Our Dining Room Is Almost Finished

 Happy Monday everyone.  Hope you had an enjoyable weekend.  It is countdown to Thanksgiving and we are supposed to get some sleet this evening.  I have bread, milk, and eggs, so I guess we are good if things get slippery.  Don't you wonder why everyone rushes to the grocery when there is a threat of bad weather and the bread, milk, and eggs are all gone?   Guess everyone is going to make French toast.  What other reason could there be?

Yes, I have been working on Christmas projects and I will share those with you later this week.  I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but you must start early to get them all done in time.  Today, I wanted to share our dining area with you before it gets all gussied up for Christmas.  We moved here in July and I have been taking my time getting pieces that I wanted to use and that would fit our budget.  Sometimes it truly pays to be patient and wait for the things you really, really like and great prices are a bonus.  I like comfort and I guess what would be called a shabby chic look - very eclectic.   I don't necessarily follow convention or what is popular, but that is your prerogative in your home.  Do what makes you happy!

Because we now have an island on the kitchen side with bar stools, I no longer needed the huge table and chairs that we enjoyed for many years.  I knew it would be too big for this area and not what I really wanted, so I sold it to the young couple who was bought the house we lived in.  They were thrilled, I was thrilled.

Sometimes you have a vision of how you want a space to look.  We are living in a 1500 square foot condominium that is all on one level (yay!).  That is the same square footage as our former home, but it is laid out differently and seems much bigger somehow which is good.  There are more ways to use the space with furniture placement.  The kitchen/dining area has ceramic tile floor which is great for the working side of the kitchen, but a little "hard" for the dining side.  Therefore, I wanted an area rug to soften the space and that took me a little time to find one that had the colors I liked in the size I wanted. But, find it I did.  Price was right too!  Thanks Old Time Pottery.

The first thing I purchased for the space were two old wicker chairs.  I have a thing for wicker.  I found them at a second hand store at an amazing price - $35.00 ea.  They were dirty and needed a little TLC, but that was an easy fix.  Otherwise, they were in perfect condition.

Dan gave them a cleaning with some soap and water and then spray painted them in a nice, bright white.  They look so good now.

Amazing what a little paint can do.  Then the hunt was on for the right cushions.  Of course, it was the end of the summer season and the pickings were a little slim.  I found just the ones I wanted at Pier 1 (on sale of course).  They are a teal blue microfiber and I sprayed them with Scotch Guard because we have lots of little boys running around here on a regular basis.  They look more blue in this picture, but they really are a turquoise/teal color.

This is my favorite place in our home.  I love to sit and read here.  It is light and comfortable - sort of like sitting on a porch.  I am still working on what art piece to put over the chair on the left.  The table and lamp were things I already had.

We needed a table and chairs and I went back to the same shop where I found the wicker chairs.  Oh happy day!  When I walked in the door, there sat a marble topped bistro table on a wrought iron base.  It was love at first sight and boy was the price right!  It left in our car.

I cleaned up the top which is 36 inches in diameter.  I knew I would get a glass top to put on it to extend it to 42 inches.  That is the perfect size for the space and to seat 4 people if not more.  You can see it with the glass top in the other pictures.

Now, the chair dilemma.  You find tables for sale, but rarely find a complete set of chairs and chairs ARE NOT CHEAP!  I had in mind what I wanted.  I wanted French bistro chairs, but even old ones can be hundreds of dollars each.  That was not in my budget, so I started searching the world wide web for ideas.  I found a great chair on the Sears website of all places and it was  - are you ready? - $19.00.  I thought it had to be a mistake, but it said they were sold in store.  We have a Sears store 2 blocks from us.  We headed there immediately and they had them in stock!  Happy, happy day.  This is how they look.

They are a natural color and match a set of tv trays.  Yeah, 4 of those came home with us.  Four chairs under $100 is almost unheard of and they are brand new AND they fold up.  A coat of Zinsser and a couple coats of white paint later and they are the perfect chairs for the table.  I still have to make some cushions for them, but that will happen in due time.

Dan, Dan, the painter man, did these and they are awesome.  Look how great they look with the table.

He also painted the cabinet under the tobacco basket for me.  It was formerly a light cream color.  It looks so much better white with the wall colors and the other furniture.  Things are coming together!

There was no overhead light in the dining area and no electric box to hang one from.  I decided we would make our own hanging lamp using a shade I found at Target that I really liked.  I used a pre made hanging light kit from World Market to make the lamp in the corner (you can find directions for making it on my blog), but they are only 15 feet long and the switch is on the cord. We needed 25 feet of cord and I did not want the switch on the cord hanging on the wall where you could see it. I wanted to be able to turn the lamp off and at the bulb. So, we bought a three way socket, some clear wire and a kit that would attach the socket to the wire to make our hanging lamp.  We got most of it at Home Depot.  It's amazing the things you can find these days.  Great for when the existing things don't meet your needs.  We can now hang the light from hooks we put in the ceiling because it is light weight, not like a regular dining room fixture. 

