A Step Up

Pinterest Success?? Sure

Makeover?? Could be.

Redecorating?? Yes

So, here is the before of a cute step stool.

And here is the after.

It was really a quick reupholster job. The only issue I really had was reusing the tacks.  Since I had taken them out and wanted to use them again, most of them were bent.  I tried to straighten them out the best I could... that took the most work.

Next time, I'll go buy new upholstering tacks!

If you want to see the almost step by step, you can click on the YouTube video that I made, below.

https://youtu.be/ESBWnXesYvc

And here, side by side, is the before and after.  I had the material on hand from another project, so the total cost for the renovation project $0.00.

I think I could do this again.  So yes.... two thumbs up for this one!!

Lantern Success

Every now and then I need some fresh and fun new looks through out the house.

I just mentioned to the hubby that we really haven't updated anything in years.  There are many reasons for that... we've bought quality items in the past.  Our children are out of the house, so the wear and tear on items is at a minimal.  And there really was no need.

But, I do love a good challenge on all things crafty ... and here is my latest Pinterest Success.

Pinterest

I saw this lantern and was immediately drawn to it's simplicity, yet powerful homey feel.  This is something I could recreate and love!!

We went to Ikea and I found this fantastic lantern for $7.  I thought about it.... and then easily convinced myself.... heck yeah, buy it!!!

And here is what I was able to do under $12.  Hobby Lobby had a sale on all of my supplies!  I knew the ribbon I wanted was burlap.  That was the hardest thing to find in the store.  I guess everybody is buying the burlap ribbon!

I saw a few ways to stack bulbs inside.  This is good to know, because I can make this lantern seasonal,  for any holiday or occasion.  I found shiny little red ornaments.  The pine cones I had on hand.  And I stuck a candle holder inside to create dimension for the eye.  I also had seen a lantern that had had a monogram letter inside.... which when I come across a 'cheap' 3" R will have a residence!!

I may have to remake the bow... it's kind of awkward.  

I think all in all, it was a Pinterest success.

I can just change out the evergreen pick on top and find some red heart sprig.... keep it up for Valentines once the middle of January comes along.Then add some Easter Eggs, Red White & Blue .... the possibilities are endless!!

Beyond the Impression

I like signs!

Figuratively and literally.

I'm a visual type personality.  I need to see it, and or be reminded of it!

I literally have signs all over my house! You may have seen them highlighted before on my blog.

This above is a glossy white painted dinner plate.  But it also the base for a changeable sign.  Using a dry/erase marker I change the saying on this plate anytime. The marker writes smoothly and I can glide around the surface with ease.  I've just got to watch out for smearing with my left hand.

Being a crafty person, and a thrifty one as well .... Pinterest is my inspiration for a lot of 'stuff' ( A LOT OF STUFF).  So, the in thing was to use black chalkboard paint to make unusual chalk boards and write fun and cute things on the board.  I found the above kitchen cabinet door raw wood, unstained and unpainted for about $3.  It's approx. 12" x 15".  I spray painted it with the black chalkboard paint and used actual school white chalk and wrote one of my Halloween greetings on it.  I tried to wipe it off.... and the board/wood had absorbed the chalk writing.  It wouldn't erase and looked like a mess. I retouched the sign paint  and decided to put  permanent text on it with a very smooth chalkboard ink.  I love the results. I love what it says!!

I don't always picture the end result of a random item I purchase when being thrifty, (or is it crafty) but I'm extremely excited when something turns out even better than I could have imagined!!

This framed board is approximately 15" x 32".  I think it used to be a country calendar that had the interchangeable wood pieces for months/weeks/days.  But all I saw was a great structure and a backboard that I could make into a blackboard.

I don't think whatever man made board the back is, was too absorbent, because I spray painted it and eventually could erase the chalk message on this one.  I love how I can practice my handwriting and be creative and change out the words to whatever is happening seasonally around our home.  I see the sign, every day!!

And then  there are purchased signs, or signs that were given to me as a gift.  They are different sizes and textures and different sentimental meanings!

Signs give me comfort.  I love the fact that I can see them and be reminded of their content every day. I can think of who gave them to me, or the occasion it was purchased, or a reason behind the words!

Augustine on signs: A sign is a thing which causes us to think of something beyond the impression the thing itself makes upon the senses.

At the outset you must be very careful lest you take figurative signs literally.

Little happy reminders, that often help me to Brighten Someone's Day!

The Right Tools

I admit it ... I know I shouldn't ... but I'm honest!

I copy!

I copy .... a lot!

If I see something that I like, I want to re-create it.

