sofaking relieved!

This weekend, Mr. Mel and I took a 3 hour road trip on a seek and obtain mission! We hit up Urban Barn to order a living room sofa. Well, after our GPS gave us 3 different addresses, we finally found the store and placed our order. I wish I could say that we got a deal. We didn't, but we both really like it, and even after we were told about the extra $175 delivery charge to have it shipped here, we weren't deterred. They seem to have a quick turn-around, it should be here within 3 weeks!

I make someone happy!

It's not often you can say that...but now I can thanks to Mandee over at The Bear Naked Truth who gave me her Happy 101 Award. If you have a minute, or 10 or 60, visit her blog. Heeeelarious! This is a girl after my own heart. There's something comforting knowing that I am not the only one with these quirks and obsessions. Love her, love her blog, and her kitties are wicked cute!

Up, up, up

I have a confession. I must confess that I have never bothered to decorate a staircase. Nope, never. They have, for years and years, remained plain, boring, dull...you get the idea. I have always considered them not so much a destination, rather, more of a passage way.

Times they are a changin'! Because our stairs are very open, I just can't bear to leave them...well...bare. I have Mr. Mel's thumbs up to put a photo collage up in our staircase.

Here's how I did it:

As usual, this project had to be done on the cheap so I went digging through all of our yet-to-be-unpacked boxes of photos and artwork. I grabbed any frames that tickled my fancy, keeping in mind that I wanted to be sure to use a variety of shapes and sizes of frames to add as much interest to the wall as I could. I emerged from the basement with a box full of goodies.

I decided that, along with frames, I would also hang letters that represented us and our family (namely, the first initials of me, Mr. Mel, and my 3 kitties Nicky, Butterball, and Jones. I also thought it might be cute to throw in a couple of frames that, instead of photos, contained quotes or verses.

I started by priming and painting all of the frames and wooden letters.  Lesson learned...you cannot spray paint photo mats without them looking messed up! As luck would have it, I had some wallpaper bought for another project, so I decided to cover the mats in it so I didn't have to replace them.

Next, I took some of the decals and adhered them to the glass in a few of the frames. I used leftover wallpaper as a background for these frames.

I wanted all of my photos to be in black and white so I went through the digital photos on my computer and off I went to the Walmart to get them printed out. Finally, I put the photos in their frames, and laid out my design on the floor. I found this helpful diagram online to give me a starting point.

The last step was to hang my design on the wall. This took more time than I thought, but I wanted to make sure I didn't put any unecessary holes in the wall. I used the back of wrapping paper to mark the layout for each grouping, tacked it up on the wall and put my nails right through the paper where I had marked it for each frame. Then I pulled off the paper and hung up my frames (hint hint...take a digi photo of the layout so you don't forget what goes where).

Here is the before of my staircase (must mention here what a pain in the butt it is to take photos of a staircase!):

And here it is now:

Here is the breakdown of costs for this project:

$0 for frames

$0 for spray primer (I already had a can from my a lamp project)

$9 for white spray paint

$0 for wallpaper (leftovers from my coffee table project - to be posted soon)

$10 for vinyl decals

$10 for wooden letters

$8 for photo developing

Total Cost = $ 37

This project was featured at:

A Cinderella Story

By now you must know that I love me some glitter and shimmer! For *some* reason, Mr. Mel doesn't share my enthousiasm for all things twinkly. :::insert eye rolling here:::

I have decided that the way to get my shimmer fix, without offending Mr. Mel, is to do it in small doses...like on lamps!

I picked up these brass nightmares for a steal at a Value Village. I loved the shape of them and knew I could salvage them. What struck me as I first started debating what to do with them was that I could hear my mom's voice in my head saying, "What's wrong with them the way they are?!" Ha ha. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.

Here they are before I played Fairy Godmother:

On these eyesores I used a coat of primer, a coat of Rust-Oleum Metallic in Bronze, followed by a top coat of Valspar Pearl.

Here they are after...all ready for their Prince!

Here is the breakdown of costs for this project:
$12 for lamps
$20 for spray paint
$20 for lampshades
Total Cost = $ 52

A punch of black

I have had this pair of candlestick lamps for about 10 years. When we got our first apartment together, Mr. Mel was living in another city, about 8 hours away, so he left all of the home decor shopping to me. I admit, I did indulge my girly desire for beads and glitz and, when he arrived to see all I had been up to, he was less than impressed with how - uhm - feminine everything was. He took a particular dislike to these lamps, and ever since then, cringes whenever I insist on using them in a room.

I have, reluctantly, agreed to revamp these lamps. It was the only way he would agree to have them in our living room. It's nothing spectacular, a coat of black spray paint and new shades and, bam, they are now much more - ahem - masculine. Mr. Mel is happy, I am happy. It's win, win!

I'm not sure about keeping the lampshades white. I think they need some colour. That's a project for another day (wink wink).

Here is the breakdown of costs for this project:
$6 for black spray paint
$6 for spray primer
$11 for lampshades
Total Cost = $ 23

My "Honey Do" List

And by "Honey" I mean me, and by "do" I, of course, mean get off my ass and finish the many, many projects I have on the go. I figure "Honey Do" sounds a heck of alot better that, "Nattering Bitch Stop Procrastinating & Just Get It Done" list.

My goals for this weekend include:

• Prime and paint my coffee table
• Arrange and hang the frames for my photo wall
• Prime and paint my new-to-me lamps
• Finish the pattern for my wing back chair slipcovers
• Hunt down lampshades for my new-to-me lamps

So there you have it. I have 3 days. I think I can do it. Mr. Mel just has to stay outta my way!

A Wing and a Chair

After scouring countless online ads and local used furniture stores I *finally* found a pair of matching wing back chairs.

I love the look of slipcovered wing backs at the head of a table and that, ultimately is my plan for these babies. I am inspired to use a non-traditional fabric on them, and have come acrosss several bloggers who have recovered/slipcovered pieces with canvas drop cloths. Hmmm, so many choices!

Here's what's inspiring me: