Don't forget to vote over at Naptime Crafters! 

Voting ends soon! 

Goodness knows I need all the help I can get!! 

Fireplace Screen Turned Headboard!

My guest room/playroom has been headboard free for a while.  I purchased a piece of plywood months ago and have been too scared to attempt the tufted headboard of my dreams!  So when I passed this nasty gold fireplace screen the other day at Goodwill a light bulb went off!  Until I get over my fear of tufting this would be a great space filler!  Just like my secretary desk from the first round of American Crafter, this screen was also tagged with the Goodwill color of the week!  50% off?  Don't mind if I do!  So it came to a whopping $3.00!  Not bad for a headboard, right!

Before:

So after I politely asked the little spider family living in the many webs on this treasure...

applied some spray paint...

and some chevron fabric...

a little mod podge and hot glue

I had this!

After:

Here's how I got to my final product if you want to attempt it yourself. 

Step 1:  Clean screen and rough it up with some steel wool then apply a spray paint primer.

Step 2:  Spray paint the screen in your color of choice.  I picked hot pink since it's in the playroom I thought I could go a little wild!  I used Rustoleum Berry Pink in Gloss

Step 3.  Trace around each section like this on the back of your fabric.  I got my fabric from the fabulous U-Fab here in Richmond.  It was $9.99 a yard and you need one yard:

Step 4:  Cut out traced sections but do not cut on the traced line.  Leave a little room for the fabric to tuck under the metal frame of each section.

Step 5:  I used mod podge on the back of the fabric to secure it to the screen tucking it under the metal surround for a clean look with no fabric edges showing.

Step 6:  To make sure it was super secure I put some hot glue on the back.

Step 7:  Spray your hardware



Step 8:  Beg your husband to help you  hang it!  Then thank him profusely saying how you couldn't do this without him etc etc so he will help you with you next project ;)

 Linking up to these fabulous sites!

http://serenitynow4amanda.blogspot.com/http://www.tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/ http://www.tipjunkie.com/http://southernhospitalityblog.com/ http://www.todayscreativeblog.net/http://www.thestoriesofa2z.com/ http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/

Buyers Remorse

Do you all every get Buyers Remorse...as in "I DIDN'T buy it and I'm really ticked and want it now but I just went back to get it and it's gone?!?"

That happened to me yesterday.  I'm still in a small depression about it!  Maybe talking about it with you all will help, a therapy of sorts!

So when I was at Diversity Thrift the other day I spotted this very old and dirty chandelier.  I thought it had a ton of potential and could really be cleaned up easily.  Maybe a little turquoise spray paint to give it a little pizazz!  Well it was missing a bunch of crystals and it was $30.  My sister has been looking for one to put over her bed in her NYC apartment.  For some STUPID reason I thought the missing crystals was a deal breaker.  Here it is!

Wouldn't that top part spray painted turquoise look so neat...leave the rings holding the crystals gold.  I love gold and turquoise together!  Well I went back on Wednesday (They are closed Mon and Tues.) to take it home with me and wouldn't you know it was G-O-N-E.  I searched every nook and cranny of that store to see if someone hid it somewhere, maybe to come back and get it later.  No luck!  So I shed a tear.  Left the store.  And told myself another one will come along eventually. 

But for now will someone please pass the Prozac!

So what about you guys? 

Any remorse about not buying something only to return to buy it and have it be gone?

Oh and one more thing! Don't forget to vote in Round 2 of American Crafter starting tonight at 6:00! 

My project will be easy to spot...it will be the least creative/impressive of the bunch! 

These other ladies are crazy talented!

"Paint That Paneling!"

Remember my friend Emily who wanted a little thrifty room redo!  Well it's been a week since I introduced her so it's about time I did some thrifty advising!! Your comments were SO GREAT!  Here are just a few of the MANY great ideas!

Here is a reminder of what her room looks like now...

 

Here are some of the MANY amazing ideas YOU GUYS had!

I would orient the sofa to face the bank of windows
PAINT THOSE WALLS WHITE!!!
Maybe new covers for the sofa
Mix and match fabrics in order to take advantage of fabric store remnants, bright colors - yellow, navy, red, orange - and bold patterns
I would paint the two chairs a bright color and recover the seats to coordinate with the pillows.
A fun, new painted piece for the tv stand
Curtains! In a bold print, but not too colorful, something geometric
I think bamboo roman shades would look amazing on those windows
Replace the side tables and get a thrifted pair of matching lamps
Thrift some great pieces...desk, ottoman
I think a nice cottage feel would work

So lets start somewhere.  I think the most popular thing commented on was the WALLS!  Emily is totally on board with painting them!  Wahoo!  So here is a little before and after inspiration for her!

