Papasan Makeover

As I have said before, I am expecting a baby girl in just about three months and have two kiddos already, Max and Emma.  Emma will be sharing a room with her new sister and we have been working our tushies off getting the rooms ready.  I found this kids' papasan chair at a yard sale for $12!  I thought it was the cutest little thing and when Emma sat in it, it fit like a glove! :-)  SOLD!

I knew for sure that there would be a makeover in this baby's future...just wasn't sure WHO would be doing it.  I am NOT a seamstress, I would love to learn, but I have no time at the moment to teach myself.  I thought I would ask a friend or a family member to sew a new cover, but alas, my patience (or lack thereof) got the best of me and I just couldn't wait! 

I bought some cool fabric from fabric.com and spray painted the base of the chair black.  When the fabric came in and the girls' room was painted and ready for it, I took matters into my own hands.  I used the "no-sew" hem material, you know the kind you place between two pieces of fabric and iron on.  I admit, I wasn't sure how or if this would even work.  But, I am elated to report that it worked fantastically.  The package said it should last through multiple washes, so I am crossing my fingers that it can stand up to a 30 lb. princess and her baby sister.  At least for a few years!

Here is the finished product...cute, huh? :-)

I laid the cushion on the fabric and cut around it, leaving a LOT of extra material (I can always cut off the excess later).  Then I placed the outer sides of the fabric (the ones you see) together and pinned where I wanted to iron.  I ironed the two pieces together, careful to leave a hole big enough to stuff the cushion in, turned the fabric right side out, put the cushion in and ironed the hem the rest of the way.  Obviously, where I had to iron after placing the cushion in isn't as pretty as the rest, but you really can't tell with this papasan chair and the busy pattern of the fabric (I just sort of tucked the excess under.)

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You can't beat FREE!

This piece of wood has been hanging out in my garage for longer than I can remember.  I have always wanted to do SOMETHING with it.

After taking down the Easter stuff on my mantel, I looked at the bare space and decided I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with it!  So, I grabbed the old piece of neglected wood and gave it a really good sanding.  Then I painted it with a white wash, because I loved the old, weathered look of it and couldn't bear to give it a "new" look.  Then, my bff let me borrow her cricut (cuz she's awesome like that).  I cut out letters to spell BLISS, which is the name of my photography business and also the feeling I get as a mother of two wonderful kiddos, with one on the way.  Awesome double meaning...it was too good.  :-)

I used the contact paper from the cricut as a stencil and painted the letters in black.

I have extremely high ceilings in my great room, so this works well to add height in the room.  Another way I can use this is to add my babies pictures, since they truly give me BLISS!

All of this for nothing at all!  Love it! :-)

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Meet Mrs. Jackson...

Mrs. Michael Jackson...or so she calls herself!  I have the priviledge of knowing this little beauty, as she lives a few doors down from me.  And, as a sidenote, I have also kicked her little tushy at the Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii.  :-)  I, too, am a huge MJ fan!

She recently went to see a MJ tribute concert and got all dressed up to go.  Her mom posted pictures on FB and instantly my mind started racing with ideas.  She has been asking me to take pics of her and I am always happy to practice.  This was just too good to pass up!

So, I asked her to wear her finest MJ tribute outfit and we headed to the train station...I was going for a grungy, urban feel.  I think we accompished it...

I asked her to toss her hat, after I snapped the pic she sprinted over and picked up the sacred hat, brushed it off and said, "I don't want it to be dirty for my party."  Oops.  :-)  Note her right hand...love it.

I love this silhouette shot.

Another of my faves...the hat, the glasses, the scarf.  I can't get enough! :-)

She struck this classic MJ pose more times than I could count in the hour.  Impressive, to say the least! 

SHE'S BAD!!



My New Backdrop and Floordrop...LOVE

Recently, I have fallen in love (and perhaps started an infatuation) with the vintage look in photographs.  I have always been very drawn to old photos and with my recent purchase of Photoshop CS5, I have been playing around with creating different vintage looks in post-processing.  I bought the backdrop and floordop below for photo sessions (I must admit, I had my little Avery's upcoming newborn picks in mind when I purchased).  It is very vintage and will allow me to play even more with my new obsession.  I got these yesterday in the mail and couldn't wait to try them out...so, I begged my model to pose for a few pics and she did (without putting up TOO much of a fight).



Can't Beat A Quarter

This was originally 50 cents, but I happened upon a 50% off sale at the Gift and Thrift last week, as they are redesigning the store.  Half off sales are awesome, even if the item only started out at 50 cents!  :-)  I have seen these other places and just think they look so nice, so when I saw this, I had to have it.  Apparently, it was a wedding gift for some happy couple (well, at least they were happy once), because there are two names and a date in the middle.  Ah well...time to scratch it up and give it a new life.  I used sand paper to rough it up a bit...

Applied three coats of chalkboard paint and there you have it!  Easy peasy!  :-)

A Bit Thrift...A Tad Splurge

Goodwill had these lamp bases for $1 each.  Too good to pass up.  I have had them for months now, trying to figure out what to do with them.  I finished my son's new nightstand and thought that one of these babies would look nice on top.  Here's what the thrift find looked like...

First, I gave it two coats of a chocolate brown paint.  Then, I applied two coats of white.  A little bit of sanding gave me the look that I was going for.

Once the $1 base was done, I was on the hunt for a shade.  Of course, I didn't want to spend a lot.  I looked and looked and looked some more, but just couldn't find anything that I liked.  Then, I ran into KMart one day for something else, and decided to peruse the lamp shade aisle.  This was the last shade of its kind there.  My son actually pointed it out, probably because it's blue, and anything blue is undoubtedly cool.  It was $14.99, much more than I wanted to spend, but I decided that paired with the $1 base, it was still less than I would have spent on a new lamp, so I did it...I splurged.  I really do like the way that it looks.

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Rocking Revival!!

So, I was dropping off something to a friend last Friday and as I was driving back out through her development, I happened upon a yard sale.  Actually, it turns out the big neighborhood yard sale was on Saturday, and these people were being proactive and getting ready the day before.  SCORE!  I get there before the big crowd.  Although they had a TON of stuff, I left there with this large woven basket for $2, that I plan to use for newborn sessions...

And, this child's rocking chair for $3...

Oh, yes, this rocker needed some TLC.  Still had some stickers on it...

After a good sanding, I gave it a coat of latex primer. 

Then, two coats of pink satin latex paint and I knew that this would be a perfect prop for the right little lady.  Can't wait to sit a beautiful little girl in this chair.  Love it!

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Feminizing Frames

First, I really hope that's how you spell feminizing (?).  :-)  I bought these frames at Christmas Tree Shops for $2!!  YeeHA!  Wanted some plain white frames for my daughter (soon to be daughters) new room.  She already had a green gingham lamp shade, and I spotted a green gingham table cloth at CTS for $1, so I snatched that bad boy up, too!  Rosette time, baby! 

What started very simple and plain, turned out very feminine and interesting.  My plan is to have one frame for my four year old daughter and one for my daughter-to-be.  Once she gets here and I can snap millions of pictures of her, she will grace one of these lovelies, too.  Two $3 frames that will look adorable in the new shared room (ahem, when it's complete). 

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