I Could Make That

The latest Ballard Designs landed in my mail box this week.  As part of my ritual, I set it aside until I have a few quiet minutes to sit down and enjoy every page.  Just as I do every time I look through the beautifully filled pages and think to myself "so nice, so pricey".  And then after flipping through every page I start all over from the beginning and think to myself "oh I could make that...oh I could make that too".  So this time around I thought why not share all those "I could make that"'s with MD readers!

If I had an empty to do list I would also make each of these "I could make that" projects and show you how, but my to do list is huge right now and lucky for me there are fabulously wonderful bloggers out there who have already done all the leg work.  So here is my "I could make that" list from the May Ballard Designs catalog and some great how-to's so you can do this stuff yourself!   


The first thing that caught my eye was this lovely chevron stripe rug.




For the 5'3" x 7'7" size they are kindly requesting $99 which isn't horrible but they 7'10" x 10'10" size goes up to a whopping $229.  But lucky for us The House of Smiths to the rescue!  This awesome step-by-step will show you exactly how to paint your own rug and turn an inexpensive Ikea rug into your very own chevron style.  Check it out here!


The next thing that caught my eye was the center green graphic lamp shade below.  (Sorry, Ballard is testy about which pics can be copied so this one will have to do.)


OK, pause please...I seem to be on a graphic kick, but you just can't stop your heart when it pulls you to decor :)  So the smallest shade starts at $49 and they go up to $79.  That is more then I want to spend on an entire lamp, let alone the shade!!!!  So thank goodness I found 2 totally great tutorials.  I just couldn't pick which one to share so I thought I would share them both!  The first is how I have seen this done many times so I think it is a safe bet, but the second was just so darn creative it had to be included.

So either follow Crafty Nest and outline your pattern with painters tape and paint away.


 


Or get really creative and follow Bon Temps Beignet fabulous tracing idea and create this...




WOW, right?!?!?

Next up let me address the topic of message boards, aka chalkboards, bulletin boards, cork boards, I think you get it.  Don't Buy Them!!!  Please!!!  Yes, Ballard Designs has some nice ones



but they are on sale for $299.  YES I SAID $299! I can't even figure out if that is for one or all of them but who cares, I still said $299!!!!  Please don't people, you can make these!  And here are a whole bunch of quick tutorials so you can get to work:

~ B Spoke Blog
~ Young House Love
~ Centsational Girl
~ The Happy Housewife
~ Apartment Therapy

For $149 you too could have the Bordeaux Table Lamp which I do love, minus the price tag.



So I did a little searching and found a pretty simple tutorial on ehow.com, which makes turning a glass jar into a vase look pretty simple.  Now I will say I am a little nervous about the idea of drilling a hole into the bottom of a glass jar, but the way they quickly passed that off in step 3 makes me hopeful that it would be a simple step.  And I love the idea of coloring the glass using paint and water!




And my final find where these Mr. & Mrs. Burlap Pillows.

These babies are 59 buckaroos.  Eeek!  Instead just read through this post from Tatertots & Jello on how to paint fabric using some fun Martha Stewart products and you could create any pattern or word on any fabric you want and then simply sew them into pillows.  I bet you could also buy some already made pillows you love and use a stencil, paint and fabric medium and create the same look for much less.

So let me know when you try some of these out.  I would love to see what you create!  Or have you re-created any other Ballard Designs designs?  I would love to see those too!

A Top Ten List For You

The painting in the dining room has finally begun.  I mean seriously...who took so long!  The room started out the week looking like this

and one nap at a time the walls are being taken over by Benjamin Moore's Bunny Gray.  Here is a peek at the progress.

So once the walls are all bunny ready the next step in the process can commence.  Oh but you will have to just wait and see on that one.  I have to have some secrets!  But in the mean time I thought I would share a personal top ten list just to see how many of you out there can relate

 You Know You Spend To Much Time Painting...


10. when your friend says "nice new hair color" and you say "oh no, that is just my living room color".


9. when your garage is mistaken for a paint store by the new neighbor.


8. when you dog's favorite place to sleep is on the drop cloth.


7. when you consider "cutting in" something everyone should try once, like sushi or working retail.


6. when you walk into your local hardware store and they say "Hi Jill, need more paint today".


5. when your utility sink looks like a rainbow of fruit flavors.


4. when hiring a professional painter is something you always want to do but would never actually do. 


3. when you find yourself having a conversation with your favorite Purdy angle brush.


2. when you started calling Benjamin Moore "my bud Benny".


1. when you know you have only gotten started.