Tip Tuesday

Ok, ever since I started this little blog, it seems like everywhere I go, I have friends and other people giving me these great ideas...ranging from money saving to fashion to just general household tips.  So, I've decided to take these great ideas and turn them into a new weekly posting called "Tip Tuesday." 

Today's tip comes from my friend from church, Kelley.  She has 3 little ones and a 4th on the way...she is one busy momma! 

TIP : Use kitchen shears almost anytime you need to cut anything in the kitchen.  Whether it's salad, chopping up food for little ones, meat,  or cutting up fresh herbs...these simple kitchen item can save you so much time!

So next time you are about to drag out the cutting board and big ol' butcher knife, reevaluate and see if you can save yourself a little time by using your shears.

OK...if you have a GREAT tip that you want to be feature on Tip Tuesday....email me or message me on Facebook {PLEASE don't post it on the 23 Design Co. Facebook wall!}.  Maybe someday if this blog is ever big and famous, I'll send out a prize to the weekly tip contributor, but for now, you can just have the joy that a couple hundred people are reading your tip and hopefully saving themselves so money and time! : )

FURNITURE FACELIFT : : Armoire

It is finally finished and waiting to be delivered!  I'm so excited to show you how awesome this piece turned out!

Here are the steps I took to complete this project...

1.  Checked out local thrift stores and Craig's List {like non-stop for a few days : ) } till I came across this...called on it and got it the same day.  For more info about Craig's List "how to" click here.

2. Got it home, took out the drawers & hardware and sanded {it was in really good condition with no cobwebs, dust, etc.}.

sanded really well where the hardware was because of the indentations left

3. Prepare to paint...wiped down the entire sanded piece with a damp cloth and used Frog Tape to tape off areas I didn't want paint.

4.  Prime all areas that were being painted with OIL-BASED primer.  I use a roller on all areas that are big enough to roll...if you use a good quality roller, it leaves you with a brush mark-free finish.

 

make sure you are more careful than i was with the oil-based primer...this stuff sticks good!! {this was like after 3 showers}

5. Paint two light coats. ( I use the roller here too where ever I can).  Let it dry completely between coats and do a gentle all over sanding before the next coat.

6.  Finish with a clear gloss water-based  polyurethane.  The water-based version prevents the white paint from yellowing.  I did two light coats of this.

7.  Install new hardware...I bought mine from Ebay.  Since I needed 14 of them, the $1 price tag for the same thing I could get at Home Depot or Lowe's for $3 and up was well worth it!

Sad to see this piece leave, but so excited with how it has turned out!  What do you think???

Painted floors

{ via }

I don't think I've ever been accused of being a purist when it comes to keeping wood in it's natural state.  Don't get me wrong...when done right, it can be more beautiful than any color of paint...BUT there are so many fun ways to spruce up those wood {or even concrete} floors with a can of paint.  So, with my disclaimer put out there...here are some of my favorite ways of to do just that.

{ via }

{ via }

{via }

{ via }

Add caption

{ via }

Isn't that detail in the last one unbelieveable?! I love how depending on this is done, it can make a space look modern and streamlined or even comfy and cottage-like.  The top one done in black is my favorite...what's yours?

Another busy weekend & more projects!

We are coming off yet another insanely busy weekend in this house...but I'm not complaining..it was fun, spent with family and friends, and productive!

Saturday started with a morning at the soccer fields and then on to a birthday party in the afternoon and the evening brought a new experience for us...we attended a Catholic service to support my daughter's best friend taking her first communion.  It was definitely a different experience for us {we were both raised Baptist}, but it was neat to see some of their traditions and practices and we wouldn't have missed this special day for the world!  My girls are little envious of the gift I made for their friend {maybe I'll have to make them their own soon : ) }...what do y'all think?

I made this on my computer and had it printed at Fed Ex on some thick cardstock...it was definitely a fun, new challenge for me going about it this way!  Don't you love the font?  It's called 

I downloaded it here.  Can't a font make all the difference in the world?  I couldn't find a frame that was exactly what I wanted {fun girl and her cute purple room} so I took matters into my own hands for that too...found a somewhat ornate frame and painted it myself to match.  I'm thinking this isn't going to be the last project like this... : )
I've also got my hands tied up in a little project for another friend...she needed a dresser for her teenage daughter and after a week or two of looking in our local thrift stores and on Craig's List, I found something I am thrilled with...in fact I told her that it's fine if she didn't like it because I wouldn't mind keeping it for myself! ; )  I'll show you the before and I'm hoping to have this project wrapped up by the weekend....

I've already ordered some new knobs {not sure if I've mentioned this, but Ebay is a great place to get hardware...so cheap!} and it's going to be sanded down and painted.  I'm so excited about it! My sweet husband is so patient to deal with all my projects in that garage...I'm embarrassed to say how much I've got in there right now lined up for me to work on. ; )

Hope you had a happy Monday...I may be the only person in Texas who enjoyed this cold, rainy, barely 50 degree day...maybe because I know it's the calm before the storm {and by storm I mean insanely hot summer ; ) }.  

Encourage ~ free printable!

We are studying a book in our Wednesday Bible Study about the tongue...I'm telling you, it's been week after week of being convicted.  Us girls and our big mouths is just a recipe for disaster!  Tonight was my turn to lead and I really enjoyed spending the extra time this week studying how to use my tongue for good.  One way we studied was to encourage others...this is such an easy thing to do and it doesn't take much time, but if you are like me, it's just not at the top of the priority list often enough.  My goal is to find ways to make 2 people's day brighter and while it doesn't always happen, it sure keeps me more accountable to have a goal.

