"that little unusable space" -- grey corner shelving

I recently started a board on Pinterest called "that little unusable space." It was dedicated to this little alcove in my living room that was too small for a chair to be placed in it, but too big to be left alone. A month or so ago I picked up an adorable 1/2 table to go there, (see post here), but I moved it when my mom came in and said, "I need your end table for one of the other houses." No hard feelings toward my mom... that's the nature of living with someone else's furniture in your house!

A few days later my parents were having a garage sale. It was a pretty awesome garage sale. You see, they have 4 vacation rental homes in Maui, which they update frequently, and so they were selling almost everything that wasn't currently being used. (If you are planning a vacation to Maui, go to their FB page to check out the accommodations!)  There was this particle board/wood/spindle corner shelf, which I would never buy in a store. But I love the spindles and knew I would love all of it in a different color! I brought it in the house and Kit said, "You're going to paint, that, right?" Normally, he's like, "Why do you have to paint all the wood furnishings in our house?" 

So I sanded it. Kilz'ed it. Then painted it in a flat Owl Grey, to match my entertainment center. After my first coat, I left it in our car tent to dry. Well, I didn't get back to it for almost a week. Within that time my husband informed me that birds were perching on it, using it as their toilet! So I had to clean it, scrub it and sand down that disgusting mess on the top shelf. Yuck. 

(see the entertainment center in the foreground? match-matchy!)

I like it way better, now that the shelving is not that dated particle board wood color. 

On a lot of my furniture I prefer a flat finish, but then feel like I need a clear varnish on it, 

especially with a 2-year-old in the house. But since this is just in the corner, 

holding a few books and accessories, I left it flat-- no varnish.

So this is what's currently occupying my "little unusable space." 

Do you have a space like that in your house? 

Oh, and if you have a blog post you want to share, 

our 2nd ALOHA Friday link party is up! Click here.

Aloha, 

Rebecca

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It's ALOHA Friday party time - #2! Featuring...

Thank you to all who linked up to our first ALOHA Friday party last week!

Here's two projects I think deserve a "Hana Hou!" 

(That means, let's see them again, because they were so good.)

My personal favorite was some wall art from 2 Little Superheroes:

The project with the most clicks out of the whole party was the Woman Cave from 4 You With Love:

If you were featured, grab the button below:

<a href="http://jedandivy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Jed & Ivy" src="http://jedandivy.blogspot.com/"/></a>

Let's celebrate the weekend by showing what we've done! 

Grab a lilikoi, link up, then leisurely look through the other fun posts!

<a href="http://www.jedandivy.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Jed & Ivy" src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f275/gerry100/linkparty2.png"/></a>

Rules:

1- Link to a specific post, not your main blog address. 

2- Grab our button and post it in your post or somewhere on your blog. (No etsy shops or other parties.)

3- Link up a few DIY projects, recipes, decor, inspiring stories... really anything you want to share!

4- Become a follower of this blog.

5- By linking up, you're allowing us to feature your photos on this blog.

6- Share the Aloha and visit each other's links!

Aloha,

Rebecca

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FEATURED and I WON a giveaway... all in the same day!

Just checked my email, and found out some great news! First, Jennifer, from Tatertots and Jello let me know I won a giveaway she hosted on her blog from Love Stitched! Have you been to Love Stitched on Etsy? They have "couture accessories." Super cute stuff. I'm pumped to start rocking it...

THEN...

I found out from Stacey at Embracing Change that she featured my Ombre Bench post!

Check out her post here: http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com/2012/08/creative-inspirations-linky-party-28_27.html

This is just my 3rd feature ever, (2nd this week), so it's still a very new, exciting feeling. Thanks for reading and sharing in my joy!

Aloha,
Rebecca

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Ombre Bench

Just finished this ombre bench:

It originally looked like this:

Kit surprised me and picked it up on craigslist for $40. 

I was inspired a while back by this bench I pinned on Pinterest:

Source: anthropologie.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

Here's my go-to steps for painting wood furniture:

1. sand

2. prime w/Kilz

3. paint

4. varnish (if there's going to be any wear-n-tear risk)

At first I painted the top portion yellow:

The middle color is actually a combination of the yellow and the espresso color on the bottom. I like to call it "puke green." I actually LOVE "puke green." But, I hated the bright yellow up top. It looked way different on paper. As much as Kit and I want to go back in time and live in 1970s Hawaii, I just couldn't keep these colors. Too "in-your-face" 70s. 

So, I turned to my trusty Benjamin Moore Hollingsworth Green, which I've used on my Kids Vintage Rocking Chair and my Upcycled Shutter, and painted over the yellow.

I used painters tape to mark off where I was going to switch colors. It wasn't the best tactic, because I did it right after I primed. I should have done it after I had a good coat of the puke green, then done the light green afterward.

Look at cute Godiva lounging in the background. :)

With some careful strokes and tiny brushes, I got up close and personal with the section where there was painters tape, and did my best to make it flow nicely.

I love it, but don't know where to put it! Kit wants it outside by our BBQ. I did put a clear varnish on it, but don't really want it exposed to sun, wind, Kihei dirt, etc. I want it on one side of our dining table. We will see. At some point I'm going to have to start selling some of this stuff I'm painting! Our 700 sq ft cottage can only fit so much!

Thanks for checking out my bench! Also, we've got a link party happening here till Wednesday night. Would love to have you link up!

Aloha, Rebecca

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Pink & Purple Bunting

We moved to Maui almost 3 years ago from Kauai. Even though I'm originally from Maui, it was one of the hardest decisions we had to make, because we had so many great friends on Kauai. A few months later, one of those friends moved all the way to Florida! That's clear across the country! Well, she just had her second baby, (a girl!) and I wanted to send her a gift. I made her this bunting:

I spied on her Facebook a quilt she made, and tried to stick with a similar color scheme. 

I make a lot of bunting, but for this one I wanted to use a bunch of ribbons on the ends, instead of just one, like I normally do. 

I love the detail in the white fabric. 

And I'm pretty much obsessed with the chevron/feather print on the left. 

BTW- Kulia is Ivy's middle name. Kit made that pallet for her room.

And Kit made this ALOHA pallet. 

(Have you linked up to our "ALOHA Friday" party yet? If not, click here! ... shameless plug.)

That blue-ish/purple is a really cool fabric too, and for some reason it's in the sale section at Sew Special!

I love making bunting. Here's what you need:

-fabric cut into triangles

-double fold bias tape

-ribbon(s) for hanging it

Pretty simple to make!

Thanks for visiting!

Aloha, Rebecca

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