DIY: Mirror to Bulletin Board

This summer I picked up this lovely, but really heavy old mirror. I think I paid $2 for it! 

I had a few ideas for it right away.

 Idea #1 Chalk board for my kitchen.....

Idea #2 Bulletin board for the school room 

Idea #3 Paint the wood and leave the mirror as is.

Here are a couple BEFORE pictures:

 I know the wood is in rough shape, lots of scratches, but nothing major.

I was drawn to the beautiful yet simple lines. Since I knew I would be painting it, the scratches didn't scare me off one little bit. I did this DIY before my kitchen table. I wanted to try out the Anne Sloan Chalk paint before starting a BIG project with it. I did lightly sand it it, because I used a flat black paint for the coat. Then I brushed on two coats of Anne Sloan Chalk Paint. Finally I have it light sanding, and then used some gorilla glue to attach these bulletin pieces (I already had!). 

Ta-Dah folks, that's it...Here is the AFTER!

 Now I just have to figure out where to hang it in the school room!

What's Blooming....Plus a little makeover....

Playing in the garden/dirt is pretty high on my "Things I Love To Do" list. How about you?
 I really haven't been playing in the dirt a whole lot yet, but I'm gearing up for it! I thought I'd give you yet another peak into what is blooming around the homestead.

I caught a shot of these lovely Columbine right after a rain...

 This young little viburnum bush looks so adorable! I think I may have to invest in a few more of these gorgeous girls. They remind me of hydrangeas because of their lovely ball shape flower.

 I really dont' know what this beautiful blue flower is. I got it as a start at a plant sale last year, and it stands about 12-18 inches tall. I  need to look it up in my flower books to see what it is...unless you know.

 I have a few of these perfectly functional but no so pretty looking pots around , and I saw an idea somewhere..maybe Pinterest..maybe a magazine...sorry I can't remember!

Here are the supplies you need: burlap, some sort of twine, or ribbon, a pot, and some scissors

I had all the supplies I needed on hand, I love it when that happens!

Step #1: The burlap I had bigger holes in it so I doubled it up.

Step #2: Put you pot in the middle, pull up the edges up over the pot so you are sure it's big enough and then cut off any extra.

Step #3: Use your ribbon (I used binder twine) to tie and hold the burlap in place. Ta Dah!!

 It's nothing fancy, but I like it! Then all you have to do is add some flowers to the pot and ENJOY!

Here it is with flowers. I think it will look great once the flowers are in full bloom!

Trash to Treasure X TWO...yet again!

We were in need of two bedside tables in our Master Suite. The two VERY short tables we were using just weren't cutting it, but I really didn't feel like shelling out any money to go buy something new. So I decided to go shopping here at my own home.....I do this often...smile!

These two pieces are what I came up with:

 !0 purchase from a late fall barn sale.I was going to use it on the covered porch, but now I have found a new use for it! A missing drawer on top was fine with me, I hope to find a cute wire basket to put into that spot. Below that is an actual drawer..although I need to score a cute glass knob for it.

 This second piece is something I got when my grandpa recently passed away. It used to sit beside their bed when my grandma was still living and he continue to use it as a bedside table as well. It is an old piece, but not in super great shape. I didn't feel guilty giving it a "make-over" and making it my own.

Here is how they look after sanding, priming, painting, more sanding, and some poly to protect them:

 

 

 

I'm loving how they turned out and looking forward to using them for many years!

Total Makeover for TWO bedside tables: $10...all the materials I needed I had on hand

Trash to Treasure X TWO

During July, I hit a garage sale early in the morning before heading to the county fair.....this not so pretty cabinet cost me $3 after I used my bargaining skills.....

This is the before.....half painted with gray spray paint

They didn't spray paint the inside..nor is there a back on it....but for $3 I'm not complaining

A little blurry for some reason, but you get the idea that they had ugly (or not to my liking) knobs.

The After:

I primed and painted it with left over paint from my sewing sudio. Also added two new black rubbed knobs from the hardware store.

I also primed and painted the inside and added a bead board backing. 

(left over from kitchen remodeling.)

Cabinet Cost $3+$8 Knobs= $11 Cabinet

Yahoo! It is in my sewing studio, and now houses my extra material...love it!

This wonderful all wood....very heavy...piece I scored for $10 also at a garage sale. The lady told me she used it for a coffee table.....In my mind I thought it was screaming it wanted to be a bench inside my front door!

THE BEFORE:

I sanded out all the knicks, then primed and base color painted, the dry brushed on the antiqued rubbed look. Same technique I used on my kitchen cabinets......and then it looked like this.

THE AFTER:
I know it doesn't look like it in this picture but the base is dark tan with the "rubbed" color being black.

I'm really happy with the results! I love that it's a little shorter than my other bench and it's nice and wide so it doesn't feel tipsy, even if you plant yourself right on the end. I used my coupon to get two free samples of Benjamin Moore Paint (from Pottery Barn) so final cost is still $10!

Tomorrow a sneak peak into a project that I finished in the school room.

This week I'm linking up to Thirty Decorating....

Also linking to Saved By Love Creations....

And last I'm linking with Thifty and Fabuless.....

 

Rocking Chair Overhaul..

I bought this little rocking chair at an auction probably 5 yrs old for a buck or two. Ever since then I have wanted to paint it, but just never got around it to, and until I had a little girl I never had any motivation to do it. Since I had a little "watermelon" paint leftover from Julia's "new" desk I used it on the chair!

This chair is not as bright pink as the desk, which is fine since they won't be used together but will be in the same room.

I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture but this chair looks like it's been rubbed (aka distressed a bit). I didn't actually use that technique on it, but that's just how the paint looked once it was on....and I was thrilled! Since I only spent a buck or two on the chair and then used left over paint for the project this was a FREE overhaul! LOVE IT when that happens....

Garage Sale Find & Make Over

I've been hitting a few garage sales here and there this season looking for pieces I can make my own. I found this charming little desk for $5 last Friday!

I bought this piece to go in Julia's room so this color just won't do......so I pulled out a can of oil based primer and gave it one coat, then it looked like this.

It was super humid on the day I did this so I let it sit extra long to ensure it was dry.

Then I gave it two coats of Krylon "watermelon" spray paint. I put the little white drawer knob back on and then distressed it just a little so some of the white showed (Which you can't see at all in the Picture). Now I just need to find a cute little chair to put with it. Julia is thrilled with it and has big plans for writing in her new journal at her "new" desk! All together this desk cost me about $25 with paint and all.