Replacing the Old Cork Board

Sneak peek of today’s project. . .

Guess what I’m doing this weekend? I can hardly wait for Saturday because my sister-in-law and I are heading back up to Cline’s Junk Antiques! Eek! So very excited! What is Cline’s? In case you are a new reader to the blog, let me introduce you to Cline’s Antiques,or, as I like to call it, a little piece of junk heaven!

Look at all that rust and furniture waiting to be refinished!
Last time I visited Cline’s I scored some great windows for only two bucks each. Yes, $2! Here is one of them.

reclaimed window

Yes, it’s dirty. Really dirty. You see, Cline’s has tons of windows waiting to go home with someone like me. The downside is that the windows, like almost everything else at Cline’s, are just piled up in the yard.
No biggie, a squirt of the hose and a little elbow grease cleaned it up nicely!
So, this window has been sitting in my garage since that shopping trip. I finally have put it to use! I got tired of looking at the cork board in the hall near my kitchen. It gets so cluttered with cards, artwork, invitations, etc. It had to go. I’ve also been wanting to create a chalkboard somewhere near the kitchen to jot down reminders. This window was the start to a perfect solution!

cover glass paint

 I masked off the glass with some plastic bags and painter’s tape. And spray-painted it a pretty gold/yellow color.

paint window

No paint project of mine is complete without a little distressing! I used my new favorite color Distress Ink, frayed burlap, around the edges and on the faces of the wood.

distress ink wood

So my dirty old window was now clean and had a pretty coat of paint on it. Time to make this baby into something special.
I had this great Gallery Chalkboard Vinyl Decor from Stampin Up! It was $25 but I got it for free with an order I placed! So I attached the vinyl to the window.

chalkboard vinyl

Next I needed somewhere to hang things that I typically tack onto the bulletin board like photos, cards, invitations, artwork, etc.
I had this burlap ribbon and baker’s twine that I got from Pick Your Plum. They were perfect for this piece!

bakers twine burlap ribbon

I used the burlap ribbon to add a big bow on the corner of the board.

burlap ribbon bow pick your plum

I wrapped a piece of chalk in the baker’s twine so I could attack it to the board.

hanging chalk bakers twine

And also draped the baker’s twine across the top and bottom of the window. I used hot glue to attach it around the back. Then I added little clothespins that I also got from Stampin Up!

bakers twine hanging line clothes pin

This was the perfect  replacement for thumbtacks and cork board!

And with that, the board was complete!

family command center

And because I love to do things on a budget, I’m proud to brag that this piece cost less than $5! Remember, the window was $2, I bought one can of spray paint, the chalkboard vinyl piece was free and the ribbon, string and clothespins I already had in my stockpile.

If you are interested in ordering any of the products mentioned above, I’ve directly linked them to the online ordering site. Items will be shipped directly to your home! Check out all the products at Stampin Up!

Ugly Bunny

Sneak peek?

Late last April, I went on a weekend shopping spree hitting up all the garages sales, thrift stores and Goodwills I could find? I got some pretty good finds that weekend, including these. . .

Do you remember? One of those finds was the ugly chocolate bunny. Why the heck did I buy this item? Because I saw it and immediately thought, “WHITE! This bunny needs to be white!” Easter had already passed, but I remembered this Pottery Barn bunny knock-off from The DIY Showoff and thought, I can make this bunny look fabulous like hers!”

Then I looked at the price. 99 cents. Really? Get in my buggy little bunny!

But I almost forgot about i! A memory of it popped into my head the other day and I scrambled to the storage closet to get it because I knew if I waited I would forget about it again! As I pulled it out from all the other junk great finds stored in there, I started thinking to myself how crazy it was that when I tossed it in there last year, Easter seemed so far away! But here we are again, already. And here is the ugly bunny!

So I undressed the bunny and got rid of his accessories.

I sprayed him with a light coat of primer.

Then two good coats of white, satin-finish spray paint.

As usual, my plan was to stop here. I wanted a white bunny. However, as usual, I couldn’t leave him alone. I’ll give you one guess as to what I did next. . . grabbed my sandpaper.

I distressed the little guy, which took a little effort since I sprayed him pretty heavily with paint. If I plan on distressing I usually go a little lighter.

Now he was perfect!

I paired him with a mossy Easter basket on my foyer chest.

Happy Easter!

Reinventing an Old Milk Can

I told you I had something to share today! I finally took a little break from the favor boxes lsat week to regain my sanity with some other type of creativity. Unfortunately that break {and my allergies} have now caused me to be way behind!

Anyway. . . I finally made good use of this old milk can. Actually, I’ve had it sitting in this spot since Christmas {I put long pine branches in it} but it wasn’t finished.

