The Truth About Southern Revivals There. I said it.

I have a confession to make.

I started my furniture refinishing business on Facebook only with the hopes that my furniture would be seen {and sell!} locally. That is it. That was all. There. I said it.

I never imagined {in a million years!!} I'd go viral on Pinterest and over 2500 {and counting!} of you would make your way to my Facebook page or that so many of you would visit my blog here daily. And I certainly never imagined you all would want ME to teach you how to do what I do. It blows my mind on a daily basis, really!

I get so many questions everyday about how I do this or that and unfortunately it's gotten to the point that I can no longer keep up. In a way that excites me and in a way it makes me sad because I figure there has to be a way to do it all. Right?!

Anyway, I've found myself scrambling to try and figure out how to keep up with my internet traffic and still run my furniture business. I think I have it figured out with the how-to videos but since I never imagined I'd be teaching people how to do what I do, I have a lot of catching up to do. It's a lot more work than I realized getting set up to do videos but if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it the right way. You can find my YouTube channel, here.

I know you guys want tutorials and I promise you that I am listening. See, the thing is, my dreams just weren't big enough. Without of all of you showing me I did not know the effect my work could have and therefore I was totally unprepared for all the traffic and vast amounts of emails I now receive on a daily basis.

And all the while I'm thinking is this really happening? It's funny how when your dreams are coming true you kind of feel like it's an out of body experience. I do anyway. It's like I'm watching this happen to someone else. And that's probably a good thing because if I stayed inside myself I'd most likely explode from all of the excitement.

You all have taught me something really important. Your dreams should be as big as they can be. They shouldn't just include your town, they should include the world... The universe even! I mean, really, what are dreams if they are so small you achieve them and then you don't know where to go from there?

I read a blog post by Miss Mustard Seed recently where she talked about "putting it out there". Kind of like that book, The Secret, where you put your dreams out there and they come back to you like a boomerang. When I went away to the Southern Bloggers Conference I saw a beautiful wreath being offered as a giveaway and I decided I'd try this whole "put it out there" thing and see what happened. So I said, 'I am going to win that wreath. I'm putting it out there'. And you know what? I won that wreath.

So here goes.

- I would love to have a successful YouTube channel full of great tutorials!

- It would be awesome to be featured in a magazine like Country Living, Folk, Southern Living, Better Homes & Garden. Could you imagine?! I would die.

- A brick and mortar store. One of these days!

- I want to be a paint retailer for all the times you guys ask me, 'What kind of paint do you use?'

- I'm waiting to hear back on a few opportunities today. I hope I get them!

- A Lowe's Creative Ideas Blogger. Again. I would die.

- I want to be on the Martha Stewart show. I can't help it. I love Martha Stewart!

- I want my dreams to be big and stay that way because I deserve it. And my children deserve that as an example.

This is so unlike me. I do not easily believe in myself. I do not think I can do things others can't and I certainly have never imagined that anyone would consider me inspiring. But that's always been my problem.

After that conference, and with the support from you all, I've decided to make my dreams as big as they can be. And I'm putting it out there.

When I was little I believed I could do anything. Over the years I lost that faith. Probably because life is hard, the world can be cruel and you tell yourself there can be no disappointment without hope. But there can be no life without hope either and I want to live. If you haven't ever read my About Me section, I invite you to do so. There was a time in my life where I felt like giving up and I've slowly clawed my way out of that abyss. I'm still clawing. But my dreams are big and they are going to stay that way.

There. I said it.

"I declare a thing and it is done for me. My word accomplishes that which I send it out to do" Isaiah 55:11

From Aztec Reject to Funky & FabulousAn Endtables Revival

The Aztec's called. They wanted their furniture back. I obliged them.

These end tables had great "bones" even if their backs were cardboard. I never have understood that. I took all of that cardboard nonsense out.

Covered holes that were undoubtedly, at some point in the past, awesomely bedazzled.

I fell in love with these bottoms. They reminded me of a beehives. Which made me think of flowers....

Which helped me decide what I wanted to do here!

And since my client said, 'I want something in orange!'. I said bye by to these drawers...

Built new ones and put flowers on them to go with the beautiful "beehive" bottoms.

I added a coordinating pattern to the bottoms drawers and some glass knobs on both.

The insides of each cabinet had to be rebuilt in order to accommodate the newly built drawers and a new, wooden back was cut for each table as well. No more cardboard!

I added some flower appliques to tie in the flower theme.

A bit of distressing and that stands out nicely!

And there are those beautiful beehive bottoms again. Nicely distressed.

And two new fun end tables have gone to live with a beautiful orange mirror. I hope they enjoy their new home!



*Please note: these end tables were done for a client. I offer my furniture for sale on my Facebook Fan Page as well as my custom refinishing services. I also offer consultation services. Feel free to contact me for pricing. I will also be offering basic furniture refinishing tutorials on my YouTube channel in the near future so be sure to subscribe.

Walmart Gangster Turned Jack Skellington Halloween Costume Tutorial

Sometimes the best ideas come at the very last minute. We were days away from leaving for our trip to Disney. And you know after you wash all the clothes, pack all the kids' things and prepare yourself for a 6+ hour car ride, you really don't have much left in you. Plus, it takes my child forever to decide what he wants to be for Halloween so I never have very much time to prepare. So, there we were in the Halloween costume isle of Wal-mart desperately searching for something my kids could be for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Something we could all live with.

