This Little Piggy…

This little piggy went to the dump…well, actually to the side of my yard!

 

As much as I love pigs (which I don’t), I have been wanting to redo this bench for a long time. Unfortunately I lacked motivation to do it, until the cement square was done!  The piggy bench just did NOT look right.  Who puts pigs frolicking in the mud on a bench anyway?  Maybe cute if you lived on a farm?  Or not!

This bench is heavy!  Of course I decided to start on it when I was home alone.  Before I could even move the bench, I had to unscrew the iron pigs, which then fell and cut my finger. Ok, more like scratched my finger.

After I removed the heavy iron pig scene, I covered (barely) the wood and spray painted the iron arms Kyrlon Navy Blue. I gave it a couple of coats, let it dry, then knocked it over, literally just pushed it over,  so I could spray paint the feet of the bench.

While the waiting for the paint to dry, I cut my 1x6 to fit inside the back of my bench.  My dad was kind enough to let me ‘borrow’ his saw, which he may never get back.  This was my first time using it all by myself.  I think my dad thought I would cut my fingers off cause he wanted me to call him right when I was done!  It was the easiest thing to use!  I loved it and still have ALL my fingers!!!

Next I gave my newly cut wood a couple coats of spray paint, followed by roughing up the edges with sand paper and finishing with some stain.  The piece looked kinda blah, so I decided to stencil on it.  I have never stenciled on wood and thought how hard can it be?  Well, it was a disaster.  I do not have a stencil brush so I used a paint brush.  That did not work, so I had to sand it off and repaint and stain my wood.  Ugh!  Next, I tried spray painting with the stencil and that worked better, but not great.  I kept the spray paint look anyway, cause I am lazy (don’t judge) and was NOT going to do it again!!!  Not sure why I didn’t take a picture of that mess.

                

While my wood piece was drying, I stained the bench.  After everything was dry I attached my stenciled wood piece to the bench, which was a challenge in itself. But I did it!

Thank goodness the pigs are gone.  I LOVE how it turned out.  Now to find some cute outside pillows…HomeGoods here I come! 

One more thing. If you know anyone who loves pigs, I still have the iron piece!

                                                                          
Linked to the following Link Parties!
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A Cement Square?

While my mom and I were cleaning and organizing my garage my dad was fixing up a cement square.  A what…you ask?  We recently had our spa (that didn’t work) removed…leaving a square of cement.  The spa, which could only hold about 2 people, was old and quite ugly. My dad had kept telling me to get rid of it so he could work on my backyard.  As soon as he heard that I had it removed, he decided to come with my mom to ‘fix’ the cement square! 

Here is the old ugly spa!

 

Already looking better with the spa gone. But better wasn’t the objective…great was!

There you have it!  So much better, don’t you think?  My dad has a great eye for landscaping and outdoor living.  He stained the cement, put sealant over it and moved my furniture and pots to make it an awesome little sitting area.  Notice the bench with the pigs playing in the mud on it. Cute, huh?  NOT!  I am in the process of redoing that bench, so watch for the new improved version, minus the muddy piggy's!!!

                                                                            

I Soooo Need These!

Why do you go thrift store shopping?  Is it the thrill of the hunt?  The excitement of that amazing find?  The endless possibilities?  What about that piece you find that makes you stop, stare and think…what the???  You know those pieces I am talking about.  My friends and I always have a great time when we hit the thrift stores.  You never know what crazy ridiculous object you will find that will make you laugh!!!  And we love to laugh!

   My friend Maggie and I saw this and just about died!  Really…who has a red velvet headboard? Hugh Hefner?               And it was sold! Unreal!!!

And really, why would someone get rid of their mermaid?  MISTAKE!!! They are going to regret that decision one day.

                

Now if this mannequin doesn’t make you want to purchase that outfit ASAP, then you need your eyes checked!

When I look at this all I can think about is how comfortable this medieval thingy would be to lounge in on my patio.  I so would have bought it, but I didn’t think I could wheel it all the way home.  Yes, it has wheels! 

Everyone has their own unique style and taste which is great, but really???

What a Hoot!

Junk Removal

Wow!!! I am exhausted!  My parents and I worked 3 days straight for about 7 hours a day emptying, cleaning, and organizing my garage.  I haven’t worked that hard in days…ok, I mean years!

It was great to donate 3 big loads to different charities.  Good thing I did the cleaning out while my son was at school…he hates parting with anything of his.  Can’t let him see this picture.

                                 

How does someone collect so much junk…I mean treasures?

Ok, so I had kept ALL of my son’s baby clothes and toys.  I had so many containers full of his stuff thinking that if we had another child and it was a boy I would already have all this great stuff.  Who was I kidding?  I so would have bought all new stuff anyway!!!

