BEFORE & AFTER: a frame + a book makeover

For some reason here lately all I want to do is decorate, craft, spray paint, etc.  Mainly I think I am bored with trying to keep the house spiffy for potenitial buyers so I am coming up with "things" I NEED to do instead. 

This frame I bought at hobby lobby last year for half off.  It was fall and I liked the fall colors and the swirly pattern on the frame.  I got it home and I never really liked it in any of our rooms.  I kept it out for a while but then put it in a drawer and forgot about it.  I was trying to spruce up our master bedroom the other day and wanted a frame on our bedside table.  I was really wanting a non-silver frame but almost every frame we own is silver.  I remembered my hobby lobby frame but it was not the right colors at all for our bedroom.  I didn't really want to paint the frame in case I wanted to use it as is someday but then I said heck with it and painted it anyway.

I am so glad I decided to paint this frame.  I used some white satin spray paint that we had on hand for my frame makeover.  Luckily I had just the perfect amount of paint left in the can to cover my whole frame.  I love my frame SO much more in white!!

I wanted to set my frame on a book but most of the larger books we have tend to have really dark colored bindings.  Enter some burlap I had left over from the table runners I made for the nautical baby shower. I simple wrapped a book {my husbands high school year book!} in the burlap kind of like a book jacket and then taped it down on the inside of the cover.  It still wasn't anything too special so I took some left over raffia and looped it around both ends of the book just to add a little more texture.  I'm so happy with my little makeover and the best part was that it was free!  Of course I had to throw in one of my yard sale moss balls for good measure.  These are definitely coming in quite handy!

::I'm linking this mini makeover to the Shabby Nest, Somewhat Simple and the Shabby Chic Cottage.

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a few thrifting tips

 A while back I shared some thrifting tips over at make happy. In case you missed it I thought I would share a variation of my guest post today.

Last year out of the blue I started shopping at thrift stores.  At first I felt a little out of place but soon I got over that and started to have some fun.  Often I come up empty handed but it's all worth it for that occasional trip when I come home with some amazing finds.  I love the thrill of thrift store shopping and also the fact that I often save our family some serious money too.  For example I have started finding some great name brand clothing for the boys in excellent condition at our local thrift stores for less than two or three dollars per item.  You can beat that!

I am by no means a thrifting expert but I have learned a few things over time {often the hard way}.  Today I am going to share a few simple guidelines and tips for you to keep in mind the next time you visit your local thrift store.  These tips can also come in handy for shopping at yard sales and antique stores too!!

:If you are looking for a particular item be patient.  I am the worlds worst at being patient so I have to really try hard to enforce this one for myself.  Sometimes there is something particular I am searching for at thrift stores or yard sales. This past year I really wanted a new lamp for our bedroom and a globe for the boys room.   I took me a while to find both but I did eventually find them. Several times I almost bought a lamp I kind of liked but I held out though and eventually found a lamp that I REALLY loved.  I brought it home and gave it a new look with some silver leaf.   

If you are looking for a specific piece of furniture for a space in your house it might be wise to know the exact dimensions of the piece you want.  That way if you find a dresser that you love you don't have to try and eye ball wether it will fit in your room or not.  You can measure it {if you keep a trusty tape measure in your purse or car} and know right then and there if it will work in your house before you load it up and take it home.

::If you have extra storage space you might consider buying items you don't necessarily need now but could use down the line.  Sometimes I come across something at a thrift store that I don't need right at that exact moment but know that I could maybe use in the near future{within a year or less}.  If the item is a good deal, on the small side, and easy for me to store then I will usually go ahead and buy it.

A while back I found a set of four plate hangers for $1.51.  If you have ever bought these at your local craft store then you know that just one of these alone would cost more than what I paid for all four.  I would like to hang some plates and platters on one of our walls someday soon so I bought these plate hangers to save for that particular decorating project.

::Use your imagination!!  As you can probably imagine, you are going to run across a lot of outdated and ugly stuff at thrift stores.  Most of the time you may find something you like but maybe it's not the right color or finish.  Now everyone repeat after me, "Spray paint can transform ANYTHING!! "

I found the bunny on the left at a thrift store but didn't love the purple flowers.  Of course this was nothing that a few coats of spray paint couldn't change.


