bye bye bracelet botheration!

like many people, i am constantly striving to de-clutter and get (and stay) organized.  while i'm willing to pare down and reduce how much stuff i have,  one area i really don't want to reduce is my accessories.  this has been a trend throughout my entire life.  i still have jewelry from elementary school!  and while my preferences have obviously changed . . . from jelly bracelets and plastic charms to spiked bracelets and dog chains to more recently a vintage and tailored collection . . .  the need for adequate storage has been a consistent problem, especially with bracelets!  you may remember my previous post about my jewelry board , but my bracelets have remained a problem until i found this . . . 

recently, while perusing pinterest, i came across this idea of how to store bracelets with a wire paper towel holder.  it is so simple and i knew would be very affordable so i quickly began my search.  i stumbled on this wooden one yesterday at goodwill.

not only was the price fair, but i knew that it would take very little sweat equity to change it into being display worthy.  as soon as i got it home, i got to work transforming it into the treasure it has now become.

first, i took it all apart, removing the small dowel and have saving it for future use.  then i filled in the hole with wood putty.  after allowing it to dry for a few minutes (i'm impatient!), i gently sanded all of the pieces. the final step in preparing for paint was to wipe off the dust.  easy peasy!

then i went about painting.  i ended up doing four coats of paint, allowing it to thoroughly dry in between each coat of paint.  finally, i gave it a very thin coat of polyurethane, since the paint i had used was a flat finish and i wanted glossy.  

after putting all the pieces back together i was done.  all together it took me less than 24 hours!!

i didn't pick a color that matches the room, but rather one that makes me happy . . . and that i already had on hand so i could save money!  i don't know what makes me happiest, paying so little for such a valuable storage solution or the fact that my jewelry boxes now close!

Project Cost Breakdown:

paper towel holder = $2

sandpaper = $0  (left over from another project!)

paint = $0  (left over from another project!)

polyurethane = $0  (left over from another project!)

Grand Total = $2  

pumped up kicks

i. love. pinterest.  i admit that i'm horribly addicted to it.  i don't even feel that guilty about it either!  

anyway, like most people, half of the crap i pin, i will never do.  let's be real.  i mean, how many birthday parties can be thrown, fingernails can be painted, and rooms can be decorated in one lifetime anyway!  sheesh.  every once in awhile though, an "easy" project comes along that truly isn't too time consuming or too much of a budget buster.  this leads me to last night's project.

i love the chevron zig zag pattern you see everywhere these days and i wanted to put them on a pair of shoes.  i had seen these on pinterest and was inspired.  

i like them, but i wanted mine to be a little bit different.  so off to walmart i went to find an inexpensive pair of white canvas shoes.

when i arrived home i gathered the supplies i would need for the project:

shoes (duh!)

acrylic paint 

brush 

fabric pen with ink that disappears with water

chevron template (i found a great printable chevron template here!) 

after cutting out the pattern, i fooled around with the placement until i found what i wanted.  

i ended up tailoring the template a little bit to the exact size of zig zag that i wanted.  as you will see, the lines drawn aren't perfect, so i had to fudge them once i got to painting.

then i carefully painted each zig zag with acrylic paint.  i really debated to paint the tongue or leave it alone.  ultimately, i decided to leave it be and i'm really happy with that decision! 

finally, i let it dry overnight.  this morning i felt them to make sure they were completely dry before dabbing the remaining ink lines with a damp paper towel. 

that's it!  fun and relatively simple to do chevron shoes. :)  but perhaps the best part of all has been how excited my daughter was about them.  she now wants a pair of her own!

Project Cost Breakdown:

canvas shoes = $5

acrylic paint = $1

fabric pen =  $0  (left over from another sewing project)

chevron template = free!

