Laundry room makeover in one afternoon

If there was ever an award given for the most boring laundry room ever, I would be the lucky winner

I mean, seriously.....Zzzzzz

 

Funny that I never gave my laundry room much thought, other than for washing clothes.   It's right off the kitchen and visible to anyone who walks through the front door.   But after seeing some cute laundry rooms on Pinterest, I got inspired.

Since it's hardly bigger than a telephone booth,  I knew all it would take would be an afternoon to whip this into shape.    If I stand in the middle and stretch out my arms wide, I can almost touch the walls on the opposite side of the room.   It's that small....

So here is the grand tour,

These are my lovely window treatments.    They go nicely with the plastic mini blinds that have several missing slats.

This is where I hang my "delicates" to dry  

Yup, top shelf all the way.....

 

Tour is over,  that didn't take long, did it??


Now, let's begin with a can of fresh, white paint from Lowes.     With such a teeny space,  I knew I wanted the walls a light color.

Besides, the price was hard to beat.

 

 

And one can of Valspar Spray Paint in Tropical Foliage.

To paint some white shutters that I got at a yard sale.

Time to use some of this fabric also bought at a yard sale.    I absolutely love this print.    So vintagey.

 

A shelf from a broken bookcase makes a nice sign.  I used the same method that I did for my Beach sign.

 

Things are beginning to look up around here..:)

The shutters look almost brand new and the mini blinds are history

A plate from Dollar Tree gives a nice touch.     Goodbye wire rack.

The white shelf got 2 coats of paint, and a missing handle was replaced

Sometimes little changes have a big impact.

Have a nice weekend, everybody.

Shabby Chic End Table

I've had this little end table for a while now and have been wanting to do it over ever since I got it.    It looked dated and just plain blah to me.

Yes, it is a White Clad Amish Ice Box and yes, I did paint it.       The wood wasn't in the greatest shape and every time I looked at it,  I  felt inspired to give it a facelift.    Those front panels were pretty sad looking.



The top of my little icebox was in the best condition, so I just left well enough alone.

First, I removed the front panel       
 

A little sanding  and two coats of Valspar's Creamy Delight paint/ primer.   Looking better already.

 

Letting the first coat dry inside and out

Then headed over once again to visit The Graphics Fairy for another of her beautiful images

 

I have been doing a lot of freezer paper transfers recently.   I forgot how much fun they are.    You can pick up a roll at Wal Mart for around $5.00.   And the sheets are reusable.  Just wipe with a damp cloth when you're done with it. 

  I use the same sheet several times over.

These were sized 5x7 on my printer using a reversed image.    Using my trusty spoon,  and a little pressure, I rubbed my graphic on the wood in small circles.

And this is what I got

A few coats of Krylon sealer will protect your graphics.

No more tired looking end table

Enjoy your evening, everybody     :)  

Dollar Store shelf liner paper

Yesterday, when I was in the dollar store, I spotted this pretty shelf liner paper.   

It wasn't really paper, it had more of a cushiony, springy feel to it.   But I thought it was pretty and I knew I could use it for something.    

Plus it was only a dollar.

I paired it with a wood frame that I got at a yard sale last year.   The frame was dark blue when I bought it but I had painted it white.

 
  I took out the 8x10 piece of wood that came with it and covered my shelf paper over it allowing 2 inches so I could fold it over the wood 

 Like this

 

Pulling the paper gently, hot glue into place

 

An easy peasy project.

Have a nice weekend, all. 

 

 

Green Tool Box

What I love about paint is how it can totally transform an item in no time at all.    All it takes is a little imagination.    

I picked this up today at my local thrift store.     Priced at $2.00, I knew this baby was coming home with me.  

I used wood filler to fill in the holes as best I could, but I didn't go too crazy.   I kind of liked the simpleness of this box. 


I had this paint sample sitting on my shelf, and thought it would be a perfect color.

  I usually have a good supply of paint on hand.    I think we would run out of food before we would run out paint.



Time to head over to The Graphics Fairy for a pretty image.  I can and usually do spend a lot of time drooling over all those beautiful images she has..    

But I really liked this one.

 

I used freezer paper to transfer the image.   Remember to reverse it for this purpose.

When the  printer ink is completely dry, lightly spray with a clear sealer.     I like Krylon's Low Odor Clear Finish.    I do about 2 -3 light coats,  letting them dry in between.

So for $2.00, I was able to make this.

Have a good evening, everyone.

Wood Beach sign

It's been a while since I made any wood signs and it was high time to make another one.   

Time to go searching for some scrap wood. 

And, yes, we have a winner....

This lovely piece of wood was formally our tv stand.   

As if that weren't tacky enough, we had it propped up with some 2x4's to give it more height.

Nothing but the best for my family....

So when I found a more suitable place to put the tv,  it meant  I could use it for something else

And

At 3 ft long, it was a good size for a sign.

First, some wood filler to fill in the holes.

