Merlin Picture Frames

Hi friends! I hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday! The Merlin picture frames are DONE! So lets get right to it, shall we?

The 4x6

 
The 5x7

The 8x10

These complete the four styles that Frame Candy offers. But don't worry, there are new styles being designed. Keep your eye out for my "Grand Opening Sale" coming soon so you can snag that frame you love at a discount. These frames can be purchased in my Etsy shop.

Stay Humble
Amber

Thrifty Thursday

It has been one busy week! I had my ten year old niece and five year old nephew staying with me while their mother was out of town. They are exceptionally good kids but I am exhausted! I thought I would reward myself for being such a good aunt with a thrift store trip. I also needed it to unwind. Kids are so much work!
 
Here is what I scored:
 

A green sun/star throw from India for $5.00

 

Three large photo prints that I plan to use for a project. $3.00

 

I couldn't leave the store with out this navy striped pottery jar. $5.00

 

I also found a shirt and two belts but I wont bore you with those or make you look at pictures of me modeling them. Haha You're welcome. Today starts a busy day at my clients house installing her closet desk. We are also finishing up a 16x20 scalloped bulletin board she requested. Busy busy!

 

Stay Humble

Amber



 

 

 

Arrow Picture Frames

Hey friends, happy Wednesday to you! I have finished my Arrow frames and wanted to share them. Out of the four styles of frames, they are the easiest to make but they have taken me weeks to finish. When I finish painting my frames I always spray on a top coat. This happens outside so the fumes are not in my house. I leave them outside to dry for a few hours. When I went to bring them in I found that my dogs had knocked them over and scratched them up. So I had to start over!

I really need a paint booth! Ive been researching how I can make one. I have some good ideas so we are going to be finishing the drywall in the garage and making me a paint booth to complete my work space.

I purchased some washi tape for the first time (I know, I'm always the last one to try new stuff) and wanted to incorporate it into my frames. Its my new favorite thing and I'm sure I'll be using it on my frames again.

The 4x6

The 5x7

The 8x10

These frames can be purchased in my Etsy Shop. Have you had a chance to do a washi tape project yet? Does anyone own a painters booth? I would love to hear where you get your painting projects done?

Stay Humble
Amber

Pie safe without the pies

We were given a beautiful hand crafted pie safe. This isn't just any pie safe. A very special family member makes them so we feel honored to receive this amazing piece. It will be in our home for years to come.

There is no room for it in my tiny kitchen or dinning room but I welcomed the storage no matter where its home was going to be. Who says a pie safe has to live in those two rooms anyway! So in the guest room it went. The closet is packed to the brim in that room. I have decorative items and my nieces toys that needed a place to live, so that pie safe filled up fast.

As you can see it is unfinished. I have been thinking about how I want to finish it. It is far to beautiful to be covered in paint so I think I will be staining it. I just don't know what color yet. In the mean time I wanted to get the holes covered to hide the items inside. I know that a pierced-tin panel is the distinguishing feature of a pie safe but that look really isn't for me, especially on a pie safe in a bedroom. I liked the idea of wire but it would not hide the items inside. My next thought was fabric. So off to the store I went purchasing some printed fabric. I attached it to the back with my staple gun. 200 staples later...I hated it. The color and print choice was not doing anything for the room.

Plan B. I liked the fabric idea but not the one I chose. I also wanted to be able to change the fabric out if I redecorate the room. This meant that I couldn't staple it in place. There was no way I would pull that many staples out again!

I loved this navy and white print I found. I decided to cut 4 cardboard squares to fit the holes. I ironed and cut the fabric 1 inc larger than my cardboard square.

I wrapped the fabric around the square and hot glued it into place.

The cardboard squares fit so snug in the holes that I did not need to secure them with anything. I can easily push them out to change the fabric when I decide to do so. If you look closely you can see all the staple holes from the first failure.



 

 

This fabric matches so much better than my first choice and it doesn't compete with the bedding. I love the way it turned out! Lets look at a few more pictures shall we? 

 



 

Such a cute hinge!

 

Now I am off to figure out what color of stain I want along with finalizing our flooring and getting ready to add drywall to our garage. Phew, so much to do! Hope you have a great day!

 

Stay Humble

Amber

 



 

 

Thrifty Tuesday

Who out there loves thrift shopping? It's not for everyone. Some people cringe at the idea. I get it, I do. The stores are usually smelly and full of other peoples used, dirty, unwanted junk. But in all that grossness there are treasures to be found. You just have to open your eyes and not set any limit to the possibilities.

Ive been thrifting for years. They were my favorite place to shop in my teens. You were guaranteed to find a flannel for your grunge look or a pair of "old man" plaid Punk Rock pants there. You could pay $3.00 and stuff a grocery bag full of stuff. My cousin and I wouldn't mess around with that deal. We came prepared with rubber bands to roll the clothes up and make them as small as possible. We had to get our moneys worth. Haha! Here are some treasures I found.

This mid century side table had great hardware. All it needs is to be painted a fun bright color. $25.00

They had mountains of vinyl records. For 50 cents you can't go wrong. I came home with a few myself.

I have a thing for homemade pottery. I don't know why, most of it is lop sided and ugly. But there is something about all the work that someone put into making it, along with their name that is etched on the bottom. Here are two pieces I found.

 

This shallow bowl with a lid would be perfect for dropping off your keys at the entryway. $2.00



Then you have this blue mountain/volcano perfect for holding flowers or pens. It became mine for 50 cents.

How cute would this basket look in the bathroom with three glass jars holding your q-tips, cotton balls and soap? You could paint it what ever color you wanted to coordinate.

 
I wish I had room for this guy. He could make an awesome bar cart. Add some wheels and paint him a bright fun color. I love the detail on the sides.

 

You could own this original print called "music mystery" for $2.00.

 Or this b&w image could hang on your wall for $2.00 and remind you to keep recycling. I really liked this one! Hahaha

 Maybe a photo of the Grand Canyon is more your style. $2.00

 And you know I couldn't leave the store with out these two barbarian women ridding horseback. $2.00 Hahaha! Okay, I left this for someone else to have the pleasure of owning.

All of these items can be found at the Sacks Thrift Avenue thrift store in Hemet.
I hope you have a wonderful treasure filled Tuesday!

Stay Humble
Amber

Flooring Choices

How is your week going? I have been up to my ears in samples and paint. There are lots of decisions to be made around here now that its tax season. A DIYers favorite time of year! We have lived with some horrible carpet the last three years. Light beige carpet and two big dogs do not mix at all! So the time has come (sound the trumpet's) that we are getting new flooring! Just saying that gives me a big cheesy smile! Its hard to believe that in just a few days I will get the pleasure of cutting into it with a utility knife and ripping it up. I have seriously dreamed of this day. Each time I vacuum it, I think "please let this be the last time."

So we have a few big things to consider. 1.) Our open floor plan. Our kitchen, dinning room and living room flow into one another so we wanted the flooring to be continuous. 2.) I love the look of wood but I do not love the price nor the fact that you take a big risk laying it in a kitchen. I've known some people (including myself- in our previous house) that had to rip out wood due to water damage. 3.) We have two long haired big dogs.

So real wood is out for these reasons: It is realistically not in our budget. I don't think it will stand up to our dogs and we don't want to risk it being ruined in the kitchen. This leads us to the next option, laminate.

We have lived with laminate before. Pros: It was easy to clean and held up to the dogs. Cons: It is not water resistant. It was cold, hard and loud. I could hear my dog walking around the house 24/7 from any room. That gets old when you are trying to sleep and you have a restless dog. This leads us to our next option, vinyl planks.

At first I thought the idea was crazy. After allot of research I found that they have improved tremendously over the years. I didn't realize how durable they are along with being water resistant. My friend installed and lived with them for a few years and said she would install them again in a heart beat. They held up to her kids and pets. They are softer and not as loud as laminate. Easy to install. Easy to clean. I really couldn't find anything wrong with them.

We are loving the two end samples on the left. The top is Dark Walnut and the one below is American Walnut. We are going to start tearing the carpet out this weekend. It will be a big job to do our whole house but we are up for the task. We plan on stretching it out over a few weekends so it doesn't get overwhelming. I am so excited that I don't even care we have to live on concrete for a while. Which finish do you like best? Do you have any thoughts on vinyl planks? Have a wonderful day!

Stay Humble
Amber