Here I go a thrifting!

Well I'm on a mission of greatness! My thrifting partner and I had quite the successful adventure today. So successful that I think we had at least 3 high fives during the course of our afternoon! We started our day at a garage sale at an obscure house in Keller. Most of his things were priced like he was running an antique brick and mortar. Not to say his stud wasn't amazing, I just wasn't prepared to pay $35 for a numbered yet opened and played with General Lee. Lol! Nor was I interested in paying $75 for a 1940s or 1950s speed racer type car. I did, however, score these terrific skates that I remember from my childhood for FIVE DOLLARS!

Our next fruitful stop was at Thrift Town in mid cities. I wasn't thrilled by this shop but did manage to find some chairs to add to the inventory! One upholstered bentwood arm chair was just begging for some stain and fab fabric. And two slat back side chairs with ridiculously oversized mismatched seats needed me desperately. These chairs are a perfect example of how NOT to Frankenstein some chairs together. Lol. Needless to say, I have a vision of fabulousness for these guys!

Our next stop was a great flea market that we just kind of stumbled upon. It's in our GPS now though! The first things I happened upon had me dancing the Snoopy dance! Old vintage window frames that were reclaimed from old homes likely from the 50s from what I can tell. I got FOUR of the diamond pane windows with all glass in tact as well as a large six pane black window with hardware still attached. These make me incredibly happy. I cannot wait to get them cleaned up and ready for someone to hang!

I also have a new fascination with vintage luggage. My bestie, Lynette Wilson, turned one into the cutest dog bed ever! My puppies prefer the sofa, but maybe I'll give it a shot now that I found these beauties! Yes they need some tlc, cleaning, and possibly some decoupage, but what potential. And at $3 for the set, it was a no brainier. I was proud to carry them with me the entire time we shopped!

All in all my trip went swimmingly and I can't wait to get my finds all fixed up and back on the market. I'll leave you with my not expected find of the day. We popped in on the last leg of an estate sale at one of Southlake's Mc Mansions. Sadly we missed out on pretty much everything, but Roscoe insisted I have this gorgeous beaded handbag. This little jewel had never been touched. Beaded green silk with antique gold hardware was indeed screaming my name although I need another bag like a hole in the head. Could you say no?? Thanks dear!

Custom Bedding

This month I was commissioned to make custom bedding for a very dear friends nursery. I have to say, I am in love with this fabric! Joel Dewberry is one of my new faves. His Aviary 2 line is stunning. I had a heck of a time getting it due to everyone being back ordered, but wow was it worth the wait!



The bedding, I have to say, is just gorgeous! Very chic high end look for a nursery. I would welcome the opportunity to make more! Hope to have it available on my website this week as well as other custom order options!

Long Awaited Stair Renovation

It all started what seems like 72 hours after I moved in to my brand new, built just for me home. Those who know me know that at that time, I had two of the sweetest little tow headed twin cherubs who were an adventurous and busy 4 years old. They were in love with the new big house, the giant barren desert of a back yard, and the stairs. They loved hanging out on those soft carpeted stairs. This was about the same time that Xander became obsessed with the letter X (go figure). First, he drew a giant X on the floor of the game room with a magic marker. He lived through that one thanks to the miracle of Spot Shot. If you don't have this in your cleaning bin, you have never had ballpoint penned X on your tan sofa. Lol. After repeatedly stressing to him that tagging everything in the house with a marker is not acceptable, he found what I guess he thought was an invisible ink marker... In fact, it was a Clorox bleach pen. Need I say more? Picture brand new tan carpeted stairs with a huge white X in the middle. After looking at it daily, I could look at it no longer and ripped all the carpet up. What I found was lovely,beat up, knotty,gouged planks fashioned into what some contractor decided would pass for stairs. Being too cheap ( to buy all new hardwood treads and risers (can you say daycare x2?), I got creative and covered the risers in embossed wallpaper border and painted it. I tried several different colors and ended up sticking the longest with black. Not a wise choice when stumbling down the stairs in the middle of the night to get medicine for a sick little one, let me tell you! After MUCH wear and tear and a cat that decided she would help me out by removing the carpet from the landings as well, it was time for a real makeover! Look at this tragic mess!

The first thing I had to do was take care of that nasty chip board landing. Yikes. Freebie flooring in the garage to the rescue!

Next was the ridiculously odd fitting risers. Off to Home Depot for thin sheets of ply wood. The sweet boy there even cut it to size for me! Sometimes it pays to be a single girl at the big orange box! I had to cut the width to size when I got home, but that's cake :) They already looked so much better!

The next step was a WHOLE lot of wood filler, sanding, scraping, filling, sanding, and you get the point. After FINALLY filling in all the gaping holes and pits, I decided it needed trim under the treads. Home Depot was my friend on this project. I believe I got just a simple chair rail trim. One that I also used to trim out a table top if that helps you get the idea. After the trim was installed, I caulked all the seams and left to dry a bit.

Now to select a paint! I am a crazy huge fan of Behr paint. I can't think of a paint project that I've done without it... Spray paint projects not withstanding. I opted for the super duper premium paint with primer. I am lazy when I can be. I decided a creamy white was to be the base. My brother wanted to know if I just enjoyed cleaning stairs, but cream is what I had set in my brain. I had a plan!

After the white was dry to the touch I began the taping process. Second guessing that trim now... Not sure how long it took me but I'm pretty sure I listened to at least 2 episodes of sweat equity.

The border color was to be a delightful goldenrod color just as my inspiration Pottery Barn stairs! Two coats and all was lovely.

Taping off for the pin striping was just as exhausting, but I think you will agree, totally worth it!

Only one more step, and I would have my long anticipated stairs... That one step has incited more taunts and jibes than I expected, but I think my fabulous PB inspired stairs are more than worth any amount of teasing by usually those men people who just don't get my aesthetic, quirkiness, or sense of humor! Because I didn't feel like stenciling that day, and because I already had rub on transfer printer paper, I took the easy route (remember my "I'm lazy when I can be" comment from earlier?)

And now...The finished product! Bear in mind they were done just in time for Halloween. The rat silhouettes don't stay year around. Enjoy!