Wednesday, December 28, 2011

An Affair with Paint!

As I'm still dismantling Christmas, I see that lots of folks are sharing their fun project(s) they conquered this past year.  So, I thought I'd do the same!  Let's just call this the "Year of Paint!"

I'll keep my babbling to a minimum so that the *tons* (sorry) of pictures can speak for themselves:

It all started with painting/distressing/staining a simple bench BM White Dove and exPLODED from there! 

BEFORE:


AFTER:


That led to this ...

BEFORE:


AFTER (I painted every.single.piece of furniture in here BM White Dove, followed by distressing and glazing/staining) (sorry the pic quality isn't the best):


My paint brush then whisked me over to our sitting room, where I took it from this:


to THIS:  Oh sure, let's paint the bookcase BM White Dove and cover the furniture with white slipcovers!


Next up, the buffet in the great room ...

BEFORE:


AFTER (this got coated with AS Old White, followed by distressing and waxing).  Oops, almost forgot I painted the mirror, too):


Gee, Becca, while we've got the AS Old White paint can open, let's just go ahead and paint the fireplace on the porch!  (Sorry I don't have a before picture):


Oopsee, SOMEbody then discovered AS Chateaux Grey:


And, hey, let's just bring the Chateaux Grey into the kitchen, why don't we?

BEFORE:


AFTER:


Now wait, since I painted the island Chateaux Grey, apparently, that meant that I had to paint the stools Old White for contrast, and, for good measure, add a fun French image by the Graphics Fairy!

BEFORE:


AFTER:


Annnnd, because I love odd numbers when it comes to decorating, I thought it only right to paint a third piece in the AS Chateaux Grey.  And, why not just make it a big ol' piece like the dry bar!

BEFORE:


AFTER:


And, well, THEN, I thought that I might as well go ahead and paint the cabinets in the kitchen, too!  Except, I only painted the upper cabs BM White Dove (later followed by a coat of AS Old White, follwed by distressing).  I left our lower cabs in their original maple stain:

BEFORE:


AFTER:



Still with me?  Let's seeeeee, next was the kitchen table beside the dry bar.  I painted the base of it AS Old White, leaving the top and chairs in their original stain (sorry no before pic):


Okay ... so, I'm pretty sure *this* is when I realized I had a problem ... even my poor pumpkins got attacked with AS Old White! LOL


Annnnd, most recently, while still in the kitchen, I decided to ask my sweet hubby to take down a lonesome cabinet in the corner and replace it with three shelves that I made all by myself!  I then painted them AS Old White and distressed them.  They make me smile, and I'll have a great time decorating them with each new season!

BEFORE:


AFTER:


Needless to say, I've been one crazy painting mama this past year and think an intervention is definitely in order!  Thankfully, I'm not sure that there is anything left to paint in our home.  LOL  (Nah, I'm sure I'll find SOMEthing to splash with paint in 2012!)

Okay, you're next ... what are your fun projects you conquered this year?!

Thanks so much for stopping by!



I'm linking up with:

Savvy Southern Style/WUW
Kristen's Creations/Share Your Creations
Katherine's Corner/Thursday Favorite Things
No Minimalist Here/Open House Thursday
French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday



Monday, December 26, 2011

Happy New Year!

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday!  Do you have wrapping paper and empty boxes everywhere?  Are you stuffed from this past weekend's fabulous meals?  We are, for sure!  Jax is busy playing with all of his new "goods," and John and I are cleaning up (yuck).

Are you someone who opted to go with the "less is more" motto this season when it came to holiday decorating?  If so, I envy you right.this.second!   Yes, I have the lovely task of taking allllll of our decorations down and, lemme tell ya', this is NOT a part of the holiday season that I enjoy! 

Sooooo, while I am preoccupied in lots of *mess* this week, I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year, and that I can't wait to see what trouble our decoratin' minds get us into in 2012!




Friday, December 23, 2011

Honorable Mentions ...

Okay ... Christmas is day after tomorrow, which reminds me of ALLL of the things I have yet to cross off my list!  Who's with me?

I almost forgot to share a few other trees in our home ... so, here's a little shout out to them:

This simple one is in our master bedroom, done in soft blues, golds and whites.  I can't show you the rest of our bedroom, because, well, it would make you want to sign me up for the "Hoarders" show:


Crazy topper (everything came from Wal-Mart last year):


Jackson's tree in his playroom, which he decorated mostly by himself ... Mommy and Daddy stepped in to fill in just a bit and add the topper:


It's filled with sports, superheroes ...


and his handmade ornaments:


"Little Bit" sits in Jax's bedroom on his dresser ... done in just sports to go with the theme in his room:


Annnnd, out in the "man cave" (a/k/a, our garage), sits our (I mean, John's) NY Yankee tree:


I filled it with all things "Yankee" ... from candy canes and coasters ...


pops of red and jersey ornaments ...


to these cute, little nutcrackers:


I hope you all have a great day, finishing up your shopping, preparing yummy treats or just enjoying the season quietly at home!  Just be sure and watch out for the crazed lady today ... it's just me, and an I apologize in advance if I happen to knock you over while on my mission of last minute shopping!  LOL

Happy Holidays,






Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Off to the Christmas Breakfast Area ...

Eek ... I'm running out of time to share our Christmas home ... so, again, my apologies that I'm bombarding you with more!

Welcome to our Christmas breakfast area, which sits right off of the kitchen ... of course, it was only right to continue the whimsical theme over here, as well.


A little closer look:


I decided to keep the tablescape pretty simple ... both the red chargers and the cream plates are part of the BH&G line from Wal-Mart (purchased last year):  And, the *ca-ute* gingerbread guys and gals are from Cracker Barrel.  They're actually utensil holders; however, I opted to use them as napkin rings, instead:


I snagged the pretty wine glasses last year at Pier One:


For the centerpiece, I *scrunched* up a table cloth and layered a white cake stand (from PB) on top, along with a glass hurricane, which I surrounded with greenery, gingerbread cuties and red ornaments.  I love the little houses I found a few years ago (from Big Lots):


Aren't they fun?  Of course, the batteries went out on this one *right* before I snapped the pic:


I love seeing the glow of the Christmas tree through the glass:


Up above, I added some whimsy to the chandie by adding garland, mesh, ornaments and snowflakes.  I then decided to hang a few ornaments from glittery red ribbon:


 
Here's the temporary home to our mirrored table (which usually sits where the tree is) ... just a simple vignette on top:


 
A little red candle nestled in faux snow glows in a lantern from Home Goods:
 
 
On the other side is our dry bar ...
 

I spy sweet treats!

 
Jax loves "his" new gingerbread house (Cracker Barrel), especially because it lights up:
 

Our Candy Santa stands guard ...


along with our Baker Santa.  The candy trees are from Big Lots!

 
Thank goodness these treats are NOT fo' realz!
 

 
In the background is our chalkboard made out of inexpensive poster board (Dollar Tree) and my heavily relied on chalk markers!
 
 
Annnnd, of course, I had to carry a bit of the red up above to our white pieces:
 

I'll save a seat for you, so come on over!


Before you go, I thought I'd share the face of a boy who is beyond excited that school is OUT, and Santa is on his way!  Wooo Hoooo!

 
I'm off to finish shopping ... wish me luck!  Thanks so much for stopping by!
 
I'm linking up with:
 
Savvy Southern Style/WUW