Coat Rack Refresh

Johnny has had this coat rack forever. It's solid wood, but it had this dated, 80's vibe. I decided it needed a refresh.

So I gave it a quick coat of paint and it instantly looks vintage-chic!

Bed "frames"

It's finally spring, and that means you can paint outside!

For a while I've wanted to give my bedroom a refresh. I particularly wanted to add something to the wall above our bed. We don't have a headboard and without anything on the long wall it looked very bare.

I was inspired by some pictures I found on Pinterest here and here. They used empty picture frames to add some interest to the wall.

So I hit up the thrift store and loaded up on various sized frames. The total was about $20.

I've seen a lot of cool projects using the metallic spray paints, and I thought a metallic finish would add some nice texture to the room, so I chose a silver metallic Rustoleum spray paint.

I gave the frames several good coats then used Command strips to adhere them to the wall. 

I can't wait to do tackle more projects this spring!

Giving Junk a Place and Purpose

A couple of years ago, my aunt showed me an interesting piece she picked up at a craft fair. It was a wooden board, about 12" long, that had been cut out in the shape of Texas and covered with all kinds of trinkets and junky knick knacks with "TEXAS" spelled out in Scrabble letters. It probably sounds like what it is...junk, but it was artsy junk! It captured the spirit of Texas in it and it's one-of-a-kind. I instantly wanted one for my own home state, Alabama. But I decided to make it myself.

Fast forward more than two years later and I FINALLY completed my state junk collage. My dad cut out the shape of Alabama for me using his jig saw. I liked the rough-looking grain and color of the wood. It looks rustic, so I left it bare.

Since I first laid eyes on my inspiration piece I began collecting junk to one day use for the project. The junk mainly consisted of old jewelry pieces that were broken and earrings with long-lost missing mates. I also collected buttons, pins, bottle caps, screws, beads, anything that was small and didn't have any practical use, but added to the variety of junk.

I was unsure at first how to go about adhering all this weirdly shaped, often not flat-edged stuff to the wood and deducted my best bet was good ol' super glue. I wore gloves while applying the glue because many of the pieces were so small I had to hold them, and there is nothing I hate more than then the feeling of dried super glue on your finger tips (shudder...) It worked like a charm! Clean fingers and the junk adhered beautifully. I can't wait to hang it on my wall to display my Bama pride!

Simple to Sassy Bookshelf with Fresh Paint and Paper Collage

This small bookshelf has been in my family for a long time. I believe my mother made it in high school. It's nothing special aesthetically, but it's real, solid wood. When I was 15, I spray painted it black and have used it as a night stand ever since.

Recently, I decided it needed a makeover. But since it's so small and modest, I wanted to give it some character.

I pulled out my scrap scrapbook paper once again. Even though they're scraps, the patterns are still beautiful, so I like to use them any way I can. I decided to go with a pink and green motif. I picked out coordinating patterns and cut them into equal squares.

God only knows how many layers of paint this shelf has, so I decided to forgo stripping and sanding and apply a primer directly after cleaning it all off with soap and water AND a tack cloth. I learned from other craft blogs I follow that Zinsser all-surface primer is a great brand, so I used just that.

The top of the shelf had a few deep dings and scratches that were really prominent when I painted over them with the light-colored primer. So I used some Elmer's Wood Filler Max filler to patch up some of the major dings. After it dried, I sanded the spots then painted them over again with primer just to be safe.

I then applied three layers of the paint to every inch of the shelf. To pick the paint for the shelf, I picked out a bright green that was found in one of the paper patterns that had both pink and green. I chose a beautiful bright green (Japanese Fern by Behr, high gloss interior).

I let the paint set for a few days and in the mean time I brainstormed the best way to arrange the papers on the shelf. I first thought of covering the tops of the shelves. But when I tested it, something just didn't look right, so I settled for a skewed checker pattern.