(shameful to 'steal' I know, but I think I'm pretty good at it)

But I've had a lot of practice. Having the right 'tools' also helps!

It still is the decorating craze, but I finally got on 'board' ... to chalk board spray paint. 

I had to see how it worked, if it worked and if I liked the outcome.  I bought at resale, a cool piece of wood.  Later I discovered it was a cast off door to a cabinet.  But it worked for me and it was the right price.

I bought some black chalk spray paint from Hobby Lobby and painted my board.  I realized when I went to doodle on the board that I didn't have any chalk.  An idea came to my head ... I had sidewalk chalk in the garage .... leftovers from years gone by.  Ugh, but the chalk was too fat to draw on my 10" x 12" board.  What to do?  I found a teeny tiny piece of used chalk in a box of school supplies.

My idea came alive! Well, it actually was a Pinterest picture that I was able to re-create.

Unfortuneately, I had to go back to Hobby Lobby and buy a box full of chalk.  I never ever bought white chalk before.... you know it's that kind of thing you used to find on the hall floor in school after the janitor swept up!!! :0)

 

I liked my first board so much that I had to find another one!  A bigger board to fit more words.  I think the above frame was to one of those country calendars that had the movable tiles for each date.  It was missing the calendar and the pieces, but the bones of the frame and the back board were perfect!!!!

 

I spray painted the back board and was able to 'sign' away.  I could just erase and put up new quotes each month, or for each season, or for any event.  I loved it!!!! 

 

 

Then I saw something.

 

I wanted my writing to be more precise.  I wanted to have thin lines.  I wanted to make swirls and dots. Then I discovered that there is a Chalk Ink Marker. 

 

And I bought it.  Spent 6 times as much as my box of chalk, but I love it! I used the spit and finger test to see if the ink would erase from the board, and that seemed to work.

 

I re-did both of my signs and am happy with the results.  It looks like chalk, just a little more defined.  I'll let you know if with a little water and a rag, if it will wipe clean for next months' quote.

 

Another Pinterest success!!!

Put a Cork in It!

You know, there are things that just make you go hmmm!

Or little things that make you laugh out loud.

Inside jokes.

Funny how you see a bunch of signs that you never saw before?

Since before we really started drinking wine, I had kept a few wine corks, even dated them with permanent markers on  the ones for an anniversary or a special occasion.  Then I started putting wine corks in a semi huge glass vase.

After our walk through a few wineries earlier this summer, I saw that there were special wine cork 'holders' being sold in the winery gift shop.  But for $28 bucks, I thought I could create something more cost efficient!

 

I couldn't find the materials I was looking for... but I did find the perfect gift for wine enthusiast or your cork-collecting friend.

 

After I found my great buy (which was 1/4th the cost of a new one) I was watching the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and he wrote a thank you note just for this cause...

 

Thank you people who save wine corks for basically saying, hey look, I'm a hoarder and an alcoholic.

 

 

By the way, I am neither!!!!!

 

But now, someday and with Pinterest,  I have a ton of ideas what I eventually can do with all of those corks ... http://www.pinterest.com/pin/136937644894915378/

 

Plus, the new cork holder looks cute, and that's what counts!

Splish Splash

Well, I've been at it again!

Creating!

Last month I saw a really neat PIN on Pinterest and I thought.... I can do that.... so, here is what it was....

 

Using three similar shaped but different sized Terra cotta planter pots and a large drainage saucer, I made a really. really cute bird bath for my secret garden.

 

It's about 20" tall.  It's small and compact, and I'm so excited to be finished painting it.  I could doodle all day, trying to make each flower bud look almost real.... or adding wings and antennas to the bugs, or getting the shading just right.  I used acrylic paint, blue painters' tape, a sharpie marker and a Hi-SHINE finishing gloss. 

 

I'm not sure how much water it will hold, or even if a little bird will take a bath in it.... but it is a Pinterest Success!!!!

 

 

On the top saucer I painted a sun SHINE mosaic.  Some day (it is POSSIBLE), I will work outside my comfort zone and make another mosaic tile sculpture. 

 

Meanwhile, look how that baby SHINES!

Robinson ReStore

What to do if you eat a lot of pickles?  Or jalapeno slices?  Or Peperoncini? Spaghetti sauce? 

Yes, too much waste ... but more often than not I clean out the jars and put them in our brown and yellow recycling bin and take it to the end of the driveway for pick up, like today!  And sometimes I just clean a few jars and stash them away in my 'to do' box and save them for .... something.

Ah, Pinterest.... a woman's  favorite idea spot like fantasy football is for men !

