Budget DIY Chair Makeover - From Drab to Fab

This is a super simple DIY that had an amazing outcome. Did I mention this was all done with Rust-Oleum spray paint for about $5 a can? I bought the bulk six packs so I could have leftovers for other projects. Just look at this before and after picture!

These were bar stools that that came included with our house ;) We used them as patio chairs for the bar area on our back porch. They were already pretty rough looking, but being outside in Florida made them pretty gross. Here are some more before pictures:

 The first thing I did was take them apart. This was very simple, I just removed the screws! 

I then cleaned them with a bleach, soap, and water mixture. After they dried I prepped them for spray painting. I swear I am not a spokeswoman for Rust-Oleum, but they always have my favorite stuff. I used their hammered spray paint and their fabric and vinyl spray paint. I am super obsessed with this hammered spray paint and use it for 90% of my crafting projects. Basically everything in my house is this hammered color.

 Then I sprayed my little heart out. I did two coats of each and I used about 4 cans of the fabric spray and two cans of the hammered spray. I am known to be pretty heavy-handed with spray paint (just ask my husband) so you may use less. The fabric spray went on smoothly and I definitely recommend it for any of your projects.

 

 Pretty awesome right? Well, it has been about six months and the chairs are still looking brand new! Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. I will leave you with some more before and after pictures. Bye for now! 

Fall "Gahden" Update

The Hardwick household is definitely picking up pace at the current moment and we have some great DIY projects cooking up. As of right now, we are remodeling our kitchen - DIY style! I am super excited to post when we are done and cannot wait to share it with you. We purchased our house in order to eventually change everything inside, instead of buying one already redone at the same price. So I pretty much loathe all of the interior aspects of our home. We have been slow to take off with major remodeling but we have definitely done quite a bit of projects here and there. I have some more of these little projects I will be posting soon. Meanwhile, here is our fall garden update. Keep in mind that fall here in south Florida is the equivalent to summer everywhere else so please refrain from being perplexed by our summer veggies and fruits - its hotter than Hades here. 

The photo on the left is from the 14th and the right is from today (the 24th). This is a 10 day growth!

Here's what we have growing: 

Four types of Sweet Corn including ruby red, purple, and two types of white and gold; three types of Yellow Squash; Zucchini; Butternut Squash; Spaghetti Squash; Pumpkins; Luffa Gourds; three types of Eggplants; two types of Sweet Peppers; six types of Hot Peppers; two types of Tomatoes; Sweet Potatoes; Baby Carrots; Black Beans; Red Beans; Purple Beans; Italian Beans; Green Beans; Pickle Cucumbers; Sweet Peas; Seedless Concord Grapes; two types of Strawberries; Garlic; Shallots; Onions; Asparagus; citrus trees; and many types of herbs. Whew!

Excuse the mess in the garden, it has been raining like crazy here so I have not been able to do much weeding and pruning this past week. Besides the occasional flooding in low lying parts of the garden [ I need to buy some dirt =( ] things have been running smoothly. That was until two weeks ago when I had a massive cutworm/inch worm (not sure) infestation. I refuse to use Seven and the organic alternatives did not work in controlling them, so I pick them off daily since they continue to show up daily, but I made a huge dent in them the very first day. However, I feel like I have definitely won the battle thus far.

??  Pickle worm, Cutworm, Inchworm ??

Nico the Australian Shepherd - A little Fun Fact about Aussies: they are not Australian at all! The breed was actually developed here in the US! No one is 100 percent sure on how this name came about, stories differ. Another nickname for Aussies is Ghost Eyed Dogs, given to them by Native Americans in the 1800s.

My mother and her dog hanging out on the back porch in front of the flowers she bought me as a gift =)

I'll update again when some of these flowers start producing veggies!

9/30 Additional Pictures: