Our good friend, Rhoda is hosting a Christmas vignette link party over at Southern Hospitality today, so I thought I’d blog about the Christmas-y touches I added to our newly-painted secretary. Here it is “before”…
…and here it is now!
As for the secretary itself, I ended up using Miss Mustard Seed‘s “Shutter Gray” milk paint on the outside of it, and I’m currently awaiting the arrival of some “Grain Sack” milk paint to use on the inside of it. I LOVED working with Marian’s milk paint! It’s exactly the finish I’m always drawn to, but can never seem to achieve myself. It took me a minute to get used to the consistency, but man does that stuff totally rock when it’s all smoothed on and dry. And her furniture wax that seals everything when you’re done painting? Total. Perfection!
Love, love, LOVE it!
The drawer pulls came from Home Depot:
I chose them because they were simple, inexpensive, and I liked the way they looked.
Up on top of the hutch, I used some things I already had on hand- including a few of my Grandma’s old crocks:
I popped a bunch of stuff that makes me smile inside the hutch, too:
I had to work Mr. “KP” in there, of course…
The small bowl, basket of ornaments, “joy” stone, snowflake ornament, Christmas trees, cinnamon sticks and cable-knit candle cozy all came from Hobby Lobby, and the green ribbon came from Michaels…
I dug everything else out of our moving boxes- ha! #StillUnpacking
My favorite “thing” though, is the card that’s stuck to the wall behind our “3” tray…
I love not opening it…and just letting that sentence soak way in. It takes me to a Positive place every time I see it…especially today. We received word that our adoption application has been approved by Lifeline Children’s Services! And while there are a lot of unknowns ahead of us on this journey, we’ll take comfort in knowing that One Thing’s for sure…and He’s got a plan for us and our little one.
YEAH!! Congrats on the acceptance. I read this today. It was from an adoptive mom and said that it got them thru the waiting. But I had just been emailing with a friend and we were talking about praying and being patient for Gods timing as she desperately tries to grow their family. And now your post. I’m praying for you.
Habakkuk 2:3.
“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”
Love it!
Amazing hutch ! Did with Miss Mustard Seed milk paint in grain sack on a dresser. Love this color.
What a wonderful Christmas present! Congratulations on your wonderful news! Merry Christmas!!
Oh…and the secretary looks fantastic!
OH I am so SO happy for you two, can’t wait to see what this brings!!!! Enjoy the journey!!!
I adopted my daughter from China almost 14 years ago…I still remember my documents being accepted! It was the beginning of an amazing journey…your child is waiting for you…God has the perfect child that He decided before you were even born, was going to be yours.
It looks gorgeous Layla, love the color!
Gorgeous secretary Layla, love that color and the way you’ve styled it for Christmas is beautiful.
I’m relatively new to your blog, but I love your style….you’ve been a real inspiration to me! So glad to hear the good news on the adoption approval!! Prayers for the road ahead!…
oh layla…so happy to hear the news…rejoicing with you
LOVE the secretary too:)
xo
Yes HE does and it’s perfect!!! Congratulations.
I love the secretary, Layla. I was so excited when Kevin called today and said you all had been approved for adoption. Can’t wait to be grandmama again. I know that God has the perfect child for Kevin and you. We will continue to pray that everything will happen according to His plan. Love you both.
Oh crimany………….(sniff). God BLESS your hearts.
Jeremiah 29 11-13 in action, for sure. My favorite passage. i am beyond thrilled for you and Kev. This is the best Christmas present ever.
Oh yes, I positively LOVE the secretary. The color and your finish is just luscious. Can’t wait to see what’s next.
Layla, I can just feel the smile on your face. If you can feel love from afar…….I am sending you and Kev a huge hug.
Ter’e
Congratulations to you and Kev! Children are a blessing and a heritage from the Lord. Trust in Him with all your hearts, and He will direct your path. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you both!
Hi Layla… love your new secretary. I have been eyeing this milk paint. Did you use the bonding agent? Did you sand in the areas you wanted the wood exposed? Great work as always!
Congratulations on the adoption being approved! The secretary looks great, too.
The secretary looks beautiful! You sure worked some magic on it 😉 And, I love all the Christmas touches. Congratulations on the acceptance! What a great Christmas gift! May the Lord grant you much peace, patience, and rest in Him as you wait for His perfect timing on receiving your little one.
I’m so happy for you! That is all 🙂
You share your heart with all of us in your designs and posts. Thank you for doing that and congrats on the news!
I am happy for both of you as well! We too adopted from Russia – our son. We also have 4 biological daughters. It’s a long journey with getting your dossiers in place but just make a list & plug away at it.
By the way I love the milk paint color you chose for the secretary. Sort of a country/beachy flare to it.
I love the secretary! I have to say you’ve got vignettes/styling down. If it had sheet music or something else falling off of it I’d swear it was in a PB catalog, lol. Congratulations on getting your application approved!
