Easy Egg Gift Boxes

 I saw the idea to make little shabby chic egg containers here last year and decide to make these for place name tags for Easter.

I found some oval paper mache boxes at the craft store for less than a buck and I drew some designs with a white gel pen and then filled them up.  Easy and cute.

Shabby Chic Bedroom Tour

   

Two years ago I redid my bedroom.  A lot of it was DIY.  It all stemmed around wanting to incorporate a marble dresser that belonged to my grandmother.  Here is a long blog post with links to the before and after.
     Tomorrow, pending breaking news, Good Morning, Texas will be airing a segment I pretapped with some of the DIY projects that literally started at the dumpster.  I'll post that later to facebook.
I decided to do a walking tour of my room too.  So here is that link on youtube.
      It's the first of three bedrooms I've redone.  I'm in the process of collecting items and I just built a shutter headboard for a beach themed room.  So...expect to start seeing those post over the next few months....just as soon as I actually do the projects...and then photograph them!  But...it's coming to a blog near you soon.  A lot is pending on my brother's willingness to get to work on the flooring I want put in, and apparently he doesn't work with my schedule I'm supposed to work with his..imagine.  But....I think the two should be merging soon!

Shabby Chic Bedroom Before and After

 You know those before and after photos you see on TV...where in the first photo the person is frowning, wearing their sweats, and sticking their belly out (which pretty much defines me on the weekend)...then picture two is the sequined dress, full make up, and spanks?  That's what this feels like....except I tried to take before and afters with this bedroom relatively neat.  The above photo is the 'before' shot.  I liked this furniture fine.  I bought it twelve years ago when I moved into the house-rustic, I loved the canopy, and this comforter (hard to see) is still one of my favorites, but there just wasn't a lot in the room that I found comforting.  I wanted to surround myself with pieces of 'me.'  This stuff may eventually get a second life in another room of the house, but first....the blue rustic became the shabby chic...

 I've been posting about a bunch of projects in the room...more on that in a minute-first-the before and afters.  No more canopy. New headboard made from pallets.  Add a trunk, and swap out the night stand.

 The rocker stays, I just switched out the blanket.
Below was the 'before' dresser-lots of storage room...

 Now, this was actually a gift from Kelly's Mom-we saw this at an antique store in Forney.  She surprised me with it- it was imported from England.

 Random spot behind the door.  The switch by the door doesn't lead to the fan, it leads to this plug, so I've had this little light I had picked up at Ikea with plans to replace it....for the last 10 years...

 Now....these lights and this old door.  I did several different techniques to cover those ugly cords both here and here.    I just repainted the chalkboard with some crackle antique paint.

 This is the 'sweat pants and frown' picture....I took this before when I was tossing some of the things I was finding FOR the revamp (old locker baskets etc) on top of the armoir...no more ugly storage spaces.

 Now....one of the main reasons I did this-so I could put my Grandmother's marble top dresser into my room.  I have a thing about 'seeing' TVs.....I don't like to....so I had to do the little frame collage behind this set up so it would be a 'part' of the collage.  Kind of.

 Here are a few of the details close up.  I found the mirror above the dresser at another antique store.  I made this faux mercury glass lamps.  Here are those steps.  And the book wreath I also made to fill that little spot.  My Mom was getting rid of some of HER books from high school, so I decided to use those for a craft to hang a little bit of her history here.

 The books were my great grandfathers and grandmother's.  Under the glass dome are some bible verses that were also at their house, but we grew up reading around the dinner table.  I put some bracelets in the tin.

 I'm a collector of buttons and safety pins.  Not on purpose.  A lady I babysat for gave me this little jewelry holder years ago, the mirror was on my vanity growing up, and the cross is from my mentor, Mr. Middlebrook after his visit to Israel.  He brought it back for me.  He passed a few years ago, but I've kept it close as a memory of our shared faith, and loved of learning.

 The salt shaker is another little random piece I've had for years.  I said I was going to collect hat pins...right up until I saw how much they cost.  I've had a total of two forever.  I'm really into layering right now.

 I'm also really into tarnished silver.  I had a bunch of these little frames through the house and I wanted to put them in a little collection, so I hunted down the most 'tarnished' tray I could find at an antique store.  These are an assortment of family members.  I put the tray on an old lamp stand with some randomness below as well just to give different height on the dresser top.  I'm sure I'll rework this 7 more times before this blog post, but....that's the fun....I doubt I'll ever 'finish' this project.

 I didn't want matching furniture anymore.  I've outgrown order.

 I had this window from a trip to Tennessee and a stop at a store there.  I made this little wish banner a few weeks ago...and added more photos that had to come down in another room of my house b/c it's also getting a make over.

