Laundry Room Tidy-Up

So, in keeping true to my word I'm slowly, but surely organizing our house.  This project all began when our ancient washer and dryer conked out (*Sigh*).  Just the thought of the delivery men in my laundry room left a pit in my stomach.  It didn't take long, just an hour or so, and the results have me breathing much easier.

As embarrassed as I am to show you, here is the "Before"...

 

 

 

 

 

I know, it's pretty bad!

Fast forward and hour, with the help of some bins and a little weeding through the madness, the outcome is well worth it.  Here is the much more organized "After."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did it!!!  And guess what...it's still clean!!!

 



 

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.