Ooh- sheet music! Hmmm…. 😉
I loved your secretary! But most of all I love that you are approved for adoption. Our youngest granddaughter is adopted from Guatemala, and she made our family complete. It is quite an experience, and I was fortunate that our daughter shared every step of it with us, from the moment they were accepted to the moment they knew they had Emerson to the Gotcha Day (when they took custody of her) to every moment since. Good luck with your journey – I will be wishing you well every step of the way.
Maggie Fieger, Lawrence, KS
how exciting for y’all that your application has been approved!!! i remember my husband and i being giddy as school girls when we found out ours was approved! what a wonderful early Christmas present…congratulations…y’all are one step closer to parenthood :0)
the secretary looks great as well…love the color…makes me want to get my paint on!
i knew that the secretary was going to look great, but BAM!, you took it up a notch. spectacular!
i’m so thrilled for you and kevin and your progress in the adoption process. exciting! (is it weird for you to know your readers, who do not actually *know* you, experience true joy for you?)
Beautiful job on the secretary … but your adoption approval is probably the best Christmas gift ever! So excited for you guys!
I love the way that came out. I want to try the milk paint soooo bad. I need to save some money first though. Budget budget budget.
Wonderful news about the adoption process! One step closer! 🙂
Love how the secretary turned out! I’m off to look again at Miss Mustard’s color choices!
The secratary turned out so pretty…I now have the courage to do mine.
Thanks for the inspiration.
and sweet happy day to you on the adoption application being approved.
Merry Christmas!
I love to distress furniture, now I’m inspired, will have to order Miss Mustard Seeds milk paint. The secretary turned out fabulous!!
I wish you the best of luck on your adoption, someone is watching over you both.
“PARENTHOOD” Another chapter begins in your book of life…and you have written the first sentence. Looking forward to the adventure that follows!
Congratulations!! You two are gonna be the blessing that some child needs. There is nothing more hopeful, faith-filled and glorious than to be a mom & dad. God bless y’all!!
I love every single teeny tiny thing about this.
Layla, do you like the milk paint better than the chalk paint? I am needing to paint some bar stools and was thinking of going with chalk paint. But after seeing your secretary, I really like the milk paint finish. I know you’ve used both, so wondered which you prefer.
Congratulations on the approval! As you “Wait on the Lord!” I trust He is preparing you – all 3 of you – for the future He has planned for you!
What a beautiful transformation. I was just thinking of painting my hutch in my dining room gray and you’ve helped me make that final decision. I didn’t want white on every piece in the house.
Congrats on your adoption application being accepted. May God’s blessings be with you two in the coming year.
Your secretary painted up beautifully! I love it, and I love the things you’ve added to it!
I was so happy to see the finished product today, looks great! And congrats on the adoption, what a perfect holiday gift:)
I love the update! It feel so homey.
Congratulations on your approval 🙂
Jenn
With Luck
i found out my brother’s expecting a new baby, their fourth. i am just as excited for you and kevin as i am for my own brother! thanks for keeping us in the loop!
What a lovely pre-Christmas gift! So excited for you both!
WONDERFUL news about the adoption! Blessings and Merry Christmas!
so so soooo excited for you!! i know its just a step in the process but i thought that the acceptance seemed super fast [just from what ive heard about adoptions]. you guys are going to be the best parents… im kind of jealous.
you dont want to have a married 25 year old by chance, huh?
the cinnamon was my favorite touch. and im in love with the milk paint. looking for something around here to paint…
I love your style. Inspires me and my wife for our adventures in our new home. Great, great news on the adoption front! Been following a long time silently and thought I’d say my part today.
I love it! You did a fabulous job decorating it and the color is perfect!
Babies do come true!! As homes and houses do!
Lots of loving prayers for you.
Okay, now I’m through 🙂
Amen, sista! One Thing is for sure!
Soooooo happy for you and this new adventure you are on!
You make me smile!
Congrats on your approval from the adoption agency! You must be thrilled:) One step closer! Love what you did with the secretary and how you styled it. A perfect before and after! I’ll pin later tonight to the BHG home projects board 🙂 Have a great day!
It turned out great! Knew it would.
And Congratulations!
-Angie
Looks great. There wasn’t a shot of the inside I’m thinking it may have the same kind of small places that are harder to paint. Wonder what the inside looks like and if you can share how it was to paint the inside also.
Congrats on you application approval!
Congrats on the application approval!
Is there a detailed tutorial that you followed somewhere? I’ve been very interested in milk paint and thinking that is what I will do to my bedroom furniture, but need to have directions……
Your secretary looks great!
Love that color – it looks beautiful I may have to try some of that furniture wax.
So very happy your adoption app has been approved we have been in the process for almost a year. We just were liceased as foster parents adn are half way through the adoption home study process to adopt a foster child from our county. Patience is so hard for me at this part. Love your card, God has a plan for our families looking forward to watching your journey unfold.