 

http://www.younghouselove.com/

 
source

 
source

No before here but a nice after and great inspiration for Emily's room!

source

And I will be back soon for the second installment of Emily's room makeover! 

The topic:  Thrifty but fabulous fabric ideas!!!

What colors schemes are you all loving these days? 

Goodwill Desk Finished!

Remember my Goodwill secretary desk I picked up for a measly $25!

So here is the icky before!

And here is the fun after!  I mod podged some girly fabric on the top and painted the inside a funky hot pink in addition to adding some inexpensive Target drawer pulls!

Hope you all like it.  I'm not in love with it but I guess you can't love every project you complete.  I think it's cute for Emerson and I hope she will love it when she is old enough to start little crafty art projects.

Happy to be linking up here:

http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/

http://www.primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

 http://www.thecottagechick.com/

http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/

http://www.thefrugalgirls.com/2011/05/chic-diy.html

Out and About-Diversity Thrift (Sherwood Ave) and Ashland Goodwill

Can you guess what I wanted for Mother's Day!?!? 

If you know me at all you would have guessed SHOPPING, without a stroller or tantruming toddler!!! After a really cute picnic planned by Alex and Charlie and Emerson,  I was let free to roam the local thrift stores by.my.self!!!.  Here is what I found.

Really nice dining set.  Fine the way it is or would be fantastic painted!  In great shape! 

Goodwill Ashland: $250 for the table and 8 chairs!!!  You can't even get a chair for that much from PB!

Side Note:

Do you all ever run into familiar faces while you are thrifting?  People you don't know but see at your local shops.  For the past few months I keep running into this woman named Jackie.  I forget when or at which thrift store we actually first met but I basically see her every time I'm at Goodwill (and we have a bunch of Goodwills here)!  Well of course I ran into  her this day!  She is so friendly and always has thrifty tidbits to share!  She probably thinks I'm some kind of compulsive shopper!  (she might be right!)

She reads the blog too, HI JACKIE!

50's sewing table (would make a great desk too!)

Diversity Thrift $25.00

Loved this table but it was N-A-S-T-Y!!!  Like, filthy dirty!  But I loved the lines and the gold accents on the corners.  Would be super cute painted a fun color and the moulding would really pop under the glass.

Diversity Thrift $35

Loved the lines on this.

Diversity Thrift $49

Ummmmm...this was $10!!!!  You guys know I spent about an hour deliberating about whether I should buy it or not!  The hanging apparatus was messed up in the back and I wasn't sure how I could fix it but it was SOOO pretty! 

Diversity Thrift $10

I really struggled walking away from every single one of these items but for the sake of my marriage and piggy bank, I left them!  But we all know I can't go out on a thrifting excursion without picking up something for myself ;)  I got this outdated vanity light from Habitat Restore.  More to come on what I'm going to do with it.  I'm sure some of you might be able to guess!

And a HUGE thank you to anyone who voted for my project at Naptime Crafter's American Crafter competition!  I've moved on to the next round!!! 

Patio Perfection!

My friend Katie emailed me this weekend about some advice for the hand me down patio furniture her and her husband just received from his parents.  I figured I would write a post about it because it is that time of year and there may be many of you in the same predicament. 

Here are Katie's before pictures:

So the easiest thing would be to give these a fresh coat of spray paint and throw some cute seat cushions on!  But those little things can get pricey!  I tried to find the cutest cheapest ones around.

Here are a few I found:

Target $25 each

Spray paint furniture blue (risky but fun!)

Target $25 each for just the seat cushion (no pic sorry, link will take you to it!)

JCPenny $17.50 each

JCPenny $17.50 each for just rounded seat cushion like above. 

 It comes in this material though and this was the only pic showing it!

Walmart $18.11 each (sorry for the unclear picture!)

BUT THESE!!!  Look at these THRIFTY treasures!

Aren't they SO CUTE!  And for $5.88 each!!!! You can not beat that price! 

I found them at Home Depot.  They were at the end of an aisle in the front of the store. 

NOT near the other patio furniture and cushions.

They also come in coordinating colors to fit a lounge chair for $19.99

I think it would look super cute if you spray painted the chairs and table in black, navy or white.  Then do the bar cart in a fun color like green or yellow to match whatever cushions you get. 

And here is another inspirational photo if you really want to get wild and crazy!

Here is her before:

EEeeeek! 

AND THE AFTER!  Ooooh la la LOVE IT!

Alicia at AliciaBeck.com via DesignSponge

Make sure to give your furniture a good sanding, wipe it clean, then use something like this product to spray paint them.  I'm sure most brands carry something similar.

 Good luck Katie!  Hope this helps!!! Send us your after pictures if you decide to tackle the project!