My One-derful Table

The reason I think this table is so wonderful is because it cost me $1.00!

Sorry the pictures are so grainy...I don't know what to say.

Like most things that cost $1.00, it just needed a little bit of love.  We decided to paint the metal part with some left over spray paint from a slightly-failed attempt at a headboard (that's another story for another day...)  Then I took the glass table-top out and scrubbed it the best I could but it refused to look clean.

On to Plan B.

We bought a piece of wood ($4) that is 1/4" thick from Lowe's, traced the circle onto it, and cut it out with a jig saw.  Then we took some zebra print fabric ($4) from Joann's and wrapped it around the wood, using spray adhesive and staples to attach it.

That was all it took!  It fits perfectly beside the chair in our bedroom!

Again, I'm sorry that the pictures are so grainy.  If only I had a Nikon D5000....

Pull Up a Chair

Back in April, when I shared my crafty corner, it was missing a chair.  Since then, while searching for the perfect chair, I've been using a folding metal chair.

Finally, the day came.  While we were walking around Faith Rescue Mission, my friend and fellow DIY-er Anna, found this for me...

{you can also see the chair I've been using on the right side of the picture...}

What made this chair even more appealing was the price...

$10.00!  Not too shabby.

Now anyone who has spent any length of time with us knows we do not like to pay full price and will avoid doing so at all costs, whether it's through coupons or asking for a discount (JP is much better at it than I am but I'm learning...it never hurts to ask.  The worst that will happen is they say no).  This holds true even at thrift stores.  However, before I could put my crazy bargaining skillz to use , they gave us 50% off because Kalie flashed her student ID.  So I bought this chair for $5.00!

The first thing we did was remove the seat.

 It always helps to have a toddler around...she has to earn her keep after all.

Buddy Fruits don't grow on trees, baby doll!

The chair was slightly coming apart on one side so JP drilled some screws in to hold it together.

Then using a white wood filler, he filled in the spaces over the screws.  After it dried, we sanded it down until it was smooth.

We applied one coat of primer...

And then one coat of glossy white...

We found the material at Hobby Lobby.  Using a 40% off coupon, we paid $4.98.  We laid it face down on the floor, put the cushion on top, and then probably went a little over board with the staple gun.  If we saw a loose spot, we stapled it.

When we were finished, we trimmed all the excess material.

After attaching the seat, we were done!  And it only cost us $9.98.

{clicking the picture should make it larger}

What's not to love?

Homemade Waffles

*Courtesy of allrecipes

** I made these for the first time this morning.  I've always bought the Shake and Pour pancake batter and just used that to make waffles but decided to try waffles from scratch.  They were very easy to make and I froze the leftovers to reheat for Karlie.

Ingredients:

~ 2 eggs

~ 2 cups all-purpose flour

~ 1 3/4 cups milk

~ 1/2 cup vegetable oil

~ 1 tablespoon white sugar

~ 4 teaspoons baking powder

~ 1/4 teaspoon salt

~ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  Preheat waffle iron.  Beat eggs in a large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. (I used my stand mixer)
2.  Beat in flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla until smooth.  (I also added cinnamon sugar...just sprinkle however much you like)
3.  Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour mix onto hot waffle iron.  Cook until golden brown.  Serve hot.

My Brother's a Model

Seriously.  He's going to California next week to begin the long journey to stardom at the Julie Nation Academy .  Don't ask him about it though because he doesn't like to talk about it.**

So to get him started on the right track, I shouted pose commands over Skype.  The results were not too shabby.  Take a look....

To start him off easy, we started with just a basic smile...

He was a little nervous.
Next...

Sultry

Ecstatic!

"Sorority Girl"

Disappointed

Devastatingly Sad

Skeptical

Shocked

Sleepy

Attitude

Magnificent

Killa'

And finally.....

This one will be his headshot

** Those of you who don't know me (or Samuel), he's actually heading to West Coast Baptist College.  {Although I'm sure he can use some of these looks to catch some ladies...}

We are very proud of him and cannot wait to see what the Lord does with his life!

Mirrors Mirrors on Our Walls

Sorry for the lack of posting!  It doesn't mean we haven't been busy though!

The two mirrors we have in our house (besides bathroom mirrors) received a little love and attention recently.

Mirror #1 {the one in our master bedroom}
We actually fixed this one up back in March but it wasn't until yesterday I realized I never posted about it.   This beauty was bought at an antique store when I was in tenth grade, sometime in 2001 or 2002.  It was just about the only thing I contributed to our new life when we got married in 2006.  Since then, it has always hung faithfully over my jewelry stand, mostly collecting dust.

 
Side Note

I was originally going to use this picture:

Notice anything??  Look really hard and you can see a very creepy version of my husband in the reflection.
I didn't know he was standing there until I uploaded the picture and then had to retake it.  Nice babe.

Anyway, after a little bit of sanding and slopping on about 3 or 4 coats of white paint,
here she is in all her glory:

My inspiration to paint this mirror came when I found a mirror (very similar in style) at Z Gallerie.  The only difference??

My mirror - $0 (I already had the mirror and the paint)

Z Gallerie's - $399.00

Cha ching!

Mirror #2 {the one in our living room}
This project we started and finished yesterday.  We bought this mirror in December 2006 and we thought it was the best thing we'd ever buy.  It was our first (and last) purchase from Kirklands.  Since then, it has hung over our couch in Kentucky, on our dining room wall in Texas, and now is back over our couch in Alabama.

Now with mirror #1, we use a bucket of paint and some paint brushes.  However with this one, we happened to already be on a spray painting spree so we spray painted this one.  We used one coat of white spray primer and 2 coats of high-gloss white spray paint and ended up with this:

Don't you just love white paint?  For a while, my younger sister {I don't like to name names} teased me because my response to any home-decor-remodeling question was, "Paint it white!"

So I submit to you that you could paint anything white, and it will in fact look fabulous!