$3.00 Chair Makeover

Well, so much for spring! We are buried again here in the good old W of I. So all of these great outdoor projects I have been wanting to accomplish will have to wait a bit longer!

But I wanted to share this little tid bit with you all this morning! The easiest chairs to reupholster.

This little project cost me $3.00. Yes, $3.00

The chair was free, and the fun fabric was on clearance at Joann's for $6.00 a yard. It only takes a half a yard for one of these chairs and you can find them everywhere! My Mom and I just found some more at the Salvation Army for next to nothing this past week. You can unify a mismatched set with fabric, or jazz up just one chair for a small accent like I did. This chair sits next to our french patio doors. It's nice to sit down and take your shoes off, or set your garden gloves on when you have to take Dr. Pepper break! :)

On chairs like these, you simply remove the screws underneath (mine only had four), and place the new fabric over the old. I tucked it in tight and secured it with just a bit of fabric glue. You can also use a staple gun, but the frame of this chair was so solid, it is holding the fabric nicely. The glue was simply to keep any scraggly bits from hanging underneath and tempting my cat to tear it apart. :)

I also like to polish up the wood with a bit of lemon and olive oil and make it look brand new. Super easy right? I am a bit chair obsessed but at $3.00, it's a reasonably priced infatuation. I might add one of those adorable coral deco pillows from Target for a bit of color, but we'll see!! And as soon as you get bored with this patter, guess what? You can easily do it again!

Happy chair hunting!

Xo, Natasha

Cloth Diaper Organization

Good morning!! It's a sunny 75 here in the W I.

Just kidding.... Sigh.

But I have been starting my spring cleaning/reorganizing endeavors because we might as well be productive since we are so cooped up! Today I thought I would share with you how I organize my cloth diapers.

I primarily started using cloth diapers with my daughter. I wanted to save money because I had recently left employment at my job at the clinic and quite frankly, things were tight. Aren't they always? I loved the idea of being able to use them again and again, and with the price of paper diapers it seemed like a no=brainer. But that's another post! On to the storage!

Right now for my main organization I am using this unit from Target: Munchkin Nursery Essentials Organizer

It got pretty crappy reviews, but for the price, it's not that awful. One of the dowels did break in one of the legs, but a little wood glue fixed that right up. I really like the number of compartments and the depth and that they have that fabric lip in the front to keep everything from tumbling out.

I also got these seperate containers from Target as a shower gift and they are great as well. So many uses and they match the organizer perfectly: Munchkin Canvas Decorative Bin

After I wash my diapers I stuff them immediately so that they are ready to use when I need them. Then I stick them in the bin on top.

Below, I keep my diaper liners in another small tote I got at Shopko, a local department store. These cuties were only 5 bucks a piece.

I also have another bin for wet bags.

One section is set aside completely for prefolds. These I use as extra stuffing, burp cloths, changing pads, whatever. They are a newborn size so they are definitely not being used in the traditional sense anymore on my toddler!

Not pictured is another small bin where I keep powders, creams, Snappies and wipes.

I have really liked the whole process of cloth diapering my daughter. It can be a bit messy at times, but once you get into the routine of it, it's quite simple. They trick is to stay organized and on top of the chaos! Do you have any other tips for organizing your cloth diapers?

Xoxo,
Natasha

Other products mentioned in this post:

Portrait Painting: Farrah

Good morning, all!

First off, just adding my most recent painting to the WWW. A sweet little portrait of my darling daughter that I did on some leftover canvas board I had lying around. This was painted in acrylics. Thanks for looking!

On a side note, I feel that this photo of my painting is a bit over-saturated when compared to the real one, but I usually take photos of my paintings outdoors to get the most natural light, and as our current situation in Wisconsin is freeze-your-booty-off, this was the best I could get. I will correct that later when and if I go to add it to my online store. I'm not really sure why anyone would want a print of someone elses baby but, hey, she's cute.

Xoxo,
Natasha

Meet Mercedes!

Hi, all!

Sorry for the silence over here! I've been fighting with a sore throat for a week now, and just this past week we added another member to our family because I am crazy and apparently not nearly overwhelmed enough!

Meet Mercedes:

Mercedes is an 8 year old Black and Tan Coonhound that we adopted from the local humane society. She had been over bred, starved, and given her manners I seriously doubt she was let in the house very often!