Grand Total = $6

window silhouettes

i'm not fond of exercising . . . and quite frankly, i'm a little leery of people who say they are! last year, i was determined to shed some extra pounds so i would get up early each morning and walk the neighborhood in westwood. i actually enjoyed the time to myself but especially loved mondays when people would discard potential treasures to the curb for trash day.

one morning i spotted some old windows propped up against a tree just waiting for the garbage collectors. i couldn't believe that these hadn't already been picked up by the local pickers! lucky me, these were only two houses down from where my parents live, so i could easily stash them to bring home later.

i've held onto these for well over a year now before finally bringing them to our home in florida and converting them to frames. here are a few pictures of the transformation.

i started by putting painters tape on the windows to eliminate additional paint to scrape off the glass.

then i painted the frames. i chose to not sand first since i wasn't sure if the original paint was lead based or not. i just intend to make sure my kids don't chew on them! :S i used the same paint from my jewelry holder project.

i don't have a picture of these next steps, so i'll just describe what i did.

i had silhouettes of my family from previous artwork (thank to my bestie who made them for me!) so i just traced them onto black cardstock and cut them out with a pair of fine paper cutting scissors. i splurged and bought a pair of these since i know i will use them again and again.

then i measured out white poster board and cut it to fit the inside of the glass frame.

after this i covered the board with fabric and taped it down on all sides.

i then taped the silhouettes onto the right side of the board.

finally, i used painters tape to hold it all together on the back of the frame.

check out the close ups first and then scroll down for the finished project. oh, and please excuse the glare . . . photographing these was a real pain in the glass! (sorry, couldn't help myself.)

finished! easy peasy and super cheapy!

Project Cost Breakdown . . .

old windows = $0

black cardstock = $0.50

white poster board = $2.40 ($.80 each for three)

scissors = $7

fabric = $8

hanging hooks = $1.50

Grand Total = $19.40! (sigh. i guess i could have saved even more money by using leftover fabric i already had on hand . . . but spending less than $20 isn't bad!)

i feel pretty . . . oh so pretty!

i'm no girlie girl. in fact, i've never really been into accessorizing all that much, unless you count wearing my spiked bracelet in high school and accessory! recently though, i've been taking a cue from my stylish sister-in-law and have ventured out into this new territory of trying to look at least a little bit put together. enter my most recent project . . .

i came across this giant frame at my local thrift shop in ocoee, florida. seriously, if you can get past the feeling that bugs are jumping onto you as you pass by the clothes in this store, you just might find a gem or two in the mix. anyway, here she is . . . er . . . was!

when i walked into the store last week, she was sitting there, having just been dropped off. not even priced yet, i knew she just had to be mine. i couldn't believe it when the lady behind the counter said i could pay just 5 bucks for her!

i wasn't quite sure what she would become, or even how to explain to my husband that i needed to find a place to store this huge, plastic, gold monstrosity. my brain was working overtime thinking of the possibilities. finally, i settled on the idea of a jewelry holder for my growing collection. i also knew that it was going to take some time and a little bit of money for this lady to shine. so here is exactly what i did . . .

i first had to choose a paint color and fabric design. since my walls are gray and a few accent pieces in the room are yellow, i needed to find a color that would complement and not compete. i searched online and found a website with beautiful palettes for inspiration. i decided on the dark blue (almost black) color for the frame. for the fabric, i'd been dying to make something out of a zig zag chevron print, and this was my chance! the only drawback was that i had to order it online, which postponed finishing my project, but it was absolutely worth it in the end.

now that the colors were decided i had to finish assembling my other materials. first, i measured the interior of the frame. lucky for me, it was exactly 2' by 4', which happened to be the perfect size of pre-cut luan at home depot. not having to cut and sand always makes me happy!

then, i set out to find cork to cover the wood and adhesive to stick it all together. i found 12" cork tiles at joann fabrics which would fit the wood nicely. oh, and i used coupons on each item so i saved even more money. hoot!

finally, it was go time. first, i sprayed primer on the frame and while it was drying, i started adhering the cork to the wood.

after letting the adhesive thoroughly dry, i covered the board with fabric. i had my new staple gun to use (my Christmas present from my husband) and i couldn't wait to see how the fabric would look. i should have painted the board white first before covering it. i quickly realized that you could see the brown cork through the fabric, so i ended up taking it apart and painting it anyway.

finally, after painting the frame with two coats of high gloss, i was ready to put it all together! i had to jerry-rig the frame to hold the board in place. i found these little metal pieces at home depot, which worked perfectly and really made it secure.

after hanging it, and arranging my jewelry on the push pins, i was finally finished!! overall, it was a fairly easy project and looks amazing in my bedroom. now if i can just figure out which piece goes with which outfit . . .

