Category Archives: Current Projects

Bella, the Antique Planter Chair

Posted by Leanne on July 25, 2012 4 comments

antique chair made into a planter chair! Because (I think) I Can blog

First of all, I know it’s Wednesday, when I usually do Pinterest Wednesday, but at 8:00 last night I thought I’d write up Thursday’s post first, as it would take longer…. little did I know 2 1/2 hours later I would finally be done. Seriously, I am having big problems with this blog. Don’t know where the problems are coming from, but it’s frustrating… so today you are getting tomorrow’s post instead!

So, how are you all doing?! First, I wanted to share something adorable with you… yesterday I had a little time to do something special with the kids, so we headed out to the zoo. Anna loves the porcupines as much as I do… check out this picture,

Anna specifically brought a Strawberry Shortcake book, to read to the porcupines! The porcupines weren’t outside, but were in their barn. I convinced her they would be able to hear her through the glass window, so she “read them to sleep”. It’s moments like these she melts my heart. She is so thoughtful and full of love.

Now,
When I found this beauty on Craigslist, I just about jumped out of my seat. I forwarded the ad to the hubby, got the okay, jumped in the car and headed out. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this beauty!!

antique chair with leather seat looking for a makeover

Gorgeous, right?! Can you see it?

amazing detail on the back - Because (I Think) I Can blog

That’s right!! Pulling off the leather, I found stinky, dusty hay! I’ve seen this on other blogs all the time, and this time it was my turn!

Of course, this project had me so excited, I forgot to take pictures of the process! What it entailed…

~ taking all the upholstery, hay, and upholstery nails off
~getting hubby to do the annoying and frustrating job of chiseling off the top of the seat, and then sawing a square hole in the seat, large enough to hold a 10″ potted plant
~giving the chair a good sanding and cleaning
~one coat of ‘heirloom white’ spray paint {one coat only because I ran out of spray paint and didn’t have a car to get more! It was my goal to have this chair seriously distressed with tons of the wood showing through, so I decided to take my chance and go straight to sanding}
~Sanding, sanding, sanding. And I LOVE the way it turned out!!
~3 coats of polyurethane protection spray.
~shopping for the perfect plant….
and ta-da!

What do you think?? I’m so in love with it. I have wanted to make something like this for quite some time, and love that I did. and that I love it

This Bella of a chair is currently sitting on my front porch, but is waiting for YOU to take it home! Check out my For Sale Page for more details!

Let me know what you think, and thank you so much for reading!!

A Gift For Under $5

Posted by Leanne on June 12, 2012 10 comments

Oh, wordpress…. really, I had added the second picture to this post, but for some reason, WordPress like to delete 1/2 the post, 1/2 the time. Exhausting!!! Here it is again for you!

A few weeks ago when the principal at our elementary school came to me asking if I would be able to come up with 30 gifts for $5 each or less, on the outside I agreed happily, but in the inside, I was freaking out a little! $5 or less!! How do I pull this off?!

Hubby took charge of the kids, and I went hunting to the local dollar stores, and gift stores, camera in hand, taking pictures of anything I found had possibilities. I emailed off some ideas to the principal, and she responded with her choice. I had so much fun putting these together!

I don’t have any during pictures, and only 2 shots of after pictures… for some reason I thought I would have more time for picture taking, and then “being busy” got in the way!! But here’s the breakdown for you!

I did my shopping at the Dollarama, and bought:

Glass candle holder bowls: $2 each

River rocks, 1 bag per bowl: $1 per bag

2 boxes of smooth black rocks: $1 per box

succulents found at a local plant nursery: 99 cents each

white sharpie paint pen: already had it!

First, I painted 30 of the black rocks with the word “Thank You” using my Sharpie Paint Pen.

My original plan was to plant the succulents in the bowl, but hubby and I agreed it would be best not to… I didn’t want to kill half of them! So I simply filled each bowl 1/2 way with river rock, placed the succulent in it’s container, in between all the rocks, and filled in the rest of the space with more river rock. I propped the Thank You rock into each bowl on the prettiest side of the bowl. Easy Peasy, and a hit, too!