I glued the paper squares to the shelf using Hard Coat Mod Podge. I applied a thin layer using a nifty rolling foam brush I found at Michael's for $4 then pressed the papers down and rubbed them nice and good to get out air bubbles (no buckling on this shelf!).

After the paper squares were glued nice and flat, I used the roller brush again to seal the entire shelf. Because I wanted to make sure the paper was super-sealed from water and what not, I decided to lather that sucker down and used up the entire bottle to finish the piece.

I'm very pleased with the final product. It's very bright and pretty girly, but much more fun and a whole lot fresher. I'll continue to use it as a night stand because you can't beat the multi-level bed side storage for tons of books and whatnot.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Easy Peasy Friday: Reviving Old Coasters

Coasters belong to that special category of things that you never think about until you need to use one. You never hear anyone say, "Oh, I have to go to the mall this weekend. I need some new coasters." Maybe a new jacket, running shoes or even some socks but never coasters! Anyway, one day I got tired of looking at my old, sad coasters, which were a hand-me-down from a former roommate. They were perfectly useful, but they didn't match my decor at all....

 

I thought of the rather large pile of vintage wallpaper-inspired scrapbook paper I had leftover from when I made my wedding programs. I decided the paper was much prettier and better suited the rest of my home decor style than the palm trees... So, I gathered my paper and brought out my favorite crafting friend...

 

When it comes to the ultimate crafter's best friend, Mod Podge, I prefer the matte. I find the glare from the shininess of the gloss distracting....

 

First, I picked out which paper to use. I decided to make two different sets and chose four different papers that corresponded in color and style. I wanted each coaster to be unique. This comes in handy for parties and get togethers to help folks remember which coaster/glass is theirs.

 

Next I measured the coasters (four inches on each side), and cut the paper using a paper cutter for an even edge. 

 

To adhere the paper to the coasters, I applied a thin coat directly to the coaster using a small foam paintbrush, then laid the paper on top. Using my fingers, I gently pressed from the center out to the edges to get all of the air out so there would be no air bubbles and give the coaster a flat surface. I then applied another thin coat on top of the paper and repeated the finger technique. After the first coat dried, I applied three additional generous coats (with enough dry time in-between coats of course) to make sure the paper was sealed nice and tight.

 

The results look like cute, store-bought or Etsy-bought coasters, but I didn't even have to leave the house or go online! And since I already had all of the materials, the cost was $0.

 

I wish I had better pictures, but this project was so quick and easy, I only thought to take photos with my phone.

 

But this is still a good example of a super-simple, inexpensive way to jazz up some boring, but still useful household items. And the touch of detail can add even more character to the home.

Snooze to Snazzy: Upcycling a Particle Board Shelf to a Classy Wine Rack

My husband and I moved into our first house this past fall. Even though we didn't BUY the house, I was still very proud and wanted to fix it up like a grown-up's house. But at the same time, because we are renting, I didn't want to drop a lot of money on new furniture that might not work in our next home down the road. Luckily, my early 20's were characterized by hoarding tons of free and hand-me-down furniture no matter the condition to fill a series of crummy apartments. So for our new home, I decided to just re-purpose my old stuff.

Our dining room is pretty large and we needed to use some of that space for storage. I've had this white particle board shelf--which was purchased at Target for less than $20 I'm sure--for almost 10 years.

 

Note the line of holes for the adjustable shelf on the inside. Needless to say, it's pretty junky. Historically, I had laid this shelf horizontally for storing CDs, but when I turned it vertically, I had an epiphany....I found this bottle rack at IKEA for only $10 and it happened to fit EXACTLY into the bottom of the shelf.

Photo from Ikea.com

 

The stark white shelf kind of stuck out from the rest of the dining room decor, but I didn't think paint would stick well to it. So, while I was at IKEA, I picked up some damask-style wall stickers. I assembled the bottle rack, applied the stickers and...Voila! A shelf for my wine and wine glasses.