Picture Yourself Organized

It's the last holiday weekend of the summer.
Are you wondering what to do?
You could spend some time reading some of the blogs
that were late to the paint party.
Then, you could make something pretty and useful.
Yes, I think it's time for...

ANOTHER TUTORIAL!

Today we're going to create some beautiful organizational tools.

First, gather your supplies. You'll need:
*a large picture frame
*your choice of spray paint
*a heavy duty stapler (doesn't everyone have one of these?)
*a roll of hardware mesh or poultry wire---both can be found in the fencing section of home improvement stores

*wire cutters or tin snips
*saw tooth hangers (optional)

Next, paint your frame the color you desire.

When it's dry, unroll the wire "fabric"
and measure and cut it
to fit inside the frame.
The poultry wire can be cut with wire cutters, but
the hardware mesh is more easily cut using tin snips.

Pull and staple the wire to the back side of the frame.
You may need an extra set of
helping hands for this step.You can get fancy and add some ribbon
to the front of the frame if you'd like.
I also added some S hooks that I squeezed
one end shut onto the wire.
Are you wondering what we just made?

Well, if you used hardware wire and added S hooks,
you just made
a great frame to hang your jewelry on.If you used poultry wire, just add some binder clips
and you have a pretty memo board.You can even customize these.
The addition of a knob makes a plain frame
look like a cabinet door.
Instead of binder clips, you can use clothes pins.
You can even paint and cover your clothes pins
with scrapbook paper. That's the beauty of this project, it's very versatile!
If you want to hang your frame, add sawtooth hangers.
Or just lean your frame against the wall.

Congratulations!
You've just been framed for organization.

Back to Basics

It's been great to take a break from the basic black routine. I've enjoyed painting with new colors. And after all the inspiration from the party, I'm looking forward to trying a few more. But sometimes only the color black will do.
I've been looking for some stools for my kitchen for some time now. I finally found some that had a great design and were well built. The best part about my find was that these nice little stools were at the thrift store!There was only one drawback. The stools were a dark blue and I don't have any blue in my kitchen. I do have black. I have a black table and a black cabinet. So it only made sense that these cute little stools had to be black.
I used the handy dandy liquid sander before I painted because these stools will get a lot of wear and I don't want the new paint to chip. Liquid sander works like sanding. It takes the gloss off the original finish and prepares it for a new coat of paint.I like my little stools all dressed in black. They'll fit right in with the other black furniture in my kitchen.
It's always nice to find what you've been looking for, and get it for a great price.

A Thank You & A Look A-Head

Thank you all so much for participating in my first ever blog party. I think it was a great success---because of all my wonderfully creative and talented friends. You all amazed me. There have been a few late comers, so check on them too. It was so fun to see the many ways spray paint can transform things. I know that I've added a few more projects to my ever growing spray paint list. I'm beginning to think it might be a wise idea to buy stock in spray paint companies. That way I might be able to recoup some of the large amounts of money I spend on those marvelous little cans.

And speaking of spray paint. . .

I went to the blue big box home improvement store to buy more paint and look what I found.I couldn't pass this guy up. Look at that toothy grin.
You can't be afraid of an old thing like this.
It has good bones...bwahhhaahaahaa!!!

I'm not putting out my Halloween decorations yet,
but I thought I'd give you a little preview of things "a-head."

Thanks Susie for the "heads up" on the crows.

Now you can see why this guy
headed out the door with me.
He's just too much fun!

Party On

Let's keep this party going one more day.

PAINT PARTY!!!

It's Time to Celebrate the
Wonders of Spray Paint!

I've showed you my
"paint outside the black box" projects.
Now it's time to show off yours.

It will be fun to see all the
different colors you've chosen,
including our favorites, white and black.
(Yes, it's fine to show off something black)
I'm as excited as a kindergarten girl
opening a new box of crayons!

Let's start clicking and commenting!

I See Sea Glass

Last week I stood in front of rows of paint trying to find a color that I would love as much as my black. I found this beautiful Sea Glass in a satin finish. I knew right away that I would love it because it reminds me of a room in my home.

Now I just had to find an item to cover with this delightful color.

Out in storage I found this little beauty.

