Cottage Murphy Bed Redo

Since the guesthouse cottage is so small, we figured a Murphy bed would be the way to go.

I purchased one from my neighbor. She was selling it for a great price and if we only planned to use the hardware, it was still a bargain. Well, that's what we ended up doing. We built a new box and purchased a new mattress.

We used pine boards which I stained with leftover stain, then I wiped a blue paint over them, some darker, some lighter, some mixed with a lighter blue. There really was no plan...I kinda like it that way.

Gene built the cabinet and a nice simple shelf in the back. I chose curtain tie back hardware from Anthropologie for the knobs. I also had the idea to add some pipes on the inside of the cabinet to hang some clothing. With no closet in the small cottage, every space was utilized!

I had just enough wallpaper left over to cover the back wall. The mirror was found on the street and dragged home by me. It just needed a good cleaning. Why would someone throw that away?

Murphy Bed Cabinet

Featured on WGNTV Chicago morning show

What a thrill to be featured on the Chicago morning show...especially since I had no idea it was going to happen until a customer mentioned it!

Click on link below to view:
http://wgntv.com/2016/12/05/artist-creates-realistic-miniature-models-of-your-dogs/

Facci's Felted Friends Featured in New York Magazine Gift Guide

So proud that my animals were featured in the 2016 Issue of New York Magazine.

https://faccidesigns.patternbyetsy.com/

Small Cottage Kitchen Makeover

Here's an update on the kitchen makeover in our guest house cottage. Being that we were on a tight budget, I used leftover Farrow and Ball pink paint from my bedroom. Hey, the stuff is expensive so I am not going to waste it!
I repainted the original cabinets and added new knobs. Gene made the lower cabinets and all the counters. The stove top was given to us and we got the under counter fridge from Craig's List at a great price. I made the curtains from leftover lace fabric. We used tile from Home Depot. The two chairs are a street find...I've had them for years and finally put them to good use. We used tree stumps for the legs of the counter. One of my favorite pieces in the kitchen is the stainless steel bucket I converted into a shelf and paper towel holder.

 

I painted the inside of the cabinets with some leftover paint as well

 

We had this bucket for awhile and converted it into this funky wall piece. We added a wood shelf and a paper towel holder and Viola!...cool and instant storage.

Halloween Mummy Hot Chocolate w/Whipped Cream Bandages

Get your mommy to make you a mummy cup of hot chocolate.

A simple Halloween treat. Fill a pastry bag or a plastic sandwich bag with whipped cream, cut off the tip and squeeze your "bandages" back and forth across your cup of hot chocolate. Insert two candy eyeballs and ya got yourself Mummy Hot Chocolate. Serve with a Sea Salt Caramel cookie from Magnolia Bakery!

A tip: It's better when the hot chocolate is not so hot...but this could work on a cup of cold chocolate milk too!

Whipped cream bandages make this cup of hot chocolate scary good!

Cottage Bathroom Renovation Finished!

Hi everyone!

Gene and I have had a busy summer working on the cottage rental...which should be ready any day now!

Here are some pictures of the tiny bathroom which is finally finished.

I found an old door on Craig's List that already had mirror in place of the glass panes. Gene and I made it into a sliding door with some cool hardware I purchased online.

The finished bathroom. Small but efficient.

BEFORE and DURING

I wanted an animal/nature theme running throughout the cottage so one of my favorite projects was the wallpaper I designed. I created a pattern with tiny animal illustrations in Adobe illustrator and then uploaded it to Spoonflower.com where it was printed into wallpaper.

Detail of my wallpaper design

We designed and made the cabinet and mirror. Gene built it out of pine and I used one coat of black paint, then sanded the edges to give it a bit of a distressed look. I added an animal knob and hook to continue the animal theme and found some cool retro bathroom hardware for the soap and toothbrush holder.

A foxy knob, a maple syrup pail for a trash can, a bunny hook for your towel, animal printed wallpaper for your viewing pleasure and retro accessories add some whimsy to the bathroom.

