Picture Frame Dry Erase To-Do List

I'm baaaaaaaaacckk! 

I hope you just read that the way I said it in my head. 

I've made it through the busiest 3 weeks of my year {so far...I have a few more busy weeks ahead}, and I have a super easy DIY project for you.  

Remember this frame I painted awhile ago when I made over that adorable tray?

Well, I turned it into a dry erase to-do list. You can use it as a message board, too. I just really wanted a place to write a weekly to-do list. Let me also note, that after I wrote the list on there when I completed this project, ::cough cough, a month ago, cough cough::, I never have updated it. Whoopsies. 

Anyway, it was super simple to through this together. 

I used a printable scrapbook paper as my background {from Karen Lewis Designz <--- so many cute and free printables!}. 

I love the old tea stained paper look!

I printed out 3 copies and taped them together to fit the frame. 

Since I was missing the back of the frame...ya know, the part that is supposed to keep the pictures, or in this case, papers stuck to the glass...I used a 1/4 piece of foam board for the back. You can pick this up at the Dollar Tree for, um, a dollar. 

Put it all together, and whatta got.....

{again I hope you said that the way I was thinking it}

an oh-so-sweet message board/to-do list. 

Tray Makeover

I picked this tray up at GoodWill to replace my favorite a tray that Hubby "accidentally" stepped on.

I primed and painted it a light blue/turquoise. 

I picked up this color in the clearance paint section at Lowe's for $0.50. I didn't have a use for it when I bought the color, but I just loved it so much I couldn't pass it up for that price. Always, always, always check the clearance shelf! Especially, if you just want to stock up on a few colors to have on hand just in case, and you aren't picky about the color. 

{The frame is for a weekly to-do dry erase board that I am working on. Hopefully it will be done soon!}

One of the things I loved about the old broken tray were the handles. So I wanted to re-create that with this tray. 

I tightly wrapped jute twine around each handle, and periodically would secure it with dabs of hot glue. 

I seriously love this color. It is so light and airy - perfect for the Spring and Summer! 

Happy Friday Y'all!

Art Easel Face Lift

 I recently picked up an art easel for Bubba at a yard sale.

While he was certainly happy using it in the state we bought it in, I knew it needed some work. The chalkboard needed a new coat of paint, there were scribbles on the legs, and the whiteboard was stained. I also was not to thrilled about the multi-colors. 

So, I took it completely apart. That is the best solution, right? 

I primed and painted each piece. 

While the paint was drying, I covered the white board with felt, and added a new coat of paint to the chalkboard. I had pictures to show these steps, but someone deleted them before they were transferred to my computer. ::cough, cough, Bubba, cough, cough::

I love the outcome! 

The color is so much lighter and fresher than before. Not to mention that the colors go better with the decor in the house.

Furniture Makeover: Hubby's Desk

I'm working on cleaning up our mess of an office/spare bedroom. Little by little it is coming along. I started by filling the [empty wall]. Next up, is painting Hubby's desk. 

We bought it off of Craig's List awhile back with good intentions to paint it; but, of course, since we had no idea what we were going to do with the room, painting never happened. 

I sanded, primed, and painted. 

For a couple reasons, I didn't use spray paint for this project. (1) I had to color match the paint. Hubby decided he wanted a green desk, and while I wouldn't have chosen that color, I said alright and had the nice guys in the Lowe's paint section match one of the green's from the fabric hanging on the wall. (2) I didn't feel like dragging this desk outside by myself. It's kind of a pain. And I certainly was not going to spray paint in the house. 

Anyway, I wasn't to fond of the color at first; but a little distressing goes a long way {I wish you could just hop through your computer screen into my house to see this in person, because the picture really doesn't do it justice}...

I'm still adjusting to the weird green color, but I like it better distressed; and maybe if I change the handles I'll like it better {I decided to keep the old handles for the time being - mainly because I forgot to buy new ones while at Lowe's getting paint, and I haven't wanted to make another trip back to the store}. 

No matter how I feel about the color, Hubby will be happy that I listened to him and painted his desk green, and that's all that matters. 

The makeover was not complete with just the color though...

I picked up this old Atlas at a yard sale, and wasn't really sure what I was going to do with it.

On a few other blogs, I've seen others lining their desk drawers with pages of old books, so I thought that would be perfect for this desk {especially, since the drawers were lined with this flowery loveliness previously}.

Hubby travels A LOT, so I thought the idea of using the atlas pages for the drawer liners was a fun idea. All of the pages I used have the countries/places that he has been/is currently in. I was actually feeling kind of bad as I was ripping the pages from the book. Part of me hates destroying old things...but it was for a good cause. 

I like the overlapping look, but if you're not a fan of that then you can certainly take the time to line the pages up neatly. I was also working on this in between chasing Bubba around, and having a play date {at our house} with 2 other little cuties, so overlapping was much quicker to get done. 

Last, I had to re-organize all of the junk Hubby's stuff inside the drawers.

I promise you that we went through these drawers together and organized everything, so I honestly do not know how these drawers ended up looking like a hot mess. What I think happened is that Hubs would secretly throw stuff in the drawers when I would ask him to put something anyway because he knows I would never look in desk for anything...he would probably deny this though.

Anyway, back to organizing. A few weeks ago I bought a flat of strawberries {from Plant City...best strawberries ever! so excited for the Strawberry Festival!!} and saved the little baskets the strawberries came in hoping to find a good use for them soon. 

And what do you know...I did find a use for them! 

Hubs is an IT guy {I fondly refer to him as Gadget Geek}, so we have a million {this is not an exaggeration} computer parts and cords all over the place. Well, not all over the place, mainly in the office; but it sure feels like they are scattered all over the room sometimes. 

