Bathroom Makeover Reveal

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

I can't believe it, I'm finally done! 

The bathroom is complete and I am so excited to share it with you.

I'd like to show you some before and after pictures, but I'm going to do this backwards and show you the pretty "after" pictures, first.

Can you believe this is the same room?

I love the new mirror and light fixtures.  I fell in love with them in the Pottery Barn catalog, but did not fall in love with the price.  I searched and searched and found them at Lowe's.  They were 1/3 the price.

I love how the vanity turned out.  It was so easy!  I put on one coat of primer and 2 coats of Hirshfields Platinum Ceramic Satin finish (all in one paint and primer).  The color is called White Fence. This paint is AMAZING!  It costs a little bit more, but so worth it.

I found the knobs at myknobs.com.  You know when you have a certain style and finish in mind and you are on a mission to find it.....that would describe my quest for the cabinet hardware.

Check out the rubber band on the lower doors.  This is to keep our basset hound out of the cabinet....and garbage can. Yep, she's a dumpster diver.

A little decorating.............

A little more decorating.......

Remember the fabric I showed you that was my inspiration and starting point......

I used it to make the shower curtain.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

And, used some of the leftover fabric to makeover this lampshade.

So, this is our new bathroom.  What do you think? I think I can't wait to have people over and light those candles!

Stay tuned for our next makeover......the kitchen/dining room.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  It means the world to me.

Kelly

Lamp Shade Makeover

Hi there!  I'm so glad you stopped by.

As you know I have been working on my bathroom makeover.  I am hoping to have it all done by the weekend so that next week I can show you the before and after pictures.

Today, I want to share with you how I dressed up the lamp that will go on our vanity.

I have always had a lamp on the vanity, with a 15 watt light bulb in it, that I leave on all the time.  It's kind of like my night light.

I used the left over fabric and trim from making the new shower curtain.

All you need is a lamp shade, Mod Podge, glue gun, fabric, paint brush and clothes pins.

This would be the perfect project for a an ugly shade that has great shape, but is old and worn out or in need of a face lift.

I laid the fabric out on the table and cut around the shade, leaving it about 1 inch larger than the shade. 

Take the paint brush and generously apply Mod Podge to one side at a time. This is when I took the clothes pins and attached them to keep the fabric in place while it dried.

I did one side at a time, letting each side dry before gluing the next section. 

When I had all the sides done, I cut a small slit in the fabric where each wire meets the top of the shade. Don't cut all the way to the shade or you will have a slit that will show.

 I took the glue gun and glued the top and bottom to the inside of the shade. 

When I had the fabric glued to the shade, I took a piece of the trim and hot glued it to the top of the shade. 

That's it! 

What do you think?  Pretty darn easy, huh? 

Thanks for stopping by.  It means the world to me.

Kelly

Changing Your Hardware, on the Cheap!

Hi there!  I'm so glad you stopped by.

I have decided that I am really sick of the decorating in my house. So, what's a creative girl to do? 

Redecorate of course!

I have 4 rooms that I want to bring some new life to.  First up, the bathroom. 

Here are a few before pictures so you can see what I'm up against. Check out that wallpaper. 

Can you say "Pain in my butt" to remove?

Oh, lordy!

Below is my inspiration.  I always pick one item to start a redecorating project with.  It can be a picture, a rug, a bedspread or fabric. In this case, I chose fabric.  I went to Hancock Fabrics and to my complete delight, this fabric was 50% off!  Yep, did the happy dance in the isle.

I am in love with this trim, which by the way, matches the fabric perfectly.  It even has glass beads on it.  

I decided that I should go with chrome in this bathroom since the faucets and toilet handle are chrome. Having the glass beads on the trim just cinched the deal.  And, look at how fabulous these Mercury Glass candle holders look with this fabric. Could you just die?  I snagged those babies at Kirkland's. 

Being the anal retentive person that I am, I noticed that the hardware on my bathroom door is antique brass.  Well, antique brass and chrome do NOT go together. I mean, please.

How awful would that have been to get completely done with the bathroom, be sitting on the toilet and notice the antique brass staring me right in the face...........

Instead of buying new hardware, which isn't in the budget, I decided to paint them. And let me tell you, it is so easy to do.