He wanted something bloody, I did not. I wanted something cartoon-y, he did NOT. And then I saw this Gangster costume for just over $15 bucks and thought, this is something I can work with.

Last year when we went to Disney my now 9 year old got his feelings hurt because his baby brother got all of the attention from passers-by. You know, it's GOT to be hard to be the older sibling, especially when there's a baby around.

Anyway, I had made his brother a spider costume and his dad and I dressed as spider webs and everywhere we walked people ohh'ed and ahh'ed. Finally he said, 'Mom, why doesn't anyone notice my costume'. It crushed me.

He had insisted on getting a robot costume from Wal-mart that year and he thought it was very cool. And it was. But everyone made such a big deal over his little spider brother and it hurt his feelings. And mine. Naturally I never want my child to feel that way so when I saw this gangster costume my first thought was, Jack Skellington!

Here's how I made that happen.

First, while he was wearing the jacket, I cut a line straight across the waist to create Jack's coat and tails. I could've done this a number of ways but he wanted his coat tails to be tattered so this is the direction I headed.

I cut one side and then the other. No need to be super precise. It's Jack Skellington. It doesn't have to be perfect!

Then I cut a slit up the back for the coat tails. And then, because my son insisted that Jack's coat tails should be tattered (because in some instances they are), we tattered them.

I cut each coat tail into three sections. Voila', tattered.

The gangster costume came with a shirt/tie insert. Fortunately it was a mock shirt and tie and wasn't attached to the costume itself. So he wore a plain white undershirt under the jacket.

I folded a section of black poster board that measured just a bit wider than his shoulder length and cut a bat shape.

I sprayed Scotch Super 77 spray adhesive onto the bat shape and placed it onto a section of black felt.

I allowed that to dry and cut it out. Then, I sprayed the other side of the bat shape with spray adhesive and placed that onto another section of felt.

After that dried, because I didn't want to gum up my scissors, I cut the shape out of the felt again. This way both sides were covered in felt, it was comfortable to wear and it was sturdy enough to hold up. I used self-adhesive velcro on the bat to place it onto his undershirt and costume. It held up reasonably well, especially since we were riding rides at Disney, but the glue on the back of these self-adhesive strips aren't exactly made to stick to felt.

I got the costume in a size up because I knew we'd be cutting it and I wanted to make sure I had enough room to work but you'll want to try at least the jacket on to determine the size you will need. Because I got a size larger the sleeves were a little long and my child insisted they were driving him crazy. So I cut off an inch or so and then sewed them at an angle to give the sleeves and tighter fit at the wrists.

For the makeup, I actually used my MAC stippling brush to apply white Halloween makeup. I know it sounds crazy but it's not like that cheap makeup has great coverage so this was the only way I could get it an even white color. Also, {and after the MAC brush confession you probably won't be surprised} I used my Urban Decay primer around his eyes and on his lips so everything would stick. Hey. Don't judge. Can you imagine this makeup in the Florida sun after a ride down Splash Mountain otherwise?!

I used a sampler black eyeliner to outline his eyes and for his mouth stitches. Then I filled in his eyes and nostrils with a black eye shadow. I dusted some baby powder over his whole face and neck, knocking the excess off the black areas, in hopes of keeping the makeup in place the entire night. It worked perfectly! We gelled his hair back and then used white hair spray to make it blend in. All in all, I think I spent around $20 and used what supplies I had on hand.

This year he complained he was getting "too much" attention.

But he didn't fool me. He loved every minute of it!

Uncle Joe's 1800's Dresser

If you're a purist, consider yourself warned.

I put paint on a 100+ year old dresser.

Now. I feel like I should preface this by saying that I do not feel the need to put paint on everything but I also don't feel the need to keep something as is just because it's old. That isn't to say I'd turn a pristine 17th century bench into a garden planter but I don't see the point in allowing a piece to sit in your attic or garage and not putting it to good use, especially if it's a family heirloom.

This is Uncle Joe's dresser. It sat in a garage until the veneer started to peel.

Of course, giving it away wasn't an option. It was Uncle Joe's. So it sat.

In the bedroom on the back left corner of the house with the yellow roof on Zetterower Avenue is where this dresser once lived. Uncle Joe's room. This property, including the property where my client now lives, was part of a land grant to my client's great, great grandfather from the king of England. So this dresser has a story and I love a good story.

First the bubbling, cracking veneer had to be removed from the drawer fronts and bottom front of dresser.

Luckily most of the missing pieces from the claw feet were stored in one of the drawers so I was able to build them back up with only a few missing pieces.

The bottoms of the drawers were bowed from moisture and age but I wanted to keep the dresser as original as possible. Fortunately I was able to clean them up, tighten up the bottom boards and straighten them out.

Then I added the paint and some new brass knobs and suddenly Uncle Joe's dresser was transformed.

Add a little distressing for character and to hint at the great story it has to tell.

The dresser came with a mirror and this gorgeous frame. Instead of using the mirror I turned the frame into into a wire picture holder with some pretty fabric and brass wire.

So she can hang her treasured memories, perhaps a picture of Uncle Joe.

And while the feet, with their original wooden casters, aren't perfect, they're perfectly imperfect.

I don't know about you but I kind of feel like Uncle Joe might be proud of his dresser these days. And my motto is, and always has been, if you don't like it the way it is - revive it. Even if it's old. Because, in the end, heirlooms belong in your home not in your attic or garage.

Jamie Lott