Curbside Makeover - Take 2

This is the second time I've made over this curbside find, 

that I threw into the back of my car when we lived in

Newport, Rhode Island. You can find my first post HERE.

I am over the moon with how this turned out and 

can't wait to get started on my next paint project!

First I sanded off the stenciled design off the top.

I wanted to make sure the top would have a smooth 

surface and not leave a flower impression once I was

finished painting. It's the only portion of the piece I

actually sanded since I knew I would be using the

ever-forgiving chalk paint.

I'm also partial to foam brushed when applying chalk

paint, they are inexpensive and I love that I can squish

them into small areas if needed.

This is after the first coat of Americana Decor

Chalky Finish "Yesteryear". It's a beautiful pale

grey color, which I love...but I was going for a 

different look to coordinate with the bathroom

mirror where this piece was to reside.

I pulled out my Waverly Wax in Antique and started 

applying it with an old t shirt. If you don't want your

dark wax to look so dark, apply a clear wax first.

I quickly wiped on the Antique, working with one 

side of my piece at a time. One I'd finish applying, 

I'd start wiping off the wax and rubbing it in, till

I achieved the more worn look.

This is after the Antique Wax has been applied 

everywhere. You can see that I didn't put wax

inside on the bottom sections. I had a different

idea for the inside...since the top piece normally

would've held a drawer which was broken

when I first picked up the piece. There was a 

funny little lipped section that I wanted to make 

smooth....

Before I get to the insides:

Here are two easy clean up musts.

1. Wipe top of containers with a damp

paper towel, so you can easily unscrew 

the lid again.

2. Wear gloves so your hands don't look 

as fantastic as mine did when I finished!

 Here is my fix for the bottoms of the insides...

little pieces of wood. I was going to use paint sticks

but Home Depot was out of the large ones. I found

the next best thing and my hubby introduced me to

the saw, watch out world!

I cut them all to fit using the cool little laser light

and that sassy blade and I'm proud to announce,

I still have all of my fingers!

 The back corners of the top section had these little 

pieces that stuck up, so my DH helped me cut the

notches out for those pieces to fit inside.

My sweet helper, Satine...she loves her Mama

and I can always count on her to be nearby.

Next I pulled out my Americana Decor Chalky Paint

Everlasting, a nice bright white. Painted all the small 

wooden cut pieces and let them dry. After a second 

coat I quickly sanded them down a bit to make sure

they were nice and smooth on the edges and tops.

A bit of Elmer's Wood Glue and some golf balls 

did the trick for easy installation of the wooden

pieces and then only one step to go...

Just one coat of Minwax Polycrylic Clear Satin

protective finish and I'm proud to say this beauty

is done!!

Here she is in our half bathroom holding 

a few bathroom essentials...

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Please view my Linky Fun tab at the top of

the blog to see a few of the blog parties I like to join!

Lego Birthday Party Ideas

I love planning parties...but

my kids usually get the short end of the 

party planning stick since Mama is running

around like a crazy last-minute lady! 

(crafting party items for LeroyLime on Etsy)

If I haven't mentioned before...well, I don't do cakes, 

I'm more of a paper gal, so if you need a paper cake,

I've got you covered but those tend to not like flame.

I asked the lady behind the cake counter for a lego cake and 

my son was happy, so win win for this Mama...

and onto the decorations and party favors.

We held my son's 5th Birthday at the bowling alley,

(he's now 7)

which makes for easy cleanup and is a great venue

if you are looking for something fun for the kids

to do without breaking the bank!

The party patrons weren't many, so I opted for a small

box of legos for each child and made a "thank you" lego

bookmark, that I had my son color for his friends. 

I printed out a lego man online, typed a little thank

you note, attached to a piece of 

cardstock and added a piece of bakers twine. Bam!

Pizza, Cake, Legos and Lemonade 

A simple party that everyone enjoyed...

just wish I had taken more photos!

Below are a few of my favorite Pinned Lego Party Ideas,
if you've got some great ones, please link them
in the comments!

Betty Crocker nailed it with these lego cakes using
marshmallows!! Pure genius!

If you'd rather have cookies than cakes at your Lego

Party, check out this fabulous Lego Man Cookie

tutorial from Sweet Sugar Belle.

Surviving the Stores created a fun post
on how to have a Lego Birthday Party
for under $100.

For more fun Birthday Boy Ideas, click on 

my Pinterest board below...

  

Follow Dawn w/LeroyLime's board - Birthday Boy - on Pinterest.

Playroom Makeover

Our basement playroom was in need of a little

pizzazz, so out came the painters tape and all the 

leftover paint that has been used around our home.

Here is the wall...

"Before"

...and here is what I taped out. I used a large level to

add marks on the wall and then taped along the wall,

matching up to the pencil marks (making sure I would 

be covering them with paint).

I knew I wanted the kitchen in the right corner, so

decided to leave that blank...

A chalkboard spot for drawing on the left, I painted

over every section twice before peeling off the tape.

The yellow spot is a little too pale for my taste but 

it's where the magnetic board is hung with the kids

fridge magnets below in a basket. 

So a few hours of taping one day, painting and 

reorganizing the toys the second day and now 

there is a little more cheer in our dark basement!

"After"

40th Birthday Gift Idea

We all hate getting older, when we actually are older

but somehow those Birthday's sneak up on us...

year after shining year.

My good friend just recently celebrated a milestone 

Birthday and to celebrate her jokester self, I thought

sending her a pot fill with suckers would at least make

her laugh...it did!

"40 SUCKS"

I picked up a terracotta pot and foam ball from 

a local craft store and a mondo bag

of suckers (thank you Sam's Club) and got to work.

I already had black chalkboard spray paint and gold

lying around, as well as frog tape.

