The Famous Guillotine Bar.

      This is the famous Guillotine bar and this is our beautiful Patti pouring every one a mimosa.

I will not say how the bar got its name but it does leave the mind to wonder! My husband and I found the gazebo on sale and thought I wonder if this will be easy? They are hard to put together and thanks to the Charleston Rugby Team for helping us lift it on to the beams. The flooring was pavers I had bought from a previous project and I painted them black and white.

We have used this bar for many of family functions, garden parties, wedding and baby showers. Yes we just give the expecting mother a virgin drink! The Guillotine sign I made from a pine board I purchased from the local store. First I put brown and black paint in places, then went over it with a bar of soap. The white paint is painted over this. When the paint is dry take sand paper and go over the places you put soap on, and the underneath paint will show through. Using a large stencil and black paint I put the letters on. After the letters were dry, I went back with the sand paper and went lightly around the letters so they would appear to be worn.

The bar itself my husband Michael made out of 2x4 and metal roofing. The top was made out of old  pine we had from the house when we renovated.  The black and white curtains I made and put on pvc pipe. After doing this project I found a better idea from our friends Bob and Corinne . They have a beautiful pool and pool house that Bob built. Corinne made the curtains out of painters drop cloth and Bob made the rods out of metal pipe.

This wonderful old sink was a gift from my cousin Deloris, I love it! Michael built a holder for the sink to match the bar. It holds wine, beer and assorted drinks.

                         I use this tub in it for small party's and the sink itself for a larger crowd.

 

We have this great little stove that was passed down to us that we use for heat in the winter and cooking all year round. We just use our cast iron pots and frying pans and place on the top burner.

Having the round table right outside the bar is so nice for dinner and just sitting and relaxing.

The lighting is a small chandelier Amanda found at the local home store on the mark down rack.

 

This cute little owl showed up one day, and what a surprise! I ran to get my camera and was worried he would not be there when I came back. He stayed about two weeks and then he was gone. Looking on pinterest I have found plans for building an owl house. ( I am putting it on the list !)

Reidi's Room Fit For A Princess!

Reidi is my grand daughter and the only girl with 3 brothers.  She is so pretty with her beautiful dark hair and radiant smile. She has a gift in arts and crafts and never ceases to amaze me with her painting. When decorating this room, my daughter Cassie picked out the comforter first and used that to draw inspiration from.

                         The fabulous bed is a heirloom that has been past down from generation to generation.



 

The cabinet was a piece my daughter found and was not sure how it would turn out, but the gray paint was a perfect shade to bring out the wall paper and soften the brighter colors.

The Turquoise end tables were a find off Craig's list and painted this marvelous color.  The mirror was a piece I found at a garage sale and did a fun decoupage on. It needed to be whimsical like her room and be a play on color!

 

Using fun magazine pictures and wrapping paper I had a wonderful time with this project.

 

Multi purpose glue was used to paste the pictures on and then I painted over with a decoupage to give it a finished look that would last.

 

You could even use a child's old book that was no longer useful to get pictures for this project.

 

 

 The curtain treatment is one of my favorite things. Cassie wanted something sheer but still wanted color so she came up with the idea of sewing the fabric to the top of the sheer curtain. This is a very inexpensive idea because sheers are found at your second hand stores and you do not need much fabric.

 

To give Reidi privacy a roman shade was installed . The striped pink and white added a little fun to the room along with the colorful piping fringe. This shade is an easy project that I will cover in an up coming blog.

 

 

The wall paper was put only on one wall. This is a wonderful way to give an extra pop to a room with out spending a lot of money. The chair was a garbage find that was painted to match end tables then  covered in the same  fabric to match the roman shade.( When adding color try to bring it in three times to bring the room together.) The pink fringe was a nice embellishment  to polish off the look. Cassie enlarged one of Reidi's pictures from the beach and put it in a black frame, this gives the room a personal touch.

The wallpaper chandelier adds a whimsical touch and complements the perfume collection Reidi has started.

