She ain't no beauty queen . . .

 

In fact, she's downright UGLY!

When we designed and built our house, we did so with the intention of hanging a big swing (think four grown butts big) on the back porch. So one day my father-in-law tells me, "I've got a swing for you . . . so-and-so gave it to me." And proceeded to show me the ugliest swing I've ever seen. Ummmm, thanks . . . . but, um, I hadn't really planned on having harvest gold carpet on my swing . . . and, um, I kinda thought we might get something with the back completely attached. So FIL put the swing in his barn.

Fast-forward six months. We're in the house now, and spring is coming quickly . . . I want a swing, but I don't want to go shopping for one, and I sure don't want to pay for a pretty, well-built swing that big. So I tucked my tail between my legs and asked my father-in-law if he still had Ugly. He did, so I went and wrested the monstrosity into the truck and brought it home. 

After removing the carpet, attaching the back, and giving her a good coat of paint, she looks downright presentable now.

Please ignore my dirty porch - I'm well aware that I 

need to put down my paintbrush & pick up a broom!

She still ain't no beauty queen, but I'm happy with Plain Jane!

Want to see more fabulous projects?

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage

Frugaliscious Friday @ Finding Fabulous 

Girls Day Out . . . Yard Sales, Lunch, & Massages!

Girls Day Out - Woo Hoo!!!

My Momma, Me, 

Amanda (who bought the much-photographed hat!), and Mildred

My Momma, a couple of friends, and I had a much-needed Girls Day out on Saturday, and we had an absolute blast! It was such a blessing to have a day to ourselves to spend doing what we love - treasure hunting! We started out early at yard sales. Despite it raining on us off and on all morning, we hit lots of sales and found tons of goodies (okay, I did most of the buying, but it was good stuff!). Then we had Mexican for lunch and headed to the spa for massages. =)  I really don't think our day could have been any better! 

Here's a run-down of my finds.

I told you I found a lot! Pair of Wall-mount swing-arm lamps, 
$5; Pair of barstools, $8; Cooler, $5; Gobs of sand toys, $3; 

and four pair of shoes for my little sweetie who can never find a pair!

Chippy chair, $5; Frames, $1 each; Roll of burlap 

(8 yards!), .50 (anybody know how to make a cent sign?); 

shutter, $1; Wreath, $1; New candles, .50 each; Candleholder, $2; Bottle, $1

Birdcage, .75; Oak stool, $1; Tiered stand, $1; 

Magazine, .25; Bottle, $1; Flower pot, .25; Finial, $2

I'm linking up to . . .
Thrifty Treasures @ Southern Hospitality
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm
Work Your Wallet Wednesday @ This Blessed Life 

Rusty metal + scrap wood = New table for me!

Rusty metal + scrap wood = 
New table for me!

Early last month, while visiting around blogland, I found the most fabulous table over at Flea Market Trixie.  Now I've always had a thing for junk, but since then I've been looking at metal junk in a whole new way - looking for things that I could breathe new life into for the house.  

While plundering around in my father-in-laws barn last week, I happened upon a rusty metal box thingy that my hubby drug home years ago. It has lived in the in-law's barn since we moved back to our hometown - about five years ago. Home with me it came! I had no clue what I would do with it, but I did know that it had potential.  I considered painting something on it and hanging it on the wall, and I thought about hanging it as a shelf, but I finally settled on using it as a table-top. Here's what I started with: 

 

When I told my hubby what I planned on doing, he thought I was plain goofy. I, however, thought it was a fabulous idea and was fully prepared to construct the table myself if I had to. Luckily, I didn't have to! 

My brother-in-law showed up about the time I was dragging in 4x4s from our barn. He seemed agreeable to helping, so I got out of the whole, measuring-drilling pilot holes-using electric screwdriver thing. I pretty much just told him what I wanted and handed him things as needed. Can't beat that, can you? (My hubby just shook his head at us & went to cook supper, since I was so excited about starting my project that I neglected to feed anyone.)

After just a little while, we had a table!

 

Then it was time to paint it.  First, I took the top off and cleaned it well, then sprayed on some clear sealer.

Since all the wood was recycled, I ran the mouse sander over it quickly to knock down any rough spots. I also rubbed some wax over the red paint so that it would show through when I distressed it. Then it was time for the paint. I had some good help!

 

It took two coats of paint to cover it well, and then I rubbed on some stain to darken it up and highlight the dents and dings. It really turned out brighter than I had intended, so I applied the stain twice, leaving it on longer the second time before I wiped over it. I sanded the edges a good bit, and also sanded it to expose some red paint. I then rubbed stain over the newly distressed areas to darken them up. After it dried for a couple of hours, I screwed the top back on and called it finished. 

