Crib Bed Spring Redo

    When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, we began to transition my son into his "big boy room".  By doing that, I had spare parts of his baby crib lying around.  One piece in particular was the bed spring. 

I wanted to use it as a display piece of sorts but it was too "perfect" for me!  

 

I brought the shiny white piece outside and began to *age* it. 

 

 

I sprayed it with a coat of Krylon Fusion spray paint in

Hammered Copper to cover the white base color. 

Once that dried, I sprayed it with Rust-oleum in Autumn Brown to

give it a rusted texture.  It was not perfect!  Some of the

original silver of the springs showed through and I liked the look so...I left it!

 

It looked nice but *NICE* was not the look I was going for. 

I wanted it to appear old, aged and loved on...like it had been

around for years and had many stories to tell.  So, I took

out my trusty ASCP in Old White & Duck Egg and applied it

 with a sea sponge.  There was no rhyme or reason to the

 application of this part. 

 

(Sorry I didn't take pics of this part.  Sometimes I get so zoned into what I'm creating that I forget to snap pics....I'll try to do better!) 

I layered the paint until I got it just right. 

I think it looks pretty good if I do say so myself!

 

 Here it is on the wall in all of it's glory.  It is the perfect place to hang

all of the cards, invitations, and craft projects that, otherwise, would

take over my poor refrigerator.

                                           

 

 

 

 

Dinosaurs and Tea Parties

 

Wow how time flies when you are having fun! 

 

My husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in April and are now officially the parents of a 1yr old and a 4yr old.  It seems like yesterday that we were just in high school and passing each other in the hallway.  Time has a way of sneaking up on you and blowing right past without you ever really noticing. 

 

Since the addition of our second blessing last June, our life has been in a constant state of always being "on the go"....going to work, school, drop-off, pick-up, practice, meetings,  managing schedules...and the list goes on and on.  I know it doesn't sound much different than most people's lives with young children but the constant rushing around has really gotten to me.  I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter, teacher and friend.  Each of these are very deserving of my time and energy but my priorities are out of balance and I am spreading myself way to thin!  So thin that I am not able to enjoy my life as I know God had intended.

 

On a typical day, I am up before anyone in the house starts to stir and long after everyone is  sound to sleep.  I feel like I am giving it my all but find that even with all of the effort, I am barely treading water.   My husband and I are caught in a virtual relay race.  I rush in from picking up the kiddos after work and when he comes home from work it is his turn to corral them so that I can get something somewhat edible on the table.  We are constantly passing the baton to each other. 

 

I know what you are saying..."You should walk in my shoes for a day"!  I understand that this may not seem like a lot to someone else but it weighs heavy on my heart.  God has bestowed upon us an awesome responsibility of being  parents and it's not something  that I take lightly.  The constant running, rushing and busyness have allowed countless moments to pass by in which I have missed the beauty of God revealing His wonder in my life.  I am making a conscience decision to take it slower and relish in the moment instead of wishing it away.  My babies will only be little once and all too soon will they be grown up.  I don't want to look back on these years with regret.                            

Regret that I....

~didn't stop to play dinosaurs & tea party

~passed up the chance to snuggle in bed and watch a movie

~was always in a hurry   

~may have answered my phone or checked FB before I tended to a whiny toddler

 

I am aware that every day is a gift. From this moment forward, I choose to live intentional and make the best of this beautiful life we have going on.  After much prayer and discussion, we have decided to make a giant shift towards balancing our life.  We are stepping out on Faith and putting our trust in the Lord. 

                           I am now officially a STAY-AT-HOME MOM!!! 

We may not be able to do all of the things we used to do, purchase things on a whim, or take that big exotic vacation.  But you know what????  That's perfectly fine with me.  All of those things that we did previously were the same things that caused the chaos in the first place.  So let me apologize in advance for the times when you visit and the house is a mess, you call and I don't answer on the first ring or text and I don't respond until much later. I am busy....busy making memories!!!  If you need me, I will be playing at the park, having a picnic in the backyard and even lying in the grass pointing out "cloud animals".

 

So let me leave you with a prayer......

 

~Amanda~

One Guy's Trash is Another Girl's Treasure

Well, Mid-Winter break is long over and it's been back to work for us for a few weeks now.   Oh how I loved spending that time with my little family!!

 

Before our break began, I was driving through the neighborhood near the school where I teach and I saw a large pile of white boards neatly stacked close to the road.  At first glance it appeared that they were old shutters.  I thought to myself...I'll stop by and get them after school.  After school came and I drove back by the house.  I was fully prepared to stop but there was heavy after school traffic.  There was NO WAY I was going to dodge school buses to dig in someones trash!!  It was then that I realized that the pile was not of shutters but of cabinet doors!!

