DIY Trunk Coffee Table

I was at a yard sale earlier this summer and spotted this old rusty trunk! I asked the lady how much it was and she said, how about $2.00? yes please! I had been wanting to make a coffee table for the new house and thought this would be perfect. 

I cleaned it up using an SOS pad and tried to get as much of the rust off as I could. I then painted a couple coats of white on it and my hubby helped me add these legs we picked up at Home Depot for around $2.00 each.

We also picked up a piece of 1/2" plywood and cut it to fit the top of the table. The cushions were a yard sale find but you can find them in the fabric section of your craft store. I hot glued the cushions to the plywood so it would stick when I turned it over to add the fabric.

I forgot to get a picture of putting the fabric on, but I flipped the plywood over and stapled the fabric to the bottom of it. The fabric is muslin I got at Wal-Mart. It was about $3.00 a yard.

 Here is the after!

I love how it turned out and can't wait to get it into our new home!!

Rustic Porch Pillow

At the new house we have a small front porch. I wanted a cute pillow to set on the bench I'm going to put out there. I had seen this phrase, "Welcome to our neck of the woods" on a pillow on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect for a our new little place!

My friend Jordan told me how to do this first step and it worked great. Create your phrase in a word processor on the computer. Print it out and  since burlap is see through, just lay it under the fabric and trace the letters with paint. I pinned the fabric to the paper to make sure it was secure while painting.

After you've got your painting done, let it dry (use a hair dryer if you're really excited about this project and impatient like me) and then finish sewing and stuffing your pillow.

I had gotten several bags of this twinkle fluff after Christmas for under $1.00 a bag! Much cheaper than poly-fil and works great for stuffing pillows.

It's definitely not perfect, but I love how it turned out! And since I already had all the materials at home, it cost me nothing to make!

I can't wait until we are able to start moving our stuff over in a few weeks so I can set this little guy out!

Our New Home - The Story

Proverbs 16:9 - The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

We always knew we wanted to move out to the country, but thought it would still be several years down the road after a couple kids and having saved up a lot more. On Easter, my father- in -law took Derrick and I to see some land he and my mother- in- law were interested in building on. After seeing it, We FELL IN LOVE! 16 acres with a 6 acre pond... it's gorgeous!

There happened to be a two bedroom house already on the 16 acre property. Since my in laws wanted to build a new home anyway, we decided we could share the land with them and the little house would be perfect for us! After much prayer and talking it over we decided to put an offer in and they accepted! 

There is ALOT of work that needs done on the house both inside and outside, but there are so many things we love about it too! It has a huge double sided fireplace that faces both the living room and soon to be kitchen/dining area. This is probably our favorite part of the house. :)

 And, we of course love the 6 acre pond!!  We also found a line of blackberry bushes along the dam the other day. I can't wait until they are ready to pick!

 

Looking back over the past year it is so clear now that God was preparing us for this. From finances to trying to start a family and not yet being able to, to everything seeming to just fall into place with purchasing and renovating this house, it's so obvious that God's hand has been in all of this. When we delight in him and TOTALLY trusted his timing and his will for our lives, we received this perfect, unexpected blessing. I am so thankful he loves us and knows the desires of our heart.

We closed on our new home today and I absolutely can't wait to start working! Almost the entire inside is going to be renovated including adding a third bedroom, second bath and laundry room! The next month or two until the house is ready to move in are going to be full of updates and DIY projects...so stay tuned! 

World Travel Date Night: France

I am loving these dates we have planned for each month! It's so fun planning them and of course, actually getting to have some fun quality time with my hubby!

We got a little behind and missed last month's date, so we're having two this month! First we went on a French picnic!

  Picnic Food: French bread, dipping oil, cheese, crackers, summer sausage, fresh fruit and sparkling grape juice. 

It would be fun to try a bunch of fancy cheeses or wine, but I just used what I already had at home. Here is a yummy looking recipe for a French dessert too. Might have to try these next time! :)

We took our picnic dinner to a nearby lake, it was a beautiful view! After eating, we went for a swim. It was a perfect summer date night!

