Sunday, September 25, 2011

Color is Cooler

So my mom has had this mirror for, like, ever. My sister and I bought it for her one year when gold corners and crackle finish was totally in style. I had totally forgotten about it until my mom mentioned that they planned to sell it in a garage sale.

Um. . . . no! I NEEDED a mirror to sit atop my mantel and look amazing. The only problem was, I'm not really a gold corners and crackle paint kind of girl. As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing ugly enough that a can of spray paint (or in this case, not even a full can) can't fix.

Again, thanks to Pinterest, I tried something new. I rubbed candle wax over the corner flourishes with the intent of adding some "aged" look to the frame. I carefully masked off the mirror with masking paper and painters tape.

My one tip here would be: don't skimp on painters tape. I have several DIY projects at home that have been marred by the cheap painters tape. If it doesn't block out the paint you wind up with a horrible end product or more work for yourself.

Once it was masked off, I spread out an old vinyl tablecloth that I purchased at an end of season sale at Wal-Mart for $1.50 and now use as my spray paint drop cloth. It's a great, cheap way to create a painting space anywhere you need one.


The frame took a good two coats of paint before it was fully covered. As you can see below, the corners did retain a bit of the aged look. Not quite what I thought I might get but I'm happy with it. The crackle finish along the frame resulted in a nice texture that I'm digging now that its done.

And just like that, my somewhat color challenged living room has a POP of lipstick red that reflects the light, brightens the room and makes both the darling hubby and I happy (though I suspect he may be a fan because now we have crimson and cream in the living room). :)

Beyond Shelf Paper - Drawer Liners with Style

So Pinterest is seriously enabling my do-it-yourself spirit! Today's project was to add a finishing touch to the drawers in my bathroom. Shelf paper just does not do it for me. The styles are so boring and so . . . similar.

On a trip to Heaven, er, I mean, Hobby Lobby, I found the perfect print for some bathroom drawers but it was just fabric. Not a problem. There is virtually no problem that can't be solved with a search of Pinterest.

Here's what I did:


1. Measure the drawer (do this a couple of times. I had to cut my liners down because they were a bit too long.
2. Cut posterboard to fit the drawer bottom.
3. Cut fabric just a bit bigger than the posterboard.
4. Use tape to secure the overlap of the fabric to the back posterboard.
5. Begin Mod-Podging the heck out of the fabric atop your posterboard.
6. Let dry.
7. Commence Mod-Podging again. . . lay it on thick and let it dry again.
8. Install the liners in your drawers.
9. Sit back and marvel at your new pretty drawers (or not . . . I mean it is a drawer for crying out loud. . . it's not the Sistine Chapel).



Monday, September 19, 2011

Halloween Footsies!

I absolutely adore this idea that I found on Pinterest. I'm a fan of anything I can make that is not only crafty but incorporates something sentimental about my daughter. This footsie project was perfect.

First we painted the bottom of her feet, let her stomp on the black posterboard and then ran for a wet washrag to get all of that off before I let her back in the house.


She had so much fun picking out the perfect Fruit Loops for the eyes.


All in all, the project cost about $2.97 and took up the perfect space of an afternoon.