Brainstorming - Our New 1930s Sideboard

I had many dreams for this past weekend and this week, but my kiddos aren't feeling well. Instead of freaking out about not accomplishing anything (and I literally mean anything.....you would cringe at the thought of stepping foot in our house right now) I decided to change my focus. This week I'm going to brainstorm. I'm looking at areas of the house that need improvement in whatever way and jotting down ideas. Although I'm normally very decisive about everything, I need YOUR help with something. 

See this gorgeous piece of 1930s Americana furniture?  

What....you don't think it's beautiful?  You will. At the end of this process, this $30...YES, $30....piece of Habitat for Humanity ReStore furniture will be Gone with the Wind fabulous. (If you don't watch Real Housewives of Atlanta you won't get that, but if you want a good laugh Google "Kenya Moore Gone with the Wind Fabulous".)

Before all of this transforming can begin I need your help. Taking my current wall color into consideration, what color do you think I should paint the sideboard?  I'd love and appreciate your thoughts in the comments below. 

Thanks so much for taking a moment to comment!  :)

DIH Construction Party

 

 

 

So, my little guy recently turned 3 and insisted on a construction party.  While I enjoy his newly found independence, unfortunately, I no longer have control over the party theme (sigh). 

I like to put my personal touch on every party so I rarely run to the party store for decorations.  I like a challenge ;)  I also keep my budget really tight so I buy as many items from the dollar store as possible, like the paper goods and utensils, and then fill in as needed. 

For the personal touches I headed to my local craft store.  I lucked out and their scrapbooking paper was on sale for 3/$0.99.  I grabbed 6 pieces (which was more than enough) to fit in with the theme and I was ready to get started.

The construction signs were as simple as can be.  I traced a square and rounded out the edges when I cut them.  Then, used a stencil for the lettering.  I outlined the letters in pencil and then filled them in with a Sharpie marker.  For the figures, I used a ruler to make the straight edges.  I applied the same steps in making the smaller signs for the food at the buffet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The birthday banner is my favorite decoration to make and it's also simple.  I do it for all the boys' birthdays and save each one. 

I start by tracing out the triangles onto scrapbook paper, making sure its large enough for the letter size.  I then use a stencil to trace the letters onto a coordinating piece of paper, cut them out and glue them to the triangles.  Next, I use a hole puncher to punch a hole in the top corners of the triangle.  Finally, weave ribbon or string through the holes and enjoy!

For some of the snack food, I used a few of our own dump trucks (we've got plenty) as serving bowls.  Super cute!!!

My decoration grand total was $2.98 including a super cute dump truck balloon...Woo Hoo!  This just goes to show that it doesn't take a ton of money or time to have a fantastically decorated birthday party.

Happy celebrating ;)

Spray Paint Transformations

So, I’ve been known to get bored, wander around the house and grab things to “transform.”  You'll find me in the garage armed with a can of spray paint from my massive paint collection. While I usually play it safe and stick to black, white, or oil rubbed bronze, I’m attempting to step out of my color comfort zone.  Go bold or go home!

Most recently Emily purchased some lamps off the clearance shelf (because why on earth would we pay full price) for her master bedroom. While they weren’t her choice of color, the potential was totally there. One can of amazing grass green spray paint and fifteen minutes later the lamps were beyond gorg! They’ll be the perfect accent pieces for her room. Plus, if and when she decides to redecorate (and we know she will) it’ll be an easy project to spray them again in a new accent color.

 

 

 

 

My latest project was a chandelier for my master bedroom closet.  This mommy has three boys so my closet is the one and only place in home that I insist is void of blue, cars, trucks, and LEGO's.  I needed a little pizzazz in my "happy place."

It's just a standard brass chandelier that I sprayed white.  I know, I know...I should've gone bold, but like I said, I get antsy and white was what was in my spray paint collection.  If I can convince hubby to take it down it'll end up bright pink for sure :)

We’ve jockeyed around quite a few fans in our home in an attempt to re-use instead of buying new. The kitchen fan didn’t quite match the other fixtures so we moved it to the guest room turned nursery. It wasn’t my favorite, but it worked with the shabby-chic look I was aiming for. As my son grew older the fan no longer worked and we purchased a plain white fan to coordinate with the ones in his brother’s rooms. Being the cheapo frugal mama that I am, I was having difficulties just trashing the old ceiling fan.

One can of Rustoleum oil rubbed bronze spray paint totally transformed the fan and I LOVE it. It looks fabulous in our family room and replaces the fan that my dear, sweet hubby broke (that's not what I was thinking when he broke it).

 

 

 

 

Who doesn’t love a $7.00 ceiling fan!?!?