This is a chalk board we made for the grandsons to play on.  This is my Thanksgiving board that I did with some of their sidewalk chalk.  Just a little reminder for all of us.

Next week, everything in here will be transformed for Christmas.  I am starting to get excited.  How about you?   We get to have a wonderful time with family celebrating our gratitude for all that we have been given on Thanksgiving and then it's on to the most wonderful time of the year.

Hope you enjoyed the little tour and pictures today.  You will be seeing the dining room again all gussied up for Christmas.  Thanks for looking.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

I am grateful for what I am and have  My thanksgiving is perpetual...O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches.  No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.  Henry David Thoreau

Christmas Time's A Coming - 2012

 Oh the best laid plans of mice and men - and Grandma.   Today was going to be the big push to start work on special projects for the grandsons for Christmas.  But it did not happen, because one daughter had a writing deadline to meet and the other daughter's nanny called in sick.  Know what that means?  Right! Grandma and Pawpaw combined forces and did some babysitting to help out said daughters.  But, that is all right.  We will just begin the project tomorrow.  (I hope)

Tonight, I wanted to show you our sunroom, or what I can photograph of it.  It is a long, somewhat narrow room and I can't find a way to get a good photo of it, so I will just show you the highlights.  Pictured is my pencil tree.  It reminds me of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree and there was something about it that spoke to me and I just had to bring it to our house to live.  It is decorated with my favorite Christmas memory from childhood, bubble lights.  They are not easy to find, so I keep a good supply of replacement bulbs in case any of them burn out, which they do from time to time.  Did you ever have bubble lights on  your tree?  It is totally mesmerizing to sit and watch the different colored lights as they bubble away.  It is one of my most favorite things to do at Christmas time.  Most of the ornaments on the tree have been handmade by yours truly through the years and it just makes my heart happy to look at this tree.

We have a large entertainment center that holds our dinosaur of a television and all the other things that go with a television - DVR, Wii, DVD player,  and a wireless printer for the computer - so much stuff, so many wires.  Ugh.  Anyway, it serves somewhat as the "mantel" in this room and it has always been decorated.   Yes, I have a thing for birdcages.  Don't ask why, I don't really know.  They just intrigue me.  The birdcage always sits on the entertainment center along with the big red candleholder our youngest son gave me for Christmas years ago.  You see, I love red glass.  Did you know it takes gold dust to make red glass?  There's a bit of trivia for you.  The red goblets are used as tea light holders (have had them for many years), along with red glass candlesticks and red mosaic candles holders.  Throw in some large red and gold ornaments, glittered stars, greenery and lights and you have a beautifully decorated entertainment center.  If you look really close, you can also see the red jeweled garland that is intertwined with the greenery.

See that big blank space on the wall behind the candles sticks?  I am working on a project to go there and will share the DIY with you when its complete.  I can't wait to get it finished.

Our sun room is our tv/family room.  All of our movies and games are stored in bookcases, there are cabinets holding overflow of china and casserole dishes that won't fit in the kitchen cabinets, my telescope is housed in this room, and there is  a play space for the grandsons.

Next to their little table is a chalkboard that Dan and I made for them to do art on.  We used a piece of 1/4 inch masonite that we found precut at Lowe's.  It is 4' high x 2' wide.  Dan cut the trim from a piece of 1 1/4 inch trim.  We painted the entire thing with black chalkboard paint that you can get at any hardware or paint store.  We put an anchor chord on the top and anchored it to the wall with a cup hook.  The little ones like to throw some elbows when drawing on the board and we didn't want it falling on them.

Grandma drew them a little Christmas message.  Guess who's coming to town?

This little shabby chic hutch is one of my favorite furniture pieces in the house, have had it for years.   It is decorated with some of the Santa Belly candles I wrote about in my post of November 12, 2012.

There are 6 windows across the back of the room and last year I put garland and lights over them.  It was a major chore and I decided not to do it this year since we had to move all the furniture to hang the garland, so I used some of my Dollar Tree snow flake garland and I made some 10 " snowflakes from the Martha Stewart paper my daughter gave me.  They look very pretty hanging above the windows.

 Here is the last decorated cabinet in the room.  My favorite piece is the little frame that holds  an antiqued piece of fabric that was hand embroidered and says "Dear Santa, I can explain".  Makes me laugh every time I look at it.  The oil lamp on the right belonged to Dan's grandmother and is one of my prized possessions.

Every room in our house is decorated for Christmas.  The bedrooms have trees and small decorations, even the bathrooms.  I know it's a lot of work, but I love it.  Some day we will be unable to do it, until then bring it on!