 

Here are two clean jars with the labels removed.  I think they are pretty enough to just sit around and hold 'something', but I'd rather up-cycle them and turn them into something.... useful!!! 

 

I have plenty of lace, burlap, twine and ribbon in my stash.  So, on a cold and dreary night I got out my glue gun, some mod podge and a flower template and decorated the jars... with a shabby chic sort of theme.

 

I haven't quite figured out what I will do with them next.  That's for another day to browse Pinterest.... but I'm thinking of filling them with cute foiled chocolates and giving them as a Brighten Someone's Day sort of gift!!!

 

News alert    ****break****     for more snow! 

 

This picture was taken earlier this week.  We have since had 5 more inches of snow.  So, when the plows came through.... see the flag on the right side of the mailbox??? The snow is now up to there and I have chiseled out the front of the mailbox!!!  This is the 8th snowiest snowfall on record for the Chicago area... so far this winter O'Hare field has measured over 60" ... we live a little farther northwest of that area, and think we have gotten a bit more here in the suburbs!!!

Project #2

 

I had some cabin fever, $10 in my pocket and a Savers discount card. *Savers is a thrift shop similar to Goodwill or Salvation Army. I love to find a deal, and when I have an idea of something I saw somewhere else (mostly on another thrifter's blog, or again Pinterest)... I get giddy when I find something I can make into what I want.

 

 

 

Chalk boards are very popular right now.  And there are plenty of sites to visit to see how create chalk ART.

 

So, I took the frame  (I believe it was one of those country type calendars that has the tiles for dates and months that are inter-changeable) I found for less than $7 dollars and with some Spray Paint Chalk and sandpaper (which I had in  my supplies).... I was able to create a fun ... IN... board that matches my decorating style.

 

Now I have to go find some more chalk!  I had 1 tiny white piece left from who knows what????.... it wont last very long if I want to 'create' cool chalk art pieces.  Skinny little chalk from when teachers used that instead of white boards or computer projections!!!

Source Pottery Barn

 

I can certainly glue on some binder clips and other embellishments to mine, like the one above from Pottery Barn for $149!!!!!!

 

I'm excited!  Two Pinterest successes this week. 

 

Just imagine the Possibilities!!!!

 

What's all the Interest about Pinterest

What do you call  'Fantasy Football' for women?  Pinterest!

Source

It's Week #15 and I'm going to highlight one of the many social networking sites you can join for FREE.  It's a place where anyone can collect photos and links of visual pleasing things and pin them to a virtual pin board! Pin your interests, Pinterest.

Week # 15 - LIFE'S simple pleasures - Pinterest.

If you look at their logo, the letter P is in the shape of a push pin... so for computer savvy adults (as well, kids too) it's similar to  20-30 years ago when we would actually save our allowance money and buy high fashion magazines, Hollywood Teen Beat and Art Books.... tear out the pages of things we loved and aspired to, and pin them to our walls or cork board in our bedroom.

I have been a fan of Pinterest for a couple of years.  It was conceptualized in 2009,  and there have been great surges in it's popularity among young women. 

Although I don't 'pin' as much as many others, you could truly be on that site for hours (I go there every day for awesome quotes that I find to post on my blog, new recipes to cook for my family, beautiful ways to decorate and inspiration to tweak things a bit) ... clicking from link to picture to website to link (it is highly addictive, I must admit).

I want to try things and  I really try to CASe (copy and steal everything) when it comes to a craft project or a recipe, or a great idea! Bottom line, I also want to give kudos/credit to the original poster whenever I try to re-create something I share here!

There is something called Epic Pinterest Fail, where 'ordinary' people see a great photo, a wonderful tutorial and a grand final outcome and they want to re-create EVERYTHING from that post.  They show the before and after picture... and those who FAIL at their attempt laugh how simple some creative photographer, professional crafter and published author was able to make a gorgeous wreath out of a used book pages!

 

Now, no EPIC failure here!

 

I think I was adequately able to duplicate from the original.  Remember, I'm a 'copy' artist!!

 

I've made numerous wreaths like this.  Don't get me wrong.... a simple picture does not indicate how many hours truly went into creating this 'thing'.  Hours of tearing up an old book (that's hard to do when you are a book lover, but if you are a frugal book lover, you get books you don't really care about cheap from a garage sale or Goodwill).  Then forming the coil shape and rolling hundreds of flower buds, and then placing them with raw finger tips on the straw wreath because I've burnt my prints off with the hot glue from the glue gun! But I loved the end result.  The 'word' is, wreaths like this start at $40 and go up from there.  I'll call this  project a success!

 

"I speak fluently in Pinterest quotes!"