Holly Do. is Now on Etsy!

I'm excited to say that I have finally set-up Holly Do. on Etsy!  I have been wanting to do this for awhile now but I just kept on putting it off.   I found these Halloween trick or treat bags in my stash the other day so I took some pictures and put them for sale in my store.

I made my first trick or treat bag for my son when he was 2. 

 He is now 8 and still uses it every Halloween. 

 These bags are made with felt and lined with a cotton print.  Perfect to hold lots of candy and treats.  The bag folds up nicely to store after the candy is all gone!!

If you are interested purchasing a bag just click here.

*Holly Paint*

So I know my last post was promising a makeover of my son's room. Well, remember when I wrote that my husband was making a bunk bed because we are in the foster/adopt program so we wanted to be prepared when we had a placement? Well...we are excited to say that a little boy has come to live with us which means it is taking me a little longer to finish the room! This means I'm now working on painting a crib, a bigger dresser and a few other ideas. 

 I will post pictures as soon as I'm done. 

 In the mean time here are a few pictures of some before and afters that I finished a few weeks ago.

 This nightstand was sitting on the curb waiting for the garbage truck to pick it up.  I liked the columns on the side so I knew with some paint and updated it knobs it had some potential.

I picked up this small dresser at a garage sale.  I liked the size because it can be used as a dresser or a nightstand.  I painted it light turquoise and lightly distressed.  I found some clear acrylic flower knobs that added a little fun to the piece. 

 I picked up this sad looking dresser at a local thrift store.  I can never pass up a solid wood dresser and it has keyholes too. 

 If only it had the key!!

I  It was painted antique white and the top was stained dark walnut.

This cute little cabinet was given to me from a client...

Thanks Charlotte!! 

I haven't painted anything pink for awhile but I just felt like it needed a "girly" makeover.  I painted it a light pink, distressed lightly and sprayed the knob white.  

I'm going to be looking for more pieces like this one!

*Holly's Life*

If you follow me on Pinterest you would notice that I have been pinning a lot of ideas for my son's room.  He is now 8 years old and is ready for a more grown-up room.  

We (or I should say I persuaded him) decided on gray, orange and navy for the colors.  My inspiration came from this room from It All Started with Paint.  I am using navy instead of black. 

He is dying to have a bunk bed so he can sleep on a top bunk.  We have decided to make a loft bed in the style of this one.  This will allow for a dresser to go underneath and he can still have his top bunk.  As some of you may know we are hoping to adopt a child/ren so my husband is going to make the bed so that, if needed, we can add a bed underneath to make a L-shape bunk bed.   

My son's room has a boring white ceiling fan so I am hoping to do something like this with gray chevron stripes.

Source:  Design Sponge

And finally, I have been eyeing these shelves made from pipe and plank wood... so I definitely will be putting these in his room too.  

The room has already been painted now it is time to get to  work on the fun part...decorating!!

Source:  Brick House

*Holly Paint*

I've been having fun painting a lot of different pieces these past few weeks. Here is a few more completed pieces....

 This Waterfall style nightstand was on the side of the road ready for a trip to the dump when my husband stopped and picked it up for me!  Better than flowers any day...he knows me well!

I painted it antique off-white, distressed and sealed with wax.  The handle is from Anthropologie.

This chair has been stored in my garage for awhile now and I finally pulled it out and gave it a coat of black paint.  I distressed it lightly and sealed with polyacrylic.  

I then rummaged through my fabric stash and came up with the

 Ruffle Pillow for the chair.

I found these matching End Tables at a garage sale this summer.  Once again a coat of black paint and poly acrylic for protection.  

I had a client ask me to keep my eyes open for a headboard and dresser for her bedroom.  

She wanted something that would be painted white and shabby.

When I came across this headboard on Craiglist I was so excited because it had amazing potential.  It also was a part of a whole set: Armoire, Dresser and 2 Nightstands.  

I was hoping the dresser would work for my client but it is too big...but I'm going to use it in my bedroom (So Excited!!).  

Here it is all painted white and distressed. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the carving detail.  Can't wait to get my hands on the dresser...I'm thinking I might go turquoise!!

I just love old furniture!  I think the lady who was selling this set thought I was crazy to like this old bedroom set...if only she could see it now!

*Holly Paint*

I've been working on a few smaller pieces of furniture these past couple of weeks. 

I found this table awhile ago and knew I wanted to add some character to it.  So I went with turquoise and a chevron stripe.  

This nightstand was so ugly when I found it a thrift store.  I painted it a light turquoise and added the pink flowered paper on the back. 

This set of french provincial nightstands are a rare find!  They are painted a pearl white and lightly distressed.  This set is going home with client who bought the matching dresser awhile back.

This cabinet is going to make a great new nightstand for a young client who is going away to college.

She wanted something modern and fun.  

So I kept the outside simple, classic white...

but added "fun" with a pop of color inside the cabinet and drawer. 

Now, I'm off for a full day of painting!  

On my to-do list:

Black matching end tables

Black chair 

Shabby Chic Headboard

and who knows what else I will pull out to paint!

*Holly Paint*

When I found this vanity I knew that I would need to find some fun handles to give this piece some character.  

While out shopping one day I found some greenish-blue knobs that were perfect for this pieces. 

I painted the vanity pearl white, lightly distressed it and then sealed it with wax. 

Here is a close-up of the greenish-blue knobs. 

I paired the vanity with a stool and mirror that I had in my collection of stuff!  I painted the mirror and stool a greenish-blue first so it would show through when it was distressed.  I wanted to pull in the color of the knobs...so this did the trick.

*Wedding*

What a fun day we had yesterday as we celebrated the marriage of our good friends. 

My husband and I got to spend Father's Day together doing our favorite things...

bar-b-que and desserts!

A fun sign....inspiration from Love Is... blog

This cute little cake top was made by the couple!

 The Bride and Groom each choose their own cupcake flavor and a favorite cookie.  The Bride wanted Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting and Russian Tea Cakes.  The Groom asked for Haystack cookies and a Coffee Flavored Cupcake.  I was having a hard time coming up with an idea for the coffee cupcake without using chocolate.  After some research I found a Brown Sugar Cupcake recipe and made a Coffee Buttercream.  But to make it just a little bit better I filled the  middle with homemade Caramel Sauce...so good!

 P.S.  Thank you to my brother who made the caramel sauce...he is a dessert chef so he knows what he is doing!

 

My husband made this amazing cupcake tower for me.  I came to him with this idea and he made it even better.  The cupcake stand can have tiers removed/added to make any size of stand needed for my dessert buffets.  The couple wanted the poles to be purple but I wanted to be able to re-use this stand so I didn't want to paint them.  Then I thought to myself "Why not sew fabric tubes that can be interchangeable for all color schemes?"  Worked Perfectly!!

The Dessert Buffet

Gotta love my husband who was willing to pack up my kitchen table!

 The only thing I would like to do differently is have a back drop so you don't see all the "extra" stuff in the background.

Oh...I also would have had a little less wind I was so scared the tower was going to tumble over...scary!

My husbands huge b-b-q.

 He designed and made that thing himself!  

And in honor of Father's Day let me tell you a little bit about this guy. 

 He can make, fix, build and do just about anything that my crazy mind thinks up.  He has a degree in engineering and a general's contractors licenses and a mind that goes a mile a minute.  Because of these abilities (and great patients with me and my picky-ness) he is able to put up with me and my ever changing design ideas.

He also is a great Dad...who I think has officially inspired my 8 year old son to want to be a b-b-q chef! 

 Without him Holly Do. would not be possible.