An Outdoor Rug Makeover

A few months ago I found this great sisal rug at a thrift store for $6!  Yes, I said $6!  I couldn't pass it up.  I had been on the lookout for a rug I could paint to use on my kitchen floor and this was the perfect size.

Unfortunately, I have this playful dog that thinks anything on the floor is a chew toy.  So, I laid the rug out in the kitchen to see if she would leave it alone....but, it only took about 10 minutes to decide it wouldn't work.  She was just waiting for me to leave the house so she could tear this rug apart without me stopping her.

On to plan B....a birthday gift for mom!  Once again I wasn't smart enough to get a before picture, but hopefully with this one you can imagine the before pretty easily.

I used a large wall stencil to create the background print.  As you can see from the picture, I had a few spots where it didn't line up perfectly.  This was my first stenciled rug and the surface was so uneven.  Even with the imperfections, I love how it turned out....and more importantly so was she!

Hopefully I can find another great rug like this one again very soon!

From Coffee Table to Ottoman

I have had this coffee table for years and never really loved it or hated it.  It was just there.  So, I decided it was time to turn it into something I love.

One thing I really love to do while sitting on the couch is put my feet up on the table.  However, the table is an extremely uncomfortable place to rest your feet.  So, the obvious solutions was turn it into an ottoman.

But, I couldn't just leave it a boring stained wood color.  It needed a new life and that means a new color.

So, I painted the legs turquoise...

...added a foam cushion to the top...

...covered the foam with a layer of batting....

...and covered that with a chic textured black fabric.

I love how it transformed the living room.  I am no longer apathetic about this table.  Now I love it!!  Plus it is such a comfortable place to put my feet up after a long day.  Why didn't I do this sooner?

 

Upgrade your shades

As I was surfing the blogosphere, I came across this great tutorial on  I Spy DIY on adding a little bling to your sunglasses.  And who doesn't love sunglasses?  I do, but I definitely prefer the $5 sunglasses to the $75 ones.  So, this is a great way to have the best of both worlds...cheap and glamorous.

The tutorial I was following was for cat eye sunglasses, but I couldn't find the right pair with the cat eye design...however, I found these great sunglasses and they were just the right price.

I gathered my materials, curled up in front of the TV and glamorized my new shades.

20 minutes later and viola...they are no longer boring $5 sunglasses.

I added a clear coat of nail polish.  Mostly because it felt like that was the natural next step.

Check out the tutorial on I Spy DIY here.

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.

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)!

  

All dressed up and no place to go...

Like I mentioned in the last post, my mom and I found this great desk at Goodwill for $15 and couldn't pass it by (even though we had grounded ourselves from buying furniture for a month).

I had the perfect spot for it too.  I had a desk in my office/guest room that was just a bit too big.  It overwhelmed the room and didn't leave a lot of extra space for a twin bed.  So, this was going to be my new desk.  It is petite and feminine with plenty of storage space. 

The biggest problem was that gold is my least favorite color.  I couldn't put a gold trim desk in my office.  I just couldn't...but that's why they make paint, right?  So, a few coats of white paint and this was a new desk.

I intended on changing all the hardware, but the handles were not removable.  So, I just painted them white along with everything else.  Some new crystal knobs and I think it's safe to say this no longer looks like a $15 desk.

I was so excited to get it situated in my office and start filling up the drawers.  The only problem was that I didn't have a chair that worked well with this desk.  All the chairs that I have (and there are a lot, mostly projects to come) had a seat that was much larger than the opening.  I looked and looked for a new chair and found the ideal chair during a shopping trip at First Fridays in Kansas City.  Unfortunately it wasn't ideal for this desk.  But, it was ideal for me...which is why this beautiful white desk is now sitting in my hallway and soon will be for sale at Lone Elm Antiques in Olathe, KS. 

I hate to see it go, but it just wasn't the perfect fit.  I did find the perfect fit for my office and for my new desk chair, but both the chair and the desk need some paint.  Check back to see what I found.

New Life for an Old Bench

I have had this bench forever. 

OK, not really forever...but for awhile now.

OK, OK, I confess. I have only had it for a couple of years, but already I was bored with it and shoving it in rooms I don't use so that no one would see it when they were at my house.

It's not that it is an ugly bench...it's just blah!  I already recovered the cushion, because if you can believe it this bench was even more blah to begin with.  But, it was time for a drastic change.

So, a little paint and some new fabric makes Jenni a happy bench owner.

Now I don't hide it in a guest bedroom...

I proudly display it in my own bedroom.  Right under my beautiful mirror!

 

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.