This is the scene that greeted me yesterday morning as I opened the blinds.  I know it could be worse but come on, it was Memorial Day, the big kick-off to summer.  I would have really been starting to worry if today had been as yucky.  Today however was beautiful.  Yesterday we ran the heater and today we almost needed the air conditioner.  I was so hopefulthe nice weather would stay (the weatherman promised) that I spent the day ”summerizing” the house.  I put all the throws away until fall.  I switched out my dark pillows for light and off-white ones.  I put the winter coats and boots down in storage.  And I am working on a summer mantel for my family room.  My plan is to have it finished to share with you on Friday.

     The above picture is the entry from the garage into my family room.  The coat rack/storage unit was a gift from many years ago.  It worked really well for our family when we had fewer kids and they were smaller.  Now there are six of us.  Three hooks just could no longer handle all of our coats jackets, backpacks, purses, hats, gloves, and shoes. 

     Back in November I added some hooks to this wall that is opposite (kinda, the room is quirky) the garage door.  It helped but it still wasn’t enough.  I needed a few more hooks plus I wanted a little better seating for putting on shoes.

     One day I was in my favorite thrift shop and I spied this coffee table.  I thought it would be perfect as an entryway bench.  I sanded and painted it black.  I upholstered it with some fabric I bought at Ikea last summer. 

     I bought the storage boxes at Target last November.  I bought a bunch of them and have had them all over the house.  I moved one from the floor under the hooks on the oppisite wall and swapped these out from the other rooms.  I have the kids throw their shoes, hats and gloves in there  And I have the full story on the pillows in my post from earlier this week (click here).

     I found this great shelf/coat rack at Hobby Lobby.  I picked it up when they had it marked down 50%.  I have had it for awhile so I don’t remember what exactly I paid for it.  I think with the 50% off, it was somewhere around $30.  I didn’t want to put pictures of the kids in the frames to indicate where they should hang their stuff because I have a gallery wall of their pictures just to the left of the garage door.  I just used some scrap book paper I had on hand and stenciled numbers on the paper.  I have had the “Family” sign for years.  It was on my living room mantel until I redid that mantel.  It has been sitting in my storage room waiting to find a new home.

     Here is a closeup of the little black and white birdie/picture holder.  I got this at (where else) Hobby Lobby for $5.  I put this picture of the kids in it for now.  I still want to get a family portrait (been saying that for 3 years now).

     Well, here is a picture of the final project.  All in all, the project came in around $56.  So far it has been working beautifully.  It is going to be looking clean and organised for the near future as the kids only have a couple more weeks of school left and the weather has finally decided to cooperate and decide it’s summer and not very early Spring.  Now everyone has only one jacket to hang up, not a coat and a jacket.  Hope everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!

  This week I’ve been putting some finishing touches on a big project.  Here’s a little sneak peek.  I needed some black and white fabric to make new pillow covers.  I just had plain black and plain white fabric on hand, but as you probably know by now, I love black and white patterned fabric.  What’s a girl to do?  Paint the fabric of course.  I first measured my pillow form (bought at Ikea a few years ago).  Then I cut a piece from the white fabric for the back and a piece from the black fabric for the front.   Below is a picture of  the supplies you will need.  In addition to fabric paint, you will need a brush, something to protect your work surface, a stencil or stamp, painter’s tape, and an iron.

     I had to run down to Hobby Lobby to get some more fabric paint.  I didn’t have enough from my silk screened pillows (here).  I painted two pillows for this project.  I used about a bottle and a half of the paint for both.  I really love this paint because it doesn’t smudge (much) or bleed.  I had this brush on hand so I used it.  I haven’t experimented much with painting fabric so I am not sure if there is a better way to do this, but it worked for me.  I didn’t have a paper plate on hand to squirt the paint onto so I just used a corner of the garbage bag.  You will need to protect the surface you are working on (below) because while this paint doesn’t bleed under the stencil, it does bleed through to the back of the fabric.

     You don’t have to worry about ironing your fabric just yet.  Just put your stencil on top.  I centered my stencil on my fabric but if you have a stamp or a more random type of stencil you can just start where you want.

     I used painter’s tape to secure the stencil in place.  I lightly loaded my brush and then “pounced” the paint along the stencil lines.  I had to go back and do a few spots.  It was a little time consuming but I wanted to make sure there was an even coating of paint. 

     After I was done painting, I carefully peeled the stencil off.  I had a few little mistakes but I used the corner of a wet sponge to wipe them off.  Then I let the paint dry.  The package instructions states that you need to let the paint air dry for 24 hours.  To set the paint, use a dry iron.  I had mine set on medium.  I was supposed to use a pressing cloth but I forgot.  You need to wait at least 72 hours to wash your painted fabric after that.  Hand wash in cold water. 

     When my fabric was ready I pinned right sides together and sewed.  Here is the first one.  I’m still working on the second one.  Painting the material is a bit time consuming but I am really happy with how this one turned out.   I am even more happy that two new pillows only cost me a bit over $2.00.    As always, thanks for stopping by.  I always enjoy swapping ideas with people that don’t  roll their eyes when I start talking about decorating.

     It’s been many months in the making. More hours of work than worth counting. A few chosen curse words mumbled under our breath, but at long last here it is, the new design for my blog. I’m sorry if any of you had trouble with the site yesterday. Yesterday was the big day. The day my darling husband devoted his whole Saturday to helping me change my design. I spent months coming up with design. And he spent the better part of this weekend making it a reality for me. Love you Honey! A million thanks to you! Now I have a a blog that I am proud of (the husband, well, I’ve always been proud of him).

       I love the look of  mixing different textures of white dishes.  Recently I realised that I didn’t own any all white dishes, so I set off on a trip to my favorite thrift shop.  I found all the dishes and the goblets for under $15.00.  I am always amazed to find such lovely pieces.  I am happy to give these dishes a new home and save them from wasting away in some landfill. 

The dinner plate is not marked but the salad plates are Wedgwood.

 I bought the placemats at Walmart years ago.  The napkins are tea towels tied with ribbon.

 Here is a full view. 

  I love these new (to me) goblets.  I really like the way they catch the candlelight.

I love roosters.  This little black and white plate inspired this tablescape

 Thanks for visiting.  I am linking up with these fabulous party people.

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