When I first started thrifting it was hard to look beyond the uglyness and old school factor of everything in the store.  Then being inspired by thrift store makeovers on other blogs I slowly was able to use my imagination more and more to see the potential in thrift store "treasures".

Obviously a little bit of imagination was needed to look beyond the hideousness of the topiary I found at Goodwill for 99 cents.  


::Don't buy an item just because it's inexpensive.  There have been many times that I kind of liked something at the thrift store so I went ahead and bought it because it didn't cost very much.  Most of the items that I did this with are now sitting in my closet untouched.  Make sure the items you buy are things you really like or that you can makeover easily.  Sometimes it seems silly to leave something behind at Goodwill because it only would have cost me 99 cents.  But seriously that is a dollar you could have spent on something else and you may not realize it but it's all those little purchases that we make that really add up!


::If you love something you come across and it won't break your budget then by all means buy it all ready!!  If you spot an item from an aisle away and your heart starts going pitter patter from the excitement of finding something amazing then snatch that item up and run directly to the cash register.  There have been a few times where I was really in love with something but I didn't buy it for one reason or another.  Sometimes I don't know where I would put an item in my house so I talk myself out of buying it.  That's OK and all but I have kicked myself for doing this when I was really in love with something.  I've actually gone back to the store a day later to find an item again because I had decided I really couldn't live without.  And I'm sure you can guess where this is going. The item I loved wasn't there anymore.  Thrift store merchandise generally moves fast so you can't guarantee the same stuff will be there the next day.

This past Spring I purchased two white milk glass planters.  I loved both of them right away but I sat there and debated about getting them because I wasn't sure they would go with my existing home decor.  Then I decided it was silly I was hemming and hawing over something that cost a dollar and that I really liked!  In the end I was able to find a spot for them in my kitchen and whenever I see them they make me smile.  I am so glad I didn't pass them up!

:: Ask for a discount and pay attention to the specials that your thrift stores have.  Our local Goodwill has a deal every week where a certain colored tag is 50% off all week long.  Of course every item I want has the wrong colored tag.  Another local thrift store always has yellow tags at 70% off, green tags at 50% off, c.  Also, don't be afraid to ask the cashier for a discount, especially if an item is slightly damaged. It never hurts to ask! {Definitely ALWAYS ask for a discount at antique stores!! They will usually  give you one.}

{image source}

Well there you have it.  Some simple things to remember and think about the next time you go thrifting or find yourself at a yard sale!  These tips weren't meant to overwhelm you so keep them in mind but don't stress over them.  Just have fun and of course enjoy the thrill the of the hunt!!

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Master Bathroom: The Reveal!!

Hey look, it's a regular post from yours truly that doesn't contain the words "giveaway" or "guest post"!!  ha! I took a much needed short bloggy break last week.  Downtime away from technology is kinda nice and I should definitely do that more often. Ok on to other things....

Besides a few tiny touch-ups, our master bathroom is finally finished.  YAY!!  Don't you just love it when you can cross projects of your list?

I am loving how clean and fresh our new bathroom looks.

 {This was the most I could manage to get in one picture.  It's so hard to photograph small spaces!!}

If you remember, this was the before{see below}  Blech!!  If you missed the tour of our old master bath you can click here to check that out.

If you are new around here, last December Hubby ripped out all of the old tile and replaced it with some new white subway tiles.  Oh how I love you subway tiles!!

When we bought our house two years ago there was no shower door on the shower stall in the master bath.  We have been making do with a shower curtain all this time but we opted to get some new glass doors to finish off the new shower.  Having the glass doors definitely makes our small bathroom feel larger and lets me see those clean, white subway tiles every time I walk through the bathroom door!  Have I mentioned I love white subway tiles? 

Next we replaceed our old shower head {pictured below}.  

For less than $15 we were able to get a new shower head that I love.  It's nothing fancy but a definite upgrade to the one we had before. 

