{flips & giggles}

guess who finally found a sport she likes loves!

(holding "Flat Stanley"...err...Isabella)

class is over for the semester, but she is already begging to start up again after vacation.  it is so fun to finally see her excited about something that involves exercise. (she may get her disdain for exercise from me...just sayin'.)

{thank you mom & IKEA!}

the fam was at IKEA recently and i spotted this headboard on clearance.  it is a padded headboard that mounts on the wall.  and the best part is that the striped cover is a velcro slipcover.

Badalen headboard from IKEA

we have wanted a new setup for our master since our headboard and footboard take up alot of real estate in our tiny bedroom, but it just wasn't high on the priority list.  but for $30 bones, i could not pass this up...it is on the website for $299!

so when my mom was here recently, we hit the fabric store in search of something that might work.  i found some organic cotton in a gorgeous blue color we went with.  i wanted to stick with something pretty neutral that i wouldn't tire of anytime soon.  mom sewed this thing up in day (a long day, but a day!)  it turned out so fantastic!  she is an amazing seamstress. 

funny sidenote story.  i get home from picking up the kids from school and she is sewing away in the sweatshop (aka dining room.)  it is like 90 out and the window a/c is barely keeping her cool.  she asks if i can run grab her a chocolate donut from dunkin for a little sugar high.  the kids and i hit the closest drive-thru.  i ask for a chocolate donut and i am told they are out.  ok...we'll go with a second choice.  out of that too.  and the third choice.  the man then proceeds to tell me they are out of donuts, can he get me a coffee instead.  WHAT?!  isn't this dunkin donuts?  foreals?!  what's next...no burgers at burger king?!

the good part is that living in new england there is literally a dunkin like every quarter mile.  we hit another one and got our second choice there.  they also had a large sign outside saying it was nat'l donut day and you got a free donut with every coffee purchase.  it started making sense.  one would  have thought that the employee at the first dunkin would have mentioned that. 

so...back to the slipcover.  it still needs to be attached to the wall, but it is "in".  what do you think?  i need to figure out a way to visually balance out that crazy window since there is only one. 

(still need to learn how to make the bed)

i also got some fabric to make a pillow for the bed.  stay tuned...

{my IKEA Rast hack}

mike has been asking for a night stand for awhile now.  it seems about time since we have both resorted to dumping things that should go in the night stand on the ironing board.  (yeah...i think that thing is actually supposed to come down when not in use.)  anyway...

i jumped on the IKEA Rast hack bandwagon and came up with matching tables for us.  although maybe not initially my first choice, the $29.99 price is really hard to resist, the storage is great and the creative options are endless.

here are a couple of the images i found inspiring as i decided how to tackle ours.

via aubrey & lindsay

from left on amelia via urgan grace

i decided to paint our drawers BM super white and then do a color wash of BM duxbury grey.  i went with the colorwash option for a couple reasons: i had the paint already, but not enough for two dressers, i liked the transparency of it...a bit of grain shows through but not too much, and it helped hide the flaws of being ikea pine...mainly lots of knots and fingerjoints.  i put one coat of white glaze over the top, polyacrylic and waxed the white door fronts and am happy with how it turned it.  it has alot more depth than just a solid coat of paint would have had.  kind of driftwood like. 

i went with the same lee valley hardware as the inspiration pics.  i really liked it and didn't feel the need to get creative just to be different.  i like how the circles play off our coverlet.

here are some more of my favorite hacks.  these would be awesome in kids' rooms!

via pinterest

via knack studios

via designsponge on pinterest

now i need to come up with a paint color for the walls to go with~

{chippy chair makeover}

i scored this chair awhile back at the auction house for $5.  technically, it was $2.50 for (2) chairs, but the other one wasn't worth taking.  a good price regardless.

post sanding pic

i thought this was a great chair to add to the playroon for the kids work table.  i think it is probably an old library or courtroom chair, but with some fun, curvy lines to it. we have two chairs up there now that i also got at the auction, but that still leaves one kid on the floor.

so...after a coat of green paint and a whole lot of distressing, i am loving the character of the finish.  the original poly had an alligator finish in some places and was pretty worn.  i only lightly sanded this piece before painting in hopes of keeping some of the texture and then finished it off with a coat of clear wax.

(let's just pretend there aren't huge hunks out of the blue wall.  what the heck!)

love me a quick, cheapo makeover!