 This is one of my favorite things.  This mirror was my great grandparents.  It's etched and hung in the entryway of my house growing up.  It used to bother me that it is missing a little of the molding.  Second to this molding, that is now some of my favorite parts of this piece.

 I'm a book-a-holic, so I've collected old locker baskets and drawers and fill these with books all over my house...and room.

 Random fun-my cousin gave me this photo of us when we were younger.  One of the most thoughtful gifts I've received.  I loved that he did this....and inserted this picture I don't think I've ever seen.

 Again...I'm currently into layer.  I've been collecting little frames for awhile, not sure what I was going to do with them....now I know...

 More pictures from other rooms I wanted to relocate b/c those locations are 'under construction.'

 New mirror.  Old frame.

 The church gave me this little plaque when I was born.

 Dresser top..

 Love this little pencil holder I found....it houses my chapstick.  I'm an addict.

 More baskets by the rocker....I store all my appliance chargers in this little toolkit.

 This trunk was my grandmother's hope chest.  It's a little extra 'seating.'

 I'm a fan of the senseless pillow.  I'll probably make 6 more of those before this post too.  Here is one pillow tutorial.  I kept the mirror, I had found that out of town a few years back....but I scraped the blue off that drew me to it b/c I could see white underneath.  I kept just enough of the blue so I could 'remember.'  I also uncovered some peach....and a few layers of my own skin during the process.

I snagged the bedside table with antiqued mirror top on sale at a furniture store-modeled after a piece at a flea market in France.  Old and new.  This is me.  I love that even the pieces I've bought had a story to tell.  The only story this room told before was about the factory in which it was built and shipped.  I needed more memories and pieces of 'me' in this room.  I still have a ways to go, but...I'm enjoyed the process.  

Wish Banner

 I bought this window for two bucks in TN....I would have spend 10 times that (literally) in Dallas.  I had to store it at my pal's house for six months...along with about four others until I drove my car back up for a visit....and was able to take these with me.  I'm pretty sure her husband canceled his membership to my imaginary fan club when I took up his garage space.  I can live with that for a savings that big.  I wanted to use this as a frame for my room.  I bought some metal roses with magnets on the back, and then used a second magnet on the other side of the window to hold them in place.  These hold up my pictures.  I have a few more things to add but in the meantime....I wanted to make a little banner.  My room needed a little more burlap to cancel out so much white.
I cut some burlap into the shape of pennants.  I hot glued the top edge to some rope.

 Burlap loves to shed.  I didn't want to sew the edges, so I found this no fray glue 'stuff' at the craft store and ran it along the sides on the back.  It dries clear, though I could still see it on the back side, but not on the front.

I cut out the letters on cardstock.  I then just placed them over each triangle and used a dabber to dab white paint on the outline I had cut out.  I did this using freezer paper in the past.  Here is that tutorial.

Simple Cord Covers

I've been redoing my room....and this means changing out things like my old cord covers.  I was really tired of sewing, and so I decided to do a 'fake' seam with my glue gun.  I cut a piece of burlap two times the length of the cord I wanted to cover.

 I just glued down the sides.

 Until I had a long tube.

 Then I squished it down he cord I wanted to cover.  You can buy flame resistant fabric spray, but I never light these candles, so I'm pretty safe.

Throw Pillows

 I'm in the process of redoing my room.  I made this headboard out of old pallets, which I blogged about last month.  This photo isn't the finished product, but it's getting there.  I bought a few pillows for my bed-but found that the pillows I wanted were not for the price I was willing to pay.  I decided to make a few of my own.  I saw a pillow similar to this pillow I made for 40 bucks.  I just wanted some different textures, so here was my attempt at saving money and adding pizazz.
I bought a pillow filler I used the plastic bag it came in as my pattern size since it fit nicely around the pillow, I figured it was about the size I wanted.  I took some white fabric and I cut 5 the same size.  I pinned four of them together in one big stack (and reserved the last one for the back of the pillow).

 I then took my machine and I just sewed diagonal strips across the entire thing.

 I took a pair of scissors and I cut down the middle of the top three layers (leave the last one solid).

 Until the three top layers were all cut.

 I then pinned it inside out to the 5th piece I had set aside (the frayed edge actually my 'outside').  I sewed three and 1/2 sides, stuff the pillow inside, and finished it off.

 Finished.

 I also made the little neck pillow by making and oversize sleeve, then tying both sides closed with some old lace I bought awhile ago at an antique store.

 Peanut has added a little something to the finished product. I don't know how I feel about it, but I know who's going to lose this battle....and it won't be Peanut.