You might {or probably don’t since it was ages ago} remember on my trip to Cline’s Antiques Junk Yard I picked up this rusty old milk can. You might think it looks hideous, but I was in love! Not long before I had featured a blogger had painted her house number on a milk can for her front porch. So I was thrilled to have found one, no matter what condition it was in! Nonetheless, I think I only paid $8 for it.

Even though I like rust, this piece was a little too rusty for me. So I spray painted it with one of my favorite colors. Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze.

I used my Silhouette CAMEO to cut stencil vinyl {I’m sure regular vinyl would work fine}. I did “No. 4 “for the number of people in our family.

After cutting the vinyl, I peeled the outer piece away from the backing carefully, leaving the cut image behind.

Then stuck it on the milk can. Because the milk can surface was textured from the rust and spray paint there were some areas of the vinyl that didn’t quite stick. Plus the font was pretty intricate and I couldn’t quite get it placed right. So I had to modify my original idea of using a stencil blotter brush because I knew the paint would bleed through.

Instead I used a fine tip and painted carefully inside the stencil. Two good coats.

When I peeled off the vinyl, there was still a little bit of bleeding, but I went back with my fine tip and traced over the letters one more time which helped cover it up.

The final result! I tied a strip of burlap around the neck and filled it with long branches of greenery, cherry blossoms and my cute little sticks with lighted tips.

Oh how I love junk! And reinventing fabulousness from junk makes me happy! Now back to the favors! Have a great weekend y’all!

Skip To My Lou

My Image Inspiration: A Fun & Funky Green Chair

You all know that I love to paint. Furniture, walls, junk, whatever. I just love being able to change the color of anything. I’m not afraid to paint, but sometimes I get a little scared of using a completely new color palette that takes me outside of my comfort zone.

 Not long ago, in my post “Do Not Fear Paint,” I shared with you a new tool from Glidden called My Colortopia. MyColortopia.com provides inspiration, tools, and advice from the Colortopia Team to help you gain confidence throughout the painting process. Glidden also has another tool that lives on MyColortopia.com. If you are stuck in a rut or don’t know where to start on your room transformation, My Image Inspiration is a tool that allows you to upload a picture of anything you like, to be the starting point, the inspiration for the room. Whether it’s a piece of art, furniture, fabric—anything really, My Image Inspiration will give you a selection of color palettes that are a perfect fit for that image.

“Looking for ideas to kick-start your room redo? Upload a picture of something you like and think would work for your space. . . You’ll get a selection of color palettes (one main color and two coordinating colors that you can use for trim or accents) to browse through, save, print, share and paint!” {From MyColortopia.com}

So I thought I’d give it a try myself. Where better to find an inspiration photo than on Pinterest? I had pinned this one a while back under the board “Colors I Love.”

I LOVE the green in this chair and would love to use this color somewhere in my house but not sure that I can pull it off! It’s SO different than any of the colors I have now. I’ve always told you NOT to fear paint, and I don’t, but this one is a little out of my comfort zone!  Let’s see what MyColortopia.com Image Inspiration says. . .

I’ll admit that at first I didn’t get it. It didn’t quite give me the colors I anticipated. I was hoping for more {or some} of that funky green. But then I realized, if I was to use this piece in the room, I really probably don’t want that dark green paint on the walls! Duh! I would want the chair to stand out and the wall/trim colors to be more subtle. I did discover that you can select a more specific area of the picture by cropping and it will give you matches to that exact color rather than the colors from the entire area.

But I was happy with the colors it gave me. From here it tells me I am supposed to choose a color I like. My two favorites were the Antique Silver and the Seal Grey. I’m really wanting to add some grey to my house too! I decided to go with Antique Silver {it seemed a little safer} . . .

I was give three different color palettes. I really liked the middle one. It actually blends well with the other colors in my home which is important. Even though funky colors are fun, a room that is completely out of place is not. Especially since our house is so open. My Image Inspiration gave me the options to email, print and/or share on Facebook. I printed my color palette and the photo of the green chair to put in my notebook. Yes, I have a notebook filled with torn pages from magazines, printed photos and paint samples! It’s my “old school” version of Pinterest, but I still use it!

If you are having a hard time matching colors to an inspiration piece for a room, or even if you just don’t know where to start, I suggest you give this tool a try! Whether is’t a piece of furniture, a piece of artwork, or a photograph from your favorite vacation spot, let  My Image Inspiration tool be the starting point to a fabulous room!

So will I do it? Guess you’ll have to stay tuned to find out! Have a great weekend!

