Had Time For A Makeover

Hello everyone! I am sitting here listening to it thunder and rain! I LOVE IT! It's just a nice rain with a little lightning mixed in. We are all home and cozy inside. So let Mother Nature do her "thing"! Everything will be even more green and beautiful tomorrow.....

I thought I would share a makeover that I had time to do over the weekend. I showed this little seated bench in a previous post. I got it at Goodwill for $9.99. I went and bought some new fabric for it....which cost me all of about $2.00. I just LOVE making something out of practically nothing!

Here is the before picture~

Here is the After picture~

Here is a close up of the new fabric. I just love it...It looks old, tea stained and "vintage". It has tiny dotted black and sage green swirls on it~

And here is where I set it...in our master bedroom~

I would like to find a little garden themed pillow to sit on it. I just haven't found the perfect one yet. And the back isn't very tall so I don't want one that is so big it covers the back of the chair up. I will keep looking. Or if any of you have any other ideas...I welcome them!

I also wanted to share this wonderful primitive shaker candle ledge and peg rack that I purchased from Palmer Falls Primitive If you haven't ever visited their website make sure you check them out. They have so many amazing prim items~Each piece is made to order. I definitely have my eye on some other things.

Here are my Summer blocks that I purchased from Kindra. I asked her if she would make me a spare block to use when I didn't have my Americana decor out. So she did and I couldn't be happier!

Here they are Americana style~

And here they are with the Penny Flower block~

And surprise surprise...I changed the shelf above my deck doors again... Kindra's blocks inspired me to put a little Americana in my kitchen~

Here is one area above my kitchen cabinets~

And here is my kitchen table. I was going to tuck a flag in here too but I didn't want to get too "flag happy". :)

Well that is about it for tonight. I am hoping to get some more makeovers done this week. I have the ambition....... there just isn't enough hours in the day to get everything done that I want to. I hope you all have a great week. Until next time. Take care. ~Sarah~

Never A Dull Moment & A Thrifting I Will Go

Hello everyone! I have missed you! The title of my post says it all....Never a dull moment at our house! Our four year old Alex broke his arm. Let's just say...Alex + Exercise Ball = Broken Arm. Him and his big brother were both trying to jump onto the ball....or maybe one of them was already on the ball...the details are still sketchy....anyway.. they both went flying off..and Alex tried to brace his fall with a stiff arm. He ended up with a fracture near the elbow. He is a trooper and quite the tough little guy. The doctor ordered a full arm cast....and it isn't slowing him down one bit. I stopped saying "Alex slow down" because it just wasn't doing any good!

He will have the cast off before the 4th of July so that is good news...but that sure sounds like a long ways off. Especially when we have to keep telling him..."don't get it wet"...and then we are wrapping it in a garbage bag for every bath. Woe is me...boys....will be boys!!

I have had no time to blog..and boy do I miss it! I miss all of my blog friends and I miss reading all of the sweet comments that you leave me! I was looking at my pictures...and trying to decide~what have I shared and what have I not. And then I thought it's been so long...I think I have been thrifting a few times since my last post... So I will be sharing some of my new found old treasures.....and also some wonderful family treasures that I got from my parents when I went back to my hometown to visit! Keep in mind I haven't posted in a while...so I have quite a few goodies to share~

Let's start with a couple of weekends ago. My Mom and I got away together for a bit....to sneak downtown to a couple of antique shops. I saw lots of goodies I liked....but I picked a few favorite things. We had a great time!

Then when we got back home....my Mom and I went hunting down some family treasures around the house! I am SO excited to have these items! The Chinese Checkerboard was my Grandmas....we used to play it whenever we went to her house! I am so glad to have it...it brings back wonderful memories. The berry baskets are also family treasures...they are very used and I love that!! The table was one that my Mom had started refinishing years ago..and just never got it completed...so now I get to finish it up! I can't wait! And the spools...well... I just love them all! Thanks Mom and Dad...I will find special places for everything!

Here are my thrifty finds from last weekend! My sweet husband drove me around to different thrift stores and we found a new antique store too! Yay! I am on the hunt for more end tables to re-do for the basement..haven't found any yet. I think garage sales may be my best bet for those. But in looking for end tables I did find these goodies!

This little old chair! I love it....It was way up high on a shelf and I asked the guy how much it was....he pulled it down and he said "It's $10"....and I looked the chair over for literally two seconds and he said "will you take it for $7"? And I said heck ya...In my head I was saying I would have taken it for $10!! Haha! For right now I haven't painted it...and I can't decide if I should or not... Isn't it cute?

