restaurant selections would be really appreciated, especially for Epcot. Thanks!!

Tablescape Thursday

It's been over a month since I posted a tablescape! Can you believe it? I have been enjoying checking out everyone's TT posts each week, whenever I get some time. Don't want to miss those amazing table settings! Hopefully when the kids start back to school in a few weeks I can find a little more time for projects and tablescapes. I put this one together last Tuesday, fully intending to post it, but I never found the time to post it for last week's TT. Somehow I've found some time and energy to post it in time for this week, so here goes...

My inspiration for this tablescape began with the butterfly plates. They are made by Mud Pie and just happened to have four different butterfly colors. I believe I bought them for $1.99 each at TJ.

A closer view of the place setting. I finally decided to buy some bamboo flatware, but then couldn't find it for the longest time. I snapped it up as soon as I saw some--and it is the darker colored handle that I wanted! I layered the butterfly plates over my Paula Deen dot plates and Lenox Butterfly Meadow Monarch plates (I have been waiting for close to 6 months to use them but couldn't come up with the right setting!).

To keep things simple, I placed three of my green dollar tree candle plates on top of silver candlesticks. I cut some white phlox from my flower bed and placed it in a slim glass vase. Quick, simple, and pretty.

I originally didn't want flatware like this because I prefer good stainless, but for the price it was a great deal and will work with many different styles.

Here's the yellow butterfly plate. The green placemats were a Stein Mart find on clearance.

Love the blue color in this one!

Lastly, the green butterfly.What a pretty shade of green!

Here's a closer look at the Lenox plate, which acts like a charger here.I normally don't pay very much for my plates, so $7.99 was a splurge. That's still cheaper than the sale price anywhere else.

I showed you these before many months ago; they were a steal at Dillard's last spring. They incorporate the colors from the butterfly plates well.

Here's Paula's message on the bottom of the dot plate. Don't you love her, ya'll? Forgot to re-orient this photo--sorry!

Another look down the table. The glasses are crystal and were another TJ or Ross find.

A full view of the table. Click on it to enlarge the photo. Too bad I couldn't incorporate the red roses my DH brought home for me into the table (you can see a tiny bit of them in the left corner of the shot).

Hope you enjoyed this week's table. There are lots more waiting for you over at our bloggy hostess Susan's blog, so be sure to meander over there!

Happy Decorating,

Linda

My Thrifty Treasures

I've taken a break for most of the summer from blogging, mainly because the kids are home and they keep me busy. The kids and I can't believe how quickly it has gone by though! I know many states have already gone back to school, but schools here in VA don't start until the day after Labor Day. We still have a week at Disney World coming up, which we are all excited about. It'll be a nice little send-off before the new school year begins.

On to my thrifty treasures...To me this was a thrifty find, so I bought two for $10.00 each on clearance from Southern Living @ Home. They are a great size, well made, and a terrific price. They're slso beautiful to look at, don't you think? The robin's egg blue color is almost the same color as my favorite plates, so they match up well. You can see those here.

Isn't this adorable? I only paid $3.99 for it. I haven't found a permanent spot for it yet. I know some of you are really into bunnies, so you might want to scour your local TJ Maxx for it before they are gone. I also saw one with a squirrel perched on top.

ESTATE SALE TREASURES

The following items were purchased at an estate sale of a dear friend. Please keep her and her 3 girls in your prayers, as they are going through a horrible divorce and have lost everything. Just to be nasty, her husband allowed their gorgeous home to go into foreclosure, their cars to be repossessed, and on and on. The entire story is so ugly that it breaks my heart. She is a godly woman who I love like a sister, and she continues to be a woman of God in the face of such evil. We've been working hard for the past few weeks to prepare her home for a huge estate sale (minus the professionals!). We got first dibs on the items, but it still felt weird, even though we knew we were helping financially. She and her oldest daughter (21) keep saying that it's just "stuff", but I know it's still hard to let it all go. I know I will think of her whenever I see the things I purchased. To be fair, we made sure other people had priced the items we bought. Here goes...

For 50 cents, how could I pass this up? It's a 1989 edition and just adorable. Here's the forward. Click on the picture to read it up close. These little guys play Christmas music together. They were only $2 and just need some batteries. Can't wait to try them out. I'm such a sucker for Christmas stuff. I had to restrain myself.

This little box holds something inside. Do you know what it is?

Sorry for the blurriness, I took the pics in a hurry. It's an unused special edition Creative Memories photo album. The price? $1. I would have priced it higher, so when I paid for everything I threw in about $10 extra since I walked away with so many bargains.

These pretty little pineapples will look beautiful on one of my Christmas trees. The store sticker on the bottom had $22 on it.

I've always wanted one of these. I haven't even checked to see if the candles are in the box. It's not a high-end piece, but for $3 it was just right for me.

I think I paid $3 for this sign.

Who can resist paper dolls? This set was untouched and for $1 it will provide hours of fun for my daughter and I. I also bought an American Girl teaching packet for $1 that ties in historical events with the dolls. What a great way to teach history to girls!

Got two of these Williamsburg cone forms for $2 a piece. They retail online for $32 and up. I've always loved colonial Christmas decorations (even if they aren't completely authentic), so I'm excited to use these.

Blurriness again--this is another Colonial Williamsburg centerpiece form. I paid just $3 for it, but I know it's worth probably $30-$40. This will be filled with fruit and greenery at Christmas, but I may try some fall decorations in it first.

And for inspiration I bought these hardback titles that I've always wanted for $1.00 each. I also purchased 3 vintage Nancy Drew books to add to my daughter's collection (which was originally mine) for .50 each.

Cute little plaque that is now in my bathroom ~ $1. There's a little wear in the right corner, but it can be easily touched up. Also bought a round wall clock with a pineapple design for $2--forgot to take a picture of it!

Some Southern Living @ Home beauties that were only $5 each. These pieces have been retired, but I think they retailed for around $20 a piece. Perfect for fall and Christmas. She also had several other SL@H pieces that I already had.

Another SL@H piece. It is also a retired piece. I always wanted this little sconce but never bought it. I think I paid $7 for it. Not sure what will really end up on here. It's hanging in my golden yellow and red family room.

I think that covers everything. All told, I spent $55. Well spent, don't cha think? Be sure to stop by Rhoda's Southern Hospitality blog for lots more Thrifty Treasures as well as wonderful decorating ideas and adventures. It's like stopping by to chat with an old (not in age, of course!)friend.

Blessings and Happy Decorating,

Linda

Hooray for the Red, White and Blue!

I'm a little late posting today--things surely change when your kids aren't in school all day. I finally found a bit of time this morning to put my tablescape together, but then I needed to get to the gym...so now I am finally getting around to posting. Where does the time go?! I still have to post my pictures from our ladies' Sunday school breakfast the other week. I'll post those next week, but in the mean time, I'll post one teaser shot at the end of this post. Did you figure out the theme?

Old Glory; the Stars and Stripes; the Star Spangled Banner; the Red, White and Blue...however you refer to the American flag, it is the oldest and most recognizable symbol of our nation's pride and independence. I love that flag! I am so grateful for the sacrifices that others made before us in order to gain and secure our freedom. That includes my ancestors, who have fought in just about every American war, including the Revolutionary War. May God bless America on her 233 birthday!

I'll try to keep the commentary brief since I'm short on time...

The table is decked out in all her patriotic glory. Won't you join us? Details--the runner is actually four Dollar Tree placemats that I decided would look great down the center of the table. Please ignore the wrinkles in the tablecloth (I refuse to iron it again). I've used those Dollar Tree glasses yet again, tying a patriotic flag ribbon to the stem and adding a red and white star napkin in a fan pleat to the glass. The napkins are actually bandanas from the dollar bin at Target. Love that Target! I also tucked a flag in with the napkin, but came up one short...then I forgot to add another one. Oops!

Don't hurt your neck trying to look at this shot! Can you tell I was in a hurry?

I love Fitz and Floyd bowls. They are sizeable enough to put side dishes in for our meal. Got them at either Ross or Marshall's around Memorial Day.

Accidentally found these stored in my cabinets while looking for something else and just knew they needed to join the party. I forgot I had these little guys. They're from Target many years ago.

A closer look at the place setting...the flatware is from Target. The handles are lucite and the blue is a little bit darker than the picture shows. I used red, square Walmart plates (quite heavy) as chargers and added my Churchill transferware plates...

adding a simple Tabletops Unlimited plate in navy blue...

then my white Mikasa French Country plate...

and a Godinger blue and white floral...

and finally the matching Churchill bowl.

The topper is a wooden star from the dollar bin at Target that I picked up about a month ago. Some have stars and others stripes. There are two glittery ones in the centerpiece. Almost forgot - I alternated the place settings. Two have my Johnson Brothers Willow and Asiatic Blue plates and bowls in place of the Churchill.

For a touch of whimsy I added my baseball dip bowl and bat spreader. What else says America like baseball? It is the great American past time, after all!

A closer look at the flatware from Target. The handles are lucite and the blue is a little bit darker than the picture shows.

Let's move on to the centerpiece now. I've had this cute little birdhouse for many, many years. I decided to tuck in some pictures of family members in their uniforms as filler in the centerpiece. This shot has my then 3-year-old son saluting in dad's Coast Guard hat; he's now almost 13 and is thinking about going to the Coast Guard Academy when he graduates from high school. I love, love this picture. The shot behind it is of my husband's grandparents, with his grandfather in his army uniform during WWII. I wanted to add a picture of my husband's father during Vietnam, but I couldn't find it. A wider shot. The plaque in the middle usually hangs in the study and is 3-dimensional. A local artist makes these for the different services. I received mine as a gift from the spouses' association about 5 years ago upon finishing a term as president.
Here is the other side of the centerpiece.

I had a large flag platter that I used to anchor the centerpiece. I added a handful of r/w/b political buttons from my collection. I received the majority of the collection from my great aunt when she passed away. I spent many hours looking at her collection as a child, so I'm very thankful and blessed to have it passed down to me. I'm also glad that she collected from all parties! I have a post on my collection here, if you want to see more. I also tucked in a blue glittery star from Target.
More of the buttons. Do you see the other glittery star? I used my red mercury glass pedestal to elevate the flags in the centerpiece. All of the branches of the service are represented, and of course the American flag stands proud in the center. We have friends and family who have served in all of the branches of the military and we are very proud of them and all those who have served. Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!

And now for the sneak peak at my breakfast tablescape.

Did you figure out that it was "Breakfast at Tiffany's"? We really did eat breakfast at our friend Tiffany's house! It was yummmmmy!! Stay tuned for more next week.

I am also grateful for our beloved Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting our tablescaping party each Thursday. It's THE PLACE to be each Thursday!

Happy Decorating!

Linda