31 days of...

I decided to jump on the band wagon and the fun during the Nester's "31 days" during October starting on the 1st of October. I decided to join in for two reasons...I think it will be fun to share something that is one of my passions with all my bloggy friends. And it will force me to actually WRITE a post once a day. I have been totally slacking when it comes to this blog and it's time for me to step it up. So hopefully...31 days of posting will create a new habit...and therefore make me more of a dedicated blogger and all around cool girl...in my mind anyways...;)

I have decided my series will be about graphics and websites. I don't have any topic set in stone yet...and I'll probably just fly by the seat of my pants, but hey...that's how I roll...:)

So be sure to check all the great "31 days" series that will be linked together and have some fun getting to know some great bloggers and learning some fun new things...:)

Master Relaxation Spot

Well there's a bunch of fellow bloggers out there who have been doing mood boards for their master bedrooms. So in true blogging spirit I decided to follow suit and join the fun! :)

I WISH I could afford some of the beautiful items I saw...THAT would be a dream come true. Not saying I couldn't come up with some pretty good knock offs...I could definitely do that! And maybe I will...but until then...I will just enjoy the tranquility of my mood board...:)

I started by just going thru the mood board site and picking everything that I found to be fun, interesting, beautiful, or things that just gave me a feeling...of some kind. What I discovered is that for my bedroom...I like some things that are light and soft...and lots of texture. I also discovered I've got sort of a more masculine decorating eye. I like the more straight edged things...dark colors...with a touch of softness. I also enjoy solid pieces instead of more light or glass ones. There are touches of femininity of course...I AM a girl after all...but I think my Man would enjoy the space I've created equally as well.

So...without further ado...here's my board...:) You can also check out my entire Olioboard choices here.

I'm linking up to the party here:

Brassy to Sassy...:)

Okay Bloggies...:) Today is the day that I FINALLY have a project to share! Woot! Woot!


~Come on...you know you wanna' do it to...just once..."Woot!"...


Okay now that's out of our system...ON to the redo project.

I found a pair of lamps on CL, they were $35 for the pair. They were that lovely brass finish...you know the kind...and the Man thought they were ugly too...*sigh*...the Man has a LOT to learn now doesn't he ladies??? Yes sir! I told him..."I can paint them". To which he replied, "you can't paint brass". I said, "WATCH me!"...haahaa!!! (insert evil laugh here)

So yesterday while he was messing with a friend's motorcycle farings (painting and such), I decided I would break out the spray paint and create some new lamps for my livingroom.

Here's what I started with (please ignore the messy garage in the background):

I know it's not glamorous, but I loved the shape and the ones I have right now are ceramic...with circles cut into them...not exactly "stylish"...but I do have plans for them as well...it involves rope. That's all I'm going to say.

And...here's the first coat of paint. I usually HATE spray paint, but the Man works with it a lot and he's taught me a few things about the in's and out's of spray painting. So I feel a little better about it. THIN coats...thin...coats. Let dry for a little bit...and THIN coats of paint. I did sand it, or rather "scuffed" up the surface with my trusty 3M brillo type sandpaper. LOVE that stuff. Then I used one of the Man's tack cloths (which I HIGHLY recommend using gloves with...yuck...sticky all over my fingers), and took off all the dust and oils from my fingers. After doing that, I wrapped up the top with a shopping bag...recycle..reuse...and the same for the plug and cord, then moved it to my outside painting surface (the garbage can lid). Here's the little beauty after one coat of paint.

Remarkable huh? Yeah,...I was amazed too. I thought I had uploaded a picture of the paint I used,...you can sort of see it in the above picture. It's Rustoleum's hammered Silver. I love it. I also have the bronze color but I have dark wood end tables so I figured they would blend too much.

So here's the final product. I'm not in love with the shade...*sigh*. Got those for a STEAL from the local thrift store...$6 for TWO...yeah baby! But they had ugly vinyl "princess" fabric around the outside of the shades...yucko. So I pulled off the fabric, and used it as a template for some muslin. Then I added the jute ribbon to the bottom and top. Now I see the shade is a TAD too small for the lamp. Oh well...I will find something that will work.

So...let's break it down.

2 lamps- $35

spray paint -free (already had it)

shades - $6

___________

Total - $41 for TWO lamps...SQUEEEAALL!

So happy. Now...gotta  find some rope for those other lamps...(insert evil laugh here) ;)