Crazy for Burlap Party

Rhoda from Southern Hospitality is hosting a crazy for burlap party. I have just recently been introduced to this great fabric. Whenever I heard the word burlap- all I thought of was root balls from trees & bushes! Not anymore. And do you know it doesn't just come in tan- there is black, green, red, off-white. I got this great lamp from a church rummage sale for $4-


I LOVED the shape of the shade but not the color- I first tried to spray paint it black-and it was not a pretty sight. Rhoda was actually the one who suggested using the burlap- and let me tell you- I LOVE IT! I love the warmth and texture it gives.



I also used to to make a Starfish on some summer fun pillows I made.



I am now looking around the house trying to find more places to use this stuff.

Hammered metal

Ok people you HAVE got to try this stuff! Its called Hammered by Rust-Oleum in Black. They have it in silver and bronze too.



I picked up this chandelier at Home Depot for $30 loved it- but hated the finish- it was a bronzy/brass color. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture- I know I know shame on me!! But here it is installed above my kitchen table. This spray paint totally changed the look. I have seen similar ones in Pottery Barn & Ballard Designs for over $200.

Mirror, Mirror

Remember this amazing mirror I got from a garage sale for $15?




I sanded it down- spray painted some gray primer (love that stuff.)





Then I spray painted two coats of Satin black.

Here she is in her new home on my NEWLY painted walls (that post to come soon!). Unfortunately the cute little black table is totally dwarfed by the mirror- no worries! I will just have to be on the hunt for a larger table at a garage sale.

Dining room splurge

I have had this lovely (dripping with sarcasm) builders grade, 80's style, brass chandelier in our dining room for years. I have lived with it long enough.


While walking the isles of Lowes (my heart races just mentioning that place). I found this amazing wrought iron-foyer chandelier on clearance.

Note the word FOYER- meaning for LARGE area. Well I scooped it up anyway. I am so glad I did, because it really makes a statement! Of course I will need to buy dimmer bulbs because you could land a 747 in my dining room its so bright!



Don't be afraid to try something different- maybe an outdoor light fixture indoors or in my case a foyer sized chandelier in the dining room. Think outside the box-look beyond what you see..... Ok Im starting to sound like Yoda, me thinks?

Thrifty Treasures

My dear friend from WeareTHATFamily and I headed out again this Saturday for some garage sale therapy. It is getting to the point were we can't sleep the night before due to the excitement of what we might find. And this Saturday did not disappoint. I found this nice wrought iron & wood wall hanger for $1.



Two of the hooks are broken-but I think I can replace it- or just leave it as is-once the wood is painted black I think it will look great.

I got these great picture frames for $1 and will use them as is (with a coat of spray paint of course) or I will make chalk boards out of them. The oval scroll mirror was $3 (which I asked for $2 but they said no-it doesnt hurt to ask!).


And my FAVORITE find of the day was this mirror-for $15! Its HUGE and HEAVY- I plan on painting it black and hanging it above a small black table I have on the landing of my stairs (befores and afters will be posted, of course!).




For more great garage sales finds- head on over to Southern Hospitality.

Move over spray paint.....

Move over spray paint cuz there is a new love in my life.


CHALK BOARD PAINT. yea baby! I love this stuff. I have painted on canvas, glass, wood, metal. I have it on baskets, walls, bins, buckets....ahhhh I could go on and on. My husband thinks Im crazy and when I bring home anything new he says "so are you going to chalk board that too?" geez....little does he know Im woking on a way to chalk board his side of the closet. (kidding!!!)

Things we dont want others to see

As I was reading around in blog land today- I went to my daily blogs and Kimba's at A Soft Place to Land stopped me in my tracks! See I too suffer from looking good on the outside to others but on the inside-umm not so much. I admit there are days I read all the great home decor blogs and turn around and look at all the "needs" to be done and the depression is overwhelming. I constantly compare my home to the other bloggy homes out there. Then today it hit me- we are ALL the same- (at least Im hoping we are) We are all striving to make our homes beautiful to the outside world but in the day in and day out-we are not a picture of perfection. This is so true of our spiritual lives too-we go to church, sing our praises, smile real big, but on the inside we are all still a "work in progress". I am so truly grateful that God loves me right where I am at, but loves me enough not to leave me there.

Here are the beautiful things YOU see.

and here is what you dont see...... the REAL day to day Eck Life. Will you still love me? accept me? I sure hope so, but even if you don't- I serve a God who does!

Yet another garage sale find!!

It time again for Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures over at Southern Hospitality
This Saturday was another huge community garage sale in a neighboring town. I LOVE these community sales because you can hit so many houses in a such a short time. I found this faux stone picture that I KNEW would be a perfect chalk board for only $2. I forgot to take a before picture- so here it is when I started spray painting it.

And here is the after-

I looks perfect hanging in my laundry room. The black hanger is an old brass door knob that I pray painted black. But the DEAL OF THE DAY- was this amazing antique dresser! for $40!!!! I jumped for joy when I saw this. My in real life friend Kristen from WeareTHATFamily was with me- and she was just as excited as I was -and told me I HAD to buy it.






and I am so glad I did. I cleaned it up with some Murphy's oil and put it in my living room. I first thought I would paint it-but have since decided against it. I love the different woods and all the character that it has- it even smells antique!
I am now officially hooked on garage sales and can hardly wait till next Saturday. Do they have a 10-step program for garage-sale junkies?

Garage Sale Finds

My newest obsession: garage sales on Saturdays! I have now been the past 3 Saturdays and have found some great finds each time I go. Rhoda at Southern Hospitality is hosting another Today's Thrifty Treasures. Here's what I scored over the weekend. This cute little bird statue (that of course will get some spray paint loving)for .50 cents and this great urn with greenery ($1)-not sure if I will keep the greenery in it or not- but I WILL be spray painting this one.



But the deal of the day was this great SOLID wood night stand- it had a $10 price on it but I got it for $8.


Its going to go in my guest bedroom- I plan on repainting it maybe a nice creamy cottage white color and adding some fun knobs. My current project Im working on is spray painting my dining room chandelier. Its this lovely (insert sarcasm here) brass. I found this stone-like spray paint at Lowes in a great bronzy/brown shade- it matches the curtain hardware perfectly.





I will post before and afters soon.
If you want to see more garage sale/yard sale finds- hop on over to Southern Hospitality.