My First Mod Podge Project

I tried my first Mod Podge project!

After a few tweaks, it was perfect.

I had 3 old canvases that used to hang in Ben's nursery.  They haven't been up for a while, and I decided to repurpose them and cover them with a few large prints.  The canvases are 12x12.  I ordered 12x16 prints from Sam's Club and used my paper trimmer to make them square.  

I applied the Mod Podge using a foam brush and then attached the photo.  I decided not to put a layer of mod podge on the photos once they were attached.  The photos already had a matte finish.  I've seen tutorials where people did, so it would probably look good.

The only issue was that the photos weren't a true 12 inches in width.  They did not extend all the way to the edge so there was a slight gap.  You could see a small part of the original design in a few places.  It wasn't that noticeable, but I could see it and it bugged me.

I took the advice of my instagram friends who saw the photo above.  I used paint to cover the small sections where the design showed. It blended in perfectly around the edges.

Below you can't tell there was ever anything behind the photos.

It was a quick, simple, affordable project and I'm happy with the end result.  I have three of my favorite photos hanging in our play room. 

Vintage Lawn Chairs

I'm longing for Spring!

I know Spring will be here soon, and I'm ready for lazy days spent in the backyard working in my flower beds while the boys play in the sandbox.  One of my favorite things in my backyard are these vintage lawn chairs.  They belonged to my dear Aunt Oma.  She is the oldest sister of my grandma, Mama Winnie.  Neomah is one of the neatest people I know.  She's kind, generous, wise, gracious and a strong Christian woman.  Her faith and attitude on life inspire us all.  After falling almost five years ago, she can no longer live in her home and is living in the same nursing home that my grandma lives in.  Since she can't stay at her home, she has given away many things to family members.  These chairs were in her garage.  I wanted them when I first saw them.  No one else had shown any interest so I was lucky enough to get them. 

They are perfect in our backyard. 

I love sitting in them and watching the boys play.

BEFORE

The chairs were in great shape other than needing a little TLC.  

I attempted to remove any rust and old paint with a wire bursh with metal scraper and sandpaper. 

Next, I spray painted them. 

AFTER

Here they are in early February covered in ice and snow. 



I'll be linking up to Cha Cha at Sit Relax and Read.  I appreciate Sentimental Sundays so much for giving me a place to share things that are in my home (and outside my home) that are special and meaningful.

Thanks, Cha Cha!

I'll be sharing my vintage lawn chairs with
Kristin at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia.




Don't miss Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party!

Shelf Help

I found this crown molding shelf a few weeks ago when Angela and I went to a flea market.  Are you sick of me talking about our flea market fun?  This should be the last post for a while. 

This shelf was on top of a pile of other junk items, and it was priced $3.50.  I bought it for $3. 

I'm not much of a DIYer.  Really, I'm not!   It was a big deal for me to even take on a simple project like this.  It's okay to laugh if you want to, I'm not offended ;)   Even with minimal DIY skills I thought I could give this little shelf a new life with some sandpaper and white spray paint. 

I have to say I'm pretty happy with myself and my shelf.

It's found a new home in my bedroom in a spot that I've always had a hard time deciding how to decorate. 

BEFORE
Here's the shelf in all of its green glory!

 I removed the scalloped accent board at the bottom. 
I used sandpaper to remove as much green paint as I could.
I spray painted the shelf white with Rust-Oleum Ultra Cover 2x spray paint from Home Depot.

AFTER

 

Sharing my little shelf project at a couple of my favorite blogs,









 

Mission Organization {Before}

Mission Organization is taking place at our house so we don't end up on an episode of Hoarders.  Someone should declare a state of emergency in our garage.  This unfortunate manmade disaster has been here since the end of November when we brought down all of the Christmas decorations from the attic.  We decorated the house, but we never put the boxes back in the attic.  If you look closely you might even find some left over Halloween decorations.  Yep, it's pretty bad in there.

Mission Organization started about a week ago and it has gone on about a week longer than we wanted it to.  We all came down with a stomach virus several days ago, and that put an end to any cleaning and organizing we had planned for the garage.   I have "After" photos to share, but I don't have that post ready yet.

Before

When we'd pull into the garage, we'd know we pulled up far enough when the front of the Highlander bumped the boxes.  We'd see the stack of boxes shake and then we'd know we'd gone far enough.  Seriously!

This view shows how we could only enter the Highlander from one side when leaving the door from the house.  The closest path from the house to the driver's side door was blocked by the big stack of boxes.  Whoever was driving had to walk around the passenger side and around the back to get to the driver's side.  It was pretty inconvenient and kind of funny, too.

This is in front of the Passat.  I cleared a few of the boxes out of the way so we could walk in front of it.  We had so many boxes left over from Christmas that the trash pick up looked like we'd just moved in.  God bless our garbageman. 

I'll be back later this week to share Mission Organization {After}. 

Some of you are sharing your organization post and it's been such an encouragement to me.  If you have any helpful tips or advice to share, I'm all ears.

Cozy Corner

I added a few things to this little corner in our entry. Our house is only 1500 sq ft. I like to think of it as cozy rather than small. This small corner area is an awkward space and I've never been quite sure what to put here.

I decided to add this ladder back chair that I bought at a garage sale several years ago.

The basket was a gift to myself on my birthday this year (my husband lets me pick out my own gifts.  the element of surprise is overrated in my opinion).

The pillows are special because we bought them when we first moved into our house over eight years ago! They are from Anthropologie. It just goes to show that Anthro stuff will be around for years. I still love these pillows as much as the day we first got them.

The black and white photos were taken in August 2009. Will was 2 1/2 and Ben was 10 weeks old. I don't know if I'll ever replace these sweet photos of my boys. They are some of my all-time favorite. I bought the black frames with white mats at Big Lots.



Before

After

I'll be linking up to Heather at Blessed Little Nest for Life Made Lovely Monday.  I'm a new follower of this blog, but it's already been such an encouragement to me.  Check it out, I think you'll really like it, too.