What's Good In Our Hood {9.30.09}

I'm back with the second edition of "What's Good In Our Hood" where I try to hunt down some great craigslist bargains for all of you St. Louisans. Most of the time all the items need are a little TLC and they'd be good as new. Here's hoping this week's batch is as good as last week and that somebody out there scores themselves a sweet little deal!

$50 Retro Hutch

$35 Solid Oak Desk {almost bought this one for myself...it's gorgeous!}

$10 a piece-Vintage Chairs {a total steal!}

$75 Vintage headboard and footboard {another one I wanted for myself!}

$20 Wood Slotted Coffee Table

$20 {for the pair} Vintage Lamps

{Love the shape, I'd spray paint one solid color}

I hope you saw some potential and/or something you liked. As always, act fast because the items are never guaranteed to be there! : )

xoxo

Check Out This Seller {Etsy}

I ran across a fabulous new blog, Sparrow's Nest, whose pages I was perusing when I came across this undeniably lovely Etsy seller. Everything at Lucky Blue Bird Art is divine. I can't decide on what I want to order, but I do know I will be ordering many items and it will be happening very soon.

Here is just a snippet of some of the absolutely perfect designs you could make yours!

You must not delay, check her shop out asap. Have a fabulous little Tuesday : )

xoxo

I ♥ Quizzes. {Decor Ones, That Is!}

I know this little quiz has been going around the blog-o-sphere for awhile now, and if memory serves, I may have even taken it before. But, whatever the case, I just took it yesterday and was delighted with my results:

Vintage Modern

Flea Market anyone? You know you are drawn to modern furniture and interiors, and yet you really don't like a space that feels cold and sterile. And who could blame you? And that's why Vintage Modern is so appealing to you. Though the backdrop of the room, the walls and windows, are many times white or monochromatic, the furniture and accessories have the color, shape and texture to bring the warmth into the space. The great thing about Vintage Modern is ease of mixing different styles in the one space. You can have a new modular sofa mixed with a great pair of chairs that your grandmother purchased in the late 1950's and the new and old work appear as though they were destined for each other. What's great is that even if you don't have time for swap meets and garage sales, so many of the pieces from the mid-century were so great that they have been remade and mimicked year after year.

Colors

When it comes to color, walls are seen as backdrops for the room. Neutral tones of gray, white, beige and brown are very common and black is a common accent color. Pops of color on the art, furniture and accessories can vary dramatically based on the person, however very common colors are teal blues, army greens and yellow as well as deep oranges and bright reds.

Usually I take these types of quizzes and the results hardly ever resemble my true style. But I think these results hit the nail on the head. And the images, yeah, they make me giddy.

Head on over and take it if you haven't yet! : )

xoxo

What's Good In Our Hood

After seeing Ms. Katie do something fairly similar to this, I've decided to start my own regular {hopefully} series on our blog. It comes as no surprise to my family and friends, and probably readers too, that I am a craigslist junkie. I love finding deals and imagining what I could transform them into. Of course, everything I see I can't possibly buy, so here's where the series comes into play.

I am going to find weekly craigslist items that catch my eye and post them here for all of you! Of course, I'm only doing those in the St. Louis area, but send me an email and I'd love to search your city's craigslist for you. And, since I love a great bargain, I only plan on posting frugal or semi-frugal finds...that is, unless something expensive just happens to catch my eye!

So, without further babbling, here's what's good in our hood this week. Oh, and strike while the iron is hot St. Louis friends! I've missed quite a few things due to my procrastinating self!

$20 coffee table

$50 vintage sofa

$50 {but I'd offer $35} awesome geometric coffee table

{I'd also paint it a crisp white!}

$125 {or best offer!} buffet

$32 marble top end table

$50 long dresser

{again, in need of a paint job and new pulls and I'd offer less}

Hope something caught your eye fellow St. Louisans!

xoxo

Oooh, I like those!

Aren't these votive holders perfection? And for just under $16 for two, how could you pass 'em up?

Available here and spied here.

P.S. Loving all of the new readers coming my way. Thanks for the comments and I enjoy getting to check out so many new blogs! : ) I've said it before and I'll say it again, I ♥ blogging!

xoxo

Almost To Britney's Level

Don't hate me for loving Britney Spears. Always have, always will. She's my girl. But lately someone has been giving her a run for her money in my life. Who you ask? Well, it's the crazy Miss. Lady Gaga! You may not understand her work, think she is totally outlandish, or maybe even love her like her do...but there is one thing that you absolutely cannot deny: the addictiveness of her music.

As of late, "Paparazzi" is my go-to song for my morning rides to school, down time sessions while my student teacher is hard at work, and for my ride home cool down. It is pure pop perfection and I dare you to not fall in love with it.

Give her a chance. I promise if you even kinda like pop music, you will love what she has to offer on "Paparazzi". Annnnnd, this girl can sing!

xoxo

Keys To My Heart

I've been looking around the blog-o-sphere, thrift shops, and online shops for awhile trying to find some antique or skeleton keys with no luck. I've debated buying some on ebay, but never bit the bullet. By now you've probably learned that I'm quite the procrastinator.

I was committed to buying them when I saw some great, albeit mass manufactured, keys in the pottery barn collection. When I went to add them to my cart they were back-ordered til late November. I liked them a lot, but I wasn't about to wait that long for some keys.

