Wreaths

I have been working on many holiday crafts lately. I just had to make these amazing wreaths. I have made two different ones so far, in my searches I have found many more I just will have to make through out the year.

The first one I made I got the idea from All Things Thrifty Lima Bean Wreath. I fell in love with it and wanted to make me one. Once I decided I wanted to hang it on my french doors I decided I needed two. While shopping at JoAnn's, I was inspired to try and make a square wreath instead. Who ever said they had to all be round??? I purchased 2- 12x12 pieces of Styrofoam, about an inch thick, for $5 each and used a 40% off coupon.
I cut out the center of each square to make a 6inch square in the middle. Then I also trimmed a little of the corners so it was rounded and not so square. (just a side note... I hate the sound of Styrofoam, so this was difficult for me to get through.) But I'm sure glad I did.

The example used Lima beans, but I have a million Pinto beans lying around (honestly I wont be cooking them anytime soon). Since I plan on painting the wreaths anyway, it will be no big deal. Pinto beans - FREE! I hot glued them on at a 45 degree angle.

It took just a little less then a 1 lb. bag of Pinto beans to do each wreath. (I will have to think of another project for the other 20 bags I have been storing.) It was pretty tedious work and took about 4 hours for the first one and about half the time on the second. Minus the 15 minute break when I burned my finger so bad that I sat there wanting to cry. But I did make it through.

I wanted to paint my wreaths Red. It has to be one of my favorite colors. So first I sprayed it with white Primer which really made all the dumb glue strings stand out. Then I sprayed it with the Red. Which helped re-hide some of the glue and the white cracks between the beans. Tied it up with some ribbon that I also purchased at JoAnn's for a few dollars.
And here is the finished project.


I really think it turned out awesome. They fit in the space perfectly and just add a fun look to the glass doors. Both wreaths were about $10 together!!!

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Another wreath I made was based on function more then just aesthetics. I have really wanted a fun way to display all of those Christmas cards from family and friends. In years past I would just tape them on the door but It looked pretty bad. So I searched and searched for inspiration on an idea. I knew I still wanted it on the door because of lack of space to put another object and I wanted it where we will all see them. After, a couple different trips to different craft stores I found the wire wreath frame for about $4 and this block "W" for $5. I painted the "W" green with paint I had on hand. Then, I bought a package of clips for $3 and the ribbon was some I already had. I Think it turned out great for about $12!!! It makes all the cards look amazing and it is fun to have a place for them all to go.



Lisa

Entertainment simplified

Do you have one of those entertainment areas that need help. Need organization, and simplification. We sure did. A few months ago my hubby got a new fancy flat screen TV. So in the process we rearranged the family room. We put the new flat screen above the mantel which is nice that it keeps it away from little fingers but all the other components were stacked up there along side it. We love the new TV but hated the mess that it brought just having everything right there. We had plans to build a simple shelf to hold it all and be able to still look nice.

Erek took this project on and together we brainstormed what would work best for us. Since Erek is very much a man of action he we taking it all apart before I could even take a picture so there isn't any before pictures but we did get a few of the project as we were painting it.

We purchased a piece of wood for $22, it was enough to all parts the main shelf and legs. We also purchased some screws and paint. Total project about $35.

Here is a close up of it up on the mantel. I like the it is a very simple design and doesn't take way from the design of the mantel or the decor of the room. Finally, the finished project with all the Christmas decor on the mantel.

Lisa

Halloween Fun

I love Halloween. I love decorating for Halloween. I just want to show you a few of the things I have made for the holiday this year. This is my book shelf in our Office.
I got the pictures from the internet and put them in frames. It is hard to see the one in the top corner but it is of a skeleton riding a bike which I thought was pretty cool, and very fitting for our home.
My favorite project was the potions. I bought the 4 different bottles at World Market all for $16. There are tons of cool labels to put on bottles I got theses from Love Manor (They really know how to do Halloween.) There is tons of different labels to use. I put them on with Mod Podge so they will last and it wouldn't matter if they get wet. Once we had the labels on I let the kids in on the fun of making the potions. They thought it was so fun to come up with the colors and creations.
I used the Bottles as a table decoration for our family Halloween party too.
I also made these cute Halloween plates with the use of my friends Cricut machine and glass etched in the design. I bought the plates at Target 4 for $7.


Lisa

A dresser for .E.

Back in June, our close friends moved out of state. During their move they decided that they did not want to move with this old dresser. So they gave it to me to see if I would like to fix it up. It has been sitting in the garage for months now and I have big plans for it but life during the summer was crazy so it took a while to get around to it.

I thought it was the cutest little dresser and I thought it would be so cute in a girls room. Unfortunately, there is no room in my little girls room for another dresser so I decided to make it for my niece. E just became a big sister when she got a new brother and sister this past week so she had given up her dresser to them. It was in pretty bad shape, so I recruited my handy man to help me out. The top was warped and curved up in the front. So it sat up about half an inch from where it should. We cut a new top for it out of a new piece of wood ($25 - still had some left over for another project). We also strengthened the drawers and replaced the nobs and pulls ($16).

E's room was just recently painted her favorite color - pink. So I wanted to make the dresser white as to not compete with the bright color of the room. We first primed the dresser and then started painting ($12 - 2 cans of Kylon primer and 2 cans of white Krylon Spray paint).

It looked good Bright white but I really love glazing furniture now a days and I really love the way it makes it look. Here is a picture of 2 drawers. The top drawer has been glazed and the bottom one has not, what a difference it makes. The details really stand out.
Here it is all finished, it is so cute. I was so excited to give it to her.

