I love labels! I love all those great vinyl labels available today, but the price just soars out of my budget. Sadly I am not among the fortunate to own a Silhouette vinyl adhesive cutter do-hickey machine. However, fortunately for me, my creative, frugal juices started flowing and I came up with my own solution for making "vinyl" labels.
Here is a quick tutorial of what I came up with. The labels I used, I created using gimp but the Internet (Pinterest too) is FULL of free printables you could take advantage of.
I also used this method on other labels that I found out there on Pinterest while searching free printables. I cut these labels up and applied them to gift bags. Makes for a fun personalized way to say, "You are special to me!"
If you don't already, follow me on Pinterest and you can find these labels on my Printables board.
Hope you have fun sticking Contact Paper labels all over your home like I have.
A while back my nine year old daughter asked me if she could have a desk in her room. Being that we homeschool and she is now at the point of working more independently, I said, "absolutely!" I knew the trick was going to be, finding a desk that was small enough for her room.
When I came across this desk on craigslist I knew it was the perfect size! My darling husband set out to pick it up for me. Based on the color of the desk I knew I would be refinishing it. Based on the Craiglist add it was supposed to be wood. Well it was laminate. Oh well because it truly is the PERFECT size!
Now I had a new adventure ahead of me... painting laminate! Here is what I learned... even though the primer (Zinsser water based) said no need to sand... I sanded! What I would have done differently... paint a second or thicker coat of the primer before beginning to paint!
The chair is solid wood but did have some scratches. I sanded it a bit, painted it with primer and transformed it into pink perfection!
The desk was missing a drawer handle, but that was fine by me, since I was going to replace them anyway. Here is what I replaced them with.
Sweet, glass flower knobs! I wanted the knobs to really be the personality of the desk. Especially since I chose to paint it a creamy white (Winter White by Olympic). Having the three different colors really adds personality, don't you think? Not so matchy, matchy.
Next to my daughter's bed is this custom made castle piece. It was left by it's creator in a natural wood finish. I decided to give it a more finished look and painted it the color I used on the chair.
I now have a very overjoyed nine year old with a darling little desk and perfectly pink chair!
On to the next project... a chair cushion for her chair! The fabric I found is just adorable! Can't wait for you to see it!
The time has come, I have given up, given in and got to work! My laundry room (really it is a closet but I can pretend) was a dreaded place for me to be. Not just because of the piles and loads and mounds of laundry that await me each day, but because it was aesthetically unpleasing to my eyes! The thought that my piles are going to increase with adding a new baby to our family got me on the move! I had to solve this ugly, dreaded problem. No wonder the laundry would pile... it is called PROCRASTINATION! I wanted a space that I wanted to be in. A space that could be peaceful for me. A place where my mind could wander and ponder thoughts as I dump clothes in the washer and fold them from the dryer.
I began pouring through the Internet to get some ideas or inspiration. What I got at first was depressed! So many beautiful laundry rooms out there to be desired. So I wiped away the drool and came back to reality. I decided I would challenge myself to be creative with what I have. The result... a laundry room makeover that only cost me my time, oh and the big sum of $5.00! Guess what, I also had fun doing it! Though it will not find it's way to any magazine pages or even cause one to drool, it is a definite improvement from what it was before! My goal was accomplished! I now have a place that is not dreaded but peaceful and transporting. My thoughts can think and I can accomplish a necessary chore for my family happily.
Here is what took place
I first thought maybe I could live with a small change. So I replaced not so pretty laundry baskets with ones I like. NOPE not enough of a difference to make a difference. Something more HAD to happen!
I painted the walls with Quietude from Sherwin Williams. I had a whole can left over from painting our master bathroom. The color looks and feels different being in the laundry room due to the difference in size and lighting. The pictures do not capture the true color at all!
Here is the whole of it... the laundry closet room that is!
I will change out the blue bins (or spray paint them black) and find a solution for the laundry soap. The clock I thought would be a good idea to glance up at when a load is put in the washer and dryer. Since I am notorious for forgetting my laundry and end up rewashing loads maybe knowing the time will help. I can be hopeful!
The small jar used to hold Alfredo sauce from Classico. For fun and whimsy I hung the picture using clothes pins and ribbon. The jar holding clothes pins also has seashells from the beaches I grew up on! Peaceful! All of this sitting on my thrift store shelf for a whopping $.99!
I painted all the frames and two shelves with the color I used to paint my classroom. I also made all the signs! Amazing what you can do using Word, different fonts downloaded from the Internet and a color printer!
Hiding back behind the baskets is a trashcan to store toss all the dryer lint and sheets.
I wanted some Bible verses and inspirational reminders of what this room is now intended to be.
I took ideas from the Internet of laundry room sayings and then either changed them a bit and made them my own or made up my own like the one below.
Oh joy! There is the dryer chiming now, inviting me to come and enjoy my new space as I, wash, dry, fold and repeat (another cute laundry room saying out there!)
Hope you have been inspired to be creative with what you may already have to beautify a space you want to be.
I found this accordion hook at a thrift store for $.99 and what a steal of deal it turned out to be. I have been a fan of these fun hooks for awhile now. I saw one featured in The Land of Nod catalog awhile back and just was not willing to pay the price they wanted.
Amazing what a little paint can do to a not so attractive item. Here is how this accordion hook was transformed. According to me, a definite improvement was made
First I painted the hook white to act like a primer, covering that not so beautiful dark wood stain.
