Swapping Roundup

After last week's DIY thrift shopping extravaganza, #swapitlikeitshot, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite projects from the other participants. Corinna from A Designer at Home successfully channeled Anthropologie with her wood beaded pendant light.  The wood beads themselves are my favorite part!

Sometimes a simple spray paint transformation can make a world of a difference.  I loved the wood antelope that Alice from Thoughts from Alice received, but her gold/copper ombre treatment gave it such a wow factor!

I admit, I wasn't a basket fan growing up.  They seemed so cutesy country (maybe it was the blue bows all over them at the time...), but I'm a total convert as I realize their usefulness is never ending.  Melissa from Polished Habitat succeeded at giving a basic basket a modern punch.  Wouldn't this be the cutest with a fiddle leaf fig tree peeking out the top?  (and I heart her background!!)

And there's a reason that Charlotte at Ciburbanity is the queen bee organizer of this swap- she always pulls out some awesome projects and naturally didn't disappoint this time around!  Somehow she saw a kitschy candle holder and envisioned on trend woven wall art.  Kudos!

I love being a part of this fun event, connecting with the other bloggers and seeing how they can re-envision the weird, wacky, and sometimes extraordinarily mundane objects into something completely unexpected!

Did you pop around to all the other #swapitlikeitshot DIY posts?  What was your favorite??

5 Years, a Pineapple, & a Giveaway!

5 years ago today I wrote this little blog post about how I was going to push myself out of my comfort zone and put myself out there even if I was just talking to myself.  Somehow, along the way, something pretty magical happened and I'm not just talking to myself or my family.  I can't thank you guys enough for coming back week after week, checking out my flips, my projects, and my random tangents! To commemorate 5 Years of Serendipity (pun intended), one of you guys is getting a present!

Everyone needs a pineapple.  Have you noticed they're kind of a thing these days?  Pineapples are the new foxes.

So when I saw this little gem at the thrift store, I couldn't pass it up!  This petite pineapple bowl is the perfect size for your keys in your entryway, your jewelry on your nightstand, or just a pretty little catch-all.

Naturally it needed a bit of pizzazz, though.  It was cute to start, but everything could use a pop of color and a bit of shimmer, no?

With a little bit of frog tape, spray paint, and liquid gold leaf, now one of you will have a very fancy pineapple.

Enter to win this zazzy little guy below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for 5 years of your support and love!  Here's to many more!

Let’s Get Catty- part 2

I established yesterday that my office wouldn't be complete without a DIY cat perch.  But what kind of crazy cat lady would I be if I didn't also provide a cat perch cushion??

I wanted to add a little bit of padding, that could also be cleanable.  I had fabric waiting in the wings for an upholstery project in another room that I had extra of that I thought would be just perfect.  Enough pattern to be interesting, but subtle enough to become more of a texture.  It has a nice little metallic gold fleck in it without being annoyingly glitzy.  I'm planning some bold shades in here so I don't want the fabrics to compete.

(fabric and image via Tonic Living)

I started by tracing the cat perch onto several layers of quilt batting, then using that as a template to cut my fabric.

In order to end up with the batting in the middle of the 2 pieces of fabric, you need to layer them into a weird sandwich before pinning it all together: fabric face up, fabric face down, and the batting on top.

Pin all 3 layers together before sewing.  (please excuse the cutting board- it's been with me since college and we've bonded, but he's seen better days...)

Be sure to leave an almost 6" gap unsewn on one side to allow you to flip it right side out.  I left my gap on the long straight side, since that would be facing the window.  After sewing, pull your corners through the gap until your cushion is starting to look more like, well, a cushion.

Once your cushion is all right side out and straightened out, it's time to sew up the gap.  I use a hand sewing blind stitch that my mom taught me when I was a wee lass, but instead of trying to explain it myself, YouTube exists.  How to sew a blind stitch.

I could have just left the cushion here, but I wanted to add one more level of interest.

I sewed a simple stitch with my machine a few inches in on all sides to create a border.

But the real test here was the kitten test.  After bringing Daisy in to give the cushion a try, she debated a moment then made herself right at home.

Then completely melted.

I'd consider that a win.

It's a pretty good bet that one of the cat's is hanging out here- we call it Master Kitty Theater.  Looking out the window is like tv for cats.  Those birds out there provide lots of drama.

Even the ladybug that's been flying around my office for the past week is making herself at home on the new cushion.

And that my dears is proof that cat furniture doesn't have to hurt your retinas.  For another pleasingly stylish cat accessory, check out Designlovefest's DIY cat bed.  So adorable!  We're on a mission to eradicate ugly cat furniture once and for all!