Thanks so much for reading!!! (and bearing with me when the blog site doesn’t work so well!!!)

Please PIN, SHARE, FACEBOOK and COMMENT like crazy, I appreciate and love all of it!

xo, Leanne

Linking up at: Embracing Change: Embracing Change

Chicken Wire and a Giveaway!!

Posted by Leanne on May 22, 2012 17 comments

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend?! We took it easy most of the weekend… Saturday was an outside day, catching up on some yard work…Sunday was a movie day, as both Jordan and I were under the weather… Yesterday us Canadians had an extra day off! Yay! So we took advantage of the day and went across the border to Linden, Washington again. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know this is one of my favorite places to spend a day. My favorite restaurant, my favorite antique store, a candy store next door to bribe the kids, and on a sunny day there is the most amazing playground in town. One day I will take pictures of the playground, it is quite something! Yesterday was a very rainy day however, so they kids got a little extra candy!

I’m excited to show you a frame I repurposed! It will currently be for sale, on my For Sale page, but I’m kind of humming and hawing on whether I want to keep it or not!!

this frame went from this:

To this:

I love the contrast of the bright yellow (Martha Stewart’s Cornbread) and the dark fabric. And I am a sucker for leaf prints!

I don’t have good photos on how I did it, but I’ll try to explain along the way… this was my first time working with chicken wire though, so I was a little apprehensive, and too concentrated to think of taking pictures!!

again, a close-up of the frame... I took it all apart, and gave the frame a cleaning, sanding, and 2 coats of yellow... because I didn't think distressing it would give it much of an impact, being that the original color was white, I used "Distress Ink" to give it more depth and a distressed look...

...here you can see a bit of the effect the Distressed Ink gave to the yellow...

... I actually used the original picture to wrap the fabric around, and hot glued the fabric to the back...

before fitting the fabric board into the frame, I had cut a piece of chicken wire to fit in first, then fit the fabric board in next. I bent the chicken wire around the fabric board, and taped down the edges. I then finished off the back fully with a piece of cardboard, so the back is nice and covered....

Here is a photo of the chicken wire bent around the back of the fabric board, before I taped it...

...oh, and I forgot to mention I also stapled the chicken wire on the back, with a staple gun, before taping down the ends, just to make sure it all stays in place!...

...the back... in the "wrapping" process...

and done! it was a learning experience, but an addicting one, so I'm sure there will be more of these to come!!...

...so in case you don't quite understand how it works, the fabric is behind the chicken wire...

...the chicken wire sits far enough away from the fabric, so you can use clips of your choice, to clip your memos to the chicken wire...

...I chose to use clothespins, as they are adorable and inexpensive!...

I love how functional and sweet this piece is, and I love the rustic-ness the chicken wire gives to this piece...

If you LOVE it, be sure to check out my For Sale Page!! I’d love to pass this on to another loving home, before it finds a permanent wall in our house to hang on!!

Thank you so much for reading!! And by the way, my Facebook Page has reached 49 Likes!! I’ve decided that for every 50 likes on my Facebook Page, I will hold a GIVEAWAY!!… I’m just not sure what the first GIVEAWAY will be yet!! I better decide that before I get 1 more Like! Pass on the word, I’d love your help to help my Facebook Page grow!!

Thank you!! xo, Leanne

Partying at: Embracing Change, The Shabby Creek Cottage

A Little Bit of This and That

Posted by Leanne on May 19, 2012 5 comments

and a little something in the works, but I can't say for what just yet!...

I’ve been feeling like I’ve been talking a lot about “things” going on in life lately, but I haven’t had the chance to actually blog about them, as they are all random little things… so I figured I’d start this weekend by wrapping up some loose ends!!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I was having a vendor table at our kid’s elementary school Ladies Night fundraiser. It turned out to be an awesome event, great ladies and great vendors (and great sales too!). And I remembered to take pictures of my vendor table, thanks to a comment from one of my readers (thanks Kelly!) If you look close, you’ll get some sneak peaks of items that I haven’t blogged about yet, and some of them are still available for sale!

