Using an empty frame to decorate

My mother-in-law found these cute pictures somewhere and gave them to anybody in the family that wanted one. The cocoa company has the same last name as us, so it's kind of fun to put up on display, even though we have no relation to them.


At first I just put the picture itself up, but then I knew right away, it looked way too lonely up on that big wall all by itself.


Lately a lot of people have been decorating with empty frames, which can look pretty good. So I remembered that I had an old cheap frame in the closet.


I spray painted it with black satin paint, and then 2 coats of gloss spray paint.
Much better!

Finished Project!

Make sure and check out Kimba's blog at http://asoftplacetoland-kimba.blogspot.com/! Every week she does a DIY Show Off and it is SO fun to scroll through all the entries!
As I wrote about in the previous posting, we found a dresser/changing table on craigslist for $35.00! I thought it was cute as it was, but I wanted it white!


I did a little sanding (very little) and primed it with 2 coats of grey primer. Then I used several coats of satin spray paint (Rustoleum in Almond) and then I finished with like 4 quick coats of Valspar Gloss spray paint. I am so pleased with how it turned out. I think it is very cute!

Dresser Project/ Crate & Barrel Candlestick

It is so hard to find the time to blog! We went to the beach again last weekend, and it was absolutely perfect weather. The beach is the best. Seriously, is there anything better than taking a nap on the beach, in the sun, listening to the waves?


Even though I haven't posted anything in forever, I am working on some stuff! There are so many people that blog that are constantly finishing projects and I am always thinking "Where the HECK do they find all that time?!?" It makes me very jealous :)
Currently I am working on painting a dresser/changing table that we found on Craigslist for $35!! It was only 4 years old from Babies R Us. It did definitely need a paint job though; lots of scratches and chips. I am painting it a rich cream color and I hope to be done by Wednesday to post on a Soft Place to Land's DIY Day. I still have AT LEAST 3 coats of paint left though, so wish me luck! Here is a picture of the dresser right before I started painting it (the drawers are sitting on top of the dresser).


Here is a candlestick that I finished a couple weeks ago and just never blogged about yet! I got it at Goodwill for $1.99. Here is the before:

Isn't that lovely? Lol. When I was shopping, I looked at the bottom and it has a Crate and Barrel sticker on it. What the heck? That puzzled my mind. Anyways, I painted it cream and here it is! I love it. You can't really see in the picture, but it has a nice shiny glaze to it also.

Decorating Dilemma

I'm participating in a Decorating Dilemma Party at http://serenitynow4amanda.blogspot.com/2009/09/decorating-dilemmas-partyround-2.html.
Come check out the fun!!
I have two dilemmas. Ok, I have like a thousand, but I don't want to overwhelm! :)
Here is our dining room.

It is very close to the living room, so I have used black accents to decorate in both rooms. Here is dilemma #1: Should I paint the dining room table? If so, what color? Would it be too dark to do it black? Should I be really brave and do it white? AAHH!! I have no clue!

Here is dilemma #2:

I LOVE our fireplace. It is beautiful! I would love to buy a new fireplace surround to replace that glaringly ugly brass, but we can't afford it right now. My husband thinks that if I try and paint the surround, I will have a hard time making it look "right." He thinks we should just leave it until we can afford a new one. I, on the other hand, think I can do it!! I want to paint it black. Anybody have any input? Has anybody done it? Help me please!!