Vintage Pins

First, I have super exciting news!

I got my acceptance letter on Friday to IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis)!!!!

I will officially be a Interior Design student in the fall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  WOW!!! 

That is a dream I've held onto my entire adult life!!  And it's finally going to be a reality!

Thank you to all of you that have sent me so many well wishes!  They really do mean the world to me. :)

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Ok....onto today's real post.

I could not wait to show you this project.  And you are not going to believe the price!!

Not too long ago, I found a vendor at my favorite antique mall (Southport Antique Mall here in Indianapolis), that has shelves full of plastic boxes, stuffed to the brim with what she calls "Bits and Baubles". 

Bits and Baubles are basically costume jewelry, alot of which are vintage pieces, some are broken, some are missing one jewel piece, some miscellaneous little pretties and small oddities...and then some gorgeous vintage costume jewelry completely in tact still.

I have fallen in love with all her vintage costume jewelry!!

And the best part, her prices!!  1 piece for $2 or 3 pieces for $5!!! 

I mean, heellloooo!!  Most vendors charge double that for one piece!!

Sure some of it is pretty cheesy stuff....but alot of it looks like this beauty!  You just have to take the time to pick through it all and find the jewels. :)

I pretty much find a spot to sit in the floor and just dig through each box looking for pieces like this.  I mean, at basically $1.50 a pin....how can I go wrong??

I had a bunch of these Dollar Tree frames leftover from my craft show during the holidays that I never did anything with. 

I took them apart and painted the wood frames, black for the larger, and white for the smaller one inside. 

I covered the mat with scrapbook paper that I got on sale at Hobby Lobby the other day for less than $.50 each.  The frame took less than half a sheet.  I heavily distressed the paper with black ink.

I bought a 1/4 yard of gorgeous black velvet at JoAnn's (with a coupon) for about $3.50). Velvet is e.x.p.e.n.s.i.v.e. people!!  But luckily I only needed a small amount, so I have plenty leftover for future projects.

I also used a small amount of quilt batting that I had to create a 'puffed' look under the velvet.  I just used the glass from the picture frame as my backing, and taped everything down.

Put it all back together and you get this!!!!

I am SOOOO flippin' tickled, I can't even describe it!  :)

I will absolutely be selling these at my upcoming craft show next month!!  And Miss 'Bits and Baubles' dealer has plenty more for me to pick through still. :)

At what is better?  Have you been doing the math with me?

This cost me less than $3.50 to make!!       

Visit my link at the top of the page to see what parties I like to attend. :)

Kids Storage Solutions

First, I want to apologize for my lack of blogging lately.

I thought being unemployed would give me tons of blogging time.  But instead I've been so busy catching up on projects that have been on my To-Do List for FOREVER, I find myself away from the computer more than I would like.

And well, let's be blunt for a minute...I'm a, um, full size plump plus sized thick girl.  A thick girl who used to sit on her rear all day in front of a computer.  My body is not used to going full speed ahead all day everyday!! 

It's tired.  No, wait!  My body is more like, fall onto the couch-it hurts to lift my finger, exhausted, come evening!  LOL

I have so many things to show you, I just have to schedule more time to sit down and blog about it all. :)

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One of the things I promised to share with you was, storage in Doodle's bedroom.

As I've mentioned, oh about, a bazillion times....her bedroom is only 9 x 9 (plus a couple inches).

Luckily, she is outgrowing the toys stage, so we don't have alot of that to store anymore.  But we do still have books, movies, CD's, jewelry making supplies, games, art supplies, etc.

Last week I showed the work horse of the room....

Hidden storage is always the best solution!! ESPECIALLY in a small space!

Doodle is anal retentive a neat freak like her mother, so hidden storage is a big deal to her.  Well, she's a neat freak in her bedroom anyway.  The rest of the house, yeah, she just throws her stuff wherever for Mommy to pick up.

Anywho....in the nemisis cabinet, Doodle stores all her books, her DVD's, and her jewelry making supplies (another hobby that seems to have come and gone).

I also added a storage ottoman under her window.

This may seem like a strange choice for a tiny kids room, but I do have my reasons.

First of all, let me note...if I was staging my house for sale, I would remove this piece to make the room look larger, because absolutely, it does take up valuable floor space!  But my daughter is beyond the age of playing in the floor....and we LIVE in this house.  Staging has it's place....but you can't live comfortably in a staged house!  (There I said it!) :) 

Hang out space is important to her at her age. 