My First Vendor Table!!

Do you see anything that catches your eye? Let me know!

I’ve also been mentioning the weather quite a bit… we actually had almost a couple of weeks straight of sunshine, and it feels like it has been forever since we’ve had that… because it HAS been forever!! So we’ve been soaking it up!

A couple of weekends ago we went out to Harrison Hot Springs, which I’ve already told you all about, but I wanted a chance to show off my kids from our day at the beach!

this gorgeous little lady turns 1 next week!!! ONE!

Hubby and Anna

Jordan brings his bug catching equipment with him everywhere!!

Isn't she beautiful?!

oops. Am I allowed to put this online? Hubby didn't even notice this little slip till I pointed it out. Do you see it?!

I love this photo, beautiful 4-year-old Anna

awww, so handsome!

In the garden…

the lilacs are in bloom and our bush is full of them... unfortunately Jordan seems to be allergic to them, they had to be moved back outside.

And then it was Mother’s Day. I had a fabulous weekend celebrating! It began on Friday with a Mother’s Day Tea Party at Anna’s preschool… absolutely adorable!

getting ready to perform!

adorable decorations...

adorable place settings made by our adorable children...

adorable snacks...

an adorable little lady who was just so proud!...

I couldn't resist taking a bite of the muffin before taking a picture!

Saturday was spent poolside at the in-laws (hubby and the kids dared to dive in!). Sunday morning I was spoiled with Calla Lilies (my favorite) and – get this - Tin Snips!! I was thrilled! No more having to borrow when I make my magnetic boards! We then grabbed some Tim Hortons and went to the river to watch the fish jump, and still made in time to Agassiz for church at my parents church. We spent a beautiful sunny day with my side of the family. Awesome.

In the meantime I’ve been working on some projects…

a special something for a special someone....

a few custom orders in the works...

and a little something in the works, but I can't say for what just yet!...

Shopping…

I've mentioned this on facebook, page, but not here yet... I am SO looking forward to this!! the best of the best will be vendors here, and I can't wait to dig through the treasures there, and also gain some inspiration for my own projects!

and today I fell in love… I have driven by this store a million times over the years, always wondering if it was worth taking the time to stop in there. A friend recently recommended it to me, so today I dragged my 2 girls over there… and from the squeaky front door to the adorable back porch, I was smitten. Creekside Country Home Decor is now at the top of my list for my favorite stores in town!

Well, I think that is about it! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, and hopefully an extra day off?!

xo, Leanne

Sunshine!!

Posted by Leanne on May 15, 2012 20 comments

The weather here lately has been AMAZING!! A little shocking, but I have been LOVING it!! And because of that, I am going to write this post as quick as possible… I need to get outside and play with my girls, and do a little spray painting in between! (I know, spray painting!! I’ve never done it before, but I have the perfect project for it, so I’m going to give it a try!)

So enjoy this: You Are My Sunshine!! I am loving this buttery-smooth beauty!!

You are my Sunshine!

I first painted the board in white... then added Vaseline in the areas I wanted easily distressed.... then a coat of yellow (Martha Stewart's Cornbread)... when it was dry, I gave it a sanding, and love how the sanded areas blend together so smoothly...

... I had created the "stencil" on Picnic.com, before they closed their site... I used Blockposter.com to get the sizing I wanted, and printed it out on my printer...

... I had to play with the layout a bit to get it to fit perfectly....

... I used newspaper as my transfer method... lay down paper, place stencil on top, use ball point pen and trace the words... and it transfers like....

...magic!...

I used my Sharpie Paint Pen to paint the words in.... and ta-da!

You are my Sunshine!

If you are loving it, I have this exact one on hand for you right now! Check out my For Sale page if you are interested!

thanks so much for reading, and I hope you are having an awesome week!!

xo, Leanne

oh my, I just remembered I was going to blog about Mother’s Day!! LOL! I had a fabulous Mother’s Day weekend! I hope you did too? Maybe I’ll blog about it a bit tomorrow for you!

Partying at: