Design Star

Are you watching.....


I am an HGTV fan...but admittedly haven't watched it much lately.  But...this Summer...I have rediscovered it!!  My favorite, favorite show to watch is Design Star!!  It is so fun to see how designers interpret the task and see what ideas they come up with...good and bad!! Lol

I have my favorites....Kelly, Leslie, Karl, & Tyler head the pack for me!  Do you watch it?  It is very inspiring....makes me want to re-do something, or paint something!   Maybe it is also because our house is on the market and the idea of having a new home to decorate is very exciting to me!! {wink}

{A}

Facelift anyone?

No...not that kind of facelift....I gave a little treasure of a table a new facelift.  I bought it for ONE DOLLAR....yep....ONE DOLLAR at my friend Debbie's garage sale.  Here is the before....

I am having a love affair with spray paint right now...it is easy and there are so many colors to choose from these days!! So I primed it with a Krylon spray primer....and then went to town with

Turquoise is one of my favorite colors {pink is the other}.  I had decided to use this table in my classroom {for now} and this year's color theme is Turquoise and Black & White Damask {with a touch of hot pink} so it will match perfectly.....

Once painted, I couldn't decide if I wanted to distress/shabby it up....so I thought about it for a couple days and figured...what the heck...if I don't like it....I can RE-PAINT it!!! lol

So out came the sandpaper and a little white paint.  I sanded here and there and then did a little dry brushing with white paint.  The result is subtle; but I love it.  What do you think.....

Have you got something you want to re-finish...re-purpose...or give a facelift to?  Well...grab a can of paint and get to sprayin'!!!

Have fun!!
{A}

MORE Foof-a-liciousness.....

Just found this a-ma-zing lamp that uses the same "coffee filter technique" that I showed you yesterday....

I stumbled up this blog today...Northwest Hospitality.  It is an adorable girl & her builder hubbie who are located in Oregon.  He builds...she decorates....Beautifully I might add! I will definitely be checking  her blog regularly....but I thought you might like to see one more reason to buy coffee filters!! {wink}

{A}

Foof-a-licious!!!

Ok...so I posted this picture on Facebook a couple days ago....

Before I reveal what it is....any guesses???

It is........a.....

Coffee Filter Foof!!!!

A What???? A foof???

Well...I didn't name it; but I did see it HERE on this beautiful blog.  When I was surfing blogs one night I came across this lovely blog and I thought this little craft idea would be fun to try.

So I gathered my supplies and got started....now...my apologies...I did NOT snap a picture of each step because the tutorial has all the pics you need but I did snap one when I came had to stop to get more filters...

I followed the tutorial to a tee...some other blogs say to skip the step of covering the styrofoam ball with filters first; but I think that it is an important step. I used a low temp glue gun but if you are going to use a high temp gun...don't skip this step...the glue will just melt the styrofoam. I also glued my ribbon to the ball...simply pinning it to the ball did not work for me...the ball was too heavy.  Now.....I used WAY more filters {approx. 315} than the tutorial said I needed and it took a few hours to complete {it was one of those projects I did a bit at a time}.  I think I used more filters because I glued them really close together and they are pretty tight. I really didn't pay too much attention to "how" I glued them down; but it clearly will make a difference in the end result.  I don't think either one looks better than the other....but when I try this again...I will glue them further apart to see which I like better.  This foof will be hanging in the Mailroom at my school for my colleagues to enjoy.  I am also going to give it a light spray of Clear Acrylic for durability.....

I think next time I will try spraying it with a beautiful shade of Glimmer Mist....super cute!!

My girls like them and have requested one for their room...... ;)

So....are you gonna be FOOF-A-LICIOUS with me?  Go on...Check it out here, grab some styrofoam, a glue gun, & some coffee filters!!! Be sure to post a picture on the Avenue{A} Facebook page....I would love to see your version!!

{A}

Where have I been?

Well....I haven't really been anywhere special....but I have been very busy Summer!!!
First off....we have decided to put our home on the market so we can move to a better area for our daughters' school......
Secondly, I {with a little help from my Mom and a great co-worker} have redecorated the front office, mailroom, & the lounge at my school........and that took a couple of weeks.  { I am still putting the finishing touches on it actually }
I have also been doing lots of crafty little projects for school and my classroom.....and...lest we forget....making jewelry for my Etsy shop.  More details to come and pictures of all I have done.....so check back soon......but I just wanted to let you know I am still here! ;)

{A}

Have a Safe & Wonderful and....

Red, White, & Fun!!

Just a quick note to share some cute ideas for the 4th of July...not too late to throw a FAB party!!!

Check out The TomKat Studio for an adorable breakfast table idea!

Lots of fun ideas at TipJunkie

Here are some cute FREE printables over at HGTV done by Kim at The TomKat Studio

You can also find some great recipes at my favorite go-to recipe site..... AllRecipes.com

Hope you find this info useful...I sure did!!  And don't forget the sparklers....everybody loves sparklers!!!

Have a wonderful and Happy 4th of July!!!

Fabulous Contest!!!

My adorable and very talented friend Becky Higgins is doing a fabulous contest.....run...don't walk over to her blog HERE for all the deets!!! It is open to absolutley everyone!!!!

Summer is here!!

Well...it's official....Summer is here!  School is out, we are sleepin' in, got no place to be (this week), and we are lovin' it!!! We even have Granma here enjoying it all!!

Our first "fun" activity this Summer was to dye the girls hair....they have been asking me to do it for a few summers now and I finally caved!! Riley chose Turquoise and Kenzie chose Hot Pink. 

First you gotta bleach it......

{Watching a little tv to pass the time}

Then you gotta add the color.  *TIP*....the pink takes WAY better than the blue! :)

Overall...they were happy with the result.  We will have to re-apply for sure.  It is semi-permanent color so it does wash out and the pool helps with that too!!

They chose to color the tips because...."At the end of the Summer, Mom, we can just cut it off".  At first I was hesitant but I actually knda like it.  It is FUN!!! And, after all, they are kids....so FUN is what they are all about!!!

What are YOU doing for fun this Summer?  Post a comment and let me know what you have planned.... 

Xo,

{A}

New Blog Coming Soon!

I will be moving my blog here soon.....but until then you can check out the current blog HERE!