A Fruit Bowl...or is it?

For years I had this oversized black wrought iron bowl sitting on my counter.  I filled it with fruit from time to time, but never really loved it.  It was too big and just didn't seem like a good fit in my kitchen.  I would show you a picture, but I have already gotten rid of it.

Luckily, I stumbled upon this great wooden salad bowl set while browsing Goodwill one day and had the perfect idea of what to do with it.

A new fruit bowl...

The softness of the colors and the smaller scale are just what I was wanting.

This was such a quick project.  A few coats of light turquoise spray paint on a short chunky candlestick and a few drops of hot glue to hold the bowl and stand together.

I love how it turned out.  Now I just have to figure out what I am going to do with the four smaller serving bowls...but, we shall save that for another day.

A few great finds...

I have been tossing around several ideas for a headboard for a few years now.  Should I use a door or shutters?  Maybe I should make my own fabric covered headboard...or perhaps I will find just the right headboard while browsing through thrift stores and garage sales.   But, so far...no such luck.

Instead I decided to create a gallery wall with several ornate picture frames that I have collected over the past few months.  A few coats of white spray paint on each one and now I have a cohesive collection...

I love how it turned out, but I have discovered that in a very strong thunderstorm there is a bit of a safety hazard involved.  Around 2 am one morning, a very strong burst of thunder knocked two of the frames off the wall.  Luckily they didn't hit me in the head, but it was close.

Did you notice the adorable chenille blanket?  I just happened to find that at an antique mall one day and fell in love.  When I bought it, I thought it was a twin or double and it would be perfect for my guest room.  But, as it turns out, it is a queen and fits perfectly on my bed.  Lucky me!

And just in time too...it has been so hot here, last week we reached 112 degrees and the heat index was in the 120s.  AAAHHHH!!!!  I needed to get the comforter off my bed because it was too much.

Here is another one of my favorite finds...

An adorable TV cabinet/armoire from Pier 1 (I think) that I found on Craigslist for $75.  It is in such great shape and is the perfect fit for my family room!

Isn't it fabulous?

The perfect place to hide the TV and all the obnoxious boxes and cords that go with it.  Plus, I gained two drawers to keep movies & board games in.  (And by movies & board games, I mean all the junk that is laying around the room and I want to hide before someone comes over!)

Notice the picture sitting on the floor next to it?  I will definitely be showing that off later.

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!



Recycle, Recycle, Restyle

I live in a split level house and the kitchen is upstairs and the garage is in the basement.  So, I used to have this tacky set of plastic bins in my kitchen to hold all my recycling so I wouldn't have to run down to the garage every time I had something to put in the recycle bin. 

Finally, I got sick of looking at it and decided it was time for a new bin that was a little more stylish.  Well, maybe stylish isn't the right word, but I like to think it is.



I wanted this to have a worn look to it, so when I painted it black I was sure to leave a few areas lighter than the rest.  After I stenciled "RECYCLE" on the side, I sanded over it a few times to roughen it up a bit.

I love how it turned out and it is just the perfect size.  I use it all the time.  Now the only problem I have is that since it is so low to the ground, the dog is always curious about the things I put it in.  She hasn't pulled anything out just yet, so hopefully she will continue to leave it alone.

  

...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.

Turquoise Kitchen Canisters

I have had these great canisters in my kitchen for years.  Then lately I started to notice that every time I saw canisters at any store, I was intrigued.  I was constantly talking myself out of buying them.  This obviously meant I was bored with the ones I had.

Time for a change...

Now I don't even notice all the different canisters at the store.

Isn't it amazing what a little paint and and some decorative numbers can do?

hodge:podge Inspired Star Wars Peg Board

As I was browsing through the blogosphere, I came across this great post by hodge:podge.  You can check it out here, tutorial and all! 

Once I saw this Star Wars inspired eye chart wall art, I knew I had to make one.  And I had just the person in mind to make it for.  I can't even begin to count the number of times I have watched the first trilogy (or for you die hard fans out there, Episodes 4-6)...usually because my big brother was watching it (over and over and over again).  Plus, since he just bought a new house and significantly downsized his garage/tool space, he is going to need a new system to organize his tools.

Hence, the Star Wars Eye Chart Tool Organizing Wall Art Peg Board...

Thanks hodge:podge for the great idea!!