It was so hard to give his baby clothes away.  Kind of made me sad that my baby is growing up so fast.  I kept a handful of his clothes that meant something to me. 

This picture makes me so happy. Why? You ask.  Well let me tell you.  I have so many frames, trays, containers and crafty things to start and complete in that mess! I was able to set up a craft/project area in my garage, which will be another post, that is so cool!!!

Super busy week, but so worth it.  Thanks mom and dad for all your help!

Life’s a Hoot!

                                                                           

A Hoarding Hooter

 

How scary is this garage?  I mean, who would let their garage get this out of control?

       

Look at all that stuff!  Some people may think this person is a hoarder, but I think this person is awesome.  It may look like a bunch of junk, but, if you look closely, you can see a ton of ‘projects’ to be started.   The crazy thing is, the person whose garage this is, knows where everything is in all that clutter!

My husband has finally told me that if I don’t clean out and organize MY garage…yep all that junk is MINE…that is he is going to throw it ALL away!  Whatever!  But, I did decide it was time to unload some of my stuff to make room for more stuff…hehe!  My awesome parents are on their way here to help me organize the garage. 

‘Cleaning out my garage one project at a time’ will be a series in which I show the projects I have ‘found’ in my garage and completed.

I don’t give a ‘hoot’ if I am a hoarder!

                                                                      

Vintage Thrift Store Finds

Thrift store shopping is so much fun!  You never ever know what you will find when hunting through them. I enjoy it so much more now after seeing all the transformations and ideas on blogs.  Finding an old piece of furniture with good bones for a great price is such a thrill!  You know what I am talking about!!!   

This last weekend my mom and I ‘hunted’ in thrift stores and Antique malls in Palm Springs.  Antique malls are fun, but are usually quite expensive.  We found some really fun pieces if you were doing a retro/vintage theme!!!

This is too stinking cute!  Wonder if my husband would go for it? 

So…I just showed my husband this picture and he said “awesome…what is it?” Really????

 

Orange is such a happy color. This would be great in a bathroom!

Sorry, not the greatest picture…but I loved this yellow hutch.  It would be awesome anywhere in MY house!  If this had been in Poway and not Palm Springs, I would have been extremely tempted to purchase it, despite the high price tag.

I just showed you the good pieces, stay tuned for the bad and the ugly!!!

A ‘hoot’ out to thrift stores!

                                                                        

To Copy or Not to Copy?

To copy or not to copy?  That is the question?

I am one of those people who have to copy everything exactly!!!  If a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of salt, that is what I put into the recipe.  If I see a project done with Krylon Heirloom White paint, that is the paint I use.  

Some people say copying is the best form of flattery.  What do you think?  Most all my projects I have done have been ones I have seen on blogs I read or on Pinterest.  At first I kind of felt guilty copying projects and giving them to friends as gifts, since the project wasn’t originally my idea. But, I realize people wouldn’t post their projects and ideas with instructions if they didn’t want people to make their projects. Just MAKE sure you give CREDIT where credit is due!

The more I copy things the more I come up with my own ideas and ways to do things! Copying is a great way for your own creativity to start growing! 

One of my absolute favorite blogs to copy and read is Shanty 2 Chic.  The Shanty sisters are amazing!  I am always excited to see what awesome project they have come up with.  Their projects are so fun to make because they give simple easy directions to follow!  Which is something I definitely need.  I have ‘copied’ a number of their projects to give as gifts to my family and friends.  I always give credit to the Shanty girls!!!  

This is a frame from the Shanty sisters that I have made twice now.  Here is the link their Shanty 2 Chic frame.

These are the supplies and tools I used:

2x8x10 piece of wood (Home Depot)

burlap (Walmart)

Krylon Smoke Gray and Heirloom White spray paint (Home Depot/Walmart)

a wooden clothespin (Hobby Lobby)

wooden finial (Lowes)

candle wax (I used a Peppermint candle from Bath and Body Works, my hands smelled so good the rest of the day!)

a hook to hang on wall

furniture tacks – black ones

hammer

sand paper

super glue

Follow these simple steps:

                                                   

1. Attach your hook on the back of wood.    2. Screw finial into the top of wood.   3. Spray paint a light coat of the gray.

 

                                                        

4.Take candle wax and rub on edges of wood and finial.           5. Spray paint a good coat of the white paint.

 

 

6. Spray paint your clothespin. 

Spray painting a clothespin can be quite challenging.  You can’t hold it or you will end up with paint all over your hand.  If you lay it down you can’t coat all the sides very well.  After contemplating this dilemma I clipped it on a tiny branch then sprayed it.  I pretty much thought I was a genius! 

                                                 

7. Once paint dries, take sandpaper and sand the wax off.     8. Cut burlap, attach with tacks, hot glue clothespin on.

 

How easy, but totally awesome is that!?!

So to conclude, COPYING is a Hoot!