Posts Tagged ‘Goodwill

Every day when I’m sitting at my table, I stare at this blank wall…

{Just ignore the orange around the windows. I am about to hang some moulding.}

There are many things wrong with this photo (windows, curtains, Legos on the buffet, cooler on the deck, etc, etc, etc) but today I’m just focusing on the blank wall, so try to just ignore all the other faux pas and stay with me here.

I’ve stared at this wall for 5 months now trying to figure out what to put here. I’ve tried a plate rack (too narrow), a big round plate (too country), and several pictures (to wide). After months of rummaging through my stash, it finally occurred to me to try a shelf. And I knew just the one…

In May, while living in Beverly Hills, I bought this shelf from Goodwill.

I gave a full tutorial on how I modified it and showed you the final result:

After we moved to Texas, my cute shelf has just sat in a corner collecting dust. I couldn’t figure out where to hang it!

I tried it out in this space in the breakfast room and it worked perfectly.

I gathered up a few decor items I had on hand and set them on top. I’m still tweaking the items, but overall, I’m really enjoying it.

I still need something for the center, but I haven’t found anything that flows. I’ll stumble upon something soon enough.

Items on shelf:
* Mirror – Target on clearance
* Wood chip flower wreath – Target on clearance
* Candle – WalMart
* Candle Holder – Goodwill
* Plant & pot – IKEA

I’ve had the wreath sitting on top of my piano for months, and I’m so glad I finally found the perfect spot for it. I hung it to the mirror with a Command Hook.

So there you have it. A small update that made a big difference.

Now it’s time to focus on getting the moulding up around the windows and then the part I’m really excited about – curtains!

I hope you all had a great weekend! I’m looking forward to a fabulous week with you!

Today I want to share how to create your own Phone Pop-Art Wall Art.

My sister is turning 10, and I wanted to make her something for her room that is quickly evolving into a Tween room! Here she is a few months ago…

This pop art has evolved into what it is today, and I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

Tuesday I posted on my blog about how I totally scored at Goodwill last week. One of the things I found was this vinyl for only $.99!

I knew I wanted to use this phone vinyl for my sisters room because she is just getting to the Tween age where she wants to talk on the phone all day and spend hours with her friends.

Then, as luck would have it, I found this wooden kitchen cabinet door on the side of the road!

I snatched it up and knew it was perfect for her phone vinyl!

I primed the door and then gave it two coats of hot pink paint.

I bought this paint last year because I was going to paint my daughters closet with it, but I’m so glad I didn’t because it is REALLY PINK!

But I think it looks great for her pop art!

The pink is from Sherwin Williams and is called Dragon Fruit. If you live near Austin Texas don’t buy any. I’ve got TWO FULL GALLONS and I’ll give you some!

Like I said, this project evolved as I went along. After I was done painting the door, I got a wild hair to just sand it down and give it a rustic look.

I love it sanded, but it still needs something besides just the vinyl. Then it hit me. My mom just bought bedding for my sister’s room that is pink and white and black & white zebra stripes! I just happened to have zebra ribbon, so I decided to Mod Podge some onto the door.

Sometimes I start a project with a clear end in my mind, but most of the time I just kinda figure it out as I go.

I took the 7/8″ grosgrain ribbon and Mod Podged it around the edge of the door…

Then I waited for it to dry.

I love the zebra ribbon. I think it adds just enough additional texture.

I love that the white primer shows through where I sanded it. It gives it just enough additional white and works well with the ribbon.

Now it’s time to add the vinyl. Be very careful and precise when adding vinyl because you only get one shot!

LOVE.

It’s still missing *something* though. Finally it hit me. It would look great if it was hanging from a ribbon on the wall!

I grabbed a few different ribbons and tested them out to see which one I liked the best.

Definitely the zebra with the pink behind it!

I was going to staple the ribbon on the back, but then I had the idea to actually pull it through to the front and tie knots.

I measured and marked where to drill my holes…

Grabbed my drill and the biggest drill bit I own…

And drilled a hole on either side of the art.

I had to wrap my ribbon really tightly to get it through the hole, but after not too much effort I was able to pull it through.

Then I just tied it in a knot!

From there I just eye-balled how much ribbon I needed and then cut it and threaded it through the other hole.

Now it’s *almost* finished…

I’m totally diggin’ it!

The back of the door had large holes pre-drilled when I picked it up off the road. I got two picture hangers and hammered them backward into the hole. Now when I hang it on the wall it will sit completely flush to the wall!

My sister’s birthday isn’t for another week, so I tested the art out on my wall to make sure it looks good. Next week I’ll install it in her room and do a follow-up post.

I hung it on my wall using the picture hangers I just installed on the back of it. Then I added a 3rd nail above the picture and slipped a drawer pull over the nail head. This is purely decorative. All the weight is supported by the nails on the back of the art.

From there, just slip the ribbon over the decorative knob and you are done. Well, almost done.

The final step was to trim the raw edges of the ribbon. I use a match to seal the edge to keep it from fraying. If you use a flame, you must sweep it over the edge very quickly. The ribbon melts quickly.

Now it’s done.

I can’t wait to see it in my sister’s room. It’s going to look so great with her new bedding!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial!

Next week I’ll post her receiving her new gift as well as how it looks hanging in her new tween room!

The ongoing family room decorating saga continues!

Last month I showed you some new pillows I found on Craigslist:

That was pretty much the extent of my decorating.

At the moment my family room looks like this:

I’ve been going nuts trying to figure out what to put in the empty space along the back wall with the windows. I can’t put any type of wall shelving because of the windows, and the space is pretty narrow, so I can’t have anything that sticks out too far.

Over the course of the past month I’ve managed to acquire a few pieces of furniture. One is a sofa table I scored from Goodwill for $35.

The other is a dresser my sister just gave me. The dresser is broken and scratched up, but I’m going to fix and refinish it. Someday.

I’m thinking that maybe one of these pieces of furniture will fit along the back wall in front of the window on the right.

Instead of dragging both pieces into the house to try them out, I measured them and taped the measurements off on the floor so I could get a visual of how they would fit in the space.

I measure and tape the floor all the time. It’s a great way to get a feel for a piece of furniture, especially if you are planning on purchasing it and can’t just drag it in there to test it out. Have you ever purchased a piece of furniture assuming it would work well and fit in a space only to discover it just doesn’t work at.all.?

After I taped the sections off I realized quickly that the dresser was going to be too chunky and deep for the space, so I knew it was the buffet, or nothing (or a spending spree at IKEA once I get some money!)

When I dragged the sofa table into the living room I got sidetracked thinking it might work as an actual sofa table along the side of the couch…

I threw a few accessories on top of it to get a better feel and photographed it from all angles.

Honestly, I don’t think it looks bad but there is just something about it that seems “off” to me.

After a few minutes of trying to force myself to like the table on the side of the couch, I finally gave up and dragged the table over to my original spot I had in mind for it.

At first glance, I’m really liking it, but lets see if it starts to rub me the wrong way.

Another thorn in my side is the arm chair I’ve got next to the fireplace, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

I let this table sit here as I mull it over, and the more it sits there the more I like it.

Obviously it will look even better once it gets a fresh coat of paint and some new accessories. And maybe some baskets under it. But as for the actual placement of the table, I have to say I’m quite pleased with it.

And yet another angle of the family room, just to give you a better idea.

I’ve officially decided I like the placement of the table.

Now I just need to give this bad boy a fresh coat of paint and some better accessorizing and I’ll be good to go!

Monday I’m going to show you all my plans for this room – paint, fabric, furniture!

I’m SO excited to show you what I’ve come up with, so make sure you stop by on Monday!