My love, who thought this was a silly idea, still says he has no opinion on my table, but I love it!

Linking up to:

Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Made It Monday @ The Persimmon Perch  

Met Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch 

DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land 

Best DIY Projects of March @ Beneath My Heart 

DIY Wednesday @ Blue Cricket Design

Thrifty Thursday @ Tales from Bloggeritaville 

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage 

Turquoise Party @ The Single Nester 

The Inspired Room 

Creative Cats @ Poppies at Play 

Frugaliacious Friday @ Finding Fabulous 

Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Spring Break!!!

The kiddos were out of school last week for spring break - yay! I was thrilled that we were able to have some family time during the week. My hubby took off a few days and we had a whirlwind of activity. We started off at the McWane Center on Wednesday....

Logan digging for dinosaur bones

On Thursday we joined Logan's Cub Scout pack for a tour of the USS Alabama. . .

. . . where our boys spent the night, sleeping on bunks three-high that hung from chains!

And since we were so close, we couldn't resist spending a couple of nights at the beach.

On our way back home, Ben just couldn't resist stopping at the Explorium Science Center in Mobile. It has an exhibit called Dinosaurs Downtown, which consists of huge, animatronic dinos that move and roar. Logan is absolutely fascinated with dinosaurs right now, so we surprised him with this pit-stop.

He LOVED it!

This little stop put us behind on our trip home, but it was worth it! It was after bedtime when we finally rolled in, and we had to get back to the grind the next morning. I hate that it's over, but we sure had a good time!

Gettin' Ready for Spring!

I am sooo ready for Spring, but the weather here is not cooperating with me. Since I can't get outside and play, I've been trying to make it feel like spring in the house. Today's post is mostly a bunch of photos to show you what's new here.

I'm not entirely happy with how the mantle is arranged. I didn't intend on putting my burlap wreath up there, and I sure didn't intend on using that flimsy lavender ribbon on it, but it just kind of happened. I'll probably still do some tweaking here.

my grandmother's old plate

My version of Ballard Pears

Remember this picture from last week? It's all the goodies I grabbed up at Hobby Lobby.

Those poor gray pears were just so drab, but a little craft paint turned that drab to fab!

First I brushed on green paint and quickly wiped it off with a paper towel so that a little of the wood would show through. I followed that up with some yellow, also wiped off and blended. A little brown on the stems and I was finished!

. . . or so I thought. After I looked at my new cuties a while, I decided that I couldn't live with them like they were. So out came my trusty whatever-I-found-in-the-garage stain. I slopped on some stain, let it soak in for just a minute, and then wiped them down good with a clean paper towel.

Much better! The stain toned down the color a lot and gave them more character. I'm very happy with how they turned out!


I'm linking up to these fun parties. Check them out!

Penny Pinching Party! @ The Thrifty Home
get your CRAFT on! @ Today's Creative Blog
DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land

Krylon Ocean Breeze - Beauty in a Can!

Oh, how I love thee, Blue Ocean Breeze!

I am sooo loving this paint! I picked it up at Wally World one day, not quite sure that it was going to work. I was looking for something to paint a stool with, and I wanted it to kinda match this McCoy bowl that I have in the bathroom holding shells from our 10th anniversary cruise to Mexico.

 

The stool, a yardsale find from years ago, started out as red. Here she is after her new paint job.

After a quick rubdown with some stain to shabby her up, I was absolutely smitten!

Today I found a new project for my Blue Ocean Breeze - the tallest dodad in this picture.

I was right before painting this baby white when I thought about my Blue Ocean Breeze...

 

 

I  am loving how it turned out! After a few coats of paint, I rubbed on a little stain to give it character. The stain seemed to melt off the paint in a couple of spots, but that just adds to the aged look. So now I have to give my mantle a spring make-over! It's just sitting up there waiting for some fabulous friends. =)

If you haven't tried this paint, get you some!!! It's soooo beautiful, and it's spray nozzle is cool, too. (No, this is not a paid endorsement...although I'm not against the idea!)

As a side note, this whole blogging thing will turn you into a picture-taking maniac. I've always taken thousands of pictures of my kids,  but they're cute and wiggly. Tonight I took twenty pictures of that bowl of shells. Twenty! Trying to get THE picture. I've always been a wee bit crazy, but this just takes the cake. So here's one more!

This has got me dreaming of sand between my toes!

I'm linking up to these parties:
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
Show Off your Stuff Party @ Fireflies & Jellybeans
Thrifty Thursday @ Bloggeritaville
Creative Cats @ Poppies at Play
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous