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Tuesday 31 May 2011

A Series of Smalls ~ Part 2

I think that the birdie bulletin board is sold already ~ I am just waiting for confirmation! It is such a beautiful morning today and I am in a good (if sentimental) mood as it is my son's 11th birthday today... He is a great kid, but it is amazing how fast those years zip by.


I thought that today I would offer something a little bit different. I have been seeing these little wooden breadboxes around so I thought I would see what could be done with one. It turned out to be a cute little refresher for this one.


{Not Your Grandma's Breadbox}
*SOLD*


This project started out looking like the standard 90's style wood breadbox.


It had seen some wear and tear, but a good sanding, paint and hardware really freshened things up. It still looked a little plain to me so I added a chalkboard area on the little door. I lined the inside with some pretty wallpaper and now I think it would be a great way to store any number of things out of sight.




Cosmetics




Kids' Art Supplies

Your Afternoon Caffeine *Fix*

A Selection of Teas

Chocolate Stash

I guess you could use it for you know, bread....

Just something little and fun for today. If you would like to purchase this item, email me or see the Kijiji ad here.




Monday 30 May 2011

A Series of Smalls ~ Part 1

In the past few months I have picked up a few smallish items that I thought could use a little freshening up. There was nothing really wrong with them aside from being dated, ugly, and dusty. There is a lot of satisfaction that comes from working on small pieces as they generally can come together quickly and are fun to do.


{For the Birds Bulletin Board}

*SOLD*




This was just an old picture frame with whatever it had housed previously removed. It had the metallic trim and a bit of a dated look, but was solid and interesting.




I see that my carpet could have used a vacuum before I took this picture, but you take the good with the bad here...


Anyway, I had painted it white a few weeks ago and had been thinking about what to do with it and came up with the idea of a bulletin board. They are generally so plain and utilitarian looking. It is nice to make something useful a little bit more interesting. I had picked up some really fun graphic fabric from Ikea for another project that I had changed my mind about using but it seemed so perfect for this makeover. A little bit of distressing and some cork and you wouldn't recognize it!







It is a decent size for a bulletin board, plus I think the graphic is nice enough on its own so you don't feel you have to fill it up.


30 inches high
23.75 inches wide


To purchase, email me or go to the Kijiji ad here.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Commissioned Bench

I have been very neglectful of my blog for the past few weeks. I have been busy working on a few projects and working on getting my 2 kids to their 150 activities as well as planning birthday parties for both (a word to the wise ~ don't have your children in the same month if you can help it...). I was also lured out to my yard by the sunshine this past week and have been planting my containers and a few trees in our newly (last summer) landscaped yard. Having a new house comes with a lot of pressure as far as landscaping choices go. I am not really an instinctive gardener, but I love the look of planters and flower beds and mature trees ~ I just don't want to make a mistake.


I was very happy to have the opportunity to help Kelly with a bench she had found on kijiji. It was a great piece but she wanted it to have a little more impact in the front entrance of her beautiful new house.





It is a great bench and it has storage under the lid as well. Very functional for a busy family entranceway. Kelly knew she did not want it to be white, so we looked at a few colours and decided on Spanish Red from Benjamin Moore's Fall 2010 Pottery Barn collection.




It turned out really well and the earthy red gives it a different look than the pine did. I added some light distressing and it was finished.







I think that this bench will enjoy his new life being red and looking spiffy. Thanks so much to Kelly for trusting this to me!

Friday 6 May 2011

{Beach Weather(ed) Shelf}

$30

A big thanks to Lindsey who just picked up the pretty blue cabinet this morning. I am so happy it has found a good home!

I am comforted to know that I am not the only one who is digging (I'm that cool...) this tropical blue colour right now. It has been so popular and just the perfect pop of contemporary colour in a small space. I have done up another little shelf to add to my blue collection.


It is a pretty simple little shelf, but again would be great in a bathroom or guest room or any wall that just needs a little something extra.

I was up in Edmonton last weekend with my family visiting some of our awesome friends and family that we just don't get to see enough. My sister in law and I were able to get some time on Saturday afternoon to do some serious thrifting. We managed to hit three different stores in Edmonton and brought home quite a few diamonds in the rough. I can understand why someone would want to get this out of the house ~


Now I think we can all admit to having something stencilled in the house during the stencilling hey-dey of the 90's. Yes, it is very dated and sort of ugly, but the shelf itself is adorable! 

I took all the little wood buttons off that were covering the screw holes and filled them in with wood filler. I then primed and painted the whole thing with my favourite spring blue. The shaker hooks were in good shape so I was able to reuse them after re-gluing them back into place. I sanded and distressed the edges and I really like the way some of the darker stain shows through a little bit as well as the white.






The measurements are:

20 inches wide
7.5 inches tall
5.25 inches deep

If you can not live with out this little charmer, click here to purchase.


Wednesday 4 May 2011

{Chalkboard Message Board}

*SOLD*

I would just like to start today by saying that I am so thankful for all of the encouraging emails and comments from the people who are reading this blog as well as from customers and friends ~ it really makes doing all of this that much more fun!

This is a great little number for helping to organize the clutter of mail, flyers and menus as well as adding some fun and flair to family messages and grocery lists.


It is a standard chalkboard thingy from Ikea. I found it about a month or so ago in a thrift store in serious need of some attention. I am not sure if it was missing some parts, but it looked pretty sad to me.


I refreshed the chalkboard area with a couple of coats of chalkboard paint as it was fairly scratched and worn. I painted the wood frame with a few coats of my favourite white and lightly distressed the edges. To add to the utility, I added some cork inserts to the front for small lists, pictures, tickets, etc.

I think it is pretty cute and has been made over into something a little nicer than the standard Ikea item.




28 inches high
18 inches wide
3.5 inches deep (at widest point)

If you are interested in purchasing this little guy, email me or click HERE to see the ad.

If you have an ugly duckling piece at home that you would like to talk about transforming into a lovely swan, please feel free to contact me at lisabaron70@gmail.com.

Monday 2 May 2011

{Tropicana Cabinet}
*SOLD*
What a beautiful Monday morning we are having here to greet May! My kids are back to school today after having the past week off for Spring Break and it has been so nice for a change... We took a few days off to spend with friends and family and are now back and refreshed as we start the final leg of the school year.

Today I am offering a sunny cabinet. I decided to take a risk and paint the entire piece my new favourite blue from Benjamin Moore.




I think that it was worth it ~ I love the result!

I found it a few weeks ago covered in dust and dirt. It was only partially put together and I couldn't get the drawer to open, but when I got it home, I found all the hardware that I needed to finish it in the drawer. That was a nice surprise!


It was essentially brand new as it had obviously never been used. These little cabinets are a perfect addition to a powder room or other small space and I love to do these little makeovers on them. They can add big impact for a small piece.



I lined the back and the drawer with my favourite wallpaper to add a bit of extra interest.


The door is inset with another of my favourite materials ~ poultry netting...

The little shelves are a nice way to show off a few small decorative things or pretty toiletry items and the quaker style pegs could be used to hang something of interest as well.



I distressed it allowing a bit of the white and the wood to show through, but I think that the colour is the real show stopper here.

It measures 27"H x 14.5"W x 3.75"D.

If you are interested in purchasing this item, please email me or click right here for the Kijiji ad.