With the shower now complete Hubby was able to turn his attention to other details in the bathroom.  He installed some new crown moulding around the top of the ceiling to add a little bit of character to the room.  It took him all of two seconds to install the crown since our master bathroom is a little on the small tiny side.

And he gave the walls a fresh coat of paint.  We used some left over paint {from our son's room} that complimented the paint color in our bedroom.  If we weren't going to put our house on the market in six months we would have probably gone for a bolder color.  We figured it would be best to stick with a neutral at this point.

To add more storage in our master bathroom we replaced the old mirror { see above} with a new medicine cabinet.  As I mentioned before, Hubby added a piece of trim to the top of the cabinet to give it a little more of a customized look.

Remember how I said that we wanted to make the trim that sits above the beadboard a little narrower?  That was because we wanted to put two glass shelves on the wall, between the mirror and the shower.  The ledge look just didn't work with shelves on the wall because the ledge almost stuck out far enough to be another mini shelf.  It was wide enough to sit something on and just looked funny underneath the shelves.  

Now the trim looks more like trim instead of a ledge that you could possibly sit something on.  It doesn't compete with the shelves or seem out of place.

Once Hubby was done with his part of the bathroom I could accessorize a little!! The picture on the top shelf was a gift from a sweet friend {more on that later} and the little silver cup I got recently at a city wide thrift sale for a dollar.  I am still playing around with the top shelf and would like to add something else.  Not sure what yet!

{In case you are wondering, Hubs can paint a straight line. ha!! He accidently used silicone caulk on the outside of the shower and paint doesn't adhere to it very well.  Just another thing to put on our never ending list of little projects.

This basket I bought last fall for $2 at Goodwill.  It's the perfect size to hold a few extra rolls of tp!

To save money on our master bathroom update we kept a few of the existing features.  The tile was new when we bought our house so we kept that of course.  

We also kept the vanity that was previously in there.  It's not our favorite but the room is so small we couldn't really fit another one in there without it making the room look too crowded.  Plus it saved us a ton of money by not having to buy a new vanity.  Who wants to sink a lot of $$ into a house they are about to sell?  Not me!!


{Do you like how I folded the TP all fancy like just for you?  Don't worry I never do that in real life!! I left the baby lock on there just to keep things real}

We also kept the beadboard  that is on the lower half of the room because we love beadboard!!

One last thing we did add to the room was this bad boy!!  Saves me so much time on keeping the glass doors all pretty and streak free!!  Best $4 I have ever spent. 

Well, that about sums up our master bath renovations  Now excuse me while I go stare at my new white subway tiles!!

 I am linking up to Saturday Nite Special, Show and Share day, and Before and After Party.

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Moss Topiary

I had so much fun making my Ballard knock-off boxwood topiary that I decided to try my hand at a moss topiary.  And I am loving how it turned out!!

 My topiary didn't look so pretty just a few a few days ago though.  Last weekend I went to a city wide thrift sale and found this sad topiary.  It was definitely in need of a makeover!!  This one was in with the Christmas decor and had a sad little red bow on it.  The green balls seemed to be made of the material that faux Christmas trees are made of.  Minus the red bow it didn't look too awful............that is until you got up close to it!!

 To freshen up this topiary I simply took small pieces of moss and hot glued it onto the existing Christmas-y greenery. I think I ended up using a little over half a bag of reindeer moss.

  And in practically no time at all I had a new moss topiary!!  All together I spent about $3.75 on the topiary and the moss.  You can't beat Hobby Lobby 40% off coupons and thrift sales can ya?

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Master Bathroom: Chapter Three

A few weeks ago the hubster earned some major brownie points by giving me the gift of extra storage.  He installed our newly purchased medicine cabinet above the existing vanity in our master bathroom. 

The cabinet provides us plenty of room for all of our toiletries leaving the storage space under the sink for extra towels, wash cloths, toilet paper, etc... I am pretty thrilled to have extra storage but the main reason I love the new cabinet is I no longer have to bend over to retrieve my make-up and other toiletries out of the lower cabinet.  Now I can just open up the medicine cabinet and everything is right there.  Love that!!