   I have been sponsored by Glidden brand paint to write this post but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own

DIY Chalkboard Wine Glasses

What do you get when you mix chalkboard paint with wine glasses? I’ll give you a hint. . . you’ll never question whether or not a glass is yours again! Because it will have your name written all over it! Literally!

Chalkboard painted wine glasses! I know this is nothing new. I’ve seen them all over Pinterest. Actually, about a year ago a friend of mine made some and posted it on Facebook. I rushed out to buy the supplies to make them and they sat in the garage until recently when my buddy Becky shared a pin and asked if I wanted to have a wine “craft” night. Of course! So I loaded up the supplies and headed over to her house where we painted, chatted and of course, enjoyed some wine!

This is fairly easy to do! We found several different tutorials out there and tested two of them: applying paint with a sponge brush and simply dipping the stem in paint. But first, you have to tape the area(s) you don’t want painted. We used regular painters’ tape.

I also decided to paint around a carafe that I have. I just taped off the area I wanted to paint.

The glases were taped and prepped for painting! We very quickly discovered the best way to do this project. We started by painting with the brush {which I thought would be our best bet}, but the paint went on so thin we realized we would need several coats to completely cover the stems.

So we moved on to the other option, dipping the stems in paint. We poured the paint into a disposable container and literally dunked the stem in the paint, making sure it was covered. Then we removed the glass and late the paint drip off.

We had to let A LOT of paint drip off! This method definitely put a thick coat on the glass, but it also required a watchful eye to make sure the paint didn’t run down the glass.

First we spun it around, letting the excess drip off the glass into the bowl.

Once the drips slowed down we turned them upside down. By now the paint was dripping “up” the glass very slowly but it helped to smooth out the paint. Just know that you really have to keep your eye on them! We had a few instances where the paint almost dripped past the tape! It took overnight for them to dry completely.

And when they were finished, I tied a pretty ribbon on them!

Aren’t they cute?! This was a fun and easy project to do. Especially for some girl time! It doesn’t require a lot of concentration and the majority of the time is spent waiting for them to dry which is a great time for gossip!

Here is my set. YES, I know I spelled Pinot wrong. No idea how it happened, but I did. I am embarrassed but we all make mistakes. 🙂

Do Not Fear Paint! Finding Your Colors with My Colortopia

You all know how much I love to paint! I love changing the look of a room with a fresh coat of paint. An old piece of furniture can be brought back to life with a little color. Just about anything can be made new again with paint! 
Talking to readers and friends, I’ve found out that a lot of people are afraid of paint! Well, maybe not paint, but color. I’ve mentioned before that you should always start with some piece for inspiration before choosing your paint. Whether it’s a fabric, a piece of art, a towel or a pillow, these pieces should be the start for your color pallet. Never choose your paint first! 
My Colortopia, a new site powered by Glidden Paint, is a great place to start if you need some inspiration for paint color choices/schemes. This site provides inspiration, tools, and advice from the Colortopia Team {which includes one of my favorite bloggers, Centsational Girl} to help you gain confidence throughout the painting process. You don’t have to be afraid of color or paint anymore! 
MyColortopia.com has made it easy for you to find colors that suit you. The My Life, My Colors quiz, will help you discover the colors that best match your personality and lifestyle!
I took the quiz. Want to see my color palette? 
I think My Life, My Colors got it right! See. . .

Look familiar? Pretty close to the colors My Colortopia picked for me!

So what are you waiting for? Take the My Life, My Colors quiz to find your colors! Do not fear color, my friends! Painting is fun! And be sure to check out the My Colortopia blog for tips and trends from the experts!

I have partnered with Glidden/Akzo Nobel Paints to write this post. However, I would never   promote something that I didn’t believe in! All opinions and thoughts are 100% mine.


 


 

 

 

Embroidery Hoop Wall Art

My inspiration for this wall art was from Blissfully Smitten. I found this adorable nursery wall  on Pinterest while searching for ideas to decorate my craft room. {Have I ever told you how much I looooove Pinterest?}

Pinned Image

When I saw these I knew they would be the perfect decor for my craft room! Very shortly after pinning this idea I found an entire box of embroidery hoops at a garage sale for $2! {Even if you don’t come across a fantastic deal like this, the hoops are very inexpensive at the craft stores.}

Of course, me being me, I couldn’t leave them they way they were! I used very dark stain (espresso) on the hoops. This was a very messy process, I recommend wearing gloves!

After the stain was dry, I applied one heavy coat of paint {my favorite, Heavy Cream from Lowe’s}. Oh yeah, I have to give a shout out to Purdy for the fabulous brushes they sent me! Love these guys! Can you guess what I did next?

