Birthday, Blogoversary, Memo Board, and oh yeah...Kidney Stones

Hello all.  I have had a busy two week.  First, I missed my blogoversary.  Second, my I celebrated my 30th birthday on Thursday.  What did I get as a present for both of those milestones??  Yep, kidney stones.  Thankfully, I am feeling better and the whole situation has 'passed'. 

Since I still wasn't feeling 100% I wanted to go low key, so we went to the Portland Zoo.  I got some great shots (I'll post some later).

I have this great memo board I made from a cork board I picked up at GW for two bucks. 

I started by covering the board with one layer of quilt batting and some leftover fabric for my bedroom re-do.  I secured each layer with my handy staple gun.

To start the ribbons going accross the front, I ran one ribbon from each corner.

 

To ensure that I had the ribbons equally spaced I used one of my quilting rulers to place the other ribbons.

Once I finished with placing the ribbon I added a thumbnail to each point where the ribbon crossed.  I just loved the quilted look, but didn't care for the brass-y look of the tacs.

Inspiration struck and I decided to hot glue a button to the top of each tac.  Love.

I made a few fabric flowers for the corner and added buttons to the center of those as well.

I added ribbon to hang it and viola! 

Super cute memo board that matches my bedroom perfectly!  And all for less than five bucks!!!!!

Linking to:

 

Another Table Lamp Revamp

I dressed up this lamp shortly after I finished this one, I just haven't gotten around to posting about it yet.  (Bad blogger!) 
I found this lamp and the shade at my local Goodwill.  I don't remember exactly what I paid for each, but I think I got the whole thing for less than ten bucks. 

I taped the lamp off and started spraying.  For this project I used Krylon in Leather.  The trick to getting good coverage is using a good spray paint and spraying lots of light coats. (that's what works for me) 

While waiting for the paint to dry I covered the shade in fabric.

I love the way it turned out!!

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Fun Frame Makeover

I have had this frame forever just sitting in a box. 
If I had known it could be this cute I would have started earlier!

Here's the down and dirty:

I sprayed the frame a sunny yellow.  I didn't prime or sand so the wood grain/stain whatever showed right through.  Luckily, I lurve that look so it was perfect!  I didn't have the glass or backing for this frame so I had to come up with something.  Enter corkboard.

I cut the cork to fit snugly and hot glued it in place.  (cork cuts really easily with a razor blade, make one pass with the blad and then 'break' it apart)

I added some colorful ribbon to hang it with and stood back to enjoy my work.  It was missing something.  I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it so I walked away. 

I started going through my fabric stash and inspiration hit......add a couple of fabric flowers to the corner.

The flowers were super easy, I just put a glob of hot glue in the center of a circle (cut from whatever fabric you like) and kind scrunched up just the center of the circle.  As it dries you can pull and press it to make sure it lays the way you like it.  To finish it off I just added a matching button the to the center of each flower.

Perfect.

Exactly what it needed.


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Craft-O-Maniac Monday

Message Board Makeover

I found this beauty in the 'to be thrown out' pile at work one day (about two years ago).  It is part of a cubicle wall.  I painted it to match my craft room and just used it as a magnet board.  Since moving I have decided to go with a different color scheme and decided the board needed a new look and a new purpose.

I spray painted the entire thing a sunny yellow.  I was impatient so I didn't sand or prime, but it turned out great.  After it dried I taped off a rectangle on either side and painted it with chalkboard paint.  (This is my first project working with chalkboard paint and I love it!) 

While I was waiting for it to dry I took some alphabet magnets I got in a set from the DollarTree and bottle caps and glued some glitter on them.  Now I use one side for my 'dream/idea' list and the other for my craft shopping list.  I can hang coupons, flyers, or whatever else on there as well.  I love that I have a functional message board that looks great, and all for less that five bucks!!

I am linking to:
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Table Lamp Re-Vamp

Ha ha, I am a poet.  Anyway, in decorating for the new place I realized I had ZERO table lamps.  I priced them out at Target and what-not.  Boy, those things get expensive!  I decided to check out the Goodwill and found a beauty.  It didn't matter what color it was because I wanted to paint it anyway.  I got this one for three bucks!  I used Krylon paint and used a very light spray with multiple coats to ensure a clean even coverage.

I can't find my before picture!!!  Imagine an ugly yellowed lamp here.

I didn't find a shade at the GW, but found one at Target for about five bucks.  I happended to have some 'beach' themed fabric on hand for redecorating my living room.  I used some quick grab glue and glued the fabric in one piece over the shade.  

To finish the seam I just folded the fabric over on itself and glued it down.

Then to finish off the top and bottom edges I hot glued some cotton cording I picked up at Joanns.

Here she is all finished.

I just love the way it turned out!  I wasn't entirely sure I could make my theme happened with sticking to my color scheme, but I think it is turning out great!

I am linking to:
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Sundae Scoop

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A Good Thing

 Ok, so I am finally settled in after moving a month ago (well, almost) and figured it was time to stop neglecting my bff's in blogland.  Have no worries dear followers, I have been busy crafting this past month and have been very good about take pictures to show you the fun stuff I have created.  With school done till September, my summer vacation holds the promise of lots of crafting and some fun outdoor adventures.  Here is a project I started, oh about a year ago. (alright, I started it last August)  My wonderful boyfriend, Nathan, bought me this super cute magazine stand for my birthday.

I started to refinish it and then in all of my slacker glory, I let it sit outside all winter.  Anyone who is familiar with an Oregon winter knows that means inches and inches of rain fell on this poor little thing.  Here is what it looked like after weathering the storm.

First peeled off the laminate top and sanded it down (it took a lot of sanding).  I started spraypainting it, after I used a whole can and had almost zero coverage I decided to brush paint it instead.  I chose Behr Pebble White.  Three coats of paint later I did a little distressing and added some dark glaze to bring out the 'love marks'. 

I absolutely love it!  I can't believe I honestly thought about throwing it out.  I will show you what I put out on the table in a later post. (some more fun stuff there!)

I am linking here:


and with the Sundae Scoop Party

Another Jar Candle Repurose

I did a project a little while back and turned a jar candle into a pen holder.
See it here.

This time the jars are smaller,

I start by removing all the labels (don't forget the ones on the bottom),
then place the jars is a water bath and let the wax melt.

 

Then scrape out the wax and wipe it clean with a paper towel.

 

 

I glued some black cardstock in the bottom of the jars, 

then filled them up with my button collection.

 

Cute and practical!  What could be better?

I hope everyone had a love filled Valentine's Day!