Breakfast Table Remodel : sneak peek

I have been working on this for a few weeks now and I still have a LONG way to go on it. I couldn’t resist posting a sneak peek, though, to give you a hint at what I am doing and planning. I plan to give a big reveal post when I am done but who knows when that will be….

Here are the chairs. White distressed. Let me just say that these were just about the end of me and were not intended to be distressed but they were such hell that I decided I would make the “distressing”  that did happened (ok, more like evidence of an inexperienced furniture remodeler) be more purposeful. lol. In the end, I think they turned out really well but I will tell the whole story later.

Here is what I plan to make the window treatments out of:

I love every bit of this fabric. The picture doesn’t do it justice but there’s a little bit of shimmer in the threading.
Here is a sneak peek at the table leg. This is my favorite part of the story (also saving that for later a). I love the character and plan to strip it and restain it (it has some pretty yucky varnish and scratches on the top)

Hopefully I can have the final reveal soon! I am going to wait till it cools down a bit outside before I tackle the table. It is just so dang hot and humid in Houston right now!!

Yellow Nails?

Ok, so this might be the most unglamorous post I have done, but I know that every girl that paints her toe nails has this problem… yellow nails. It’s impossible to avoid; especially if you paint your nails red or a dark color.
I tried lots of solutions…
Baking soda and water; didn’t work
lemon juice; didn’t work
non acetone nail polish remover; didn’t work
buffing; didn’t work
I wanted to try hydrogen peroxide next but I am out, so I went for my last resort: Clorox.
I hesitated to do this since it just sounds so harsh but it actually worked!!
I dissolved 1 TBS Clorox with 1 cup warm water. I let them soak for about 30 seconds then buffed them, soaked them again for another 30 seconds and buffed again. It worked so good! My nails are so pretty and clear that I have actually gone with out polish for several days now!
I went and got some of this base coat to try next time I paint to see if it helps.

Norah’s 1 Year Old Pictures

I love having little girls of my own that can model for me to give me some practice at photography! It’s about a month late, but I finally got around to taking some pictures of my sweet Norah. A friend took some pictures a few weeks ago but I like to do some for myself, too for practice. She wasn’t in too much of a mood to have her picture taken but she at least let us change her outfit once lol. Here are two of my favorites:

You can see the rest on my website, here!

Cork Coasters

This was a Pinterest inspired project. I think I can safely say it was a success!

Simply collect a bunch of corks (which was easy for me since we drink lots of wine around here ). Cut them to the thickness you want (I did about 3/4 inch). Hot glue them together in circles then wrap them in any ribbon you desire.
I have enough corks left to make about 2 more coasters but it has become one of those “filler” projects I do between other ones. As I have a few minutes then I go cut some coaster…. till I have another one made.
Now, where’s my glass of wine???

Banana Chocolate Cake

If I have not mentioned this cookbook before, I really need to. It is our absolute favorite dessert book!

This banana chocolate cake came from this book  and it is AMAZING! If you like banana bread and chocolate, this is the cake for you. The only thing I would change is to add some pecans to the batter and maybe a few on top in a pretty design. We brought it to a friends house for dinner last night and they love it too. Pretty sure the whole thing is GONE in less than 24 hours! lol

Rocking Chair Remodel

We received this rocking chair from my husband’s parents. I believe it was originally his great grandma’s chair but I could be wrong on the lineage… either way it is an heirloom and I LOVE furniture that has a history to it! I am actually not a huge antique fan but when it comes from family, I can’t pass it up, especially if it has this much potential in it!
Here is how it came to me. Luckily my father in law sanded it down for me (I hate that part lol). The cushions were very unattractive and smelled REALLY bad! They HAD to go!

Here’s my assistant! She was loads of help

I wanted to darken the wood up just a bit since most of the wood in our house is on the darker side. I added just one coat of Jacobean by Minwax stain and let it dry.

It actually continued to get even darker as it dried. I am glad I only did 1 coat!! Lesson learned that with staining let the product dry for at least 1-2 days between coats to make sure it doesn’t get too dark. Maybe that’s just the case for this project, but it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Next, I added 2 coats of Minwax Polycrylic in Semi Gloss finish. I really like this product because it protects the stain and gives it a nice smooth shinny finish.

Next, came the cushions. This was the trickier part but all in all I just used the original as a guide. I didn’t take the original cushions apart as a pattern but just measured the seat and went from there. The bottom ruffle piece is there to protect the cushion from the springs in the seat. I kind of wish I would have made them just a little bit longer since they have a tendency to stick out funny, but I don’t think it looks bad this way.

The hardest part about the actual cushion was cutting the foam cushion to size. the chair is wider in front than in back and curves, and going around the back legs wasn’t easy. I actually cut the fabric backwards (where the words would be upside down when looking at the chair) so I had to make a few adjustments here and there so that I didn’t have to order new fabric. It was a close call but I was able to fix it! lol Seems like with every project there’s something that goes wrong!

I looked up what the phrase on the fabric says before I ordered it so I could approve of it ha! In French it says, “Faites Comme Chez Vous” which translates to “Make yourself at home”. How perfect!!

Anyways, here it is. I LOVE the way it turned out! Now, to keep the girls off of it! lol

Nap Mat

Avery is starting MDO this fall. My nerves are a wreck! I pray and hope she likes it!!!
Naturally, though I got most excited about getting to make her a nap mat. Here it is! I didn’t have a pattern, just made it up as I went so when I have to make one for Norah I have a few minor details I would do differently. All in all I really like it and Avery does too! Anything to get her excited about starting school!

Norah’s First Birthday

Where does time go?! I know I say that  a lot but I can not keep up with how fast my children grow!!
With that being said, we had a blast at Norah’s party. I did a Dr. Seuss theme and it turned out so cute (if I do say so myself lol).
Here’s the pictures!

Invitation

I baked/cooked for about 12 hours the friday before. It’s a lot of work but I would MUCH rather make everything than buy a cake and food somewhere! (I had lots of help from little hands, too)

These are the sketches I made for decorations throughout the house. The are for sale on my etsy site if you want them!!

I had Dr. Suess quotes hanging throughout the house, too. I just realized I took all of these pictures at the same angle! haha

More decorations

Craft! Cat-in-the-hat masks! they were more of a success than I thought!

Party Favors. Thanks to my M-I-L these were Target dollar section specials!! What are the odds we would find Dr. Suess stuff just before the party?! Best favor bags EVER!

The queen’s throne. Highchair banner.

FOOD!

I got all of the paper designs on Etsy… $5 for everything!! SCORE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY sweet Norah! We love you!! :)