The Surfboard is Finished!

I am finally happy and content...I told you all it would take me a little while to just sit and let it sink in.  It came to me while doing laundry today...add the green to the trees!!!  Then it just went from there...

I'm kinda proud of this...the hot pink stripe made it stand out better,  but not too much.

See...it blends in but stands out at the same time. Sorry about the lighting...it's a little dreary here today.

And I changed those pictures back to this.  I have always loved this grouping...it goes so well with the shelf, don't ya think?

I brought this blue and white polka dot pitcher up from our bedroom and the white wicker basket...perfect.  It's the little details for me...

See how much better that looks?  And I swapped out the fishy's and the sign...much better!

Added a little hot pink to the coral and now I'm all finished.  I can finally put my paints up!

I planned on taking it easy today, but ya'll know me....it's just not in my blood!

My Perspective on a Beach Cottage Bedroom

One thing I want to say before I get started sharing photos....do not expect this room to be the typical "beachy" room.  I just could not bring myself to do it since it just would not flow with the rest of the house.  Hannah wanted her floral pieces left alone since she loved it all, but she wanted the shells, surfboards, beach signs ect.  Now when I went shopping, it was hard to find what I was wanting!  None of the colors  would work in her room, so I ended up painting everything, making my own decorations and revamping what she already had.  I still may add a few things later if I find them, but for now it's got Hannah happy at the moment...and that's all that matters.

She had said she wanted some blue jars when all of this got started.  I found these at Michael's...6 for $15.  Original ones go for $6-$8 a piece around here and I couldn't reason that price when I could get these cheaper.  I know...some may cringe since they love antiques.  But, HEY, it works for me!

This armoire is a pain!  It isn't quite tall enough to not have anything on top of it.  Plus the little half moon blocks low lying things. I think you can get the drift on how annoying it is to find the right stuff that looks pretty and seen.  I added the starfish to the front of the wood and glass box after painting it.  Finding white pieces is so hard to find!

I fell in love with the pale pink roses and daisies in the blue jars!

Not too bad after trying everything but the kitchen sink!

I did find the beach sign at Home Goods, but you all know I painted it don't you?

Plus, I took out the pink toile fabric and replaced it with white in the armoire doors.  (wink wink)

Hannah was wanting more blue since it is her favorite color.  I painted her walls all white last year so it makes it really easy to add any color you want.

Behind her door is a collage of posters of One Direction.  I was told by our allergist that posters are one of the worst things to have in a room because of how they attract dust.  I would have never "thunk" it.  So now I try to frame them all.  Behind her door is a whole collage of One Direction posters....it's funny how teen girls go wild after singers.  Brings back some great memories for me.  I had Billy Idol papered all over my pink walls as a teen!  To this day I cannot sing "White Wedding" without snarling like him and feeling all giddy! 

This is her man, so I put her name on him!  (Hint:  it hides the red 1D on it).  She plays her keyboard and dreams....all girls do.

I found these fish mirrors at Home Goods and painted them more than once!  They were grungy colors that just didn't work.  I made the starfish sign and then painted pink coral in between for a little pop of pink.

My Mom loves these fish!  So I've been told a few times....

This is another piece that isn't tall enough to stand alone....so I have to be careful on what I add over it that won't make it look heavy in this space.

I made these pictures back when we redid this room a year ago with fabric and painted mattes.  I am so tired of scenery pictures of typical things so this was a breath of fresh air for me!  The little pink and white frame and the aqua one were found at Home Goods too...but I painted them.  The little fishy is a set that are salt and pepper shakers that Hannah found...perfect colors!  She made the bottle herself.  She tied 3 old keys (after painting them white) to the top and added a letter inside the bottle.  Pretty smart isn't she?

Now you see the surfboard I made...it was the last thing I made.  I cut it twice, the first time it wasn't pointy enough for Hannah so I drug it back to the garage to jigsaw "again"...

We sat and looked at surfboard designs for days until I finally was inspired with something similar to this.  It didn't have the waves though.  Hannah chose this out of 3 designs...pretty good choice I think!

Not too bad for my very first home made surfboard!

I may add a little hot pink to it later.  Gonna sit on it awhile first.

I found this photo online and printed it out.  I water colored it then framed it to put over this shelf.  I think the photo looked just like her from behind and fell in love with it!  Hannah wanted the blocks to say "DUDE".  I painted these things 3 times...finally happy with them now!

Painting letters are HARD!!!

There is the other "fishy" salt shaker.  We had shells from our visits to Florida so she wanted some in this jar.  I have more somewhere and am planning on adding them to the blue jars on top of the armoire when I finally find them.   I love this little arrangement!

Her room is always full of light!  Can ya tell I moved a few pieces of furniture around too? Her endtable was on the other side making it hard to fit the chair in.  Now it all works perfectly!

I am glad her room is big!

She loves this chair!

