DIY Wall Vases

I fear last week did not prove well for getting much done around our house. The little man has been working on getting both of his upper teeth and we have had a major lack of sleep due to it. I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed as I watch my house grow messier and the to-do list grow longer. If only there were more time in a day.

Adding to the list is the fact that little man's birthday is nearly a month away which means a lot more for me to be working on. I am excited to share my birthday projects with you but I think I will wait to unveil them until after the birthday (I don't want to spoil the surprises for our family). However, I will be doing a whole bunch of posts about hosting a birthday bash on a dime after his party is over.

Despite the set-backs I have continued to try to catch up on making some new home decor. After all, the crafting truly is therapeutic and it keeps my mind and fingers busy. Once again I found inspiration for dressing up my very tiny entry way on Pinterest (are you starting to notice a trend with my house . . . teeny tiny rooms). My entry is small but needed some sort of pop of color to welcome guests, and the wall vases I found on The Winthrop Chronicles blog were perfect: http://thewinthropchronicles.blogspot.com/2012/03/wall-vase.html.

I adjusted her measurements a bit to fit some extra 2x4 that we had leftover from the basement remodel last summer. Since this dwarfed the sizing a bit I used some clear beer bottles rather than wine bottles for the vases (labels come right off in boiling water . . . a little bit of Goo Gone will take the leftover adhesive right off).

I have to say . . . this makes my entry way feel much more welcoming. Let me know if you decide to give this an attempt!

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DIY Magnetic Board

I have been looking for a way to organize my unbelievably long to-do lists . . . I find that if I am forced to see them everyday then I am more likely to work towards completing them. I was originally thinking of making a cork board for above my sewing desk but since my work-station is located in our living room we figured that thumb tacks would not be a great idea in the same room that our little guy plays in everyday. That's when we decided that a magnetic board would be perfect.

I came across this great frame at the thrift store for $1.99. It was perfect since I wanted the board to appear to be a piece of art on the wall (I am all about my workstation blending in to it's surroundings).

Step one was to remove all of the hardware and the insert that someone had already put into the frame. I then spray painted the frame and followed it up with a coat of varnish. My husband then cut some metal that we had from some heat duct work he had done. I hot glued it to some foam board that I bought at the dollar store. I then stretched my fabric as taught as I could around the piece and glued it all into place.

Then I glued it all into the frame. Keeping in mind that you can never be too safe, I reinforced the back with some packaging tape. We will see how well this all keeps in place! :)

I then attached ribbon to the frame with screws as well as a hanging bracket (there wasn't any hanging material on the frame when I bought it). I made some lace flower magnets and my new board was ready for business!

An easy way to create the perfect magnetic board that is as stylish as it is functional!

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From Dresser to Entertainment Stand

A few weeks ago we spent a Saturday shopping at some garage sales and estate sales in our neighborhood. It was hot and after trekking around without much luck we were ready to go home. We were heading back to our house when we saw an estate sale sign posted about 2 blocks from our house. We decided to swing through one more sale and what luck we had. They had the most beautiful dresser that I just could not walk away from.

It had a HUGE mirror attached and they were asking $75 for it. I asked if they were willing to sell it with out the mirror but the woman in charge said she didn't know what she would do with just the mirror and instead offered the whole set to me for $60. I was sold. 

It had a little damage on the top but I knew I could sand it even. I wanted to create an entertainment stand with the dresser so I didn't mind having to sand the whole piece. 

I spent the afternoon sanding the dresser down. I removed all the drawers and removed all the remaining hardware from the top 2 drawer openings. We also drilled a hole for wires in both of the openings. Then I began the process of applying 2 coats of primer. Unfortunately for us, it was starting to rain so the priming had to be done in our dining room. 

I let this dry overnight and then began applying the color the next morning. I applied 2 coats of an off-white paint on the inside of the opened drawers, 2 coats of turquoise paint on the dresser and some off white on the details on both front legs. I then covered the piece with Polycrilic and left it to dry overnight. 