I distressed it with sandpaper, of course! I told you, I can’t leave anything alone! That part was a little time consuming {mainly because you have to wait for the stain and paint to dry}. The rest is easy!

If you don’t know how an embroidery hoop works, there are two rings {inner and outer}. The rings are attached with a screw. Simply remove the screw and separate the rings.

Place your fabric over the inner circle, face up, and place the outer ring over the top. Tug out any wrinkles that might be in the fabric. Replace the screw and fasten tightly.

 I used two different fabrics in the embroidery hoops. I used the toile fabric that I used throughout my craft room for a few hoops and plain fabric that I found at the thrift store for only 50 cents for the yard for the other hoops.

I decided to try something new for the plain fabric. I didn’t really know what I was doing but what I did worked! And it was pretty simple! I printed images on fabric using my computer printer. Don’t worry, I’ll share that tutorial with you soon! I promise!

 I just knew these would be the perfect accompaniment for my Mother’s Day piece. Do you remember that wood/chalkboard piece my fabulous, creative hubby made for Mother’s Day?

Together they make a perfect gallery over my sewing table! I’ll add a few more of the hoops, I think. Maybe using a different, very simple print fabric. I might even throw a monogram {M} in the mix.
So now you’ve seen another little corner of my craft room! I know I still haven’t shown you the full reveal, just bits and pieces. I’m pretty sure it’s because the room is always a disaster from all the projects I have going on! I promise, one of the se days, I’ll give you the reveal. Complete with before and after photos!
Stay tuned. . .

You’ll probably find this project linked up at the following parties:

all crafts Handmade Projects ~ Tip Me Tuesday

 

Join us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend wrap up party!
 http://www.scissorsandspatulas.com/2012/01/embroidery-hoop-wall-art.html

The Stockings Were Hung. . .

I shared this tutorial over at Seamingly Smitten last week, but wanted to share it again just in case you missed it. After my post about my trip to Cline’s JunkyardI had a lot of questions about what I would do with these. . .



I had a handful of old rusty door knobs that I picked up along with some other rusty hardware. I didn’t really have a clue what I was going to do with them, but I knew I could use them for something. And I was right! So I started wit a piece of scrap wood from the garage {I have a huge pile of scrap wood in my garage. you name it, I got it!} and my four rusty old door knobs. 



This first step was fun. The wood was too perfect, so I took a hammer to it. What a great stress reliever! I just banged it up a bit to round the corners and rough up the surface. 

Next I used a dark stain in these crevices and around the edges. This is because I plan on distressing the paint I’m about to apply and the dark stain looks better than the light wood.

A light coat of primer spray paint and one heavy coat of white latex paint. 



While the paint dried I pulled out my brand spankin’ new Silhouette Cameo to use for the very first time. Sigh, it’s amazing! You gotta get one of these! I used red vinyl for this project.



If you are not familiar with the Silhouette or any other digital cutting tool, you create an image on your computer and then let the machine do the rest. 



The best way to transfer vinyl is to use contact paper. Once the image is cut, place the sticky side of the contact paper on top of the vinyl while it is still on the mat. Peel the contact paper away from the sheet of vinyl and only your cut letters should stick to the contact paper. (Unfortunately the insides of the letters also stuck. I removed them with a tweezers after I adhered it to the wood.)

When the paint was dry I used some low grit sandpaper to give it a distressed finish.

My sweet hubby drilled holes in the wood to just large enough to fit the knobs.
And then he squeezed them in. I thought we would have to use wood glue to hold them, but they stayed just fine without it.
And because I can’t leave anything alone, I used my distress ink to make it look more worn. To do this you just take the ink pad and brush it across the edges and corners and in small spots along the surface.

Now back to the vinyl. Place the contact paper gently on the board. Once it’s in place, where you want it, you can press down on it to keep it in place. Use a scraper or other flat edge to smooth over the vinyl, eliminating any wrinkles or bubbles. Then peel back the contact paper slowly.
The contact paper removed some of the paint, but was okay with me! I love a distressed look!

I wrapped and tied a fat grosgrain ribbon on one side and then hung our stockings. I’m thinking about either adding an initial to the knobs or writing our names in black just above the knobs. But that will be another day. Like I said, I can’t leave anything alone!

But for now it’s perfect! You know I love to brag about how little I spend on my projects so. . .
This one cost about two bucks! Actually, it was free for me to make that day since everything I used, I already had lying around. But if you want to count the purchase of the knobs, this project cost me only $2! Even if you don’t have a digital cutting machine, you can use a stencil to paint the letters. Inexpensive hooks can be purchased in place of the door knobs if rusty junk isn’t your style.

