Fall is in the air....so let's Decorate!

Have you decorated your home for fall yet? I can feel the nights getting cooler, but the days are still pretty hot, however I feel fall weather is close!

I'm ready for sweaters, boots, scarves & of course bonfires in our new firepit (see previous post to see our new firepit hubby built) But weather is not quite ready for that yet, so instead let's decorate our homes! 

I have been making chalkboard style sign boards for about a year now & made some especially for fall. I'd say that really helps to bring a bit of fall into the home. Look at all those great fall activities to look forward to in this fall bucket list! I have about 6-8 designs for fall, but this is the best seller.

You can find this sign HERE 

& all my other fall signs HERE

and 

if you want to get a head start on your Christmas decor, check out these Christmas sign boards

Happy Decorating!!

Top Projects of 2009

Did you get alot of projects completed in 2009?
Do you have alot of projects planned for 2010? I do!
Rhoda from Southern Hospitality is letting us all showcase our top projects for 2009.
I'm sure by looking at what others completed it will inspire us for our own projects this year!

2009 was filled with a finishing a project that we started in 2008, a few other smaller projects and some unexpected projects. Have any clue what I'm talking about?

The project that we FINALLY completed in 2009 that was started in 2008 was our kitchen.
Here is the before:

And after many months of us working on it off & on...the after:

If you would like to see the whole story on the kitchen makeover, click Here

I wanted a large chalkboard for one of the walls in my kitchen, so I went searching the thrift stores & garage sales for the perfect piece I could transform and this is what I found.

After some handy dandy spray paint and taking the mirror out, replacing it with mdf painted with chalkboard paint...it went from YUCK to this.......






After all our hard work on our kitchen, we left for a 1 week vacation to Myrtle Beach,SC. Guess what we returned home to??? Well, it wasn't a "welcome home" sign..unfortunately. It was a flooded house and mainly the NEW kitchen. Only 1 month after we finished the kitchen..insert tears!





Not only was the kitchen damaged, but the whole house other than the upstairs had to be gutted. We ended up having $20,000 worth of water damage all because a pipe fitting for the kitchen faucet broke. Lesson: DO NOT USE PLASTIC FITTINGS AND TURN OFF YOUR MAIN WATER WHEN GOING ON VACATION!

So we had to move out for 2 months while house was fixed. This allowed us to make a few upgrades, ah some more projects.....
Awe pretty new hardwood floors...a blessing out of the flood.

Oh and we decided that since the house was torn up that it was the perfect time to have the popcorn (acoustic) stuff scraped off the ceilings. Yeah to no more popcorn ceilings!
We also updated a few paint colors and replaced bath/shower unit while we were at it. I won't bore you with photos of our ceilings and paint colors.

So hmmm, I thought what can I do while moved out of my home for 2 months?? I know, I can refinish our oak dining room table. I always liked the table, but really didn't like the golden country oak color. Oh and I bought new chairs.

Ok so that was the big projects that we did in 2009. Now if you will excuse me, I have to get busy on the projects for 2010. Wanna come help?

Darlene

My Thrift Store Find And MakeOver

Hope you all had a great weekend! They just never are long enough, are they?!

Did you know that every monday you can check out all the thrifting and garage sale finds from about 100+ bloggers? Just go to Rhoda's blog-Southern Hospitality to find all the links or to participate in her linky party called Thrifty Treasures AND you can go check out how people all across blogland have transformed things they have over at Susan's blog-Between Naps On The Porch. Susan hosts the linky party called Metamorphosis Monday. So stop on by both of these blogs to get some great inspiration!

Today I am participating in both of these linky parties- Thrifting Treasures & Metamorphosis Monday.

I scored this framed mirror at the Salvation Army. It was $12...way more than I normally would have spent, but I liked the size and detail!

Now you know that I couldn't keep it as is! I had hubby remove the mirror (for use on a future project) and I proceeded to prime & paint it & distress it a bit. Then I painted a piece of Luann with chalkboard paint and Voila......a new chalkboard!

Now I made this to sell but now I'm wondering if I should keep it for my kitchen instead of the smaller one I made. So I need you to help me decide if I should stick with the smaller one I made for my kitchen or if I should sell the smaller one and keep this new large chalkboard?? Decisions Decisions!

Ok, time to vote on which one I should keep.

UPDATE: Ok, you all voted for me to keep the big one so...........

now I'm selling the smaller chalkboard. Let me know if you would like to buy it. Just leave a comment or email me at darlene@creativecarpetdesign.com

It is $39/$8 shipping

Thanks
~Darlene~

Metamorphosis Of My Garage Sale Find

In my previous post today I showed you what treasures I found this weekend while garage sale-ing.

Well now, it's time to show you how I transformed one of the items.

Hubby & I bought this pretty painting/frame at a garage sale for $2. I didn't want the painting so I'm giving it to my sister in law. It fits her decor better than mine. I wanted the frame for a special project for my kitchen.



This is how it looks after some creamy paint and a touch of mocha glaze and chalk board paint. Pefect for my kitchen. It even has a ledge for the chalk.




We are not finished with our kitchen yet, but it's coming along! Granite will be installed in 10 days...yippee!! I still need to paint the very bottom base of the cabinets (the part that is still golden oak). Trying to decide if I should paint them cream or black to make the base disappear visually. Then hubby will add legs for a furniture look. What do you think...paint it cream or black??

Stop by Susan's blog "Between Naps on the Porch" to see more Metamorphosis Monday entries.