So while David and I were browsing Hobby Lobby last weekend I ran across a set of keys for less than $15!

I had David's dad cut them off of their ring and I mounted them to one of my empty linen shadow boxes from Target that has been hanging in the bedroom empty for months now!

They look exactly like what I had envisioned that I wanted and even better yet, they rang up half price at the register. So I paid less than $7 for all of them.

I love me a great deal! : )

xoxo

Early Morning

So on a total whim, I suggested that David and I get up super early on Sunday and take a drive around our little town to snatch some pictures at a prime-o time for lighting. I am pretty happy with what I was able to get and can't wait to get better with my photography. Some of these had a little help in photoshop but some are SOOC {straight out of camera!}.

I am seriously thinking about posting some of my novice, but loved by me, photos on Etsy. But, then I doubt myself and think who would want to buy them? Am I delusional or should I just try it? Time will tell I guess! But until then, take a little look at my babies from Sunday.

Or do you fancy a black and white version?

As always, thanks for reading and commenting! It seriously makes my day.

xoxo

A Little Ceiling Medallion Info

For what seems like ever I was obsessed with this image.

I could not get this out of my head. I went to the site the article suggested to get the medallions and just couldn't bring myself to bite the bullet and order them. The total price wasn't outlandish, but it wasn't a bargain either.

Well, summer strolled on and like I said, that image just kept haunting me. I finally gave in since the rest of the living room was shaping up quite nicely and I am happy as a clam that I did.

Using the inspiration image as a guide, I found some medallions at differing diameters and designs that suited me. I took note of the sizes and traced them out on wrapping paper and positioned them on the wall with painters tape before I committed to clicking the "purchase" button.

I highly recommend this step because you can get a feel for how they will look in your space and if the sizes you thought you needed were either too big or too small.

Once they arrived at home I had to figure out how to hang them. I contemplated drilling a hole
into the backs but I was afraid of cracking them. They're not ceramic, nor plastic, but more like a resin material.

Then my father-in-law suggested using gorilla glue {or any type of heavy duty adhesive} and d-rings and it was the perfect solution! I put two on each medallion and they are hanging just fine in our living room. I know they look kind of piddly but one d-ring can hold up to 30 pounds so we should be good to go. {EDIT: We have since replaced the d rings with 3M velcro strips since one medallion fell off the wall--oops!}

Since I'm a fan of all things white, I kept them as they were when they arrived.

Of course you could always spray paint them virtually any color of your heart's desire! Since we had the templates up it was a cinch hanging them right on top. The only one I want to move is the one on the far right that I think could stand to come down a couple of inches.

I am very pleased with them and encourage anyone who wants a big statement art piece{s} to give this little project a try. You will love it!

xoxo

DIY: 3D Butterfly Wall Art

Say that blog title 3 times fast!

This post is about a little DIY project that was small but mighty. During one of our frequent trips to Home Depot I snatched up the latest issue of Better Homes and Garden's "100 Decorating Ideas." I really love their special editions and succumb to paying nearly $6 a pop for them. With every issue there are things I like and others I could do without. However, this certain magazine had an article with a project I just had to try!

You know how many people are digging those 3D white flowers right now? Well I've liked them for awhile, even before YHL wrote about them and hung them in their guest bedroom. The way John and Sherry placed them was very similar to my plans for them, too!

I've always hesitated on buying them for some odd reason and I guess now I know why!

Because of this article in the magazine, I was inspired to make my own 3D wall art in the shape of butterflies! All it took was a couple of cheapie supplies {wax paper,rolling pin, razor blade, white clay, spray paint, butterfly inspiration art, foam stickies},a patient hand, and some serious practice makes perfect.

At first I tried to cut the butterflies free-handed, but was quickly reminded that I am nowhere near a good artist. So I turned to the ever-so-handy google images, found a couple different shapes and sizes of butterfly clip art, printed 'em out, and used them as my tracing patterns for the rest.

I'd like to say I had a number or a design in my head, but really, I didn't. I made about as many as I could before I was sick of rolling out the Crayola clay that looked like yummy sugar cookie batter.

Once they were all shaped and formed, I let them dry for a couple of hours since the cheapie clay I bought had strict instructions NOT to bake it.

On about the end of the second day of drying I took them out back and spray painted them white with my favorite Krylon spray paint.

Tonight after our master's class we stopped by Michael's and picked up some foam double sided stickies to adhere to both the butterflies and the wall. We bought the magnets that you see in the pic, but they were more expensive and not nearly as effective!

I was hesitant at first to stick them on the wall, but let me tell you, with all the mistakes I made arranging and rearranging, that stuff comes right off. It is exactly similar to those no-mess 3m hooks that cost a fortune!

Before I put them on the wall all willy-nilly, I did take a picture of a layout I liked and referred back to it as I placed them on the wall, making some minor tweaks here and there.

It took about an hour to hang all of them because I would hang one, step back and look, hang another, then crack one {oops!}. When a crack occurred, I solved it super quick with clear liquid nails. There's no job too big or small for that stuff! I'm happy to say that only one butterfly was beyond repair after I cracked it!

And, finally, the finished product both far and close.

Hope you enjoyed my little DIY wall art fun!

xoxo

{Stay tuned for a post on those fun ceiling medallions!}