Showing posts with label thrifting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thrifting. Show all posts

chalkboard paint is my friend.

I am linking up with:

and
Check out Twice Remembered's party: Make Your Monday


This is the first "project" I've posted in a long time, and I'm sorry to tell you that it's probably the easiest and fastest one I've ever done!

Of course I forgot AGAIN to take a proper "before" shot, but you'll get the gist even with the blue painter's tape.




As you can see, all I did was tape around the edges of the opposite side. (I decided not to paint over the original print, as it's REALLY cute. I figure even if it doesn't match my kitchen right now, I just hated to cover it up! You never know.)

Then I just took off the lovely blue tape...



See? Isn't it cute??? Wait, that's not the project. OK, here's what I actually did: (hehe)


Boy, do I love me some chalkboard paint. Yes, this is my 3rd chalkboard project. One hangs in my bedroom, the other just to the left of this one, but I plan to rearrange this wall soon.

Also gotta love the Chalk Ink instead of regular old chalk. As a teacher, I use enough regular old chalk at work. Actually, mostly I just use my dry erase board, the chalk dust bothers me!

Next up isn't my very favorite project (or at least not my best result), but I'll show it anyway, simply because I spent the time on it.

The original box is actually really cute; picked it up at Goodwill for $2.99. GOD BLESS GOODWILL.


Just added a little of this lovely scrapbook paper:


After applying the paper with Mod Podge (Matte), I wanted a little something more, so I typed up some letters on Word till I found a font I liked, then I just freehanded a "C" for our last name, cut it out, and pasted that puppy on. (It's not my best work; I really should have made a stencil or something, but I'm lazy.)


And here's the finished product:








Like I said, this isn't the BEST project I've ever done, but it turned out pretty decent. The box now sits on the dresser in our master bedroom (which is done in browns and aquas), and it holds things that would normally be strewn haphazardly across the dresser. A prettier way to store all my junk and papers! Yay!

Happy Monday, everyone! 1o more teaching days till Spring Break, so I am pumped! I am considering undertaking the huge project of painting our kitchen cabinets over spring break! SCARY, but exciting. Still have to find the perfect shade of creamy white paint and the perfect new paint color for the walls! Any recommendations are welcome!

Thanks for visiting!!!

Good Lord, Goodwill!

I FINALLY made a trip over to one of my Goodwills and ended up spending about 3 hours there!

I brought back no less than 15 books (some as gifts, no less), 5 framed prints that will soon take on new lives as who knows what (yet), and 4 hoodies and a nice sweater. YAY.

All in all, one of the most successful trips I've made.

Oh, Michael on the Office. Shut yer trap! LOL. He is too much.

More to come on my exciting finds. And hopefully it will be more exciting than this entry!
Heh. I spent much more time today blogging on my classroom blog! Found Schoolhouse Rock videos to post on the blog that the kiddos can use to memorize their multiplication facts! Hoping there will be some saving grace for us all with this technology.


Picture frame turned earrings display.

Whoo hoo! Check out the end result:




Perfectly complements the new necklace hanger I made last week! From far away, the earrings almost look as if they're floating!

Nope; they're just hanging on some hemp jewelry twine.

All I needed were some of these eye hooks...

the aforementioned hemp...and a few tools. The frame I got at Goodwill last week for a whopping $4.00, and it was already this color!!

First I measured where I wanted my holes on the back of the frame and marked the spots with a pencil. OK, these eye hooks were SO tiny, I could barely keep them in my fingers, so I needed to use a nail to hammer my holes rather than just try to screw the hooks in from scratch. This helped a lot. I screwed them into their holes (heh heh) as much as I could, then used my trusty pliers to wind them all the way in. Then I just tied the hemp to each end and voila!


Tip: I left the long ends on the hemp and simply taped them down to the frame to hide them (just in case I need to re-tie the knots down the road).


Can you see the price tag over there? This frame was originally $19.99 at HobLob. Score one for the team!

Wow, this one tiny corner of our bedroom is starting to have a little life of its own, huh? It must be time to tackle the bedroom hand-me-down furniture. Wonder if I can make that happen before I go back to work in 2 weeks...ugh. I really want an electric sander before I tackle that!

I guess I probably need to paint the jewelry table thing, too, huh? Are we in Heirloom White overload yet? Be honest, I can take it.


I'll leave you with this picture of Jessie, who is spoiled rotten, and has taken to sleeping on our ottoman.

Linking up for Make Your Monday; thank you, to Kim at Twice Remembered. Be sure to stop by and check out what everyone else is making!

trash to treasure extravaganza!