I had adopted her at the thrift store. She's old, beat up, and even a bit warped (I hope that's not how my kids describe me). I knew that her previous owners wanted someone to love her because before they donated her they slathered her up with a heavy coat of furniture oil. It took forever for that stuff to soak in, that's why she was in storage. But, with a new finish she could come out and enjoy family life in a room that she would relate to in color.

You know, the true beauty of sea glass is that it's a bit rough looking. So after a couple of nice coats of spray paint I covered the little table with some white glaze, to show off the details as well as the wear. Then out came the sand paper to sand the spots that would have worn naturally. And just like a piece of sea glass, the beauty of my newly made-over table came shining through.
And speaking of beauty. . . go visit Chelle and Nikki to see their beautiful five minute projects. Don't forget to leave them a little love note.

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends. Get your spray paint projects ready for Monday, cuz we're going to have a PARTY!!!

Espressoooohhh!

OOOOHH! May I just say that this non-black spray paint week is turning out much better than I anticipated! I'm discovering new colors and, on top of that, every project has been one that I've pulled out of storage and am now using in my home. Double Bonus!
See this little country cabinet. . . I purchased it at the thrift store years ago and it's been in storage ever since. That's why it's so dusty. I put it in the donate pile a few times, but it always managed to find it's way home. I decided that it was time to give it a makeover or give it away. It just happens to be the perfect size to fit in the alcove, above the potty, in my boys bathroom. It now has a new home, so it's time to give it a new look.
I chose to paint it espresso. Yes, I used my new little gadget. (I tried to answer all of your questions about this new tool in the comment area of Tuesdays post.) I also used my mask---safety first! If you were standing next to me when I took this picture you would have noticed that those pesky little vegetables are trying to show through the paint. I'm not too worried because I have a plan. But this is a good time to be reminded that if you're painting over an existing finish, it's important to give it a good sanding and use primer.
I'm going to hide those pesky vegies with wallpaper. I really like combining wallpaper with wood. I did it when I covered the back of my china cabinet and when I made the decorations for my daughter's wedding.
Wallpaper is thicker than regular paper and it's handy for covering big areas. You can usually buy it for just a couple of dollars at thrift stores and garage sales. I paid a dollar for a brand new roll of this pinstripe walpaper.I cut the paper to size and then adhered it to the doors.
*HELPFUL HINT* Those plastic fake credit cards, that you get in the mail as advertisements, come in handy for smoothing out the wallpaper.Then I hung it, decorated it, and filled it full of bathroom necessities. It has a new, useful life and I think it looks looks great!

I hope you're getting your spray paint projects ready for Monday's party.

Intervention Interruption

We interrupt this intervention for an important announcement.

You are all cordially invited to attend a
Spray Outside the Black Box Party
to be held on Monday August 25th.

I'm going to try my hand at that Mr. Linky thing, (wish me luck) so get your projects ready! Just post your pictures on your blogs and then get ready to link to the rest of us addicts. And for those of you that have just begun your addiction to black spray paint, we'll allow you to show off your very best black painted project, because you know that we all have a secret stash of black spray paint just waiting to be used when this week is over---some of you may actually be using it right now. Caught ya!
Let's all give Cherry a big thank you for coming up with such a great party theme, "Thanks Cherry!"

Now, I hope you won't be disappointed that I'm not going to show you a spray paint project today. I thought it was time to relax a bit so I'm inviting you into my living room.

Not to long ago you stood here in my foyer.

This is my living room. It's long and narrow, measuring 22 feet by 14 feet.
Most rooms that size would be easy to decorate but this one is a bit tricky because three of the four walls have large openings or windows.
The foyer wall has a 7 foot opening (half the wall).The dining wall has an almost 12 foot opening
(more than half the wall). And the outside wall has 13 feet of huge windows,
plus a few more smaller windows.

This is my summer furniture arrangement. It's a bit unusual, but I like it.
My oldest son said that it's arranged like
we live on a sit-com set,
with the audience sitting outside the windows.
Don't you love family critics?

But this is why I have those big windows
as a design focal point. Look at the view.

This is the view up the street. Yes, those are mountains.

I don't even want window treatments.
I love the custom mouldings that my husband and I did.There's a rope light tucked up inside.
It gives off such a soft light.

I call this my fairy window.
I had to talk my contractor into putting it in.
I love the way the light bounces around in this room.It's my favorite room in the house.

Oh, and a special thank you to Debbie at
Ribbonwood Cottage for giving me this award: