DIY Bench Makeover #upcycled #pinterestinspired #furnituremakeover

By Patricia

I've had this old bench around for years. I bought it at a yard sale, and it's been passed back and forth between my daughter and I a few times. I thought it really needed a makeover, and I was tired of the black wood and old fabric.

This is such an easy project to do, all I needed was some white paint and some new fabric. The new fabric I decided to use was actually an old drapery panel that I bought at the Goodwill for a few dollars. This was going to be a fast and inexpensive way to give new life to an old piece of furniture.

I took the bench outside and took off the seat, super easy since it just lifts out. It's a gorgeous day for an outside project!

I only had to do a little bit of sanding before I could apply the first coat of paint. Luckily the old paint was in good condition, but I would need to apply two coats of paint because I was applying white on the black paint.

Applying the first coat of paint. The can said it covers in one coat, but I could already see that wasn't going to work on my bench.

Here is the bench after two coats of paint. I let the first coat of paint dry over night because it was enamel, and it seemed to be drying slowly. Now on to the bench seat.

This is the drapery panel that I cut to size. I measured how much I needed for the bench seat, then I added four inches to each side. Using the staple gun made it very fast and easy to adhere the fabric to the seat. Super simple!

Going around the corners of the of the seat was a little trickier, but you just have to pull the fabric taunt and then staple it down. I didn't remove the very first layer of fabric, but it didn't interfere with stapling the new fabric on.

Here is the bench all finished! I love the light colors and what a big change it is. This DIY project was very easy and inexpensive to do. Love it!

What is your favorite way to Upcycle DIY Projects? Do you shop Goodwill or Yard Sales for DIY ideas?

Giraffe LOVE at Cost Plus World Market #homedecor #giraffe #shopping #DiscoverWorldMarket

For my son's 1st birthday we took him to the Sacramento Zoo where he fell in LOVE with Giraffes. We now have a tradition of each year he gets another giraffe for his collection. I now too have fallen in LOVE with giraffes and see them everywhere. In home decor, art, clothing and more.

I wandered through one of my favorite stores to get home decor ideas and found many Giraffe items.

Morning cup of coffee with Giraffe pattern, YES please! 

These would be beautiful in the living room

Awe how cute, a nice night light for the hallway.

Perfect way to hang coats and hats in my son's room.

Do you have an animal that you or your kid's LOVE?

Make Your Message POP with Pentel Pens Review and Giveaway #PentelPOP #ad

*This is a sponsored post. All opinions in this post are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. #ad

I wear many hats in my life, I am a Mom, a blogger, a sales person and a homeschooling teacher. All of these things require me to be creative! One of my favorite things for my sales job is writing "Thank You" notes for my customers. I like to add my personality in my cards with fun colors and little hand drawn art. I do not have the best art skills so I always need good tools to add the POP of color and fun that I want to my cards.

Using Pentel POP Gel Collection pens allows for my lack of skills to still make my cards fun. The Gel Collection set includes 3 types of pens, Sparkle Pop, Milky Pop and Solar Pop. I LOVE the Sparkle Pop since I like all things sparkly! My son was enjoying the Solar Pop for his art work. The fluidity of the pens sets them apart from the average pen. They are bright in color and easy to write with. I plan on leaving some of the fun sparkle colors at work for my co-workers to use on their "Thank You notes. My son has claimed all the Solar Pens and has stashed them away in his school desk.

Sparkle Pop

• Add a unique "Pop" of shimmering color to your writing world
• New innovative, reflective and sparkling iridescent ink is ultra-glittery
• Ink looks like a different color when writing on black or white paper (2 colors in 1)
• Perfect for cards, drawings, doodles and other designs

Milky Pop

• Add a "Pop" of pizzazz to any page with milky pastel ink colors
• Vivid pastel colored ink contrasts well with dark colored paper to make your writing and artwork stand out
• Perfect for invitations, greeting cards, drawing and more

Solar Pop

• Add a "Pop" of bright neon color to your life
• Unique ink glows bright under a blacklight
• Vibrant fluorescent neon ink colors give your writing and artwork extra visual attention

My son is truly a creative individual. He has loved writing stories and drawing the illustrations since he was in kindergarten. This last school year he has started writing and illustrating his own Comic Book series. His stories are filled with humor and the constant battle of good vs. bad as the characters develop their stories. He is always wanting new shades of color to make his illustrations more detailed. He enjoyed using the Pentel Gel Solar pens for his newest comic.

What would you create with Pentel Gel POP Pens? Enter my giveaway here on the blog for a chance to win a $40 worth of assorted Pentel POP products. If you are looking for inspiration for creative ideas using Pentel POP Pens you can check out their idea page HERE.

GIVEAWAY


a Rafflecopter giveaway
***GIVEAWAY limited to U.S. residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts July 16, 2018 and ends on July 30, 2018 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

FANtastic Day at Sacramento Fandemic Tour #hosted #fandemictour #Sacramento

*We were hosted at the event in exchange tickets. My opinions in this post are my own. #hosted #fandemictour

We had such a FANtastic time at the first ever Sacramento Fandemic Tour! Cheesy to say I know but it is true. We attended on a Sunday, which was the last day, not as many cosplayers and other things going on but I took my 8 year old and my 68 year old mother in law so it was perfect for them. We saw many of our favorite characters like these awesome Storm Troopers and even R2D2 rolling around.

Demanding the prices we wanted to pay! LOL

My son has been to a few more conventions than I have and he knew exactly how to have fun. He dressed up as one of his favorite characters and interacted with the vendors and other cosplayers. We saw so many great items for sale at the booths. From comics, collectible toys, Funko Pops (our favorite to collect) and even comic book themed shoes. The unique items you will find is part of the adventure of checking out all the booths.

One of the best parts of Fandemic Tour was meeting legendary artists that have brought to life so many loved characters. My son is a writer and illustrator of his own comic book series and these people are inspiration for him. I love being able to encourage his creativity and have him see art can be a profession if he chooses to do so.

This photo right here was so awesome for me!!! My husband and son have met Phil Ortiz from The Simpsons and have some signed art from him that is on the wall of our living room. I have been a bit envious that I had not met him. On Sunday I had the opportunity and we shared a personal conversation of just he and I for about 15 minutes discussing my admiration for his work, things about my personal story of love for The Simpsons and where will he be next so we can get a family portrait done where he makes us "Simpson" style. He was even so sweet to ask as to why I was limping, I am suffering with health issues currently and his concern was genuine, such a nice guy!

I had planned on staying all day and waiting in line for some photo ops with my favorite The Walking Dead actors but had to leave after only being there for couple hours. My health issues were bothering me so much I could no longer walk around definitely could not stand in long lines waiting for photos. It was sad to have to leave early but we certainly had an amazing time while we were there. We did see Chandler Riggs aka Carl Grimes at his booth. He was texting on his phone and as we walked by my son yelled "Coral!" we all started cracking up and Chandler did look up for a second. The funniest part is my son has never seen The Walking Dead but he constantly hears my husband and I discussing it and apparently even picked up on the "Coral" jokes we make.

Krypto the Superdog is the next Funko POP my son has on his must have list.

My son had been saving his allowance for a few months preparing for Fandemic Tour shopping. He has a huge collection of Funko Pops and knew of a few he wanted to add to his collection while we were there. Buying an item for a collection at a convention is awesome because you will have the memories of the event attached to the item, a story of "this one I got at Fandemic Tour very first show in Sacramento". He purchased Jetsons Astro Dog and Baby Hercules. He was smiling ear to ear as we left the show with his new items to add to the shelf in his room.

If you missed the Sacramento Fandemic Tour don't fret they will be heading to Houston on September 14, 15 and 16 2018.

You can check out the photos and videos of the fun had at the #Sacramento event and the journey to Houston on Fandemic Tour Instagram and Twitter. Use hashtag #FandemicTour to find the best stuff.

Giveaway for Fandemic Tour Tickets Sunday Family Fun Day #ad #FandemicTour #Sacramento

June 22-24 2018 the Fandemic Tour is coming to Sacramento at the Convention Center Downtown!!! We are HUGE Pop Culture fans in my home. We love Marvel, The Walking Dead, Simpsons, WWE, Comic books, oh so many cool things I cannot even list them all! When I heard about the new style of Comic / Pop Culture Convention coming to Sacramento I knew we had to be there! My heart was so happy when I read that they will be making Sunday a Family Fun Day.  My son will be taking part in the Cosplay contest for kids, he loves wearing costumes and I let him wear which ever one he wants any day of the week. We even have matching super hero capes that we wear to the grocery store! I plan on bringing my mother in law to celebrate her 68th birthday. I feel like Sunday is going to be the day an 8 year old and 68 year old can marvel in the geekiness of the pop culture world at the same time and bring us all closer together as a family. 

I am a MEGA fan of The Walking Dead and am thrilled that so many of the cast will be attending Fandemic Tour. I literally am counting the days until I get to meet Norman Reedus aka Daryl Dixon!! I am trying to not fan girl freak out but that is hard to contain. JD Morgan aka Negan will also be there and I know hes a fictional character but I still have angst for Negan for what he did to Daryl LOL. 

Fandemic Tour will offer attendees the opportunity to purchase autographs and photo opportunities with their favorite celebrity talent and artists.

