A Summer Project!

I've been saving up for a new television stand I saw at Target.  It wasn't fancy, but it was red and close to what I have had in mind.  We've never had a decent TV situation at our house.  We've never had cable (because we don't want cable). That aside, we have a smaller TV and I wanted to have something interesting to set it on.  My $165 Target stand was red.  Hmmm.  That's not super interesting.  I like the idea of accent furniture and even making something uninteresting, like a TV stand, into a conversation piece.  I found it.  My grandmother and grandfather's old house is coming down this year.  Within are many odd furniture pieces, broken things, weird things.  I found this old dresser and knew it was way more interesting than the dumb Target piece I'd been saving for.  I love it.  $8 for red paint.  A few holes here and there.  Some new hardware for $20.  LOVE IT!  This so easily could have been tossed away.  Luckily, it is a super solid piece of furniture and will probably last until the end of time.  What fun!  I wish I could show my grandmother.

Extra Fabric...

With extra fabric from my last post I decided to copy some fabric bins I found on pinterest. One is my morning vitamin mini bin. I take different things through the day and thought a little mini bin would be a good way to keep track of what I have left to take. The other is a less healthy bin for candy. We have tons left from Easter.

Oil Paintings!

A few years ago my sister and I went to the Alexandria Technical College garage sale and bought the ugliest mural you can possibly imagine. Together, we had attained 15 ugly canvases for about $16. Luckily, my husband was once an art major and I happened to have tons of oil paint. These canvases inspired me to hit Goodwill and find a few more cheap canvases. The elephant "Mommy and Me" painting actually was a canvas of Madonna's face. It's fun to make something from nothing. I have had so much fun painting these pictures.

Vanity, Vanity!

When I was sixteen my parents bought me a honey oak vanity for my bedroom. Now 28, I cannot help but look at the shiny gold handle and honey oak and think, "This was, indeed, made in the 90s!" The shape was cute. It seemed to have potential. I set out to sand it down, only to feel that crafter's remorse, "You've made a mistake here." The stain made it look dirty and much worse than the original honey oak. "Ugh! I just ruined a perfectly good piece of furniture!" Paint seemed my only option. Painting over wood seems like a sin sometimes. Once you start painting, there really isn't an easy solution, but, perhaps, more paint. Other paint. So, I found a three dollar can of 'nutmeg' spray paint and covered the mess I'd just made. Then I bought some $5 fabric over the seat and a new handle for the drawer($3.5), then made a good decision to hack off the dated mirror... YES! Love it! $11.50 later I have a desk I love! I'm super excited about this vanity/desk.

Experimenting with Fabric

I gave this a try, and I plan to try again. I've seen sweaters into mittens on pinterest and other places. I had a pink wool sweater from Old Navy, which I never even wore because, let face it, wool is the worst. I made a practice run for mittens. I will try again. For now, here is mitten number one.

A little kitchen for a little girl

Actually, this kitchen will be for several little girls. My parents are in the process of building a playhouse. My mom and I found this plain white piece in Osakis at the consignment shop (which is amazing, by the way! Kornerstone Konsignments is located in Osakis, MN. I ALWAYS find something in there. When we found this, I decided it would be perfect as a little kitchen. I still need to find a decent faucet, but I thought I'd post it anyway. $25 for the piece. I didn't spend anything on the rest. I had the paint, fabric... So much fun!

Little Artist

I'm a fan of burlap, particularly because it adds texture to things. It gives off the coffee house feeling. I have seen several versions of this art display idea and thought I would come up with something on my own. We put this in our hallway to display my daughters art work. She loves it, and so do we. Burlap is inexpensive. I stapled it to a 2 by 4 from our garage. The letters were from a stencil pack I bought at WalMart for about $4. Over all, I am pleased with this project. It didn't cost a whole lot, and we use it every time we have new artwork to be proud of.