My point being, don’t discount a bargain or repurposing an item just based on color. Think beyond the color... One can of spray paint and a few minutes is all it takes to totally customize an endless amount of accessories, fixtures, etc.  Plus, accessories are an easy and inexpensive way to add this years “it” color into your home.

;) Happy Spraying

Double Whammy - Our Reading Nook and Toy Storage Area

I'm super nervous to share something with you that I conceptualized and built (well, Peter Pan and Captain Hook helped too) for the back of our living room.  Nervous?  Yes, nervous.  It's the first thing I have ever built and it was a huge undertaking, so I'm nervous that some of you will notice some of the imperfections.  I'll point them out to you:  1)  The inside of the boxes aren't painted.  2)  Some of the edges aren't as sanded down as they should be.  3)  Finally, I didn't put the hinges on correctly so there's about an inch overhang.  But, I did the ol' spinaroo and told everyone it was on purpose so that my kids don't pinch their fingers. 

Okay, so let's move on to pictures, shall we?

The first picture gives you a glimpse of what the back of the living room looked like when I began.  About a month prior to that my brother helped me rip out a 13' counter with drawers that was used by the previous owner's kids as a homework station.  Some people probably thought I was nuts for tearing it out, but it was ugly and made no sense in the room, or for our family for that matter.  My husband was not thrilled when he got home from work.  Let's move on..... 

I measured the space that needed to be filled by a "box" (that's what I was calling it).  Eleven feet you say, and I'll be loading it, unloading it, carrying it up a flight of stairs with two kids "helping"?  That's when I decided to split it into three "boxes" so that I wouldn't have a heart attack.  From there I went to Lowe's with the measurements and a very helpful and patient man cut every single piece of wood FOR FREE! 

 

From there I laid out the pieces and began assembling the boxes.  I used wood screws on the sides and also used two brackets on each side of the boxes.

 

 

 

The boys and I were thrilled at this point!  We built a box!  Seriously, just doing this was a victory.

 

 

 

After all three boxes were built they needed to be lined up and the lids needed to be attached and boxes needed to be painted.  Let's sideline this conversation for a minute. Do you notice how the paint color directly above the boxes is lighter than the color on the top half of the wall?  This was a bitter pill to swallow.  I've always heard that you should buy an extra gallon of whatever color you paint a room just incase you need it.  But, of course I didn't.  So, when I bought the same exact color for this project they didn't match.  You'll see later that pillows cover the lighter color, but still........

 

 

In this picture you'll see I attached the hinges and you'll also notice that I put a few Imaginext toys in it to give you an idea of the storage capacity.  (I'm pointing out they're Imaginext toys only because if you have boys you'll know how huge those toys are.)

 

 

 

 

Can you believe the amount of storage space in these beasts?  They're wonderful!  This box holds all Imaginext toys, another holds all of the boys' Geotrax buildings and tracks, and the third box holds all of their Little People buildings, cars, and people.

 

 

 

The final thing that needed figured out was what to do with the top of the boxes so that the boys could also use this space to lay and look at books.  After looking into many options, all WAY outside of my budget, I decided to go to Target and buy two full-sized bed toppers.  Next, the boys and I headed to the shower curtain aisle because the Threshold brand shower curtains are very well made and gorgeous so they'd be perfect to cover the bed toppers.  Finally, we stopped at Lowe's, picked out a piece of plywood, had it cut into two pieces, then headed home. 

 

I was so excited to get this project completed that I practically ran up the stairs with the boys and all of the goodies.  We folded the bed toppers on top of the plywood the covered everything with the shower curtains.  Captain Hook sat on the opposite side of the plywood to help keep everything in place as I was stapling the shower curtain to the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

After summer I scoured Target's clearance section to find some outdoor pillows. I chose outdoor pillows because of the size and sturdy material.  After hitting up three Target's in about a ten mile radius I was the proud owner of seven perfectly matching pillows for a FRACTION of what they would have cost me a month prior. 

 

 

 

 

What do you think of the final look?  It's a wonderful little space for my kids!

 





 



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Remodelaholic

Command Center

So, I'm the type of gal that needs notes and reminders for everything.   I literally need bells, whistles, and alarms to accompany my sticky notes, highlighters, and bold print.  It's unfortunate, but it's my pitiful reality.  If I don't physically write it on one of my three calendars, well,  then I'm not attending.

I started off when we moved to our new house by neatly posting all of our important papers, invitations, and reminders inside our pantry door, along with my calendar.  One fatal flaw...if the door isn't open, I see nothing and attend nothing.  So, I had a brilliant idea (which don't come along too often)!  We had a blank wall between our kitchen and family room that I pass by a million and one times a day.  I decided to turn it into a "Command Center."  An area where I'd post everything from study guides to important events, and even an area for bill paying.  One catch, it had to look darn cute if I'm going to put all of our business on display!