Then I painted it red in a water wash. Dipped my brush in water and then in the red paint. I wanted some of the white to show through just a tad.
I then painted the pegs a solid red. The same red as before, just not washed down.
I cut out a star template from card stock. Traced around my star, rotating the star each time. The star was then painted a light blue.
I wanted the star to wrap around just a bit. I did one coat of blue so some of the red would show through. Keeping the wash effect consistent.
I painted the tops of the pegs the same light blue. I decided to do half stars and half just red. Sometimes less is just best. So as you can see the top pieces of wood are stars and the underneath are red. According to me, this could not have been easier for a fun result!
A great deal has changed for me personally since the last time we all met here. I entered my previous post, left for vacation and then returned home with the knowledge that another precious baby is to born to our family. Exciting news indeed, just very unexpected and took me by complete surprise, leaving me in shock for days! I have now entered my second trimester and life around my Created Home seems to be resuming back to order.
I would like to share with you some of the things I have been up to. Let us begin with Thanksgiving. I was a little behind the rest of the world in getting ready to receive dinner guests into our home for Thanksgiving. I found this out when I ventured into the stores in search of festive fall table decorations, only to find, Christmas was all around me. Thankfully, my thrifty finds did not break the bank, since the only things in stores were the clearance items. Maybe not what I had originally envisioned for my table scape, but I do have to say all turned out beautiful and festive.
Bought these sunflowers on clearance for $3.49!
I did not have enough napkin rings so I tied them up with sparkle ribbon.
The table runners I bought on clearance, but the two different colors worked for my tables.
The hanging plate shelf was one of my thrifty garage sale finds!
A friend of ours came over the other night for Bible Study and his comment to me, "a blind man could not live in your house." He was making reference to the fact that my living room has changed once again! The furniture is rearranged and curtains have been hung! Finally! The hold up has been the ridiculous cost involved in curtain rods for five windows! I just could not nor would not spend a fortune on a "stick" that attaches to the wall!
I found all the curtain rods I needed for the windows you see here, as well as the adjacent dinning room window for the wonderfuly cheap sum of $23.00 at Ross. I hung every rod by myself, so that is a great sense of accomplishment for me. It also explains the lack of perfection too!
What a difference curtains make in a room! I love the cozy, warm feel fabric framing a window does for my senses! I just feel more relaxed in my living room simply by hanging curtains! The other great benefit is, the curtains help to break up the paint color that surrounds me in the vast majority of my home. I find my eye needs what I call "color breaks". I need different colors for my eye to fall upon as I scan a room. When unable to paint, curtains are a great color break for the senses! A little information: The curtains I have had since my husband and I were first married nine years ago. They are in perfect condition and I still love them so I just had to use them once more in this home. The original throw pillows have since been laid to rest! I made the current ones myself. The matching pillows were made from napkins my mom gave me when I originally purchased the curtains.The lamp shade and other throw pillows match because they also were created by me. These pillows were my first attempt at sewing a zipper and I do have to say to my shock, it works! Not to be closely examined by my mom who is an amazing sewer! Oh and last but not least, the flower arrangement hanging on the antique door... yes all me! I know there is no limit to my talent! Okay I am cracking myself up. See if I can fumble my way through creating a home I enjoy you can too! After all it is your home, a place for you to be yourself!
Notice all my terrific yard sale treasures around the room?
I found this frame at a yard sale for $1.00. What to do with a picture frame that is missing the glass? Well what I did with this particular one is, turn it into a flannel board or felt board by using burlap fabric. Flannel and felt are not the most attractive fabrics that is for sure, but they are pretty fabulous in conveying a story to a young child. I have many flannel board stories and learning tools for my classroom. I wanted a permanent fixture in my classroom that I did not hate looking at. My solution was burlap because I like the texture. Also with burlap versus flannel, at a later date I can re purpose this burlap covered frame for a message or display board by adding ribbon or some sort of clip hanging system to the fabric.
All I did was cut the fabric, leaving enough to overlap to the back of the board. Then I hot glued the fabric edges to the back edges of the picture frame back board. Simple as that for a really great and fun result!
Here are the treasures I found on my last yard sale adventure... expedition is more like it really. One of the yard sales I went to was 40 minuets away from my house, one of those tricky addresses even for a GPS to find. We turned and U-turned, drove up and down streets and then at long last found our hidden location. A true treasure hunt!
The yard sale was put on at an adorable farm house by three friends joining forces. I got to meet two of the three ladies, only to find we are all from Southern California. We all grew up just towns apart from one another. They grew up in the same town unaware until meeting in Colorado! How crazy is that? What a great blessing it is to also find the treasure of people at these yard sales I am visiting.
The other yard sale I set out for, I spent over an hour there. Not shopping, but chatting with the sister of the yard sale hostess. She also is a mom who has four daughters my girls ages, but to top it off she has a three month old baby boy! She too is a homeschooling mom, so needless to say we did not lack for things to talk about!
I am thankful for each treasure I found, as they will forever remind me to pray for the fabulous ladies I had the blessing to meet while treasure hunting. Friendship is a much greater joy and treasure than any material thing this world has to offer. I look forward to whom else I may meet on my next hunt!
The glass bottles they gave me for free... just to bless me! They did just that! These were the treasures from yard sale "chat a lot"!
I also used this method on other labels that I found out there on Pinterest while searching free printables. I cut these labels up and applied them to gift bags. Makes for a fun personalized way to say, "You are special to me!"
