Roman Numeral Clock Coffee Table

It's finally FINISHED!!!  It only took me a week to finally get it done, but here it is...  My clock coffee table!  We had our ups and downs during that week and the stenciling was a pain, but in the end it turned out just the way I imagined it would!  Mom and I took it up to The Blue Moon yesterday so that it would be there for the "weekend warriors" and hopefully it won't last long!  We only have a 10x10 space and we have more big furniture projects coming and these have got to go!  :-)

One thing that I did learn in the stenciling process is don't use the same paint you use on the furniture... which I did.  When I went to Hobby Lobby to get the stenciling stuff, they didn't have the stenciling paint color that I needed so I opted to use what I had (you know, beings that I am all frugal and stuff).  Well, don't do it.  The paint dried on my stencils, even though I put them in water after I used them until I could clean them.  Uh, yeah... didn't work out so well.  I am going to try some paint thinner on the stencils and see if I can get it off like that, but I have a feeling I will mess up my stencils.  Not a good thing.  (I will have to update this when I try and let you know what happens to my stencils.  Hopefully they won't melt or something disasterous happens).

I wanted to stencil around the design in the middle, "There is a time for everything" but at this point aggravation had set it and it wasn't fun anymore so  I decided to go with what I had.  I think that I will visit the Graphics Fairy next time.  :-)

Mama's Poor Vase

Well, mama couldn't decide what to do with the vase... it's been painted and rubbed, scrubbed, and painted again.  It started out cream, then pink, then black, then rubbed off the wet black for the pink and cream to come through.  I don't think that it turned out too bad.  This pic doesn't really show the pink, but it's a light pink and then some of the cream came through as well. Personally, I think that it would be cute if there was an air plant in the top... maybe stuff the bottom with newspaper and then have some moss on the top and place and air plant in it.  I think that would be nice.  What do you think?

This will be heading to The Moon by Thursday!

Paris Inspired Bulletin Board

I am so bad about taking pics before I touch anything... I am trying to remember to do this, but sometimes, it doesn't always happen... I scored this frame for only $1 at a yard sale.  It was a gaudy gold, but I sanded it down and cleaned it up and then sprayed it with white spray paint.  Then I took an "oops" pink that I got from my local Lowe's (which is a great place to get mis-tinted paint for a great price), and painted over the white.  Then, before it dried, I took a wet sponge and wiped off some of the pink to get this look...

Then I went to Hobby Lobby and found this perfect Paris fabric for it.  I decided on doing a bulletin board.  I already had the cork board left over from a previous project that I did for my daughter's room, so I went with it.  I had to go buy foam board from my local Walmart and then measured the opening of the frame, cut the foam board that size and then glued the cork board onto the foam board.  Used carpet tape which works PERFECT for little projects like this!  I then took the fabric, measured it to where I had about 1.5" on each side and then pulled it tightly to attach to the back.  After attaching the fabric, I attached the little clips that hold it in place, which it fit so tightly I really didn't need to, but I decided to go with it anyways.  I covered the back with kraft paper and attached with double sided tape and then placed the hanger on the back so it can hang on the wall... Voila!  This is the final look of my "Paris inspired" bulletin board.

So, that's it!  I should have taken more pics, but like I said, I am new to this whole thing and just need to get in the habit of doing that.  Sorry... if you have any questions though, just ask!  I will do my best to help you out as much as I can.  It's pretty simple though.  I have to make a couple more of these so I promise, next time, I will do the step by step for ya.  Until then, keep on craftin'!

Mom's First Piece

I am so proud of my mama!  She took an old table that was my gramma's and re-did it.  She had never done anything like this before (I can relate) but I think that it turned out great!

She ended up painting the table black and then we went to Lowe's and scoured through their "oops" paint and found this really pretty light green color.  She hit the edges lightly after the top coat dried and came up with this.  I think that it looks great personally!

So... Here is my mama!!!  She puts the "Mar" in "MarValUs."  And... she's probably gonna kill me for posting this but I had to.  I think that it looks great and I am so proud of her.

The Dusty Bunny Logo

Just messin' around with my little bunny signature... It may change several times before I actually get it the way I like it, but... what do you think of this one?

To Tha Moon Alice... To Tha Moon!!!

Remember The Honeymooners?  I loved that show.  Everything was so basic and it was a no frills kind of show.  Jackie Gleason in the character of Ralph Kramden just cracks me up.  Alice was his wife and he used to tell her "To da moon Alice to da moon!"  I wish that comedy was still like that.  Clean and downright pants-wetting funny.  They don't make em like that anymore.