I began working on the drawers during the week while my little guy was napping. I removed all of the hardware and sanded, primed, painted and protected the drawers. 

I was going to purchase new hardware but the more I worked with the dresser the more I loved the uniqueness of the handles. I decided to refinish the handles for their own fresh pop of color. I laid the handles out on some cardboard and primed, painted and varnished with spray paint. 

As all of the handles dried I decided to line the drawers. I found a beautiful natural wrapping paper with white flowers vines in my stash that I thought would add a nice surprise to the drawers. To line drawers with wrapping paper (or fabric or other paper) simply use your drawer to trace a shape on the paper. Cut it out and then trim it to fit perfectly in the drawer. 

Apply a coat of Mod-Podge to the bottom of the drawer and lay paper onto bottom of drawer while smoothing out all of the winkles. Let this dry overnight and then follow up with 1-2 coats of Mod-Podge on top of the paper. 

I then re-attached all of the handles . . . so close to finished. 

The last piece to complete the project was to add some side walls inside my open shelves. My husband cut out 2 pieces of hardboard which I painted in the same off-white that was on the inside of the shelves. Using wood glue and clamps we attached the side walls. 

Finally . . . all done and so much better than I could have imagined when I first started. I think this is by far my favorite piece of furniture in our house!   :)    

The best part . . . our TV is now safely out of reach of our little man (don't worry . . . we still used safety straps though . . . you can never be too careful)! 

Linking up to:

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Wall Sconce Project

While searching through Pinterest I stumbled upon an amazing blog, www.shanty-2-chic.com. The sisters that run this blog are amazingly creative and I hope to one day tackle nearly all of their tutorials! I highly suggest clicking through their blog for some project inspiration. 

I decided to start with their wall sconce tutorial (http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2011/08/diy-wall-sconce-video.html). It looked fairly simple and I had some extra wood from our basement remodel that my husband told me to use up however I could! I had to make a few adjustments . . . we only had 2x4's available so I eyeballed the length of the wood to keep it from looking too skinny and long. I think they turned out pretty good though! 

(Excuse the mess in the entry way)

Let me know if you decide to tackle this great project! 

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A Vacation Complete With Thrifting

So we finally got away for a weekend . . . for the first time since we had our little guy! It had been much too long since we truly took some time for ourselves. I was a little nervous about how he would handle traveling but he was so easy-going that it turned out to be a really laid back weekend getaway. We loved it! I loved it the most because it was truly relaxing and full of thrifting! So of course, I had to hop on the blog to share my finds and the places we hit up . . . in case anyone else may be traveling to Wisconsin anytime soon!

First of all, we stay with family in the historic town of Portage, Wisconsin. In my opinion, I think this town has so much character. I truly love checking out all of the scenery . . . and I am a sucker for all of the beautiful homes here. http://ci.portage.wi.us/ 

We began our weekend by checking out their Goodwill store over at 2902 Village Road. I had a lot of luck here with their clothes and walked out with 2 skirts ($3.99 each) and a sleeveless top ($2.99). My husband also found a great scale for weighing postal items for just $1.99. Unfortunately, I did not have luck with any housewares here but, as always with thrifting, I am sure the stock turns over quickly. Who knows what a different trip might bring. 

Due to the over 100 degree temperatures, we decided to end thrifting early and head for the beach. The next  day would be our big thrifting day. 

We started our day on Saturday over at the Portage Flea Market (which is held the first Saturday of the month from June to October). It had a lot of truly unique items! I kind of wish I would have looked through here more closely. Prices were phenomenal! From there we headed over to the Princeton Flea Market (open every Saturday until October 13 . . . http://www.princetonwi.com/Section/Visitor_Information/Flea_Market.html). This flea market is HUGE! There are a lot of hand crafted items here as well as some unique finds. Prices are mixed through out. Unfortunately, we arrived later then we had hoped and a lot of vendors were packing up. All I ended up buying here were cheese curds and sausage. So we were back on the hunt for good bargains. 

