Bathroom Update - A Couple of Before and Afters

My upstairs bathroom is almost done! I only need to paint some hooks and dye the rug, which I'm hoping to get done after we get back from our week vacation (leaving for the beach tomorrow!). Here are some before and afters:

Cute elephants I picked up for a couple of dollars on clearance - but the brassy finish clashed with the yellow walls.

A couple coats of spray paint later:


This step stool has seen better days before my daughter put stickers all over it:



Goo Gone, a rubber scraper, paint, and lots of tape later:

I have to say I love how the step stool turned out! I didn't want to worry about evenly space lines, so I decided to randomly space them and make them different sizes. I like this so much better!

Mounted Felt Board

Years and years ago, back when I was a poor young mom of one, I hot glued some felt to cardboard to make a felt board for my daughter. For the last couple of years it has been folded up in a closet, forgotten.

I decided it was time to bring it out of the darkness and give it new life.

This glassless frame my MIL was getting rid of was the perfect size. I painted it white and preceded to create my felt board.


Using the cardboard from my original project I cut the cardboard to fit as a backing for the frame. You'll want to cut this exact to just a hair bigger than the fram to insure a tight fit.



Next I took my exisiting felt and cut out a piece to fit my frame. I like to use chalk to trace on fabric since it rubs off easily. I then hot glued the felt directly to the cardboard. I figured this hot with a lot of trial and error. I kept trying different ways to ahdere it to the frame (glue, staples), but couldn't get the felt pulled tight enough. It stretches. I realized that if I just glued it to the cardboard it would work fine!

I made the mistake of thinking I needed new green felt. I should have just used the already glued together pieces I had because then I wouldn't have made this mistake:

See the lump? I forgot to have my blue piece cover the entire back ground and then lay my green piece on top of it. Instead I overlapped them which created a bulge. I didn't notice it until it was too late to undo it. Oh well - live and learn, right?!

I decided to use green ric rac to give the green a more "grassy look."

It turned out really cute and my girls are having a lot of fun with it. It's now mounted on my playroom wall, but I still need to paint over the nail holes.

This project inspired me to create some travel size felt boards I'll share with you later!

Genuis

If you never visited Danika Herrick over at Gorgeous Shiny Things, now is a good time to stop by. She, along with business partner Cheryl Ruhda, have created the most amazing thing. Adhesive fretwork!

Check out this before and after:

The fretwork comes in a number of size, can be painted, and adhered to just about any surface with just about any adhesive. Genuis!

Ikea Face Life

We've all seen this Ikea chandy. And who doesn't love it? It's an inexpensive look - alike for a lot of other chandeliers out there.

I've seen it painted a gold, which I think is a fabulous idea. Or how about soft yellow for a nusery, or hot pink for a tween?

Or what about a complete face lift? Jenny at Little Green Notebook, ingeniously took the daisy chandelier and turned it into her own version of a sputnik. It's is a must see!

Garage Entry

Every home needs a command center. The place where everything gets written down, pinned, and collected - mail, bills, homework. Despite its narrow dimensions, I decided to make our garage entry the command center for our family. It's where we enter the house, so it's naturally a good dumping place.

Several months ago I dyed a rug for the entry, and the last few months I've been working on somethings to further help organize the space.

Fabric lined, hanging file folders for mail and homework.

And a bulletin board for messages, the calendar, and things I want to remember.

I took the bulletin board out of my playroom and gave it an easy makeover with some chalkboard paint and scrapbook stickers.

It may get it's frame painted, but I'm in no hurry to decide that.

I also removed the key hooks from our old and unused mail holder and screwed them into the bulletin board. I love that I can deposit keys and mail right when I walk in the door.



I used a black permanent marker to clean up my edges.

It's been over a month since I last posted anything! My little unexpected surprise kept me tired and hesitant of spray paint, and since just about every project on my list involves spray paint...it was easy to just step away from it all and save it for another time.

Sadly, a couple of weeks ago, my unexpected surprise ended as unexpectedly as it began. I've found that the saying, "Time heals all wounds" is true...and that picking up a can of spray paint helps, too. :)

I'm getting back in the swing of things and will hopefully have some projects finished soon!

Painted Furniture

What a great way to had color and interest to a room without painting the walls! Perfect for apartments and renters.

And what a great way to style a bunkbed! I never thought those could look chic!