I've Moved!

Join me at the new address:

Studio27byJenniferAdams.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

Last Post & A Launch Party!

Hello, hello my wonderful readers!  Don't worry, this isn't my last post ever, just the final post at this particular address.  I've been working for several weeks now to rebrand under the new name:

Studio27byJenniferAdams

You can click here to hop on over and join me at the new site where I'm ready and waiting.  It's an internet launch party with digital cupcakes, confetti and a full explanation of why I'm tweaking the brand!

But in the meantime, I'll leave this blog with one final thrifting post.  Enjoy!

Cherub Statue

Originally white ceramic (and intended to be a soap dish) this cute little statue was $2 and received a gold spray paint makeover.

Milk Gass Bowls

This set of iridescent milk glass bowls was only $3.  I used a couple of them to serve snacks at a recent mermaid birthday party- post coming soon at the new address 😉

Large Canvas

This giant, blank canvas was under $20 and screaming my name.  It's already been painted of course and now contains a storybook like scene of the sky at twilight.

Golden Flatware

I found an entire bag of golden flatware for $9.  It didn't include what I consider a complete collection, but a girl's gotta start somewhere, right?

Bakery Candles

The little cupcake candles absolutely smell like real chocolate and I can't get enough of them, just walking by them smells great!  The cupcakes and cinnamon bun (scentless) candles together were $3.

Wall Mounted Shelves

Already painted gold and marked 'made in Italy', this set of shelves was only $5.

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Now that catches me up on the last few months of thrifting finds.  Don't forget to join me at
Studio27byJenniferAdams.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

Living Room Furniture Makeover

You might remember from last week's coffee table post that I mentioned restoring some furniture.  I was treasure hunting a couple of weeks ago when I found two pieces that would make great end tables for the living room.  One actually was an end table and the other a bookcase style shelf, which you'll see in a minute, but first I want to explain what prompted this whole endeavor.

When we were first married and living in a very small rental, we had an equally small loveseat couch.  It was the perfect size for the two of us, the two of us and a baby, the two of us a pre-schooler and another baby.....but then not so much.  The kids were getting too big and there was no way we could comfortably sit together anymore.  Plus, kids growing older means fewer larger plastic toys and so we find ourselves with a bit more living room space now anyway.

So when Husby found a nice couch at the thrift store (and thoroughly checked it out) he went ahead and brought it home.  It was darker in color than I would prefer, but a slipcover takes care of that problem easily.  I like that better anyway as now I can easily put the whole 'couch' through the laundry every couple of weeks or so, or in other words, as often as it gets covered in salsa....😄  Total cost for couch and slipcover: $70

After his success with the couch, Husby stumbled upon a large, barely used La-Z-Boy recliner.  At only $24, he went ahead and snapped up the chair too.

So now we had a couch and a chair, but no side tables.  I figured it was only a matter of time before I would check those items off of my list and actually found them both at the same garage sale.  Check it out:

Side Note:  I mentioned that Husby thoroughly checked out the sofa before making the purchase.  Anytime you are buying something used used, you want to check it out for obvious reasons, but especially items that can't go through a proper washing.  I have a list of things that I'll never buy used like socks, undies, etc but sometimes fabric covered furniture can be ok.  You want to check the item carefully for icky things like bugs, pet hair smells or questionable stains.  And when I say thoroughly, I mean under cushions, under the entire piece, behind the piece, etc.  Even when an item passes the cleanliness test, I still recommend cleaning it with a disinfectant like Lysol before it enters your home.

(You can click here to read more about the coffee table)

End Table

I liked this table right away for it's French style.  In fact, the legs, hardware and cut of the top match my china cabinet almost perfectly.  I managed to snag it for $7.

(You can click here to see the china cabinet)

Fresh & Pretty

A new coat of white paint paired with gold hardware (spray paint) and this end table is perfectly updated.

Bookcase

Also at the same sale was this bookcase.  I think it had been used as wall shelving as some of the hanging brackets were still in place and the top was painted green.  This piece only needed to be repainted in white and was $5.

Ready to Go

Once painted I tucked the shelf up against the wall near the La-Z-Boy chair.  I was looking for something both tall and narrow and this piece worked perfectly.  Now Husby has a place to set snacks, drinks and his phone while reclining comfortably.