Before leaving town we stopped at an amazing little thrift store called, Phabulous Phinds. It is located at 102 E. Main Street, right across from the Piggly Wiggly. This shop was sooo adorable! Very clean with great displays . . . this was where I began to have luck!

I scored these adorable artificial flowers for $4.50 a piece. I knew I couldn't make these for cheaper so I was quite happy with this find. These will be perfect on the mantle. 

I also found this adorable wicker umbrella for $2.79. I thought this would be perfect for holding some flowers as a door decoration!

I was also super excited to find some great items for my son's upcoming birthday party! Elmo cake toppers and some crayon birthday candles! I also found a top for myself and one for my husband while here. Again, this shop was just adorable! I highly recommend it.

From here we went on to Beaver Dam where we made a pit stop at their Goodwill (130 Frances Lane). This Goodwill was HUGE! I was so happy we had the time to look through everything. Once again I had great luck with clothes (I always seem to have luck at Goodwill)! My husband found a book and we found a sealed collection of Sesame Street board books which we picked up as a birthday gift for my little one (thank goodness he was happily napping while we shopped). 

I also found this great wall sconce which I am thinking will be painted in an off-white and distressed a bit. It will be perfect for over our television. (And for 99 cents there was really no questioning my decision). 

I also managed to find even more supplies for the upcoming birthday! And here I was cutting out Elmo heads before we left . . . this will save some time. 

This was all we really had time for on our weekend vacation but I truly hope to explore some more the next time we go for a visit. However, on the way home we did stop in Racine for the Seven Mile Fair. It was huge but there was definitely more merchandise stands then garage sale type stands (I prefer to find good old items so I was a bit disappointed). But we headed for the back of the flea market and found a few vendors with the garage sale set up!

I scored a few good finds while there though . . . not bad for $15.00, right? The bottom bucket I am hoping to use as a garden decoration. I will post my completed project once I finish it!   :)

Not bad for some vacation thrifting! Got any of your own tips on great flea markets or thrift stores? Please feel free to share your thoughts! 

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Tutu Cute Wreath

The last week has been a hectic one around here as I try to wrap up a few big projects. I am very close which means some more great tutorials are on their way! To top off the hecticness, my little one seems to be teething again which has meant a lot of skipped naps and many grouchy afternoons . . . all meaning less work time for mom. However, during the shorter than usual naps I have been trying to tackle a few items off of my Pinterest boards.

I know I have mentioned it before but I will say it again, if you are not already a member of Pinterest I highly suggest joining! There are endless amounts of inspiration but be warned, you will find your to-do list growing with each minute you spend on there!   :)

This week I was able to complete a new 4th of July wreath . . . talk about cutting it close. Once again, this was something inspired by a few wreaths I had seen pinned on Pinterest. The process was so simple and so cheap! (I apologize, the process was so simple that I forgot to take pictures of progress).

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Supplies:

- Craft Wreath (super thrifty if you find them at your Dollar Store)

- Tulle (tulle rolls makes this project a breeze . . . I used 3 full tulle rolls)

- Any decorations you might want to add to your wreath

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- Cut your tulle into strips of your desired length. I suggest trying a few out before cutting all of your strips to be sure the length achieves your desired effect. Once you are sure of the length, then you can pre-cut all of your strips.

- Tie your strips around the wreath in whatever pattern you want. I doubled my strips for coverage and fullness. 

- Once your entire wreath is covered add your decorations. I added string to hold my wreath up (I didn't want to have the wreath hook peeking through my tulle). I used the string to hang the wreath from my wreath hook. I then free handed a letter "F" on some foam posterboard and cut it out. Using mod-podge I covered the letter with some patriotic fabric I had. Once it had dried I used hot glue to affix it to the center of my wreath. My "F" was so big that I knew any other decorations would have just cluttered up the wreath. But you can use anything to add bling: fabric flowers, wreath picks, bows, etc.! Get creative and have fun!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July! 

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