First I taped off the top of the pot where I wanted 

the gold to go and spray painted two coats of the black

chalkboard paint on the bottom of the pot.

After the paint was dry, I peeled off the tape and 

carefully taped off the bottom, black portion. I gently

pressed the tape onto the bottom, so it didn't peel off

the paint and then quickly sprayed the rim and inside

the pot a pretty gold.

Two coats, drying time and then it was time to 

plant some suckers!! I started at the top and worked

my way around. I tried to stick to the Birthday

girl's favorite colors but had to add a bit of green 

to the bottom, we will just call them leaves.

Next a little free hand drawing with chalk markers, 

not super fancy but it gets the job done cause really

...40 SUCKS!! ;)

Ombre Party Ideas

Parties don't have to go all out to pack a big punch

as you can see from these very simple Teal Ombre 

Party decorations. If you stick to a simple color

scheme, then your sweet touches are able to stand out

and take center stage.

 I worked with my good friend Megan, on the decor for

her daughter's Graduation party. Megan happens 

to be an AMAZING photographer and lives in Oregon.

(Look her up if you are the area and need photos, she

is seriously just so very talented!)

 At first we were going to go with blue and yellow,

high school colors...but with Megan's 

impeccable taste, we both agreed those were

a bit too harsh for the soft party look she was going for.

We instead agreed on her daughter's favorite color and

turned it into an ombre party with bits of glittery gold

for just the right amount of girly flair.

A simple white sheet cake, wildflowers in a

jar and photographs tucked under a glass top table, 

that can be viewed but protected from sticky fingers.

Megan hung a few paper puff balls from the ceiling,

which added a bit more color to the space

and created a fun whimsical effect.

I'd call this party decor a success! "YAY"

If you are looking to book a photography session for

your upcoming Senior, Megan is booking now...

Photos taken by the lovely Megan Morgan Photography

Ombre Party Decorations made by LeroyLime on Etsy

Garden Fence & Gate

Growing up on a farm in Iowa, you'd think I have a 

natural green thumb...sadly, you are wrong. But somehow, 

I've managed to grow a small garden in our backyard, 

canyoubelieveit. You can find the original post and see just

how much our little garden has taken off since we

first planted everything HERE.

With a bountiful of greens however, come a few late

night stragglers, nibbling away at our pretty 

leaves...the buggers! I picked up a roll of green

fence and a few posts from Home Depot and my 

DH (dear hubby) sweetly installed a barrier 

 directly around the box. Ahem.

With no way of getting to the garden, he widened

the fence, adding a few extra poles and a quick gate 

for easy access. For ease of disassembly if needed,

the fence is attached to the posts with zip ties.

 The gate was made using 3 fence boards, the tops cut

off, one of which was chopped in half.  A few quick

 zaps of the nail gun with a few screws for reinforcement, 

at the corners. A small piece of fence was stapled

onto the back and the gate zip tied to one of the posts. 

The gate needs to be stained to match the 

garden box but so far, it's been keeping the critters 

out and the garden is able to flourish inside. 

Rocking Chair Makeover

I picked up this sweet little rocking chair for $6 at a

second hand store in North Dakota a few years ago and 

it finally got a much needed facelift with a bit of 

Americana Decor chalk paint.

I used a sanding block to smooth the rough edges,

cleaned off the chair with a damp paper towel and

let it air dry for a bit before painting.

I used Americana Decor Chalk paint, called Refreshing,

a beautiful and truly refreshing mint color.

I found the paint at Michael's (using a 40% off coupon)

and Home Depot also carries a few color choices.

The first coat was easy to apply...I'm a bit of a messy

painter when it comes to chalk paint if I'm planning

on sanding afterward, like I did with this piece. 

Two coats of paint were applied so that none of the

wood grain would show through, at least not until

I wanted it to!

I went through a couple of sponge brushes on this

project, they kept getting caught on the small

areas and ripping but otherwise, worked great.

The second coat covered the wood that was 

showing through and I used a sanding block 

to distress the edges just slightly.

 

Since this chair will be used by little ones I didn't 

really care to wax and rewax when needed, so I pulled

out my can of Minwax clear/satin Polycrylic. I used a

water based brush to apply. You only need a little bit

on your brush at a time since the Poly dries quickly 

and you want to minimize drips. A double coat of Poly

was added to the seat and a few places I know will 

get more wear and tear.

Now to put this sweetheart back in my now two

year olds Vintage Circus bedroom!

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I've linked up to the following linky parties:

Show and Tell Friday

The Shabby Nest
Furniture Feature Friday
Tidy Mom
Shabbilicious Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Show Off Friday
Fridays Unfolded
Flaunt it Friday
That DIY Party
Friday Favorites
Weekend Retreat
Home Matters
Freedom Fridays
Creative Collection
Funky Junk
Share Your Creativity
Much Ado About Monday
Monday Funday

End of School - Teacher Gift

It's that time of the year...time for warm sun, lounging by

the pool and enjoying a good book with nothing to worry

about except the ending!

Depending on where you live, some of your kids may have

been soaking up the rays for a few weeks. This week was 

our kids last and now the summer activities are underway.

 I sent the kids to school with the perfect summer send off 

for their teachers on the last day. A bag (from Pick your Plum)

filled with a few summer essentials...beach towel, 

a large bottle of water, bag of popcorn

(cause you always need a snack at the pool or beach)

and a gift card to Target to snatch up the best summer paperback!

I used powerpoint to put together the wording on my

tag. The whale is a Sizzix die cut that I ran through

my Big Shot Machine. 

(close up of the tag)

May you all have a wonderful summer and don't 

forget to RELAX!!!

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Financial compensation or product was not received for this post. 

Opinions expressed here are my own.