Dog Olympic Podium

I am currently planning a Dog Olympics and Adopt-a-thon for work. We have a photographer from Walgreens coming to take pictures at the event and print them out for everyone right there. I love photo props, backdrops and costumes. I knew I had to have a three tiered Olympic podium for the dogs to stand on and have their picture taken. After sweet talking my husband into making them we got to work! They turned out GREAT!!!!

Of course i had to test them out with my dogs. I have only 2 dogs so I improvised. 

Orange table makeover

I was asked to paint and distress a table for a friend. He chose the colors to match his house.

From this:

To this:

This is the table before I distressed it and added the painted knobs. I love the distressed look and I think it makes a huge difference in a piece of furniture:

 This is how my friend used it in his house:

Cabinet Makeover

I bought this cabinet for $20 on craigslist.

The cabinet wasn't too bad as is but I thought the distressing on it made it look dingy and dirty. I sanded and repainted it. 

Shabby Chic Chair

I found this chair in someone's garbage (I swear I'm not a trash digger, I just keep my eye out for free furniture). 

After a very dusty sanding session I prepped the chair for painting. I had some random light pink paint I wanted to use. 

Before and after:

Burlap Wreath

I call this my "not quite summer and not quite fall" wreath.  I bought the burlap flowers from Hobby Lobby. They originally were napkin ring holders but I ripped the flower off the napkin ring (do people still use napkin rings??). I mod podged scrapbook paper on the letter. 

I have been struggling to make a nice bow with the burlap ribbon I have. I love burlap but its not the easiest material to work with because its a mess and it can fall apart. I bit the bullet and finally bought a bow maker from Michael's. It was $10 (I was irritated that I couldn't use a coupon because it was a "As Seen On TV" items. It doesn't come with the best instructions but YouTube has some excellent tutorials. 

Boat Oar Makeover

 

My husband pulled these old boat oars out of the shed to toss into the trash. I quickly rescued them for my next project. I started out using my electric sander to sand off the dirt, mildew and whatever else had made a home on these oars. 

With a little paint, sandpaper, and blue painters tape I turned these old oars into adorable shabby chic coastal decorations.

 

I love having an assortment of paint colors on hand but I hate paying $12 for a quart of paint. I recently discovered that Lowes can give you a 7.5 oz sample of any paint color for only $3!  It's the perfect amount of paint for small projects like this. 

From left to right: sea sage, tropical oasis, bird song blue, peaceful slumber 

Fancy Clipboard

Supplies: scrapbook paper, glossy mod podge, scissors, paint brush

 Trace the clipboard on the 12x12 paper. Cut. The clipboard will be a little longer than the paper. 

Coat the clipboard with mod podge, lay paper on the clipboard. I used an old credit card to smooth down the paper and get any creases out. Coat the paper with more mod podge. 

Once it dries trim off any excess paper. I tied ribbon scraps on the "clip" part of the board. Make sure to burn the ends of the ribbon to avoid fraying. All done!!!!