Trimming the Den

Here we are again.  In the den.  Seems like there’s always something to do down there.  This week I’ve been focusing on the trimwork in the den/sewing room.  If you recall, the window facings, baseboards, and fireplace surround were all medium brown stained wood:

And they were a little worse for wear.  So, me and my trusty paintbrush got to work painting them all out in a crisp semi-gloss white.  Starting with a whole lot of prep work, priming with Kilz, followed by two coats of paint.  Whew!  What a lot of work, just for trim!

First I filled all the knots with wood filler, sanded, and caulked all the seams.  It was my first foray into caulking!  Let’s just say, I am hooked!  I love my caulk gun…. better than icing a cake, and much prettier results. :)  After the caulk was dry, I continued with a coat of oil Kilz to cover the wood grain.

  

The next step was paint!  Two coats of Olympic’s semi-gloss “White”.  Very creative, no?  I don’t go for all this “Ultra white” and all those other shades of white.  I buy the white off the shelf and paint the trim to match all over my house.  Boom.  Done.

Lovely and light, don’t you think?

By the way, I don’t usually keep a magazine rack full of cat toys in the fireplace.  Honest. 

Bandit is thrilled with his new perch spot.  Little does he know that this behavior will be short lived.  He is modeling in front of our blue paint swatch.  Today I purchased three gallons of Olympic’s “Cosmic Rays” blue paint.  So, that will be the next step, obviously.  But for now, I am happy to gaze at my new crisp white trim and especially the new and improved fireplace surround.

What do you think?  I am super happy to have this step finished, finally!

I’ll be back with more makeover results after the painting process!

Thanks for stopping by…

Foyer Refresh

I was browsing our local Habitat Restore the other day when I stumbled upon these two framed prints.  I’m always on the lookout for nice frames that can be fixed up, but not only were these two nice frames, but the art inside was lovely!  They are originally from Target and were marked with the super awesome price of ten bucks!  Score!  The hard part was deciding where to put them.  While I thought they would look great in our master bedroom, Michael suggested we hang them in the foyer for everyone to enjoy.  They were the right size, so I took down the monster flower poster (yeah that’s right, poster, complete with its plastic poster frame) from the foyer and put these up in its place.  Ahh, refreshing.

They feature a detailed frame with a double mat and prints of flower bulbs—orchid and narcissus.  They go nicely with our other orchid print which hangs on the upper staircase wall.  I heart.

What do you think?  You like the new look?

Butterflies…

 

 

Now, if I could just get my busy, little hummingbirds to sit still long enough for a photo. :)

July In the Garden

I can’t believe July is almost over!  It has been both very hot and very wet in turns… but the garden is thriving nonetheless.  Here’s a quick tour of what’s blooming in the garden this month. 

A little yellow coreopsis lingered into July along with the purple coneflowers…

Our pink Rose of Sharon is making its comeback after being pruned back last year.

The Black Eyed Susans are plentiful and cheerful!

 

The hot pink Crape Myrtle in the front yard is putting on a show this year, despite being torn in half by a falling tree last Spring.  Luckily the “good” side faces the street. :)

 

Happy Summer!

 

Bored? Make Chalkboard…

Here is an easy DIY summer project for you!

Take one old frame from thrift store/attic/friend’s attic  + chalkboard paint + spray paint = Fun framed chalkboard!

Step 1: Obtain old frame from friend’s attic.

*Photo has been altered to protect the innocent :)

Step 2: Spray frame desired color.  Spray insert (plywood, etc) with chalkboard paint.

Step 3: Reassemble frame and decorate with chalk!  Hang in kitchen!

Optional Step 4: Make another for your mother! :)

      

Voila!  Easy DIY chalkboard.

Super Fantastic Fourth Photos!

That’s fourth, as in fourth of July! 

Just had to share my super fantastic fourth and fireworks photos!  You see, it’s easy to be fantastic when you take about fifty shots… then just weed out the blurry ones! Ha!

Here’s a few from our house, donning patriotic duds for our cookout:

I love bunting! 

I have wanted red, white, and blue bunting for July 4th since I was a little kid, making my polka dot Uncle Sam’s hat out of tagboard and running up and down the street with my sister and our flag singing America, the Beautiful.  (<— dorks)  Now I finally got some for my stair railing!  Yay!

I also made a couple of flag pillow covers from a screen printed flag that I got free from the fabric store a couple years ago.  Perfect!

Plus, we went all-out patriotic this year and bought a flag for our porch.  Doesn’t it look super fantastic on our "colonial-esque” house?  I think so.

And here’s a few from the fireworks show at Tanglewood this year: 

   

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend!

Happy Fourth and Happy Birthday Blog!

Happy Birthday America!

 and

Happy First Birthday to my Blog! 

Yes, I have been blogging here for one year!  I’ve written 83 posts.  That’s a lot of rambling and self-absorption!  Thanks for reading my little blog, it makes my day! 

Hope you all have a Happy Independence Day!