I chose a birch tree shower curtain I found on Amazon and the Owl rug is from Anthropologie. You can't go wrong with subway tile in the shower stall and wainscotting on the walls.

Hope you'll book a weekend soon!

Countdown to Christmas Crafting Party

The countdown has begun. 100 days till Christmas is next Thursday, Sept 15th...will you be ready?

Well, this past summer weekend, I decided to get a head start by throwing a small Christmas Crafting Party!

Use star cookie cutters to make some festive bites. Emma learning how to needle felt.

As most of you know, I am a big needle felter. So, I thought it would be fun to teach my nieces how to craft their own reindeer ornaments and at the same time, treat them to some holiday-inspired munchies.

Cut away part of the watermelon rind to make trees, use paper snowflakes as doilies and arrange your cheese sticks in a snowflake shape

I chose a color theme of red, white and green for the food and decor. I placed a simple piece of white burlap on the table and added a strip of green felt down the middle. The kids helped me cut out paper snowflakes to add to the decor.

I purchased snowflake stickers and affixed to toothpicks. Olivia loved dipping the strawberries in cream and then sanding sugar.

I had so much fun coming up with this simple menu:
 • Star shaped sun-dried tomato wraps with provolone and salami topped with pickle
• Cheese stick “candy canes” wrapped with prosciutto
• Red and green peppers with ranch dressing
• Taco chips with guacamole and red salsa
• Mozzarella with red pepper and parsley
• Watermelon Trees
• Strawberries and cream with red and green sanding sugar for dipping
• Mini red velvet cupcakes topped with snowflake toothpicks

The kids got a kick out of the instant handles on the watermelon trees and Rudolf the Reindeer showed up for the party!

The kids loved making their own ornaments and everyone FELT like it was the holidays.

Some of the Deer-inspired holiday cards at Paperless Post.

I hope my ideas have inspired you to throw your own early Christmas party.

I didn't get a chance to send out invites, but you can get your guests in the spirit by sending them a festive holiday invite online. Paperless Post has some adorable deer-inspired cards that would fit perfectly into the theme, aren't they just the dearest?! Check out their new line of Christmas cards here.

Cheers!

Check out my needle felted animals in my Etsy shop

My needle felted fawn can be purchased in my Etsy shop

Stonehouse Garden Revamp

When we purchased our stone house last year we just didn’t have time to get the front garden in shape. We did redo the path and front steps to the door, but the rest of the yard had to wait. This year we finally decided to do something about it. We hired a friend, told her the plants we wanted and she went to it. Now that we have the basics, we’ll take over, plant more and grow with it.

There was a tiny manmade pond we thought of removing, but I convinced my husband, with the installation of a very affordable fountain, we can bring this water feature back to life. We’re so glad we kept it!

Once the weed barrier, soil, plants and mulch were in place, I added some stepping stones to create paths through the garden.

With the addition of a hammock, the sound of water and some patio lights, our garden has become a true sanctuary.

Here are the BEFORE photos:

AFTER photos: A work in progress

AFTER

We even have a few "tenants"

The Little Table That Could

I AM A DUMPSTER DIVER. It's one of my favorite things to do. I'm actually furnishing most of the small cottage with stuff I find...don't worry, I clean it really well before it's displayed or used.

Found this cute table literally in a huge dumpster outside my apartment. My doormen (and my husband) think I'm crazy, 'cause I'm always dragging stuff in through the lobby.

 

I lightly sanded the table, then dipped a rag into the paint and rubbed it into the wood. Never used a brush.

Once the paint was dry, I lightly sanded the edges of the table and legs to expose some of the raw wood.

 

I decided not to paint the drawer and leave the original crystal knob on it. Not bad for a "trash find" and a little elbow grease.

Birthday Hat Cupcake Topper DIY

Celebrate a birthday by decorating a cupcake with this simple and festive craft. You probably already have all the materials on hand :) A fun craft to do with the kids.