How can Christmas be in just ten days? The stockings may be hung, but I’m not sure Santa has what is supposed to go in them!

Todays Creative Blog

Ruffled Christmas Trees

Can you believe that it’s December 1st?  Christmas is right around the corner! I’ve finally finished decorating my house, and I promise I will post pics soon! I love decorating my house for Christmas! I transform just about every room into a winter wonderland! I even have an entire attic for Christmas decor only! But I can never have enough Christmas decorations, so soon I may have to clean out a closet or two to hold more stuff! 
Example: A few months ago I found these cones at the thrift store. At first I walked on by, but I quickly took a few steps back and picked them up. Twenty-five cents each! What was I going to use them for? I dunno. I knew I could figure something out! And I did! 

I ruffled some fabric scraps and grabbed a couple of mismatched wooden candlesticks. {Also from the thrift store. I have a stockpile of these because they are usually fifty cents to a dollar a piece.}
And this is what I made! ruffled Christmas trees! 
How? Keep reading! 
I primed both candlesticks and painted one green and one red. Both were paint colors I had on hand. {Yes, the green one is hanging from a tree branch. I spray paint a lot of things this way to get even coverage all the way around.}
Then I scratched it up. If you’ve ever been on my blog, you know that I love to paint and I love to remove paint! I’m a bit of a distressing addict! It gives pieces character!
Starting at the bottom, I took my ruffled fabric and wrapped it around and up the cones, securing it with hot glue. 
I added an additional piece of fabric to the bottom of the cone and
 I attached the candlestick with hot glue.
To finish off the top, I added a big fat striped ribbon. 
And here they are! Two ruffled Christmas trees for under $2! Remember, the cones were twenty-five cents each and the candlesticks were fifty cents each. The fabric was leftover scraps and the paint I had in my garage. Even if you didn’t have all the materials it would probably cost less than $10!  

So what are you waiting for? Go make some Christmas trees! You can never have too much holiday decor!

Sit, Relax, & GOSSIP – A Gossip Chair Makeover

I had never heard of a “gossip chair” before this past year. They seem to be all over the Internet now! I’ve seen some really fantastic upcycled ones with fabulous bright paint and vintage fabrics. I really wanted to do mine a cherry red, but it really wouldn’t have matched anything in my home. Bummer. I do like the way it turned out and it is a cute little piece for this corner of my house.

For those of you that are not familiar with the “gossip chair,” let me explain. Basically they are old chairs or benches with a small table where one would sit to chat on the phone. Hence the term “gossip chair.” Of couse these really have no purpose since the invention of the cordless phone and now, of course, cell phones. No one sits down to talk anymore. Who has time for that when you can do it on the go? Anyway, I found mine at a garage sale over the summer. I almost didn’t get it because I really didn’t know if I would use it. But when the seller accepted my offer of $10, I couldn’t refuse! Ten dollars!
I decided to use it in this little corner that sits behind the couch between the family room and breakfast room. I have been wanting to do something different in that little space anyway, and I thought the gossip chair would be the perfect size. 
It wasn’t in great shape. Some of the finish was coming off and it was pretty wobbly.

I brought out my favorite power tool, the mouse sander and went to work. The cracks and peels smoothed out pretty easily. 
I applied a good coat of primer. 

While that was drying I recovered the seat cushion. {Actually it really isn’t very cushiony. It’s pretty much a piece of wood with a little bit of cush. I don’t think it would be very comfy to sit in for a long conversation!} I used leftover fabric that I have in my family room. If you’ve never recovered chair cushions before, it’s really pretty easy. You can find my tutorial here.

I used paint leftover from the powder room which, coincidentally, was also the exact blue in the fabric. It took two good coats to cover it evenly. I had planned on stopping here. Of course my first instinct was to start scraping the paint with my sandpaper, but I distress so much of my furniture that I thought I should just leave it be. But. . .

I didn’t think it was right. Something was missing. Instead of using sandpaper, I used my Distress Ink pad to age it. It was just the right touch.
A few accessories and a pillow to finish it off. You might recognize the phone. It’s a working Pottery Barn phone, with a $59 sticker on the bottom. I got it from Goodwill for just $5.99 a while back. I was going to paint it, but decided just to leave it alone for now. It’s the perfect touch for this bench! Not that I’ll ever sit her and use it, but it’s cute!
I needed some height in the corner since this bench is small. I found a beautiful floor lamp at Kirkland’s on sale for $49! Parker Reese and daddy put it together. 
Finished! 
You don’t have to completely re-do a room for a new look. Sometimes just changing a small area of a room can make a huge difference! Especially on your wallet! I did this for less than $75 bucks!