Project Cost Breakdown . . .

frame = $5

luan = $6

2 packs of cork tiles = $7

adhesive = $5

fabric = $13 (includes shipping cost)

primer = $0 (leftover from another project)

paint = $13 (a little steep, but i intend to use the rest on other projects)

clear push pins = $1.50

Grand Total = $50.50 (by far my most expensive project, but so functional and oh so pretty!)

sometimes it really is that easy

not all diy projects have to be super involved. this last project couldn't have been easier, yet the end result makes a big difference.

now, i think we've already established that i always try to do my projects as cheaply as possible. not only do i like frugal decor but this carries into the rest of my life as well. i'm always looking for the best deal possible from clothes to makeup to even tissues . . . when i save, i smile. let's be honest though, sometimes the cheapest items may not be the prettiest . . . like ugly tissue boxes . . . which brings me to my most recent project.

today's re-do started, as usual, at the thrift store! check out this gorgeous tissue holder i scored for only a buck . . .

yes, she's tacky, but slap a coat of spray paint on her and she's good as new!

i think she looks perfect in my bathroom, what do you think?

Project Cost Breakdown . . .

tissue holder = $1

spray paint = $0 (left over from another project)

Grand Total = $1!

i've been featured!

hoot! i just checked one of my favorite blogs today and found that my light fixture re-do was featured. thank you, lindsey, for such a fun blog. everyone should go and check out all of the cool before and afters that she showcases. the creativity shown is amazing!

http://betterafter.blogspot.com/

i'm too cheap for pottery barn

i. love. pottery. barn. i don't even care that most everyone else does too. *in fact, i don't even care that it's like giving in to "the man" by purchasing things there. that is, after all, capitalism at it's best! as much as i love the style, i, in no way, love the cost to achieve the look. enter the internet. last year, while looking for a cheap art project to hang above my couch, (sigh. yes, this is the exact space i just redecorated in my previous blog) i found a great website that featured knock offs of many popular home furnishing stores . . . like pottery barn, anthropologie, ballard designs, etc. i was instantly inspired! immediately i honed in on a graphic black and white picture that featured numbers in different fonts.

here is the original . . .

(note: there are no actual photos documenting how i made this, as i had no idea i'd ever blog about it!)

i really didn't even know how to begin to make this. thankfully, there was a step by step tutorial to guide me. you can find it here. though i didn't follow it exactly, i appreciated the breakdown of which fonts were used, etc. that saved me loads of time trying to figure out which ones would give me the look i wanted. i also purchased a cheap roll of wood grain color contact paper from walmart. i opted for a color paper instead of plain white, so it would be easier to see when i placed it on the board.

the first step i did was chalk out and measure the size of each number i would need for the board.

i decided not to decoupage the papers on the board like the tutorial called for, and instead just skipped right to painting the entire board white. as each coat of paint was drying (i did two), i took this time to work at the computer. using excel, i made templates of each number in the different fonts, each one sized to my measurements. this ended up being a lot of extra work, as i didn't use half of what i printed. however, i tend to be a perfectionist and wanted it to look as close to the original as possible.

after laying out the paper templates on the board and choosing which ones worked best, i traced each one on the contact paper, cut it out and stuck it to the board. i don't have a rubber roller (that's a "brayer", for you technical folks!) for the edges like in the tutorial, so i just used my fingers and pushed the edges down as hard as i could. i then broke out the black paint and got to work painting the entire board. again, i did two coats.

after it had ample drying time, i carefully peeled off each sticker to reveal the number. unfortunately, some of the black paint had indeed bled under some parts of the stickers. perhaps i should invest in that roller after all? anyway, i easily fixed this by using a small artist's brush and some left over white paint.

finally, i was finished!

i l o v e the end result. i've received many compliments on the finished project and i have to say that i am quite proud of how much money i saved in the end!

here is where it hangs today in our dining room.

Project Cost Breakdown . . .

wood board = $8

black paint = $4

white paint = $4

contact paper = $2

Grand Total = $18!

* does anyone else remember the episode of Friends when rachel is trying to keep phoebe from finding out that her new furniture isn't actually from an antique store but is actually from pottery barn? ha! classic.