I just can't help but to think of the Honeymooners every time I say "The Moon."  I guess I am just crazy like that.  So... The Moon...  My mom and I talked about doing this for a while and finally, one day, we just did it.  I mean, life is short and I, for one, am not one for looking back and having regrets in life.  At least I tried, right?  So, one day, my mom and I just decided to get us a little 10x10 spot at The Blue Moon Antique Mall... which is not really an "antique" mall at all.  I mean, there are lots of antiques in this place, but it's mainly an indoor flea market with some really neat stuff in there for sale.  I have bought several things from there and the people there are really nice, so I figured, why not?

So there it is... The Blue Moon.  We call it "going to the Moon."  So, when I reference "The Moon" this is the place that I am talking about.  :-)  It's been some hard work, but fun work.  I have really enjoyed working with my mom on these projects, goin' junkin' on the weekends, and just spending some good quality mother/daughter time together.  We are both new to this whole refinishing, repurposing, reusing thing, but I have to say that there are SO MANY inspiring blogs and "how to's" out there on the web.  I have put a few of my favs over there on the right side of the page so you can check them out.  

My mom and I go to "The Moon" and do what we needed to get us a spot and they told us that we had to come up with a name. "A name???"  My mom and I just looked at each other.  We didn't think about that.  So, we are standing there throwing out ideas and we came up with "Simply MarValUs."  

Why MarValUs???  Well, My mom's name is Martha, my name is Valerie, together we are "us" and we make things just Simply MarValUs.  Lol!  We thought that it was catchy, and actually, quite genius!

So there it is.... Well, this was about a week ago so it looks kinda bare right now.  We are working on some kind of carpet to go down and we have more in there now.  Guess I need to update it.  ;-)  You get the gist though.

The Sad Little Ugly Dresser: Part 2

Just to recap what happened in part one, you can find the story here.

The next morning mama woke up with much soreness in her bones.  After all, there is a lot of manual labor involved in all that preppin' for paint.  But, the best thing to do in that kind of sore situation is just work it out.  So, off mama went to finish up with the transformation.  The day was sunny, bright, and warm.  Perfect for painting!  Once the base was finished, it was time for the drawers.  Mama painted the drawers along with the insides of the drawers.  Mama's OCD kicked in and couldn't "not" paint the inside of the drawers... She sure is glad she did!  They turned out great!

I actually really love the way that turned out.  I noticed that some people don't do the inside of the drawers, I can't stand that!  I feel like it's only 1/2 done!  I am glad that I opted to do that.  Looks better.

Now, mama was finally done with the sad little ugly dresser, and now it was time for the final touch... The knobs.  Mama had a picture in her head of what she wanted and it didn't matter where she had to go to get them, but they had to be those particular knobs...

I decided to paint it teal (because I just LOVE teal right now!) and I did the top black.  You can't even tell that the top was so messed up!  All that sanding really paid off!  Looks great!

My Mika likes it too... well, actually, she wouldn't move, so I went ahead and just snapped the pic.  The only thing missing now is the knobs!!!

Off to Hobby Lobby!  The fam decided that they wanted to come along, which was good.  We had a good time!  Well, except my son... he's always so serious!

Yeah, he's probably going to be mad when he sees that I put this pic on here... both my kids grew up in front of a camera.  They hate that I am a professional photographer because I always have a camera handy... they are totally sick of it, lol!  Oh well!  I say, get over it and move on with life!  As you can see, my daughter loves being goofy with the camera.  The only one missing is hubbs!  Yeah, well, He likes to hide from the camera, lol!

It was the only place that she hadn't been yet, and in retro-spec, this should have been the first and only place that she should have gone to.  FOUND EM'!  And they were JUST what she had envisioned.   Perfect!

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE these knobs... and let me tell you, Hobby Lobby has GOBS AND GOBS OF KNOBS!!!!  I was impressed, seriously. 

By this time, it appeared that the hubbs, daughter, and son had started to change their minds about the sad little ugly dresser. Now hubbs, daughter, and son all wanted to keep the not-so-sad little ugly dresser.  They finally saw what mama was seein' that whole time!  Just because it's ugly to you, doesn't mean that you can't get a little creative and transform that ugly duckling into a beautiful swan!  Wouldn't you agree?

