rope-wrapped lamp

so when we got married, captain fantastic had this cheap craftsmany mission-type floor lamp. something to this effect:


(i just spent about 45 minutes trying to find an actual picture of the actual lamp on my computer. no dice. so, as per usual, you'll have to use your imagination here.)

anyway, the stained glass shade broke. and i was sad. and then the base sat in the attic for a while. and then the base sat in the living room for a while with a red shade that a) did not fit b) did not match anything. and then in january, i got sick with one of those colds where you're too sick to do anything like go to work but not sick enough to lie in bed all day without losing your entire mind.

so i took the lamp base.

and a ball of twine.

and a glue gun.

and wrapped and glued.

and wrapped and glued.

and wrapped and glued.
until my husband came home from work and was like "you're STILL doing that?"

but anyway it was worth it. because now, instead of an ugly target reproduction mission style lamp, it is a rustic-yet-chic custom hemp-wrapped lamp. with a pleated shade. which i think gives it just enough traditional flair to keep it this side of log cabin.





...but let's not pretend that in real life it doesn't live like this:

only a matter of time before rivadawg eats it.

goin' to the chapel

team stone spent this past weekend in glorious sewanee, tennessee, taking part in the wedding festivities of one of my dear college friends. one of my bridesmaidily duties was to create a logo and save the date for the bride and groom. using one of their engagement photos as inspiration, here's what i came up with:


i also extracted the silhouette for them to use on their invitations and reception cups:


nothing like a long weekend of friends, food and fun in celebration of the union of some really wonderful people!

let there be light...

...er paint on my dining room chandelier. i am awesome at naming blog posts. also awesome at doing projects and waiting eleventy years to post them. like when i took the plain, dark chandy that came in our dining room - similar to this:


- and lightened it up with milk paint, antiquing glaze, and new shades, thusly:







the homeless colony of glasses, bottles and candlesticks on the bar has been streamlined in the ensuing eleventy years. thank you, operation finish! also in the dining room are these items and curtains i made out of this:


fyi. it's coming along slowly. but in an awesome way that i am digging. so, you know, worth the wait.

color! pattern! paint!

sure has been depressing around here recently, huh? july 2011 goes down in stone family history as the absolute pits. here's hoping august brings a major upswing.

the antidote to bummertown? color! pattern! paint! OPERATION FINISH! today i completed two projects from my long-standing to-do pile.

first, an old paint caddy of my mom's. if i'm to cart around paint supplies all the live-long day, oughtn't i do so in style?

BEFORE:

please note the carpet. when did we remove the carpet? november 2009. OPERATION FINISH!

a vera bradley napkin, a little mod podge, my kwid imperial trellis stencil and some paint later, the AFTER:

hoarding art supplies? who, me?

infinitely more festive!

next, a plain wooden tray i picked up ages ago. no before picture; just envision, if you will, a plain wooden tray. envisioning? mkay. i painted it white, mod podged a piece of fabric to the bottom, then painted on a monogram. of course.

post-mod podge, pre-monogram

monogram in progress

AFTER:

notice another fabric mod podged project in the background - the pink frame

looks like the various geometric melamine & acrylic trays i've lusted over, but for what? FO' FREE. booyah.

procrastination: lesson learned

alternate title: why we can't have nice things.

lesson #1:

probably a year ago, i ordered a pair of monogrammed pillows from ballard designs:


with the intention of adding ribbon trim to them for our boudoir, like so:

by melissa rufty

which i did. like 6 months ago. yet failed to photograph all pretty-like for the blog. and a few weeks ago? the day before the 4 year anniversary of the day i brought a baby sterling home from the animal shelter? when i was feeling all sentimental about how much i love that dog? i came home from work to this:


and so. all i have to share now are crappy phone pictures of a bed with one pillow.

but hey, check out that grosgrain trim! with mitered corners and everything!


lesson #2:

in september, i exchanged a gift at stein mart and got a pair of black resin lamps:

i did manage to take before pictures, high five!

which i painted with linen milk paint and glazed, then placed on our bedside tables. and all was right with the world for a few months.

don't mock my salt lamp. i freaking love my salt lamp. it emits good energy and a saixy glow.

until an incident a few weeks ago wherein cstone attempted to help me make the bed.


resin lamps? do not fare well when knocked off a bedside table. sigh.

a pair of these have been ordered as a suitable replacement:


and also less breakable. time will tell...

is your household a death trap for home decor? or is it just me? anyone?

get thee to target

friends. our local target was recently renovated to include a grocery section, and it has given me the excuse to be ten kinds of all up in that store on a weekly basis nowadays. target also happens to be totally bringing it in the home decor department, and i feel compelled to share.

exhibit a, $25 quatrefoil mirror:


in not my finish of choice:


but no matter. a little gold leaf and glaze later...




i wanted an antiquey chippy look (try to hide your surprise), so i got all haphazard with the gold leaf application, which resulted in the desired finish. considering getting another one to hang above it. because mirrors need friends too.

exhibit b, $12 outdoor fabric pillows in a suspiciously familiar pattern:


headed to team stone's lake house for phase one of our lake house bedroom makeover. which brings to mind another target purchase...back in the bathroom reno days, i got a simple mirror-framed mirror there like this:


when i got it home, i realized that there was a crack in the frame that had been hidden by the packaging. being too lazy to return it resourceful, i decided to give it a little nautical flair for ye olde lake house, inspired by this:


of course, that project is still on the to-do list at present. again, try to hide your surprise.

for funsies, here's my main inspiration picture for our room at the lake house:


i'm thinking blue & white, with a hint of rainbow trout. captain fantastic spends a lot of time fly-fishing in the river that feeds the lake, so it would be appropriate, no?

the room is currently decked out in the previous owners' choices of wood paneling painted a pale pepto pink, with a lovely accent wall of metallic floral wallpaper and a smorgasboard of mismatched furnishings. big plans, friends. big plans.

a rockin' makeover

now that the holiday season is over, i can get back to my irregularly unscheduled blogging. which is better than no blogging at all, yes? and never fear, friends; good things come to those who wait. things like a furniture painting project for another person! not related to me! who paid me! for painting! a "commission" for a "client," if you will. and i think i will.

the client: the sweet mama of two precious little girls
the commission: transform her husband's childhood rocking chair:

into something that will better compliment his daughters' girly-girl style:


pink and green and girly? this might be a stretch for me.

or, you know, not.

a little paint, glaze and creative-muscle-flexing later, and behold:










funnest. project. ever.

*i know funnest is not the proper superlative of fun. blogging grammar is like abstract art: you have to know the rules, then you can break them. capishe?