An Afternoon with Oliver

Oliver and I had a bad case of cabin-fever the other day.  We needed to get out of the house and away from our routine.  We headed downtown a couple of hours before we were to pick up Henry from school and walked, explored, and shopped.  We hit up Anthropologie and one of my favorite paper stores.  I managed to walk out with only a Simpatico candle that was on clearance (fir and grapefruit scented, in case you're curious) and the cutest little calendar I ever did see.  The wood stump kills me.  Downtown Milwaukee can be a blast, especially when you have someone sweet to share it with.

I'm ready to take on the rest of January, what little there is left of it.  I make no promises for February though.  That month is trouble, I tell you!

A Failed Project and Other Friday Ramblings

Have you ever been inspired by something or thought of a project in your head, saw it out to completion, and have it turn out nothing like you wanted it to?  This was that project for me.  I had been inspired by wire sculpture letters in a magazine a couple of months ago.  In the picture, there was a gallery wall that had the initials of a couple with the word "and" framed in between them. 

I decided I liked the idea enough to try to make it myself.  After all, the project sounded easy in my head.  My husband had the copper wire and wire cutters.  The only thing left was my ability to carry it out, which is always easier said than done, right?  As it turns out, I am no artist when it comes to wire sculpture.  The wire isn't straight where it should be straight, my joints are messy, and neither initial can stand on its own very well.  As my sweet mother-in-law would say, they're both a little "kiddywampus".  If you look veeeeeery closely, you can see some tape holding up the letter J.  I refuse to give up on them though.  That letter J will stand up on its own and the L will be straight.

The framed "&" is simply corrugated cardboard that I cut out and covered with decoupage glue in order to make it smooth and shiny.  I wanted it to have some texture to it but not look exactly like cardboard.  After it dried, I placed it into a thrifted and painted frame.  I suppose this part of the project isn't a total failure.

So there you have it.  I still like those initials enough to photograph them and keep them around.  That counts for something, right?  At least the project was free.

 

 

 

 

Do you have any plans for the weekend?  Ours will consist of continuing to paint the trim and doors white in our master bedroom, installing crown moulding in there, and making beef stew.  We also will be attending Jason's basketball tournament tomorrow morning.  He'll be coaching 7th and 8th grade boys and I'll be sitting in the bleachers with Henry and Oliver, who've already asked for Skittles and Starbursts.  There's nothing like a good sugar high to start off a Saturday morning!

Happy weekend, friends!

A Secretary Desk Makeover

This desk Jason bought for me on Craigslist took me over a year and a half to finish, mainly because I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. I debated painting it a bright color, like yellow or green.  Maybe a glossy black?  Perhaps white with a splashy, fun wallpaper on the inside?  You all know me though, right?  Color scares me sometimes.  What if I tire of it in a month?  It was a thorn I tell you, sitting there in the basement in all of its brown glory.

I ended up doing what I always do.  I painted the exterior of the desk white and gave it a gray paint job on the inside.  To make it a little more exciting, I lined the drawers with some wrapping paper and added some bright accessories that I can swap out for anything else that I'm loving, whenever the mood strikes.

So, here is another white, neutral makeover by me.  The good news is that I love this little secretary desk.  It reminds me of my Grandma Esther, who had one too, and filled it with pretty things and special memories.  Mine holds all of my favorite treasures and is a fun place to sit and write a letter, surf the Internet, or make a to do list.   I hope you like it, too!

Just to refresh your memory, because this desk has been on the ol' to do list for a long time, here are some pictures of what the desk looked like before the makeover.

Here are some pictures of the desk after the makeover.  Actually, I lied.  Here are a ton of after pictures.  Enjoy!

Thank you for reading!  I'll be back soon.

*****

In case you are curious, here are the specifics about the products I used on this project.

Paint colors:  

Primer:  Rust-oleum Spray Paint Primer

Exterior:  White by Olympic

Interior:  Behr color matched to Martha Stewart's Cobblestone

Hardware:

Liberty 35mm pendant knob/ Bronze Antique, purchased from the Home Depot

The two small round knobs and the hinges are the original hardware.

I'm linking up to:

I Heart Organizing

Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

This is the last post of Christmas 2012, I promise!

Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were pretty uneventful.  We spent a quiet evening and day, just the four of us, after returning home on Christmas Eve from my dear Grandpa Lloyd's funeral and Christmas with Jason's family.  After Jason and Henry's Christmas Eve services, we were exhausted but thankful to be home!

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did, too!

Here's to a new year.  Welcome, 2013!