Before and After Dresser

Well hello 2013! 

It's been too long, really.  I went back to work full-time and poor little sunny vanilla suffered...wah!  But the creative juices are still here, they just need a little more time.  Enter the dresser makeover.  Strobe lights please!  

So way back when, I found this little gem while "g-sale-ing" (that's code for going to garage sales) with my dad.  My daughter had outgrown her changing table and it was time for an upgrade.  I knew I wanted to make something, so we got down to business.  After a million garage sales, several cups of coffee, and a donut (or two or three), we found this.

Are you loving her curves, or what?  I knew in a second that this was the one.  We made a rock bottom offer of $25 and called this gal ours.

She did, however, need a face lift.  We removed her old knobs...

...filled in the double holes with wood filler...

...and sanded down the holes once they had a chance to dry.

We replaced the old knobs with vintage-y looking knobs from Home Depot and gave her a good sanding-down.  I applied a new white coat of paint and voila, a new-old dresser for our little gal.

Hope you enjoyed.

xo,

Jen

Free Christmas Tags Repost

Hello!  Just popping in this month to say Merry Christmas to all.  I've decided to repost something that was such a hit from last year - Christmas tags.

You can find the post here with free downloadable art.

Hope you enjoy!

xo,

Jen

Family Photo Color Scheme - Blue, Grey, Magenta

We recently had our family photos done and we absolutely love how they turned out!  I thought about what we were going to wear for way too long...ie I spent too much time on Pinterest and 100 photo blogs scouting out ideas.  When the practical side of my brain kicked in, I decided to work with what we had.  I did, however, buy the little gal a new shirt from Target, but the rest was already hanging in the closet.  

I tried not to be too matchy-matchy, but I did want to coordinate the colors.  Overall, I think the photos turned out beautifully!  Now it's off to find some frames and get these little gems on the walls.

xo,

Jen    

{images taken by Michelle Sperry Photography}

Fall Wreath Inspiration

While it's still hot and humid here in the South, us Floridians are looking forward to a change in season.  Basically that means drier weather, temps. that are a few degrees cooler, and a chance to break out the skinny jeans and boots.  Some of you Martha Stewart's out there may be sporting fall decor already, but if your front door is still lacking fall digs, here's a list of ten really pretty wreaths.  I promise your neighbors will be impressed...

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Happy wreathing!

xo,

Jen

Anthropologie Windows

So the other night my family and I visited with some friends of ours to celebrate the birth of their daughter and to catch up.  And what, you ask, does this have to do with Anthropologie windows?  Well, after everyone had their fill of dinner, we let the kids run around and play while the adults chatted it up over some seriously awesome dessert.  And somewhere between inhaling a little piece of chocolate heaven and babbling about working, I mentioned that if I had a dream job, it would be to design the display windows for Anthropologie.

Enter photo montage...

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Gorgeous, right?

I love how they take recycled products or regular household items and turn them into beautiful art installations.  Simply stunning!  

What is your all time favorite window display?

Halloween Pattern Giveaway

It was time for a giveaway around here!  How about a Halloween pattern giveaway?!  Now don't shy away you non-sewers or novice sewers because these patterns are pretty simple and the last one is a no-sew pattern.  Plus, if you mess it up, it's early enough in the game that you can just toss it and head for the costume aisle at Walmart. Boom!

Okay, here's the deal...there are four patterns ranging in size from a 1/2 to adult one size fits all.  I put them in order below from smallest to largest.  You can see the sizes at the very top of the package.  

All patterns are new and have never been used.  They're just a little bent from being crammed in those super tight pattern drawers...oh, how I hate those things.  

Most of you know the drill, but if you don't, Rafflecopter will walk you through it.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Refurbished hutch - before and after

I have one special lady that's visiting Sunny Vanilla today to share a beautiful piece of furniture with all of you.  I'm pretty sure I have her to thank for my creative genes...it's my mom.  Yep, my mom is here today to share with you a project she's been working tirelessly over for the past few days.  And I have to say, it turned out ah-mazing!

My mom happens to live very close to a university in Virginia and rents out a couple of bedrooms in her townhouse to students working on their graduate degrees.  When she discovered this little gem at a garage sale for $15, she knew it would make the perfect desk/storage unit for one of her students.  Now I know I might be partial and a smidge bias, but didn't it turn out super duper with a cherry on top? Mmmm hmmm, that's what I thought!  

First she started with the hardware.  Luckily, the original pieces were in excellent condition and quite pretty.  So my mom decided to hold onto it and just give it a few coats of fresh, black spray paint.

Once she had all of the hardware removed and spray painted, she moved on to the hutch.  Because it is made from pressed particle board, she had to first prime the desk.  To prepare the hutch she used 3M 150 fine grit sand paper to rough it up a bit {this helps to adhere the primer and paint}.   Once sanded, wipe down with a damp towel.  

For the finish, mom decided on a semi-gloss paint and primer in one.  She chose Key Lime Pie for the color.  Love it!!!  

Now, be sure you let each coat dry evenly before applying another.  This may take a couple of days depending on the number of coats and the humidity in your house.  I know with all the humidity down here in the South, sometimes it may take a little longer to dry.

Isn't she stunning?

The chair is a Goodwill find of mine from my early twenties.  She painted it the same color for a complete desk set.

Her cost breakdown:

hutch: $15

sandpaper: $3

spray paint: $8

semi-gloss paint and primer in one: $15

With a little elbow grease and a few coats of paint, you can turn a dingy, old hutch into something beautiful.

Thanks for sharing mom.

Love you!