Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Come Fly With Me, Let's Fly, Let's Fly Away...

 {Bad Durkheim, Germany}

Seriously, you guys...I want to invite you to join me on Instagram, so you can come along on my journeys around the world with me, and see things through my eyes! Click here to join me!  I have way more photos on Instagram than I do in my blog and I also share the little things that I find amusing and that inspire me on a daily basis. Here are a few of them! 
{Metz, France}
{Metz, France}

{Heidelberg, Germany}

{Starbucks,  Heidelberg}

{Venice, Italy}

{Bologna, Italy}

{Heidelberg, Germany}

{German Wine Route}

{The Castle right near our home!}

{German Wine Route}

{Kusel, Germany}

{Kusel, Germany}

{Heidelberg, Germany}

{Bad Durkheim, Germany}

{Bad Durkheim, Germany}



{Colmar, France}

{Bad Durkheim, Germany}




{Sparkles dancing on our dining room walls!}


I hope you will join me!! xo


Monday, June 17, 2013

Ridiculously Easy {DIY} Aged Finishes


Anything can look better with a coat of paint and a little bit of elbow grease. In fact, when you are out thrifting, try to look at the shape or form of the piece you are looking at and not the color or the finish. If the shape of it is awesome, maybe all it needs is a little freshen up with a little bit of paint! 
(Disclaimer: Pardon my Pictures... they were taken a while back before I really cared about photography)
I wanted to show you a little trick that I use to create an aged finish. I will show you how I created the aged silver finish on the frames in the picture above, for my client's dining room, and how I gave a plain terra-cotta pot in the picture below a schnazzy new look!

To do the frames, I found a bunch of random mis-matched frames for a great deal at Ross and Marshall's. 

I spray painted them with a rad silver paint, like the one below...

Find a really junky part of your yard (that you haven't bothered to rake)... and spray there.

Mix a little bit of black paint with a drizzle of water and mix... I enjoy mixing up a cocktail while I am mixing this solution. 

Grab an old rag or paper towel, dip in the paint mixture (not your cocktail) and wipe the frames with it. After a few seconds wipe frame again with a paint-free dry rag or paper towel.

The black paint will stay in the crevices and will give the silver an aged look.

Like so...


You can finish it off with a coat of polyurethane....

...and get to hanging! 

To give my dippy-looking, little pot a make-over, I painted it with white spray paint (in the same messy part of the yard).

Then rubbed the same watered down black paint on the pot. The paint will absorb quickly on the pot so you may want to water it down even more. 

Next, I created a watered down metallic solution and rubbed it gently on the pot over the black antiqued finish. 

Here it is in its final state!

What are you planning on making over???`









Wednesday, June 12, 2013

{DIY} From Frumpy Beasts to Golden Beauties


 Golden beasts have become quite a staple in modern decor lately and I JUST LOVE IT! I really feel like they make your home feel as though it's not taking itself too seriously. I have been wanting some dinosaurs to add to my decor, but have had a hard time finding some cheap-o, plastic ones in Germany ... What I did find were these dark and frumpy creatures below...
I took these drab looking animals and blinged them up in minutes with some handy-dandy Rub'n Buff. This stuff is awesome you guys... You can redo frames, furniture, anything and it takes very little of the stuff to get the job done. It can be found at most craft stores and they have a ton of finish options.

(photo taken by unknown source)

After the beasts dramatic makeover, you can find these guys moving around our home getting into things. They bring a smile to my face...
 Here is Mr. hippo keeping toasty on our mantle and you can find Ellie the elephant blowing out sweet messages...

In the evenings, they point to what kind of cocktail I should make...

 And sometimes you can even find them trying on some jewelry. They have gotten kind of cocky now that they are all shimmering and lovely.

I love my new little friends, they are quite unexpected and I like that about them. What have you used Rub'n Buff on? Have you given something a make-over recently?? To see other Rub'n Buff transformations, click here
Peace out yo!




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