Gray Painted Cabinet

I stopped by one of my favorite and most inspiring blogs today and saw this fun mystery thrift-off application. I just love this idea! Go check out the Better After blog for details.

Anyway, I started to fill out all the entry info and when I got to the part about entering your blog address I kind of cringed. I have been such a slacker here since I started my Etsy shop! So, I'm going to start going through all my pics today and actually posting those DIY projects I've been working on over the past couple years. :)

First up is this corner cabinet I did last fall. My hubby brought this beauty home from the thrift store one day because apparently the hutch I painted before wasn't sturdy enough "in case of an earthquake".

This thing sat in my kitchen like this for probably a year! I hated it. But, I just couldn't decide what to do with it. This thing has wood mixed with some kind of MDF type stuff and it just wasn't working for me.

I thought about staining the wood a little darker, painting the outside white, adding stripes, trying wallpaper inside... Finally, one day I decided enough is enough. I'm just going to paint it and replace the hardware.

So, there you have it. Sometimes you just need to go for it! I love how it turned out. I think the gray makes it more timeless and sophisticated. It's not the wowzy piece I had in mind at first. But, I didn't necessarily want it to steal the show anyway. Besides, if I decide I don't like it, I can always change it later, right?

One of the biggest changes was cleaning all the dishes and re-arranging them. I grouped them by type of dish and color. Isn't it great how simple changes can make a big difference?

Nativity Set Refresh

I bought this really pretty nativity set as a teenager. It was really simple... Joseph, Mary, Jesus and 2 sheep. I loved that it was all white and I even glazed it and had someone fire it myself.

Sadly about a year ago my husband broke it while taking down the Christmas decor. He felt awful and so did I. It is one of those irreplaceable things.

I can't believe how expensive nativity sets are to buy, especially the pretty ones. So here is my solution. I bought this cheap set at the thrift store for $5. Add a can of semi-gloss ivory spray paint... Voila!

Not quite as lovely as my last set, but Christmas wouldn't have been the same without a nativity. I love that you can use this idea for any crazy nativity set you find. The ivory paint unifies it and makes it fit into any decor.

Mailbox Before & After

Don't settle for ugly house numbers! Both of the homes we have purchased came with these same ugly reflective house numbers. It was one of the first things I changed in both cases.

The secret to this mailbox is $1 can of black spray paint and a few bucks for some adhesive house numbers that I cut out and spray painted along with the label and lid.. Much better!

Just linked this project up to the William Morris Project. You should check it out here. It's really inspiring me to get rid of things and make things look prettier!

Painted Dresser

BEFORE

I purchased this dear old dresser for $10. It didn't look like much at first but I knew it would be a great, solid piece once I painted it to match the rest of our bedroom furniture.

AFTER

I love how it turned out. It makes me happy! The quote I designed to sit on dresser is one of my new favorites "Choose your love, love your choice" from Thomas S. Monson. I put it in an old frame I painted with the leftover paint from my "love letters".

Painted Love

I made these "love letters" when we were first married... 8 years later they are a little dated and have been tucked away in a box. I realized all they needed was a little paint so...

Painted Cabinet

I have been dreaming of a pretty china hutch like the ones I see on other blogs all the time. Well I found the perfect one... and I couldn't afford it! So, I went to the thrift store and found nothing.

Then I realized all I need to be more open minded...even a cabinet with shelves placed on top would work or maybe shelves on the wall with a cabinet underneath. Luckily, the next time I went to the thrift store I found just the thing.

BEFORE

It looked pretty hideous at first. It is 100% fake. The backer is flimsy, it has a hole punched out and spaces to punch out for a tv to fit. But, happily I could afford it plus a little paint and hardware to fix it up.

AFTER

I love how it turned out and it makes me happy to see my pretty dishes ready to use. It was so fun to spend the day of our 8th anniversary washing dishes we have had for years that I had no where to put. It kind of makes me wonder why I didn't do it sooner!

More kitchen projects coming soon!

Bathroom Refresh

Is it surprising with those lavendar walls this wasn't the first room we painted?

BEFORE

AFTER

First off, with a tiny bathroom, we needed more storage. Most of our bathroom stuff was still in boxes in the nursery. The day we needed a bandaid and I spent 20 minutes digging I knew it was time to make the bathroom a priority.

So, late one night me and the hubby put this metal shelf together we got from Walmart for $20. It's nothing fancy but it works.

BEFORE

AFTER

We didn't spend much money on this room at all. The biggest change is the paint color. I knew I wanted to paint. Since funds are low, I was excited to discover this can of paint I bought long ago.

I originally found it in the mistint section for $5 and couldn't resist the pretty color. At that point I thought it would be perfect for a piece of furniture. Little did I know it would end up all over the walls of our tiny bathroom! It is a bit dark and overwhelming for such a small space but I like it anyway.

BEFORE

AFTER

The flowered boxes were also purchased quite a while back from Walmart. They had such a lovely pattern, I thought they would be great to organize craft supplies or look nice in the guest room. I was sure happy to have them when plan A didn't look right.