The bench provides a spot for her friends to sit...for her to sit and play guitar...for her pets to stretch out and watch her when she's in her room....a place for her dog to get up into her bed (Lucy the Pudgy Pug can't just jump up into the bed, LOL).

And more importantly....it offers more hidden storage for stuffed animals and Barbies (the last of the toys that are still played with)! 

If she's hanging out in her room with her friends or just watching TV and needs a place to put her drink (water only! LOL) or a bowl of popcorn...both sides of the ottoman flip over to useful trays!

So, while she doesn't have a ton of floor space, this ottoman provides more usefulness to her at this stage than floor space.  She has ample room between her bed and ottoman to move around.

I purchased this ottoman last year at Wal-Mart for around $80.  I shopped other places, but I liked this one best for the flexibility it offered with the trays.

Please excuse all the cords!  Someday I'm going to get an eletrician to put outlets in the right places! :)

Later this week, I will show you more storage ideas that I've used to maximize Doodle's tiny 9 x 9 bedroom. :)

My Nemesis

Do you ever have a project that just kicks your butt every direction you turn? 

I have lovingly referred to this cabinet as the "Project from H E (double) L!!! ;)

I think it is the first furniture piece I have ever taken on.  But after seeing all the wonderful redo's in blogland, I decided I had to do it too!  You know how that goes. LOL

So it started with this $15 Craigslist find...LAST SUMMER!

Yes....I have been slowly redoing this cabinet for well over SIX MONTHS!!!  Maybe nine?

Now you know why I call it my nemesis!

Here she is before:

AWFUL!

It used to be an old bathroom cabinet.  It would have hung the other direction....like this:

Is it weird that turning the picture upside down like that makes me nauseous? LOL

Anywho....it had a crackle finish.  I 'think' some type of oil based paint.  And had painting on the back.

It was B.A.D.

The inside was covered with old contact paper.

And let me tell you....that stuff was STUCK!

So, as a furniture novice...first I removed the contact paper.  Which turned out to be a nightmare!  It was down so hard, I couldn't just pull it off.  I had to use wallpaper remover and a scraper!

I was frustrated before really even starting. 

So I let it sit awhile before coming back to it.

When I finally got up the nerve to revisit this project, I tried sanding it.

But I decided pretty quickly that I was going to need to strip it!  UGH! 

I wasn't sure what kind of effect that crackle and oil (I think) paint would have on my finished product and I sure didn't want to do all that work to paint it and have it messed up.  And sanding wasn't getting me anywhere fast.

So, I bought furniture stripper and went to town. 

Furniture stripper was actually pretty easy to use...but it took me several coats to get it acceptable.

So....I got frustrated....and it sat....again. LOL

Next, I decided spray paint was the way to go. 

Doodle's room needed more of the grayish blue color spread around, so I figured the cabinet would be a great way to do that.

Unfortunately, the color I 'thought' would work, turned out looking like 1985, let's add some ducks wallpaper!!!

Thoroughly FRUSTRATED.....yep......it sat for MONTHS!!!!

Then finally, as Doodle's room was coming together, I knew she was going to need that cabinet for storage.  So, I repainted it.  This time with a quart of paint I got at Lowe's, a close match to her throw pillow.

YES!!! 

Finally!!!

Something I was pleased with.

BUT.....I did NOT want to tackle stripping the doors!!!

So, it went in her room, without doors, for MONTHS. LOL

But, FINALLY, with my new found freedom, I got the gumption to finish the whole stinkin' thing!!  It moved to the top of my list very quickly. :)

And last week, with a huge sigh of relief (and possibly some dancing and whooping), I finished the cabinet that was once my nemesis!!!

And I am in LOVE!! :)

I added feet I got at Lowe's to the bottom of the cabinet to make it look more like it was meant to be standing on the floor and not hanging on a wall.

Of course I distressed it.

I was a bit overwhelmed when picking out the knobs.  So many things would have looked great on this cabinet.  But eventually I decided I wanted a somewhat vintage, but understated look for the cabinet.

I got the adorable knobs at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 (I think, they may have been $3.99 each).

And now Doodle has a ton of hidden storage for her books, movies and bead supplies!!

