Recreations

You know how you can have a great idea in your mind for a LONG time and just never do anything about it???  That's how I have been with regards to my kitchen/dining room.  My kitchen is currently painted yellow and decorated in a blue and white Dutch dishes kind of theme.  I have liked it okay, but unbeknowns to me, my husband didn't really like it.  And since he lives in this house too I thought I should redecorate it.  (Its really just a great excuse to get some new decorations....hehehe, but don't tell him.)

I love little French-Italian Bistros and Cafes.  They are so delightful!  I love the colors-so warm.  I love the feeling. And I also love the food.  I mean, who doesn't like alfredo and lasagna and pizza and french bread and alfredo and chicken cacciatore and alfredo.  Do you get the idea that I like alfredo?  Oh, and I also love the fat little chefs and the black chalkboards. ^-^.  Soooo, I decided that would be the perfect theme with which to redecorate.

HOWEVER,  that can cost a lot of money!!!  We're talking two rooms here.  So I decided to try my hand at some restoration and recreations of things I already had and things I could buy cheaply.  I am having SO much fun doing this I'm afraid my husband is going to ban me from buying any more spray paint for fear that I'm going to spray paint the whole house!  (I promise, honey, I won't touch your computer or your ipod!)

Here are just a couple of things I've done.

I don't have a before picture of this because my camera wouldn't work when I went to take the picture.  I thought the camera was broken.  My husband found that I had put the battery in wrong......yep.  I'm like that.   I would not survive in a world of technology without my husband.

So just imagine this picture as a bright red frame with chalkboard and corkboard on the top and Mickey Mouse decals with three pegs on the bottom.

This is what it looks like now:

 

This is not the best picture.  I couldn't get the right lighting, but you get the idea.  The top picture is just a piece of scrapbook paper.  Altogether this little baby cost me less than $10!  $3 for frame at garage sale, $5 for rub-ons on clearance, $.41 for scrapbook paper.

The bottom decals are rub-on stencils.  The package says "Instant Rub-on Stencils" HA!!  I had to rub each one for half hour before they would come off!!  But it was worth it because I love it.  I especially love the chalkboard.  You can write all sorts of stuff on it: "Cafe de Paris,"  "If you sit on your chair properly you WON'T fall off!" (Why is that so hard?!)

Here is my second project:  This is what they looked like before AND.....

here is what they look like now.

Ahhhhh, I am in love!  All I needed was some paint.  I still have to spray paint the shelf black.  White won't do.   I plan to paint several more plates to put here and there.

I have to give you a secret I learned from someone else.  Do you see the word Cafe on the middle plate?  I did NOT free hand that.  Wall art is very popular right now but very expensive.  You can achieve the same look for FREE!  Print out the words you want in the font you want.  Flip the paper over and scribble over the entire word(s) with pencil.  (This is the back side)  Tape the word wherever you want it and then trace over the words hard with  a pen.  When you lift the paper you will have an outline of the words.  Then you just paint over the outline...simple and very fun!  I'm just dying to try this in more places all over the house.

Stay tuned for more recreations.  As I get more done I'll post them.  Happy Decorating!

Of Dragons and Fair Ladies

Once upon a time there was a fair maiden who was captured by a dragon. A brave knight took on the dragon, slew him and rescued the princess and they all lived happily ever after. The end.


The Princess


The Dragon (Don't be fooled by meek and mild-looking Tigger-he can be very fierce!)



The Knight



A fierce battle ensues


The Dragon is slain



The Princess honors the Knight who saved her life



The victorious conqueror!