Working in cosmetics for many years has had its advantages. Over the years I have collected many miniature perfume bottles so I have enjoyed passing a lot on to Reidi.

 

                I love the vintage pins that were added for display in the little pink china dish.

 

 

This is another small group of her perfume colection on this vintage tray.

 

 

The turquoise tooling was added for the bed skirt. Tooling is very inexpensive and how can you pass it up if you are decorating for a cute little girl!

 

Thank you Reidi for letting Ya Ya show your wonderful turquoise and pink room.I love you the big wide world!!

Putting A Wrap On Amanda's Kitchen!

Amanda loves vintage so she wanted to keep the flow to the other side of the kitchen.

 



We started with painting the wall a salmon peach color that matched the stenciled backsplash. There is no stencil added to this side of the kitchen because it would be too busy with the bright fiesta dishware display.

Amanda's kitchen needed a little more space so she came up with the idea of shelves. Buying brackets can become pricey so the only solution would be to make them.

Using 8' 1x2, my husband Michael cut 2 straight 8" and 1- 45* angle pieces to make each bracket. (this is achieved by using a chop saw and putting it on the 45* angle.)

 

 

 

We needed 8 brackets so we cut 8 45* angle and 16 straight pieces to make our brackets.

 

 

The top of the shelves were cut on a 45* angle and Amanda painted them before they were installed.

 

 

 

We used fasteners to hold the mitered edge together, then we caulked and painted to give it a polished look.

 

 

Using a level to make sure the shelves are straight we then used screws to install. Make sure to drill small holes first, so the screws will not split the wood.  The 1x2 on the under side was added to give extra support since Amanda wanted to use bowls and dishes in this space. We measured in between the brackets and cut each of the pieces to fit.

 

 

Here we have added her favorite Ikea metal racks and baskets. This is the stage we caulked and finished painting the shelves. The cart to the left my husband Michael made to hold her microwave oven and cook books. The top of the shelf will give her aid in food preparation.

 

 

This 100 plus year old wood was the inspiration for the top of the cabinet. Good old 2x4's were used to make the sides. We started to put an old window in for the door but soon realized it would not let the microwave fit in properly.

 

This is the finished product of the cart from the frontal view. It's a wonderful place for the microwave and saves counter space. 

 

 

 

 

 This is the side view of the cart with a replica of an old towel rack that was placed on the front.
All that was needed for the beautiful wood top was a stain and a varnish.

 

Amanda's collection of fiestaware is perfect for display and practical use.

Thank you for stopping in, see you again soon.

Summer Is For Porches

If you live in the South, a porch is a great place to entertain. Most people would say it was even a necessity.

 I like to sit and watch my grandkids swing on the front swing. Every year I revamp my yard and porch in some new way...

The wicker chairs and swing I have had for a long time. I am always saying the only reason they have lasted so long is that 100 layers of paint hold them together! The chair on the right has been covered 33 times (I've counted)and each time I cover over the old. I like to see all the different fabrics I have used over the years. My coffee table was a present my husband did for me out of a 100 year old beam.(Love it!)

The English flag pillow I made out of a linen towel that my daughter bought for me from an antique store. The little black cast iron candle holder is a special memento from our friends Chris and Faith given away on their wedding day.

Baby, my little corgie, wanted to be the door greeter for the day. The wreath on the door is my Mothers Day present from my daughter Cassie. She made it with burlap and star fish. (Love it!)

The shades I made along with the pillows in the black and white stripe. Just make a roman shade to fit the with of the opening. The shades are stapled on to a 1x2 and screwed directly into the top. I can let them down for privacy or up to catch the breeze.

This is Mr. Pots. Sometimes when I come up with an idea my husband just roles his eyes and I say oh just think what the grand kids will say! (in reality he thinks I am the kid)

According to my son in law's mother, every one needs a fairy garden. Laurie you are right, they make you smile. Laurie has some of the cutest fairy gardens you have ever seen.

Thank you for stopping in and please come again!