Inspiring Images

Hi all!

It's a rainy Thursday here and I am still fighting a cold after 3 days and I'm sick of it. I'm hoping today is the day I can actually be productive again! I did go and buy paint samples for the nursery yesterday so it was better than nothing. Hopefully soon we will be on our way with painting!

I wish I could be more motivated but I can't so I'm posting pretty pictures and logging off. Hope you all don't mind! I have several projects I hope to be posting soon!

Hope you have a great day!

Emily

DIY Dresser Makeover

Good morning!

Thanks to all the entries in the giveaway. As I mentioned yesterday I have another giveaway coming up soon!

I don't know if you all have seen this Dorothy Draper dresser tutorial but it's so impressive I wanted to share it with you all just in case! Find out how Nancy Marcus took two IKEA Rast Dressers ($29.99)

and turned them into these Dorothy Draper style dressers for around $125!

Click here for the instructions and to check out her great blog!

Have a great day!

Emily

Giveaway Winner!

Good morning all!

As promised the CSN $45 giveaway ended this morning at 9am. The winner was chosen via random.org and is Sarah!

Sarah tweeted about the giveaway!

Congrats! Thank you to all those that entered. Stay tuned for another giveaway in the upcoming weeks!

Have a great day!

Emily

Eye Candy

Hi all!

I hope you had a great weekend! Here are some images I'm loving!

All images found here

Don't forget to enter in the drawing for a $45 CSN promo code that ends tomorrow! Click here for details and how to enter!

Have a great day!

Emily

Thrift Store Dresser Makeover

Happy Friday!

Remember this dresser I teased you with months ago? Well, even though I painted it months ago before we moved it has sat in our garage. I was stuck on knobs for forever because I needed 12 and didn't want to spend a small fortune.

For those of you that don't remember or are new to the blog I bought this dresser for $20 at a local thrift store. I had no idea what I was going to do with it just that I could use it somewhere either as a buffet, a dresser, an entryway chest, or as a console in an office. I decided to go with black while I painted the inside a creamy tan.

I finally bit the bullet and bought these knobs once we moved and had a World Market nearby.

We currently have the dresser in our dining room as we have no formal dining room table. She is keeping the room from looking bare since we probably won't have a table for quite awhile....baby stuff trumps nice table.

I think it will work well as a buffet if that is the route we end up going in the future.

Total cost of the makeover: $20 Dresser

$20 Paint

$60 Hardware

$100 Total!

Not too shabby!

Don't forget to enter the drawing for a $45 code to be used at CSN stores. Click here for details and to enter.

Have a great weekend!

Emily

$45 CSN Giveaway!

Hello!

I am happy to announce it's time for another giveaway. I am offering one $45 promo code to be used at any of CSN's stores.

If you're not familiar CSN sells everything from kitchen tables, to office furniture, to pictures and frames and everything in between.

To Enter:

1. Become a follower if you aren't already

2. Leave a comment on this post telling me what you would buy if you win

3. For a 2nd entry blog about the giveaway and leave another comment with the link to the post

4. For a 3rd entry mention this giveaway on facebook or twitter. Leave a comment with the link

Winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday 2/22 at 9am so please enter before then to be considered

Good luck!

Emily

Abort Mission

Hi all,

I'm sad to say that I have aborted my silver leafing mission. I was trying to silver leaf a huge mirror and it is too large and too ornate. The patience and money it would take to complete is something that I don't have. Maybe I'll try something smaller in the future.

Now I need to figure out what to do with the mirror. It's currently a very ugly blue any ideas besides paint?

Have a good day!

Emily

Next Project

Hi all!

I'm working on a little project and here is a hint:

I hope I'm not getting in over my head.....

Emily

Pink and Pretty

Happy Saturday!

I hope you all have something fun planned for the day! Jacob and I are off to register then one of my best friend's is stopping by the see our new house for a few hours. It should be a great day!

Here are some Valentine's Day inspired images:

Have a great day!

Emily

Family Room Reveal

Good morning!

Thanks for all the comments yesterday. I emailed my blog post to the blue tape people and they have offered me a refund. I must say that I am pleased to be getting a few bucks back, it makes all the extra work not sting so badly. Just goes to show that it pays to voice your opinion.

I have been asked a few times to reveal pictures of the new house. I must say that I'm a perfectionist when it comes to things like this. It's hard for me to show you pictures when I know it's not finished or where I want it to be. Oh well, here goes nothing!

I finally sewed the pillows for the couch and love seat and so I though I would share what our family room looks like currently.

Tatum couldn't resist modeling in all the pictures. I think he's a natural. I plan to work on the mantel decor and hang pictures on either side of the mirror (that is if the mirror stays) to help balance the room and the tv. Eventually built-ins would be awesome but right now that isn't in the budget.

So, what do you think?

I'm off to Homegoods to hopefully find a few goodies and then Jacob and I are celebrating Valentine's Day tonight.

Emily

I'm mad

I'm mad. In fact, I'm a lot less mad than I was yesterday but I'm still pretty ticked. I know that this will sound silly to some but if you have been in my shoes you will understand. I am breaking up with blue painters tape.

As most of you know, we have been painting since we moved in. While buying paint we bought a few multi packs of blue painters tape and have been using it to tape the trim as we have moved from room to room. Now, the only compliant I had until yesterday was that it didn't peel off all in one piece but rather it split down the middle. It didn't happen a ton so I didn't worry too much about it and continued using it since we had so much.

Fast forward to Sunday when my mother in law taped the trim and cabinetry in the powder room so I could start the first coat paint in my striped room. We finished our 2 coats and I taped off my stripes before heading to bed. When I woke up the next morning several pieces of the blue tape were falling off the wall. Now if you have ever painted and taped stripes you know it's a pain. It takes forever so the thought that I now had to redo it made me mad. I jumped in the car and headed out to get the green frog tape because I now no longer trusted the blue stuff to not seep if it wasn't even going to stick on the wall.

Fast forward again to yesterday afternoon when I have sealed and painted my stripes and am peeling off the blue and now green tape while the paint is still wet. The green tape came off with no problems. I didn't have one single piece of green split or tear. The blue tape not only ripped and left tiny pieces everywhere but it ripped off 5 layers of paint leaving big gashes in my wall.

I had a ton of small pieces like this that I had to go back and clean up with a razor blade

More small pieces

The gashes from where the blue tape ripped off 5 layers of paint

More damage

Did I mention it seeped too? Yeah, that is through a glaze I coated it with

I spent an additional hour and a half with a razor blade and a paint brush cleaning up the mess that the blue tape left and I still have gashes that I'm not sure how to fill without repainting large areas. Needless to say I won't be using it again and even though the frog tape is more expensive in my mind it is worth it.

Anyone else had a similar experience?

Emily