shabby blue shelf {no primping needed}

I was so excited to find this piece exactly like this, pretty blue paint and already sufficiently distressed.

 

 

 

 

It's rare for me to find piece that I love exactly how it is, no painting or distressing needed.

 

 

 

 

 

So I was suprised to find this blue beauty sitting among piles of junk at the thrift store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No primping needed, it now sits in my bathroom to hold our white towells.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

keep primping,

this is the post where I get to show off my union jack fever while at the same time being patriotic

I've had union jack fever for a while now, and have seen the design used in so many creative ways in home decor.  With the London Olympics starting in just a few days I wanted to make a bunting that would feed my fever and also help us get into the Olympic spirit.

I couldn't find a pre-made bunting, so I grabbed a pack of small British flags and sewed one myself.

 

 

I've seen some really cool furniture painted in the union jack design. And while I could never justify painting a large piece of furniture, I have finished some smaller projects in the past, including this pillow,

{go here to see full post}

and this stool,

{go here to see full post}

Here are some other favorite union jack designs as found on Pinterest:

{Diary of a Quilter via Pinterest}

{Unknown via Pinterest}

{What would Martha Do via Pinterest}

{Bad Rabbit Vintage via Pinterest}

And because my toes didn't want to be left out:

I'm looking forward to watching swimming and soccer. What will you watch?

keep primping, and Go USA!

a chair mini makeover, new camera, and a favorite find

Now that the craziness of Christmas is over and the kids are back in school, I was able to finish a little project--a chair mini makeover.

I say mini, because it didn't need much done.  Just a coat of white paint, and distressing ( I kept the existing seat cover).

Right now it's sitting in the corner of my dining nook, and paired with a faux grain sack pillow.

I got a new camera for Christmas, so hopefully after I learn to use it properly, my pictures will continue to improve.  Funny thing is, I just barely learned some cool tricks on my really old point and shoot camera.  Maybe I'll take a photography class so it doesn't take years to learn.

I also got these cute nesting doll measuring cups.  I originally saw them at Urban Outfitters, but finally snatched them up one day when i spied them at JC Penny's {coupon in hand}.

I'm off to move some furniture around, and pump myself up for some bigger paint jobs.

keep primping,

grainsack chair

I just finished my first, and possibly last, upholstery project, using this chair that's been sitting in the garage for a few months, and an old grain sack I found online for $30.

I loved the details of this chair, and knew it would be fun to {primp}.

Here's what it looked like before.  I'm sure it was a real beauty in it's time, but I was going for a different look.

 

The finished chair now sits in a little nook near my built-in shelves,

Then, I couldn't decide whether to paint the chair white or leave it as it was.  So I compromised and did a thick white dry brush effect.  I like the way it turned out, with a little bit of the natural dark wood showing through, and I didn't even need to sand!

Not bad for a totally unique and utterly cool chair with a frenchy farmhouse feel.

 

Now I'm off to finish my boy's room redo (which feels like the longest project ever!), and to gather ideas to bring fall inside.

keep primping,

a little french gray table {a redo of a redo}

If this little table looks familiar, it's because you've seen her before.

Though she was a blue/green, and not a pretty french gray.

 In fact this little table is a redo of a redo.  Here is what she looked like after the first redo, which was a fun technique to try, but it just didn't fit in with my home.  Now she does.

And because I like to call furniture with pretty legs "she" and give them a proper name, and because she is now a pretty french gray, I thought a pretty french name would be appropriate.

So, after much adieu, meet "Amelie".

I like her much more now, and she fits in a lot better now, in her little spot in the piano room.

Although this is the first time I've done a redo of a redo, I'm not promising Amelie will remain Amelie.  Just sayin'.  When you love to primp, sometimes things happen.

keep primping,