 

On my way home my mind went into overdrive thinking of all of the things that I could do with those doors.  I could NOT sleep that night!!  Yeah I'm crazy like that!  I even woke my husband up to tell him about them...he wasn't as enthused as I would have liked!  Morning came and I grabbed a cup of coffee and the keys to the truck.  Being that it was Saturday morning, I didn't have school traffic to worry about. 

 

I was very relieved when I saw the nice stack of doors still there...In my mind people were fighting over those doors while I tossed and turned in my bed that night and I just knew they would not be there when I went back in the morning!  LOL  I told you that I was crazy...crazy for DIY projects that is!  Anyway, I located the pile and slowed down to a crawl to analyze it.  I chickened out and drove off!!  For some reason, I can not take things without asking...even if they are clearly in the trash!  There was no possible way I was going home empty handed so, I circled the neighborhood and came back around.    I noticed a nice man cleaning out his truck so I rolled my window down and asked.."Do you mind if I take these off of your hands?"  Of course he said "Yeah sure! Help yourself."  What did I think he was going to say..."Umm No I'd rather the garbage truck haul them off thanks though!"  Once I got the OK I hopped out and started loading them up and boy were they HEAVY!! 

I got them home and that's when the fun began.....

 

I wiped the doors off with a wet cloth and dried them well. 

I applied painters tape around the molding.

 

 

Working on the molding only, I layered several colors of Annie Sloan Chalkpaint.  Once it was completely dry, I distressed the edges and applied a layer of dark and clear wax.  Afterwards, I removed the painters tape.

I applied chalkboard paint to the inner part of the cabinet door.  As you can tell by the picture, I had to apply a few layers of paint....three layers total. 

I allowed the paint to dry overnight.

The next morning I "seasoned" the chalkboard....rubbed chalk over the entire piece and erased.  It is very important that you do this step!  If you don't season your board, whatever you write on it for the first time will stay on the board and will be very hard to remove.

 

I also replaced the old knobs with ones that had a little more character!

And this is the finished product..... from trash to treasure!!

 

(This picture does not do it justice.  It looks much better in person...I promise!!)

 

Some very special people in my life will receive one of these treasures and I sure hope it brings them much joy! 

What have you saved from going to the dump lately?

 

~Amanda~

Union Jack Inspired Coffee Table

I came across this coffee table online and just knew I had to have it!

Though the color wasn't what I was looking for, I saw the potential. 

It was solid, large, had storage, and was on casters! 

I heart pieces on casters!!

Once I got it home, I couldn't wait to get started.  So, as I do with many of my projects, I enlisted the help of my sweet friend Marley.  We began by painting the inner rectangle on the top with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) in Duck Egg and the body & drawers in Old White.

 

Once that dried, we taped off the design I wanted using painters tape. 
The outer square was then painted with ASCP in Coco, along with,
the large triangles within the design.

 

 

Using Old White, we began filling in the straight lines.  

We removed the tape a strip at a time and filled in to complete 

the rest of the design.  The pretty turquoise color was revealed!! 

 

 

 

Being that I was going for an aged look, this was too "perfect" . 

We grabbed the dark wax and just started applying it.

See what a difference the dark wax makes.....

 

 

There was no rhyme or reason to applying it.  I wanted it to look old and

"loved on".  I think I achieved that effect.  After distressing the edges, we topped the entire piece off with a coat of clear wax and this is what we got.....

 

 

A beautiful piece of furniture that is functional!

 

 

(Yep! I painted right over the hardware too...that's the beauty of ASCP!) 

                                                         

                                                       ~Amanda~

 

 







Let The Journey Begin....

Well, it's out with the old and in with the new.....Hello 2013!!

 

I love the fresh start of a new year.  It symbolizes a time for new beginnings, new hopes and new dreams.  I get inspired and energized by the thought of renewal. 

After following several other blogs, I tossed around the idea of starting one of my very own . I wanted a way to document the happenings of this crazy little life that I'm so in love with.

What should one expect from my blog?    NOTHING!! 
How does that saying go....
         "If you expect nothing, then you'll never be disappointed"?!?!?
None the less, I'll take you along on my journey as a mommy, a wife, a coffee-lover, Pinterest addict and self proclaimed DIYer.  I hope you will join me because there is absolutely no telling where we may end up or what we may see along the way.

                                            Many blessings in this new year,
                                                                 
                                              ~Amanda~