Archives

Plans To Build Your Very Own Floating Ping Pong Table

Ugh!  I have had NO NO NO time to blog, POO!  I miss my weekly posts.  I finally have a minute to post my newest item in my Etsy shop.  Plans on how to build your own floating ping pong table for your pool.  I have to say, this is one of the most USED pool items we have.  My poochie Phoebe even loves to get on it and float around hahahaha,  not to mention she goes crazy when the ping pong ball is going back and forth! (I posted photos quite some time ago).  I have had so many compliments about my pool toy that I decided to go ahead and make the plans so you can make your very own ping pong table for your pool.  The kids (and grown ups) will love it!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/99781625/plans-for-how-to-build-your-own-floating?ref=shop_home_active_1

Biking0610 034Biking0610 041pingpongtable

Buffet Side Table Given A New Life

Another project finally completed!!  Took many weeks (okay months…) to get done but I am so happy with the final look of my buffet side table.  Originally teak, yes it was nice, but hohumm kind of boring and I really loved the piece but I wanted a shabby chic look to it.  The preparation was what took so long, the sanding, the sanding and yeah the sanding (and I HATE sanding), BUT you have to do it, and look what you get, marrrrvelous.  Well I think it looks great anyways. 

I achieved this look by removing all the hardware (bought some new cool knobs in a brushed silver contemporary look),  I even took off the doors, I had to shave the doors upper edges because the doors just would not close properly.  I then removed those nasty metal floor protectors on the bottom of the legs (I don’t know who thought metal was going to save their floors?  I purchase some nice new plastic with felt nail-ons to replace them and boy are they nice, so much easier to move the buffet now).  Next was the sanding, and this part takes looooong, real long.  I started with an 80 grit sand paper and moved on to a 100 grit.  I re-sanded with a 150 and then washed all the buffet with a damp cloth to remove all of the dust.  I applied my first coat of “Painter’s Touch” satin paint in ‘Heirloom White’.  Water based paint so clean up is simple.  I applied a thin coat of paint, let it dry completely and sanded with a 400 grit sandpaper, remove dust with a damp cloth.  I repeated this step 3 more times.  Then I used a 150 grit sandpaper to sand off some of the paint here and there until I was happy with my “Shabby Chic” look.  I used a damp cloth to remove any dust and applied two coats of “Saman” satin water based varnish.  Again when the varnish was completely dry, I used a 600 grit sandpaper and lightly sanded the entire buffet and wiped it down with a clean damp cloth.   Should be smoother than a baby’s butt!  I lined the end cabinets with some pretty wallpaper.  I also lined the top flatware drawer with some black velvet.  Now to get started on the matching Dining room table and chairs  Whewwwww…   😀

Here’s my before and after shots:

Teak Buffet Side Table            "BEFORE"

Teak Buffet Side Table
“BEFORE”

cupcakesn 002

buffetreno 008buffetreno 004

Christmas Craziness

How is everyone doing with Christmas now?  Is everyone going cray cray with the shopping, the baking, the wrapping, the decorating, well you get it, the list goes on and on and on…

I am busily painting, I must confess the above has not gotten done, well okay except for decorating the tree, (and that is even a lie, Ooops!  My daughter decorated the tree).  Oh boy okay so I am going to be late in getting everything done, but that is okay, I will not stress out, I will do yoga!  LOL

Here is a picture of my tree to get everyone inspired and get their tree up for the holidays, it’s not too early for the fake ones and you may as well get it up early and enjoy it for a longer period of time.   Don’t you just hate all the work of getting out the boxes, unwrapping those oh so delicate ornaments, trimming the tree and what?  it’s over a week later   :0   Then ya gotta drag out all the boxes and tissu paper and put everything back!  But we must love it, right? cuz we do it year after year!  My real one will go up in a few weeks.  Does anyone have any good ideas or tricks to help endure the life of a real Christmas tree?  I just love the smell of a real tree when you walk into the house, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm like being in a pine forest    