She has plenty of room on either side of the bed.  I have no clue why I had it moved the way I did.  You all ever do that?  Question why you did something and later realize a better way?

  A dear friend of mine gave me the middle plate above the closet years and years ago...it was the inspiration for this room and she'll always be a part of our memories.

See how well the bedding goes with it?  It was meant to be....

I switched out lampshades and added this little basket to keep her laptop in. 

I hate seeing clutter!  The drawer keeps all of her cords and remote for the tv.  

And there it all is...Hannah's Beach Cottage room.  I may just move in and kick her to the basement, lol!

~It all started with a little table~

I have a lady that I love to deal with from one of the Facebook yardsale sites.  She had a table for sale and when I saw it, I knew it had some great possibilities!

Now most would run from something like this because of the top being so rotted....

but those legs just made me drool!

My mind began to ponder...and I bought it!  I knew I was going to make a desk, but for who was the question.  To sell or keep?

Then one night before I picked it up..... my oldest daughter (Sara) said she would love to have a desk.

That's when I knew!

So I brought it home, took off all of the old planks of wood and sanded the legs down to paint.  Bought wood for the top and went to town.

There was another idea that sparked while talking with Sara.  She had said if she could just have a desk with a mirror up above it, then that would be perfect.  I remembered that I had found a dresser mirror at a sale and didn't have anything for it to be added to.  

It fit perfectly!    

Everything got a new paint job and some distressing.

Sara kept coming into the garage asking when it would all be done.  I have never seen her so excited about me finishing something like she did with this.

So, her dad and I carried it up before it was completely finished so she could use it.  You can see the storage unit we put underneath it to hold all that came out of the drawers from her old dresser.

And here she is...all done...skirt and all.

I think she really turned out perfectly for what Sara was wanting....More Space.

I added an old handle for that extra little touch.  You can see the crackled paint peaking through the new....which I absolutely love!

And just look at how the legs stand out from the skirt...perfect!  I added tension rods for the curtains so she could easily open them for her things.

Isn't this mirror gorgeous?!!  It really makes her room seem bigger even though this piece is way larger than the dresser.

Now....Hannah wanted Sara's old vanity dresser...so I had more work to do.

This is what she had...

And this is now...with the vanity dresser.  Years ago, we made a "top" for this to act as a desk.  It fits tightly over the existing dresser drawers and can be taken off easily.  But no one has ever wanted to take it off since...too much space would be wasted.

It fit perfectly by the window and still left plenty of room even though it was a bit bigger than her old desk.

I asked her why she wanted it and she told me because it was so pretty.  She takes after me when it comes to being drawn to certain old things with curves and lots of detail.

However...she is now wanting to do a beach theme and I am on a mission at creating her desire.  

But of course it has to be a "Beach Cottage" theme....and my mind is racing with all that I want to create!  We're still debating whether we will keep the floral or do away with it.

I love the floral though...

These "Bloom" blocks will get a beachy makeover...all Hannah's idea!  And the corner will have something I have never made in my life!

I am hoping that I can figure out exactly what to put on top of the armoire too.  So you can see how much work I have ahead of me.... and it all started with a little table.  

Learning to Paint

You see...I can paint an armoire or an upholstered chair without blinking an eye.

~BUT~  

for years I have yearned to paint roses and here lately, birds.   

My aunt Judy is one talented lady when it comes to painting.  She never gives herself enough credit though.  I finally convinced her to teach me how to paint what I've always wanted to!

First I am going to share just a few of her practice pieces when she learned years ago.  She's going to kill me for posting photos of her stuff, but she'll get over it.  WINK WINK

This was a reverse piece she did on 

plexi-glass...isn't it beautiful?!!

This is on wax paper...I love the pinks and creams!

And I love these flowers! 

 She said this was a trash item she decided to paint on to see if she could..I think she did perfect!

Now, Aunt Judy is a very humble person.  She's the type that would much rather be behind the scenes instead of being in front of people having the attention all on herself.  I think I am a lot like her.  I've said I would much rather be cleaning bathrooms than being in front of people giving a speech.  My girls are just like me...however, their Daddy loves being the center of attention! 

We took the girls to Kings Island this past week and I had my Mama come and house sit for us.  So Aunt Judy came down and stayed with Mom while we were gone.  

The day after we came back,  she and I sat up after midnight painting.  This is what I did...

She was so proud of me..and I have to say that I was too!  I didn't think I could do it!  She then told me I didn't need any more lessons....GULP!  

So the next day, this is what I painted after she left.

Can you tell it's getting a little better?

Now this is what I painted the night after she left...let me say this one was a learning experience.  I hate the leaves and that tree was meant to be a frame of some sort and I messed it up. I do love how the purple lilacs turned out though.  I'm still trying to figure out how to make my paint more pastel...so it'll just take time.

This is what I painted after the last one....and I love it!  I am so hooked on birds right now...heck with the roses!

I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and start on something else!

Thank you Aunt Judy...you are one amazing teacher!!!