Yeah... didn't realize that this was such a crappy pic... (need a image stabilizer on my iphone!  Lol!  Rent-a-wreck!)  As you can see, we are still in the process of getting stuff in there.  I have some stuff to put up there on that peg board that I will be posting later on.  :-)  I had 4 people rubber-necking as I brought it in to the Moon and was putting the drawers in it.  I don't think that this one will last long at all.  ;-)  

So now it was time... although the fam wanted to now keep the beautiful new old dresser, it's fate had already been planned.  It was being transported to The Moon!  The Moon?  Yes, The Moon...   My mom and I have a little spot in a local indoor antique/flea market type place called The Blue Moon Antique Mall.  Our little 10x10 booth is named, "Simply MarValUs."  So, the awesome not-so-little dresser is now at it's new home, The Blue Moon, until someone falls in love with it and gives it a permanent home.  :-)  It's sturdy and well built, so it will last another 40 years, that's for sure!

So... if you are interested in it and are local (or surrounding area), you can find the revived sad little ugly dresser at:
The Blue Moon Antique Mall
3721 N. Navy Blvd.
Pensacola, Fl. 32507
Just ask for "MarVal's booth!"  They will be happy to show you the way.

Now... for the next project... hummm, what will it be this time?  Guess you will have to check back to see what dust has been blown off some old tired furniture that we have discovered!

Ribbon Lamp Shade Project

I finally finished it!  My ribbon lampshade!!!  I think that it is funky and turned out better than I expected.  I think that it's very chic!  I don't have a pic of the base before, (duh!) but I did manage to pull off a pic of the ugly shade that was on it before I started.

The one that was on my small lamp was almost like this one.  Mine did not have the design on the shade.

It took me about 3 days to do this, but it's not like I was all "dedicated" or anything when I was working on this.  I would watch the tele as I was working on it and just work on it here and there.  I need to make a trip to "The Moon" so, I decided that I needed to get that one.  After all, I think that it would look cute displayed on my not so sad ugly little dresser.  (Which I have not forgotten, the outcome will be revealed in the next day or so.)  In the meantime... Drum roll please.... lol!  Just kiddin'!

This is what the bare bones of the shade looked like once I cut, ripped, and struggled to get the shade off of it.

Uh yeah... not really sure what to say about this, but this was the part that took the longest... tying all these variations of ribbon onto the top of the shade ring.  I double tied them to make sure that it would stay together.

Duh!  I forgot to take a shot of the base before, oh well... it was beige and I sprayed it with a black semi-gloss with glitter mixed in with the paint.  I don't think that you can see the glitter in it though.  I put 3 coats on it because the paint really didn't want to stick to the base, even though I cleaned it good before I sprayed it.

All finished!  It's very cute!  If you are interested, it will be at The Moon tomorrow afternoon.  :-)

This was a fun little project.  I think that I could have finished it sooner, but that's okay.  My mom and I have been busy pickin' for some more projects that we are planning to start on next week to put up at The Moon!  I'll keep you posted!

Simply MarValUs Bows

As I am waiting for the last coat of sealer on the sad little ugly dresser (will be finished tomorrow!) I was gathering together some of my craft stuff together and came across some barrette supplies that I never made from Christmas!!!

Ribbon scraps and barrettes that I discovered. 

So... I decided to sit down with the supplies and make some hair bows.  After about 3 hours of playing with lots of ribbon, glue, thread and needle, I ended up with 6 beautiful bows!

I actually made 2 of the blue ones but daughter walked in and really loved the blue ones so I gave her one. :-) 

I plan on putting these on display for sale in a shop that my mom and I run together called "Simply MarValUs." 

I think that they all turned out very nice!  This next photo is not something that I have crafted yet, but it is on the agenda for tomorrow beings the weather is calling for a mid-week frog strangler!  I thought that I would post the inspiration for my hair bow holder.  :-)  

Can't remember where I found this, but I am sure that it's something that I came across on google somewhere during a search. Just know that it's not mine. :-) 

It won't be exactly like this.  The frame that I scored for $1 is more decorative than this one, I think it might be bigger, and I am going to be trying out my new Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint on this project.!!!  I guess the painting is on hold right now though because of the "mid-week frog-strangler" that is supposed to be happening for the next 2 days.  :-(  It's alright though!  Just gives me a chance to work on some of the smaller projects that I have on my list for our little "boutique."  As always, keep on craftin'!

The Sad Little Ugly Dresser: Part 1

Once upon a time, there was a sad little ugly dresser that was in pretty bad shape.  This particular sad little ugly dresser had been used for so long that there was not a time in the last 30 or so years that it wasn't around (that husband could recall).  The sad little ugly dresser had been used and abused by many family members (some more than others).  It had been handed down from husband's mother to her son and his wife (which shall be called husband and mama from here on out), then to daughter, and finally to son.  Time had taken it's toll (rather roughly) on the sad little ugly dresser.  

