made-over designs

Summer is rolling in and I’m starting to pull all my summer clothes out, only I’m noticing that since I’ve been preggers the past 2 summer, I don’t have much.  So, I started skimming through pinterest for some ideas and found this look for summer:

Cute, right?

After running across this blog last night, I became inspired to get this look, DIY style. I turned my attention first to those shorts.  So, I pulled out an old pair of jeans.

Then, the scissors came out and I went to town.

Red Alert! Red Alert! Mother’s Day is this weekend.

Moms appreciate all kinds of gifts: Escalades, trips to Mexico, complete wardrobe makeovers!   But, they also love handmade gifts just almost as much. So, if you are scrambling for a sweet, meaningful gift, here’s a little idea you may enjoy: cute bunches of tea!

Here’s how to make it:

You’ll need some mod podge (mine is homemade, hence my little mason jar), foam brush, tape, scrapbook paper, clothespins, twine, and a sharpie.

Cut some pieces of your scrapbook paper into little shapes like the ones below. This will be the foundation for your little envelopes.

Next, choose some flavorful tea.  I went with the teas below.

Fold and tape your envelope, as pictured below, then stuff a teabag of your choice into the envelope.  Make sure to remember what flavor teabag you put in, because you’ll have to write the name of it on the envelope. (If you forget, take a few sniffs of the envelope…hopefully, you’ll be able to figure it out!)

Now, modpodge strips of scrapbook paper onto your clothespins.

Take your wrapped teabags and clothespin a few of them together. Don’t forget to tie a little twine around the clothespin for that added hint of chic-ness.

Here’s the final project:

Don’t forget, you can also wrap store bought gifts using boring items you may have hanging around the house…Easy way to funky-fy your gifts. 

In the pictures, below, I wrapped a mother’s day gift with a paper bag, twine, and pages torn out from a book.  I topped it all off with some herbs from my garden that I wrapped in old book pages.  Moms love herbs, right? (Must. Resist. The. Oh. So. Obvious. Joke.)

Hope my mom isn’t reading this blog post…and if you are mom, act surprised when this comes in the mail to you this weekend.

And by the way, “I love you.”

Happy Mother’s Day to all!

Sometimes, your bathroom just needs a little sprucing up. When the budget is small, never underestimate the power of a little paint and a few pieces of new hardware. So, here’s what I had to start with:

Blech!! Sorry for the toilet shot. Eww.

Gotta love the gold hardware.

Now, for the makeover reveal…

Be inspired.

You. Can. Do. It!!!

Supplies:

New faucet

New (above sink) light

Cabinet/drawer hardware

Paint

Problem:  Our toddlers who share a room outgrew their cribs. We needed a FUN new space for them to sleep.

Bunk beds are fun boring! So, we decided on a loft bed.

Solution: After scouring Pinterest for inspiration, we decided to build a loft bed that would fit both crib mattresses.

It needed to be tall enough to fit a queen bed (guest bed) underneath, but not so tall that a tumble down the ladder would seriously maim a two-year old.

So, here was the room after we dismantled both cribs.

Next, we took a trip to Lowe’s and bought untreated wood.

Then, my husband wow-d me with his carpentry skills. He built a frame and used two 2x4’s for each of the legs, making four 4x4 posts.  Did I lose you, yet?

After making the frame just wide enough for a crib mattress, plus a little walking space, he attached the large plank of plywood, completing the platform.

Then, we carried the platform upstairs to install.

While I painted the top of the platform to help eliminate the chances of splinters, my husband cut little pieces for the ladder and the railings.

Then he nailed the platform to the beams beneath.  And we were pretty much done.

I have lots more to do. I think we’ll put carpet under the mattresses just for added comfort. And then I have to decorate the room, buying new bedding, etc. I’m transitioning from an infant room to a full-fledged toddler space, complicated by the fact that we’re putting our guest bed in there, too.  Decorating will definitely take some thought.

But for now, it’s livable. And the kids love it.

If you have any cool toddler decorating ideas, let me know!

So, Pinterest got me all excited about this cute accessory for boots this fall…boot socks. I felt inspired one day…so I made a pair. 

Supplies:

Old sweater

Lace

Buttons

Thread/needle

I started off by scouring my closet for a sweater that I could cut up.

Then, I chopped off each sleeve.

Then, I sewed on the lace and the buttons, and voila:

They are 2011’s version of legwarmers, but boy…are they cute!

Jane Fonda never looked this good in her legwarmers.

Admittedly, I’m currently in a retro-themed design frenzy. Is it the nostalgia of the good ole’ days that I miss??

Don’t worry. I’ll grow out of it, like my 2yr old will eventually grow out of pitching her little fits. Patience…

Tonight, I’m revealing the cushions that will accompany a very cool (*insert retro poet snap*) bench. I’m excited to unveil the bench this weekend. 

To create the cushions, I used:

(2) 20x20 plywood squares

fabric

handmade button kit

upholstery needle

cushion

batting, &

my handy, dandy staple gun!

My inspiration included items like these that I found at Anthropologie:

Back to this project:

After arranging the cushion and batting just right on the wood, the fabric stapling commenced. 

Next, I threaded the button through the cushion using the upholstery needle. Then, I stapled the string in a zig zag pattern, securing it tightly.

I underestimated the role my staple gun would play in this project.  

After the stapling adventure and the threading of the button, my cushion was complete:

Pictures of finished bench are next! I know this look is not for everyone. I can’t help it. Ride the retro wave with me, won’t ‘cha?

So happy tonight to reveal this pair of beauties. It was an interesting project. A lot of detail was needed to handpaint the chevron design. Normally, I think things have more character BECAUSE of their imperfections!

In this case, I struggled to make every line straight, and keep every error covered.  

Design with a different perspective made for a great challenge! 

And I’m super pleased with how they turned out!

Before:

After:

What do you think? 

I’ve been in a stare down with these end tables for a few weeks now. I couldn’t quite figure out what their perfect makeover should be.  Until today…

Remember what they used to look like?

Go ahead…you can say it…”ewww….”

But that soon changed…a little primer and paint tape, please…

Tape placement was a little, um…interesting. That chevron design is tough to do by freehand. 

It didn’t always go so well.

I had to redo this one, a couple of times. 

After finally, getting it right, I painted over the tape…

Want to see the reveal?  

That’ll be my next post! Stay tuned!

Here’s just a peek into the latest project I’m working on. This is going to be gorgeous when done! How do I know? Because it was soooo ugly and dusty and cob-webby when I started.

He has no where to go, but UP!

And just so you know, he isn’t going to be just a simple coffee table. Nope. I’m redoing transforming this lil’ guy!

Check out the details:

And just for clarification’s sake, the R side is the “before” and the L side is “in progress.”

It’s great what a little can of this can do:

I hope I’ve peaked your curiosity, made your mouth water for some awesome “after” shots, or made you want to say, “MOVE THAT BUS!” In any case…I’ve built this transformation up, it better be good!