1.04.2010

I'm baaaaaaaack! Happy New Year!

Good morning everyone and Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Okay, a short "woe is me" tale...  we got the Mac back the Wednesday before Christmas.  They had to completely open up the computer to retrieve the memory card that I put in the wrong slot (MAJOR blonde moment!)  I was so excited to begin blogging again when DISASTER STRIKES!  Our internet went down, I mean WAY DOWN, KAPOOT, completely and utterly BROKEN!  My husband being the techie guy that he is, tried in vain for 3 days to fix it with no luck.  We finally got our provider out here on Saturday and low and behold it was some silly cable that had a short in it.  So, after 5 minutes and a nice $40 tip to the technician, we have internet again!  I really don't know how we survived without it, but we managed.

So, with no technology to distract me, I got busy on projects, yippee!  Here are a few of the things I worked on during my "computer break"!

I made this really cool shell topiary...

 

Super easy and I think I will be leaving it up even after Christmas.


HOW TO MAKE IT

(New Year's Resolution 2010: Be a better blogger by taking step-by-step pics along the way!  Okay, I said it!)

1) Use a foam cone (craft store) in any size you like.
2) Use hot glue to attach seashells to the cone.  Start with larger shells at the bottom and go smaller as you near the top of the cone.  TIP - You will have to overlap shells to cover up the foam.
3) Glue a small conch shell to the top of the cone
4) Tie a ribbon bow around the base of the conch shell.
5) Elevate on a beautiful pillar holder.

Time to make: approx 15 minutes.  Cost to make - About $12 for a cone measuring 12 inches


I also repainted my breakfast room table!

Here's what it looked like before...


Sorry for the "shadowy" pic.  My husband liked to call this my "When Creativity Goes Bad" table.  It actually matched some art I had hanging in the breakfast room at one time.  Okay, measily excuse but sounds good right?

Check out the legs on this beauty!





Aren't they yummy?  This was my great grandmother's dining room table.  My Mom gave it to me a couple of years ago when she got a new dining set.  I'm so happy to have a piece of my Granny Mae's furniture!

The table was a late night experiment complete with a couple of glasses of Chardonnay!  I started out by painting the top with a bluish-white latex paint (because that's what I had and I didn't feel like driving to Home Depot!)



I had some trouble covering the old pattern completely, so I dabbed on a mixture of glaze with a dab of charcoal color artist's oil paint.  It turned out like this...




Pretty cool right?  I could still see the pattern through the paint, so I decided to paint a nautilus shell in the center using this as the inspiration...



And here is the new table!



I'm so NOT an artist, but I'm a pretty good "copier".  I used artist's oils that I had in my paint box and mixed colors to get the right shades.

I bought a round glass tabletop at Pier 1 for $99 to protect the paint job.



And aren't those chairs cool?  I found them on Overstock.com for $200, set of 4.  They are plastic which I was a little worried about when I ordered them (I didn't want it to look like cheap lawn furniture!) But I was pleasantly surprised when they arrived.  They are a one piece construction (so no broken legs when the kiddos lean back in them repeatedly no matter how much Mom scolds them!) and the plastic is thicker than your typical lawn furniture.  They can be wiped down easily; a must in my house with my messy boys!  And BONUS, they shipped for free!  Gotta love that.



Coming up next, my quickie and cheapo game room re-do!  Check back!

I'm linking up to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On the Porch,  Just Something I Whipped Up Monday at The Girl Creative, DIY Day at A Soft Place To LandMake It For Monday at Cottage Instincts, and Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple

Check out these great blogs out for more amazing transformations!

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for linking up! I'm always afraid to paint furniture so I admire those that do. :)

Kendall@ Finesse Your Nest said...

I'm always afraid too! Still! However, when it's something I pick up on the side of the road, anything goes. If I screw it up it can go back out with the trash! Thanks for hosting your Monday event. I always enjoy reading everyone's posts!

Kendall@ Finesse Your Nest said...

Aah, hit send too quick! I wanted to also mention that this particular table of my great grandmother's had a top that was beyond repair! The wood had deep gouges in it (from who knows what?!) so I had to fill in with wood putty and then paint. The legs were in beautiful condition, so I just sanded and stained them.

Maya @ Completely Coastal said...

You seem to be on a redo roll Kendall. Wow!! Love the topiary and the table.

Happy New Year!!

Charity said...

I love the shell cone. We have tons of shells from vacation. I will have to try it. Thanks for the idea.

Blue Creek Home said...

Your seashell topiary is so pretty. I've been playing in the seashells this week too!

Great job on the table!
Rhonda

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

This shell topiary is so pretty! I love it! (Wish you had a tutorial on how you made it!) I am featuring it at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com Grab my "featured" button.

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

OK! Whoops! Sorry about that last post! I love the topiary, but I can't feature it because I can't copy the picture. If you would like me to feature it (and send some traffic your way), I will need access to that picture. Thanks!

Kendall@ Finesse Your Nest said...

Michelle - Thank you so much. This is the first time I've been featured anywhere so I'm honored (blogging rookie here!)

I am adding a tutorial for the shell topiary to the post. I need to start taking pics along the way like all the "professional" bloggers, but hopefully this will 'splain it!

Thanks again!

Kendall@ Finesse Your Nest said...

Michelle - I just added the tutorial and grabbed your feature button. I've also bookmarked your site (don't know how I've missed it before now, but will be following you! Great blog!)

Kendall@ Finesse Your Nest said...

Hey Michelle - Sorry you couldn't access the picture. Not sure what the problem is. I'm not very techie, but I posted them on Shutterfly. See if you can get them this way (copy & paste the image location into your browser) 2 pics:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0df24b3127ccef95f13cf090c00000030O00AcuWrJw1YuWIPbz4e/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0df24b3127ccef95eb19fa87100000030O00AcuWrJw1YuWIPbz4e/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

Kendall@ Finesse Your Nest said...

Michelle - Okay, sorry for all the notes. I just tried attaching the above 2 URLs directly into a post and they worked. So, I think you should be able to access them. Let me know if you have any problems! Thanks!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

OK Kendall, I finally got a picture and featured it. I think it could have been my computer that wouldn't let me copy it. It's been naughty lately:) This is so beautiful and I like how you added another picture and some directions. Hopefully, you will see some traffic come your way! Thanks

Stitchnmom said...

I love it!!! My living room is going to be a Nautical theme and this would go great! Thanks for sharing!

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