My Little Desk Grows Up

I bought this little desk a few years ago at a garage sale.  It's been a perfect piece to have in our great room area, since it didn't take up a lot of space.  I recently got another desk, so I thought I'd give this a makeover to make it look more "grown up" before sending it off to a new home.

It was just feeling unsophisticated.

I decided to give Annie Sloan's Aubusson Blue a try on this one.  I love this color, and I'm so glad I finally found a project to use it on.  I also knew I wanted a darker top.  I wanted to try Minwax Poly Shade, which is polyurethane and stain all in one.  This was laziness a time saving idea on my part, as that way I just had to paint right over the existing finish.  No sanding, staining, and clear coating for this one.  Without further ado, here is my desk all sophisticated and grown up.

I thought the chair I recently painted for my first Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint project would look great with the desk.  You can read about that makeover here.  So here she is with the chair.

As usual, thanks so much for stopping by!


Blessings!


Jeanne


Linking Up to:


2805 - Potpourri Friday
The Dedicated House - Make it Pretty Monday
Homemaker on a Dime - Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop
Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Friday
Serendipity and Spice - Manic Monday

Versatile Blogger Award and Thanks!

I was recently nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award from two ladies in as many days!  It's always nice to get a little recognition from your fellow bloggers. :)


First let me thank Maria Elena at Our Home Away From Home.  She has some beautiful house tour pictures and decorating ideas.

I wish I had such an elegant bathroom!

She has such soothing colors in her bedroom seating area.

Beautiful Tablescape!

Second, I'd like to thank ARod at Makin My Apartment My Home.  She has some cute before and after projects and thrifty finds on her site.

Here she jazzed up an old serving cart.

And here are some of those thrifty finds.

OK.  Here are the rules for the award:

1.  Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2.  Include a link to their site.

3.  Include award image on your post.

4.  Include award image on your blog site.

5.  Give 7 random facts about yourself.

6.  Nominate 15 other people for the award and tell why they were nominated.

7.  Include links to the site of bloggers nominated.

8.  Notify the bloggers you have nominated.

Items 1, 2, 3, & 4 - Done

7 Random Facts About Me

1.  I love Jesus and hope to be more like Him each day.

2.  I love to read.

3.  I dream of traveling to Europe -mainly Italy, Greece, Germany, & France.

4.  I hope to build a log cabin in the mountains to retire there with my hubby.

5.  I have struggled with my weight all my life. Lose...Gain...Lose...Gain... 

6.  My home is upside down more than right side up.

7.  I love going to auctions and estate sales with my husband.  It's like a date.

And Now for My Nominees

1.   Melissa @ daisy mae belle - Great variety of simple projects to try

2.   Connie @ Hartwood Roses - Beautiful pics, DIY projects, and Renovations 

3.   Michele @ The Great Read - Love of the Library and Great Book Reviews

4.   Angie @ Knick of Time Interiors - Inspiring Projects, Giveaways, & Parties

5.   Melissa @ Serendipity and Spice - Energetic and Inviting and Parties

6.   Kathy @ Cornerstone Confessions - Organization and Spiritual Gems

7.   Sharon @ Mrs. Hines' Class - Decorating, Cooking, DIY, & Very Encouraging 

8.   Tim & Allyson @ A Heart for the Home - Great Family Living Ideas

9.   Marie @ The (not always) Lazy W - Her Five Senses Tours are my favorite

10. Aimee @ Twigg Studios - Beautiful DIY Projects and Tutorials

11. Kristy @ 4 the Love of Wood - Great Furniture Makeovers

12. Becca @ Adventures in Decorating - Lives up to the name, Beautiful Pics

13. Dolly @ Dolly's Designs - Fun Craft Ideas and Tutorials

14. Peggy @ Crazy Thrifty Crafts - Thrifty Finds, Crafts, and Authentic

15. Laura @ Whimsical Perspective - Makeovers, Including an ASPC Kitchen 

Again, I am honored to have received this award.  Go visit these great blogs and leave a nice comment.

Now I'm off to notify the winners!

Blessings!

Jeanne   

Blogiversary and Give Away!

Well, my one year blogiversary came and went last week and I missed it!  I have to celebrate, even if it's a little late.  

I started this blog as an outlet for showing my before and after furniture makeovers.  After discovering linky parties, I have made some great blogging friends.  I even got to meet up with Penny from The Comforts of Home while on vacation in the Asheville area.  I hope I get to meet some more of you wonderful ladies in the future.


I've had my ups and downs with blogging.  You know, when you get jealous these other new bloggers have ten times more followers than you and start questioning yourself.  Or, you let a month go by between posts and feel like a heel.  Then out of nowhere you get featured through a linky party and feel elated!  I'm trying to just enjoy the journey and stop looking at my small numbers.  I really don't aspire to be like Marian of Miss Mustard Seed.  I'm not that confident at this stage anyway.


OK.  Enough of my rambling.  I know you really want to know about the give away!


To celebrate this milestone, I am giving away one bag of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in your choice of color!

Because the paint hasn't been officially launched, there will be a delay in getting your prize.  As soon as I get my initial order, I will ship it to you. 

To Enter

Go to my website here, click on the Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint tab, and come back to leave a comment telling me your favorite color.


For a second entry, be a follower of this blog and leave a comment letting me know if you are a new or existing follower.