Here are the rest of my finds for that day! Don't you worry...that clock will be getting a makeover....It was only $2.98....the unfinished spoon rack in the back was $1.98. The long peg shelf was also a whopping $2.98....I think I spent a total of $25 this day..including the little old chair!

I am just itching to do these makeovers...because I have plans for everything in these pictures!! There are just not enough hours in the day right now! I am sure you can all relate! For me doing makeovers is relaxing..so I am hoping to do some this weekend!

Oh yea..here is my last thrifty trip....I sort of got lost on the way to the grocery store one day this week..Oops! :) The bench seat is a funny story...when my Mom and I were at the antique store we saw one JUST like it...refinished for $30! I didn't buy it....well lo and behold I walked into Goodwill and there was the same bench seat for $9.99!! Now I can refinish it and choose my own fabric..! Another little chair for $5.00...the picnic basket is HUGE and in great shape...and a set of three wooden stack boxes... The little wooden gameboard...is going to get a makeover too!

So I guess I should say...stay tuned for makeovers! I better get busy!! I hope you are all doing well! Until next time. Take care. ~Sarah~

We Have a Winner!!

Hello everyone and happy Monday! I am announcing the name of my very first giveaway winner! Thank you to everyone that entered! I used a random number generator and it worked slick as a whistle!



The winner is~~~~~~ CindyLu of Mountain Hollow!! Congratulations Cindy!! I will be sending you an email to get your mailing address so that I can get these goodies sent out to you A.S.A.P!! :)




A big thanks to all of my followers! I appreciate each and every one of your sweet comments! Be watching....I am planning on doing another giveaway for my 100th post! This was fun! :)

Have a wonderful day! Until next time. Take care. ~Sarah~

~Touches Of Americana~

I hope everyone is doing well! We are almost there...the weekend!! :) I have been busy continuing to put the house back together after painting. And yesterday I worked on my entryway. I love to decorate for the 4th of July and thought I would get the few things out that I have so that we could enjoy them..as well as a few "new" old things! I got the red clock on the table from Goodwill for $3.99 (it still had the original $42.00 price tag on it) I was so excited! And the table I got at an antique shop for $20! I couldn't wait to get home and refinish it...so I started on it pretty much right away~



The candle holders on the left hand side were ones I got from Kohls a while back..they were a shiny dark brown. I painted them red, sanded/distressed them and used a dark walnut stain. The bowl on the right was my Goodwill bowl for a $1.00! I used the same technique on that as I did the candle holders. The star I also covered with dark walnut stain....it was a bright white. If you couldn't already tell I am addicted to dark walnut stain and the color black!! LOL!! :)



No honestly I am having SO much fun taking someone's cast offs and turning them into something I can display in my home. And when you can do it anywhere from $1.00-$20.00....in this economy I say that's PERFECT!!


Here is a bowl rack that I got at the antique mall... I just tucked a little flag in it~



This is in an effort to hide all of the phone cords, outlets and plug ins...I wish we didn't have to have them but we do...so camoflauge them as best we can~





This is a Salvation Army find for $4.00. I put some dark walnut stain over the whole thing to give it a more aged look~





Next I think I am going to do a little Americana display on my doughboard~ I am having way too much fun! :)


Here is an updated picture of the shelf above our deck doors.....I am pretty sure this shelf is saying leave me alone already! I was going to do just crocks on it but then I stuck my bunny up there and I kind of liked it....I am sure it won't stay this way either! Maybe it is too blah~ Oh goodness I make myself crazy! Haha!





Have a wonderful weekend!! Thank you to everyone for leaving such sweet comments and entering my giveaway! Stay tuned~ I will be announcing the winner on Monday June 1st!! :)
Until next time. Take care. ~Sarah~

Busy Weekend~Painting~Makeovers~Etc.

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend!! We got a lot accomplished! The living room is almost put back together..after painting it, the hallway, foyer and stairway. Hanging things back up is just a little stressful....the walls are so clean and perfect I hate to put any holes in the walls at all. But....we did manage to get things hung back up~and thus the tweaking begins! My poor shelves are begging me to leave them alone already! :)

We needed an end table in our living room, and my husband and I found this one at Goodwill for $9.99! Can't beat that price!

Here it is before~

And here it is after~

A couple more photos of our new paint job and also the makeover I did on a shelf that I got at a garage sale for $5.00!

Here is the quilt that hangs above our stairs. The quilt hanger was just wood...I painted it black~

Here is what that shelf looked like before~

I also have a hide and seek to share. I have always hated the security pad and this lovely key hanger by our door. So I asked my Dad to make me a cabinet to cover it all up! And boy did he do a great job! I LOVE IT! Thanks Dad! :)

Here is what he made me!

