Cheesy Gifts

Okay, so, this isn't one of the projects that I have been promising, but I couldn't leave y'all hanging any longer without a new post. I thought I'd show you a small thing I did this week when I was really searching for supplies for a totally different project. I was at Goodwill this week looking for a unique planter to hold herbs and there they were . . . TWO DOMED CHEESE BOARDS. 

Normally I wouldn't pay the sight much mind, but just days earlier I read an old blog post over at House of Hepworths on upcycled domed cheese boards. It looked simple enough; and since I was having no luck finding something to convert into an herb planter, I thought I'd give it a try. Plus, the price for the entire project was just $13 so I had very little to lose. I was so happy to find that it was as easy as HOH promised it was. I absolutely love an inexpensive, fast AND easy D-I-Y project and this one was all three!

I started with the two cheese boards and two fat candle sticks. If you give this a try yourself, don't worry over color or style. Those things don't matter much because the entire item will be painted.

First remove the feet from the cheese board. Then place the candle stick in the center of the board and trace around it.

Place a bead of glue inside the mark you made from tracing around the candle stick. House of Hepworths used Gorrilla Glue, but impatient me chose a fast drying super glue.

Next you simply paint the entire piece in whatever color you like. I recently purchased some crackle medium, so one cheese pedastal got that treatment with an undercoat of grey (shown above), then crackle medium, and finally covered in white. For the other one, I chose just to go with a simple black dressing. My stands required two coats of paint for full coverage. When completely dry, give the finished product a light coat of clear spray paint to seal. I chose a clear satin finish for both pieces.

So whatta ya think? Don't you just love them? I could make a dozen more. They are great for buffet serving OR they will make a great gift for friends. I am even thinking of monogramming the black one with a giant letter right there in the center.

Thanks to House of Hepworths for this fabulous and super easy upcycle project idea.

Fine Dining

Thinking about updating your dining room? Sarah, The Thrifty Decor Chick, is re-doing hers AND she's letting readers post their own dining room photos. This incredible link party is chock full of ideas from small decor changes to major overhauls for your dining room or eating area. Check it out by clicking on the logo below . . .

A Tennis Fault

My Tennis Uniform -- Cute, huh?

I know, I know, I know. I owe y'all some new stuff on the blog. So sorry for the delay. I guess I should tell you what's been keeping me otherwise occupied for two weeks. It's all tennis' fault. (Oh, look, a pun!) The city-wide league -- NALTA -- started Thursday and we've been practicing like maniacs to prepare. This year, I am team captain, so I've felt a little extra pressure to focus on my game.

Good news, though, all the hard work paid off. We won our first match. So now I can concentrate more on business issues. I promise that photos of the new projects are coming soon -- maybe even by tomorrow. (Fingers crossed).

In the meantime, I thought I'd share an article I found. I opened up my home page just moments ago, and there it was. The kind of stuff I've been telling y'all about. . . you know the things that turn-off prospective home buyers. The things you DON'T want to do if you're trying to sell your house.

I hope you'll take some time to read it. It's really short, but it reiterates a lot of the No-No's I harp on here on the blog. And I think it's great when you have lots of sources all saying the same thing. Bottom line, if you're gonna sell your house, you gotta clean it first! 

CHECK OUT THE ARTICLE HERE . . . http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-ways-turn-off-homebuyer-070118154.html

Dressing Up the Dressing Room

Once again we had the task of styling on a minuscule budget. Actually it was a zero budget project. So, if the owner did not already have it, then we had to do without; plain and simple.

One particular area of this style-to-sell project desperately in need of some dressing up was the condo's dressing room and bath. As I said, we had no budget for renovations. We could only play-up the space's possibilities with accessories.

To say we were working with the bare bones was an understatement. The area was EMPTY! Even so, we determined right away that the overhead shelf was space that we wanted to show off to buyers because of all the extra vertical storage it provided.

As you can see, accessories are key to making a space come to life. Well placed and coordinated accessories have the ability to make a small space seem so much larger. The use of natural fibers and complimentary colors were inspired by the gorgeous color variations in the marble countertops . . .

Another thing we did to dress up the space was to add a touch of drama to the large shower. Rather than use a plain old shower curtain, we added a pair of grommeted drapery panels to frame the shower area. Drapery panels offer more style and accentuate ceiling height so much better than a traditional shower curtain hung at the usual height of 6'.

Finally, with some satin ribbon and raffia borrowed from the craft closet, we added a touch of flair to the towel bar and, in the process, tied together the entire look.