boy oh boy! Baby Shower Part 2

My calf muscles are killing me.

Not because I walked a mile in stilettos, and not because I worked extra hard in my flywheel spin class---I am in pain because my sister's baby shower turned into a jump rope-a-thon (I think it may have had something to do with the "non-prego" punch.

I'm not sure how the jumping ensued, but before you knew it, my cousin Marci and I were changing out of our dresses and into gym clothes...and hydrating with a little Sav Blanc in-between acts. Keeping. It. Classy.

Anyway, I mentioned in Baby Shower Part 1 that I took it easy on the DIY decorations this time around...I already posted about the free "it's a boy" sign I made, but wanted you guys to take a look at what else I put together on the cheap...hey, I need something to do while the icy hot soaks in :)

Even though I didn't have one, I had to come up with a plan b for my decorations.

I had pinned this on Pinterest -

-and was so excited to copy the idea using baby photos of my sister and her husband. My mom even bought me a helium tank so that the balloons floated to the ceiling. 30 helium filled balloons later, I attached the first picture to the bottom of a balloon's string- and it sunk to the floor. boo.

I had to improvise seeing as this was really all I had thought of for decorations... I came up with this chandelier mobile...

I used double sided tape to attach a picture of Dave to a picture of Alyssa- this way, no matter where you were looking from, you saw a photo and not an ugly white photo back.
You can kind of see the green balloons floating on the ceiling in the photo above ...I find it extremely annoying when projects don't go as planned...oh well.

No baby shower is complete without a few corny games for guests to play. I didn't stray too far from the norm here...there was some serious "Baby Shower Bingo" competition... and lets not talk about the "How Many Jelly Beans" game... super aggressive ladies.

Just kidding, the games went over well-and, get this, my Granny (paternal) guessed the number of Jelly beans SPOT ON. My Grandma (maternal) was one off...smart genes I have, huh? I made both the bingo board and the "how many jelly bean's do you think are in the bottle" cards in Microsoft Word. Super easy, no template, and once again- free!

The last bit of baby shower pizzazz that I added to the house is this clothes line. It doubled as my gift to my sister, and made for a conversation piece "oh my goodness, look how tiny that bathing suit is!"

Notice the T-Shirt on the far left? Lenny & Joes! Maybe one day my nephew will have enough L&J T-shirts for me to make him a quilt! (if you have no idea what I am talking about, check out this post)

My favorite thing on the clothesline is a DIY piece, but I didn't make it... I got this fantastic burp cloth from a shop on Etsy.com called "Bellabugs Baby Boutique" I apologize to all you Dukies out there (especially my cousin Cameron and Uncle Dave who gave Alyssa the bib she is holding)....

A few more baby boy touches around the house and we were set to go!

This amazing cake was made by my Auntie Di- aka the family cake boss.

And there you have it, Mission Baby Shower : Complete!

boy oh boy! Baby Shower Part 1

It’s a boy!

This weekend my mom and I threw my sister’s baby shower- Watching her open bibs and onesies made  things much more “real” …I  am going to be an aunt in 6 weeks!

It was such a fun afternoon (that turned into an evening for those of us who were drinking the “non-prego” punch).

Compared to her wedding shower, her baby shower was a lot lighter on the DIY side. I know I am singing the same tune over and over, but this new job has taken a serious toll on my blogging time.

I did, however, manage to pull a few things out of my DIY sleeve to blog about- the first being this “it’s a boy” sign. It took me less than an hour to make, cost me nothing- yep $0- and added just enough baby shower flare to my mom’s kitchen.

To make it, I simply used left over card stock, the same punch that I used for here wedding shower invites, string, and my bubble letter skills. If your BL skills are lacking, go ahead and use a stencil (like I did here). 

The sign went in her kitchen window above the sink, but the lighting made it tough to get a good picture. So, here it is post shower…you get the idea.

Back to blogging

Welp, at least you guys know I'm not a liar...my last post (which has probably been archived by google blogger by now) mentioned that I was going on a blogging hiatus because of a new job and a move from NC to CT....I did just that- it's been 2+ months.

I'm ready to work out my stiff fingers and get back on the blogging saddle, and while I can't promise you'll have a "new post" email in your inbox as frequently as you did when I was living in Charlotte, I can promise you that I will to try and deliver a few strokes of genius a month :)

My first madewithlove post was about all of the apartments that I have lived in over the past two years- it's only fitting that this post is a continuation of that one ....

I am living in a space that is far different from any of my other spots- My tiny Boston studio was...well, tiny. My uptown loft was airy with tons of character, my standard 2br in the burbs was an underwhelming space, my tree house was a total and complete reflection of yours truly, and last but not least, my fifth (and current) apartment is bright and modern.

(apologies for the awful quality photos...I will  upload better ones soon!)

"custom" furniture part 2: spruced up credenza

I mentioned in my last post that my latest DIY project consisted of redoing two pieces of furniture for a mere $16 (minus hardware);however, I only wrote about one. My paint stick coffee table was free. Yep, $0.

