Picture, Picture On The Wall...

Today I conquered the tough challenge of hanging 2 pictures side by side and calculating the exact location of each nail hole to assure they hung straight.

It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to hang pictures. Just put a nail in the wall and hang it... Right?

WRONG! That might work when there is only one picture involved, but where multiple pictures are involved there is a lot of math needed to figure out how to get them spaced just right and to make sure they are level.

Each picture had 2 hooks on the back. One on each side and no picture wire connecting them. I was planning to attach picture wire to make hanging them a little easier when... I found the note on the back saying "DO NOT USE PICTURE WIRE TO HANG THIS PICTURE." It said that the wire wouldn't distribute the weight of the heavy frames evenly and would cause problems, etc... So I had to carefully measure the exact location of where each nail hole needed to be and then find the center point on the wall and mark it all out using my level/ruler. Luckily I love math and actually got the holes in the perfect location on the first try.

Here is a picture of my new bedroom artwork.
I painted the diamond pattern about 6 months ago. It's a pretty shade of light blue with bright white lines. The ceiling is a chocolate brown. The diamond paint job is another project that required a lot of careful calculating. When I saw these pictures last weekend I knew immediately that they would be perfect for this room.

I think they look great!!

I wish I had taken this picture about an hour earlier to show the curtains. I just took them down because I'm having them remade so they will be floor length. They are about 9" too short and have been really bothering me so I'm having them lengthened.

Adorable & Oh So Easy Display Boards

Earlier this week I was scheduled to participate in my first "show." I have a small (but growing) home based business and I had an opportunity to set up a booth at a local preschool/church along with some other mothers with businesses. This being my first booth I had no idea how to display my products. Fortunately there was a very popular show at another local church three days earlier that I decided to attend to hopefully get some display ideas. Well... I got some really good ideas (and spent a little money also).

What I needed was a way to display my personalized jewelry and gift pieces. Among the many displays I saw, there was one that really jumped out at me. I knew right away what I wanted to do. It was something I could make myself, not some boring store bought jewelry displays. Anyway, here is what I did. It was sooooo easy. It was complete in about 2 hours. YES you heard me right... only 2 hours and wallah... adorable yet functional displays.

Here are pictures of the supplies and the steps that it took to make these boards.

1. Supply List:
peg board cut to 18"x24" (or whatever size you want) (Home Depot will cut it for free)
paint (I used some that I already had leftover from painting my bathroom)
paintbrush
sand paper
ribbon
ric rac (not sure how to spell this but it's the black wavy ribbon along the bottom of my boards)
glue gun & glue
scotch tape
peg board hooks or "s" hooks

2. First I sanded the white side of the peg board so the paint would stick better. After cleaning off all the dust from sanding I painted the boards. I put 2 coats on 2 of the boards and only 1 coat on the other 2. (I made 2 displays and needed 2 boards for each display.) I really liked the streakiness of the boards with only 1 coat so I decided to leave them alone.

3. After the boards dried I was able to start weaving the ribbon along the first row of holes on the side that I wanted to be the top of the display. I put the two boards back to back, tied a knot at the end of the ribbon and began lacing. This is where the scotch tape comes in handy. I taped the end of the ribbon so it looked like the end of a shoe lace. This way it was much easier to push the ribbon through those little holes in the peg board. I pushed the ribbon down through the top and wrapped it over the edge of the board and back down through the next hole in the top. This way the top edge was covered and it looked "finished." Then on each end I added a bow.4. Next, to make it stand up I added a ribbon/hinge on both of the bottom corners. I cut the ribbon about 15" long, tied a knot in one end, pulled it through one board from back to front, wrapped it under the bottom edge and around the front of the other board, pulled it through and tied another knot. Easy as pie! 5. Next I decided that the boards needed something along the bottom to give it some "weight" so I got out the hot glue and ric rac and went to town. I glued the ric rac about 1/2" from the bottom and wrapped the edges around the back and glued them down.
I was done. All that was left was to add my "goods." Here was the result...
I thought they turned out great! I love them and the best part is I only spent about $17 total on both displays. I had most of the supplies on hand. All I had to buy was the peg board (2) 2'x4' sheets, the peg board hooks and a spool of ribbon. Can't beat that price for such cute boards. I got lots of compliments on them at the show.
This picture was taken at the show while we were packing up to go home. By "we" I mean "I" was packing up while my little "helper" danced around and ran up and down the halls playing with her buddies.

All in all I would say that my first show was a success. I'm ready for the next one now. Bring it on!

Fabulous End Tables

"Before" pictures are always an after thought for me, and by then it's obviously too late. I get so excited about planning and executing a project that I just forget to take pictures. Anyways... sorry... I'll try to do better in the future.

I found this great end table and it's twin at an antique shop in Apalachicola, Florida. There were not any tops on them when I bought them for around $40.00. After I got them home I hand sanded the paint a little, just enough to smooth out the finish. It was a little rough from the old finish chipping off in some spots. Next, I used a can of black satin finish spray paint and got busy painting. I painted both end tables black. (Make sure you are in a well ventilated area when using spray paint.) Meanwhile my dad built two table tops for each one out of walnut. They turned out fabulous! This was a quick and easy project and was easily completed in one weekend. And...it only cost me around $45. The walnut tops were donated by my dad so the price was right... if you know what I mean. Having a builder for a dad has it's perks! :)

Salvage 2 Chic

Happy Monday!

I have been brainstorming for a few days trying to decide what I want to blog about. Friends have given me many suggestions, the best being to blog about something you love. Antiques have always been a love of mine but I didn't think that would be too fun to blog about so... after much thought I've finally decided to blog on a subject that I truly find interesting and especially fun. What I'm going to do is post blog entries on the projects that I so love to do that basically consist of turning trash into treasure. Having a background in interior design and a love of decorating and crafting has given me a passion for giving new life to old pieces of furniture and accessories for the home. I have been doing this for many years and look forward to sharing my projects with you all.

I hope you will enjoy reading my posts and looking at the pictures. Who knows maybe you will be inspired to start a project of your own. Keep checking back for new projects and ideas. Feel free to post questions and/or comments for me. I would love to hear about your projects and ideas too.

~Angie