Mercury Glass Vase

Another garage sale find was this mercury glass vase.  When I saw it, I scooped it up super quick!

It was also one dollar - ONE DOLLAR!  Did I mention this was a fabulous garage sale?  And to top it off, it was a benefit garage sale for adults with special needs!  Since I HAVE an adult child with special needs, this was a definite win-win for me.  I pictured it in the playroom on the shelf in the corner.  I was thinking that it needed something with height in that spot.  I then went to Hobby Lobby and picked up some fall flower stems - all of which were on sale! Now this spot is filled in perfectly.

And here's a shot from farther back in the room -

Yep - it works!  I'm planning on switching out the flowers seasonally.  I'm seeing Christmas flowers, then some wintery sparkly snowy branches, then some kind of spring mix.  I'm loving this mercury glass and am thinking of trying some of the DIY ideas all over Pinterest on some of the votives, jars, and vases I have in my collection.

How about you?  Are you loving mercury glass?  Have you tried any of the DIY ideas to make your own?  Let me know which method worked best for you!

A Little Bit of Sunshine in the Playroom!

I wanted to make a wooden sign for over the bed in the playroom.  I wanted something that would be kind of large to make a big impact/statement in the room.  I decided on the saying "you are my sunshine".  My mom used to sing me that song when I was a little girl and most of my grandkids never got to know her because she passed away.  It was a way for me to bring her and the grandkids together somehow.  I started with some fence boards.  I like them because they have the rustic-ness of pallet wood but without the hassle of all the nails and such.  I used a circular saw to cut them to size.

Next, I needed a way to attach the boards to each other.  I found some metal bracket thingies at Ace Hardware that did the trick.  I just used my drill to screw them together.  They are not perfectly sized and it didn't matter to me - I like it that way actually.

Next, I gave it a couple of coats of primer and a couple of coats of white spray paint.  I used some chalk to lightly paint the "sun" in the corner and then filled it in with yellow craft paint.

I used a letter stencil and some teal craft paint to add the words "You Are My Sunshine".

In the bottom left corner, I used an orange paint pen to dedicate the sign to my mom by simply adding "heart Grammie".

Then I distressed it some to make it look older and added some ring hangers to the back side for hanging.

Next came actually hanging it on the wall.  I used a method I've seen all over Pinterest whereby you take a piece of painters tape and lay it on your project, mark where the holes need to go, put the tape on the wall where you can easily measure and level it and then just drill your holes right through the painter's tape.  Genius.  Here it is hanging on the wall.  It turned out perfect.

And here's a wider view of the room - it's coming along!

Have you used fence boards?  Pallet boards?  Which do you prefer?  I have a few more projects left on my list in this room before I call it done, but I am pleased with it 's progress!

Chalkboard Label

Since I was already working with the chalkboard paint, I painted a little wooden rectangle that I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

A little chalkboard paint and some chalk to write "games"

I attached it with some sticky tape to a galvanized bin that I found at Walmart in their Better Homes and Gardens collection.  It holds the remotes and game cartridges for the N64 in the playroom.  It keeps everything in easy reach but out of sight!  I covered the bottom with grey felt to protect the nightstand.

Are you a Better Homes and Gardens fan?  Where have you used your chalkboard labels?

Chalkboard Closet Door

I wanted to make a chalkboard surface in the playroom, so I decided on the closet door.  It was originally painted the same chocolate brown as the wall and so it kind of just blended in - blah.  Here is the before:

And here is the after.  I bought some colored chalk so the kids could let their creativity out:

It looks way better and now the kids can be little Picassos!  There are so many things you can do with chalkboard paint, what have you tried?

Playroom Bedding

Things are moving along in the playroom.  Recently, I made a "coverlet" for the bed.  I wanted something very washable but something that would go with the color scheme of the room.  I found some wonderful soft terry cloth in lime and thought it was perfect.  I didn't want something that I would be concerned about the kids touching with sticky fingers.  I can just throw it in the washer.  It was a little bit short, so I had to sew two pieces together, then I added a lace border to the bottom to give it a more finished look.

I added a dust ruffle and some pillows to complete the bedding:

Here are some close-up shots:

Progress!  I have several more projects in this room that I am working on, so stay tuned!

Playroom in Progress!

I have 5 children and currently only one of them still lives at home.  She has a cute little pink and grey girly room in the basement.  I say that like she's little - she'll be 21 in June, lol.  When my youngest son moved out last year, I knew that I would want to do something different with his old room.  Since I have several grand-children, the most fun thing to do would be to make it into a playroom, right?  So, you have to begin somewhere and even though it's a very long list of things to get done in that room, progress is finally being made.  Here is how it started:

There was a damaged wall in my son's room where a layer of brick was showing.  Since it added a rustic charm to his room, I left it.  But now it will have to go.  So will the blue.  There was also the letter "A" on the wall which I had made with cd's to symbolize his name ("Andrew") and his love of music.

So, a trip to Ace Hardware was in order to get some patching plaster!

So, patched up the wall and sanded it down.

Decided on a color scheme of orange, teal, lime and brown and started painting.

I painted an old antique iron headboard teal to lean against the wall behind the bed to add some charm.

It pops against the orange wall!

And then added a lime green shelf and the beginnings of the lime bedding and orange print curtains.

And an orange window on the brown wall to pull in the orange on that side of the room.

This is just the rough beginnings of the update of this room.  There will be more to come soon.  So many ideas and not enough time, lol.  I will share as I go along.  Sometimes it's best just to begin, right?  How about you - do you have a project that has to be done in bits and pieces?  Please share!