A little peek into what I have been painting and you can find them at my Etsy shop “Peonie’s Closet”…

wordpress 211

Handpainted Mirror

Handpainted Mirror

 

wordpress 204

wordpress 206wordpress 209

Halloweenie Time

Took some time out this weekend to decorate for all the Halloweener’s.  I always try to do something that I can find around the house and it was really very inexpensive this year.  If you put your mind to it and use your imagination, anything can happen.   I first took a walk in the forest and gathered some old long branches that were lying around on the ground (money spent = FREE).  I scavengered for the best looking and scariest ones.  I am pretty lucky since I am right by a forest full of dead branches.  But you can look right on your property, the park, just about anywhere and I am sure you can find some.  Carrying them home (a 2 minute walk lol), I then planted them in some tall garden planters that I had around the house.  I also filled them to the top with earth for stability.  Once they were in the pots firmly, I began to decorate with the faux webbing (.99 cents at the dollar store for a bag with spiders and one bag goes a loooong way).  I added some silhouette ghosts, some spiders here and there, a witches hat and Voila!  A spooky halloween… I can’t wait for Halloween night   muhahahhaha.

These are the pics in day-time.  I will be carving out my pumpkins the morn of Halloween and will take a few shots at nightime to get that spooky eeeerie feeling. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FOLKS!!!

Halloween Haunt Entryway

All Cleaned Up

These past few weeks have been busy, mainly doing some indoor painting (because the weather has been nice and cool FOR ONCE!)  and I had to get the entryway finally finished since it’s remodel which was in the spring (Oooops! laziness can sometimes get the best of me, but the summer heat wave did not help either   :O   ).  I also wanted to spruce up my kitchen, was not happy with it’s former color of blue, I need a little more uplifting color in my life to make things a bit more bright and happy! Happy! Happy!   So I went with a yellow, how uplifting is that, everytime I go in my kitchen now I can’t be more “Happier”.  Maybe the cooking will be even better now, hahaha!

About a month ago I blogged about a major tree pruning and chopping that went on here and today was the day for “TREE PICK-UP”.  This past weekend we dragged all those cut down branches to the curb!  It was a lot of work, basically too0k us the entire day but am I happy to get rid of those things off my yard, was becoming an eyesore.  I felt like I was living in the land of the dead forest.  It amazed me that it took us about three days to get the trees pruned and cleared and these guys…

Hubba Bubba!

Eye Candy!    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   All done in less than 15 minutes!   (the guys were not too bad to look at either).  The pile was approx. 60 feet long and about 3m high.   What was I doing wrong??!!  LOL!

Anyways,  glad it is all gone and finished with.  

I think I will be done for this season for doing some landscaping changes.  I may have a few things to get done before winter time arrives.  But next spring I will be finishing up the front area and laying down my new plans for the front and side walkways (gardens) and finishing the front area, where the “greshem” and “Snowmound” were removed and replanted in their new homes (and seem to be doing quite nicely, except for a few of them that do not look so good, sniff sniff).  There is just not enough time to get everything done, when you are doing everything else, right?  

So today is another beautiful day, perfect temperature for heading out once again to get those chairs  (chair) finished.  I hate sanding, I absolutely HATE it!  But unfortunately it is part of the process of making my vintage chairs “Gorgeous” once again.  I want to get at least two completed by end of weekend.  Some of the paint on them was so thick, ugh!  it takes forever to sand them off, I am using a paint remover also, otherwise I may be doing this until next year!  I am also looking around for some really nice fabrics to cover my chairs, not sure what I am decided on yet?  But it will come to me.

So here are a few shots of my decorating attempts for the entryway, still have the door frames and baseboards to get on (lord knows when that will get done??!)  and I am still on the hunt for 2 wall coat racks, just not finding what I want, so until something I see says “Buy me, you know you want me” I ain’t opening my wallet.   I may even take a try at making one, I mean really?  How hard can it be to make one?  I say until you try it, you will never know…

A few shots of the Before and After looks, awwww what color can do

Entryway “Before”

Entryway “Before”

Kitchen “Before”

Kitchen “Before”

Kitchen “Before”

Kitchen “Before”

Entryway “After”

Entryway “After”

Kitchen “After”

Kitchen “After”