mammy harlequin romance shelf redo

My grandmother, Mammy, lived with us from the time I was 8 years old until she died at the end of my senior year of high school. She was a funny old lady who LOVED to gripe. Seriously. We all adored her, but she would pitch a fit in a New York minute….When you would tell Mammy that you loved her she always replied, “Thank you, darlin’ “…..Never I love you too….just one of Mammy’s things. Harlequin romances were another one of Mammy’s things…She loved them and had HUNDREDS of them. She had books and books and books and books and more books. My mama’s friends would come over and “check” them out from Mammy’s public library. When she moved in with us she had all these bookshelves built….There were 2 sets like mine and tons of other plain shelves without cabinets. They were custom built but inexpensive and finished in a light wood stain. Since those days it’s been a blue color and then the black shown in the picture below. It’s been in my kitchens, dining rooms, and bedrooms….Lastly it was in Hayden’s room gathering dust. Andrew and I decided it needed a makeover to a more substantial piece of furniture…..Here’s what we did:

Here she is before in all her glory….open back…..dull paint….boring doors…..

Andrew helped TONS with this project…..We LOVE to do projects together. He measured the doors and glued on cheap molding with Gorilla Glue….. Ignore that tacky hat on his cute head!

I filled in the holes with wood filler and sanded it after it dried. Try not to look at my old lady hands!

I used Behr’s antique white in a semi gloss finish. Believe it or not it only took 2 coats to cover all that dull black. I LOVE Behr paint! Here’s the top shelf removed with the first coat going on.

Insert lots of painting painting painting here…..

We bought 3 pieces of bead board from Home Depot for $9 a sheet. Andrew measured and attached it to the back of the shelves. Immediately it took on an entirely different look….. He matched the lines up PERFECTLY. I painted the bead board the same antique white after it was attached and touched up all the other areas.

And here is the after! Doesn’t she look amazing?!?!?! She fits perfectly in between my closet and bathroom doors. My only thought now it to glaze it with a brown glaze. What do you guys think? As is or add a little glaze??

We also added a piece of crown molding at the top to give it more interest. That $6 made TONS of impact. I liked the original hardware, so I just cleaned it up and reattached it.

Close up of the beadboard….

For all my childhood friends, what is that a picture of???

Close up of the door with new molding…..

Another before and after…..

I know we’ll enjoy this piece for many years to come…..Everytime I see it I remember my sweet Mammy and all those Harlequins that used to be stacked all over it!

Total Cost:

Shelf- free

Beadboard- $30

molding- $10

paint- $10

Not bad for $50 huh??

makes me wanna eat Christmas cakes

I’ve been sewing a lot for clients lately. You know I love it, but I have to take a break here and there and make something for my girls in between. I finished the first round of Christmas sets that I did, so I decided to put Anne Pearce’s Angel Cakes set together…. Can you be in love with an outfit?? I think you can, because this one makes my heart go pitter patter. I used Alexander Henry’s angel cake fabric and 2 coordinating prints from Riley Blake. I love adding lace and rick rack, so I had a ball with this set. The top is actually a dress and can be worn with tights or leggings as well as with the double ruffle pant I made to match. The dress pattern is the Claire by Sandi Henderson, and the pant is from Pink Fig patterns. These are 2 of my favorite patterns, and I use them both often.

I don’t think you can tell from this picture, but I did the shoulder straps with the polka dot on the reverse side of the stripe….

Doesn’t this just scream VINTAGE Christmas????

This is the back view. I love the skirt made from 2 different fabrics.

This apron took lots of time…. You have to cut out each piece of fabric with a coordinating piece of Heat ‘n Bond…iron it to each piece, cut out again, design your layout, iron each one on, and finally sew itty bitty stitches around each shape. I love that gingerbread cottage!

 

 

The body of the pant is made of the angel cakes fabric. I’m sure I’ll make an embellished tee to also wear with the pant….. Doesn’t this fabric make you wanna bake Christmas cakes???

 

I had this exact outfit in mind the first time I saw that fabric and fell in love. I love my girls looking like the little girlies they are, and I love vintage style fabrics. (I have found a vintage Valentine’s fabric that I’ll be using to make a skirt or pant set.  Email me if you want to reserve a set.) I love making things for my girls. I feel so proud when people stop and ask me where I got them. There’s such a sense of accomplishment knowing I made them myself…not to mention that buying 2 of these would surely cost a small fortune!  I may could be persuaded to make another one of these, but it would be more expensive than my usual $50 sets….. The price for an exact replication would be $110. I realize that’s a lot of money, but this set has HOURS of work and detail……. It’s the little touches that make it so special.

Now I just have to find a couple of days to put Essie’s set together! It’s cut out thank goodness, so it won’t take AS long as it could. I also have 4 more sets to put together this week and some things to make for some dear friends. I love sharing with you guys…… I get giddy as soon as I finish something…..I’ve always loved show and tell!!!