Let's work clockwise and I'll give you the details:

This adorable organizer came off the clearance shelf at Target.  Emily spotted it and got it for me :)
It's perfect for this wall!  It has three different pockets and holds all sorts of stuff.  I broke it up into 5 different sections by taping on magnets I found for $1.00 at Target. I now have a designated area for "Pay," "File," "Send," and "Keep."  I left the top pocket open for miscellaneous junk items.

Next, our family rules.  I found some on Pinterest, tailored them to our family, printed them up and framed them.  It's a nice little reminder for the boys (Mommy and Daddy, too) and a visual for us to refer back to.

Here are our "Family Rules:"

Always tell the truth
Work hard
Keep your promises
Try new things
Don't whine
Laugh out loud
Always say I love you
Use kind words
Do your best
Be grateful, be kind
Be proud of yourself
See please and thank you
Remember you are loved

 

 

Again, I scored this magnetic board at Target in the Dollar Deals section.  I attached a pad of paper with a magnetic strip for important daily reminders and to jot down lists.  It also gives me another area to hold smaller items.

 

 

I originally put up the "drunken octopus" hooks for coats and school bags, but I just couldn't bear to have them hanging out in the open.  It just didn't seem like the right area, so they went back where they came from and into the hall closet.  Unfortunately, that left me with three hooks with no use.  Luckily, I'd seen these metal pails at Target in the Dollar Deals section (I know, I know...I'm there too often, but I simply cannot resist) and thought they'd be perfect.

To decipher between the three boys' bins I stenciled their initials onto the side of each pail with black paint.  Now, with no confusion between who's pail is who's, the kids put their personal belongings inside.  It also provides me with a place to put any of their "valuables" I find under foot or laying around the house.

 

This is just a simple peel and stick chalkboard where the kids like to write little notes or doodles.  It's also a cutesy little place for me to jot down a note to them.

These hooks are probably the most used element in our "Command Center."  This is where I put the kids' calendars for school, study guides, and any other important reminders.  My hook usually holds any useful coupons I come across before they make it into my coupon organizer.  Hubbies hook usually contains any mail that he needs to handle.

Each family member has their own color coded clip that hangs from a picture hanger hook.  It was simple to put together.  I measured out the 5 hooks 5 inches from one another, hammered in the nails, and ta-da!

Yes, you guessed it, I got this dry erase calendar from the Dollar Deals section at Target :)  Are you surprised?

Any time an event comes it I jot it down here and also add it to the calendar on my phone.  I find it useful because when plans change I can easily change the calendar.  I'm also going to start using a different colored dry erase marker for each of my boys as they've gotten busier and my brain has become increasingly scrambled.

I wanted an area to showcase the boys' masterpieces.  I made this plaque using an old piece of pallet wood and a stencil.  I added the popular quote by Pablo Picasso, "Every child is an artist."  On the bottom I screwed in three cup hooks to attach clips.  Now, I can easily hang up the boys' artwork for all to admire.

I love, love, this area in our house.  It keeps my crew organized while being organized itself.

Super Simple Straw Holder

As I go through each room of my home, I'm trying to determine which areas of that particular room need some adjustments to run more smoothly.  Straws are the last thing you'd think would annoy someone, right?  Well, our straw situation was becoming a situation.  I keep the straws in the sippy cup/big boy cup cupboard and every time I'd open the cabinet to add a cup, straws would fall out or all over the inside of the cupboard.  So, I'm like "hmmmm....get thinking, girly". 

I looked around my kitchen and found a breadcrumb container that was pretty much empty, so I cleaned it out and added my straws. 

"This is going to be perfect", I thought.  And it was, but it was ugly.  Nothing a glue gun and some cute scrapbook paper can't handle.

There you have it....my solution to a big straw mess. 

How to Create a Wall of Pictures

 

 

 

See this?  Looks like a whole bunch of nothing, right?  My point exactly!  This happens to be my super boring dining room wall.  I knew it needed sprucing, but it was much easier to ignore it rather than face it.

One night while my husband was working late, the house was neat and tidy, and all the boys were asleep in their beds, I could ignore it no longer.  It was 9:30 at night so buying anything new wasn't an option, so I went on a scavenger hunt to see what I could find.  I grabbed any wall hanging or pictures that I wasn't currently using, laid them out on the dining room table, and got to work.  I'm even embarrassed enough to admit that I used a meat tenderizer because I wasn't interested in sifting through my husband's work bench to find the hammer (this happens all too often).

