Fabulous Finds Friday (The Canton Edition)

I went to Canton, Texas to go to First Monday this past weekend.  I haven't been in a while, but recently I have been yearning to do some Do-It-Yourself projects so First Monday was the perfect opportunity to find some junk.  I spent most of the day over in the "garage sale" areas as I was looking for some inexpensive items I could turn into something else.  I was pleasantly surprised to find so many individuals willing to make a few bucks off of the neglected junk they had stored in their attic. You will have to do a lot of digging, but there is always trash waiting to be turned into treasure so keep looking.  Here are some of my favorite finds:  The burlap coffee bag was $1.00, the small brown suitcase was only $2.00 and the larger one only $10.00.  The ladder was $25.00, and all my glass containers were under $5.00. 

Stay tuned for future blogs on what I did with some of this "stuff." Happy Bargain Hunting!

Anna Landers

Wednesday's Whimsical Walls

Do you have a blank wall in your home that is dieing for some attention?  We were sitting at our desks one morning perusing through the Pottery Barn catalog (a very frequent occurrence for the two of us) when we came across a beautiful wall display.  We have to give it to the staging designers for Pottery Barn, they know how to make you want to buy everything in one photo.  Anyway, we both decided we could create our own wall display at a much lower cost.  Here's what we did in our homes, and we hope it gives you enough inspiration to create a wall that's all your own.  And remember, try to be creative by using those items in your house that are screaming to come out of the closet!  Your wallet will thank you.

Tiffany's Wall Display

I chose my guest bedroom because it has been long neglected for the six years we have lived in our home, not to mention my grandma was coming to visit, and I wanted to make her feel warm and cozy.  First I had to choose a style/theme to make sure I stuck to.  Vintage/shabby chic fit the feeling I wanted to evoke in this bedroom.  So, here's how I put it together.

1. My original thought was to do a wall of clocks, but my budget did not allow for that so I purchased one completely cute wall clock.

2. I knew I wanted to incorporate a sign into the display, so what better than to have a sign that says 'DREAM' in a bedroom where you sleep, right?  Hobby Lobby has a huge selection of signs.  

3. Empty frames...oh I love empty frames on a wall.  They make a statement all on their own, but don't ask me why.  I found this one pretty cheap at Hobby Lobby, but you can probably find one you are not using lying around the house.  I took it to the next level by painting a "W" inside the frame (the family name is Wittman).  If you don't feel as comfortable painting yourself you can always opt for vinyl wall decals.

4. To tie in the oval shape of the clock I chose a round mirror.  To me, mirrors can add a sparkle to a dull wall.  Plus, they go with anything and everything.

5. I finished it off with a square sculpted art piece with hooks.  I found this at a flea market and have been wanting to use it somewhere for the past two years but just couldn't find the right place.  What I love about this item is that I could hang the clock from it to add a little interest.

I ended up with the perfect wall to fit my style and space!

Anna's Wall Display

Welcome to the entry of my house.  I wanted to have a family wall here without doing the typical display of family pictures.  Here is what I ended up with.

1.  This is a branch I had my husband cut down from our tree in the front yard.  (free!!!)  According to him the tree is dying anyways so I might as well take advantage now.  So....if you need a branch feel free to take part.  He hung it on the wall (a little crocked but oh well) with rope and nails. 

2.  This was an old wood frame that my mom had. (I think she knows I took it?)  I took the picture out of it and painted it gold.  I ordered a vinyl "L" that I just stuck to the wall on the inside of the empty frame to represent Landers (my last name if you didn't get that already).  There are many online websites that you can order these vinyl decals from and they are fairly inexpensive. 

3.  I love this find.  I was at an old antique store and found some old strips of wood laying against a wall.  I asked the owner how much for one and he said I could have it for free.  My husband cut it in 4 pieces and I sanded and painted them with chalkboard paint.  Then I wrote each of our names on them in chalk, which I already had because I have a 3 year old.  I can change what they say any time I want.  I hung them from the branch with the same rope I used before. 

4.  This is a picture I took on one of my trips and I just framed it in a white chunky frame. 

5.  I had space for two small little frames, but what to put in there?  I like to be different so I decided to get my fingerprint and my husbands and that is what I displayed in those little frames. 

6.  Again, this is an old frame from my mom that I painted white and took out the picture in the middle.  To tie into the whole nature/branch theme I had a vinyl bird decal left over from another project and I put that inside the frame on the wall. 

7.  And yet another old frame I had that I again painted white and hung from the branch with rope.  Inside this frame I placed an old picture that my Nana and Papa had in their house.   Just a little way to remember them by. 

8.  I bought these letters at Hobby Lobby in their raw form.  I painted them the black and gold and hung them on the wall. 

We hope you walk away with a little inspiration to make your own wall fit your style and design.  Be yourself and be creative!  Your wall will love you in the end.

Happy Creating,

Anna and Tiffany

Saturday's Spooky Spider Setting

In honor of Halloween we decided to do a Black & Gold Spider Themed Table Setting.  We wanted to keep it a little classy, but add a touch of Halloween craziness and of coarse we had to get creative to think of some inexpensive ways to create this masterpeice. 

