DIY Curtains and Large Purchases

Sorry I have been an absentee blogger lately. Things just seem to keep getting busy. Mostly because of Pinterest and my desire for large and time consuming projects. :)

We have made a lot of large purchases lately. And by large, I mean several hundred dollars for one item. New house, new tires, and this big bad boy... :)

So new, I haven't even thrown the box out yet (that is it sitting on the deck there...). I always wanted one as a kid, but they didn't have those cool nets back then and my parents would never cave. So I finally talked Cole into getting one, despite his trying to convince me that it would make our yard look trashy! HA! Don't know where he got that! Ava loves it! She always loves to play on her cousins so I knew she would. It will be a few years before she is allowed to really jump, but for now she loves to sit and bounce. :)

In other news, Pinterest is the devil and takes up ALL of my free time. Seriously, I love it though. So fun! I had been agonizing over window treatments for the living room for a while (really since we first saw the house) but when I saw these http://pinterest.com/pin/166617269/, I knew I had to have them! Problem was that the picture links to a blog (and not just to post, ugh) and when I did dig through and find the post, she didn't say where she got them! plus, I really wanted tan and black. So then I found this pin http://pinterest.com/pin/165927178/, and she did a whole tutorial on how to paint curtains! So I found some curtains at JC Penny (on sale AND I had a coupon) for $20 a PAIR, in a great burlap color. And I dug out some black latex paint from the garage, some painters tape (I used the blue with "edge lock technology) and got to work!

Here is the results...

I LOVE them!!! So happy with the results!!!

I was worried about the curtain blocking the built-in, and it does a little, But not as badly as I thought.

If you are wondering, yes, they are a little stiff where the paint is, but not too bad. The tutorial says they will loosen up. If they are still really stiff in a few weeks when the paint has cured some, I am planning on steaming them VERY carefully to see if that might help. Might do a test piece first to make sure I am not going to mess them up.

This was my Gummy's chair. Gummy was my mom's mom, and she was so called because she always carried Juicy Fruit in her purse. My sister started it, and it stuck. :) She was all about fixing up furniture. This chair was wood (don't have a great before) and is the only thing I have from her. I fought with myself about painting it for a LONG time. It isn't a great quality piece, just special. My mom voted no, but my sister made a good point- Gummy would have wanted me to LOVE it, and she always re did pieces, so I should make it into something I love as an homage to her. And I did! Still living with the purple. I tried lime and it was too much (and was going to take 100 cans of spray paint to finish). I like the purple. Might go with a light blue though. Who knows. :) It is a work in progress! I got extra fabric of that print to make throw pillows with. Love my new edgy living room look. It is a work in progress.

And lastly, a question: Has anyone ever used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint? It is pretty pricey, but I just got a piece I want to paint with it. My question is, is the price worth it? All of the retailers say it is, but I am hesitant. It would have to be FREAKING AWESOME paint to be worth 35$ a quart!!!