I bought a can of Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint by Rustoleum because I've heard it works great and wanted to give it a try. Here is my first whirl with it on a thrift store lamp:

This is really easy and inexpensive wreath. You can use white, brown or white dyed in your choice of color coffee filters. I added gold craft paint to the ends when they were still in packaged form.

I will be doing a series of posts wrapped around the trimwork transformation taking place at our home these next couple of weeks. We built our home about a year ago, but did not get much done as far as trim... or paint. I just couldn't stand the blank white (antique white) walls EVERYWHERE. Plus, none of our doorways and windows were cased out. A lot of builder's are doing this to save $$, but there is nothing like trimwork to finish off a home and give it a custom look. So I convinced the hubs to undergo this project with me. I thought about doing it myself, but a number of factors led us to hiring a pro...and I'm glad we did because I'm learning a lot! Enough to take on trim in other areas of the home :)

Here are a series of project progress pictures (say that five times fast!), we'll just call it "before and after part 1" (click on any picture to enlarge):

The Culen's Established 2008

I'm always amazed at what odds and ends I find at the dollar store. The quality is never the greatest, BUT you get what you pay for and you can always turn it into something better. Take these pumpkins, at the dollar store these little fellas looked like this:

I found this little number at The Salvation Army for $4.50!! A small price to pay for some extra storage. Right?! Not sure where I wanted to put it, I grabbed it anyways to try out a distressing technique.

First I removed all the hardware and the outdated feet, then sanded it down with my palm sander.  I added new feet with the leftover 2x1 trim from my framing project. After wiping away all the saw dust I sprayed the whole thing with Rustoleum Espresso Brown. When that dried I brushed on Lowes Deep Cowslip 6, a mute mustard fall color. All I needed was a sample size for under $3. For the second coat I added some clear glaze to the paint to give it a smoother finish. When that dried I sanded down the edges to have some of the Espresso Brown show through and give it that aged distressed look. Then I smeared on Mocha glaze, which you can find in the faux paint section at Lowes, and wiped it off almost immediately. Let some settle on the edges and crevices.

Finally, I coated the whole piece with some wipe on poly and added new hardware. This was intended to be a nightstand, but I decide on putting it in my kitchen. I don’t know anyone that can’t use a few extra “junk drawers”! Let's see the before and after once more:


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I found this idea over at Thrifty Décor Chick. All you need is a wooden pumpkin ($1.50) and a piece of scrap booking paper ($.50). Use spray adhesive to attach it and cut it out with an exacto knife. I added ribbon and $1 seasonal floral from Michael’s. I also traced the inside with black permanent marker so the light wood would not stand out. Great for door knobs, banister’s or hallway hooks.

Linking up with DIY SHOW OFF FALL FEST