Freebie: September 2012 Printable Calendar

Oh my September is knocking on our doors! I hate to see Summer go but I’m very excited for Fall. The change of seasons in New England is beautiful and I’ve always been a ‘jeans and hoodie’ kinda girl so bring on the cooler weather. And did I mention that in 10 days my boys will be in school? I’m ridiculously excited and sad at the same time. This is normal right? Well, hopefully while the kiddos are working on their 3 R’s mama will be working on hers: Recuperate, Refresh & Re-organize! Lord knows I need it.

To help get back into the swing of things I’ve got my handy-dandy printable calendar up and ready to go.

Up first a simple black & white calendar:

Download

DIY, Furniture, Projects

Aug 28, 2012

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Ladder Back Chair – Another Piece to my Dining Room Puzzle

I have great luck when it comes to chairs. I always seem to find them on the cheap. This ladder back chair was $6.99 and I was lucky enough to snag 2!

The chairs are structurally sound and the rush seating is pretty close to perfect other than a thick layer of dust.

Dining Room, DIY, Projects

Aug 22, 2012

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Lighting on a (tight) Budget: DIY Drum Shade

Last week I introduced you to Ella, my lil’ vintage dresser. In my excitement to show her off I neglected to mention that Ella has made herself at home in our dining room. She will be storing all our extra dinner & party wares! Thank you Ella we needed the extra storage.

Now onto my lighting dilemma…pretty boring and generic right? I’ve been dying to replace this baby for a long time.

I recently discovered Barn Electric and Vintage Barn Lighting. I’ve fallen in love with their fixtures and while their lighting seems to be reasonably priced I just don’t have the extra cash to replace my fixtures yet. So for now I’m pinning my faves with the hopes I’ll be able to replace my dining AND kitchen lighting after the New Year. *fingers crossed*

OK so back to my boring light fixture and that tight budget. I Googled ‘DIY light fixtures‘ and was pleasantly surprised with all the cool alternatives! After reviewing my options and narrowing down the candidates my choice was obvious…DIY Drum Shade. There are quite a few drum shade tutorials online so I won’t go into too much detail; just visit a few of the sites I linked .

First, I removed the glass cups and hung the chains that will be holding my drum shade in place.

Here is my previously assembled shade made from a wooden quilt hoop and poster board.

I used binder clips to hold the fabric in place before and after hot-gluing.

And here it is in place, covering that shameful looking chandelier. Major improvement.

Project cost breakdown:

23″ Wooden Quilt Hoop (on sale) $3.59
2 Poster boards $1.00
Fabric: $6.00
5 pack S-Hooks $1.18
Thin steel chain $1.80
Eye hooks (already had on hand)

Total: $13.57

Updated lighting for under $15…priceless! I LOVE the new shade and the impact it’s made in the room.

Up next…more chairs!