Here is the mirror we had before.  Our new cabinet/mirror combo is a definite upgrade for our space.

We  wanted our new cabinet to have a "built-in" feel so hubby recessed it into the wall so it was flush with our existing wall and trim.  He also added some trim to the top of the cabinet for a more finished look. 

We opted for a medicine cabinet that was longer than the mirror we previously had so we could maximize our storage space.  To make room for the cabinet Hubby had to move the light fixture up a little bit.  I think it was way too low to begin with and definitely looks better a little higher up on the wall.

All around the room above the bead board there was a piece of trim.  It was thick/wide enough that it almost made a small ledge.  We never really liked the ledge look in the bathroom all that much so hubby trimmed the trim {ha!} so it would be narrower.  We also had to remove  one section of trim so we could allow for the longer cabinet.

Here is what the new trim looks like now.

There was a reason we wanted to get rid of the ledge and I will show you why in my Master Bathroom reveal post!

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silver leaf lamp + tutorial

Last week I found a silver leaf candidate at the thrift store.  Meet Mr. Lamp!  I have seriously been looking for a decent lamp at Goodwill for only a year now.  I loved the shape and lines of this guy so I took him home with me.

And I turned him into this!!

In case anyone is interested I thought I would share how I transformed my lamp using silver leaf. 

To prep my lamp I wrapped a small piece of tin foil around the top part of the lamp.  I also wrapped up the majority of the cord in foil and then use two small strips of painters tape to cover the rest of the cord where it attached to the lamp.  I wasn't planning on painting my lamp but decided at the last minute to give it a quick once over with some white satin spray paint that I had on hand. I knew that it was possible for some of the underneath color to show through some of the small cracks in the silver leaf and I decided I would rather have white underneath just in case.

Next I used a small foam brush to coat my lamp with metal leaf adhesive size.  The size will go from milky looking to clear when it becomes tacky. The packaging said it takes about 20-60 minutes before it is ready but I found that 20 minutes was the magic number.  I made the rookie mistake of applying the size all over the lamp.  If the object you are silver leafing has any curves or very much detailing I would highly suggest you apply the size to small sections at a time.  It was definitely better for me to apply the size and silver leaf to one area of my lamp and then repeat the process working down the base of my lamp.

The silver leaf that was available at my local craft store came attached to a tissue-like paper.  I cut my silver leaf into strips and small squares since I knew I wouldn't be able to attach a whole piece of silver leaf at once.  I took the silver leaf and placed it on my lamp shiny side down and pressed lightly with a cloth on the tissue paper backing to ensure that the silver leaf attached.  Then I gently peeled back the paper.  At this point you may have some little pieces of silver leaf sticking up so take a soft cloth or a piece of velvet and dust away the excess leaf.

Once I had most of my lamp covered in silver leaf I had to go back through and touch up any spots where the silver leaf didn't adhere.  I just re-applied the size to the spots that were bare and started the process over again.  I wasn't going for a super smooth and polished look so I just covered as much of the lamp as I could and didn't worry about little imperfections.

I liked how my lamp looked after I had applied the silver leaf but it was looking a little too shiny for my taste.  I decided to use some stain I had on hand {Miniwax English Chestnut} to slightly antique my lamp.  Using a small foam brush I applied stain to a small section of the lamp at a time and then I quickly wiped it of with a dry cloth.  Does this sound familiar?  This was the same process I used on the frame of my yard sale mirror a few months ago.

I don't know if you can tell from the picture but now the lamp is looking a little less like tin foil after the stain application.  The stain really helped to tone down the shine factor and it also settled into some of the cracks in the silver leaf giving my lamp a little character!

Once I was happy with the finish on my lamp I applied two coats of metal leaf sealer.  Since we move every few years I thought it would be a good idea to seal my lamp to ensure that none of the silver leaf comes off. 

I had so much fun trying my hand at silver leaf and I absolutely love how my lamp turned out!  I think I will definitely be using metal leaf for some more projects in the future.

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