Fall around my house

It was time.  I pulled out my fall decorations and dressed up the house a bit.  I LOVE this part of the year!!  Here is the little dresser that I made over in a harlequin pattern.  I heart this dresser so much now!!  It makes me smile whenever I see it.

This is a shelf I made that fit a little spot perfectly in my last house.  It is a bit small in this house, but until I make (or get) another one, it is fine for now.  

The pinecones came from the neighbors tree.  They won't miss them, right?  They were on the ground, so that makes them community property I think.  Some were even in my yard so they totally count as mine...  :)  

I got the inspiration for arranging the cornucopia on Pinterest. 

I am debating whether I should keep the fall colors of the squash, or paint them creams and light blue-grays, like I've seen around the web.

Here is our music cabinet.  The only money I spent on my fall decorations this year is the $2.50 for this little grapevine pumpkin.  I have a goal to get one new pumpkin every year. 

That cabinet is totally full, so I got this baby at Goodwill for 9 bucks!!! 

 It is a 2 drawer file cabinet.  The drawers are deep and it will hold a lot of music.  I love the front pulls and label slots.  I am still thinking of what color to paint it.  Something not too dark, I am into light and bright these days.  Hmmm, will have to think about this one.

Here is the dining table, with the centerpiece I have had for years.  I got it at Kirkland Home, one of my favorite little stores.  I still love this piece even after having it for so long.  That's the beauty of only using it for a couple months out of the year, I guess!  It is sitting on top of a quilted table runner that my talented sister in law made for me.  I LOVE it.

What fall touches have you put around your home?  Leave a link and I will check it out!

Dresser Makeover

I have been wanting to do this project for a long time.  I finally got around to it the last couple of days, and I'm so glad I waited because I changed my mind on what to do at the last minute!  Here is the little dresser before:

I got this for $5 at an estate sale a year or so ago.  It was exactly what I had been looking for, at the right price, too!!

Here it is at our last house:

This is in our entryway, and holds all our board and card games.  I will have to show in another post how we fit so many games in here.   I had originally wanted to paint it black with a black and white harlequin pattern on the front.  It would have been darling, but I suddenly wanted something lighter instead.  I wanted to keep the harlequin idea, however.  I figured it should be something fun since our fun games were inside.  Silly, I know.  :)  

So, the plan changed to a lighter version.  I also had to use what I had on hand.  First, I gave it a coat of Behr Swiss Coffee.  Then, to create the diamond pattern on the front, I put the drawers in and used a yard stick to draw a light pencil line from corner to corner.  This created an "X" that showed me where the middle of the front was.  Then, I cut out a diamond the size and shape that I wanted.  I drew more pencil lines: one going straight across the middle, and one going straight up and down through the middle. 

 I then placed the first diamond in the center of the dresser and traced it.

Then I traced a row of diamonds along the center going across and then along the vertical pencil line.  After that, I just traced them all in.  They came out pretty straight!  Keep in mind, that I wasn't going for a precise, perfect design.  I wanted a hand-painted, whimsical look.  (which means, I didn't want to be to picky about it, just get 'er done!)  :)

After all the diamonds were traced, I used a small foam brush to paint in the tan diamonds.  The color is Behr Gobi Desert that was I think 50% lightened.  

After the tan was painted, I had to go back with a small foam brush and paint the Swiss Coffee over any showing pencil lines.  Here she is with all the diamonds painted:

After it was painted, I took a sanding block and distressed the edges a bit.  Then, the FUN part...the knobs!! I went to Hobby Lobby when the knobs were all half off and picked out a few fun ones.  They were also some of the cheapest ones, so I think I spent under $15 for all of them.  That makes this whole dresser about $20!!

A close up of the knobs:

Lime green

 Black and silver

 Red glass

Now, I will let it cure for a few days and accessorize the top!!

Thrift finds

Shauna and I attended Goodwill's half off sale last Saturday.  Here are a few of our finds:

Can you see the potential in this?  I plan on painting it black and applying a white monogram.  $1.50

This was perhaps the best find of the day-a big glass apothecary jar!  I can't wait to fill it with Christmas ornaments, which we also found at Goodwill.  The lid was in a whole different area, but I had eagle eyes that day and found it.  :)

Next to the little guy for size reference:

Here is another diamond in the rough, a HEAVY brass candlestick.  I'm thinking of doing it over in a glossy white, or....yellow?  or red?  Again with the size comparison :) :

Gift Idea

Last week my younger girls were invited to their cousin's 9th birthday party.  We were short on funds to buy a present, so I went through my stash of craft supplies and put together a crafting kit for the birthday girl.  What 9 year old girl doesn't love crafting, and especially with her very own stuff.
Here is what we put in her package:

There is patterened paper, solid cardstock, a small mat stack, some alphabet stickers, card sized envelopes, a ziploc full of embellishments, a craft stick wound with several different types of ribbon, and a plastic pouch to keep it all in.

For the embellishments I included paper flowers, brads, buttons, and some punched cardstock shapes.  I was going to add a glue stick but forget.  Oops!

She LOVED it (and will have to hide it from her mom, because she loved it, too!).  I will definitely use this idea again!!  (and it helps clear out my stash, too!) :)

What great "re-cycled" gift ideas do you have?