That's all there is to it!  Give away will end Sunday, July 22 at 11:59 PM EST

If you don't want to wait.  Go ahead and fill out a preorder form here and receive a 10% discount on any one item by entering the discount code ONEYEAR. This code is valid through Sunday, July 22.  I will invoice you for your order once I get my initial order.

As usual, thanks for stopping by.


Blessings!
Jeanne

Linking to:


Homemaker on a Dime - Market Your Biz and Giveaways


Twigg Studios - Sunday Show Off

My First Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Reveal

If you've been by lately, you know that I am officially an authorized retailer for the new milk paint line coming out soon from Miss Mustard Seed.  I am so excited about this new venture.  I know anything Marian is putting her name on is going to be awesome!


I got my sample kit and dug in to get started.  I wasn't as brave as some of the other ladies I've seen out there.  I decided to start small.  I thought this little chair, with all it's grain, would be a quick and fun project to start on.  By the way, I only paid $1 for this chair. I figured that's a nice safe piece to experiment on.

I didn't take pictures during the process.  Sorry about that.  I started out using Ironstone for the first coat.  Then I used Tricycle for the second coat.  It wasn't quite what I wanted, so I whitewashed the Ironstone over that.  Unfortunately, it kind of looked pink.  I decided to use ASCP dark wax over that, to darken the tone back to more red.  I didn't get MMS Antiquing Wax in my sample kit, so I improvised.  Even with all those layers, it was a very quick project.  The paint dries really fast.  

Next, my sweetie cut a board for me to cover for the seat.  I used batting and a blue ticking material.  I love ticking.   Anyway here is the final result........

Let me know what you think. :)  

If you'd like to preorder any Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint products, just click here. 

Blessings!

Jeanne

Linking up to:

2805 - Potpourri Friday

Beez Rental Designs - Frugal Treasures Tuesday

Cornerstone Confessions - Titus 2 Tuesdays

The CSI Project -Time to Link Up Refashions/Upcycle Week

Debbiedoo's - Newbie Party

The Dedicated House - Make it Pretty Monday

Elizabeth & Co. - Be Inspired

French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

Homemaker on a Dime - Blogger's Party & Hop

House of Hepworths - Hookin Up with HoH

Kammy's Korner - Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday

Knick of Time Interiors - Knick of Time Tuesday

Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Friday

Serendipity and Spice - Manic Monday

Very Merry Vintage Style - Share the Love Wednesday

Preorder Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Now!

You all know it's coming!  And as I've already announced, I will be an authorized dealer for Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint.  If you would like to fill out my preorder form, I can make sure to stock up on what I need now.  I will  set up final billing with tax and shipping once my supplies arrive.  I'm still working on all those details.


This form is just to give me a heads up on how much I should order.  Just click below.  Fill out the form and submit.  Easy peasy.


Click Here!


Thanks for your visit!
Jeanne

Linking Up To:


Debbiedoo's - Newbie Party

Two Quick Projects

These two little projects were just some quick upcycle/update ideas I tried recently. I kept debating whether to put them in a blog post or not.  I wasn't sure if they were "blog worthy". Whatever that is.  Anyway, I decided a post is a post and sometimes the most simple projects are best.


My first update was this "lovely" chandelier.  It just seemed a bit outdated to me.

So next I got a couple of cans of white spray paint and sprayed away.

Do you like my fancy spray booth?

After painting it, I tied jute around the globes.  Then put in some bulbs and hung it up. (Well, the hubby actually did the hanging)


Here's the final result.

The next project is an upcycle of an old window.  I made a little message center.  


First, I started with a window.  Of course!

Next, I cut some burlap to go behind the top portion of the window.  I glued some die cuts to the burlap to give it a little flair

Next, I stapled the burlap to the back of the window.  I also ended up attaching black material behind the burlap to make it a better back drop for a dry erase board.

I forgot to take pictures of the next few steps.  On the bottom half of the window I knotted jute twine and then stapled it in.  I looped the twine back under the staple to hide it.  Then did the same thing at the other end to attach it to the other side.  I also, covered a soup can with a graphic from my word clip art using Mod Podge.  I put a little faux glaze over that and attached some twine to it to hang.


Here's the big reveal.

You might notice the tree die cut is missing.  It just didn't look right.  So I took it off.

Well, There you go.  Not rocket science, but two useful pieces.


Thanks for stopping by.


Blessings!
Jeanne


Linking up to:


Debbie Does Creations - Toot Your Horn Tuesday's
Debbiedoo's - Newbie Party
Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special
Homemaker on a Dime - Bloggers' Party and Hop
Kammy's Korner - Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday
Serendipity and Spice - Manic Monday
Thrifty Decor Chick - Before and After Party
Twenty Eight 0 Five - Potpourri Friday

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Coming Soon!

That's right folks!  I will be selling Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint line very soon.  I'm all signed up for my initial order, and just waiting for everything to get launched.  Hopefully this will be available by August 1, 2012.  If you haven't heard about this awesome paint, go visit Marian and see her initial announcement here.  I will be offering this beautiful line in my space in Jacksonville, FL at Rusted Market, as well as through my website.  Once I'm set to go, I will provide a link to the website for orders.  


Please check back to see the latest!


Blessings!


Jeanne

Linking up to:


Debbiedoo's - Newbie Party