BEFORE

AFTER

Here you can see the mirrors I placed above the towel rack. As part of plan A I was going to hang dark decorative metal piece there. However, when I held it up it looked dark and out of place with all the silver. So, I dug around and found these mirrors from when we first got married.

Times like these make me want to keep everything. That is dangerous! How do you decide which decorations to keep around and which to give away?

Paint Matching

Our living room has vaulted ceilings. There were HUGE holes in the walls when we moved in. They used serious bolts to hang their pictures. Rather than rent scaffolding or struggle on a latter, I wanted to match the paint color and just touch up the holes.

This is not an easy thing to do! First I tried one sample of paint off a spot that was falling off anyway. The color turned out too dark. So, I found a spot that was a slightly lighter color of paint than the rest of the room. I think they had touched something up there. I had my husband take that sample into Home Depot and it matched perfectly! I was so excited. This saved me so much time and money!

Painting Baseboards

I found this helpful so I thought I should pass it along. I painted our baseboards a couple of years ago. It was a pain in the neck. Think carefully before you take on this task!

I love their description. "Painting baseboards when you have wall to wall carpet is like trying to apply lipstick when you have a handlebar mustache. It can be messy, but with a little preparation the results can be quite stunning." It's true. I love the result, not the process.

Painted Fireplace

I found this before and after from Finding Home very inspiring. It all seems so attainable, from crown to floor.

One of my favorite things is the fireplace. Laura had an intermediate step before she decided to change the fireplace. Wow! What a difference. She used a special paint, designed for this. I love how it keeps the texture but brings it all together.

Thrifty Chic Designs

I found this blog, Thrifty Chic Designs, through Better After, one of my favorites. I just love how Julie "gets it". She has taken this old house and made it beautiful. We are considering doing this for our next home but the hubby needs a little convincing. Maybe her before and afters will help?

Here is her dining area before & after.

Here are the stairs. There are tons more great photos of the remodel on her blog, including the kitchen and mudroom. Go check out Thrifty Chic Designs.

Painted Side Table

Remember how I signed up for Serena & Lily's catalog? Well, they are sending stuff to my e-mail too. I think this room is really lovely for a girl. One of my favorite things is the side table. I have a bunch of furniture to paint and never would have thought something like this would look good, but it does. In fact, it looks really good. I think I could handle something similar for a small piece of furniture.

Repurposed Treasures

I can't get enough of Better After! Every time I check it out, I am amazed. Here are a couple of recent ideas I love.

First off, filling shells with a wick and wax to turn a seashell into a candle. Go here for more.

Next up, painting and turning an old door sideways to make a headboard. I've seen this done before and love it every time! There are more re-purposed things in this room too. Check it out here.

Kid's Room Reveal

Yay! The kid's room is finished! Follow the links for the individual projects. I know it's not a huge change. However, my goal was to make the kid's room more fun. How did I do?

BEFORE

AFTER

I patched some holes in the wall and did a little touch-up paint. I also created the two alphabet canvases hanging over the bed. I purchased that cute little rocking chair at Deseret Industries for $8. I wanted to paint it red but my husband talked me out of it.

BEFORE

AFTER

I created the framed art hanging above the changing table and replaced the brown bin with a couple of blue ones I already had.

BEFORE

AFTER

I purchased the map on the wall from walmart.com for $5 plus a couple for shipping. It's a nice big map and I love how it fills up the wall. I re-arranged the furniture a little so the crib could be centered on the wall.

BEFORE

AFTER

I hung the curtains back up that I had in that room before. I wanted to paint the armoire white but once again my husband talked me out of it. I think he is pretty tired of me painting things. I also re-arranged and organized a little.

BEFORE

AFTER

I think this part of the room turned out really fun. I made the airplanes, which are hanging from the ceiling, and the little banner draped in the window. Both of these projects were free because they were done from inexpensive supplies I already had.

One thing I don't have a before picture of is this little shelf, which I already had. So I painted it and hung on the other side of the room. Do you have any rooms that need a little freshing-up? What do you do to give your rooms a pick-me-up?

Dollhouse from Drawers

I found Nice Girl Notes, when I was looking through all of the amazing projects at Better After. This gal is brilliant. She turned these two drawers from a nightstand into....

...a doll house! I love it when people think of clever ways to use things. Check out her blog for the full tutorial and plenty of entertainment!

Mini Canvases & Shelf Helped

My sister-in-law gave me some adorable little canvases. They are probably a 3 inch square. This is what I made.This idea was adapted from something I saw on another blog. She used letter stickers and attached them to canvases and let her kids paint them. I can't seem to find that blog now. If you know where it is, I will add a link here.I used paint, canvases, a brush, and die-cut numbers leftover from other projects. Since I wanted mine to hang, I also used some white ric-rac scraps and a glue gun.There are 3 steps to making the numbers. First, attach your die-cut (I used double-sided tape). Second, paint over your number. Third, peel the die-cut off. If you want yours to hang, like mine, add a little ric-rac using your glue-gun.Here they are hanging on my newly painted shelf. Thanks for helping me decide what color to use! I know it's not that much different but it fits in the room so much better now.