BUILDING LITTLE BOXES - recycling Christmas cards




The first time I made one of these boxes I was small, and I have
never stopped. They are perfect for hiding small presents in, or safely storing small ornaments while packed away for the year. They can also
be used for an advent calendar, hiding a small treat inside and hung from many different places in your home.

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PAINTING AN ANTIQUE DINING TABLE



Our first dinner at this table ended up being
rather nice. We had been working all afternoon
getting ready for the first snow fall of the year.


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SHABBY CHIC TV STAND - long legs & gold paint






Our TV stand is completely unique and a
one of a kind creation I made from an old
2 drawer chest a friend gave me. The piece
needed a lot of attention in one way or
another but little did I know this is what
the end result was going to be.



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TO PAINT OR NOT TO PAINT - french country cupboard






Many people go through the struggle of whether they should paint wood furniture or not. I also struggle sometimes with the
decision. I have had many pieces of beautiful wood furniture that I have re-home because they didn't fit in here.



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BUILDING MINI EVERGREEN WREATHS - tutorial




The smell that these wreaths bring into the house for
the holidays is priceless and I make a few every year.

Supplies for these wreaths are as follows:

flexible wire
strong utility scissors
live greenery
gloves (optional)




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PAINTING PINE CONES - snow kissed pine cone tutorial






It must be that time of year again cause the erg
to create tons of holiday decor is upon me. Over
the weekend I took some time to build a few
wreaths for friends and family. And I wanted to
share a simple and easy trick to embellish pine
cones so they stand out and make a statement
on my wreaths.

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HOW TO GET THAT PRETTY TURQUOISE LOOK - paint layering









Annie Sloan Chalk paint is perfect
for creating distressed and layered
finishes so I used it when I wanted
to create a layered color effect on a
thrift store jewelry box.

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BUILDING WALL ART WITH A VINTAGE MAP





This is my DIY map wall art I built from discarded
items and also PART TWO of the convertible
workstation created for Janome Canada in their
MAKER's SPACE series. For those who 
have not been following these projects, I was
challenged to re-purpose several second hand
items to use in a makers space and this project
can be made for decoration or for function.



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BUILDING A SMALL SPACE WORKSTATION - gold dipped and turquoise






Do you need a dedicated work place but live in a small space with little extra room? I have built a convertible workstation for exactly that, small space living. I used thrifted items and transformed them into beautiful decor.



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REPURPOSING AN OLD SPOON RACK - with krylon spray paint





I was tasked with repurposing several thrifted items, including an old spoon rack. I thought this should be a fun DIY project. I have seen more than enough of them sitting on thrift store shelves so I figured start with some Krylon paint and see what happens.

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RE-PURPOSING A FRAME INTO A MESSAGE CENTER





When you live in a small space like
I do, it is great to have things that are
dual purposed. To help with organizing
the work space I overhauled a picture frame into a message center and I enjoyed this DIY project that included making a chalk board.




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UPCOMING PROJECTS



I used my creative skills for the fall launch
of Janome Canada's next machine series.
It is called the M series and the machine is 
designed for all the MAKERS out there.
The LOOKBOOK for the launch has been
released and inside you get to see pages of 
creative ideas from Canadian artists including
several of my projects. I was tasked with
repurposing everyday items for use in a 
MAKER's space. Come check it out!


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PAINTING A COUNTRY STYLE DESK and new shabby chic switch plates



Last time I showed how to change the style of a
piece of furniture with trim and appliques but
there is something simpler to use as well. A
new coat of paint has such a strong ability to
change the look of old things. It can breath
new life into a something you wanted to throw
away and create a completely different style.

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PAINTING A SHABBY CHIC TALL DRESSER - white cottage chest of drawers



I run across many dressers from this era but this pieces was a nice one. It was made with real solid wood, top to bottom. MDF is usually hidden somewhere in most pieces of furniture built after 1968.
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HOW TO PAINT A SMOOTH FINISH - using annie sloan chalk paint






Anyone who owns a piece of my work
or has visited and touched the finish 
on my furniture usually comments 
about how smooth it is. There are 
many different things you can do to 
get a smoother ASCP paint finish 
when using a brush and I am sharing
some of the secrets I use.

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PAINTING A LONG SHABBY CHIC DRESSER - spray painting annie sloan




I've been enjoying my summer holidays more than usual.
We took off early in the season to visit with GG's family
and once we returned home I eventually did this large shabby chic makeover.

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PAINTING RUSTIC RED FURNITURE






Have you ever seen a piece of bedroom furniture
made from plywood? There are lots of them out
there and they are probably home made by someone's
dad or grandfather back in the day. Plywood is great
to work with because it is super strong and you can
treat it just like solid wood, but have you ever wondered
how to paint it???


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BEFORE AND AFTERS OF YARD SALE FURNITURE







We had a yard sale to clear out some extra furniture pieces. A few
kind people sent photos to us showing the
makeovers they performed on the treasured pieces they found.


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OUR FRENCH COUNTRY BEDROOM - wall hooks




Sometimes I look at other blogs and
see photos of beautiful homes that 
make me question if they are real
or not. I wonder how could I ever
achieve that. The finishes cost a 
fortune and my fortune is dedicated
to more personal things like groceries.

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FARMHOUSE JACK & JILL BEDSIDE CABINETS - burlap nightstands






I purchased a pair of pretty classy
late 1960's nightstands only
to find out one was a knockoff.


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MY CUSTOM BUILT SOFA TABLE - recycled bed posts +



WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE LOOK LIKE?
What can I say about my most favorite piece of furniture. I use it every single day, and it couldn't be more me.  I built it with salvaged furniture parts.