You can also purchase Group Photos of various actors in one photo. The photo op offer of TWD Group Photo nearly made me faint at the thought of it since it includes Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Scott Wilson, Michael Rooker, Steven Yeun, and Chandler Riggs!! WOW!! For a bit less money if the group photo is too pricey there is the Duo Photo of TWD Norman Reedus and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Also if you want a family photo with TWD Dixon Brothers there is the Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker photo op option as well. Buy these quickly as I am sure they will sell out. I told my husband to go through my collections to sell some of my fandom to purchase me the photo ops! It would be amazing and a never forget kind of moment to do this. There is a Guardians of the Galaxy group photo with Michael Rooker, Chris Sullivan, and Sean Gunn and the cast of Angel with Christian Kane, Clare Kramer, Charisma Carpenter, and James Marsters for purchase as well.

If you are a WWE fan the Bella Twins will also be attending on Sunday for autographs and photo ops. We attended a WWE show a few years back and saw them wrestle in person, so fun!

Award-winning actress, entertainment correspondent and pop culture authority, Clare Kramer, will moderate all programming on our Main Stage. Celebrity programming highlights for Fandemic Tour Comic Con’s debut in Sacramento include:

· Rare Q&A with current and former cast members of A&E’s The Walking Dead (Saturday)

·A This is Us panel with Milo Ventimiglia and Chris Sullivan (Saturday)

·Interactive Q&A’s with individual celebrities including: Bruce Campbell (Friday), John Schneider (Friday), Tom Welling (Saturday), Michael Rooker (Sunday), Robert Englund (Sunday)

·Angel Gets Charmed (Charmed celebrating 20 years this year) featuring: Holly Marie Combs and Charisma Carpenter (Saturday)

· WWE™ The Bella Twins™, Nikki and Brie Bella (Sunday) BELLA TWINS APPEARANCE MOVED TO SUNDAY FROM FRIDAY

·The Walking Dead Fireside chat regarding the Most Spectacular Deaths featuring Chandler Riggs and Steven Yeun

·Buffy Meets Angel Playback with host Clare Kramer, featuring James Marsters, Christian Kane and Charisma Carpenter (Sunday)

·Why Comic Books Will Only Get Bigger, No Matter What Critics Say with comic art legend, Neal Adams (Friday)

Fan connections will be made at these panels and demos featuring some of the best:

·Getting started in Cosplay in your 40s, 50s and 60s with Gonzo’s Cosplay Adventure (Friday)

·Why Fandom and Shipping Matter featuring editors from Zimbio and a writer from CW’s Riverdale (Saturday)

·Droid Building 101 with Sacramento Astromech Builders (Saturday)

·Building Star Wars quality cosplay - Demo build with 501st Legion (Saturday)

 Programming will also include socially-focused topics:

· A Comic Q/A with the world’s leading publisher of English-language educational manga (Friday)

· Mighty League of Acceptance: Using Pop Culture to Engage and Educate about Autism (Saturday)

·Body Image and Acceptance with Chunky Girl Comics (Sunday)

·CAUSEplay by members of the West Coast Avengers cosplay (Sunday)

· Cooking Japan’s favorite fast foods— onigiri and oshinko – with Manga University (Sunday)

Did I mention there will be Photo Ops for the Batmobile!?!? Also a chance to win a ride in one! Bring your little ones dressed as Batman, Batgirl or even the Joker for a photo op with Batmobile and for the Sunday Kids Costume Contest. 

Fandemic Tour is a new comic convention that will bring together celebrities, well-known and emerging comic artists, cosplayers and exhibitors with unique pop culture merchandise. Fandemic Tour comic con is an experience in the vein of other major shows such as Silicon Valley Comic Con, Comicpalooza, Dallas Comic Con, FanFest, Emerald City, Denver Comic Con, and Walker Stalker. All guest appearance dates are listed at www.FandemicTour.com.

Fandemic Tour is offering an amazing deal if you buy your Admission Tickets before June 10,2018. It is a BOGO offer for the following year! I am all about frugality and saving money this is a win win for you and them! 

General Admission tickets are available at the following price points:

$35— Friday Pass (Hours 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)

$45— Saturday Pass (Hours 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.)

$40— Sunday Pass (Hours: (10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.)

$75— Full Weekend Pass (admission all three days)


$150 - Fandemic Fanatic VIP - — (3-day pass, early admission, fast pass for photo ops/autographs (behind Celebrity VIP passholders), swag bag and VIP reserve seating at panels).

JSA Autograph Authentication Ticket JSA will be at Fandemic to authenticate your autographed memorabilia. For a special rate of $10 per signature (for items signed at the show), a tamper-resistant sticker will be affixed to your item. You will receive a matching certificate card and your item will also be registered on the JSA website. Just stop by the JSA booth after getting your autograph...this is a great way to enhance and protect the value of your collection.

GIVEAWAY

Family pack of 4 Tickets for Friday June 22nd 2018 or Sunday June 24th 2018! (2 kids free with each paid adult as kids 10 and younger are FREE so tickets would be for anyone 11+)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 6, 2018 and ends on June 18, 2018 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

You can read more about the founder of the Fandemic Tour and his ideas for this new style of Comic Con on my other post from May here.