Baptism Day for Number 2!

Our oldest son was baptized on May 3, 2014. He turned 8 on May 2nd! We sure love this boy!

I set up our back porch with photos of him on this picture frame,

and on this dresser in the corner. I also put a sign in sheet of paper here so he could remember everyone who came to celebrate his special day.

Here is the luncheon buffet table after his baptism. We had chicken salad sandwiches, doughnut holes and brownie bites, assorted fruits on a tray, a vertical veggie side, and shrimp pasta salad (brought by my sil Tara).

I ordered the banner from our home teacher's sign company. I printed 2 Nephi 31:12 on vinyl canvas so I can roll it up and store it for later use. The sign was $20.00.

I made the ceiling garlands for a baby shower in Washington. Luckily I was able to find them in the unorganized stash of moving boxes downstairs! They were perfect for this outdoor baptism lunch celebration.

First Bench

I needed a bench for our entry and didn't have a lot of money to spend. The ones I found on etsy, craigslist, or antique shops were $80-100.00. So one day I decided I'd just make my own bench. I went to Home Depot, bought the supplies, and had this primitive, but functional bench a couple days later, for a fraction of the price. Not bad!

I purchased a 2x4 and had HD cut 5 boards at 16 1/2" a piece for the legs. Then I had them cut the 2x12 down to 5 ft. for the bench. I paid $10 (and some cents) for the wood.


When I got home I sanded all the wood with fine-grade sandpaper (220) then applied pre-stain wood conditioner to the bench. (Wood conditioner was about $3.00 and I didn't even use enough to make the level go down). After it dried I lightly applied one coat of Minwax stain in English Chestnut to the bench top. (Stain was $7.00 and I still have a full can left for more projects!) I only applied one coat because I didn't want it to be too dark. Also, I found that using a paper towel, instead of a brush, helped the stain go on smoother.


The bench top was obviously the natural wood color (like the legs here) but I forgot to take a pic before I stained it.


Bench legs before the paint. I painted them Muslin by Behr using our leftover exterior paint from our house.


Bench top stained.


Bench mostly finished. (I'm going to put a 1x4 across the back three legs for extra support). Chris drilled the holes for me. Love him!!

Custom Home

Kitchen before we moved in. I LOVE my brick backsplash! Other favs are the antique pendants, the large island, and dark/light contrasts.

$5.00 Chair Makeover

This $5.00 chair I bought from Craigslist was one of the most economical purchases ever. It was also one of the most dramatic makeovers I've ever done.

After cleaning it, I primed the chair with Valspar tintable white interior latex primer.
While it was drying, I recovered the chair seat with fabric from Craft Warehouse. (It was about 3.00 for the fabric and I didn't even use half of it).
Then I painted the chair with Sherwin Williams Muslin exterior paint. I just used the left over paint from our house that was being constructed at the time. I've never used exterior paint on indoor furniture but this turned out great!
Then I put the seat back on and was VERY pleased with the finished product. Total cost was about $8.00.

Coyote Run Home

This was our first house! We lived there for 5 years; it's fun to look back. I should have posted this sooner. I'm having a hard time remembering all the paint colors!

Family Room


Girls Room

Kitchen

Living Room
Walls are Gaucho by ColorPlace
It took FOREVER to get the right color!

Dresser

Bought this dresser at Goodwill for $40.00. I cleaned it then primed it with Valspar latex tintable white multi-purpose primer. Then I painted it Meadow Trail by Sherwin Williams.





Only "after pic" I have for now. Still playing around with the hardware.

Hutch and Dresser

I bought this hutch and dresser off Craigslist for $40.00.




I painted the handles black and re-painted the dresser white using Frost by Behr. I didn't prime it.

Here is the finished product: