Weekend Redo

This weekend I finally accomplished something I have had on my to-do list for awhile. This was my great grandmother's bed-set that she had given to me when she had given to me after she passed away. It was with me most of my childhood, and it has seen better days. (If you look closely you can see all the sticker residue.) My grandmothers was one of those who would one an item re-purposed than traded or hidden away. If it functions for you and makes you happy, that is all that she would want.

Total Make-over: $33
Spray Paint (2-cans): $6
Lace (1.5 ft): $5
Contact Paper: $4
Glass Knobs (6 knobs): $18

 

Steps to a great new look for your dress: 

1. Clean Dresser (Alcohol works best)
2. Fill in any holes with wood filler
3. Sand (Start with 120 grit and work your way up to 220 // If this is a Formica dresser make sure surface is dull looking after you sand so that paint with adhere to the surface)
4. Wipe down the dust
5. Cut and adhere the lace (Use book paste or spray adhesive)
6. Then spray paint in a clean well-ventilated area. 
7. Let it dry over night. 
8. Add knobs. (These are hand cut glass, so you can save money by using knobs that aren't as pricey)

Done!

DIY Links

I have been getting inspired to create my house more into a home, so I have been taking a look at links to help me to make my home beautiful for cheap! Plus it gets me away from the computer:

• Custom Cutting Boards: as long as you own these tools or has a friend who does these make an affordable addition to your home or as a gift.

•  Lighting Up Your Kitchen: I like this idea for giving my kitchen a little more light. My kitchen has no windows and no direct lighting.

• A Bookshelf with Style: an easy way to give a bookshelf a style and personality.

•  Design Sponge at Home: I have almost enough money saved up to buy this book, and I can't wait to devour all the DIY projects inside.

• Granny Chic turned Sinister: This would be great for Halloween.

My Idle Hands

"Idle hands are the devil's play things" Work has an ebb and a flow. There are times that are very busy that require long hours and caffeinated beverages, and then there are other times when there is a definite lull. I usually fill those times with cleaning my desk, going through old paperwork that I ignore most of the time. That barely takes an hour. What to do? I have found a new way to make this time more profitable by refueling my creative juices. This new tool is Pinterest. I love being able to pin images from anywhere and categorizing for when I want to access them later. I can look for inspiration or help develop my ideas for this blog. I know I have a lot of fun hours ahead of me repositioning my multitudes of bookmarks into workable image boards.

Of course this also might just be another digital life distraction! Especially since it can connect with your fackbook and twitter. Happy pinning!

Home Trends: Typography

Trends are trends for a reason: they com ean dgo, but I found one trend that I want to hold onto:

Typographic Decor

I love type, so I want to be surrounded by it in my home. I found some great decor inspiration, most of it outside of my price range. For some of these I think I could go to the old standby of DIY. I hope to come up with a project soon and send it your way. until then, please enjoy!

Something Wicked This Way Comes

For me it is never too early to start thinking about Halloween. With the recent Harry Potter bonanza I think I want to make my Halloween Harry Potter themed. A party is the mood, decor, and of course the food! Using orange paper lanterns with painted faces create the feeling of the floating jack o' lanterns of a Hogwarts Halloween. And strings of paper bats to float along the ceiling. With some construction paper I can have a festive apartment. A various spread of "potion jars" only add to the effect. I try to collect interesting jars when I can, but I need to create some interesting labels for my potion jars.

For the food pumpkin soup or some English foods to give that Hogwarts feel: such as Sheppard's pie. I am interested to try Butter Beer, not sure how warm butterscotch soda will taste like. I do love this Harry Potter Bento. Since Halloween is on a Monday, maybe I should make a lunch like this. 

Halloween is a holiday that is about the candy and desserts. Whether is pumpkin pasties, licorice wands, chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts (or just a mix of jelly beans), and cake pops in the shape of pumpkins and cauldrons.

Do you have any plans for Halloween?
Here are some links to find Harry Potter or Halloween party ideas:

• Curried Pumpkin Soup
• Potion Jars
• Licorice Wands
• Pumpkin Pasties
• Potion Cabinet

Living Green

First of a series, I am hoping. I started with the easiest color to show in my home: green. Since it is my favorite color I knew that I would find a lot of objects in my home that were green. Do you have colors that you are drawn to, and that seem to pop up everywhere?

Design with Swatches

I love this work from Allison Patrick. The texture of the thin strips of paint is beautiful. Image from Paper Crave

Image from DIY Life

Perhaps it was Sherwin-Williams who originally inspired this trend with their ads, but decorating with paint swatches has taken off.  I have been seeing these design ideas creeping across a variety of blogs that I frequent, and I want to share what I have found about this fun DIY decor style. Paint chips are free and you can get them Hardware and Home Improvement stores, they are as colorful, patterned, and because they are paper they are easily adhered to a variety of mediums. The economy  has less-than-great the last few years, which has inspired a new DIY generation, along with the return of craftsmanship. Handmade pieces of art and design can make a beautiful addition to your home.

Image from DIY Life

Image from Design Sponge

I am not any different, plus I have always enjoy getting hands on with art and design. I have been looking for ways to brighten up my very white, yet dark apartment. (Wall are all white but all the cabinets, floors, trim are dark). I NEED color, and I am not allowed to paint. If I can find some cheap frames paint chips could be layered for some textured art or even cut into shapes to make something more "realistic".

I think I am going to try out this decorating tip on a lamp of my own, that I have owned for your years and picked up for $5 at a grocery store. It has been in need of some lovin'. I have recently spray painted the based and now the lamp shade could use some vitality. When I have this project complete I will keep you posted on the progress. If you are not ambitious enough to try this yourself. Etsy has several paint chip wall art pieces to choose from

Image from Design Sponge