Sewing Jar

I’ve been seeing these little jars all over blogland and while sewing last night I decided to make one. Found some scrap fabric, stuffing, glue gun and scissors. Here’s how I did it in pictures. (If you have any specific questions just let me know.) It was super easy and I already love the new addition to my lil craft room.

Fill it with button and some thread, stick a few needles in the top and viola! You have a new sewing jar that is portable nonetheless! The best part is that you can customize it to match your space. Now get cracking and make a jar for yourself!

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Birthday Garland

As some of you readers know, last Saturday was my boys' birthday party. I put together most of the decor myself. It was only my first party so I learned some things and found some things I would like to be different. Anywho. . . As promised here's the first portion of the party breakdown.

The garland was one of my favorite things. I saw this tutorial over at Visual Vocabulary. I knew I HAD to do it for myself! 

I followed her instructions almost exactly. 

I don't have a round roll cutter like she does so I had to cut it all by hand. Not a big deal, but when it came to the foil paper (gold), it was impossible to cut. It would have been nice to have a cutter like hers.

I got the colors of tissue paper that I wanted  and went to work. It was great because my niece was able to help. I did learn that this is easier with 2 people as apposed to 1. If you want to make it yourself, make sure you have someone to pull the rope tightly while you twist the tissue paper. All in all I was very happy with the end result and it was fun to put together. Plus, I felt super awesome when people said they like it. haha. You may be laughing but you know you feel the same when people compliment something you made, so don't judge! The best part is that after the party I just moved it to my son's room. They love it because now they have a "Birthday Party" in their room!!! 

Check back later for more tips on putting together a party.

Nightstand

It's been a while since I've been able to complete a project with moving and then moving again. For the Hubs' B-Day I decided to start and complete an entire project in a week. The difficult thing was not being able to do it at home because he would see it. So off to my Grandma's patio I went. with the boys in toe, of course. 

A while back I saw a B.E.A.UTIFUL nightstand at

 Aubrey + Lindsay's blog. 

It's a phenomenal transformation that I had to be a part of. I did most everything the same, including ordering the pulls from Canada because they were way more expensive via U.S. shop, which was TOTALLY worth it. I love how it turned out. I did, however, use a Dark Walnut stain instead of a medium grade stain like she did. Truth be told-I preferred the color that she used, but wasn't able to find it. I tried one that I thought would be similar and it turned out almost clear. Then I decided to try the Dark Walnut I already had. It looked great on the first side. Only problem was that the pine of the nightstand soaked the stain so quickly that it was darker on the remaining sides and I just had to go with it. Overall, I'm pleased with the result and the Hubs loves having a nightstand again since I stole his. 

After I get more done in my Master, I'll work on getting better staged pictures. 

I hope you enjoyed stopping by for a look

Under My Mulberry Tree

Nightstand-Ikea

Stain-Minwax, Dark Walnut

Paint-Benjamin Moore, Chantilly Lace

Pulls-Lee Valley

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Painted Fireplaces

I know it sounds like a huge faux pas to paint a fireplace surround, but sometimes there is nooo other option. All too often you see in older homes that dreadful 50's and 60's stone fireplace surround. It doesn't go with ANYTHING!!! I'm sure some designers and decorators would disagree and argue that a GOOD designer could make it work. Truth be told: I wouldn't want to make it work!. In reconciling this dilemma there are a few things you could do.

1. You could rip the stone down and completely reface the entire thing.

2. You could drywall over it and then reface the whole thing. 

Don't have the money for 1. or 2. but still hate your dated stone fireplace!?! That's where option 3 comes in.

3. Paint it!!! 

There are probably husbands out there all over the place with their heads in their hands shaking it. Moaning and thinking, "YOU CAN"T JUST PAINT IT!!!!!" Well I say, You can! It doesn't even have to be white. White would be the most 'normal' color that you could chose and would match more homes. But what does your home want? Pick a color that suits your decor. If it's white, then go with it, but maybe a nice bright AQUA would suit you better. If you do choose a bold hue like aqua, I would recommend a dominantly neutral scheme for the rest of the room. Whatever it is, make it yours. Here are some photos I've found via Google search, of painted and non painted fireplaces.

This stunning fireplace was found on Decor Pad

This is a great example of a before and after that I found at Mid-Century Midwest

I love how the stone surround turned out.

This Beauty was found here

Wanna See more? Go here

Found this picture at DIY Network's site.

I LOVE how this one looks! It is in a restaurant, but the coloring is awesome. It was featured on this blog.

