Painted herringbone coffee table

August 3, 2017 by 9 Comments

Hello friends!

I seem to be on a find-dated-furniture-and-paint-it-every-color-you-love kick the last few weeks.

But a solid piece of furniture that needs a facelift is so hard to pass up!

That may have something to do with the shrinking space to park my car in the garage, but that’s for another day.

Today we are PAINTING. And giving a sad, dated coffee table a new lease on life.

You can see the potential already but right now this coffee table is not-so-fabulous. YET!

This little gem was a Facebook find and while she was solid, the oak-ey finish was not going to work any longer.

Here is the before…..kind of sad.  BUT! I will show you how I took this tired coffee table…

 

 

And breathed some new life into her with paint! Here is the after, and next I will show you how I did it: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Decorating, DIY, Thrifty Finds Tagged With: , , ,

DIY geometric painted brick vase

July 27, 2017 by 8 Comments

 

I am so not ready for Fall.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

I do love Fall, and Fall decorating and thrifty Fall crafts, but before I am ready for PUMPKIN EVERYTHING I need some more summer.

This week I popped into JoAnn’s and saw this pretty faux bloom in soft pinks and tan with a touch of gold.  It was in with their Fall decor.  I held my breath by the cinnamon pinecones to protect myself from a full Fall takeover, grabbed my loot and headed home.

I wanted to do something pretty with this fluffy faux rose and it made me think of how pretty something soft like this looks with something more edgy or utilitarian.

Like a brick. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Craft Ideas, Decorating, DIY Tagged With: , , ,

Cheapskate chic outdoor living room reveal!

July 16, 2017 by 16 Comments


How to make a patio table twelveOeight 

I cannot tell you how beyond excited I am about how our Outdoor Living Room turned out!!

Enter a squeal and a giant happy dance, and that is a start.

This space has been a project that has evolved over the span of three summers, and each summer we have accomplished a bit more.

But this year was more of the frosting on the cake, the super fun decorating part.

With life and bills and budgets, I knew I could not lose my ever loving mind out here and spend a small fortune on everything new.

And I really didn’t want to, I wanted our covered patio to have a warm eclectic vibe like the inside of our house.  And I didn’t want it to look like a showroom floor at our local outdoor furniture store.

Trust me, at times I wanted to as the weeks went on and I didn’t think the time spent scouring our local thrift stores and a neighborhood curbside find would happen and payoff.  The patience, elbow grease and some paint paid off! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cheapskate chic, Decorating, DIY Tagged With: , ,

Early spring flowers DIY

February 14, 2017 by 2 Comments

spring flower craft #spring #diy #craft #springdecor #twelveOeight #diywedding #budgetwedding

 

We have had a long winter for the Pacific Northwest, and I don’t know about you, but I am SO ready for Spring.

Everything coming to life, longer days, more sun and those first signs of blooms, little buds on the trees and beautiful blooms saying hello after so many months of being tucked away in the cold.

We have been noticing our days are a bit longer and enjoying a bit more daylight after 5pm than in weeks prior, another sign Spring surely can’t be too far behind.

 

Spring decorating #flowers #diy #knockoff #spring #wedding

 

I wanted to make something that was bright and pretty for my kitchen (but I will probably move it 10 more times) and as I looked at what I had on hand I found pretty pale orange, white and peach blooms along with a pretty green-blue ribbon I have had for a while.

I wasn’t sure what to use for a container and since we recycle and reuse much of what we buy I saw these two cans and thought they would make perfect vases.

A bit of flat white spray paint, some hot glue to secure the ribbon on the back of each can, and some moss tucked down to hold the flowers in place. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Decorating, DIY, Spring decor

6 pretty home trends you will love for 2017

January 8, 2017 by Leave a Comment

2017-design-trend-collage

The Portland area has a wonderful mini blanket of snow this weekend topped by some dangerous ice that is keeping my inside enjoying my coffee and fireplace today.

So I have to admit, while I like to keep up on trends, my home is an eclectic mix of what I love.  A mish mash of farmhouse/boho/and lots of painted furniture.

I have forecasted trends that you may remember, most not brag-worthy but still worth mention:

  1. The Bomber jacket.  Long before Top Gun this girl rocked a leather bomber jacket.  It was not because I was cool or saw into the future, we lived in Minneapolis and my Step-dad had a sweet leather jacket from being overseas.  And it was really cold, the jacket kept me warm, more function than style.
  2. Skinny jeans. Any of you “peg” your jeans when you were younger perhaps? Then you nailed that trend long before it was mainstream.  We were soooooo cool.
  3. Ok last one, spray paint.  I spray painted all of my furniture and accessories forever before spray paint was cool.   I was a single mom trying to make her house look amazing on a zero budget so again, not about style as much as revamping what I had to last a little longer.  Funny thing some things stick as I am sure I have 75+ different colors and kinds of spray paint.  That is another day.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Decorating, DIY, Modern Decor

5 thrifty to ways to breathe new life into your home right now

November 7, 2016 by 5 Comments

farmhouse-style-decor-farmhouse-diy-upcyle-painted-furniture-twelveoeight

Since returning to work full time, I have found that more than ever my home is the warm nest I look forward to returning to each day after work.

