FOUR DOLLAR TABLE!

The title is in all caps because you have to shout it! I mean - $4?! C'mon. So, this was at the Goodwill and it was in very rough shape. But - after washing, sanding and re-screwing the legs a little - it was in just bad shape. An improvement. The problem was with the top of the table. It was laminate and was bubbled and crusty like someone had spilled acid on it years ago. ? Who knows. My solution? I used textured wallpaper and then painted and sealed it. Voila. It is very cool and unique - and STILL JUST COST $4.

My antiquing technique is coming along nicely. Check out my sexy legs!

The new shaggy rug also makes me smile - but that baby was a little more than four bucks so it doesn't get a blog post. ;)

Also showing this off at Diane's Second Time Around!

Men's Shirt Repurposed

My Monday Metamporphis is a men's shirt that I picked up last week at "The Goodwheel" (as my 6 year old calls it). It is a men's shirt, Calvin Klein, nice blue pin stripe. Worn just enough to be comfy - but totally free of any yuckiness. I almost raided my husband's closet to do this - but I was pretty sure that as soon as I did that - he'd ask for the shirt that I had re-made.

So - here are some before shots...



Laying - waiting for me to make it pretty.



I tried it on and marked the sides where I wanted to taper it. I still wanted it to hang on me and be long...but I did not want it big and boxy. The picture below shows a line that runs from about three quarters down the arm, under the arm and down the side - tapering in some at the waiste. I folded the shirt in half and marked the other side accordingly.

I was not too uptight about precision here because I knew it was still going to be loose and a bit oversized. A cm here or there is not going to show for this project.




The material that was cut off the sides became cute ruffles on the front. Ruffles are hot right now - you know that, right? :)

Voila. My new shirt (I had to edit off my head because I hadn't done my hair- yes, I'm that vain). I always wear my creations around my little sis soon after I finish them and see if she compliments them - if so, I know that it was a success! This one got a compliment. Yay!

Check out other way cooler projects!

The Star Wars Bedroom

I decided several weeks ago that I wouldn't force myself to start posting on this blog until I was actually in the mood and felt that it would be fun and not a hassle. And today is the day. I'm not sure how often I'll post here... I do have dreams of being up there with the ranks of The Nestor, Kimba, Lindsay, Susan, Thrifty Decor Chick...and SO many others. But, with a full-time job, two little kids, a great husband that I like to hang out with - it's hard for me to do a niche blog very well right now. But, I can use it as a small motivator to me to stay creative and enjoy doing some projects. So, that's how it shall stay. For now. :)

Today I'm displaying a few photos of our son's new Star Wars themed bedroom. I don't have a full before/after type thing going on because we just moved in this house a few months ago and so the before room would just be an empty room.

The one "before" I can show is the dresser that was handed down to me from my great aunt. It was used for a couple years in our guest bedroom in it's antique glory - and then when our little boy was about 18 months old we painted it like this for his room in our new house:

It has now transitioned once again and here is the more "grown up" (if by grown up you mean 6 years old) version. This time it's painted especially for the Star Wars room!

The color is a very pretty light grey and soft black. The knobs really make the dresser! Thank you Ebay. Each knob is a different SW character. Below - yoda - my fave.

To go along with the dresser, we hung a black corner shelf to display some action figures:

And finally - my husband and I combined our talents to make this awesome Darth Vader headboard/wall decor for over his bed.

We would love to paint the walls and do it up a little more - but it's a rental house that we aren't sure how long we'll be in. The good news is that using his Star Wars toys and accessories, it has turned out very cool. I'll try to get a whole room shot soon (as in - when I get a new camera and aren't taking all of these on my blackberry). ;)

Thanks for stopping by. I'm linking up to the following:

It's So Very Cheri - Creative Party

and

Transitioning to Fall

It's that time of year - the air is getting crisper and pumpkins are showing up everywhere! I love it. Spring is usually my favorite - but fall is a close second. My projects have been minimal lately unless it involves cleaning out a closet or toy chest because we've just put our house on the market. However, I did make time to do a fun fall table scape on our dining room table and add a touch of fall to our front porch. And being as broke thrifty as I am... I think all supplies were found at Walmart (I know, I cringe a little too but you do what you have to do) and they worked great!

