Scrap Cards

 I have been trying to downsize the amount of scrapbook stuff I have in my room.  I recently moved into a new place and don't have a ton of storage like I used to.  I have a lot of birthdays, going away parties and other celebrations coming up and have a lot of cards that I need to send people.  Cards these days are like $4-5 a pop so I decided to use some of my old scrapbook paper scraps to make cards.  Hopefully you like them!  Most all of my paper is from either Hobby Lobby or Michaels.  

Refurbished Night Stand

I found this night stand at a Goodwill 50% off sale for about $10. Pretty worn out; some of the knobs were broken.

Decided to paint chevron stripes on the top. I put the stripes on with blue painters tape. I just eyeballed the stripes and how I wanted them angled. 

I painted the entire night stand with Annie Sloan's Old White chalk paint.

I then taped off the white chevron stripes with the blue painters tape so that I could paint the alternating stripes.

Painted the alternating stripes with Annie Sloan's Paris Grey chalk paint. 

Finished chevron stripes and white base of night stand.

Painted the drawers Paris Grey as well and added different knobs from Hobby Lobby.

Inspiration from Made By Girl's blog.

Inspiration from Michaela Noelle Designs' blog.

Port Douglas Faves

1 | Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas - Beautiful, yet dangerous! Many jelly fish, string rays and other posinous sea creatures in these waters. You can see the roped off area in the water that was for swimming!

2 | Wallabies (the cutest things ever) - Loved feeding these little guys at all of the zoos we went to! Tried to sneak one home but security took it! JK

3 | Plant Life - The flowers, plants and trees in Port were just gorgeous! So many exotic types and they were beautiful. 

4 | Seafood - So many different types of fish, mussels, clams, etc. in Port. Loved these clams! 

5 | Cape Tribulation - Where the rainforest meets the reef, aka most beautiful sight ever!

6 | Great Barrier Reef - This was by far my favorite part of the trip. Pictures do not do justice to what my eyes saw. The most gorgeous coral and fish I have ever seen and probably ever will! 

7 | Coral - Breath taking coral on one of our dives.

8 | Port Douglas Market - This was on a Sunday. So many different booths selling handmade things from AUS! I went home with a bracelet, purse, earrings, and a wallet! I also bought some natural juice from the market that was so good! 

9 | Ziplining in the Rainforest - Pretty much the coolest zipline experience I've ever had. We were so high up in the air! The views were incredible and you could see Cape Tribulation from some of the zips. 

10 | Sunrise - Port is one of the few places on earth where you can watch the sunrise and sunset all in the same day. This is a picture of sunrise - so gorgeous by the beach! 

Refurbished Dresser

So lately I have been into refurbishing furniture and fixing things up around my apartment. I love all the inspiration I find on Pinterest and other people's blogs. I found this dresser at an estate sale in Nashville. I believe the dresser was around $60 which is a bit high for a cheap old dreser, but I could see the potential it had, so I got it! 

Above is a before picture of the dreser. Fairly simple with five drawers and it also came with a mirror on top which I did not show in the pictures. 

I purchased this 32 fl oz can of Annie Sloan chalk paint at C'est Moi (little botique shop in Brentwood). I love the color Provence becuase it has a shabby chic feel to it and is also just a pretty color in general. 

I decided to paint the entire dresser with Annie Sloan's Old White chalk paint and paint the dressers with Annie Sloan's Provence. Annie's chalk paint is so easy to use. I have never used chalk paint before in my life and I now feel like an expert! I bought a few paint brushes at Lowe's and got to work! Make sure not to buy super cheap brushes, or the bristles will fall out. 

I did several coats of the Old White and several coats of the Provence on the drawers. I used a sanding block that I bought at Walmart to rough up the edges of the dresser and the drawers. I would recommend buying the 32 fl oz can if you have a lot to paint.  I bought 32 fl oz cans of both the Old White and the Provence because I knew I had other things in my aparment that I wanted to paint/redo. I used an old shower curtain to paint on - worked very nicely. 

One of my favorite parts of refurbishing this old dresser was buying the knobs. My cousin had told me that Hobby Lobby has a great variety of knobs so I went to check it out. I wasn't sure weather I was going to get all of the same knob or different types. After I got to the store and saw all of the neat knobs, I went a little buck wild and bought all different knobs. I bought some knobs and also some handles. I took one of the drawers to the store with me to make sure the knobs/handles would fit. Some of the handles they sell do not fit, so taking in a drawer would be a good idea. I also just so happened to get my knobs when they were 50% off. So make sure to go on half off day becuase otherwise these knobs can be a bit pricey. I bought all of my knobs/handles for this dresser for around $40 (that was the half off price). 

This bird knob was one of my favorites! Such a great variety of knobs/handles and other decorating items. I almost walked out of the store with a lamp and mirror but decided I needed to think more before I just purchased random items for my apartment! I have done a few other pieces since this dresser and hope to post them on here soon! 

Here is the final product! I was so surprised by how nicely the Provence chalk paint matched my curtains (curtains from Target). All of my handles are from Hobby Lobby. I would love to hear your feedback/advice on this project! More refurbished furniture coming soon!

Bella, bella

Me and Isabella

Had a wonderful weekend despite the 

rainy weather! Dog sat in Spring Hill for my aunt

 and uncle. Got to go hiking with some friends 

and hung out with family on Sunday. The pic above is 

of me and Isabella walking around some outdoor shops 

in Franklin. Isabella is almost 2 years old! She is so cute 

and wanted to hold my hand while we walked 

around. My cousin snapped this pic of us! Thanks Mo! 

Also a shout out to Mo- it is her birthday today! 

Happy Birthday Morgan!! 

Looking forward to celebrating on 

Wednesday together! Xo

Reason to Sing

This song is so comforting and reminds me that God has never left even though I am swimming around in this world of sin. Constantly on the go and being busy. He is constant and will always be with us. This song makes me feel like I'm walking back in the front door and coming home to my creator. His peace is a blanket over this crazy life we live in. Don't forget to take time to sit in silence and meditate on his word and listen to him. It is almost near impossible to sit still for that long. I know that my time with God is something I treasure greatly, yet don't get enough of it. Remember you will always make time for things that are most important to you. What do you always make time for? 

Smoky Mountain Getaway

Had a wonderful time last weekend in the Smoky Mountains with Inversion [young adult ministry at my church]. We stayed in really nice cabins on the edge of the mountains. The views were gorgeous. I love getting away from the everyday busyness of life and escaping into God's creation and just forgetting about everything that doesn't even matter! I had so much fun hiking and hanging out with wonderful friends and meeting new friends. I enjoyed hiking to some beautiful water falls and hiking up a rock cliff to get views over all of the Smokies. I definitely love living so close to the Smokies. I hope to go back a few times this fall with family and friends. We stayed at Black Bear Ridge Resort. Check it out here.