Completed Living Room

Couch & Slipcover- $70
Recliner- $24
End Table- $7
Bookcase- $5
Coffee Table (Varnish)- $6
Paint- $10

That's an entire thrifted and made-over living room for $122.  Eat all of the salsa you want, nothing here is too valuable to spill on top of! 😆😆😆

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I hope you enjoyed this furniture makeover post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

Coffee Table Makeover

I've been working on restoring some furniture this summer, with my first project being our living room coffee table.  We've had this coffee table a long time now (about 17 years) and originally it featured a dark stained oak surface mounted on top of a black wrought iron frame.  It's been about 7 years now, but I had already painted over the black iron making the base white instead.  I liked the white base much better, but always wanted to lighten the top so that it matched the kitchen and dining room tables.  

(You can click here for a post that shows how dark the table used to be)

This table happens to be a very sturdy, well made piece of furniture, totally worth the effort of re-finishing.  And for whatever reason, this summer was the time in which I finally got the courage to try, check it out:

Wear & Tear

  You can see in this photo how dark the stain used to be.  This photo was taken after the kids and I spent some time with a pile of sandpaper, but you get the idea.  The table did have lighter areas where the surface stain had become quite damaged though.  I think that's what prompted me to finally do something about it, it was looking like a mess!

Chipped Paint

The coat of white paint was showing some abuse as well, with the original black coming through here and there.

Hidden Artwork

It was easier to repaint the base after first removing the top.  Not only did this make the frame much lighter, but I didn't have to worry about protecting the top from paint either.  I flipped the table over to start unscrewing and discovered this hidden 'artwork' that somebody decided to add with his markers.  Of course I'm leaving that little bit of history in place 😉

Sand, sand & sand some more.

Remember how I said the kids and I began sanding by hand with a pile of sandpaper?  Yeah, no, not happening! I quickly realized that this was a job for an actual power tool and consulted with Husby.  He didn't think his belt sander would be the best choice so I borrowed a palm sander from my Dad and was back in business.  Let me tell you, even with a power tool it still took a couple of hours to remove all of the old stain, but the work was oddly satisfying 😄

Now, I already had the white paint, brushes and sandpaper on hand and I borrowed the sander.  That meant that the only item purchased was a can of Minwax varnish for less than $10.  It took 3 coats of the varnish to properly seal the table, but I still have quite a bit of that left over as well (looks at kitchen table with contemplation....😁)

Project Complete

And there you have it; a nice, clean re-finished table for under $10!

There are a couple more items that I've fixed up and added to the living room as well, I'll share those soon.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this furniture makeover post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

Mermaid Birthday: The Invitations

August is nearing and that means my Baby Girl will be celebrating her 9th birthday very soon. 
This year she chose a mermaid theme so we put together the following invitations:

Supplies

After pulling paper and pre-cut fish shapes out of my scrapbooking supplies, the only thing we had to purchase were the seashell stickers.

Seashell Stickers

I wanted to give a close-up of these stickers because they were so pretty. 
I found them at Goodwill for a total of 59 cents!  Not bad, not bad 😊

Mermaid Tail

Though the stickers were a great start, I knew I wanted a nice mermaid tail featured on the invitations as well.  I was going to sketch one out from scratch when I came across these fish cut-outs in my stash.  They were such a pretty color and I liked the nice, full fins so I figured, why not just cut the tails from here?  After sketching a 'body' I cut the tails and added a few ink details to the fins.  I left a bit of length on the body as it would end up being trimmed from the finished invitation anyway.

Cut Paper & Add Detail

I trimmed down the sheets of scrapbooking paper (some blue, some purple) into envelope size and then used a bit of the pink paper to add color to the corners.

Add Tail & Sticker

Next I added a tail to the top left corner (you can see how the excess paper was trimmed) and then a sticker to the top right corner.  Normally I add my stickers last, but since these were so larger I put one on before the text.

Add Text & Sticker

I then completed the invitations by adding the text and then layering a second sticker on top of that.

In case it's hard to read, here is the text:
-Splish Splash, it's a mermaid bash-
Join us for (child's name here) birthday party
(Date, time and location here)
*Lunch and dessert to be served*

And there you have it, easy to create invitations for a mermaid birthday party.