Love and hugs!

welcome to my life

Having a pacemaker and dysautonomia at 39 years young sucks sometimes. Case in point….. Last night I was out for my run….Granted. I felt like CRAP all day yesterday and should have NEVER tried to go out…. I’m hardheaded like that ;) Anyway, I knew from the beginning of the jog that things weren’t working right…I kept on for about a mile and half before the ol’ blood pressure bottomed out…. I stopped and sat down for a while then got up and tried to make it home… I vaguely remember leaning on a tree and wondering how the heck I was gonna make it home. Then I saw this beaconing light from one of my favorite boutiques:

I somehow made it to Private Gallery and passed out cold after telling a sweet lady there that I needed help. She freaked out (of course) and called 911 which was totally unnecessary…. Andrew made it there while they were loading me up in the ambulance. They took me to the ER and poked and prodded me for a while…. I explained to the nice doctor man that this is just my life and it happens. He cancelled all the ordered tests and let me finish up my IV fluid and head home.  It’s been a while since I’ve landed in an ER. If I pass out or get real dizzy it usually happens at home.  This is just my life. I pass out. I feel like crap. I wish I was normal. Then I move on. I have to choose to move forward everyday and not focus on the disability. I WILL continue my running. It has helped my heart SO much. It was evident during my pacemaker test that it’s done my heart so much good. My heart is beating more on it’s own and is less dependent on the pacemaker…. I will not give up. It’s hard, and it sucks, but I will not give up. I don’t give up. I fight and fight and fight and fight for as much of a normal life I can have for me and my family.  I’ll feel cruddy for a few days, but then I’ll be back at it again…taking care of the kiddos, running, crafting, sewing….back to my life. I’m thankful for this life I have even with at the crap that goes along with it.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend. If you need me you can find me on my couch. :)

simple frame= SAhWEEET wall art

I bought this frame at my favorite antique/thrift  store for a few bucks a while back. It was originally shiny gold, and she had painted it bright white and distressed it a bit. I originally was going to use it for the girls’ room, but then this idea hit me like a bolt of lightening. We’re slowly redecorating our bedroom one thrifty purchase at a time….. I knew when this hit me that it would be PERFECT for our room.

The bright white didn’t go with the other things in the room, so I brushed on some glaze and wiped if off with a paper towel.

 

I had a yard of this chocolate brown/off white zebra print fabric. I added our monogram in a light blue color, slapped that baby on a piece of cardboard cut to fit the frame, and hung that sucka on the wall. Instant love. It’s perfect for that wall, and it was FREE for me, because I already had all the things I needed.

The monogram shows up better in person…. I couldn’t get a shot that does it justice…. Believe me, it’s DIVINE! I’m almost done with this room, and I’m going to start sharing bits and pieces before the big reveal…… I know I’m a teaser. I love the way this turned out. It looks like a million bucks….. I have enough fabric left to monogram a few more if anybody’s interested….Shoot me an email or leave a comment if you want one. I WILL expect a picture to see where you use it…. ;)

i have some items for resale

I have these items for sale that the girls wore last year sized in 2T and 12-18 months....Christmas outfits-$30 each set...These are $70 outfits with a lot of detail. The coats are sized the same and are $20 each. These jackets sold out at Gymboree last year the first 2 weeks they were available and are very hard to find. The damask pants are available also in sizes 12-18 months and 2T. They are $12 a pair. The boutique tops are a little more generous in sizing….they are in sizes 1-2 and 2-3. They are $15 a piece.

How sweet is that??

only because I love you all so….

I am going to share my best kept secret with you guys….. A little gem of a shop tucked away in Grand Bay, AL with the best items at prices you will swoon over…. I met Tracey at White House Antiques a couple of months ago, and I have COMPLETELY fallen in love with her store…. I’ve been buying small things from her constantly….She holds them for me, and I drive over every so often to pick them up. Tracey is going to start shipping smaller items. EVEN after you pay shipping for some of these things they are still a STEAL…still a steal?? That sounded so funny together! When I do the big hutch reveal this week I’m going to show you just how much stuff came from Tracey…. I realized the Christian thing to do was to share her with you instead of keeping her all to myself ;) I’m trying to be a better person! Go over and have a looksee at her precious shop. She is a fabulous girlie, and I just know you’ll love her…. If you buy something tell her Loulou sent you!

 

Welcome to White House Antiques… My kinda store…. Look at that fabulous veranda bed….. How fabulous would that look on my Fairhope Front Porch? $100!

A little peek at the inside… See that bird cage? Bought it. $6. Don’t hate me. See that window propped up against that $100 loverly pink damask sofa? I bought it too….These items will be unveiled in a later post….

Some more yummy eye candy. Tracey has ALL kinds of cute distressed mirrors.

Yummy deals in every crook and cranny…..

See this fabulous armoire filled with drawers and SPACE?? Adorably distressed with white and aqua??

$300. Walk don’t run.

Damask chair that is a sister to the couch shown above? $50. I can see that wood painted antique white….Swoon.

I would love to keep Tracey all to myself the selfish thrifter that I am, but you’re supposed to share with your friends.  Aren’t you??  Really?? Isn’t that what our mamas told us we HAD to do?? I’m sharing. It’s a GOOD thing….Really, it’s good to share…..:)

Hugs…..