Pallet Wine Rack: Home Decor

This project was a case of seeing something at a flea market and deciding that we could make it exactly how we wanted it for quite a bit less money.  I am really so glad we did... because I am so thrilled with the outcome of this little project!!

We found a great sized pallet at ReStore, John took it apart, and to design it we found some ideas on Pinterest and altered them based on our wall space.  A little sanding, stain, and stenciling and voila!

Confession: I went out and bought some new wine glasses to fit in the bottom because all of ours were too big or mismatched.  I did, however, already have the wine on hand and am happy to have a new place to display it!

Record Display | Home Decor

I truly have a wonderfully talented Husband!

I need to share every last one of his projects/restorations because he is awesome at thinking up these things and then making them a reality.

A few weeks ago we picked up these old Disney record sleeves at a yard sale for $2 (they were just the sleeves, no records included).  I had an idea awhile ago to collect records for Claire's wall, but had never really pushed the idea because I had no idea how we would put them on the wall... frame?  ...shelf with ledge?? 

So when we found these, John was officially motivated to get something up on her HUGE green empty wall. 

Basically, he split a 2x4 and made a frame, then covered the frame with moulding! The record sleeves just lean up against the wall and could be rearranged if we wanted.

Claire's room has been a slow-to-come-together project.  As far as decor goes, that seems to be my MO... I don't like to commit to a decoration unless I LOVE it.  Until then, things are a bit of a hodge-podge. 

It's definitely getting to a point where her room makes me smile :-)

Upcycled (Refurbished) Bottom Box/ Tool Chest : John's Project

Last July, John found this bottom box/ tool chest at ReStore for $20.  It just seemed like too good of a deal to pass up, so he went to work cleaning it up and brainstorming ways to use it.

 His idea was to make a countertop for the piece and make it be a sort-of work station that could be used either in the garage or in the house somewhere. 

Here the sides and bottom door have been painted a flat black and the top counter was made out of 2x4s.

 He sanded the countertop and rounded the edges so it was nice and smooth.  Then he distressed the wood.

 A coat or two of stain and some clear coat.

 And, the finished product!  A nice work station and tool box. 

Right now we actually have this in our office as storage for paper and other extra office supplies.  Our office is very industrial, so it goes well :-)

iLoveToCreate: Repurposed Fabric Covered Bulletin Board

Poor Claire, my youngest daughter, has had bare walls for quite some time.  It's not for lack of thought or intention, it is just that I kind of have a phobia when it comes to decorating.  I want to LOVE what I put on my walls... for goodness sake, I will have to look at it EVERYDAY!  It has always seemed like a lot of pressure.  Pretty much the only reason things get put on walls around here is if John harps on me enough to get it ready, then he will hang it.

As was the case with this easy project! 

We like to call this our $1 Bulletin Board.  We spent a wopping $1 on the frame and had everything else on hand.  It was a great way to repurpose an old cork bulletin board as well. 

Supplies: 

• Frame - Ours was found at ReStore (it has a chip in the back was a gaudy gold color, so John painted it black...you can't even see the chip when it is on the wall!)
• Corkboard - We had an old board that was actually in our yard sale pile... John cut out the middle section to a size that would fit inside the frame with a utility knife
• Fabric - enough to cover the board with a few inches extra on all sides
• Stapler - Regular old office one, the staples in a staple gun would have gone through the cork
• Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Spray
• Hanging hooks, grabbers, fastening clips, or whatever you like to use to hang the final product (find at any hardware store)

• Decide on your frame size and cut corkboard to fit inside the frame
• Measure enough fabric to cover the corkboard, plus a few inches on each side.  Iron the fabric and place it wrong side up on your work surface

• Go outside and spray the good side of the corkboard with Aleene's Tacky Spray
• Quickly place the sticky side of the corkboard onto the wrong side up fabric
• Start on one side pulling the fabric taught and stapling it down on the back of the coarkboard, work your way around until it is all stapled
• **I also flipped the corkboard over and  placed a large, flat tray or book on the right side to make sure the fabric sticks to the cork, I left this for about 30 minutes to dry

• Place covered corkboard into frame, we made sure ours stayed tight with fastening clips
• Add picture hanging hardware and hang on the wall... (John did this part)

...and the final product!  Almost too pretty to add her treasured photos and memories :-)

L.O.V.E. Sign | Valentine's Day Decor

Yes, Valentine's Day is over, but I needed to post this before next V-Day comes around ;-)

I found the letters on sale at JoAnn's (about $1 each) and thought I might Collage Pauge some paper on them, but as ideas sometimes go... this one took another direction. 

I found:

• a board of wainscoating for $0.50 at ReStore (our FAVORITE store right now)
• a strip of moulding from Lowe's (around $8)

I explained my new Idea to John and he painted the wainscoating, cut and painted the moulding, and glued it together using moulding glue.

I placed and glued the letters and badda-BING!

I just wish I had gotten it done BEFORE Valentine's Day this year!!



Project: Old Window Sign

John found this old window at ReStore, and got to work on a little project...

We both really liked this font, so he printed out our names and the 'est. 2004'. 

He covered the back of the window with contact paper and taped the printed words to the front. He then traced the letters and cut them out of the contact paper with an Xacto knife. See the photo below. (This was a very tedious process, possibly not the most efficient either, but it did ge the job done.)

He sprayed the back of the glass with some Frosted Glass Spray, and carefully peeled the contact paper away. 

The spray worked, but we thought it was a little light so John painted a piece of cardboard black and added it to the back of the window to make the frosted part of the glass stand out more.

Project: Lemonade Stand

As a family we enjoy getting up early every now and then on Saturday mornings, grabbing a donut  (or two), and hitting a few yard sales.  This summer  we went to one yard sale where there were two little girls selling lemonade.  The girls thought that was just about the coolest thing EVER. 

They asked John if he could build them their own stand. 

He agreed.  Thinking it might happen at some future point.  The girls were persistant though, and John drew up plans and had it built by the NEXT day :)  ... What a sweet Daddy!

Here is John putting his miter saw to good use building the frame.

The frame of the stand.  John's idea was to use fence pickets to make the front of the stand.  I think it looks great!  The girls wanted it to be pink ;-)

Particle board for the top, and (not shown) the bottom shelf.  Chalkboard paint for the top sign made out of another fence picket.

And the Goober-girls putting the stand to good use!  They sold orange punch, pink lemonade, and danishes.  I am looking forward to them using the stand many times in the future :)

John's Project: Antique Wheel Light

Sometimes it is funny how things work out.  John had been looking for an old wheel to make into a light fixture for a few weeks, however eBay + shipping was not quite going to fit into our budget.  One Saturday we went yard sale shopping and he happened to find this 1930's Ford wheel.  The owner had already sold the other 4 for a pretty penny, but he found this one afterward and was looking to get rid of it for the bargain price of $5!!  [I didn't get a before photo, but it was covered in rust.]

To remove the rust, John soaked the wheel in 'Evapo-rust' (found at a harware store) for a few hours.  He then sealed it with some spray clear coat to prevent any future rust.   

He found a round light fixture ($10 at Home Depot) that fit perfectly into the middle of the wheel and secured it with some angle aluminum.

Finally, he cut a piece of textured plastic board to fit the inside of the wheel which diffuses the light slightly and gives a great finishing touch!

Voila!  A beautiful antique wheel repurposed into a creative lighting fixture.  It now rests (bolted!) on our bedroom plant ledge.