The Centerpeice:
Everyone has some sort of clear vase in thier stockpile from getting flowers from your boyfriend or husband (or hopefully you do).  I don't have many as I have told my husband in the past I would rather have a cute shirt than flowers that last only days.  I guess fashion falls higher on my list than wonderful smelling flowers that make a room look pretty.  I'm weird like that.  I happen to have a clear vase with black and white stripes on it.  Perfect!  Ok, so then my handy helper Makenna and I went outside and cut some branches down.  I then spray painted them a shiny black.  Very inexpensive purchase at Walmart, along with some cob web "stuff" thanks to Tiffany.  I also bought some of those plastic spiders that are made to be rings.  It was the cheepest spider object I could find in bulk.  I placed those spiradically on the cob webs and around the candle holders that Tiffany brought from her house.  I have napkins thrown around the bottom of the candles to fill the space to add that splash of gold. 

The Place Setting:
On the very bottom is a sheet of scrapbook paper (way cheep!)  Then some gold chargers on top of that, and the way cute black and white plates on top of that.  We love layers!!!  For the napkins rings I took black pipe cleaner and wrapped them around the napkins and shaped them into little spiders.  The small ring spider tops it off and holds it all together. 

Happy Halloween Everyone!
Anna Landers

Fashion Frenzy Friday

Happy Friday Readers!  I wanted to share a resale shop I found today on my lunch break.  It is called The Family Place Resale Shop at Marsh & Forest in Dallas.  I had recently bought a Partners Card from a client of mine which gives you discounts at several stores that participate in the area, Oct. 28 through Nov.6th.  All of the proceeds from the Partners Card goes to support Family Place.  Family Place is an organization that helps reach out to help families and children of family violence.  Check out their website at http://www.familyplace.org/.  I was reminded on the radio today that the card started and to check out their resale shop also.  I happily decided to do so and was pleasently surprised at the deals I found, epecially because you can use your partners card at the shop also which gives you an additional 20 percent discount on top of their already discounted merchandise.  Plus, you are helping a good cause by supporting their store.  Love it!  Here is what I found for 48 dollars....

Don't be afraid to shop resale.  You may only find one or two great finds, but it is so worth it.  This jacket I bought was from Chico's and was under 20 dollars.  I would have paid over 100 for this in the store. 

Happy Shopping!

Anna Landers

Simple Stencil Sunday

OK. So first I need to give credit to my friend Alayna who gave me this idea.  She lives in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area and is one of the writers of an online magazine having to do with everything from interior design, photography, fashion, cooking, and everything in between.  You should check it out at http://www.prairiehive.com/.  (did you like that plug Alayna?)

Here is the rug that I started with. Tiffany actually gave me this rug that she was not using anymore.  It is just a plain green sisal type rug that matched perfectly in my kitchen.  I just needed to spice it up of coarse.  I am a painting queen.  Anything that can be painted in my house is painted.  Ask my husband.  I just think it is a cheep way to change up something and you will soon learn I like change.  

 

First you need to pick out a pattern you like. I found my pattern on another site where the lady was using it to paint her wall.  If you would like to use the same pattern I used comment on this post and I will point you to the website where I got it from.  I printed it off and transferred the pattern to cardboard so the pattern would last longer. 

Next, I taped off the sides of the rug where I didn't want to paint and taped off lines so my pattern would run straight on my rug.  My daughter decided she wanted to help.  My mini me is a great helper with my do it yourself projects.

 

Then I found the center of the rug and started there.  Grab a small paint brush or foam brush and go for it! Here is what the rug looked like in the beginning stages.

For this pattern you need to lay the next pattern over the first so the negative space makes the same pattern. You overlap end to end also.  Don't worry about it being perfect.  I am in no way a perfectionist and somehow I made it work.  Any do it yourself guru can takle this one.

And here is the final product.  Love it!

 

A few tips I learned while doing this project:

2. Don’t soak your rug in paint, it will bleed through and not look as nice.

3. Clean the back of your pattern after each paint step so you don't transfer any unwanted paint from the bottom of the pattern.

Happy Painting!

Anna Landers

Tack Board Tuesday

Because my husband works for a construction management company building schools I always seem to find "school things" magically appear in the house or garage.  Sometimes these items prove to be very useful and sometimes not so much.  The other week, however, he came home with a pile of tack boards that were not being used in the school he was building.  This happened to work out perfect because I am in the middle of designing my home office.  I thought I could just recover the boards and make them not only functional but become a piece of art on the wall of my office.  Here's how I designed my tack boards:

These are the items you will need:
A tack board of course (any size you see fit, mine was 2'x5')
Fabric (I chose burlap)
Staple gun
scissors
nail heads (quantity dependant on size of your board)
measuring tape (optional)

Step One:

Lay your fabric out face down and place the tack board over it.  Cut the fabric around your board allowing at least one inch overlap on all sides (this may change depending on how thick your tack board is).

Step Two:

Pull the fabric tight over the edges of the tack board and begin to staple about every three inches.  Continue to pull tight as you work your way around the board.  Cut any excess fabric after stapling for a clean finish.

Step Three:

Push nail heads in the board about one inch from the edge.  I first pinned my corners, then measured out equal spacing between nail heads all around the board.  This is where your tape measure will come in handy.

You can use extra nail heads as tacks for your board...

In the end you will be left with a beautiful creation that's all your own!

Happy Pinning!!!

Tiffany