Now you see it~

Now you don't~

I love hide and seeks!! And the little shelf on the bottom holds my husbands wallet, cell phone etc!

We also put a makedo shelf above our deck doors. We went to Lowes and bought some pine brackets and a 1x8 piece of poplar. I painted it the same color as the wall. Really happy with the way it turned out. Just experimenting right now as to what I will put up there....but I can't wait for Fall and Christmas to decorate it! :)

Wow...we WERE busy! When I sit here and blog about it...we did get a lot done! I have some Goodwill finds to share...and some of those finds are already made over and scattered around the house! We were hanging shelves and as I was decorating them....I was running out to the garage to paint something quick to put on those shelves! LOL! :) Don't tell me you have never done this! I will share all of my treasures and re-dos next time!

Here are a couple of pretty pictures I wanted to show you. My Clematis are in full bloom! My kids just love these flowers....in fact they were the ones that came running in to tell me to come and look at these pretty flowers!! Thanks kids or I might have missed them!! :)

We went to the zoo...and we saw these pretty flowers...not sure what they are but they were gorgeous!

This is such a beautiful time of year....take the time to smells the smells and see the sights around you! Until next time. Take care. ~Sarah~

Let's Have A Giveaway Shall We?!

Hello everyone! I can't believe it! This is my 50th post! When I started this blogging journey...I thought "What do I have to lose"...then I thought..."I have nothing to lose"! If you read back on my very first post I set some goals for myself. I didn't set any time limits on these goals. I just wanted to get back to some of the things I used to enjoy doing (like painting) and new things I wanted to learn (like stitching). I am happy to report that I have done both of these things! And I am loving every minute of it! I have also "met" some amazing and talented people through blogging. I have also met two of my blog friends in person! So fun! The whole experience has been incredible so far...can't wait to see what is next!

This is my first giveaway....how exciting!! Here is what the winner will receive: The little Americana gameboard~the pip berry star willow tree~the bag of festive jackie berries~the ticking striped towel~the handled trencher (one of my makeovers~it is not food safe)~and a mini flyscreen that I made from an antique strainer. I thought with the Memorial Day weekend upon us and the 4th of July just around the corner a patriotic giveaway would be fun! To sign up for my giveaway...you just have to be one of my friendly followers~leave me just one comment and you will be entered to win~I also have to let you know that with the weight of this package and shipping costs internationally my giveaway is only open to residents of the USA (does not include: Alaska, Hawaii or Canada) Make sure you leave me an email address if you don't have a blog so I can contact you if you win! I will announce the winner on June 1st. Good luck~this will be fun!! :)

Thank you to all of my followers. I always appreciate you stopping by and I love reading your comments.

I wish everyone a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend. A time to remember our loved ones that are no longer with us and also a time remember the brave men and women who are keeping us all safe day after day. And let us not forget those that lost their lives fighting for our country.

Until next time. Take care. ~Sarah~

Beautiful Blooms & A Whole Day Of Makeovers

Hello! It was an absolutely gorgeous day here! It was definitely time to get outside and do some makeovers! The boys couldn't have been happier...they got to be outside and run off some energy...and play with some sidewalk chalk! I hope they will sleep like logs tonight!!

First I have to share much to my surprise I walked around the corner of the house and my lilac bushes were blooming! Talk about taking time to stop and smell the lilacs!! Life is moving so fast I didn't even know they were blooming!! I LOVE lilacs! They smell AMAZING...and they bring back some great childhood memories for me!

And then there are these bushes on the other side of our house. I call them Snowball Bushes...but please anyone that knows the technical name for them feel free to speak up! All I know is that they are in full bloom too and they are beautiful!

I just had to share those beautiful blooms with all of you! Here is what I worked on most of the afternoon:

The first makeover is a basket that I have had forever.

Before~

After~

This is a recipe box I got at Goodwill and a tote that I had got at a garage sale.

Before~

Recipe Box After~

Tote After~

Close Up~

Here is a basket I also got a Goodwill...I just put a walnut stain on it.

Before~

After~

Here is the tote that was in our bathroom...I just couldn't leave it plain...so I painted it red and then a black topcoat, sanded and stained it...I like it much better!

Before~

After~

The last makeover I don't have a before picture for. It was just a little unfinished picket fence that I got at Goodwill for 99cents! I painted it red, sanded and stained it and tucked it behind my topiary on the shelf in my bedroom!

That is about it for me today! It is time to go wash all of the stain and paint off of my hands and get all of the kiddos to bed! What a beautiful day to be outside!!! Maybe tomorrow will be just as nice.....it might just be another great day for MORE makeovers!! Until next time. Take care. ~Sarah~