january diy : colorful play tent!

I love crafting and just being creative in general -- despite not having a natural propensity for it (meaning : I am impatient and disorganized!) So crafting for me usually means a lot of unfinished projects lying around the house, and lots of mess! Sure, I do get a lot completed...and it is that satisfaction that drives me to keep on crafting/diy-ing. I love seeing things in my house that I had a hand in creating!

This year I decided to pick one project per month, in an effort to focus more on one task at a time and be more organized!  Oh, and save money by buying only what is necessary for that month's craft.  (Seriously, I have a lot of crap I've never used in my basement and crafting bin.)

Last month's project: A play tent for the family room!  I blogged in this post about wanting a striped play tent.  But instead of spending lots of cash ($160!) for this cute one...I made my own humble, yet still cute, version! (around $40!)

There are plenty of DIY no-sew tutorials out there for tents, but I fell in love with this tutorial about making a simple A-frame with colorful yarn-wrapped posts.

Here is how mine turned out....

I might eventually get a rug for underneath...but for now these colorful tiles do the trick!

I purchased the fabric from IKEA!

I took these pics right after I finished it.  Lil Girl is checking things out cautiously...while wielding some sort of weapon.

We've been playing in it quite a bit -- usually filling it with pillows and blankets and having "sleepovers."  I love how it adds to the "kid-friendliness" of our family room...and I am excited to add more decor to this room to make it feel more "done."  

Things to come in this space...

• A large antique "built-in" cabinet that purchased at an antique store -- which will replace the old + ugly cabinets/shelves we currently have.

• a DIY coffee table made from salvaged barn wood from my parent's farm

• curtains!  I plan to make them myself...so it could be a while...

• a cute gallery wall!  I am currently gathering items I want to put here.  I have a vision and it is VERY slowly coming together.

What are you currently working on in your home?

ikea kiddo table redo!

When I saw this Ikea table "hack" I knew I had to do one for little Cormac's toddler room!

The 'Latt' table and chairs from Ikea are only 19.99, and come unfinished so you can paint them to your little heart's desire.  I love that Ikea started carrying a lot of unfinished products...since I bet a lot of customers got sick of trying to paint the laminate! 

*waves hand wildly and points to self*

Anyway, I wanted him to have a little table for his room, and this fit the bill.  I painted the table with Valspar "Classic Navy" which I bought a sample of, the table top with chalkboard paint that I already had, and the chairs are "Proper Gray," which I also had already.

So the project cost about $22.

And he had fun 'helping' me. 

:)

Please ignore his messy room.  It is currently having an identity crisis as to whether it is a toddler room or a nursery.  And really, the room will be neither.  (In the end, it will be our master bathroom.)  The color schemes are at odds with each other, made worse by the green tiled fireplace.

Buuuuut he looks like he is enjoying himself, anyway.  :)

g

{cork trivet}

Anyone else have about a million wine corks being saved, 

waiting for the perfect project to use them for?

Well, if you know me, you know I drink a lot of wine,

and I started saving my corks from the very beginning.

Let's just say ' a while ago. '

Anyway, my mother-in-law gave me a Christmas gift this year which 

gave me the perfect excuse to use some of my corks...

...a corkboard trivet kit!

This one, by Oenophilia, can be found at wine shops, party stores, and {here.}

OR...you could make your own using:

• a small frame with sturdy backing
• glue
• corks

Um, easy, right?

So I recently looked through every single one of my corks and picked out the ones I loved - either because they were from a bottle we drank on a special occasion or had visited the winery, had a cute saying or design, or just were a favorite wine.

I had some 'help' doing the picking and arranging.

Once I'd chosen the corks, I had to design my trivet.

I went for a fairly simple 'brick' pattern.

Then I simply glued them onto the backing of the frame and let them dry!

The finished product:  love!

Made a lovely addition & conversation piece 

to the table of our dinner party that night!

Happy, happy Tuesday!

g

DIY: {personalized subway sign}

What do you get the guy that has everything?

