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June 26, 2015

I Built My First Coffee Table!!! (and I still have all my fingers!)

I’ve got big news people!

No, not I’ve-cured-cancer or I’ve-figured-out-a-way-to-attain-world-peace news, but in Shanna Land … this is big news!

Topher and I have our defined roles as far as working on projects. I do the pretty stuff, and he does the stuff that could possibly maim you for life. Over the past year, I have been creeping little bits at a time over to Topher’s side. Learning how to use a drill, a nail gun, etc.

The one place I hadn’t ventured over to was using saws. Now this is where one could really get hurt. I watch have watched Grey’s Anatomy for years and lots of bad things (like losing a finger) can happen when people use saws. And I like my fingers.

I have seen so many other bloggers out there build things from scratch, and I knew that they must feel so proud of themselves for accomplishing something like that. So I decided to go for it….

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June 25, 2015

Blue Rustic Table

Guess what today is?

It’s Themed Furniture Makeover Day!

This month’s theme is rustic.

Now I upcycle tons of furniture pieces, but I wouldn’t say my style is really rustic.

I have had a big table that a friend had given me a few years ago, sitting in my basement. I decided to throw a little milkpaint on it and hope for the best.

I have worked with milkpaint in the past and had no problems. This time things just weren’t going right.

On this piece

and this piece, I used Junque Boutique Milkpaint, and it mixed up easily and turned out just as I thought.

This time I used Miss Mustard Seed’s Milkpaint, and everything went wrong. I’m not saying anything bad about the paint, as I have many friends that use it and love it. For me, it didn’t thoroughly dissolve, no matter how long or hard I mixed it, and when I painted it on, it was very gritty and I had little lumps throughout my piece.

The piece I was painting had a sheen to it, so I made sure to lightly scuff it and use a bonding agent to make the paint adhere. It did adhere to the top of the piece, but once the paint had dried, a little more paint chipped off than I like.

In the end, however, it turned out better than I had thought it would midway through!

Make sure you check out all of the other ladies projects down below!

Parties I Link to:
Cedar Hill Ranch – Common Ground – Cupcakes and Crinoline – Debbiedoo’s – Design, Dining + Diapers – DIY by Design – DIY Showoff – Domestically Speaking – Elizabeth & Co. – French Country Cottage – Funky Junk Interiors – The Girl Creative: Project Inspire – Home Stories A2Z – Liz Marie Blog – Miss Mustard Seed – My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia – Redoux Interiors – Savvy Southern Style –The DIY Mommy– The Shabby Nest – Smart School House – Tatertots & Jello – Uncommon Designs

June 23, 2015

Decorating with Trays Challenge

Hi everyone!

We are back with our monthly decorating challenge, and this month’s theme is Decorating with Trays.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. It wasn’t until the last couple of months that I have ever decorated with trays. This is why I love these monthly challenges, they make me step out of the box and try new things.

As I have said in the past, I am one of those people that decorate a room, and then I don’t touch anything again for 5 years except to occasionally vacuum off the dust (and that isn’t often enough). I can tell the apple didn’t fall far from the tree because the unnamed child hates when I change anything in this house — even if it’s for the better. We have lived in this house for years with the same boring builder-painted, white walls, and when I even added some taupe to the walls she freaked out. She would rather have things look boring forever, just so things never change.

I on the other hand, might take a while to change things up, but then I am happy with the results and glad that I did it.

As you all know, I am a garage sale junkie. Most of the decor I have in my home comes from thrift stores, estates sales, or yard sales. I love looking on decorating blogs and how they are constantly spending big money to remodel their rooms once a month. Admittedly, they do look fabulous, but that type of spending is not in this gal’s budget. Plus I think adding vintage items to your home gives it character you just can’t get from chain stores. I like to have a mixture of modern and vintage decor items….

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June 21, 2015

Summer Kickoff Giveaway

Would you like a little extra cash this summer? To go on a little road trip? Or buy some new summer clothes? How would you like a little bling for yourself too?

I’ve got exciting news today!!!

Me and some of my blogging buddies are giving away $375 cash and a gorgeous Kate Spade watch!

To enter simply use the Rafflecopter down below! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

June 18, 2015

Green Retro Bookshelf Makeover

You know that little something in you that sees a junky piece of furniture and it whispers to you “grab that, it looks rough now, but we could make it into something great”?

Yeah well Topher doesn’t have that.

In fact, Topher has a little part of him that says “that is a piece of crap. Run far away from that and do not let your wife have that. It is crap and it will always be crap”.

That is why when Topher and I go on an ice cream run I sometimes forget to tell him when are running to pick up a Craigslist find first. That’s how this mammoth bookshelf down below came about. Let’s just say that Topher was less than thrilled to pick this sucker up — and not just because it weighs a ton. (Please don’t mind that it’s upside down in the photo — that’s a long story.)

First of all let me just tell you that it sat in my garage for almost a year — which was the #2 thing Topher was not happy about. It was going into my office / craft room, once it was cleared out and made over.

Since I tend to have a time management problem, nine months was about how long it took me to get around to it.

Now that the office was totally cleared out, it was time to tackle this. I started by cleaning off the 8 lbs of filth and weird sticky residue and removing the hardware.

I then used 2-3 coats of Plaster Paint in Native Stone on the entire piece. Normally, on most pieces I would then distress it, but I wanted a more modern look to this one.

I coated the whole unit in clear wax and spray painted the hardware with a metallic gold.

So what do you think? A little better than before?

Am I the only terrible wife that drags things home that her hubby isn’t excited about? What have you brought home?

June 17, 2015

Habitat for Humanity + a Twitter Party

What does your home mean to you?

To me it’s everything. It’s where my family and I feel safe and protected. It’s something I take pride in, and I get to express my personality in. It’s one of the things I feel blessed to have everyday, knowing that there are so many out there without one.

For more than 175 years, P&G has helped families turn their houses into homes. Through their partnership with Habitat for Humanity, they are bringing that same comfort of home to families who are in need around the world.

Procter & Gamble is celebrating 10 years of partnering with Habitat for Humanity on building, repairing and cleaning homes for families around the world. Over the past decade, P&G has grown from a partnership with Habitat for Humanity in one country to now 16 different countries. From helping families move out of transitional housing institutions in Hungary to assisting with technical construction and microloans in Brazil, P&G employees are not only helping low-income families improve their quality of life, but they are also helping them create a sense of “home.”

I would love for you to help spread the word at the #ComfortsofHome Twitter Party to help make a difference too!

P&G will make sure that every new Habitat home in Asia, Latin America, and the United States will receive a P&G home care kit and educational booklet on the everyday tips to maintain a clean, healthy home. P&G will also provide healthy house trainings in Colombia, as well as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) trainings in Vietnam and the Philippines. And finally, P&G employees will share tips on how to keep energy costs low in Poland and clean homes for the handicapped and elderly in Singapore.

Want to learn more? Make sure to join the Twitter party tonight from 8-9 PM EST with DIY Network & HGTV star Amy Matthews.

RSVP to join!

This post was sponsored by P&G, all opinions are my own.