A little paint goes a long way...

I haven't posted in a while. Don't gt me wrong, I wanted to, I've just been a little busy, having a birthday, going to the beach, etc...

But, this weekend was time to get back on the DIYing. Isn't it amazing how far a little paint goes?

We have an old lamp that someone gave Chris, but it needed a little updating, so a can of spray paint and a new shade later...well, you can see for yourself!

Old lamp... 

 

I got hammered spray paint. I chose brown but there was silver, black, lots of colors.  

We bought a new shade at Lowe's (for those interested, they were much cheaper than Target). So, for only about $20, we got a new lamp!

Here's a little before and after... (I almost always forget to take before shots, so I was pretty proud of myself for getting this one!)

And after...

The next project I chose was to update some bar stools with a little spray paint. 

I wanted to add a little bit of brightness to these bar stools but not too much. I once painted a table and chairs blue in college and let's just say, it was a bit much. So, I knew I didn't want it to look like that fiasco, but I wanted to add a little color. And, of course, as if I hadn't gotten enough blue in college, I decided on a dark turquoise...well, what I thought was a dark turquoise. Here's what I got...

Whoa, right? I felt right back in the middle of my Centennial Valley apartment with Allie and Leslie. So, what to do? When I start a project, I want to get it done, so luckily, I had also bought some Catalina Mist spray paint at Hobby Lobby before I was sure what I wanted these bar stools to look like. I sprayed a second coat of that and breathed a sigh of relief...

 Now, I still wasn't in love with them. Outside, they were still looking a little crazy for the kitchen, but I was out of spray paint, so once they dried, I brought them inside. And, I learned an important lesson - Always try something out in its place before deciding how you feel about it. 

Once they were inside at the bar, they began to grow on me and by the end of the night, I really liked them. The next step will be some cushions, but one thing at a time, I'm going to have to learn to sew first...

So, it's been a productive weekend. Whenever you need a little pick-me-up, try spray painting something...it always makes me feel better!

Stay tuned for my next blog featuring one of my favorite DIYers...you'll just have to wait and see who it is!

Happy Fall!

Well, it doesn't feel like fall right this second, but the baby pumpkins were at Kroger and that only means one thing - fall is here!! I absolutely love these little pumpkins, so I had to get a bag at the store tonight. Here are a few places I put them when I got home, but I'm sure many more bags will be bought before Thanksgiving!

I've worked on a couple of other projects over the past couple of weeks, but I'm just now getting time to post about them. The first one was something I like to call "insta-curtains." If you have a sad little window above the sink just begging for something to make it happy without sewing, here is an easy solution...
You will need a tension rod, 2 cloth napkins (the ones in the picture below are from Anthropologie - $8 each), and some clips like these from Target (I bought 2 packages and used 7 clips on each side) -

 The rest is pretty self-explanatory, but here is a picture to help you...

Don't they look great?! And, they were seriously the easiest thing to make, about 15 minutes!

My other easy project was this dry erase board -

Again, this is a very easy project that cost about $5 and took about 15 minutes. I bought this frame at Wal-Mart for $3. Yes, they have all different sizes with or without mats for $3. It's Wal-Mart's best kept secret...I have about 10 so far! While I was at Wal-Mart, I also picked up half a yard of burlap (I guess I'm really into burlap lately) and a dry erase marker. All you have to do is put the burlap where you would put the picture and you're done! Now, add a fun message like "Go Hogs Go!" or one of my favs...

and I finally settled on...

Very easy and very cute...you could use any fabric for a background. I have a feeling I might be making a lot of these, especially for gifts...so be ready if you're birthday is coming up (like, say, if it's in the next week - September 16th!)!

A week of firsts...

I've done a lot of things for the first time over the past couple of weeks - started a blog, made a lampshade, etc. Now I have two more things to add, making banana nut muffins and re-potting a cactus. You heard right, a cactus...a 7' tall cactus, actually. It was not an easy task, and I cannot take all (or most) of the credit. Chris did most of the hard labor, but I helped...getting the soil, mixing it with perlite (I didn't even know what that was until this afternoon, but it's those little white balls in potting soil), etc. It looks great, see...

 Next on the to do list, banana nut muffins (without the nuts, I was out). I had never made any banana nut bread before, and we had some old bananas, so why not? They turned out great...here's the recipe I used. Yum!

I also found these little to go boxes at TJ Maxx and wrapped them up like this...

Now the only question left is who will I give them to?

New Lampshade...

So, I'm not sure how many of you have heard of pinterest, but I'm obsessed...seriously, I spend entirely too much time pinning things to my boards. Why didn't I think of a virtual bulletin board?

Anyway, probably most of my projects will be from things I have seen there. For example, this lampshade I made last night. It was inspired by a lampshade from Anthropologie (which I couldn't afford), so here is the DIY version...

 

This is what you'll need:

hot glue gun with lots of glue sticks

an iron

 

burlap (I used the color natural but any color would work)

And, of course, the instructions might be helpful.You can find them at
http://www.maganslens.com/2011/02/personal-project-a-diy-lamp-shade/
(A big thank you to Magan Blasig who originally posted this on her blog).

And, the final product...

Unfortunately I don't have a before picture of the lamp - this is only my first project to post, I'll get better, I promise! But, I think it turned out pretty well, and it wasn't too hard to make. Let me know what you think!

There's a first time for everything...

Hi all! I've recently started a new job...in an office, with a desk, etc. Let's just say it doesn't leave as much room for creativity as I would like, which leaves me feeling a little less than content. So, I've been busy working on a few new projects...mostly making old things new and a little more happy. And hopefully, my family, friends, and home will benefit from my lack of a creative outlet at work. If that's you, I'm sure you are feeling pretty lucky right now. :) Feel free to visit and look...just, please, don't look too closely!