And most important of all.....I can finally mark this project off my list!!!  LOL

Staged, before I had to add all her tween girl stuff: ;)

And here with the stereo, her beloved shells, and collectible she loves. :)

I got the little lamp at the Christmas Tree Shoppe for $10.  That place is so awesome.

I have a few more things to finish up in her room, but it is almost complete!!!

And I have some other functional ideas I used in her tiny 9x9 bedroom to show you soon! :)

(Check out the tab at the top of the page for the parties I attend and will be linking this project to.) :)

Spring Fling

Yes, I had a little rendezvous with spring today!!

I went to the Indianapolis Flower and Patio Show! :)

It was absolutely wonderful!  All kinds of mock gardens and landscapes set up for inspiration.

And....flowers, flowers, and more flowers!

I took a gazillion pictures so I could share some of the SPRING scenes with you...because if you are like me, you are counting down the days to get out into the yard and get your hands dirty again!!!!! :)

I'm a novice gardener....but I love it all the same.

If you are a city dweller, they had some really great ideas for rooftop patios!

And check out this wall behind the outdoor sectional...those are plants planted into small holes in a wall!!

And can imagine having this in your backyard?!?!  It would be like being on vacation at your own home!

I was completely and utterly, head over heals in LOVE with this door!!!

And the succulent wreath ON the door!!

Although excuse my shadow...I'm not really BALD...even though I look it there. LOL

This tree had my name all over it!  50% everything at the show (for this vendor - when the show is over).  But, NOOOOO, someone else had already bought this little darling before me. :(

And just a couple more shots of spring goodness! :)

And you know what else I learned today....................I CAN take flashless pictures!!!  Because all these pictures were taken by ME, NO flash, with Doodle's little $100 point and shoot! 

I just, apparently, need a GAZILLION lights overhead. LOL

Laundry/Craft Rooms

Do you have a headache yet?

Sadly, I post in current time....so while I'm posting about half of Doodle's Room Reveal, Kitchen Decor Inspiration, and Redoing my Living Room....yep, that is exactly the order those are going in here at my house too...not just on my blog!

I AM all over the place like that. LOL

And NO...I haven't finished any of those projects yet. :)

I confess that I have "Project ADD"!  LOL

This week my office/craft room finally drove me over the edge!!  I couldn't stand to look at it one more minute!

Here is what it looked like:

 (Sorry, for the REALLY bad pictures!  It has been cloudy and gross here for days!)

It's looked like that for MONTHS!!!  I just could not take it another day!

I'm turning this room back into a bedroom. 

I do not use that room!  I usually surf the web on my little Acer Netbook in bed or on the couch, so the desktop, while staying, does not need it's own room.  And I do NOT do crafts in here.  I almost always use the coffee table to work on crafts.  So, really I just need good storage, not a whole room, dedicated to my craft supplies! 

So, the crap stuff needs to find a new home!

Enter my laundry room!  Which was turning into another dumping spot.

Somehow I had to combine these two spaces into ONE!! 

Don't laugh!!  It is possible....I hope. ;)

I took every. single. solitary. shelf. in my entire house at some point and put it in that laundry room to try out!  I can't afford some elaborate system...so I have to use what I have.

I wish I had taken pictures of all my trial and errors...but of course I became so fixated I forgot. LOL

Anywho...here is what I ended up with.  I am VERY pleased!!

It's not as claustrophobic as the big black shelves from the office felt.

What's behind the curtain you ask?

My laundry supplies (and my utility closet...which is why everything has to be removable as well)!

I'm not done. 

I have to find one more basket (did you notice that one was missing?  ARGH! They were sold out of that size when I checked. Those are from K-Mart by the way.  I bought them ages ago, but they still carry them for $9.99).

I need to label the baskets for easier use. 

Plus, I have a ton of projects still in the office that need to be finished or donated or something!

I am SOOOO thankful I bought a stackable washer/dryer years ago!  I don't know what I would have done when I bought this house without them.  They fit perfectly into my little laundry "nook".

That door to the right is my back door, it leads to the backyard. 

Can you believe I got that much storage into that teeny tiny space?!?! 

I will post more in the upcoming days about the additional changes I've made to this area!  I have some plans. ;)


UPDATE:  This project was featured at Delightful Order!