Antique Frame Makeover

Does anyone else enjoy visiting antique stores?
I have posted several of my antiquing finds on my blog, and one of the most recent was an antique picture frame I discovered in Texas for just $10!

                                                              THIS                 into                THIS

The frame is very large--meant to hold a picture measuring 20 x 26 inches.

For a solid wood frame that big, I was happy to pay ten dollars. I especially loved the detailed carving in the frame's edge.

Luckily, there were some items I was having shipped to me from Texas, so I added this frame to the shipment. I got it in a few days, and began brainstorming what I was going to do with it.

Here is what it looked like before: 

I  found inspiration in this onesie I had bought for my daughter last year. It was made of my favorite teal color, and had adorable white flowers painted on.

Remember, crafting gives you the freedom to find inspiration anywhere you wish! Look at your surroundings and be inspired by fashion, nature, food, and more!

My supplies were: a piece of pine ply wood measuring 20x26 inches, sample jar of teal paint, wood glue, drill with 1 skrew, paint roller, white lace trim flower pot, fake flowers, 1 can of white spray paint, white paint and small paint brush (both which I already had)

I highly recommend letting your kids help with projects that you feel are safe for them to do.

Creativity can start at an early age!

I did 3 coats of teal paint before I started painting flowers.

Let your flower-painted board dry completely.
I then got the frame, and put a bead of translucent wood glue along all inside edges where the wood would be resting. I inserted the wood face down into the frame and put a weight on top of the wood, to insure it would be adhered well into the frame. (Sorry no picture of this)

After the frame was dried with the wood, I got my flower pot.

This pot is perfect to use, because the lace trim is beautiful, and allows for a screw to easily be drilled through, attatching it to my wood.

Sorry for the poor lighting....

I then filled the pot with some fake flowers I got on sale, and it was done and ready to be hung above my mantel!

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Dollhouse Makeover!

Remember this?

Yeah...I know Ive been saying I was going to make it over for about 6 months now....but its really happening! It's a present for Christmas for my daughters, complete with the cow Calico critter set Noel has been asking for for a while now...

I'm pretty excited and can't wait to share the reveal with you soon.

If you missed the stories of our dollhouse, go click the "Our Dollhouse Project" button on the right ;)

And don't forget to follow me on pinterest and twitter too.
I would love to inspire other moms with their dollhouses, so feel free to repin any dollhouse pictures on the LifeCreated board :)

Do you have any questions about making or finding a dollhouse?
What is one thing that prevents you from trying one?

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Trash to Treasure: Chair Makeover

Good Monday morning!
I hope your weekend was fun and enjoyable. I loved getting the chance to makeover this chair that I found in the trash a little over a week ago.

A neighbor has a big lot of land, and quite a bit of stuff. You know, if you've seen hoarders, the kind of person with old cars and machines that don't work. Piles of wood, metal.....just stuff. The city has ordered that he get rid of it. {yay!}

One day, I was passing by the house, and I saw their usual trash pile that they put out every few weeks. I saw this chair.
Keep in mind, I don't dig through trash...lol...I simply grab things that can be used and easily accessible if left in my alley, or on the side of the road. About once a month, I find something good.

This was good!

I wanted it soooo bad, but didn't know what my husband would say. He's not too keen on me finding more projects to do. After I got his approval, I drove to the house again. Its always awkward for me to just take stuff, so I saw the owner and asked if I could take it. He was more that happy to get rid of it, and even put it in my car for me.

He had had the chair since the 60's...it was solid oak...just a piece missing from a leg,

but otherwise, a great chair.

 
I got it home, and over the week I lightly sanded it.

 

I got a stain I liked and used a nap time to stain it. I am very impatient, so I got the kind that has the stain and sealer all in one! It worked beyond great!

 

One night I stayed up till 2am making these pillows for it...

The beige cushion on the bottom was in the clearance bin at Pier 1....

 

 

 

 

I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I was going to sell it after I fixed it up, but the pillows are custom for the chair, and they took a lot of work. I think I'll keep it ;).

Plus...my kids love it already... 

 

 

What treasures have you found from the trash?

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Colorblocked Stool From the Trash

I have mentioned the alley behind my house a couple of times, and have made some pretty awesome finds. I have also had to let some finds go just because my husband is somewhat anti-craft and very anti-mess.

Lets just say when I craft, I make a BIG mess. Cleaning it up is not one of my tendencies either...I usually start project after project and leave a trail.

Ive tried organizing and minimizing mess, but it still happens.

I saw this ugly and chewed stool in the alley a couple of days ago.

This is how it went (mostly):

Me: "OOOOhhh I see a stool I can redo"
Levi: "Oh no you don't..its trashy and I don't want it in the garage"
Me: "If its free, then what's the harm???...plllllllleeeeeaaaaassssseee? I will make it cute, resell it, and give you every penny to go towards your tv. {he's been wanting a new tv for months}
Levi: "No"

That goes to show how much he hated this stool...so much he was refusing money for his tv.

Somehow, I got it in the garage. I soon sawed the legs off, and used painters tape to create my stripes....this is what I came up with...makes a cute photo prop, or as a friend suggested: a time out chair.

Im just glad I got this project done in a morning, and it didn't sit in the garage for a year first- plus I spent ZERO dollars to do it.

;)
Thanks for reading and I hope you will comment below. I love to read what you think!

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Texas Treasures

Do you love to go "antiquing?"

I sure do, and I have to believe that Texas has quite a few amazing antique shops to visit.

I recently brought back a few treasures I found there, and a few that have sentimental feelings attatched to them.

Meet: THE COUCH
This couch is pretty old and has been in my family for quite a long time.
Lets just say, my great grandmother used to sleep on this couch, and it has been recovered once or twice. It is a solid wood frame, 8-way-hand-tied "settee", as my mom likes to call it.
In simple words, its a couch. Since we are about to move, it is living in the garage for now.

I remember when I was little, it was covered with a teal and gold velvet-like material. In the early 90''s my mom went through a Victorian phase and decided to recover it as it is now.

Growing up, this was the couch in the family room where my sister and I would practice dances/gymnastics, creating "shows" to then perform for my parents. We would take turns dancing, and whenever it was our turn to go away, this is where we would sit.
I would usually make up the routines and have to hold her legs for her when she wanted to do a handstand. I guess thats what big sisters are for.
Those days are the good memories I have of my sister- back when she wanted to be my friend.

            I can't wait to find a fabric I love and get it just the way I like now that its in my home.

Meet: THE FRAME

This was a random frame stuck all alone in a antique store in Houston. It didn't have a price, so I asked and they said "10 bucks!". I said "Ok!"

Not only is it solid wood, but this sucker is big and heavy!

 I love the detail on it too. Much to my husband's dismay, I intend on painting it white and putting something handmade in it over my mantle....we will see what I decide on soon!


Meet: THE TYPEWRITER

This thing doesn't really work right now, but I wanted it because my mom used it back in her college days.  I dont know if I should bother getting it serviced into working condition.... I think I want to.
I love the retro-tealish color of it, and typewriters sound so amazing as the keys snap the paper.
I have a feeling if I do get it fixed, a lot of love notes for Noel, Hope and Levi will be typed often.

Do you have any old treasures that have meaning for you?
Any amazing finds you have made?

I would love to hear about them;)

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