Okay, Hubby really doesn't have everything...but he usually puts everything he needs on his Christmas list for his parents, and I get stuck with get the honor of trying to think up something creative.  :o)

This past Christmas was no exception.  So I decided to get artsy.  Not really, as I don't have any artistic ability as a painter.  However, using some wood, stencils, and paint I created a low-budget piece that really had some personal meaning to our relationship...

a subway sign -- using streets, or "stops" from our relationship.  Our first date, first apartment, first engagement, second engagement, etc...and then ending with the three streets we have now owned homes on.

I priced having it done professionally, and that would have been several hundred dollars.  I did the project myself for $30 {most expensive part being the stencils, which I can use again for other projects!}

I've always loved these signs that have been all over the place for quite a while.

It seemed like a simple project.  Stencil on the letters and paint them.  I wanted it to be a wood sign that I handpainted.  So I used a 2'x4' piece of birch wood ($8) and painted it black with paint I already had.

Then I placed my letters, which took quite a bit of time.  I had to decide on the order, what size lettering, etc.  Then I had to make them even.  Precision is not my forte, nor is patience.  So this was a daunting task.  Plus, I had to do all of this whenever the baby napped.  Needless to say, not much cleaning got done for about 3 full weeks.  A baby-free person could probably get this done in a weekend.  It needs two coats of white paint.

Here is the sign nearly completed.  See the pile of towels in the background?  Yeah, those probably sat there a while.

And here is the finished sign!  This is not where we're going to put it, as I made it with the thought that we would hang it in our new home, whenever we actually move into it.  That could be a while, as we have to sell our current house first.  But I had to take a picture, right?  

 Can't wait to see where this ends up!

Happy Monday, friends!

g

{let's paint a chalkboard!}

Oh painted chalkboards, how I love thee!

And oh, how easy!

1. Go to Goodwill and find ugly, cheap art with glass insert and a frame that you like.

Ignore the condition of frame and ugliness of art.

(I paid 4 dollars for this 16x20 solid wood frame!)

2. Remove any inserts but do not discard. 

3.Clean and sand rough edges {if wood.}

 

 4. Paint frame desired color. Use several coats. 

 I used this olive green that I already had a sample of in the basement. 

You can also distress with sanding and antiquing stain, 

if you like that look and are crafty like that.
I'm not.

 

5. Paint the glass with chalkboard paint.  I did four coats.  I prefer actual paint vs. spraypaint for this project.  You can get a can for $15 at Lowes.  It will last you forever.  You probably can make about 50 framed chalkboards with it.  Another thing would be to first paint a coat of magnetic primer so that it can be a magnetic chalkboard.  A can of that is $20 at Lowes.  I was too cheap/broke to buy that this week.

6. When everything is dry, put your chalkboard {very carefully!} back in the frame, as well as any inserts you removed that will help hold the glass in place.

7. "Season" your chalkboard before using by taking a piece of chalk and rubbing long-ways all over the board.  {My apologies for not taking a picture of this!}  Then wipe away dust using a dry cloth.

8. Hang in desired location and write on your board!  I put this one in my kitchen for now...just in time for a UK game watch get-together!

 Who knows where it will end up though...

probably not outside, like in this photo:

Linking this here...

L*O*V*E

g

musings of an 'almost mother'

Here I sit in my last few days of pregnancy.  

These have by far been the hardest, because I am so full of anticipation!  I sit and think that any moment I could go into labor.  Sometimes I am scared it will happen that very day.  But most mornings I wake up disappointed that it didn't happen that night.  

I've been focusing so much on the "firsts" in my life for the past nine months...first pregnancy...first ultrasound...first baby movements...but in the past few days I had a sudden bout of focusing on the "lasts," such as:

The last date hubby and I will have without needing a sitter.

The last Sunday I will have completely to myself.

Our last days as "you and me" 

soon to be 

you and me and baby make three!

{four if you count the pup}

Hubby seemed rather unfazed by the dramatic fact that our lives are about to change forever.  He just looked at me stated matter-of-factly, "Didn't we decide this nine months ago?"