Start by taping off the area around the hardware.  I used Frog Tape and Scotch Blue Pre-taped Film for the door.  I should have used it for the entire area, but forgot I had it until I was almost done taping everything off.  Believe me, you will save tons of time with this stuff.

Check out this next picture.  I felt like I was in a hazmat area!  All this for 3 little hinges and a knob. 

Over kill perhaps?

Here is the "before" knob

All I did was lightly spray the knob and hinges with 2 coats of spray paint, waiting one hour in between coats. That's it!  It took longer to tape off the area then it did to paint the hardware. But it was worth it.

Here is the "after" knob.

And, the "after" hinges.

So, there you have it.  You don't have to change out your hardware to get a new look.  You don't even have to take the hardware off to paint it.  And, for the cost of a can of spray paint and how little you use for each item, you sure can't beat the price.

Check back often as I am going to be blogging the entire bathroom makeover.  See you next time.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  It means the world to me.

Kelly

A Little Valentine's Day Decorating and a Tutorial

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by.

I did a little decorating for Valentine's Day tonight and I want to share it with you.

I don't want to go completely crazy, I just want a little touch of it.  I decided the buffet in our dining room would be the perfect place.

Here is a picture of our buffet table, that now sits in our dining room.  We just brought it upstairs so I hadn't decorated it yet.

For years it was in our garage, then it spent about a year in our basement. I am going to be refinishing it, but for now, here it is in its "old beat up glory". Isn't it just charming!

 

I started by putting a simple white table runner on the top.  I got this at Target after Christmas for 50% off. I also draped this gorgeous scarf, my friend Sandra gave me, over the ladder and around the lamp. Then I added some pearls I got at Michael's.

I took 2 candle holders and put these rose balls (I'm sure that isn't what they are called, but it sounds good in my world) on top.  I also got these for 50% off at the after Christmas sale at Target. I was going to make these, but when I saw how cheap they were, I knew I couldn't make them for less.

The 2 candle holders with the red votives on top, are actually champagne glasses.  I simply turned them upside down, put a little double sided tape on the bottom and waa laa, candle holders. 

I got the sweet little body form at Home Goods.  L.O.V.E. that store!  I love that they always have different items and at very reasonable prices.  If you haven't checked them out, you need to. I picked up the heart wreath at Walgreen's, of all places.  See the picture in the back, I made that tonight.  I will show you how at the end.

To finish it off, I added rose petals and some white votives. 

Here is how I made the picture on the wall.  Actually after I made it and hung it on the wall I didn't like it.  Too red!  So, I took it down and tweaked it.

Here is what I used.

A picture frame from Walmart, Sticky appliques from Home Goods and a piece of tissue paper I had in my wrapping paper supply.



I had to iron the tissue paper. It had pretty serious creases in it.  I just put the iron on low heat, laid it on the cardboard from the picture frame and ironed it.  It worked really well.

I cut the tissue paper to size, put it on the glass and put the back, back on.  I took the sticky words and added them right to the glass. Easy! 

As you can see from the first pictures I did not have the white mat on it or the little butterfly.  I like it so much better this way.  It gives it a little more character. 

One thing I've learned is, it never turns out the way I picture it in my head.  I create as I go.

So, do you decorate for Valentine's Day?  It really doesn't take much.  Just decorate a little space in a high traffic area and it will have a big impact.

I hope you have enjoyed this and it inspires you to add a little Valentine's Day to your world.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  It means the world to me!

Kelly

Organizing the Craft Room

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

I have so many projects planned for 2012. 

Since we live in Minnesota, and can't do outdoor projects during the winter, I have started indoors. Before I dive in to my projects of painting and redecorating, I want to get my entire house reorganized. 

First up, the craft room!

Here are a few of my before pictures.  Prepare to be horrified!

Looks like something out of Hoarders, doesn't it?

During the holidays, this was truly my "drop zone". 

Check out that awful flooring. That is on my "To Do List" for this year. The pine on the walls is also on the "To Do List" but that might be a project for next year. I have a very long "To Do List"!

One more............

I had a free weekend where I could just dive right in.  And dive in, I did.

I started by putting 2 folding tables in to an L shape in one corner so that I would have a designated work area.  Eventually I will recover the tops and put on a skirt to cover up the storage underneath.