I ran my mouse sander across it to get a smooth surface and painted it with some left over white paint I had from a previous project.

Looking better already

I chose Bell MT for the fonts and sized them at 700 on Microsoft Word.     MW gives you the option to print out with just the outline of the letter, which I do to save on ink. 

Once printed, I trim away any excess paper.   It just gives me a better visual of exactly where I'm placing the letters.

I lightly drew a straight line with pencil on my board first to keep my letters all lined up straight.

Then, with painters tape, placed my letters evenly spaced and on the line.

Using a stylus and black graphite paper,  I traced all the letters onto the board and painted them black.    

I forgot to take a picture of that, I was really on a roll at that point.

Since the first coat was already black, all it needed was a little sanding on top to distress.   I found if I dampen an area first, the top layer of paint comes off a little easier.  

I rubbed a little antiquing glaze all over to give it an aged look

Goodbye tv stand, hello new kitchen sign.

Easy to do, and the price was right.

Enjoy your evening, everyone.

Crib railing headboard for a 'tween girl

When my 12 year old daughter, Hannah, asked if we could do her room over,  I admit I felt a momentary sense of panic.    I thought her room was pretty enough already with its pale green walls, her white lace curtains and her bedspread with the pretty pale pink rosebuds.  

 But Hannah likes COLOR.  Lots and lots of color.    The brighter the better....purple, fuscha and neon green are her favorites.    This is very hard for a mom who paints all of her walls in the home white.

But I'm supposed to encourage my daughter to be an individual.  I want her to be creative.  To find her own way, develop her own style,  to know her own mind.. 

But can't I keep the walls green while she's doing all that???


In the end, we paint splattered her walls.      I actually flung wet paint on the walls. 

Interesting.

Here is her ceiling.


 At night, when her light is on, it looks like her room is on fire.    Yup, that girl loves color.

 Here are her closet doors

Check out that wall.    We paint splattered 2 walls and left the other 2 plain white.   

I was afraid she would have seizures if all 4 walls were like this.

So when she needed a headboard, I was stumped.

I mean, what goes with THIS?

the answer was inside my garage.

A crib railing of course


I had been turned down by the thrift store when I went to donate the crib.    Apparently they have some safety concerns about cribs and aren't accepting them at this time.    So back home I went and it sat in my garage until I could find another use for it, or  give it to someone who needed a crib.

Or to make a headboard, of course


 I primed with Benjamin Moore primer, filled the holes with wood filler and painted it the same color as the ceiling.    I had lots of that paint color left over.  

Attached some brackets to it and

 

Now she has a new headboard. 

At a great price!


Have a good night, all.

Shabby windowsill pots

So here I am in week 2 of decluttering and organizing my house.   It's time to SIMPLIFY.        Lately it feels as though I am spending waaayy  too much time cleaning, moving, rearranging and storing "stuff."     I'm ready to have that peaceful, easy feelin' and and enjoy looking at some empty spaces. 

                                                 

 While going through my stash today,  I found some terra cotta pots.   They're small and are the perfect size for growing herbs on the kitchen windowsill.    I kept a few and donated the rest.   Oh yeah, baby,  it's time to let things go.   .    

 I decided to use the freezer paper transfer method to decorate my pots.    If you haven't tried this before, you will need
                                              freezer paper      (I got mine at Wal Mart)
                                              cardstock
                                              ink jet printer.       (must be an ink jet printer, not laser)
                                              glue stick
                                              tape   (I use painters tape)
                                              spoon
                                              matte spray  (I use Krylon)


First, a dry brushing of white paint.

 Then  I headed over to The Graphics Fairy for one of her amazing images.   I decided on this one.

       
     But for the freezer paper method, you always need to print out the image in reverse, so it will look like this

                                                                      
                  
                                             
Karen, the Graphics Fairy is so thoughtful to include a reversed image.  




 Cut a 8.5 x 11 size of freezer paper.   You are going to run the freezer paper through your printer, but you can't run the freezer paper alone.    It will jam your printer.  Trust me on this.   You need to glue the freezer paper to a piece of cardstock or plain copypaper.

 Freezer paper has a paper side and a waxy side to it.   You want to glue the cardstock to the PAPER side and print your image on the waxy side..


Here is my graphic on  freezer paper fresh from the printer

Now separate the papers.  The ink is wet at this point....careful you don't touch it or it will smear. 

Place facedown to the pot.    You'll notice I trimmed the paper.    Just made it easier.   Now you see why you want to print the image in reverse.

 Painter's tape holds the paper in place.

   .
 Using a spoon,  make small circular motions rubbing firmly over the graphics.   Do this several times and make sure you don't miss any spots.

Gently take the paper off when your done.    Careful, the ink could be wet and you could smudge your beautiful handiwork..      I wait about 10 minutes and spray a coat or two with a matte spray to protect it.


Now it's all ready for my windowsill and some home grown herbs :)

Have a good night, all