The little baskets are perfect for corralling loose computer parts and cords in the drawers. I love it - so neat and organized!

Pop of Color

Hubby and I picked up this table at a yard sale quite a few months ago; and while I have had it painted and in my living room for awhile now, I was not quite finished with it. I removed the faux leather that had once resided on the table, and was left with these two empty rectangles, that were calling for some color. 

If you haven't noticed, a lot of the furniture {and trim, and book shelves} in my house is white. I know this is kind of crazy with a 2 year old, but I love it. Nearly 2 years ago, when we moved in, I had every intention to add pops of color throughout the space .... and just hadn't gotten around to it {it's kinda hard sometimes balancing life with a toddler and a hubby that is deployed frequently}. 

But, hey, at least I got the table painted. 

While flipping through some scrapbook paper for Bubba's placemat craft, I found this paper and fell. in. love.

It was just what I had been picturing. 

I used 2 pieces of scrapbook paper, and {homemade} mod podge to adhere it to the table.


The scrapbook paper wasn't quite the right shape, so I had to trim it and add the small strip on the right. Aside from the pattern being a bit off, you can't notice the seam. Unless, you get all up close and personal; and if I were the table, I might just have to tell you to back up off me. But, I'm not, and tables don't talk .... so don't worry, I won't get mad if you try to inspect it.

Once dry, I sprayed it with some Krylon Matte Finish.

Super simple, and made my boring table look so lively. I just love how it turned out!

Decor Redo: Candleholder to Soap Dish

I saw a pin on Pinterest, to use a cake stand as a hand soap dish. {sorry, for some reason I can't find the pin}

I have been searching for a small enough cake stand for a couple months now ..... and have yet to find one that is (A) small enough, and (B) cheap enough for me to buy it.

Then, last week, I stopped by the thrift store, and I found this little candle holder. It's the perfect little size, and was the perfect little price.

I used Krylon Dual Paint & Primer in red, and Krylon Crystal Clear Gloss Finish. {And, really, if I had already had the right color spray paint to match Bubba's bathroom at home, I would have only spent $3 on this whole project}

I really liked how it turned out. Except, I would not have a bar of soap to put there to take the photo .... but at least I had a couple small sample bars from the Conscious Box I bought last month. 

Furniture Makeover: Old Window into Jewelry Hanger

I picked up this very ugly old window at a yard sale about a month ago. There was about 10 different colors swirled all over it. Ugh...I like art, but this was definitely not my cup of tea. But of course, if it's old and not too pretty, I like it.

Since there was about 20 coats of paint on this thing, I started by using a spray can of paint stripper. I did this about 3 times over each section (top, left side, right side). The instructions said to leave it on about 5 to 10 minutes, but I think I ended up leaving the stripper on about 20 minutes each time. 

After getting most of the paint of, I used course, paint stripping sand paper to try to remove the last of the paint. You can see how well that turned out.  I could have just stopped at this point. I actually like this old, worn look; but it wouldn't really fit in with our master bedroom makeover. 

And so I continued...with a coat of primer.

 I used Krylon Spray Paint Primer.

Then a couple coats of Olympic Paint. 

I used one of the sample colors we were thinking about for the walls of our bedroom. It was a reject for the wall, but a perfect complimentary color for my jewelry 

I sanded it a bit, to get the shabby chic look that I so love. 

Then added the mirror and ten wire cup hooks...and I was done!

I haven't hung it up yet, because I haven't painted our bedroom yet. With Hubby gone, it is hard to find time to get everything done. But hopefully by next week I will have that complete too!

Most of the supplies that I used.

Once I got past the stripping part, it was super easy to finish! 

So happy this is finally done! One less project to think about!

Furniture Makeover: Bar Stools

It will come as no surprise when I tell you that I have had these barstools for going on 10 or 11 months now. Now that I have waited the allotted amount of time, I can finally start making them over. I would like to add though, that I did start working on these, about 6 months ago - I got one seat cushion re-covered, then kind of lost interest in the project. 

But now that it's almost Christmas, and all of my family (who have never seen our home) are coming into town, I figured I should get these eyesores finished. 

Hubby and I picked these up off of Craigslist for, I want to say, $15. I think we over paid, but I made up for it by saving on the rest of the materials.

I started out trying to sand them (by hand), and that got me no where. So, I grabbed the few cans of half empty spray paint primer in the garage, and got to work trying to cover up the old chipping black paint. It took almost four cans of primer to get two of the stools completely covered. For the last one, I used Krylon Dual Paint & Primer. I am now in LOVE with all paint/primer combinations. That saved me so much time (and money)! At this point, I was asking myself why it had taken me so long to get this done.

Next up, I had to tackle re-covering the last two seat cushions. As I started prying out the old staples, I remembered why I lost interest in this project 6 months ago. I pulled out 126 staples from each cushion - oh yes, I counted. Ridiculous!

After that torture was over, I got to to put on my new pretty fabric (that I picked up at the Ballard Designs Outlet for $4!!!)

The prettiness of the finished product, makes up for the hard labor I put into it. 

As you can see, there is one barstool half painted. I'll be putting the finishing touches on tomorrow (hopefully). I ran out of gray paint, and when I went back to the store to get more, I had to deal with a screaming, flailing, tantrumy (totally not a word) two year old. Needless to say, I walked out of the store with no paint in hand, and have not had a chance to return. 

However, the other two look awesome! And with my brother getting in town tonight, I should have a chance to sneak out to the store tomorrow to pick up one more can of paint to finish. Or I'll just send him to get it for me. Either way, it will NOT be another 6 months before this barstool is finished!