My husband and I found this cute little cabinet at an online auction a few weeks ago.  I decided it would make the perfect place to keep pens, markers, tools, and a few zip loc containers with odds and ends I wanted to keep together.

We also scored this little tool box, which works perfect for keeping paint supplies in.

I took this old bookshelf that I've had forever and put it on top of a cupboard my husband brought home from a job, that was going to be thrown out. 

Inside the cupboard I have all my cans of paint and spray paint. 

The little tower shelf to the left, I found at a garage sale last summer for $5.00.  I found a few basket at an after Christmas sale and they fit perfectly. 

The hutch makes a perfect place to keep all my candles and candle holders.  The top works well for extra items I will use around the house, but am not using at the moment. Between the hutch and the end of the table is where I am storing the picture frames I am collecting for future projects.

My shelves that I l.o.v.e., because I can store a ton of items on them. 

I love that I have this room organized, ready for the new year and all that it has to offer. 

I feel very blessed to have a room that is all mine that I can go to, to create. 

Have you started your organization plan for the year? 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  It means the world to me.

Kelly

No Cost Jewelry Organizing

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

The Christmas decorations are down, the New Years Eve celebrations are over, so it's time to start the new year with some much needed organizing. 

First stop, jewelry drawer.

I don't know about you, but I have not kept up on keeping my jewelry organized.  I decided before Christmas that after all the festivities were over, I was going to re-organize my jewelry drawer. 

Here is my before picture!  Isn't that horrifying?  I'm embarrassed to show you, but for the sake of this post, I am opening up my mess just for you!

I started by emptying everything out of the drawer. 

Next I got all my little organizing things together.  The gold square thing in the middle is actually the inside of a candy box.  The plastic rectangles in the upper left corner are baby food containers. 

Aren't they awesome!  They are perfect for jewelry and FREE!

Simply place the boxes (tops and bottoms), baby food containers, box of chocolate divider and whatever else you come up with, inside your drawer. Start placing your jewelry inside.

I wanted to keep things really organized, so I ended up using 2 drawers for this. 

The nice thing about doing this is you also go through each and every item and get rid of things you haven't worn since 1980! 

I put together a baggie of some gold items I have and am going to take it in to get cash for it.  So, not only was this project free to do, I am going to make some money out of the deal!  It's a win win!

Well, I'm off to my next disaster area! 

Thank you so much for stopping by.  It means to world to me!

Kelly

Christmas Around the House

Hi there. I'm so glad you stopped by!

Today I want to share some Christmas decorating I did around the house.

First stop, the entryway. Notice my little helper, Isabelle, at the top of the stairs. She follows me everywhere.  I only wish she could talk so I could bounce ideas off her and get her opinion. I'm pretty sure she has an opinion!

From the top of the stairs looking in to the entryway. I took a plain pine looking garland and wrapped it around the railing, then added lights.

I love decorating the railing.  It's the first thing people see when they come in.  Just add things here and there, until you get the fullness that you like. I usually buy things in bunches and then just cut them apart and add them in.

Here's my little dresser I have at the top of the stairs. The lamp and basket filled with pinecones, were already there.  I added the snowman, bulbs and poinsettias.  Buying the poinsettias in a bunch is a really cheap way to get a lot of decorating material, for a little price.

At the other side of the stairway I have this floral arrangement.  Again, just added things to it to get the Christmas feel.  Easy peasy.

This is a little table I have in my entryway.  I L.O.V.E. lamps!  I have them everywhere.  There is nothing better than low lighting to make a house homey.

I added some beads to the shade, a few items to the table, and done!

Here's a little tray I have on our island.  Notice the lamp theme.

Corner area on the kitchen counter.  Yep, another lamp.  Maybe I have a problem......

Shelf above the kitchen sink.  No lamp?  How did that sneak past me?  Next year!

This is the top of my refrigerator.  I know I am probably really strange, but I have to decorate the top of my refrigerator.  It's like a shelf calling out my name to be decorated.

The desk in my kitchen.  Did you see the little star "lamp".  OK, seriously, I think I have a lamp addiction.

Our Christmas tree.

And lastly, our fireplace.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope you liked my little tour.

Merry Christmas!

Kelly