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I hope you enjoyed this how-to post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

Treasure Hunting & Thrifting - Summer Glassware 2018

Half of the treasure hunting season has passed without an update, so I'm going to fix that today with a few pretty glassware finds:

Milk Glass Lamp

I finally found a cute little lamp for the top of the refrigerator  (Goodwill, $5) and I love the soft glow that it provides in the evenings.

(You can click here to read more about my lamp obsession)

Milk Glass Dish & Bowl

Both thrift store finds and $2 apiece.  The dish will end probably up organizing small items in my crafting space and the bowl has been added to the rest of the mixing bowls in the kitchen.

Glass Cake Stand

I decided to pick this stand up even though it is without a dome - that's me 'branching out' and 'broadening my horizons' 😁  I found it treasure hunting for $5.

Free Vases

I'm telling you, it happens.  Every once in awhile I happen upon somebody so intent on purging their home that they are giving away things for free.  This was one of those times so I ended up with two more vases from a yard sale.

Black Milk Glass

Yay, yay, yay!  I finally found some colored milk glass!  This set of black plates and one dish were $7.  Not bad considering they are vintage Arcoroc from France 💗

You all know I love my milk glass.  While I have tons of white and two jadeite (beautiful green) pieces, I would like to expand my collection to include black, pink, red and blue.  I probably won't display all of the colors at one time though.  Maybe black with Halloween decor and red for Valentine's Day...or maybe just have the pieces on hand for various party themes...I'm not sure yet.

(You can click here to read more about my collection)

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I hope you enjoyed this treasure hunting and thrifting post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

My Life in Pictures: Fun With Supplies - Affiliate Post

You may remember this photo from last week's post about organizing a shared space.  Since I was already in the photo taking mood and had just completed the photos for the organizing post, I thought I'd go ahead and share some of my supplies as well....that's code for "I wanted another excuse to play with my collection" 😁😁😁

As you saw last week, currently everything lives within three stacks of bins.  The florals and greens are carefully nestled in piles, but the smaller items (beads, buttons, glitter, etc) are divided by color and stored within jars and plastic containers.

Eventually, when I have space for a crafting studio, I would like everything to be displayed prettily on shelves that line the room.  With that goal in mind I make sure that all of my storage pieces are similar in style and pleasing to the eye, so that when shelving is available everything is organized and ready to go.

The white lidded glass jars and small storage containers (beads & glitter) can be found at Dollar Tree for $1 each.  The larger storage containers (sequins) can be purchased at various craft supply stores for around $5, but I've been finding mine treasure hunting and at Goodwill for $2.  Seriously, every time I find one it's $2 and usually filled with random odds and ends 😎  But enough with that, read on to see some of my current supply collection:



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Disclosure- This post contains affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  Affiliate links are noted below.

You can click the affiliate link to shop Dollar Tree online now

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Buttons

This is just a small portion of my button collection.  In truth, I haven't really used buttons for anything yet, but I have a hard time passing them up when I see them 😃

Glitter

You can't go wrong with a nice supply of glitter in various colors 😉

Tip:  Look in the nail polish section of Dollar Tree to find a greater selection of glitter colors and textures.  All of the glitter shown in the top photo was found in that section.

Beads

This particular set of beads came already sorted into individual containers, but the rest of my beads are organized (by color) into divided plastic boxes.

You can click here to read more about my bead sorting

Seashells

Every craft room should have a nice supply of seashells, mine are in one of those white lidded jars.

Sequins

I just began my sequin collection, so for now they all live within one divided box (similar to my bead storage), but I can see them multiplying nicely in the future 😉

Faux Gemstones

These items are large enough that I have them stored into separate jars as well.  I keep thinking that I'll make those golden gemstone brackets into some hair accessories for my Baby Girl, but I haven't gotten there yet.

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And that's a little bit from my supply collection.  I hope you enjoyed this photo post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

Make it Work: Organizing a Shared Space

An Old Photo

It's been about five years now since I started creating and selling wedding florals as a way to earn income as a stay-at-home mom.  What began with one small bin of supplies (and a dream) has grown into many bins full of supplies as well as boxes and boxes of finished orders....and the need to find a way in which to store it all!

