Hey Girl! Valentine Linky Party!

What a fab idea! Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" Link Party featuring hubbys, kids dogs whatever! Thanks to Michelle at Decor and the Dog, Chelsea at Two Twenty One, Bliss at Bliss Ranch, Ashley at Domestic Imperfection and Kelly at View Along the Way.

Hubs is gonna kill me But I just HAD to get in on the Hey Girl Linky Party!

I love my guy - he is definitely a good sport and lets me do whatever I want in our house! So XOXO to him!

So fun and funny! What a great idea for a Link Party girls! Click over and visit at Michelle at Decor and the Dog, Chelsea at Two Twenty One, Bliss at Bliss Ranch, Ashley at Domestic Imperfection and Kelly at View Along the Way for tons of hysterical Hey Girls!

Old junk is now new junk!

Mostly I am a purger! If I am not actively using something or it doesn't get used a couple times a year I get rid of it! The only exceptions are my china and silver (which I have probably only used once!) and my wedding dress! I think when we moved a few years ago it cured me of compulsively saving. Or maybe watching Hoarders did...?
But every once in a while I save something because I just have a feeling. Does anyone else ever do this? I am praying at least one or two of you are saying "Sure!". Anyway, we received some wine as a gift from one of my hub's clients one Christmas. I saved the wooden box it came in. In our old house I used it on top of our kitchen cabinets as a riser for some decorative plates or something.

 I like the box itself, especially the little knothole in the front there.

The top just slides out. I never really liked that stag on the top. It just looks, I don't know, a little too huntsman for me. (And yes, those peeps in the bowl were my snack while I did this project! At least I shared the first two rows with my kids!) And the wood is just plain, unfinished. Too "new" looking for me.

I took the lid off and grabbed my Minwax Early American Wood Finish to give it a little color. I gave it 2 coats and let those dry.
We got both a bottle of red and a bottle of white in this box.

So there was a little divider in the middle. I went back and forth about whether to leave that in or not. I stained it along with the rest... And THEN decided I didn't want it in there. So I removed that. Not as easy as it sounds. That sucker was in there tight!
Now. Where to put my new "vintage" wine box?!

I had this little arrangement on a wine buffet in the kitchen. That owl is just my favorite little accessory right now. Owls are SO popular right now. And mercury glass. This one is just TOO cute! Guess where I got him. GUESS!!! HA! Walmart! Love!

Just so friggin' cute!
My little boxwood came from my favorite store, HomeGoods.

Do they look cuter in there? Hmmm. I'm still deciding. (That is our bulletin board on the wall. Where I keep our family calendar, schedules and misc papers). Oh. I also took a Sharpie marker and colored in the letters to darken them up a bit. I' so glad I saved it. Even if I don't keep it in this spot!

Maybe I will turn the top over, hide that deer and make a cute sign too!

A new life for dated decor

Here is another really easy way to update some old decor! Why waste money on new things if you can re-vamp old?
This was my first time trying this method so I was very interested to see how this was going to work out!

I had a old set of decorative pots I got probably 12 years ago from who knows where. Maybe Home Goods since I get SO many things from there. I was over the garden theme and they were sitting on a shelf in my laundry room nested with the original design turned towards the wall. See the original below!

The Growing Bulbs pot was the only one I had not painted before I remembered to take pictures! The other two are painted over with - what else - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old Ochre. You can still see some of the original design underneath if you look close. That was with one coat. After I put on a second coat it was completely covered. I could have stopped there. They looked just fine repainted in this creamy off white.

But I really wanted to try this print transfer technique I had pinned from HERE . I ran into a little bit of a problem, but overall it worked pretty well. In a nutshell, you print out your graphic (I got mine from The Graphics Fairy HERE .) as a reverse print from your printer. Then use ModgePodge to attach the graphic to your pot. Let it dry COMPLETELY. Then wet the image (I used a damp sponge) and carefully roll the wet paper away with your finger.
Now I had a little problem with my ink smudging some. I may have over worked it. Or not let it dry long enough. But it still looks great and it just kind of adds to the vintage feel, in my opinion. Or at least that's what I am telling myself!

I will have to try it again and see if I have the same problem. Such a cool idea though!
I went ahead and spread the love on the other 2 pots and did them both differently. I went back to the trusty old Sharpie technique on the No. 15 pot. I don't love it though because it is just too dark and bold. I may need to dry brush some paint over the top to tone it down some.

The France pot got a stencil. I knew the paint would run a bit and give it a messier look which I like better. But the transfer method won hands down! So I will need to perfect that! Who knew how handy the printer could be! And now I have some "new" containers to hold art supplies in!