Halloween and the Evil Minion!!

I know I have not posted any furniture updates in a very long time... that is what happens when you don't have a garage or outdoor space to work in at the moment... But I just finished my son's Halloween costume and wanted to share!

I have ALWAYS wanted to be the "cool mom" who makes her kids costumes and such each year. I even try to make awesome birthdays cakes, too. ;)

His first birthday party was Toy Story theme. Hamm was his smash cake!

The first couple years, I always ended up with a store bought costume. 

My son has major medical issues and the first 2 years, he was in the ICU for surgeries and other illnesses.

This was his first halloween... He was a pony! :)

His second Halloween he actually had 2 costumes! Spiderman and Woody! The ICU staff all dressed as Toy Story characters and Noah was Woody!

For some reason that I do not remember, he did not dress up for his third Halloween.. So, I do not have any cute photos. :/

BUT, last year I made his costume for the first time!! 

He was Superman!!!!! 

I made the cape, and Superman patch.

 Spray painted a pair of pink snow boots! ;)

 He was, once again, admitted in the ICE at the time. But this was the first time he was healthy enough to participate in the hospital's trick-or-treat.

 My little super hero watching over Milwaukee!! ;)

So, now we are about to celebrate his 5th Halloween.

Thankfully, he is still home!! Praying he STAYS home!

Noah is ALL about Despicable Me! For his birthday this year, his aunt rented out the movie theatre for family and friends to watch DM2! SO MUCH FUN!!!

I got very creative for his costume this year... I LOVED the purple minions and thought he should be one!!

I looked everywhere for a plain purple hoodie that wasn't girly... NO WHERE to be found!

SO.. Instead, I came up with my own pattern and made one myself!!

 It is all finished!! I will post photos of him in it after Thursday!!

Garage sales and a Cozy Coupe

Today was a beautiful day. 

And what made it better was the fact that my sister and brother-in-law's neighborhood had their spring garage sale!! FUN!!! I did find a old TV stand that I have fun refurbishing plans for... BUT this is the project I worked on this weekend. 

This was given to me from a family friend for my son.

She told me that it was old and faded but I told her my son would love it anyway.

I have seen ideas on Pinterest where someone painted a Cozy Coupe to look like a Batmobile. I wanted to try my hand at repainting my son's Coupe but wanted to come up with a different idea. 

Although I am not completely finished, I must say, just the base paint makes this fun little car look sharp!! 

Hopefully soon I will have this completely finished and will post photos.

The "First Born"

I have started!!! YAY!!! After about 6 years, I am finally starting my refurbishing project. 

Here is my "first born" ... Isn't she CUTE!!??

 I wish I had taken before pictures so that you could see the change. ::sigh:: Lesson learned!

This night stand has been in my family for a few generations. I want to say that my late grandpa made this but I am unsure. This was part of a bedroom set with a huge dresser and a vanity. Oh, how I wish I had the dresser and vanity but, unfortunately, they were destroyed in a house fire in my parents home back in 2008. So sad. :(

Since I do not have before pictures or pictures of the process, I'll just let ya know what I did. :)

I began by removing the hardware. 

This was brass ... and very ... not so pretty. I thought that I might find a new "updated" handle pull, but my mom and sister convinced me to keep the original and just spray paint it. I am glad they did. So, I primed and painted it a metallic silver and once it was dry I rubbed a little black paint on it to give it a worn look and to bring out the detail. 

I sanded the whole stand and drawer just enough for the primer to stick and then put on a couple coats of a deep purple and let it dry.

Next, I was trying to think of how I wanted the cubby area to look. I have seen other's do wall paper inside so I decided to go that route. I even decided to do the inside of the drawer. Instead of wallpaper, I decided that scrapbook paper would do just fine. I found the PERFECT design! Silver/metallic with swirls.... doesn't it look awesome with the handle pull??

So there it is, people! What do you think?? Not bad for my first. :)

The line up!

As I have mentioned, I have a lot of un-matching furniture pieces, They came from all over. From family, from the dumpster (I still can't believe others would throw out a perfectly good table!), garage sales ... you get the idea! I don't think there is one pair of matching stains even! It is pretty funny looking at our living space right now. But I am hoping I can transform these into the beauties I know they are. 

So here is just a couple pieces in the line up:

This side table was from my late grandma.

When she moved out of her home a few years before she passed, the grandkids got free reign on anything she did not have the space for at her new place. The whole process was very nostalgic. Going through all the old toys, books, jewelry, and furniture brought back so many memories. I took home some jewelry pieces that I remember her wearing on occasion, the whole collection of the Raggity Ann and Andy books (I would read each one whenever I stayed with my grandma) and this side table. It looks pretty sad sitting next to my fridge being used as the internet box holder. But I promise .. She will look pretty in no time and will have a better place and purpose soon! :)

This side table I am unsure of where we got this from. But isn't it interesting?

 This thing is SOLID too! Great work went into this table when it was built and it fits perfectly next to our new couch. Can't wait to enhance the details! 

More photos to come!! 

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!! I am so glad you found me!

A little about myself ... I married my high school sweet heart and we have a mischievous and sweet 3 year old boy. I love them both to pieces!

I have always been very creative and love to paint, draw, create, and just let my imagination show in my work. I also LOVE to read and one of my favorite authors is Phillippa Gregory. She has a new book coming out soon and I can not wait to get my hands on it!

My husband and I have been married for 6 1/2 years and started collecting hand-me-down furniture from the beginning. We had NOTHING to make our first apartment look lived in so we were very grateful to those who helped us out by donating their unwanted, un-matching furniture. Our living space has looked odd since. I don't mind though. I can see what these pieces can be and have just recently started giving them "face-lifts". I am super excited to have readers to follow along on my artful journey! Also, excited to start having matching furniture! HAHAHA!!

Debi :)