Stairway Makeover Before and After

Before

After

That's me, using the power sander after taking off the shellac finish with "Citristrip". Getting down to the bare wood on the stair railing and the Newell posts so that I could apply Minwax Gel Stain in Mahogany. This was no picnic! My hands were aching after scraping every inch to get the finish off. Had to do this because the gel stain wouldn't adhere to the builder's finish even after sanding to prep.:(

 Yeah! Here is the new finish after two coats. I ended up doing three to darken the finish.

Close up after last coat of gel stain, and the balusters got a coat of chalk paint /primer, then one coat of Behr Premium PLus Ultra paint and primer in one. The color is Ultra Pure White to match the base molding.

I like the clean white balusters so much better. It really opens up the space.

Had the nautical rope from my son's room makeover. Hurricane is from Anthropologie, and the large rattan vase is from Pier 1 years ago.

New artwork for the niche via Homegoods!

The basket is from Harry and David Christmas gift from Mom, (Thank you Mom!) and the white vase is from Homegoods.

 Cost Breakdown :
Minwax GELStain = $12
Behr Paint (pint)=$9
Purdy Brush=#13.94?


Total = $34.94 pretax


Would love to rip up the carpet and refinish the wood stairs but that project will have to go on the to do list. 


Special thank you to "Centsational Girl" http://www.centsationalgirl.com/for her stair tutorial, and to "Miss Mustard Seed" http://missmustardseed.com/

My First Furniture Feature Friday with Miss Mustard Seed

Here is the Queen Headboard I got for $10 . Whoo Hoo!

Started out looking like this. I think it is solid maple because I couldn't dent it with my thumbnail. This thing seems like petrified wood after working with pine for the last few months!:)

I used a 50/50 combo of gesso and paint leftover from our son's room.

I really wanted to use what I had, and not purchase anything new, so in place of dark wax....

I used Colorbox Chalk Ink and a Making Memories stipple brush to add a dark umber look in the recessed areas .

This is how it looks after a coat of Howard's Citrus Shield soft paste wax.

More close ups. The chalk ink stayed on when I covered it with the furniture wax. Yeah!!

Another freebie ! This was the center portion of my son's bedskirt that we no longer needed with his platform bed. I mixed my own paint color using 10ml of white(PLAID), 5ml of caribbean blue(PLAID), and 2.5ml of grey wolf(MARTHA STEWART) and then followed the directions on the Martha Stewart fabric medium to paint this fabric with one of Martha's Stencil packs. Love!

AFTER: 10 Bucks total cause I had all the other supplies on hand:)

A Special thanks to Miss Mustard Seed for inspiring me to get cracking on updating my home! She has a plethora of great information on everything you could need to decorate your home so make sure you check her out! :)

Bo Bunny Card Challenge

Here is the sketch for the Bo Bunny Card Challenge ending on 11-4-2011

And here is my card...

All Supplies Bo Bunny except for base kraft card stock, and thread
Patterned Paper= Garden Girl
Packaging and Petals= ETC.
Chipboard= Garden Girl
Bling= ETC.

I used the packaging from the Bo Bunny Petal to make the focal point into a pumpkin. The chipboard flourishes resemble the stem and vines of the pumpkin. ( At least in my mind they do)! :) The bling from the ETC. line are to represent smaller pumpkins in a field. Distressed all the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. TFL!

Oh My Goodness!!! Becky Fleck WCD sketch contest winner is me?

WCD card contest winner


Can I just say "Yay!" Thank you so much to Becky Fleck and Pagemaps.com. I have been a long time fan of Becky Fleck , and am humbled by her amazing talent as a designer, graphic artist, magazine editor, and amazing blog writer! I won a copy of her book Scrapbook Pagemaps 2, which I can't wait to get ! YAY!

Becky Fleck Pagemaps Card Sketch Contest

Here is a straight on view. TFL!

Becky Fleck Pagemaps Card Sketch Contest

Hi All ! I used my new Sizzix/Hero Arts Framelits die with matching stamps to create this card. This is based on a ColorQ color combo, but I used Tim Holtz Distress inks instead up Stampin 'up colors. The colors used are: Worn Lipstick, Broken China, Shabby Shutters, Pearl(Perfect Pearl Powder) and the gray is from Close to MY Heart ,Gray Wool. The Black ink is Tsulineko Memento ink in Tuxedo Black. Thanks for looking! PS. I dyed the seam binding with Distress Stain in Worn Lipstick.

Bo Bunny Sketch Challenge !

                                      This is the sketch for those of you who want to play along.

Bo Bunny Supplies: patterned paper:ETC. -mailroom, Organic- marigold; chipboard letters, chipboard flourish, brads, stickers: ETC. line

other supplies: white card stock:Georgia Pacific,  pre-primed canvas: JoAnn Fabrics, natural muslin: JoAnn Fabrics, stamps: Stamper's Anonymous-Tim Holtz-Game of Life, dies: Sizzix-Flower-3D-Fringed, Tim Holtz- On The Edge-Scallops, Cheery Lynn Designs-Exotic Butterfly Small, Exotic Butterfly Small#2  font: Lucida Sans Typewriter, inks: Tim Holtz-Distress Stain, Tim Holtz Distress Ink,    other: jute twine, sewing machine, thread

Techniques: I used my Exacto-knife to cut around the Bo Bunny Noteworthy label shape onto the Marigold paper(white with ivory brushstrokes) , and then stained it with Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Stormy Sky, and Tumbled Glass. After it dried, I sprayed it with my white craft paint/water mixture to get the look of the sea foam. For the two canvas flowers, I die cut them with the Sizzix -Flower- 3D Fringed and then stained them to match the title block. When they dried I rubbed them in the left over white paint/ water from my craft sheet to further distress them.


I LOVE THIS PAPER LINE !!! I think it goes with any photo!! Thank You Bo Bunny!