Which brings me to the photo you see above.  I haven't shown a great deal of my closet room here on the design blog, but when I do, the photos are carefully constructed convey the best overall look.  What I'm trying to say is that what looks like a room completely devoted to clothing storage and getting dressed has become filled with all the necessary items of running a business.  Since I don't currently have a separately defined space to store supplies or work, I've had to resort to stacks and stacks of plastic bins to keep everything organized.  But that's ok and I'm sharing these photos today for two reasons:  One, you can absolutely do a lot in a little space if you organize it well and two, the space can still look great  so long as everything is neat and tidy 😉


(You can click here if you want to read more about the lamp featured in this photo)

Reality

Here is how the closet room actually looks, with stacks of bins tucked in behind the island.  It hasn't taken away from the closet part of the room too much, other than the fact that I can no longer completely walk around the island.  Getting to supplies however is another matter altogether, and takes a bit of juggling 😃

Tower 1

Here we have the first stack.   Starting at the top there is a bin for current projects, bouquet holders, tulle & ribbon and lastly, a bin of business related supplies (the office stuff).  

I recommend bins that are clear as it helps to more quickly identify the items inside.  I still label them however, as you can't always see everything without opening the lid.  I also recommend using bins that match the overall decor of the space that they are being stored in.  For me, that's nice and clean white lids but any color will do.  I will say though, that limiting the range of colors to one or two will minimize the likelihood of things looking overly busy or cluttered.  I prefer simple, so white and clear it is 😊

Side Note:  Can you see Sir Lancelot in the corner there?  Click here if you want to know more about him.

Shuffle, shuffle!

In order to get to the second tower of bins, the first tower gets shoved across the room over by the door.  This happens any time that I need to work (or play 😁).  Once things have been moved all around however, I'm left without any workspace.  For this reason I usually end up working at the dining table or on the living room floor, which isn't all bad - it's a lot easier to keep up with the kids when I'm not shut away.

Tower 2

With the first tower out of the way, I can reach the second.  This stack contains general craft supplies in the top bin, beads, buttons and jewelry making tools in the second and photography supplies at the bottom.  There are two mini bins that usually sit on top of this stack but didn't get pictured.  One of them contains wedding tools (glue gun, glue, wire cutters, floral tape, etc) and the other is my shipping box (tissue paper, tape, tape measure, business cards, etc)

Tower 3

For the third tower, I don't need to move anything around.  Instead I just walk around to the other side of the island.  This stack is organized by season with each bin containing florals that correspond to a different time of year.  The very bottom bin is full of greens.

Side Note:  This closet room has an actual walk-in closet as well.  For me, that's where all of the boxes of completed wedding sets wait until they are ready to ship out.  If you are someone who ends up selling online, I recommend packing every item immediately once it's ready and storing them away in a closed off room or closet.  Our home is free of pets and smoke, but there is always the risk of cooking odors penetrating finished goods.  Sealing your merchandise in plastic bags, boxing them up and keeping the boxes in a closed room will keep everything fresh and protected.

Playtime!

Now that things are all moved about and out of the way I can play with my toys 😆

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And that's how easy it is to organize a space for more than one purpose.  I hope you enjoyed this how to post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018

17 Piece Wedding Package - Pretty in Purple

When I found myself with a free afternoon last weekend,
I ended up pulling together this lovely twilight hued wedding set.

The combination features fabric roses, dahlias, zinnias, crocus and hydrangea in shades of purple and white, all tucked into a silver satin handle trimmed with lavender ribbon and white tulle.  Take a look:

Inspiration

Sometimes inspiration can come from the craziest places.  I was reading The Sorceress (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)  when I couldn't help but notice how pretty the cover art of the dust jacket was.  And so, this combination of florals soon followed 😊

Side Note:  I was in the Goodwill store when I passed by this book and saw 'Nicholas Flamel' in the title.  I thought, "Wait a minute- isn't Nicholas Flamel that guy from Harry Potter?!?!?!"  And yes, yes it is that same guy.  If you like the Harry Potter series then I recommend the Secrets of Nicholas Flamel series as well.  It turns out that The Sorceress is actually the third book in a set of six so now I'm scouting out the others as well 😎

Bridal Bouquet

Maid of Honor & 'Toss' Bouquet

Bridal Party Bouquets

Corsages & Boutonnieres

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This 17 piece package is available in my eBay store now!

Want to see what else is currently available?  Check out my eBay store here

Thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2018