My free Christmas Tree!

This year I decided to make a 100% natural Christmas tree (except a burlap bow at the top) for my back patio.

Everything on this tree was found on the side of some road close to my home. It is amazing the beautiful foliage that is still left this time of year!

Backseat of my car with weeds that will soon be ornaments!

3 cans of spray paint; 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 red .

This weed was one of my favorites, up close it looks exactly like a snowflake!

These also turned out pretty cool! Be careful, these have small stickers on them.
I took a pair of yard gloves and scissors with me when I went out to find my free decorations :-)

These were just so pretty I left them alone, they glow with the lights behind them.

and more...

I took the above from bushes in my yard, great filler- Spray painted the ends and done!

I also picked pine cones out of my yard and sprayed them red to add a little color.

The finished product is below!

Total cost for me, zero! Used spare paint and my burlap bow came from scraps of burlap I had.

Not bad for a FREE TREE!

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Easy Burlap Book covers

I have recently fallen in LOVE with burlap. It started last year when I switched my Christmas decorations from  gold and silver to a rustic twigs, burlap and natural look. Since then I have literally purchased 20 or so yards of burlap and have made curtains, covered pillows, etc. I had some leftover from curtains I had just made and decided to put the scraps to use.

This takes about 10 minutes a book and is super easy. I stole the idea from restoration hardware. I was browsing the store and they had a shelf of linen covered books that I thought were for sale (turned out they were for decoration) but I figured out how they did it and decided next time I had extra fabric I would give it a try. I picked up the books at a garage sale for 25 cents a piece so the entire project only costs me a few dollars.

What you will need: Fabric, Mod Podge, book, scissors, sponge brush.

Step 1

Cut out the material about 3" wider than the size of the book you are wrapping.

Step 2

Paint the cover and bind of the book with Mod Podge, leaving the 3" extra fabric on the ends. Once the front and spine are done flip the book over and Mod Podge the back. Make sure the fabric is taught.

Step 3

Cut corner flaps at an angle shown below

Step 4

Open up book and Mod Podge the flaps into book. Carefully trim the excess material at the 

spine of book. The fabric does not get tucked into the spine just carefully cut at edge.

Step 5

To cover up the jagged ends you are going to paint the entire inside cover with Mod Podge, and carefully flip over the front page to glue down. The do the same to back page of book. 

This gives it a nice finish if anyone opens it up.

With just an hour or so and less than $10 total this is how they turned out!

I interchanged linen and burlap covers. The burlap is a bit harder to work with because it is stiffer but once you get the hang  of it - Super Easy!!

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The Pumpkin Project

So this week I decided to day a "staycation" at my house, a vacation where I don't leave home. One of the things I decided to do was not turn on the TV for a week and instead do fun things, read, take hot baths, pamper myself, etc. This was my Tuesday evening project. The cost was around $30.00 and it took a couple hours but I think they turned out pretty good.

                                First I picked out 7 pumpkins from Wal Mart for $2.50 a piece.

 Then I used scotch tape to attached stencils to each pumpkin (stencils $4.00 Wal Mart).

I took some old black paint I had and painted the inside of the stencil.

Added Bows on top ($3.00 a roll at Wal Mart)

Almost Finished!!

I added a coat of clear spray paint to make sure my letters did not melt off and put on steps leading to my house. Nice relaxing Tuesday night and something to add to my Halloween décor!

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$60 Burlap Curtains!!

Time for a remodel of the great room. I originally went with a Tuscan feel but it seemed a bit dated, especially the curtains. After looking at hundreds of Picts on Houzz I realized that the one thing I was going to change for sure was the height of the curtain rod. All of the pictures have the curtain rod literally inches from the ceiling. I had originally broken up my palladian windows with a rod in the middle and a swag. I wish I had a better before picture but this gives you a general idea. I also just switched my christmas tree to have a more natural appearance with pine cones from the yard, branches and burlap. I really fell in love with the burlap, that must have stuck in my sub conscience.

I wanted a more open feel and a little bit rustic. Kind of Restoration Hardware meets a rustic barn in Italy. I shopped for fabric everywhere before I found.... burlap - $2.00 a yard! I needed 80 feet total (20 feet per panel) so 27 yards total, I rounded to 30 just in case. Sewed one straight stitch across the top and $60 dollars later I had new curtains!!! 

The sales person at the store had warned me that the gasoline smell burlap has may never go away but at $60 I figured I would take the chance (if nothing else I would use it for wrapping gifts at christmas). They did smell for about 4 days. The first couple days were really bad. I burned candles which I think also burned some of the oils in the air but by day 4 or 5 you could not smell anything. They look rustic, neutral and were exactly what I was looking for - plus super cheap!!!

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Giant chalk painted mirror

I am in the process of remodeling my great room and removed this giant mirror from above the fireplace. Loved it so much had to find a place for it. I wanted it in the bedroom but my walls are so dark I thought it would blend in. Time to test my creative skills again and to Chalk Paint. I got a recipe online at http://www.paintmeshabby.com/make-you-own-chalk-paint-recipe-2/ and painted it twice (first a patina that I did not like) and then ended up with an antique cream that I love.


                                                                  Here is the before

and here is after

I think it adds dimension to the room and LOVE it!

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Remodeled bedroom ideas

Just finished an update to my bedroom. I wish I would have gotten better before shots but you get the general idea....blah! New bed from restoration hardware, new curtains, painted end tables, new lamps and painted mirror. I would have gotten out of this on the cheap if it hadn't been for the pricey bed I had to have. :-)

Above is before picture

And viola, after!

I originally thought this oversized mirror would be too big for the bedroom but I love it! Makes the bedroom look so much bigger. The lighter furniture helps a lot too. An interior decorator told me to always put the post for your curtains at the ceiling so it will draw your eye upwards and make the room look bigger. Perfect (and cheap) idea!

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Brilliant metals refinished furniture

I remodeled my bedroom and decided to keep and refinish my nightstands, I wanted something South Beach and light. Here is the before and after....

I lightly smoothed down the top, primarily
because there were water marks and swell marks.

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My first Project - Baseboards, Small to Large!

Above is the after and below is what I started with...

I wanted to re-do my baseboard but priced out wider width and it was stupid expensive.
Decided to try to expand it myself.
I started with standard old baseboard

Added small trim piece ($5.00 for 8' at Lowes)
This actually did not look bad left like this but I wanted a wider look to it.

Painted the middle and now I have 7" baseboard!

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