I Love Lamp

My daughter Jessica has her own, very first, super- cute studio apartment. The problem is, it’s a little dark. I gave her a couple of old hand-me-down brass lamps –they lit the room just fine, but looked a little sad amongst her other funky décor. Jessica is a fashion school grad and works in the industry, so esthetics are especially important to my creative girl. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Here is the before shot of the lamps. Not much to look at, but very well-made. By the way, I built that workbench complete with peg board. By myself. And those are my tools, not Brad’s. I have my own air compressor and nail gun too. :)

Be sure to cover the areas you don’t want to paint. For lamps, I find that the plastic grocery sacks work best along with a little painter’s tape. Also, be sure that your surface is clean and dry before painting.

While my paint was drying, I covered the shade. I used craft paper to draw my template by rolling the shade and tracing along the edge.

I then sprayed the shade with Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Spray. Be sure to cover the entire outside surface of the shade.

I covered the outside rims of the shade with black bias tape and snipped the inside tape so that it would fit snugly in a circle. I should have taken pictures, but I forgot. Sorry. Please email me with any questions. I’ll try to scrounge up another shade and do a tutorial.

I used Rustoleum Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover Spraypaint in Gloss Berry Pink. I am in love with the results, and more importantly, so is Jessica!

I'm linking with...

I'm Back

I've been MIA for a bit, but now I'm back. Do you ever have those times in your life where there are literally not enough hours to get everything accomplished? The past couple of weeks have been that way for me. Something had to give, and unfortunately it was blogging. I will try my best not to do that again. Check back tomorrow for some fabulous how-to posts and maybe a recipe or two.

Sugar Free Day 14

It's been 2 whole weeks since I last tasted sugar! The first week was pretty rough - headaches, tired, irritable. It was like an entire week of PMS. The second week - so much better!

I have more energy than I've had in years and I'm going to bed at night with that "good kind of tired" feeling; not exhausted because my body feels like it's failing me, tired because I am accomplishing so much during the day.

The second huge change is in my head. I was really beginning to think that I had adult ADD-seriously; I just couldn't focus and seemed to move from one project to the next without completing a thing. It was driving me nuts. The fuzzy feeling in my brain is gone. I am so on task, it's almost ridiculous.

So, I know I said that I am not going to have sugar until Christmas, but I've changed my mind. I am going to have a piece of pie on Thanksgiving, because I make a really, really good apple pie. But will I have a second piece after everyone leaves? No. Will I have another the following morning with my coffee? I will not. Because I really like the way I'm feeling.

Mantle Reveal

I pretty much love my mantle.  The pics just don’t do it justice; it is really, really hard to get a good picture when a mirror is the backdrop!    The wreath has a nice antiquey feel, thanks to the coffee staining.  Thanks again to Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage for the great idea!  Check it out…

and yes, that is a ceiling fan with GOLD trim in the background.  We are in the process of updating our 20-year-old home with all new fixtures. It’s a pricey endeavor.  Look for posts on the updates in the near future!

What are your fall decorating projects?

Black Shutter Backdrop

I found these great shutters at a garage sale last weekend for only $3 bucks!  Don’t you love it when that happens?!  I thought they would make the perfect addition to my boring mantle, but the color was all wrong.  Great for shabby chic, wrong for Fall mantle.

So, of course I decided to spray paint them.  I used Krylon Indoor/Outdoor #51602 in Flat Black. I love Krylon paints, they have great coverage and their sprayers never clog!  I sound like a commercial, but seriously, I love their products.

Here’s a sneak peek of how they look on my mantle.  I’m not in love with the candle holders for this – I may change them.

Check back soon for my complete mantle reveal!

Fabulous Book Paper Wreath

I love this wreath!  Gina over at Shabby Creek Cottage gave me the idea to turn her Book Page Garland into a wreath.  It was so much fun to make!  Be sure to check out Gina’s blog; everything she makes is super-cute, plus she’ll give you step-by-step instructions on how to make the paper “flowers/ruffles/goodness.”

I started with a wreath form that I picked up at Michael’s for $4.  Because I am hanging the wreath on a mirror, I didn’t want the staples to scratch.

Then I made a whole bunch of book page “flowers”

I hot-glued 2 pieces at a time per glob (technical term)  of hot glue.

I am thrilled with the results! I hung it from a piece of burnt-orange satin ribbon.  I used a 3M Command Strip hook to attach it to my mirror. 

Disclaimer:  It is really difficult to take a decent picture when a giant mirror is the backdrop!

The mantle reveal is almost here.  Be sure to check back!

My Succulent Garden

Succulents are the perfect plants for our Southern California heat. When the temps reach 100 plus degrees, they are one of the few plants still standing. I recently sent a bunch of succulent clippings to Maggie over at Gussy Sews. I hope she’s ready; I went a little nuts with the clippers. While in my garden, I thought it would be nice to snap a few pictures of my favorites and share them with you. I don’t know all of the names, but I love them all!

I tried for several summers to grow strawberries in this pot, but they always cooked. The succulents thrive in here!

This used to be home to my vegetable garden, but when it got too shady I planted a succulent garden instead.

Some of my favorite “color bowls”.

This is my favorite pot. It’s a super-heavy, rusty cast iron kettle – LOVE!

The one’s shaped like flowers are some of my faves!

A little cactus/succulent medley.

What’s going on in your garden? I’d love to hear all about it!