FarmHouse Table : The Documentary ( A SNEAK PEAK )

Here is a sneak peak of the (full detail - shot-by-shot) post to come on building and finishing a farmhouse table. My table is freakishly large for entertaining as I have a very large dining room 10x4.5 :)

We did the building and sanding this weekend. I just couldnt help myself, we had to get it inside so I could daydream about the finished product. I will be staining the legs a solid black and the top a semi-transparent black. Oh yea!

Have I mentioned how much I am LOVING this country/farmhouse style I have going on in our home :) Remodeling is the best ever!!!

More to come on this later in the week.

Fabric Pumpkins Melt My Heart...

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One of my very first pinterest-inspired projects was making fabric pumpkins for this fall season. It was also my second ever attempt at sewing. :) Needless to say, I am hooked. At the time, I was not in the "take shots as you go to post on your blog later" mode, so all I really have is bragging rights and a few shots of the finished product. Below are some pictures to marvel at. I think they are just about the cutest things ever. They match my living room so well that you may just find them sitting around come April.

I must give props to the blog that offers a fantastic step-by-step tutorial for making these fabric pumpkins. I varied mine a bit with the stems and the finishing touches....
A BLOG BY Dannielle Thompson - Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial

Old Mirror, Old Junk? I think NOT!

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If you are like me, you have been "obsessed" with

. How could you not be? I am making it a personal mission to craft, refinish, decorate, and do as many pinteresting things as often as God and time are willing. I see so many people taking shots of their projects as they go along and posting to their blog the steps they took.....It's got me to thinking...I can do that? Sure! I CAN do that! So, here goes nothing.....

My mom had two old mirrors that stood on her dresser (from the early 90s). One broke, she tossed it (this was before we analyzed everything and its' pinteresting potential), and the other she gave to me! Months ago, I thought, umm, k..... Lately, the ideas have been overwhelming. I decided to make it a chalkboard for my kitchen/dining room! :)

I forgot to take a picture of the mirror BEFORE I started working on it. This is the BACK of the frame and will give you an idea of what the finish was like before.

This was an old oak frame that had been stained and varnished. SO, the first thing I did was
1. Coated the frame with KILZ Odorless Spray Paint.

Second, I painted the frame.
2. This took about 3 coats of Behr Satin finish paint. The color is "Dozen Roses".

After painting THREE coats on the frame, I began working on the mirror
3. The first thing was removing the backing from the frame and taking the mirror out.
Mine was in place with staples. I removed those and took the back off, the mirror was just sitting in the frame and was easily removed.

Next comes preparing the mirror for Chalkboard Spray paint.
4. I used the same KILZ Odorless spray paint on the mirror. You have to be careful with this, you will SWEAR it will not dry. In fact, I got to ill I gave up on the project and said I was done with it....went to the UGA-NMSU game, came back and voila! it had dried. Moral of the story, the key is patience. My mom always tells me that, I should consider listening.
*I ended up doing TWO coats of Kilz. Let each coat COMPLETELY dry - took about 3 hours for each of my coats.

Now, time for chalkboard paint.
5. For this project, I am using Rust-Oleum Chalkboard Flat Spray Paint. I did three coats of the chalkboard paint on top of the KILZ. Time for more of that goold ole' southern styled patience. Each coat will take about 3 hours. You want it to be COMPLETELY dry before you put the 2nd and 3rd on.

Lastly, put it back together!
6. Sit the mirror back down in the frame, nail or staple it back up.

Decorate with your favorite chalk designs. I prefer a nice quote to match the current season or festive holiday :)

(Haven't hung it quite yet)


Materials Needed:
1. Old Mirror
2. 1 pint of paint color for frame
3. Paint Brush
4. KILZ Odorless spray paint
5. Rust-Oleum Chalkboard Spray Paint
6. Hammer and Nails or Staple gun and Staples (to re-attach backing to frame)

Seasonal Wreaths for the Frugal Decorator

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This is coming a bit late in the season, but definitely still worth sharing. I decided I could make autumn wreaths, on my own...I was right! I am not going to give a play-by-play on this one as I only have pictures of my final project. I will walk through my steps briefly.

1. First, I bought plain wood branch wreaths from a local decor store (WOW Furnishings in Jefferson above Real Deals). They were very well priced - 8 for the large, 5 for the smaller size.

2. I bought vase and centerpiece fillers in autumn colors. Many stores, like WOW, will have these in bunches for $4-10 depending on size and quality.

For this project, I did not need any additional tools. NONE. The branches are spaced so that is is very easy to intertwine the filler in with the branches.

Decorate with any color to match any season. Mine, are of course, autumn-themed.