And while I don’t have the time to accomplish large projects in the evenings and on weekends, I can little things on a regular basis that add up to something wonderful.

None of us have unlimited time or resources to have a perfect home.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Decorating, DIY, Farmhouse Style Tagged With: , ,

hand stamped clementine tea towel

January 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment

 

 

Clementine Tea Towel #howtohandstamp #diypaint #teatowel #twelveoeight

 

 

This time of year I find myself buying boxes and boxes of these sweet, petite little orange like gems.

The kids gobble them up and we just cannot seem to get enough of them.

Having said that, the massive consumption of them around our house inspired this diy hand stamped tea towel so long after they are out of season we can enjoy how pretty they are as well.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: craft, Decorating, DIY, Thrifty Living

chalkboard globe + be mine banner

January 4, 2016 by 1 Comment

You may remember this globe from my Christmas 2014 tour.  

Be Mine Banner and Chalkboard Globe #valentine #diy #twelveoeight

I knew I wanted to use it again, and it has moved, and moved again multiple times but not been right.

Do you do that too? Keep tweaking and moving things? I am not sure if it falls under some sort of condition (especially coupled with the need to stop at thrift stores VERY often!) or just a love of fluffing our nests.

Either way, I have regretted many things I got rid of and few that I have kept.  So there she sat.

Chalkboard globe and Be Mine Valentine Banner #twelveOeight #diy #banner #chalkboard #paint #Valentine

 

I pulled out some craft supplies a few nights ago and looked at the pale pink glitter and pink and white striped letters I just found at Jo-Ann’s recently (all for $1.00 each too, perfect January prices!)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: craft, Decorating, DIY, Valentine's Day

hello 2016 + my fave things from 2015

January 2, 2016 by 2 Comments

hello 2016.

The past year has in many ways gone by so incredibly fast.  

My kids are taller, we’re all a year older.

I closed a painful chapter in my life and walked into a healthy, new life that I love.

I met a wonderful man & a best friend that would change my life forever.

I had zero time to blog, but I have a job I love, and I am trying to eek out time to begin blogging again because I feel like part of me is missing when I don’t write.

I think the part of the year that I love the most, is looking back and seeing God work things out.

In the quiet times when we have no idea how an impossible situation will be resolved.

In noisy times where we just need five minutes to ourselves so we don’t feel crazy.

In the painful moments where it doesn’t feel like hurt could ever be healed.

He has shown up and handled it.  Handled it when I could not, and gone before me not to pave a perfect straight road, but to remind me that He’s got this and I am His daughter.

And I have learned that I can survive those tough times that are no fun, and really appreciate the seasons of quiet.  That is new for me because I fee like I’ve always been in a hurry to get to the next thing.

 

I used to make a New Year’s Resolution each year, or choose a word.  

I have decided to put zero pressure on myself and just enjoy having another year, more time and living a peaceful (yet crazy/loud/busy) life with my family.

Here are a few things I loved working on this year, and I hope this finds you blessed, at peace, and seeing the good.  Because it is everywhere and wants us to find it.

No matter what.

So here we go, a new year, and some of my favorite stuff from last year….

 

All You Need Is Love Free Printable twelveOeightblog.com #loveprintable #allyouneedislove #freeprintable #valentine #twelveOeightblog

love is all you need free printable 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Being happy, Blogging, craft, Decorating, DIY, home decor, How to paint furniture, my style

DIY Boho Chic Firewood Holder

October 8, 2015 by 2 Comments

 

DIY Navajo Style Firewood Holder #twelveOeight #diy #Navajo #firewood #bohostyle

 

 

I recently cleaned out about 85% of my garage.

Y’all it was kind of scary.

And cathartic.

And I don’t need to go hunting for cool stuff to upcycle for a while since I had my own thrift store already and didn’t know it!

It has been a monkey on my back forever, and it’s SO much better.  Just a little more to do and it will be neat and I will know exactly where everything is.  A far cry from 30 days ago.  For real.  I could have been on an A & E show for people that cannot throw things away, or stop shopping 2nd hand.

Or both 🙂

But, I sure am glad I found a nice stack of stuff to work on, because when I came across this pleather storage cube without a lid, I could not imagine what I would do with no lid.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Boho Style, Decorating, DIY, home decor, Thrifty Living
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