So - our table looked like this a lot of the summer...


And is now transformed to this:


I used a mixture of real and plastic pumpkins and squash... the leaves were actually cut off a strand of leaf garland that I had from a long time ago. The brown charger that they are all sitting on was like $2 on clearance... cheap project but it gives the table a fun look for visitors.


The other area that had a little metamorphosis is our front porch. The summer re-do had it looking like this:
The addition of a fall bouquet from above mentioned super-cheapo store added a fall "pop" that I love to come home to!

The little nest and eggs in the bowl were actually free. The kids found the nest in the front yard... and the little eggs are small wooden ones from my daughter's play kitchen (which is currently in storage as part of our de-cluttering attempt while our house is on the market). So - voila, there you have it. Quick, inexpensive and minimal... but it does feel a bit more like fall now!

Check out tons of cool ideas at BNOTP!

A Train Case Metamorphosis

I've been eyeing these little train cases at the Goodwill shops for awhile and then started seeing some around on different blogs. So - a couple weeks ago I finally grabbed one and did my thing. However, like many projects - it didn't exactly turn out as fabulous as I had hoped. It did -however - teach me a lot and keep me interested to try it again. Here is what I did with this one:

• Primed and painted it by hand (didn't spray paint).


• Used all materials that I had on hand.


• Actually painted contact paper and cut into decals before applying to the case.


• Coated it all in ModPodge and then an acrylic sealer.


• Painted the hardware.


• Covered the handle with painted contact paper. (yeah, weird).


• Skipped the "touching up" phase - it's sitting on top of the fridge to hold medicines and it's fine.

Before:

After:

Some things I'll do different next time:

• Try to use spray paint so that I don't have unsightly brush strokes - OR - cover the whole thing with contact paper and mod podge - only painting the trim.


• Buy the color of contact paper that I need - painting it actually worked... but kind of a pain.


• Probably just leave the hardware alone. And the handle.

This little dudes are heavy too... so my visions of actually traveling with one may not actually happen. But - it does look cute sitting around the house, no?

Linking up to Metamorphosis Monday! Check her out!

MAIL TIME!

I had a great weekend filled with projects. I am so excited to have some new pictures and posts... and most of all - to have prettied up some things around the house.

The first one I'll share this week (I'm starting off small here) is a little box that I found at an impromptu visit to the Goodwill last week. We actually have an outlet store here that has HUGE bins of crap treasures that you pay for by the pound. It is at this point that I need to state the obvious. If you pick out the three heaviest pieces of crap stuff, you don't get the best deal. 'Nuff said.

BUT - I did get this very cool little box - that I had a specific purpose for before even buying. I actually liked the creamy yellow color that it had already been painted. As luck would have it, I found a matching color of new spray paint at Michaels. The unlucky part - I bought two cans of this stuff and it is the worst spray paint I've ever bought. It sprayed unevenly leaving big drips and took a long time to dry. If anyone really wants to know the brand - I'll tell you. I'm not being secretive... just lazy as it is out in the garage right now and I don't remember what kind it was.

So - here is the before picture. Notice the little feet are broken and missing. When I started trying to take the other one off - I ended up taking all the trim off too because some of that was broken.

This is the space that needed help! I'm kind of embarrassed to post the picture - and I will say that this is on a bad day. But, it obviously needed some help. And one goal I've developed as I'm do these little projects is to make them useful and pretty. It's not an either/or - they should really be both - because I'm not about just doing useless things. Usually.

So - then, I did my thing with the temperamental spray paint. I might have said a few bad words as I made a mess of things due to the new brand of paint. Then, some cute black ribbon - and VOILA! It is perfect. And look at my little counter space and mail holder. Ahhhhhh. SO MUCH BETTER. I love it.

Stay tuned this week. I have at least three more projects to post... and maybe another. I'm linking up to Metamorphosis Monday! Yay - check her out! Updated: I found another party too - this is another big one! I can't believe I hadn't had the pleasure of checking out her blog until today. I know most of you have! Southern Hospitality!