Painted Gift Wrap

I know I said we would have a big reveal today, but it looks like it will be one more day until we can move it inside and give it a proper welcome with my camera. So today I'm just going to chat about gift wrap! I don't think of myself as crafty, but I do like to get creative now and then especially when it saves me some money. My girl Shire and I are heading up north for a bridal shower this weekend and we had fun finding a gift yesterday. I was about to drop nearly $10 on some beautiful wrapping paper and ribbon, but decided to pocket my cash and see what we had at home.

If you're like me, you have a rather large stash, probably several years old, of wrapping paper. We're talking baby girl shower paper, baby boy shower paper, birthday girl paper, birthday boy paper, and don't even get me started on how many rolls of old Christmas paper I have. Ridiculous! However, aesthetics are everything to me which is why it's difficult to pass up beautiful gift wrap. You could give me some old shoelaces but if they are wrapped beautifully I couldn't care less. So, when I got home yesterday and saw that I had nothing appropriate for a bridal shower, I pulled out a roll that was solid white on the other side and a few more supplies that I have stashed from previous projects:

Stencils, acrylic paint, paint markers, heart cookie cutter, and twine

I wrapped the gift in the white side of the orange polkadot gift wrap, then started making some hearts in purple, the brides main wedding color, using the cookie cutter and the purple paint marker.

Then I used the acrylic paint and stensils to add some more design around the hearts, wrapped the pretty package with twine and voila! Custom made gift wrap!

I realize some of my supplies aren't normal things to just 'have around', but they're inexpensive investments that will pay for themselves when you don't have to purchase gift wrap anymore! (For Christmas gift wrap this year I may just use my Christmas cookie cutters of a snowman, angel, star, Christmas tree and bell!)

Tomorrow, I promise, we'll have a fun reveal :) Thanks for reading!

Geometric Table, Check!

Wednesdays are always fun for us here at Chelsea's Garage- it's the only morning I do not go to the gym! We typically go to a playgroup with some friends, but on this particular day we had to miss out on the fun to do some shopping!

Luckilly, my crew does not mind the car!

Today we drove about an hour, round trip, just to pick up some of this:

Heard of it? Apparently it's all the craze. Soon, I'll be showing you my first piece with chalk paint and I'll let you know if the drive, (and moolah), was worth it!

The main project for today was working on this geometric side table with awesome potential!

A little 'Bayou' paint took it from this:

to this...

and finally, this!

It is now available for sale so if you like what you see, let me know!

This one is for you, Husband. Thanks for lending me the hat, not that you had a choice ;) Go Eagles!

Thank you for stopping by! Tomorrow we'll reveal a finished piece that we've been working on for the past week so be sure to check back in!

Oldies but Goodies

Happy Valentine's Day out there! Love is in the air here at Chelsea's Garage, though I didn't spend very much time in the Garage today! I spend most of my afternoon in the Kitchen preparing a delicious dessert for Husband and I to enjoy after the kids went to bed. While the Kitchen is about as familiar to me as a foreign land, we have discovered that I have a hidden talent: I can make a darn good yellow cake with vanilla buttercream frosting all from scratch. Today was my second go with it and this time around I added fresh cut strawberries between the 2 layers of cake. It tasted like a delicious wedding cake with strawberry filling!

Since I didn't do very much in the garage today I thought I would show you some fun before and after pictures of several pieces from the past year. Most of these have gone on to new homes but each one holds a special place in my heart as I learn something new with each piece.

Small Console Table

Two Shelf Pedestal Table

Two Drawer Nightstand with Shelf

Pine Indoor/Outdoor Bench (still available, email if interested)

Long Buffet with Three Drawers, Two Shelves

I hope you have had a wonderful Valentine's Day and thanks for stopping by!



A Grande Opening in a garage!

This past Saturday I opened my garage door to a DREAM!

 Since I was put on bedrest while pregnant with my twins, (now 2 years old), I have been wanting to refinish furniture. At the time I devoured all that I could about the process, proper tools, technique and more. When we moved to our first single family home after 5 years of apartments, I finally had a workspace...but I was pregnant again with our third, (a HUGE surprise to us). I collected pieces and painted when I could, but I really began to work after the birth of my son. I sold pieces on craigslist as I finished them. The response after my postings was always huge! I kept thinking, it would be great to see a bunch of finished pieces together. So, I stopped selling on craigslist and started setting my finished pieces aside in the garage until the space simply couldn't hold anymore. My original plan was to open my garage for it's first sale in the spring when the weather is warmer, but after a string of 50-60 degree days and a garage which was full of finished furniture, I figured why not February?!

Well, here's why: It snowed! Of all days!!!!

Oh well, it was a great little dress rehearsal for our garage for when the weather is warmer. I LOVE how the space turned out - so lovely and cozy.

I pulled out a bunch of lamps from our home and used those to light the space. Vanilla scented candles added an inviting aroma and hot apple cider was served to all of our dear guests who braved the frigid weather. The sale didn't see as many guests as I was hoping for, but I can't blame people for staying inside on such a sleepy wintery day! Here is a link to my remaining items!

http://s1051.photobucket.com/albums/s438/cfbieber/

 If you see something you'd like please let me know so we can figure out how to get it to you! I am hoping to empty my garage out very soon of the remaining pieces so I can work on some custom orders as well as pieces for the next sale, date tbd.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope to show you a couple of good before and after pictures later this week ;)