Here it is finished in her new pink room. I think it looks so cute, she loves it.
I love the legs on it, what character it brings to this piece of furniture.


Lisa

Boys Desks

My latest project, was to find a good homework/art area for my 2 boys (ages 9 and 6). They have cute little plastic desks that they have had for 3 years now, and are really starting to out grow them. We are so tired of the constant mess of art supplies, paper and them never knowing where a pencil is when it is time for homework. Since we recently re-organized our study area, I thought it would be a good time to up grade their desks. This is a picture of their current desks, they have been good desks but are just not cutting it these days.
I started out with the idea of using a filing cabinet for the drawers, lots of space for all their supplies. We found these 2 identical two drawer filing cabinets at the DI thrift store for a whopping $7 each.

Next we went to the Ikea for a table top. We considered making one out of wood ourselves until we found these at Ikea for $5.99 each, an amazing deal. I like these table tops not just for the price but also because they were already smooth, which didn't need any work. Also, I wanted them white anyways so it worked out perfectly. We also bought just one adjustable leg and a chair from Ikea for each desk. The cost of the leg and chair $30.

Erek is my little handyman, he is just as involved in these projects these days as I am. But he loves it, I'm sure. He help put it all together and made sure it would hold up to the abuse my boys will give it over the next few years.

Here is what we were in visioning.

Last, I wanted to add some color. I wanted to do something fun that the boys would like and to also make them look cool in our office area. All we had to do was spray paint the filing cabinets. First, I use primer, just Kyron spray paint kind. Then, we painted the base in just a semi-gloss white from Krylon. On the drawers I also used Krylon Ivy Leaf. I totally love how it all came together. I love the Ivy Leaf color and how the drawers just pop.


Total cost of the project $43 for each desk! I'm way excited to have a great place for the kids to work on their home work. They love having a place of their own that they can organize and work on projects.

Lisa

Coffee Table

I bought this little table at Down East Home back in the Spring. This piece is actually from Pottery Barn Kids, it is the Cameron wall base for a shelving system. It sells for over $300, I paid $30! Great deal! I bought it with the idea of using for a coffee table in my family room. It is a little small for my couch but my space is small so I think it helps having it a little smaller.
Yet, the bright white wasn't doing it for me I wanted some color, and my Daughter had colored crayon on it. So it was ready for a little change. I wanted to go Red. I bought Banner Red color Kryon spray paint paint, my favorite way to paint now. Paint is about $3 a can at Walmart. It took less then a can of primer that I had on hand, and 2 cans of the red to get the even coverage I wanted.


Next, I wanted to glaze it like I did with the chair. I used the same Ralph Lauren Faux Technique Glaze tinted black. I had to read the instructions on the All Things Thrifty Glazing Furniture 101 blog post again to make sure I was doing it right. This time it went to much smoother. It was so easy to give it the look I was going for. It is just a little glaze in the edges and cracks but it makes a big difference from having bright red. It really just gives it some character.

Here it is in my living room with the new pillows and chair I did earlier.
Total cost for this project $36!Do you like it? I love it.

Lisa

Update to Grandma's Chair

Before

I loved how grandma's chair turned out but it was a little to bright white, and I have been really wanting to try putting glaze on it. So I thought what the heck, I can always repaint it, right? I love the Blog All Things Thrifty, she has so many amazing ideas. She has try and tested projects. So I took her advice and went for it.

After

I used Ralph Lauren Faux Technique Glaze and had it tinted black at Home Depot. I just rubbed it on with a rag and then rubbed it off. I was a little over whelmed at first, it made it so dark. I was telling my kids it was our new Halloween Chair (I look like it would fit in some spooky old haunted house). Eventually i had to just walk away cause I couldn't stop messing with it. Note: make sure to use a damp rag to wipe it back off I didn't do this and I think that is why I struggled so much to get it back off, it just seemed so dark while I was doing it.

Now the more I look at it the more I like how it turned out. I love how the glaze gives it texture and character. It think it looks great in my living room. What do you think?

Lisa

New Colors

I have recently rearranged my family room area, and I was tired of the same old throw pillows I have had for a while now. The colors I have had are red and blue and just wanted a new fresh change of color. New pillows are so easy to do and add so much to a room. I bought some fabric at JoAnn's (at the Labor day sale they had their home furnishings fabric on sale along with multiple coupons - great deals!). I only needed about a half of yard of each to make the pillows. I spent about $15 in fabric, and I still have tons left over. Then I also purchased the zippers for each of the 4 pillows. I have only attempted sewing a zipper once before. It was actually really easy, and I didn't know before that you can always make them shorter, so buy the long one if you can't find the right size. I think they turned out really good and I like the nice snug fit the zipper gives to the pillows. I love this bright green and the light blue. These are similar colors to the fabric I used for Grandma's Chair, and so they tie in nicely together. I really love how they turned out, they just make you happy looking at them.


Lisa

Busy Summer

The lazy days of summer, weren't so lazy, I kept really busy with my family but have really missed being creative. So I'm back and have so many projects on my to do list. I will show you a few that I have already completed very soon. Hopefully, I can stay inspired for a while now. So check back soon.

Lisa

Grandma's Chair

I have been wanting to test my hand at refinish/reupholstering furniture. This is a a chair that my grandma had for years and it has been sitting around my house for some time. It was a very boring simple country style chair to start with but I am so happy with the finished look. I think the fresh color and the fun modern fabric make the chair pop!

Before

After

What do you think?

Lisa