Our Chocolate lab, Moose, like any new big brother, was super excited at their first meeting. Day two, he was exhausted. By day three, he was following me around and staring at me as if wondering when we were taking her back. They have now comfortable settled into a love/hate relationship. If they are not playing together, patrolling the yard, or snoozing, then they are growling over each others treats and toys.

She really is so beautiful, I don't know who could get rid of such a sweet girl. With a little training on household etiquette, she will make a great addition to our family!

 Xoxo,

Natasha

Home Tour: Living Room

It's almost Friday! To kick off the weekend, I finally got around to photographing our living room this morning. Fair warning, it's still coming together. I have a few window treatments to finish, the furniture is a little mis-matched (and not necessarily in a good way, can't get that recliner away from my husband) and I didn't take any photos facing the dining room because I currently have every project I've never finished in my life piled up on the table. But here goes!

The before:

Huge, right? This has been the most challenging for me. The sheer size of this room makes it very difficult to arrange furniture. And while I have a vision in my head of how I want everything set up, I am still missing several key pieces and until such a time as I acquire them... this is what we've come up with:

It's crazy how much smaller the room feels now. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. :) But it's certainly better for conversation and getting closer to the fire! (Excuse the Iron Man clips on the television, Have to keep the little man happy and I was far to lazy to Photoshop it out.)

Moose has claimed this beautiful blue sofa (that my amazing friend Becky found for me - love you Becky!!) as his own. It is ten feet long, people. Ten feet. And unfortunately I did not photograph it because it would mean facing that mound I was telling you about in the dining room... ahem.

Sources:

Grey Sofa: Walmart.Com
Tan Loveseat: Ashley Furniture
Coffee Table: Ashley Furniture
Pink Pillows: DIY
White Pillow: TJ Maxx
Kids Chairs: Ikea
Louis Chair: Thrifted
Mirrors: Target
Black Octagonal Table: Target
Mirrored Table: Michael's

Have a great weekend!
Xoxo, Natasha

DIY: Updating a plain black Hobby Lobby canvas frame.

Quick and easy DIY (aren't all my DIYs quick and easy) for you today! Updating a simple canvas frame with a little gold spray paint!

I had been meaning to get my son's art framed and finally the week had come when these frames were 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I got the size I needed but it just needed a little something...

I love black and white but this was a little too boring, even for me. So I simply taped off the majority of the frame, except for a little strip lined up with the inner bevel.

Then I hit it with the gold spray paint. I love the result:

Happy Hobby Lobby-ing, everyone!
Xoxo, Natasha

DIY: Marble Photo Frame

Hey, everyone!

Today I am excited to share this super easy and super chic DIY project with you!

What could be more glam than a marble photo frame? Such a pretty way to display a favorite photo! Let me show you how!

You will need:

Marble Contact Paper, sold here:



Scissors
Scotch Tape
Picture Frame (flat on all sides, not beveled)

Start by measuring your frame against the back of the contact paper. There is a handy grid and ruler on the back so it is super easy!

Figure out the width of the sides plus the front,

and the depth. I had to guess at this, and I gave myself a bit extra, just incase.

Figure out the height you will need and cut out the first strip.

I did the long sides first, and once you have your first strip cut, you can simply trace that piece and cut another.

Lay your first piece, starting at the back and wrapping towards the front. The paper is not super sticky which is good and bad. Good because you can easily adjust it. Bad because it can tend to lift in the corners. That's where the Scotch tape will come in later.

Once you have it smoothed down in the front, grab your scissors and make a small cut in towards the frame. This will allow you to wrap it inside..

 like so:

Then do the same at the outside corners. I covered my corners in a bit of Scotch tape to help them hold. You can't see it at all if you're careful!

Both sides completed:

Now I again measured the top and bottom. I just remember my previous width and adjusted the height.

Wrap back to front and snip the corners. Seal any questionable places with Scotch tape and...

Voila!

So pretty! You will have seams, but you can't tell at all!

This took very little contact paper and the roll comes with a LOT. I had this left over from another (several) projects I was working on, so you get a lot of bang for your buck with this paper.

I love how it looks with my other frames! Happy crafting, everyone!

baby photography courtesty of: Thompson Digital Image

Xoxo,
Natasha