DIY Jewelry Organizer.

Today I'm taking a little break from our before and after series to show off a project I wrapped up not too long ago.  Don't worry, it'll be back soon...

Cheap and Easy, Again.

When I re-arranged our bedroom {the first time}, I created some cheap and easy art to hang on the walls.  It served it’s purpose, but since I got all wild and crazy a few weekends ago, I needed some new art to fill different blank spaces on the walls.

Simple and inexpensive solution?  Go into our ugly basement, dig out some cheap canvases I purchased in bulk from Michael’s months ago, and get my Picasso on.

The canvases I had on hand were 12” x 12”, so I knew I’d need a grouping of 4 to fill the space I was working on.  I used some metallic gold spray paint I already had to cover each canvas including all the sides.  {So it didn’t stick to the floor, I sat each canvas on a small paint tray.}  Normally, I would never spray paint something indoors, unless I was in a VERY well ventilated area.  But since 1) it’s the middle of winter, 2) I’m impatient and 3) I just wanted to get this project started, I went against my better judgment and quickly got the job done.  I used even, light coats, and each canvas was done after just a few minutes.

{FYI, I turned the heat off before I started spraying to keep the fumes from possibly traveling to other parts of the house, and then I opened the windows and doors in the basement after I was done for about 30 minutes to let everything air out.  Easy peasy.}

After the spraying was done, I let everything dry, and I didn't return to it for a few days...because I'm a crazy person and like to do a million projects at once.  I can't help it.  I get all these ideas in my head and have to just go with it!

Once my project ADD subsided and I found my way back to my bedroom art, I sat on the couch and taped off different stripes all over each canvas.  I didn’t measure anything, and just eyeballed the spacing.  After each canvas was covered, I went over all of the lines with a credit card to make sure they made good contact with the canvas.

Then I headed back to the basement to find some leftover paint from the accent wall in our bedroom.  I got out a small foam roller, and rolled away.  While the paint was still wet, I carefully peeled off all of the tape, and left the canvases to dry.

After a few days {that dang project ADD}, I got out my trusty 3M picture hanging strips and stuck one to the back of each canvas. 

Then I stuck each canvas on our bedroom wall, and voila!  More cheap and easy art for our house!  I love that I didn’t have to go out and buy one thing for this project...everything came from our basement or one of our closets.

So there ya go...round two of my cheap and easy art! :) 

Several Months in the Making

Are you ready for it?!?!  I’m talking about a project that took entirely too many months for me to complete!!

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No, no.  Don’t get all excited.  It’s only a teeny, tiny gallery wall took me way too long to cross off my to-do list.  {But hey, I’m all about full disclosure on this lil’ sliver of the web...even if it means embarrassing myself for all to see.}  Unfortunately, the wall ended up being one of those projects that didn’t keep my full attention.  I would get easily distracted by other stuff, and drop the gallery wall like a bad habit.  Here is how it all went down...

I started by collecting a bunch of interesting, but mis-matched frames from Home Goods in the spring.

I spray primed and painted them white.  I forgot to take a picture of this step, so instead I will include a gratuitous shot of my hubby’s backside to show our old patio-ish area that served as my spray painting spot until we demo’ed everything this summer.  All that white on the ground = proof I was spraying my heart out.

Then the poor frames sat in our guest bedroom for several weeks until I found the motivation to get to hanging.  I wasn’t sure how I wanted to arrange everything, so I played around with the frames on top of a piece of rosin paper {left over from covering our refinished hardwood floors}. 

I thought I’d trace the frames onto the paper, hang the paper, and easily transfer the arrangement from the floor to the wall, but I changed my mind midway through.  I decided to wing it, start from the “middle” {that I eyeballed} and work my way out instead.  

It wasn’t the most accurate method, and I may or may not have made a few too many holes in the wall, but it’s nothing a smidge of spackle and some paint couldn't fix. ;) 

Once everything was hung and I gave two thumbs up to the placement, the frames stayed as is...for wayyyy too many weeks.  Yup, I literally got used to seeing this...several price tag stickers and all.  Not cute.