Thanks for joining me on our tour of the little yellow cottage for Christmas, 2012.  I so appreciate your reading my blog and hope that it inspires you in some way.  Now, it's time for Grandma's workshop to get really busy!  I will let you know what we are making - so many fun things for the grandsons!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Memories are but a journey we take in our minds, but relive in our hearts.  unknown

Chalkboard/Memo Board You Can Make

It is December 22 and I still have projects to finish that are being given as Christmas gifts. YIKES!  The picture above is one of the gifts I made this year using a cookie sheet (from Dollar Tree) and made into a chalkboard/magnetic memo board.   They are super useful, decorative and fun to make.  

Chalkboard paint is all the rage these days and you see everything painted with it.  It is available at most any hardware store. ( I got mine at Lowes.)  You can even customize your own color using paint and some unsanded grout. Martha Stewart's website has a recipe.   The possibilities are endless.  I even saw a tablecloth someone had painted with chalkboard paint and covered a table so you could write on it while you sat at the table.  How much fun is that?  Anyway, I wanted a versatile piece that was magnetic and could be written on.  My choice?    A cookie sheet because it has flat surface you can write on and is metal so it will be magnetic.  First stop - Dollar Tree.  I bought a half dozen cookie sheets for $1 each and started from there.  Here is what you will need.

Cookie sheet

primer paint

black spray paint or color you want (for back and edges of cookie sheet - $.97 at Home Depot)

paint brush

chalkboard paint

acrylic paints in assorted colors

glass flat backed marbles ($1 for a bag at dollar tree)

magnets (available at craft stores)

hot glue gun

ribbon

chalk

small note pad

Start by drilling two holes at top of the flat surface of the cookie sheet right below the border.  Make them about 3 inches apart and equal distance on either side of center.  Next, paint the entire sheet with primer.  This step is important because it is difficult to get paint to stick to metal, especially since you are going to be writing on it.  Next, spray the back of the cookie sheet with inexpensive spray paint.  I used black paint that was $.97 a can at Home Depot.  After that dries, turn the cookie sheet over and paint the front with chalkboard paint.  Let it dry and paint with two additional coats.  

Decide on how you want the cookie sheet decorated.  I printed out initials on my inkjet printer, then used a piece of transfer paper to trace the initial in the upper left corner of the cookie sheet.  I painted it with acrylic paint.  I chose colors that would coordinate with each recipient's kitchen and used a very simple method to decorate.  Dots.  I love dots and they are SO easy to do.  I used a flat pencil eraser and the end of a wooden skewer to make the dots by simply dipping in the paint and applying it to the edge of the cookie sheet in random patterns.  If you are not sure what pattern you would like to use, work it out on a piece of paper first before beginning on your finished piece.

To make the magnets, I simply painted the flat backs of the glass marbles with acrylic paint and let them dry, then applied a magnet with hot glue.  The initials were put on with a sharpie.  Simple.  

The hanger and holder for the chalk were made with some adorable ribbon I found at the craft store.  For the chalk holder, simply wrap a piece of ribbon around a piece of chalk so it won't be too tight to get the chalk out of,  but not so loose that the chalk won't stay in the "holder."  Cut the ribbon, hot glue it together forming a loop and then glue the back of the loop on the flat surface of the cookie sheet near the bottom of the board leaving enough room so a whole piece of chalk will fit.  (see picture)

The ribbon hanger was done by threading a piece of ribbon through the right hole leaving a loop long enough to hang your board and pulling the ribbon back through the left hole.  Make a tail long enough to tie a pretty bow and hot glue it to the board.  The hanger is then all one piece.   Keep the ribbon attached to the whole roll so you can adjust lengths until you are ready to cut it.  That keeps from wasting ribbon.

Add a magnet to the back of a small note pad with hot glue and place it in the bottom right hand corner.  Got my cute little note pads at WalMart.  Ta Dah!  Finished.  Now, you have an adorable memo board that is magnetic and you can write notes on.  Be sure and rub the edges of your chalk on a piece of paper to round out the edges.  Chalk has very sharp edges and may cut through your chalkboard paint.  The paint also needs to "age" for a few days before you use it and then seasoned.  Read the can label for directions.

These are a few of the boards I made and have already given as gifts.  They were so much fun to make.   They can be personalized in so many ways, and are both decorative and useful!

Notice, this is before I lettered the magnets and added the hangers, etc.  Don't you think they are adorable?  What a handy, heartfelt, handmade gift from you to the recipient.  These would be great for children's rooms too!  Just take this idea and run wild!  Let me know what idea you come up with.  You are going to have so much fun making these.  Enjoy!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Christmas time is coming, lights are on the trees
Hang up your stocking for Santa Claus to see,
If you haven't got a stocking, a little sock will do
If you haven't got a little sock, God Bless you!