For more Travel the World Date Nights, check the "Date Ideas" page at the top of the blog.

Be sure to stay tuned for our next date to the Caribbean!

My Best Friend Got Hitched!

About three years ago this cute couple started attending our church small group.We instantly began hanging out during church activities such as Trunk or Treat.

 Emily and I then joined an accountability group with a couple other girls and got to know each other even better.

Soon we started hanging out a lot more.We had crafty days and spent lots of time hanging out with our guys on the weekends having bonfires and game nights.

After spending a short time getting to know Emily & Josh, they quickly became some of our best friends! We were so excited when they asked us to be a bridesmaid and groomsman in their wedding! 

This past weekend we had the privilege of standing beside them as they declared their love to each other in front of family and friends.

Emily, I am so blessed to call you a best friend. You are one of the most caring, giving and fun people I know. Your love for life and others is something I greatly admire. Derrick and I have truly enjoyed getting to watch both of you grow in your love for Jesus and each other the past couple of years we have known you. Thank you for allowing us to take part in your wedding and in your lives. We love you!!

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As well as being a bridesmaid, I also go to help decorate with some of my Thrifty 31 Rentals pieces.

Here is a photo booth I set up using our 6ft ladders, burlap and lace backdrop and chalkboards.

We used our wood slices as part of the centerpieces. 

Shepherd hooks lined the aisle with flowers and ribbon. This is my favorite picture of them so far. Don't they look so happy?! :)

Our vintage bed frame , burlap runner  and various other crates and baskets filled with flowers made the perfect alter backdrop.

I am so excited to see the photos the photographer took of our rentals and of the rest of their day!

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A shout out to Jordan at LilyWhite.Designs  who made the bride's dress from her mom's original wedding dress and also the bridesmaid dresses! They all turned out so cute!

Easy Crescent Roll Pizzas

I was planning to make homemade pizza for dinner the other night but when it came time to start making the dough I just wasn't feeling it. Sometimes you just need something quick and easy. I looked through the fridge to see what else I had and saw a can of crescent rolls. I thought it would make the perfect pizza crust and it did! 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Unroll dough and separate into 4 rectangles.

2. Add your pizza sauce, cheese and toppings. We used tomato, basil and bits of bacon. (If using bacon, cook it in a skillet first and then crumble to make your bits)

3. Bake for about 13 minutes and serve up with a side of salad.

Kitchen Table Makeover & Some Helpful Tips

Like I always say, it's impossible for me to keep things around my house the same very long. This is the second time I've made over this kitchen table, but I really love how it turned out so intend to keep it this way for a long time...at least my husband hopes so! lol

When we first got it handed down to us it was this really dark green color and didn't match the colors I chose for the kitchen.

A friend helped me repaint the chairs and table legs a couple of summers ago. I really liked how much it brightened up the kitchen, but still wasn't a big fan of the stain color.

So...a couple years later I finally got the courage to paint the whole thing! I decided to go all white which made me a little hesitant at first. Now that it's done though, we really like it! I love how fresh and clean it looks!

Here are a couple tips if you decide to redo your kitchen table:

- Use a good sander! I started sanding by hand and it was taking forever! Luckily our small group leader graciously let me borrow his power sander and it made things a lot easier. You want to make sure you sand it really well so the paint will stick well and go on evenly. If you decide to stain the top instead of paint, be sure to sand all the way down to the bare wood before starting your new stain color!

- Be sure to seal the top of your table well. Kitchen tables are used daily and get a lot of use. You want to make sure it will last. I think I put 4 coats on this but you may want to do a couple more if you think it needs it.

- When sealing, you can either use polyurethane or polycyclic. Lesson learned from this project: use POLYCYCLIC when sealing over white paint. I started with polyurethane since that's what I already had and it left the top a yellow tint. After some research I found that Polycyclic is water based instead of oil based and it goes on crystal clear! So after resanding again, repainting and a trip to Home Depot for some Polycyclic, I finally had the table finished! 

If you have any other questions about this project feel free to ask! Have a great Thursday!