So during our recent staycation, my Mom suggested we get busy filling the gallery wall with actual pictures.  Point taken.  The gallery wall had been 90% complete for long enough.  I started to hunt through all my photos.  My goal was to display pictures of our entire immediate family {me and hubby, our parents, my sister’s family and hubby’s sister’s family}.  Once I picked out all of the winners, it was time to turn them into B&W, and have them printed.

I also found a free fall printable online to fill up the center frame of the wall.  I wanted a pop in the middle of the black and white photos, and I love that I can switch out the 8x10 to coordinate with the seasons/holidays.

While this isn’t the most fantastic gallery wall, like say, YHL’s awesome hallway, it still warms my heart because IT’S DONE it represents our entire family.  I love having something sentimental to finally look at every day! :)

Anyone else take a crazy long time to complete the easiest projects???

Catastrophe

My addiction has hurt me, literally. And threw a wrench into the direction of this blog post. I planned to post about spray painting the old plant stands for the garden cute colors. Instead, I was injured.

It started out as a good plan - spray paint the plant stands a cute color.

But it quickly turned into a catastrophe. While putting the trigger onto the top of the spray paint, it slipped and cut the top of my hand in two places. Here are the guilty ones:

I never expected to be injured while spray painting. It is a sad day.

Spray Paint + Mod Podge = Best Friends

I'm back, reporting in on another super easy, super thrifty, super cute makeover. The lucky makeover item this time is a thrift store tray. Doesn't it just scream h-e-l-p:

 Yep, I thought it needed a funky makeover. Rustic wood and a deer silhouette...no thank you! This little tray is going to get the works - spray paint and mod podge. And the best thing is that I already have all the supplies, so this $1 tray makeover only cost $1. First I sprayed the tray a bright blue....and sprayed...and sprayed. I think it took 4 coats to get the bare wood completely covered since it kept soaking up the paint. I probably should have primed it first.

 The tray already looks 100 time better, but still not good enough. After the tray was dry, I cut a piece of leftover fabric to cover the deer silhouette. I really didn't want to see that anymore...not really my style. And after the fabric was cut, it was time for phase two - mod podge.

 I covered the bottom of the tray with mod podge and then stuck the piece of fabric down. Then I gave a good coat to the top of the fabric. Set the tray to the side and let it dry.

After the mod podge dried, I added one more final detail to the tray - a thin strip of ribbon around the bottom of the tray. This really crisped it up and made it look more finished. I hot glued the ribbon and then added a final coat of mod podge to the entire tray.

One dollar, that's it. Spray paint and mod podge really are best friends.

Spray Painters Anonymous

Yes, I am addicted to spray painting. If there was a Spray Painters Anonymous, I would be a proud card-carrying member.

It might actually be a problem, this addiction of mine. When I go into a thrift store, I get a little giddy with the prospect of finding an ugly treasure in need of some spray paint love, like the bench I redid.  When I get bored, I look around for something I can spray paint for a quick update. I am also quick to suggest spray paint as "the fix". And I watch the weather to see if it will be prime spray painting conditions. Maybe it is just the DIYer in me, but I don't think "normal people" get excited about spray paint...yes, this addiction is indeed a problem.

But, as you probably know, spray paint can do wonders. It is the best remodeling/reinventing/redoing tool ever and I have an entire arsenal of spray paint colors ready on a whim.

I spray painted these cheap little friends picked up from thrift stores:

Do I have before pictures of them? No, I got too excited and just started spray painting - it's called an addiction people. I can tell you that the owl was tan, the flower was pink, the armadillo was brass, the elephant was silver, the peacock was gold, and Paris, although not from a thrift store, is just too cute not to have in the picture. None of these looked bad before I spray painted them, but they look amazingly good now.

My hubby semi-shares this love of spray paint. He whipped the old bike frame in his Man Cave into shape with a few coats of spray paint. And the asymmetrical wall arrangement above the sofa bed or the DIY graphic art couldn't have been completed without spray paint.

Is this spray paint addiction of mine sad? Well, I am finally taking the first step to recovery and admitting to the entire world that I have a problem. However, I have no plans to stop anytime soon - I think my spray painting finger would have withdrawals. With that said, I have some spray painting projects up my sleeve and grand plans, which of course I will share.

Anyone else want to be a card-carrying member of Spray Painters Anonymous? Is spray paint your go-to DIY tool? Do you too share in this addiction?