Paint Sticks: Free
Stain: Already had
Gold Paint: Already had
Gorilla Glue: Already had
Polyurethane: Already had
Paint: Already had (left over from Annie's dresser).

The next item on my project to-do list was to spruce up the white credenza that my television sits on.

I really wanted to paint it a bold bright color...kelly green was my top choice...but, after I finished painting my coffee table, I decided I re-do my credenza to match it. This is where the $16 comes in...I needed another quart of paint. This was one of the first times that I needed paint and didn't go straight to the oops section

...but $16 was a small price to pay for a "custom" furniture look. Plus, I obviously love the color..I have used it on 3 other projects:

Anyway, take a look at the before picture of my credenza. I don't mind it being white, but it looked extra country to me, and I am not going for that look in my apartment. Plus, this thing has endured 4 moves in two years, it was looking a bit dingy.

I feel like a broken record when I post about painting furniture, but the steps really are super important if you want a nice, smooth finish. If you read this blog, then you know the next steps...

For those of you who don't know, Anthorpologie has the best (but unfortunately most expensive) knobs/hardware out there. I saw this knob on their website a month or so ago and fell in love with it. Despite it's $10 (per knob) price tag- I knew purchasing four was in my very near future...very un-madewithlove like, I know.

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-hardware/25039561.jsp

I love the way grey and gold compliment each other....and, the gold matches the hardware on my paint stick coffee table...worth the $40 if you ask me.

I replaced the old black hinges with gold ones (ringing in at $6) and then reassembled my freshly painted credenza.

Just as I was about to take the after photos, I looked over to my left and saw a few paint sticks left over from my paint stick coffee table project...It was a matter of seconds before I was staining these few scrap paint sticks...here is a sneak peak of where I put them...

And finally the after:

And last but not least, a look at my newish "custom" furniture:

"custom" furniture part 1: Paint Stick Coffee Table

It's really easy to go into a furniture store, look at a matching furniture set, slap down your credit card, and have it delivered straight to your front door. Well friends, I don't like taking the easy way out, and I certainly don't like cutting into my clothes shopping budget!

I know, I know... I'm being a bit preachy, but it pains me to think of all the money people spend on decorating when my latest DIY project, 2 "custom" pieces of living room furniture, cost me $16 (not including new hardware) and part of a weekend.

The idea for this project started back when I spruced up a dresser for my friend Annie. We were at Home Depot picking out a paint color (Behr- Ash Grey in a satin finish) when I glanced at the massive orange bucket of free wooden paint stirrers. I ignored the lightbulb that went off in my head and promised myself that Annie's project had to come first. As soon as the last coat of polyurethane was brushed onto her dresser I bolted back to the paint dept.

The Home Depot employee looked at me like I grew horns right before his eyes when I asked him if I could take all of the paint sticks in that orange bucket plus any he may have had stored away...dispite my horns, he agreed.

My next stop was the cutting station in the back of the store, and when I told the HD employee that I wanted him to cut 45 + paint stirrers (some down to 10" and others to 7") he looked at me like I grew horns AND a third eye...but, he obliged.


So, here I am walking out of the store with a cart full of freshly cut paint sticks waving goodbye to the checkout guy that I have come to know, happy as a clam and not caring about the whispers around me about the girl with 3 eyes and horns.

Remember when I posted about my big dandelion painting? If not, you can see it here. I used this awesome wipe on stain to give the wood an older feel. It was the perfect color for my paint stick project.

While my paint sticks were drying I moved onto the next part of my project: priming my coffee table.

I love my coffee table- I snagged it off of Craigslist for $20 two years ago. It is solid wood and the perfect shape/size; but, it really needed some TLC.

Before I applied the first coat, I was pretty excited about my decision to paint the bottom half of my table metallic gold.... I envisioned a luxe/classy version of my craigslist find.

Unfortunately, after the second coat, I had a table that looked like it belonged to Mr. T.

Thinking that the gold would grow on me, I returned to my paint sticks. I arranged them on top of the table, alternating between the two sizes of sticks so that they were in a staggered pattern.

Once they were where I liked them, I went to town with some gorilla wood glue to secure them in place.

Once the gorilla glue dried, I applied 2 coats of polyurethane.

So...Here is the finished product the first time around:

I suppose the table looks a little less Mr. T ish with the slatted top and hardware; however, when I stood back and looked at it, I still wasn't thrilled. In some light it looked boring, country, and beige, and in other light it looked like it belonged in an Austin Powers movie. So being the crazy person that I am, I immediately started to sand and prime the table...again.

This time around, it was a bit more difficult because I had the wooden slats secured to the top of the table. I had to be extra careful not to get primer or paint on them.

I opted to paint the bottom of the table the same grey as Annie's dresser (mostly because I didn't want to spend money on new paint and hate it again).

I am so much happier with the way it looks now...what do you think?

It still has a little bit of gold (where it was too tough to paint without ruining my paint sticks), but I kind of like the way it matches the hardware (the original handle primed and painted).

Here is an up close look at the top of the table:

And last, but definitely not least...The Before:

and After: