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Becoming 2012

July 8, 2012


Becoming 2012
Becoming Creative. Purposeful. Frugal.
September 21-22, 2012
Asheville, NC


I am soooooooooo stinkin excited to be speaking at Becoming again this year. After attending the Haven conference last month, I realized just how important it is to get away once in awhile and surround yourself with positive encouraging women. We can learn so much from each other, inspire, support and empower each other. Jenny from Southern Savers and Jen from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam are our lovely Becoming cohosts again this year. The Nester and I will be there speaking about becoming more creative. My session is called:

Creative Inspiration and Easy Trash to Treasure Projects

Find creative inspiration in your everyday routine. Explore areas in your life that get the creative juices flowing. Help the environment by turning trash into treasure with easy craft projects. Also see how ordinary objects that usually end up in a land fill can become charming pieces of art.

Here is a peak from the Becoming website:
Becoming 2012 is a weekend designed to encourage and inspire women to live intentionally by becoming more creative, purposeful, and frugal. As women, many of us desire to be more intentional with our time and financial resources; more intentional with our family and homes, but aren’t sure how to make that happen.
As we gather from all walks of life, we will tackle some of those day to day issues that typically seem mundane. Our desire is that you will leave, not only refreshed, but encouraged, empowered, and motivated with the practical and tangible ideas you have received. Hopefully, by tackling the mundane, they will now have a sense of magic.
From personal finance, meal planning, entertaining on a budget, thrifting, home decor, trash to treasure, and more, Becoming 2011 will revolutionize the way we think, not just about our finances, but our homes. If it comes to saving money, re-purposing, or creating, we want to cover it.
Some may refer to it as a “Frugal Living” conference, but it’s so much more than that. We are bringing together a number of talented speakers, who are passionate in their areas of expertise. With both large groups and smaller, interactive workshops, we will ensure that time is designated to really dig deep, and answer questions.
Meet all the speakers here!
Ticket registration will open this Tuesday July, 10th. The conference sold out the first day last year so grab your coffee and get on the phone early!!!! Please visit the Becoming Conference Website for more information on this amazing conference and for information on ordering tickets.
Hope to see you there!!!

 
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I’m doing the happy dance!!

August 15, 2011

I did it! I went to Becoming and spoke!!!! This may not be a big deal to most normal people, but to me its like climbing Mt. Everest, completing an Ironman, or becoming president.  I got up on that stage three different times for an hour each and talked about my passion. Public speaking is not my thing. I have been freaking out about this most of the summer! I wanted to be part of such a great conference and I wanted to share my passion with the amazing women that would be attending, but honestly I just didn’t know how I was going to get up on that stage and do it!  Every time I thought about my sessions I broke out in a sweat and had a hard time breathing.  But when I got up on that stage Saturday morning, a peace came over me like I can’t explain.  God was with me.  I am soooooooooooooo happy and proud of myself for taking a risk and trying something sooooooooo outside my comfort zone.  I met so many amazing women and had the absolute best time. Thank you Jen and Jenny for the opportunity to be a part of Becoming, and thank you Nester for putting up with my freaked out self all weekend!  Now I am going to sleep for two weeks straight!

I promised to post the How to Paint a Piece of Furniture handout, and here it is.  Please email me at buttonbirddesigns@gmail.com with pictures of your trash to treasure project!!!

 How to Paint a Piece of Furniture
Find
Craigslist, thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets, auction and estate sales,
friends and family.
Prepare
·         Fill in holes with wood puddy.  Let dry, then sand using fine grit sand paper.  Repeat.
·          Electric Sander or Sand paper:  Knock off shiny finish, and rough up so paint will stick.  Sand down scratches, dents, chipped veneer, and knock off old flaky peeling paint.
·         Kilz Spray primer:  Use on a smooth finish if you don’t want to sand.  Also use if you are going to paint a piece white, it will cut down on the number of coats.  Good to use if piece is not solid wood.  Spray piece and let dry.  Lightly sand with fine sandpaper
Paint 
·          Purdy Cub XL is a great brush that lasts a long time.
·         Paint:  Behr paint, interior satin, premium plus ultra (Home Depot) or chalk paint.
·         Dip brush halfway in and then wipe on backside of edge to get rid of excess paint. 
·         Long strokes, 2-3 THINNNNN coats of paint, drying for 3-4 hours in between. 
·         Lightly sand in between each coat of paint.
·          Store paint brush in a plastic baggie in refrigerator in between coats of paint.
·         Clean brush with warm water and BBQ brush.
Distress
·         Always distress before you glaze.
·          Tear off piece of sand paper or use electric sander for really distressed pieces.
·         Sand areas that you want to look distressed.
Glaze
Readymade glaze, mixed glaze, or stains
·         Mutes the brightness, adds dimension, and gives paint an aged look. 
·          Behr Premium plus Faux Glaze:  Three parts to one part color of your choice.
·         Apply with damp brush or damp clean cotton rag. Leave on for a few minutes, then wipe off.  The longer you leave on the darker the glaze will be.
Protect
·          Minwax Polyurethane Wipe-On Satin (darker pieces, and pieces with lots of wear):  Clean rag, rub on poly like furniture polish.  2-3 thin even coats depending on the surface.  Wait 2-3 hours for each coat to dry.
·          Minwax Paste Finishing Wax:  With a lint free cloth, rub on furniture, 10 minutes later buff. 
Chalk Paint
If you are going to use chalk paint, forget everything I just told you!!!!!
1.       You do not have to sand. The paint sticks to any surface regardless of the finish.
2.      You do not have to prime.
3.      Chalk paint takes less coats and dries faster.
4.      Chalk paint is more expensive but saves you a ton of time and money on other supplies.
5.      Chalk paint distresses easily and beautifully.  Sands off in a powder instead of peeling off.
6.      Can only order online  www.periwinklepass.com
Supplies
Drop Cloth
Safety glasses
Wood Filler
Puddy knife
Electric Sander
Fine and medium sand paper
Kilz spray primer
Purdy XL paint brush
Behr Paint:  Interior Satin, premium plus ultra line
Chalk Paint
Glaze:  Behr Premium plus Faux Glaze
Minwax Polyurethane wipe-on satin
Minwax Paste finishing Wax

Happy Painting!!

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Transformations: Furniture and Myself

July 29, 2011
It’s almost time for the Becoming 2011 conference.  Becoming 2011 is a weekend designed to encouraged and inspire women to live intentionally by becoming more creative, purposeful, and frugal.  I am doing two workshops at the conference and am soooooooooooo excited but also soooooooooooo nervous.  If you know me, you know that public speaking is not my thing.  I failed one course in college…….. public speaking!  But I can’t let me fear hold me back and cause me to miss out on such an exciting opportunity!

Something has definitely changed in me the past two years.  The old me would have NEVER agreed to speak at Becoming.  I didn’t have the self confidence, courage or strength it took to try new things or to take risks.  These days I can’t wait to get out of bed and see what the day has in store.  I can’t wait for the conference, I am going to go and give it all that I’ve got.  I may fail miserably, women may laugh at me, Jen and Jenny may regret asking me to speak.  BUT what if I do a good job!?!?  What if I inspire one person to go home and paint a piece of furniture or make something out of recyclables!  What if I leave there feeling a sense of accomplishment and feeling proud of myself for attempting something new and scary.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this transformation that I am going though started the same time I began a real relationship with God.  I’m not preaching, I just want to share what is going on in my life.  For someone like me to even agree to speak at a conference just wouldn’t have happened two years ago.   These days I’m not scared, I am excited.  I’m not anxious, I am peaceful. I’m not overwhelmed, I am content.  I’m more creative, confident, strong, happy, and simple.  This is why I have agreed to do something soooooo outside my box. 

I haven’t had a lot of time in the garage or my sewing room this summer to paint and work on all the projects that I wanted to tackle.  Two kids and now a puppy (Dixie May, the most beautiful Basset Hound puppy you will ever see) have taken most of my attention this summer.  I wanted to have a lot of before and after examples to take to the conference.  So far here are a few examples of turning trash into treasure……..


I bought these matching stools at Metrolina for $20.00.  I painted the right one with chalk paint (Duck Egg) and then used dark wax.  The fabric is a vintage chenille bedspread. 

I found these two end tables at a yard sale for $15.00.  Once again I used chalk paint to paint this piece.  Do you see how shiny it was before!?!?  With chalk paint you don’t have to sand or prime.  The paint literally sticks to the wood regardless of the finish.  If I had used regular paint I would have had to sand alot and then would have had to prime.  Even though chalk paint is more expensive than regular paint, it saves me a ton of time and also saves me money not having to use the spray primer.

My mom and dad gave me their old dining room set that included a table and 6 chairs.  Nothing was wrong with the chairs but I have always LOVED the look of a table with mismatched different colored chairs.  That make over is coming soon, but here is one of the chairs painted, distressed, and waxed.  To my husband’s horror, It looks sooooooooo good with the pink, blue, and yellow chair that is now in our breakfast area!
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