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BENCH MADE FROM CHAIRS painted in turquoise annie sloan






If you are thinking of creating
a bench from a pair of chairs
I'm happy to offer a tip or two on how I did mine.


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MAKING FRENCH COUNTRY BEDSIDES - using appliques on furniture










There they were sitting one on top of the other on the side of the street, two little wood boxes covered in banged up black paint. I was heading the opposite direction when I first saw them and had to make a u-turn to get
back to them. 

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BATHROOM STORAGE CABINET - repurposed glass door




One evening I spotted a salvaged glass door leaning against a hedge. I was inspired to start creating something around this lonely pane of glass. 

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HOW TO MAKE FRENCH BEDSIDE TABLES - wood working tips




Once upon a time someone spent time and money to build this little black cabinet, and they built a matching pair of them. They were built to last but I wanted to add some improvements. A color change for sure, maybe add some interest to the drawers, and lift them up higher with new legs.

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OUR FRENCH COUNTRY BEDROOM - curtains & chandelier




Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful woman who inspire,
nurture, and go way beyond.
Today is the day you should do NOTHING. Rest, relax, rejuvenate, and relinquish the
reigns to someone else today
and see if the world does explode.


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FREE to FLEA MARKET CHIC - shabby chic cabinet






A wonderful friend of mine picked up a roadside treasure and stored it for me in her garage for a few weeks. What I wouldn't give to have a garage of my
own, anyways back to the story. Once I had the extra space she then delivered it all the way to my place. Gotta love friends like this. She had sent me a photo when she first found it but I had forgotten what it looked like. Upon opening the back of her truck I became speechless ...
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OUR FRENCH COUNTRY BEDROOM - bedside cabinets






This has been my bedside cabinet for years and
there is a boy version to match it for the other
side of the bed. It was a short, dark, typical
furniture outlet piece before I gave it a complete
makeover. 
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MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL- my french mirror






I really do love mirrors, I have always had a large number
of them in my home. I think it is an affordable way to decorate
and easy for many people to do. Art can be tricky but anyone
can hang a mirror. My french trumeau mirror has to be 
my favorite of all time. I always smile when I look at it, I
fiercely protect it when anything big is moving near it,
and when it had no place to hang I made sure there was
somewhere to keep it safe.
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KITCHEN REVEAL - our home tour




Over the last little while I have rediscovered a few areas in our home and the kitchen is one of the spots I have focused on. I have also never really done a true reveal on this room so it's about time. It all started with a new set of shelves and spilled over to refinishing the fridge and even GG's coffee station got a makeover. I'm super happy with the new look and now it's time to share our little piece of heaven with you.

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EASY FARMHOUSE WALL ART - with an ink jet picture and a piece of wood






I wanted to make a quick and easy piece 
of farmhouse wall art and the first one I
completed was with this vintage cow 
image from The Graphics Fairy. I was so happy that it only took one hour and I
did it with stuff I had around the house. 
And I'm here to tell you it looks amazing.
So I made a second and wrote a "HOW 
TO" to share.



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VINTAGE SWITCH PLATES - small details of decorating




Our home is filled with unique items,  distressed finishes and vintage charm. It is a place we always want to retreat to and spend time together. 

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WIND STORM TOOK DOWN THE CHERRY TREES


GOOD OLD MOTHER NATURE
Last week the trees were all blooming with tons of flowers and I figured it was just about time to cut some to enjoy indoors. Little did I know what was right around the corner.


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HOW TO MAKE ROADSIDE FURNITURE FABULOUS - tv cabinet
















I did name this blog because
of my love for working with wood. And
even more I prefer saving 
wood furniture from the landfill. Come
and see how I used two roadside finds
to create one fabulous piece of furniture.


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REMOVING WATER MARKS, ADDING APPLIQUES, & CHANGING HARDWARE



I'm sharing with you how a simple three drawer dresser
gets a complete makeover in my house. Everything from
a new color and hardware to appliques and how to remove
white water marks from the top surface.
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PAINTING MY FRIDGE - with annie sloan chalk paint






The day finally arrived that
the fridge was finished, and
my makeover didn't cost a lot.
was just trying to solve what
to do with some rust stains and
broken handles before it escalated into something bigger.


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RECYCLED TIERED STAND - tips & inspiration





It doesn't matter if you stop in to a thrift store once a year or
once a week the abundance of metal kitchen ware is huge. Let me show you how I have recycled some of them.

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COLONEL MUSTARD DID IT - reclaiming sleigh bed



Colonel Mustard did

it with the knife in

the board room!


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ANTIQUE SHOE CABINET - curved glass






This piece was passed on to me
from someone who knows what
do. I was super excited the day
I loaded this cabinet into my
truck. I have always wanted to
makeover one of these cabinets.
Little did I know so much time
would pass before I could get
started on it.


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A LITTLE CHANDELIER & SHABBY CHIC SWITCH PLATES





This light fixture in our entry looks great
now, but it took a long time figuring out how to
get it to look decent. I had tried many different fixtures but nothing
worked until I thought outside of the box.


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THE FRENCH SIDE TABLE - made with long legs




Happy New Year!

GG and I enjoyed our Christmas with my family again this
year, unfortunately we don't get to spend anytime with his
family and grandchildren on the east coast. We do have plans
to see them again this summer, but for now it is time to get
back to work and focus on planning that trip. One week into
2016 and I have a new project finished and ready to share with
you, a french side table I built.


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