And the Armoir!

Yes, the almost final piece (we still have a $25 Craig's List desk to paint black) to my sister's room makeover is looking oh-so-pretty with a fresh coat of gray paint. See...

But that's not all this lovely armoir is adorned with. Looks what's hiding inside...

Gray, floral, wrapping-paper-covered back walls (yes, the patterns are turned opposite directions, but it was easier to do it that way!). Did you notice the new knobs that I first mentioned here?

But seriously, the most important question regarding this armior is, "How did the chalkboard doors turn out?" Well, I am pleased to anounce that with a little bit of this...

(a $2.50 bottle of unsanded grout- pretty exciting huh?)
You too can have custom color chalkboard surfaces that work wonderfully!!!

Just to prove it, I had my sister send me a picture text of what she has written on them now (sorry, camera phone's aren't the greatest quality). If you look really close though you can see a Thank You Debra written; what a sweet sis!

In case you are wanting to make your own personalized color chalkboard, here is exactly what to do.

1. Pick a fun paint color and buy semi-gloss paint (satin may work too, but I was going for wipeable)
2. Go to local hardware store and purchase white, non-sanded gout (I found mine at ACE Hardware)
3. Mix 1 cup paint and 2 Tbsp non-sanded grout in old bowl (like on old cottage cheese container) until grout is pretty much smooth (mine still had small lumps but this came out while I was brushing it on)
***I only used a little less than half of this amoutn to paint all 4 doors of this armior***
4. Paint the surface you want painted with a nice thick layer (I used a sponge brush)
5. Wait 3 days for paint to dry (this may be more than necessary, but I didn't want to sand too soon)
6. Lightly sand surface with 150 grit sand paper for nice smooth look
7. Condition chalkboard by rubbing side of chalk all across surface then wiping it clean
(Thank you Martha Stewart for the recipe)

All in all, this project was QUICK, CHEAP, and WORKED GREAT.
So great, that I already bought a new color of paint for my own chalkboard painting addition to my own house...let the fun begin again...ha!

Dresser + Details

Yes, this gorgeous gray dresser didn't remain undecorated for long!

Remember this lovely free mirror from Brandon's Gma...

Well a couple coats of primer and black spray paint later, it was looking polish and crisp hanging over my sister's lovely dresser.

I added two free black frames from Gma Allen to balance the mirror out and a few choice accesories to top off the dresser. This was just another part of her surprise she got to come home to.

Just wait till you see the armior!

Border Blues

Have you ever tried to remove a border by yourself? I would highly NOT recommend it!!! It only took a whole bottle of this...

And 4 hours of scraping with this...

(Yes, Lynn. It's a pampered chef pan scrapper!)
And all this so that her new bedspread that I blogged about here wouldn't clash with my sister's purplish pink walls when I made over her room. I got to thinking those purplish walls weren't so bad after scraping off all that border to paint though...ha! But seriusly, this process wouldn't have taken half as long had I had someone to help me do it. This is because the DIF spray only works when it is wet. It kept drying on me before I would get to everything I had sprayed, so I would have to rewet it and wait 5 more minutes before pealing. Not so much fun.

I also sanded, primed, and painted this...

and used this stuff...

to do this...

(see inspirationg for pillowcases here, and directions here)

And all this was to make this surprise possible...

This is what Kara came home to after her basketball tournament in St. Louis last weekend; and it's not even half the fun! Can't wait to post some more pics soon...just gotta find a little more time.

Drop Dead Gorgeous

Check out my smokin hot little sis in the dress she designed and sewed all by her talented little self for her highschool banquet (ie- junior prom).
Ok, the the bottom edge isn't exactly sewn yet, just a minor detail. I love the pattern of the fabric she picked out, so much more fun than the typical solid colored dress.

I don't know how she got the top to come out perfectly with those layers, serious skills! I also especially like her choice of shoes. She opted to purchase matching pink Converse's instead of uncomfortable heals. Why didn't I ever think of that-lol.

She is going to make one drop dead gorgeous date to the banquet! I hope she had tons of fun and takes lots of pictures...

Just Because There Isn't Walls Doesn't Mean You Can't Decorate

I think I have mentioned this before, but in case I haven't, our basement is a work in progress. Brandon started the task of refinishing our basement almost immediately after moving in last November. He has done most of the work alone with a little little help from his dad and Mike. Every paycheck he makes a little more progress, and I am looking forward to the day when it is finally finished. Here are some pics to track the happenings in the downstairs...

This is the little storage area he created. To be honest, most of the stuff in this area is stuff we are saving for a garage sale this spring. I just love garage sales!

This picture shows the edge of the stairs coming downstairs from our dining room upstairs. The washer and dryer we got free from Mike's neighbors when they upgraded their own set- what a blessing! This area is connected to the little storage area in the picture above.

Of course Brandon had to build himself his own little work corner. At least I know where to put the crazy things he leaves laying around ; )

Then he had to install lights....lots of recessed lighting. The old fixture you can see in the corner now resides over in the storage space.

Then he had to install outlets and electrical switches to go with the lights- note the little blue boxes. If you peak down in the far corner you can see his projector screen already hanging up in the corner. We like it in this corner, so we can see it no matter where were are hanging out downstairs.

Then of course we needed an electric fireplace to keep us warm downstairs in the winter. In case you were wondering about the title of this post, I was referring to our LESLIE pictures already sitting on top of our new fireplace. My creative little sister, Kara, took pictures of random things that make the letters of our last name and gave them to us for Christmas. She came over last week and helped me frame them in frames I found half-off at Hobby Lobby. Once we get the stone work up behind the fireplace I will eventually hang them up on the wall. But for now, our unfinished basement has a little bit of decoration to spruce the place up!

Sewing Skills

Check out my sister's latest creation with the sewing machine...super cute if you ask me! And the white belt she has on she found at a resale shop here in St. Louis when she was visiting me : ) So here it is from the front:

And from the back:

I am guessing she sent me these pics from the school locker room at school after sewing class- silly girl. Just wait till you see her next creation; it is a dress she is going to wear to banquet. I went with her to pick out the fabric last weekend- vibrant pink and black knock-out pattern! The dress is going to be gorgeous, especially on her. I will be sure to post pics as soon as it is done...

Basketball Debut

My little sister is a junior in high school. She did some praying over the summer, and received a testimony that she was to switch from public to private school. The private school she goes to, CPRS, is extremly small. She went from a class of over 300 to a class of under 30! Because the school is small, they encourage everyone to play sports. My sis has always been an avid volleyball player, but somehow she got talked into trying out for the basketball team after volleyball season was over. She must be a natural athlete, cuz she turned out to be pretty good : )

Here she is shooting a basket in her last basketball game of the season today...she made this one too!
And here she is doing a little "boxing out"...go #25

I would never have had the courage to go out for a sport like this; she is so brave! Just because I like to brag on my little sis, I also would like to mention she got 200/200 on her first research paper...wahooo! I didn't write my first research paper till I was a senior; she is already passing me up.