Fugly bathroom light to FABULOUS candle holder!

I saw this ugly bathroom light bar at the RESTORE for $7 and I immediately saw potential! This is the front of it…you can see where the light bulbs screw in.

The next picture shows the back.  I just used scissors to cut the wires.  I could put a piece of wood or something on the back to finish it off, but..I didn’t. 

I then spray painted it with Rustoleum Rubbed Bronze spray paint.  I made sure to get down in each light socket, as well.  When it was dry.  I added (from MICHAEL’S) flameless votives $7.99, and 2 autumn garland $5.99/each…btw, they were 30% off today..lucky me!

When I put it all together, and added the candles, it looked so awesome…I was shocked, and had suitably impressed my family! lol  What  I really love about this, is I can change it out seasonally with just a change of garland and accessories.  I’m already thinking about adding little spiders and crows for Halloween, and for Christmas..garland, and little ornaments! 

  

 

Melted crayon art

I saw the melted crayon art on pinterest and decided to try it.  I didn’t want to do the regular old crayons taped to a board then melted straight down, so I just used tongs and a blow dryer to make it into ….something.  I had no plan when I started and the flowers kind of just emerged so I went with it.  I found the foam board at the Dollar Tree and the crayons too, so this whole project cost me $2.oo!

The “new” old headboard!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the old wicker headboard that I found at RESTORE (Habitat for Humanity) for $10.  That place is awesome to find great deals..and unique stuff.  Anyhow, I bought 2 cans of spray paint in white and 1 in metallic silver.  I sprayed the wicker panels silver, it didn’t go on evenly, but on reflection, I like it…it makes the silver look tarnished in places.  I wanted the panels to look like metal instead of like wicker and I think that was accomplished.

Then, I spray painted the outside “wood” (actually laminate overlay) with white spray paint.  Now, it looked nice..but too “new” for my liking, so I took a dark brown spray paint…sprayed it on a paper towel and lightly went over the flowers and edges.  This gave that worn/old look without having to sand!  So, for about 15 minutes of work, and $30 total…I got a brand new headboard that looks awesome in my bedroom!

The new “old” door!

I am replacing the doors in my house, and I knew I wanted something rustic but not stained. The door started off as an unfinished stain grade pine door from Lowes, nothing special.  So, I picked up a cabinet refinishing set at Home Depot and for about $75 I had enough product to paint/glaze/protect all 5 doors!  I simply painted the door, let it dry then used a sponge brush to paint on the glaze, then wipe it off with cheesecloth..making sure to leave it heavier in the corners and areas you want to showcase.  I think it came out pretty great and I’m thrilled with my new doors!

The family tree..

I decided to spend 30.oo and make something amazing on a big expanse of wall that I have in my living room.  So, I searched around and found these awesome tree stickers at Kmart for $8.99 (I bought 2!).  Then I went to the Dollar Tree and bought 10 matching frames.  Luckily the stickers peel off easy, because I readjusted them quite a few times.  I love the end result!!

Treadmill Workstation

If you’re like me, you hate walking on the treadmill.  It’s boring beyond belief, so instead of just plugging in the Ipod and zoning out, I decided to make a workstation for my laptop.  I just took a board and bungee corded it to my treadmill!  It works great, but honestly, it needs to be up higher.  I’m 5’4″ and I was looking down a lot, which after about 45 min, my neck was aching.  So, tomorrow I’m going to buy a couple of boards and 2 L brackets and make some legs…that should raise it up enough so I’m in a good position to use my computer while I walk!

I will say that my makeshift workstation worked better than I expected…it didn’t jostle around, and I could walk and type at the same time.  Althought, I did type and walk SLOWLY..but, it was my first time!   I’m sure there is a learning curve with the coordination   This is just my way of making sure I spend some time on the treadmill…tonight, I logged 45 minutes and I barely noticed it…that is MY kind of workout!

Aging a new board

On Pinterest.com I learned how to make a new board look old.  Given the fact that old boards and especially barn boards are wicked expensive, I thought this was a brilliant idea.  It said to put a steel wool pad in a bowl of apple cider vinegar, leave it over night then rub it on the board.  Seemed simple enough, so I tried it.

My first attempt was just a spot on an rough piece of wood.  At first, nothing happened.  But, with a little patience and some scrubbing with the steel wool, it began to darken.  I didn’t wait to let the steel wool break down in the vinegar as per the instructions, I was too impatient.  I was excited to see if it would work, as you can see…it did!

Here is a pic of my first attempt with the rough board.

My second attempt was with a sanded board.  There was a big difference between the rough/sanded boards.  The rough board looked more realistic.  The sanded board turned very brown/red but it was completely uniform.  I did let the steel wool sit in the vinegar for 24 hours.  It broke down somewhat, but didn’t completely dissolve.  It also gave better/faster results.  Each time I tried this, it required multiple coats with drying time in between.  I just scrubbed the steel wool into the board, saturating it with the slurry of vinegar and steel wool pieces.  Let it sit for about an hour…then do it again.

Here is a pic of the sanded board, before I started.

This is the result.  I wish I’d taken a pic before I added the paint, but I didn’t know I was going to blog about it until afterwards.  Next time I’ll add an “in process” picture for you!  All I did was take plain old white paint that I found in my cabinet,  I used a papertowel (I didn’t have a paint brush handy!) and just painted the board.  Then I sanded it a bit and voila’ ….

The final result, my “aged” board.