One day, son said, "Mama, I don't want this ugly dresser anymore, it's too big for my room and I don't use it anyway, I wanna throw it away."  Mama decided not to hear son and ignored his request to remove the sad little ugly dresser from his room.  After all, it did belong to husband's mother and there was some sentimental value to the sad little ugly dresser, no matter how ugly it really was.  Soon after, husband declared, "Son does not want the ugly dresser anymore, we have no room for it so I am going to take it to the curb because trash day is day after tomorrow.  If someone doesn't pick it up then the trash man can take it.  It's a crappy dresser anyways, not worth anything."

Did mama hear this right?  Was the sad little ugly dresser about to be on it's way to curbside???  "Oh no you don't!"  declared mama.  "That's not going curbside!  Put it on the porch, I want to use that as my first furniture project!"  The whole family laughed at mama.  They did not believe that the sad little ugly dresser could be saved.  But, there was a little glimmer of hope for the sad little ugly dresser.  

Mama had been combing though many wonderful pictures on Pinterest  and she had so many wonderful ideas and had contemplating for some time about starting a big furniture project like this.  She had read countless blogs for months about painting furniture using various methods.  It was time for mama to get off her keister and try her hand at some of the awesome DIY projects that she had seen throughout Pinterest and other DIY bloggers!!!  After all, mama was quite crafty and creative herself, and thought that she could do it.  It seemed easy enough, although mama knew that there would be surprises along the way.  At least that was her experience after doing many DIY projects with husband and friends throughout the years.  

So... this is where it had begun.  Mama done went out to her local Walmart and done bought herself a sander and decided to take a chance.  After all, anything was an improvement to this sad little ugly dresser.  With very little help (and I emphasize very little), mama began her journey down the road of giving old, sad, ugly, thrown out, forgotten, used and abused furniture, new life again.

Before:  The sad little ugly dresser (which really isn't all that "little"). 

Before:  The top was severely abused with stickers that had to be scraped off by mama along with years and years of water stains and other nicks from son and daughter.  That top looks really rough!!!

Mama broke in that new sander just fine!  It took a little longer than expected, but mama sanded and prepped the entire sad little ugly dresser, drawers and all, then relaxed a bit. 

After many hours of sanding and cleaning the sad little ugly dresser, mama had to take a break.  She was pooped!  Quite honestly, mama isn't used to all this manual labor.  Although she used to be physically fit, time has also take it's toll on her and mama was sore for a few days after this little venture.  But, it wasn't over yet...

Step 1:  Prepping:  Complete.  

Now it was time for mama to make husband, son, and daughter fall in love with the sad little ugly dresser again.  But then it will be too late.  Because mama has plans for that sad little ugly dresser.  Mama's takin' that thing to The Moon!  Yes sir, to The Moon!!!

Stay tuned!  Will mama finish her sad little dresser and make husband, son, and daughter wish that they wouldn't have treated the sad little ugly dresser so badly?  Will mama be able to move tomorrow after using all those muscles she forgot she had (even though she's a nurse and knows that there are 640 muscles in the body, 850 if you count the hair follicle muscles)?  Is she really going to take it to The Moon?  

Check back and find out!!!

Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint

I can't tell you how excited I was today when the doorbell rang and it was my local postman with my Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint!!!  I am so pumped to use it!  I have seen some furniture that has been painted with it and it just looks totally awesome!  If you don't know what the final product of milk paint looks like, it looks like this...

©Miss Mustard Seed, image found here.

As I was "surfin" on the net, I came across this awesome new blog called HollyDo.  She had tried out the paint that I just bought by Miss Mustard Seed and re did this cool looking piece of furniture and it turned out fabulous!  I just had to post it because I am so excited about trying this new kind of paint.  This is the piece that HollyDo did (does that even sound right, lol!)  I just LOVE that chippy look!

Isn't that just amazing?  I love the look that the milk paint gives.  It's spotty and crackled and just looks really old. I can't wait to try it out my first piece! 

Click here to visit Holly's blog for more!

All pics are ©HollyDo.blogspot.com

I have an idea of what I want to paint, but it is a little expensive, so I want to make sure that I don't waste it.  Here are some of the colors that they have available.  

By no means am I some kind of rep or getting paid to promote this or anything.  I just discovered this really cool paint and wanted to share it with you.  You can find Miss Mustard Seed's paint here or look to the right of my page and there is a button that you can click to get to the order site.  I will be posting my project very soon!!!  I am so PUMPED!!!  :-)