Well there you have it! Some things just look better with a little coat of paint. That's painted fireplaces from my view

Under My Mulberry Tree 

Free Printables

In my search for more Thanksgiving projects I stumbled upon Craftily Ever After, which has some great Thanksgiving Printables that would look amazing in anyone's dining room.

Here is just one of the few she has over there.

These would be a great addition to finish off a Fall nook.

She also has a Thanksgiving Definition Printable that looksAmAzInG!

I love that this one looks like it's been printed on burlap. It's a fun way to add a little country without having to deal with actual burlap.

I can't remember where I found this little beauty so if you recognize it please let me know. Like the others this is darling as well.

Good luck and enjoy these great Thanksgiving Printables.

Book Cover

This was a super easy project! Took very little time and I already had everything for it. (Most crafters would and if you don't it wouldn't cost more than 3 bucks) I had my scriptures that I've been using for the past few years and I didn't like the color. My sweet hubby got them for me as a gift just after we got married and purchased the same color that I already had. (Parents bought them and got my sister the color I wanted. Ha! such is life Right?!) Anyway. All very thoughtful, I just prefer a different color. What to do what to do? I could get new ones. . . no need. What about a good old fashioned book cover?! Genius right?! So I got out my scrapbook paper and picked the one I wanted. First I cut it to size. Then I used my distress ink to give the edges of the paper a little "character". I hot glued the paper to the outside of my book. (I used hot glue because I don't mind. If you would like it to be more temporary you could use double sided adhesive and just stick it to the edges that wrap around to the inside of the covers.) All around the edges to ensure a secure fit. Then I printed my lable and glued that and a flower on the front for added decoration. I love it! Nobody else has this Color! ;)

Desk Chair

Since I finished my desk I knew we needed a desk chair for 2 reasons. (2 seems like my magic number for reasons) 1. We needed a desk chair 2. My hubby accidentally broke the dining chair we had been using because he was leaning back on the rear legs. I'm assuming when the chair snapped his mother's voice saying, "Don't lean back in your chair" was echoing in his head as he picked himself up off of the floor. hehehe! So I searched many places for inspiration and found this.

At our beloved PB it is $399.00. Seeing as we've been saving for a house, 400 buck on a desk chair is not going to fly! So I searched the classifieds on KSL and found this beauty for $25.

I was able to snag it for the amazing price of $15. The lady had it posted for a while and I'm assuming that's why she let it go for so cheap. It was the perfect chair. Even rocks back to satisfy my hubby's need to lean back. I took the same steps with the chair as I did with my desk that I redid, except I painted this in my bedroom using grocery sacks as my floor cover.

:) Primed and painted. I absolutely love how it turned out. Since I already had the primer and paint from the desk, this chair cost $15 plus whatever I used in gas to pick it up. Way worth it!

The Desk

I found this beauty at DI (local thrift store) for $10. When I saw it I knew it HAD to be mine for 2 reasons. 1. It is awesome and perfect for our computer desk. 2. It looks exactly like a desk that my dad had growing up that my 4 siblings and I have argued about who gets it when the time comes. Horrible I know, but for some reason we just love that desk. When I found this one I decided it could take the place of that one. . . for now. :) I took it out to the little patio at my apartment, primed and painted. I decided to prime rather than sand because I did not yet have a palm sander and didn't want to wait until I got one. I decided to keep the original hardware because it gave it a bit of character that a lot of new hardware doesn't have for a piece like this. It turned out to well and I love it! The chair I found on KSL goes perfectly as well.

Dining Table Conversion

Finishing my little dining table has been a long time coming. I purchased EVERYTHING for it just under a year ago. I reupholstered the chairs first, hoping it would give me incentive to finish the set. Then one of the chairs broke. Ya know when your mom always said don't lean back in your chair? Well my sweet hubby found out why. :) oops! Hence the long delay. Anyway. . . Here's how my little beauty turned out.

The table before. I didn't realize how much I hated the stain until I refinished it. It was very orange!

I sanded it first. Then applied a wood conditioner. (Highly recommend-it helps the stain adhere to the wood better. Plus it looks beautiful on the bare wood.)

Here she is all finished. What a difference?! These pictures don't do it justice.

Now I was thinking about getting 4 new chairs. 2 sets of 2, and painting them a creamy off-white. Since my chairs don't match anymore what's the point in refinishing just 3 of them. Let me know what you think about the chair idea.

I posted a picture of my living room so you can see what my color palate is.