I, however, burst into tears over it, blubbering:

"But, but...I didn't think it would go by so fast!"

Truly the fastest nine months of my life.

As well as the slowest last days

of pregnancy.

I'm trying to focus more on enjoying these final days,

before baby and

before I turn thirty!

{yikes}

One way to pass the time?

I painted these clay pots 

turquoise and chalkboard black

to go on our patio,

and planted blue bellflowers, daisies and sunflowers.

Pretty soon flowers {oh, a husband, and a dog} won't be the only things I'm growing and caring for!

Happy 4th of July...

Enjoy every moment!

g

thrifty find: beverage tub redo!

Sometimes as I wander aimlessly through Target

 I pass one of the end caps and cannot resist the red clearance tag.

Even if it is attached to something hideously ugly.

Like this...

Not sure what Target buyer thought this beverage tub might be a hot seller. It kind of gave me a headache to look at.  I mean...Is it a Rorschach test?

No shocker that a whole slew of them ended up on a clearance endcap at 75% off last summer.

Since I kind of have a thing for aluminum beverage tubs though...I thought I could find a use for this.

{Confession #1: I actually bought three!}

See how pretty the inside is?

{Confession #2: I am not crafty at all.  I cannot sew.  I cannot Mod Podge or Cricut or sling a glue gun. I can, however, spray a mean can of paint.}  

I knew I wanted a really clean, simple and versatile tub -- so I went all black.

I sprayed the outside of the tub black, then I sprayed a layer of black chalkboard paint on the front.

Easy project for the non-crafty, like me!

What will I use it for?  Not quite sure yet...but for now I wrote in white chalk one of my favorite words:

Vino!  

Then I filled the tub with wine bottles:

Sidenote: You may notice it is set on a chrome beverage stand.  You can get these most larger stores that sell home goods.  I got my for $10 at Target -- another thrifty find!

I am really excited to use this tub at the next gathering we host!

Not bad for $2.98! 

PS: One of the other beverage tubs I used in my laundry room to hold detergent, etc.  Click {here} to check it out!

L O V E -

g

old stuff + black spray paint + cute ribbon = cheap halloween fun

Somehow I convinced my "sleep all weekend, only pause for football and food" husband to get up at 6am Saturday morning and help me clean/organize our dungeonous netherworld basement.

Six hours later I emerged triumphantly, spiderwebs in my hair, a wild look in my eyes, clutching...

two silver candleholders!

a metal door hangy thingy!

a piece of scrap plywood!

You would have thought I had found a pirate's chest full of gold coins! Actually, I had found some old stuff I thought I might be able to make into Halloween decorations. My main tools were: black spray paint, black chalkboard paint, and orange Halloween ribbon I found at Michaels.

Here are the candle holders. The silver is actually lovely, but for the life of me I have never been able to make these work in my home.

So I spray painted them black! Lurve!

Here is the cream-colored metal door hanger. Not sure where I got this. Or why. Or where I would get another.

So I sprayed it with chalkboard paint, tied a piece of my cute Halloween ribbon around the top, and presto chango:

I decided instead of a door hanger I would hang it on one of my front porch flower basket hooks. Used chalk to write "trick or treat." The best thing is that I can change the ribbon and message whenever I want.

:D

{I get excited about the little things.}

Now onto that piece of scrap wood. I have no "before" picture for this one. Just imagine a plain, 16 inch long, 1 inch thick piece of wood.

Sanded the edges and added some picture hanging hooks to each side (since it was a heavier piece of wood.)

Painted it black (of course.)

Staple-gunned a piece of ribbon to one side:

Used white acrylic craft paint to freehand the wording...

And there you have it folks...

A "spooky" sign!

See what you can do with old crap treasures from your basement? Saved myself a trip to Goodwill...and cash on Halloween decor.

Would I have loved to have just gone to Pier 1 and bought a bunch of fancy {gorgeous} Halloween decor? Yes. But...must stay strong!

G

PS: I am linking this up to Frou Frou Decor's Fabulous Friday Finds...click the button below to check out more cute ideas!