Upcycle - Book art

I picked up some books from our local library sale for 25 cents each.  HOLLA!!!

I folded the pages in different ways to give a 3D look and feel.

Depending on the art project you'll need a few books, thin birch plywood, hanging hooks and a hot glue gun.

It's a pretty basic project. You'll want to part the book in the middle and cut the birch wood a little less than the book width and hot glue in the middle of the binder.

Attach the hook in the middle. You will need to use a power tool for this, so go slow.

Hot glue the front page and back page down to the actual book cover. (picture 4)

Fold anyway you would like but make sure to count and divide your pages if you are doing different sections.

 

Upcycle - Wood tower

Found this at a thrift/antique store liquidating sale and it was $2, so I got it. Had no idea what to do with it, then I thought it would work as floor wine rack.
 
I wiped it down and sanded a couple of edges and used some spray paint I already had on hand.
 
I did 2 coats of metallic silver and let it air dry outside for a day. TADA!! New wine rack.

Upcycle - School desk

I came across this desk at a liquidating sale and it was 10 BUCKS!!!  I didn't know what I wanted to do with it yet, but I knew I had to have it.

I also picked up this little step stool ladder for $10 along with a few other things. In all I spent $42 and got 5 new projects to do. 

I decided I would use the school desk as a nightstand in our guest room. I found a retro lamp online at Target and picked up some old book classics at a thrift store. (The Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz and Where the Wild Things Are were already in our book collection)

Add a notebook and some pencils and you have some cheap and retro decor. The step stool was painted yellow and matches the lamp on the other side of the bed. I added a sleep mask for our guests.

Don't mind the missing base board, I hated the one in there and we decided to remove it. Now time to choose if we want a large or small one. Oh the choices we have at Lowe's and Home Depot.


 

Upcycle magazine racks

I found these 2 magazine racks at the Good Will and paid $1.99 each.  I took them home, wiped them down and did a couple of coats of spray paint on them.

I let them air out for a couple of days and then brought them upstairs into our living room and added some vinyl. They look awesome and we get lots of compliments and questions on where we got them.

Upcycle and recycle projects are always the funniest.

Upcycle - Chalk Fridge

So we got our house 3 years ago and the kitchen is ok, but could definitely use an revamp.  My only problem is I hate wasting money on things. What I mean is even though the fridge & oven are cream they work perfectly. So why go spend $3000+ on a LG french door fridge if I don't need to right now.

The problem is that I really do hate the color. So I figured with my left over chalkboard paint from another DIY project I would paint the fridge. If it turned out awesome, if it didn't that would be my clue to buy new appliances.

Well, guess what!?  It worked and looks adorable in the kitchen! I absolutely love it and I'm sad I didn't think of it sooner.

Things you'll need:
-Chalk board paint (any color)
-Small grain sandpaper
-Small detail paint brush
-Door and cabinet roller kit
-Painters tape
-Rag
-Chalk

The how-to is really simple:

Wipe down the fridge, when its dry lightly sand it and then wipe down again.

Tape off any sections you don't want painted. I did the detail work first and then used the roller. Do one section at a time. I didn't completely follow the directions, after 30 minutes I applied another coat and in 8 hours did another. I waited 48 hours to wipe it down and then use it as a chalk board.

I've been using it daily. An eraser (ebay has good deals on erasers) will remove the chalk, however a lightly damp rag will remove all traces of previous drawing/lettering. Purchase a metal locker pen holder and use it to store your eraser and chalk.

NOTE- I got my black paint at Home Depot, but the bottom image is from Lowes.


The Hubby, Wee P and our friends who have been over love the revamp!

Garden Project

I've been saving up our empty wine bottles and have asked friends to save theirs as well and I soon had enough to made my rock garden wall. (Thank goodness our friends are alcoholics!!)

I was short a few wine bottles when I took this image, but that issue has now been corrected. I did 24 bottles each row. I cleaned all the bottles, removed the labels and then used the old corks and cut them into 2. I stuffed them back into the bottle because I don't want anyone making home inside my lovely bottles.

For the lights, I couldn't find any solar lights that I liked. I wanted some unique to go with my unique wine bottle border. When I was looking at the Good Will I came across these light globes and instantly knew I needed these for my garden. I went to Target picked up some color changing solar lights that also have an option of being a "clear/white" light.

When I got home I staked the lights into the ground and topped them off with the globes. TADA, instant solar lights!!! This took less then 5 minutes to do.  When we have friends over they keep asking where I got these and I love the fact I can say I did it myself. I also like knowing, no one else has these. :)

TIP- The light globes come in my shapes and sizes. Make sure the opening will fit over a solar light is my only suggestion. Otherwise go small, go BIG...endless possibilities.  I'm looking for some white colored globes now, because I want some in our backyard.

Cost for lights- $1.99 for each fixture (2) and the lights were on sale @ Target for a $1.50 each (2)

DIY food displays

I just wanted some cute displays for my blog, after looking around online and not finding what I likes or wanted, I decided to make my own.

I went to our local thrift shops and picked up some different plates, glasses and a couple of candle sticks.  The total was $6 bucks!!  I already had the glue and spray paint.

I washed the items, let them dry and had to sand down a few chips.

Next I decided what plate I wanted to go with what glass. From there I did a few coats on each item and than let them dry for 24 hours.

Here's a hint - On the clear glass plates I just spray the bottom and NOT the top. This way you can put food directly on them. Although with the others you can use a Martha Stewart sealer or Mod Podge and than you would be ok with the food.  Although I like using the little dollies on them.

Make them your own and have fun!! I added glitter into the inside of one and than after a few hours did a couple coats of clear gloss, to keep the glitter in place. On the out side I did different sizes of round stickers. I spray painted the glass and after 24 hours, I peeled the stickers off. TADA!!