Bulletin Board Upgrades

It seems like every time I walk into any thrift store, there is at least 3 or 4 bulletin boards or memory boards that are just crying out for a makeover.  And when they price them at $1 or $2 each, it's hard to pass them up.

As you can see, I have some work to do (and obviously I need to stop buying bulletin boards for awhile).

I did get two of them done...

A little fabric, some velvet ribbon and push pins from the clearance aisle at Wal-mart.  What a difference!

This bulletin board was in pretty good shape, but I wanted to spruce it up a bit.  I cut out a few stencils on contact paper with my Cricut and painted the designs on with craft paint.  My niece was really excited with end result.  And the color was perfect (this picture was taken in her room where the walls and the bedding are both turquoise)!

  

Ballard Inspired Dog Food Container and a sneak peek...

I saw this great dog food container in the Ballard Designs catalog months ago and have been wanting to make one ever since.

The only problem was I couldn't find the right tin to use.  I looked everywhere I could think of...and nothing!  Then while visiting Sacramento, I went to IKEA (because you can't go to a city with an IKEA and not go shopping there)...and what do you know...they had just the perfect container that I had been looking for.

I couldn't wait to get this home and personalize it...

Less than an hour with my Cricut and I had all the letters cut out and ready to apply.

Applying the letters, on the other hand, took longer than I expected. 

It is tricky lining up each row on a curved surface.  And if you really inspected it, it isn't perfect. But, after several attempts of placing some of the words, I can live with a little imperfection.

I just love how it turned out and it is the perfect size to hold the 40 lb. bag of dog food.

Plus, it only cost me $30 to make the whole thing!!

Oh, and I almost forgot the sneak peek...

My mom and I had gotten to a point where we had purchased more furniture than we could keep up with.  Too many projects, too little time.  You know what that's like, right?

So, we made a pact.  No furniture for a month. 

Then we stumbled upon this adorable french provential desk at Goodwill for $15.  I think we both looked at each other at the same time thinking how we can talk the other person into an exception of our newly formed pact.  We just couldn't pass it up.

A few coats of paint and some new knobs for the drawers is going to make a world of difference.

Check back soon to see how she turns out!



...and a Bread Box to match

I found this amazing breadbox at the thrift store for $1 and at the time I had no idea what I was going to do with it.  I figured with a little clean up and a paint job, I could sell it.  Maybe make a few bucks on it.  Then once I got the turquoise canisters in my kitchen, I decided I had to have a turquoise breadbox.  HAD TO HAVE ONE!!!

Sadly (or funnily...if that's really a word), I had several thrift store breadboxes to choose from.  (Once I got to four, I decided it was time to stop buying them.)  Anyway, I chose this one because I really liked the shape around the top and the base.

Once again the turquoise paint has worked it's magic and transformed this old, forgotten breadbox into a beautiful piece of counter top decor.  I used the same Cricut cartridge to cut out the letters for "Bread" as I used for the numbers on my canisters.

I really, really love how it turned out!!  And I just can't stop here...next addition will be a turquoise paper towel stand, a turquoise dish rack and ultimately I will be repainting my Kitchen Aide mixer to either turquoise with white accents or white with turquoise accents. 

...more on that later.