Facci Designs Birthday Hat Cupcake Topper DIY

Materials Needed:
Paper
Pencil
Lid or circle template
Tape
Scissors (scallop or pinking shears optional)
Curling Ribbon
Cupcakes

1. Gather your materials
2. Fold paper in half, trace around your lid to create about a 4” circle. Cut out to create 4 circles.
3. Once all circles are cut, fold circle in half, cut in half, then trim edge with fancy scissor
4. Cut into ribbons a few times so it’s easier to split your ribbon in narrow strips.
5. Gather one of each color and cut length of ribbon to about 2.5”. Tape to center of your half circle.
6. Roll up to create a cone and tape closed.
7. Slightly curls the ends of the ribbon with the edge of your scissor.

Place on top of birthday cupcakes.

TIPS
• Try using colored or patterned paper
• Use leftover wrapping paper
• Write the name or age of the birthday person on the hat
• Decorate the paper with markers, then roll.
• Use glitter to add some sparkle
• Create the hats in different sizes

A great handmade gift for a dog lover

Need a gift for a dog lover or a gift for that person who has everything?? A Facci Designs needle felted miniature pet is just the thing.

I recently finished this lil' guy and I just love him...if I say so myself :) When the dogs have unique markings, it makes my job easier and it's more fun for me as well.

You can order a custom dog on my etsy page HERE

Facci Designs Needle Felted Custom Dog makes a great gift!

Facci Designs Needle Felted Custom Dog

Facci Designs Needle Felted Custom Dog

The real deal

Cottage Renovation Update - Checkboard / Diamond Patterned Painted Floor

I took a staycation to work on some projects for the cottage. Like, tiling the kitchen, wallpapering the bathroom with wallpaper I designed :) - I'll post about that another time- and painting a checkerboard pattern on the living room floor. There was already a pattern on the floor which I wasn't a fan of, though in pictures, it might look nice, in person, it was not. Other than the wood wall Gene and I created for our house, this was one of the toughest projects I tackled in awhile.

Here's why: First, the room had to be emptied of all the construction materials and such, I then had to sand the floor on my hands and knees, so the new paint would stick to it (I used a 6" orbital sander), I then had to sweep and clean it before adding one coat of primer, let dry, then painted 2 coats of white porch paint, let dry between each coat, measure out the diamonds so I would have the size diamond I wanted and one full diamond upon entering the cottage, (I am not a math wiz, so this took me a bit to figure out) cut a template so I could trace the pattern on the floor. I then had to mask off the gray diamonds with pricey tape made especially for this type of project. I started to paint them in and while removing that pricey tape, the tape removed the paint as well - revealing the original black pattern, (glad I spent all that money on pricey painter's tape) so I decided to freehand the rest of the diamonds. I painted two coats of gray and added yet another coat of white to the white diamonds. Let dry. I then had to clean the floor before coating it with polyurethane. WHEW!

I'm pretty sure the original black pattern will come through at some point, but I think it'll look cool, well, I hope so.

Stay tuned for more cottage renovation updates! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. lindafacci@yahoo.com

Prepping the floor for the paint

Starting to prime, 2 coats of white paint

template, masking off pattern

The finished floor.

Custom Needle Felted Mini Animals by Facci Designs

I needlefelt many custom dogs and wedding cake toppers but I also get requests for individual animals. Here are some of them. Want me to create a mini animal of your choice? Just check out my Etsy shop and place an order. They make great gifts!

Facci Designs Needle Felted Mini Fox, Hedgehog, Racoon and Bunny

Facci Designs Needle Felted Mini Fox, Hedgehog, Racoon

Facci Designs Needle Felted Mini Skunk

Facci Designs Needle Felted Mini Sloth Follow his friend Sonny @sonny.the.sloth on Instagram 

Facci Designs Needle Felted Mini Fox