Thanks to Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality for hosting the blog party again. Please take a few minutes to head over there and check out everyone else's thrifty finds!

Also stop by Between Naps on the Porch, another great blog, for her Metamorphosis Monday link party. Good times; I love getting inspired by you creative bloggers out there!

Let's just start off this post with a picture of a gorgeous child, our niece, who is about to turn 1 year old. I mean, is she gorgeous, or is she gorgeous?


Moving on, when I say extravaganza, it's because I have been a tad obsessed with thrifting lately, so of course i've come across many great finds that just needed a little extra love (spray paint) to enhance their inner bling. Ahem. God, how I love spray paint.

Well, this is going to be long, so get comfortable.


Do you see that white, empty spot on the wall behind these thrifted candlesticks? Doesn't that look like a perfect spot to install a few shelves to hold my arsenal of spray paint and various supplies? Yes, I thought so, too; I'm glad you agree! Anyway, these guys became chocolate brown and now live on our mantel (is mantel spelled -el or -le?).


(That's one of them there with the yellowish gold candle. The other is on the left side. What a beaut! Did I mention they were 50 cents each?)

This little lamp was already a beauty for $5.99 at Goodwill. All I did was add a light bulb and a lamp shade! And a cat!

Love it! Makes a beautiful contrast against our brown accent wall in the master bedroom.



Remember this guy? Now he lives on my piano, also painted a chocolate brown and perched upon by a lovely orange candle.

Loved this scrolly bookend, so out came the spray paint again.

Here are the painted candle holder and bookend in their new home atop the piano.


Remember this little guy for 50 cents?

Just look at him now:

With a fresh coat of sky blue spray paint, now he organizes all our outdoor paraphenalia (including kitty's hairbrush...) on our bar. Guests need not worry about sunscreen or bug spray at the Cockrells house, as we've plenty to spare!


This one's my favorite! Here's my nightstand I was asking for advice about. I went ahead and painted just the drawer fronts for a new look, and I love it.


Yes, I really should have taken the time to cover the rest of the drawer, but I'm lazy. So there. And nobody will see the stray spray paint but me. Ha! Stray spray.

I loves me some Rustoleum!

Here is the new and improved nightstand in our bedroom. I'd like to get some new drawer pulls, but I haven't yet. And let's face it: I'm also too lazy to fill the ginormous hole left by this massive hardware and drill new holes. Yep.


I thought this frame was great; look at the lovely detail!


So...add the newly painted glossy black frame to...

THIS old fashioned glass triple photo mat...no wait, this photo mat became...

This new chalkboard!
Oh, you mean it doesn't look finished? OK, THIS new chalkboard:


Here it is hung on our bright yellow kitchen wall:

Can you tell I did a faux finish on the kitchen wall? You should have seen how bright it was BEFORE the faux finish. WOW. Looks great with the Fiestaware, though, I must say.

Hubby would like to point out that I should have written chicken or steak. Sorry for the confusion.


Another interesting frame (this time I used craft paint):

I'm sorry to say that (AGAIN) I forgot a before shot of this little friend, but before (got her for about 5 bucks at ye olde goodwill) she was a rusty dark metal with a mirror inside. Just look at her now!!

This quotation is from a poem by ee cummings, read by a close friend at our wedding. Now that you know it's by ee cummings, you'll forgive the run-on sentence aspect of it, yes?


I love how the new chalkboard complements my necklace holder and new lamp.





As for this little lamp, I loved the detail of it, but not the color, so (you guessed it) Heirloom White spray paint: enter, stage right!

Now, here she is (all decked out with a shade I already had), looking fabulous in our guest room:




Can you tell how tarnished this guy is? He was a mere 99 cents at Goodwill! I polished him all up, and now he lives in our bathroom, holding cotton balls and swabs.





This cute little piece was hideously discolored (I think it may be plastic?), but for 99 cents, with a fresh coat of paint, it makes a great new holder for all things lovely.





OK, I turned the antique bench upside down to examine its business, and look who thought this was clearly her new bed.
"What? And would you go away with that camera? You KNOW I hate the flash."



Precious little bird bath for--don't hate--$1.99.


More spray paint--anyone thinking I should invest in Rustoleum stock yet--and mr. birdie makes a perfect addition to our backyard, perched (for now, at least) on the cute little flower table you may have seen in a previous post:




Well, we've reached the end, thank God. I don't think I could type anymore. Wow. Hope you enjoyed these (super easy) transformations, and hopefully this inspired you to get out to your local thrift shops to peruse the aisles!

Tune in tomorrow, as I have a master plan for a lovely cream frame I found last week. YAY!


xo, Gayla


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