Here's the results of my late-night re-do...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To:

I began by laying the wall hangings on the table so I could easily move things around until I found a lay-out that would look best.  I found some old pictures  and frames.  I used both burlap and wrapping paper as a matte. The mirror was the focal point so I placed it in the middle and I worked my way outward.  It took a couple of tries until it felt balanced.  Even after placing everything up on the wall I still switched things around.

I'm really pleased with how the wall looks and the space it fills.  Also, it will be really simple to add more or switch out the frames to change up the look.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another wall I did recently.  This wall is in the seating area of our bedroom.  Again, I purchased nothing new.  All I did was take pictures and frames from storage or elsewhere in the house.  I mapped out the best layout by placing the frames in different positions on the floor and then got to work.

 

Not too bad for late-night projects ;)

Wrapping Paper Projects (yes, wrapping paper!!!)

If you're anything like me, you absolutely cannot resist the dollar items in the front of Target.  My boys know the routine...let Mommy take a peek at the bargains, grab some popcorn, and then get down to shopping.

While perusing the aisles I happened upon this fantastic roll of wrapping paper.  At the time, I was unsure of what I was going to do with it, but it was a buck and I couldn't pass it up!  Worse come to worse it would make some awesome gift wrap, but don't fret, it didn't go to waste...

Below are three simple projects I came up with to use the wrapping paper throughout my house.

My first project was as simple as it gets.  I used the wrapping paper as a matte in a picture frame.  All I needed to do was cut it to size and glue the picture to the paper.  LOVE it on our mantle!  


 

 

 

 

Project #2 was a bit more difficult.  It all started with a realllllly inexpensive little black table (like, cheap as in $35.00).  While the table is asthetically pleasing, the quality is pretty junky, but it was serving its purpose...hold a drink while watching TV and a bit of storage space. 

Step #1: Cut the paper to the size of the space you're covering...make sure to have super straight edges.

Step #2: Glue the paper down.  I used lamination glue, but other kinds would work just fine.  Make sure to apply a generous helping.  Do your best to remove any wrinkles or bubbles (I used an old credit card for that part).

Step #3: Once dry, I applied gloss gel medium (the brand was Liquitex Basics from Hobby Lobby) using the same technique.  This added a slight shine and made the surface water resistant. 

 

 

 

Ta-Da!!!!!


 

 

 

 

Project # 3 all started with some coffee cans given to me by my sister.  I couldn't resist the challenge to turn them into something useful.  We can always use storage bins to help contain the clutter so, it might as well look cute.  To transform these coffee cans I used the same lamination glue and gloss gel medium as I did for the end table.  Now, our pantry is looking far more stylish!

 

 

 

Wasn't that a dollar well spent???  I even have enough left over to make a matte for another picture frame and actually use some as it was intended and wrap a gift.

 

Fall Decor on the Cheap

I love, love, love everything about this time of year.  From the smells to the activities to the décor, this girl is a huge fan!

Here are two of my favorite and totally inexpensive (of course) decorations that take our home from summertime cheer to fantastic fall:

Although I enjoy how corn stalks look, let's face it, getting them from point A to point B with 3 kids in the car is a challenge I'm not up for.  My solution...twigs!  This project couldn't be any less expensive or easy to tackle.  Plus, I disguise the hunt for twigs as a nature walk and even the kiddies are happy. 

Here's how to achieve the look:

1.) Take a spin around your yard and grab some twigs that are about three feet in length or longer.  I prefer the ones with twists and turns and lots of off-shoots for added interest.  While their natural color looks great with fall décor, I chose to spray this batch gold and black. 

2.) When the spray paint is dry bunch the twigs together using a zip tie.

3.) Attach the twigs to your exterior columns using your favorite fall or Halloween ribbon.  Mine happens to be from the Dollar Tree (of course!!!).

Here's my fall dining room décor.  While I already had the two decorative candlestick holders and fleur de lis, I made the clear glass cylinders for some added fall flare.  They were super simple to make and, best of all, the components all came from my local Dollar Tree.

All you'll need to get started is a glass candlestick holder, glass glue, and a vase.  Simply flip over the candlestick holder, apply a generous amount of glass glue, and attach the vase to the candlestick holder.  I placed a heavy book on the top of the vase to ensure the glue would bond and allowed it to dry for at least 24 hours.  Once completely dry, I filled them with fall potpourri, pumpkins, and leaves and placed them amongst the other candlestick holders.

This project was a definite A+ because for just $2.00 a piece I have an adorable decoration for every season/holiday.  Just imagine how great they'll look with miniature Christmas balls, conversation hearts, or Easter eggs!