I printed these off for our group tonight and thought I'd share them with y'all.  You know my love for chevron and I think gray and yellow is such a happy color combo so I thought I'd put all that prettiness to good use to help remind us all to encourage someone today!

{click here}

 Who will you encourage today?

Top 5 : : Date night

I don't know about you, but I LOVE date night.  I wish we could have a date night every weekend, but our schedule and budget doesn't quite allow for that, but we do try and make it happen as much as possible!  Our date nights used to be so predictable...dinner, movie or mall and always Barnes & Noble.  Hot and sexy, huh? :)   Actually, I still love that go-to date, but recently we've been trying to mix it up a bit and it has been SO fun!  Here goes....

1.  Stay in and cook together.  For a while this did not seem too fun...I mean do what I do every night for 6 people and it's supposed to be romantic?!  BUT if done right, it can be a low-key, enjoyable night in.  Find a new, fun recipe like this one we recently tried {Trey actually cooked this one for me for our anniversary!}.  If your husband is new to the cooking scene...be patient and give it time, he'll catch on quicker than you probably think.  This is a great thing to do especially after a busy week of being on the go.

2.  Tennis/Raquetball.  I always get my butt kicked...always.  But I always have fun playing.  Now that our kids are a little older we can take them and let them play on one court and us have another court...so that almost counts as a date. : )  We've played on our own too and it's just great to be outside & having a little healthy competition {if you can call it that}.

3.  Dressing up and hitting the town.  Sometimes it's just fun to get all dolled up and do something special.  This isn't really my thing to do all the time, but I enjoy being able to really celebrate a special occasion  this way.  For my birthday last year, we went to Wolfgang Puck's restaurant at the top of Reunion Tower in Dallas and it was amazing!

It's that tower with the ball on top that you see in every Dallas skyline pic : )

All dressed up ;) I'm not sure where the pics of us while we were out went...

4. Try something new.  Last time we tried out a place here in Dallas called Top Golf.  We had a couple coupons for it so if it was a total bomb, not too much was lost. ; )  It's kind of Par 3 golf game...almost bowling style.  Trey is a pretty good golfer, but I have hardly played since we've been married.  It was a blast and we will definitely be going back!  Being able to try out new things and being ok if the actual activity ends up not really being your thing is part of the fun of it! Maybe it's time to give bowling, shooting or laser tag a try...I know I'm up for the challenge!

5. The go-to date.  It might be routine, but I love it.  A lot of times we get out the coupon book and try a new restaurant which helps keep things fun.  And as long as we end up in Barnes & Noble by the end of the night, I know it'll will be a good time.  There's not much better than the one you love, coffee, and books about whatever your heart desires {for the record, his are sports and fitness and mine are decorating books}.

Maybe my list seems boring to you....SO, I'd love to hear YOUR ideas!  What do you do when your time has come to get out of the house for the night? 

Easter shopping

I know I showed this photo yesterday, but I thought I'd tell you about my Easter clothes shopping this year.  This is the first year I haven't just gone out in the Spring sometimes and found matching outfits for all the kids.  I found it piece by piece {all at amazing prices} since last fall. After reading this book, I am so glad I did it this way...saving money on things like this has allowed us to be able to give more freely when we've seen needs....still have a lot to work to do in this area though so I am in no means patting myself on the back! ; )

It all started when I found Saylor's {on the far left} dress.  It is a Lilly Pulitzer similar to this, but I found it at Salvation Army while furniture shopping for under $5.  I don't like to be a clothes snob {and don't think I am normally, I'll wear whatever as long as I like it}, but sometimes you just can't deny the quality of something...this dress is gorgeous and is definitely going to be passed down to Addison!  Nothing says spring like Lilly Pulitzer so it was a perfect place to start.

Addison's {the baby} dress was found that same day.  It is a Ralph Lauren and the strap was broken on it...so I kindly asked the clerk to take a percentage off and he didn't...but then threw it in the bag {FOR FREE}.  So, yeah, that was one of my luckier shopping trips. ; )

I found Maggie's dress at Once Upon a Child {one of my fave places here in DFW not only to shop for my kids, but to make money on their outgrown clothes and toys}.  It is a swiss dot {I don't think I've talked about my love for swiss dot, but I love it...especially in white!} from Old Navy...i'm guessing I paid about $6 or $7 for it.  She was the only one that needed new church shoes and I picked those up at Once Upon A Child too...brand new Gap sandals for $4.50!

Tag is wearing some hand-me-downs...shorts from Crazy 8's and a white Ralph Lauren oxford I picked up somewhere a while back for cheap.

My clothes are a mix of old and new...Express skirt found for $2 at the best thrift store ever {it's called ARC and it's up by mom in Colorado...great clothes, great prices, and great cause!}, pink ruffle tank picked up at Marshalls last summer for $5, and my gray cardi I wore the day I graduated high school. : )  My shoes I got for Mother's Day last year from Ross....they are Aerosoles {crazy, huh?} and so comfy.  I wear them every time I get a chance!  I picked up my pearl necklace at Forever 21 and added a brooch I already had from Loft.

I hope I didn't bore y'all with these details...maybe I'm the only one that gets excited when I can clothe a family of 6 for as cheap as I did yesterday and make it look like we did NOT just walk out of the Salvation Army! ; )  I think I spent less than $20 on Easter outfits {not including what we already had}.  So exciting to me that it already that has allowed me to be more generous in ways I couldn't have other Easters.

I'll probably be talking more about that book I mentioned above...it's kinda one of those life changers. I'm so excited about how it's changed my perspective on pretty much everything and can't wait to share!