Thursday, January 28, 2010

Hair Bow Organizing Part 2

If you've seen part 1 of my mission to organize hair bows then you are probably wondering what the heck do you do with the rubber bands that have to hold the ponytail where the hair bows are going?!?!?!?! I sure as heck did when I was googling hair bow holders I noticed their absence. I don't know about you but whenever my mom would put my hair up she used rubber bands or those things with the hard balls at the end to hold my hair up. Actually I still use the things with the hard balls at the end to hold my hair up. What are they called anyways? Okay back on point. This is how I now store my little girl's
What I used: 2 storage boxes from Target. And even though they have that orange sticker they weren't on clearance :o(
Gallon sized Ziploc bags. I really probably used the Dollar Tree brand to be honest.
That was all I needed. Hindsight I should've covered an old shoebox with some fab inexpensive fabric to save $$mula$$.

I dumped all the hairbows onto my unmade bed, this is the hardest part. Make sure your bed is unmade, it makes for better pictures!

Divide and conquer by color. This I had my 4-year old do. Then toss in the baggies.



I used one box for head bands and the other for rubber bands, ribbons, and such.

Simple and organized. This was another little project that was so easy a 4-year-old could do it! And in turn that means it is easy to keep organized. How do you organize your hair cuties? Right now my little girl's hairbows are organized but mine are thrown in a drawer :o( Please share your ideas!!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Craigslist..It's Love

Just when I feel stumped about how to go about my living room Craigslist comes to the rescue. You heard my silent cry when noone else did. And I thank you.





The club chairs are in EXCELLENT condition. They look brand new to be exact. I am in love. Yes my heart started racing, my palms got sweaty, and I couldn't call the seller fast enough. Thank you mom for scoping these out and getting the seller to hold them. See the seller lives 4 hours away in the same city as my mother. And yes these are worth the trip to snatch them up.

Hair Bow Organizing Part 1

Before I start this post I must point out:

1. I am a Renter so I have no choice in the raggedy ugly matted mess of a carpet shown in all photos.

2. Yes I am ashamed of the hot mess of carpeting I live with, but like I said I have no power over that problem

Okay now I shall move on. I know that hairbow holders have been done a million times before but they were never done to my liking. I did one at first and the bows kind of hung in the wind. The hairbow holder didn't give enough support for my little girl's hairbows. So let's begin. My daughter has a ton of freakin hairbows! This you will see. So instead of crushing them in a drawer dedicated to ahirbows I needed a solution. As always I turned to Google. This is what I would usually get. So I decided to upgrade it a bit. Start with an old frame from my basement.



Add my handy .88c craft paint that I have used on a previous project.
Now let me tell you this project is so easy a 4-year-old can do it! And mine did. He she is painting another frame (The box was used as protection from staining that matted mess I mentioned earlier).
She then cut some cardboard from a box we we're trashing to fit snugly into the frame. By snugly I mean add a quarter inch to each sides of your measurements so you can just "pop" the board in w/o any staples.
Then cut some fabric you have left over somewhere to cover the cardboard. We left an inch to overlap around the back of the board.

Now it's time to glue. Fabritac is the way to go...ALWAYS. This stuff dries within seconds and has strong bonding powers.
The corners were cut down as the sides were glued down.

Then she smoothed down the sides. I was sure to check that the front was pulled tight and smooth.

This is what the corner looked like once it was glued down. My little girl held it in place with her finger and counted to 10 to be sure it had enough time to stick.


I already had some ribbon left over from another project I will post this week that has to do with finally finishing my little girl's room. It was attached with some fabritac and tape. The tape was to keep it from sliding as the other side was pulled tight and attached.


Finished look of the back. Easy right?


Here is a front view. I know you peep that crooked rebel strand..yea should've checked to make sure it was straight.


Here it is with the bows. She had quite a few so she made a smaller frame (also from the basement) to hold them.

I'll probably hang the frames in the closet away from view. Though I love the frames, I don't like the sight of bows hanging on the wall. Not where she can get to them to play dress up. I have another part coming this week about organizing hair bows if you want to check back. Now did'nt you think this was so easy a 4-year-old could do this?

Monday, January 25, 2010

Before & After: Sweetest Stenciled Dresser

So you have long since known that I was redoing my little girl's room, right? Well I'm not done yet. I have just a teeny tiny itty bitty ways to go! And when I say that I mean it. Anywho, I bought this dresser for $20 off of CYS. I didn't know why it was so cheap...at the time.

So I sanded it up and did what I usually do. Leave her in the basement to be forgotten. But now that I am finishing my girl's room I needed to buckle down and get it finished. (Only b/c I'm finishing my room also and need the chest from the girls room :o)

After a coat (should've done 2) of primer I let it sit over night in my kitchen. I hate having to paint in my kitchen b/c it's so darn cold and wet outside. But hey either way as long as it gets done I guess I'm okay with it.

Here it is after a few, yes I said few, coats of paint. I picked up some oops paint for $4 at Walmart. It is a rich cream color. I have learned you get what you pay for. Cheap paint=lots of coats. I didn't sand it either. I already knew this piece is not heirloom quality & plus I just wanted to get it done!
I pulled out my trusty stencil bought @ Hobby Lobby for less than $3 after using a coupon. The other came from Michael's. Stencil's can be used for so many things. What's even better is they sell the sheets for you to cut your own stencils. I'm not artistically inclined so I'm sticking to the pre-cut for now.
Before I started my stenciling I started by measuring the space I was stenciling and getting my layout in order. I definitely think this is necessary if you want some kind of symmetry.
Next I got out an old plastic plate, raggedy paint brush, and my .88c craft paint. Craft stores sell stenciling paint which is rich in pigment. I would suggest that if you are stenciling your walls or fabric. Otherwise cheap craft paint works great.
I always start by tapping some of the paint off of my brush. I guess what I was doing was basically dry brushing the stencil image onto the dresser.
This is what my plate looks like whenever I get done dry brushing.
I like to start on the outside of the stencil then fill in the inside. That way the edge has a darker lining and the filling is lighter. I also held my image down by hand but you can use painter's tape or a spray adhesive to hold the stencil in place.

Here it is finished. I added some bordering to it. I kind of wanted to paint the bottom too. Just to anchor it.

Here is why it is $20. Not a problem to me though. My little girl still loves this dresser as is. Yes, I know you see my border painted all hellaciously!

Another view? Why not!

How about a penthouse view from the top?

I combined 2 stencils. This is my accent stencil. A damask print. I'm a damask addict! Who isn't? Please don't tell me your sick of damask yet.


Here is a before and after:



I have already put on one coat of satin wipe-on poly. The only that keeps me from taking her upstairs is the second coat of poly and knobs. Does anyone have any suggestions for some sweet knobs?????? Knobs are the lastest bane of my existence.
Today I will be linking up at:
Be sure to check these links out. There is so much inspiration on these blogs.
I was invited to join an awesome link up party. It's a Paint Party! How awesome right?! How much painting have we all done. Tons, I know! Check it out at Domestically Speaking & link-up too :o)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Stenciling Is Really Catching On!

Wow wow wubzy. I am so surprised on how stenciling is becoming a hot topic! I didn't think it was becoming trendy at all. I figured stenciling was hot all the time. I really did ( and still do). This little hot number is what got me wanting to stencil my girl's furniture. Btw I will be showing the before and after tomorrow of the dresser. I can't remember where I got it from besides that it was from a google search.
Here is a piece from Horchow. I think it could be done quite easily! But easier said then done right?

If you are on a tight budget and want to re-do your room why not paint on a headboard? This can go all sorts of ways. Would also be great for a commitment phobe.

I love these roman shades. I think I may do some for my room. Cheap burlap, a stencil, & this tutorial. Sorry I had this image forever in my files so no known source....yet :o(

If roman shades aren't for you then I'm sure you could re-do some panels. Imagine all the cool designs you could do. Oooh better yet all the colors you can combine!

I bought a brand new jute rug from Goodwill for $15. I really want to do something like this to it.


For those who are brave you can also try painting the floors in your home. This is not for the faint of heart, I can already tell.
I absolutely love the stenciling on this wall. These kitchen colors are also so fab. The whole kitchen works for me.





These walls weren't stenciled. They are wallpapered. But I'm sure you could paint a flat paint and stencil clear gloss and have a similar effect. Design Dazzle doesn't play around when it comes to sweet designs!

Now this takes the cake! How rich is this stenciling! Yes stenciling!!! I'm now feeling the pain of renting. Ugghh, I can't wait to be able to do this and not worry about how I have to paint over it once we move.

Not sure of this is a decal or a stencil?!? But I think painted steps are so fun & whimsical. I've seen words painted on steps as well as intricate designs that looked Moroccan.



Do you have any plans of stenciling? I can't wait to share mine!! I do have one regret though about the process I did. I sooo WISH I would've layered colors. Gave my pieces more depth. Next time right? Because there will definitely be one!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Before & After: Little Girl's Vanity

I'm finally posting again! Since I've been on a long vaca, thanx to this nasty sinus infection & freakish cold weather, I've been slow to post. But I'm back now! So down to business already.
Remember this image I posted before?
It was my inspiration pic for changing this vanity. I pulled it out of my garage. It used to be in my little girl's room before we moved. Due to lack of room it got shafted.

Dusty as heck from sitting out in the garage so long and let's just go ahead and add it's 1 year stint in storage.
While being moved it wasn't treated so well. Part of the molding came off the top. Smh. There are always "casualties" when moving.
So after the usual prepping (sanding, wiping down, etc) I brought it into my kitchen for a fresh coat of paint. It has been way to cold out to paint. That cold has been slowing down progress around here. Anywho I had a half gallon of paint left from painting a bathroom. Here she is in a all her naked glory. The color is called Peppermint Vinca. I love it!!
After 2-3 coats of paint next are the stripes. I found out quickly that measuring the width would prove tedious + time consuming. I decided to use my finger to determine the width of the stripes. Worked fine for me!
3 days later...I know sad huh? I kept skipping out and doing other things. But she was all taped up and ready to go.
Instead of buying a darker paint I decided to take the rest of the left over paint and mix it with darker turquoise .88 cent craft paint I bought at Waldy World, I also used a little black paint I had on hand for added greyness.

After knocking over the little cup of paint (as I always do) I poured a little paint on an old plastic plate. I actually didn't need much paint to paint the stripes. Just what was on the plate.

Damn cheap tape screwed me. Actually I screwed myself. I didn't smooth the tape down again after letting it sit so long. But definitely never use cheap painters tape. It left blue sticky residue on my stool :o( See how clean cut the stripe is at first? Then came the nastiness. Ughh.

How pretty right? Uhm not so much. I though maybe later I would go back and clean it up some. But I figured oh well, lesson learned. NO CHEAP PAINTERS TAPE. EVER!

Though I tell you what. From faaaaar away you can't tell. And that makes me happy.


I ordered a knob ($1) off of eBay to go on the vanity. I'm just twiddling my thumbs waiting for it to come in now. I also bought the ring pull knobs (set of 20 for $15.99 after shipping) for my desk and dresser.



As you can see I wasn't happy with a bald faced drawer. I painted some little leaves that looked like the leaves on the trifold mirror. Now I'm a happy girl again. Only thing left to do is poly-wipe this baby. Glossy or satin? I'm thinking glossy! I'm waiting until I finish my desk and dresser to decide on glossy or not. But glossy is where my heart is right now.
I decided on putting a pillow on the stool. I used a pillow that came with the comforter set on my bed. I sewed the middle in so it can look tufted. Then sewed on some string bought for .79c @ Hancock Fabric and we now had a comfy butt hugger. I wish I would've laced it further down the leg of the stool. I wanted more of a ballerina slipper look, maybe the next chairs I do.


Here is a couple other views. I think it fits perfect with my room.

Now just some paint on my walls and I'm in business. My room is definitely almost done! Now to conquer the world....bwah hahahahahah (in evil laugh)
I am linking up @ The Single Nester, Frugalicious Friday, The Shabby Chic Cottage , Finding Fabulous, Poppies at Play, The Inspired Room, My Romantic Home, Miss Mustard Seed, & Tales From Bloggaritaville check out their blogs for nifty ideas and link up too! Thanks Symone's Mommy for the link up list!