Kitchen desk area

We had some extra space in the corner of our kitchen and decided to add a kitchen desk area. I added some Ikea shelves to the corner when we first moved in, but it still seemed like wasted space. As always, I was on a mission to do it on a budget.

Easy as (Apple) Pie

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I visited my family in New Jersey and had a very yummy meal. Our contribution to the meal was apple pie. I'm still in the "learning" phase of cooking so I was nervous baking my first pie so I didn't even attempt to make the crust from scratch. We did make the filling and it turned out GREAT.

Antiqued Mirrors

Antique... Vintage... Patina... Distressed... Whatever you call them, they are pretty cool!

Happy Monday!

It's been a while since I've posted but we've been busy here! I'll share the details of our current projects soon but here are some teaser photos. What am I doing??... hmmmm.

Soap flower Arrangement

I wanted an artifical flower arrangement in my bathroom, but couldn't find white artificial flowers that didn't look totally fake. I came across some bath soap petals at the Dollar Tree and created a DIY flower arrangement that looks nice and smells nice too! I made this for the $100 bathroom remodel.



Materials Used
Glass Vase from the Dollar Tree (shown here)
Glass pebbles (shown here)
Soap petal flowers (shown here)
Scissors or wire cutter
Floral wire or an artifical flower arrangement (you'll remove the flowers and leaves and cut the wires)


Here's how I did it:

1. Carefully fill the glass vase with pebbles.

2. Next we'll make the flowers. You could use floral wire for this, but it's a lot easier to use the wire from an artifical flower bunch from the Dollar Tree. I removed the flowers and leaves and cut 3-4 inch pieces of wire.

3. Carefully hold the soap flower and gently insert the wire through the middle of the flower and pull it through the back. Don't pull it out all the way so that it holds the flower together.

4. Place the flower in the arrangement. Repeat these steps until you've filled the vase and you're done!




I used wire from an old flower arrangement that I had, so this project cost me $3.18 (with tax!).

Bargain Alert: Bissell Sweep Up Cordless Sweeper - $7 @ Lowes

I've been trying to live "greener", but I constantly have to vacuum the dog hair off my rug. I decided to try out a rug sweeper and found a great deal (thanks to purificada on slickdeals.net)! Lowes has the Bissell Sweep Up Cordless Sweeper on clearance for $7! This cordless sweeper doesn't require power so it's a green option. I just tried it out and it works well (not as good as the vaccuum but I wasn't expecting that it would be).

Here's the link to the item. You can pick it up instore for FREE so you don't have to pay for shipping.

Jute Vase

I love Jute!! I had some jute left over from some projects I did for my wedding. I was trying to find a use for it and came up with this!


Materials Used:
Jute - Home Depot $2.24
Vase - Dollar Tree $1
Artificial Onion Grass - Dollar Tree $1
Glue Gun
Scissors


Here's how I did it:

1. Attach the jute to the vase using a glob of glue. Wrap the jute around the vase and tightly glue it (this is the first ring at the bottom of the vase.


2. Continue wrapping the jute around the vase and periodically attaching it to the vase with glue, making sure that there are no spaces between each ring.



3. You can wrap the vase all the way to the top or stop wherever you like. Once you've finished wrapping the jute, cut and glue the end of the jute to the vase. I threw in a sprig of onion grass for decoration.


You're finished! Total cost= $2 (plus jute)

Bargain Alert: Searsoutlet.com is awesome!

Sears has an outlet website (www.searsoutlet.com) that has clearance/closeout items that you can purchase online and pick up at your local store (if it's available there). Yes, I said Sears. I never knew they had decent furniture until I accidentally stumbled upon their tiny furniture department in my local store. My dining room chairs, buffet, and my new headboard are all from Sears!

I scored this Lands End Country Luxe Queen size headboard for $84 (The regular price is $499.99 + shipping on the sears.com site)!


I also scored the matching wing chair for $64! (The regular price is $229.99 + shipping on the sears.com site)!

Although you probably won't be able to replicate this deal, I thought I would share it so you can keep an eye on the site to find some great deals in your area. I recommend calling the store after purchasing an item to verify that they do have it before you drive to pick it up.

Here's a pic of the headboard we put up today! (sorry for the blurry pic, I took it with my computer!)

DIY Outdoor painted rug

I've been on the hunt for an outdoor rug and most of them are fairly expensive. I ended up ordering this rug from homedepot.com for $16.88+tax and shipping and absolutely love it! The rug is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, so it's an earth-friendly option and it's surprisingly lightweight and soft! The only problem I had with the rug was that it didn't have a border. I came across this post from DIYMaven and I decided to paint a simple border on.

Before (1 plain 8X6 rug):


After (4X6 rugs with a brown border):


Materials Used:
one 8X6 Foss Taupe Hobnail Outdoor Rug from homedepot.com (link)
Scissors
Measuring tape and ruler
pen
Outdoor paint (I used a Valspar half pint from Lowes)
Small paint roller
Masking tape
Newspaper or something to put under the sides of the rug to protect your floor from the paint

Here's how I did it:

1. I decided that I wanted 2 4X6 rugs instead of one 8X6, so I cut the rug in half. I flipped the rug over and measured and marked the halfway point on the two longer sides of the rug. I drew a line as a guide and carefully cut the rug into two 4X6 pieces.




2. I took the first rug piece and taped off the the first side to create a 1 1/4" border. Press the tape down with your hand to ensure that the tape is stuck to the rug and evenly applied (no bubbes!) You can tape all 4 sides at once if you'd like but I like doing it one side at a time.


3. Put some newspaper under the sides of the rug so that your floor is protected from the paint. Using a small roller apply an outdoor paint to the rug. You will need to apply several coats to get a dark border.


4. Once you've finished that side, slowly remove peel the tape off and throw it out. Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the other 3 sides and on the other rug and let the paint dry for atleast a day.


You're finished! Total Cost for two 4X6 rugs= $26.17 ($21.70 Rug w/ tax and shipping +$4.47 Paint)

This rug will be part of Project Patio, part 1 (coming soon!)

Happy 4th of July!

I love dessert and just had to share these sweet ideas for your 4th of July BBQ.

Fourth of July Cupcake Kebabs - from Suzanne at Meringue Bake Shop:


Link:http://themomblog.ocregister.com/2009/06/30/win-cupcakes-from-guest-blogger-the-meringue-bake-shop/25837/

Red, White & Blueberry Skewers - A Healthier option from Makeandtakes.com:


Link:http://www.makeandtakes.com/red-white-blueberry-skewers

Happy BBQing!

Mosaic Mirror

When I was in college, my best friend bought me this Tranby mosaic mirror from Ikea as a gift. I loved the colors in college but once I bought my house, I couldn't find a place to put this pink and orange mirror. I'm a big believer in repurposing things, so I decided to keep the mirror but change the colors using mosaic tile. I already had the Mirror, the paint, and the glue gun, so this project cost me $10 for the tile (and I have some left over for future projects!).

Before (Ikea orange/pink tranby mirror):

After:


Materials Used:
Ikea Tranby mirror
2 sq ft Dark brown mosaic tile from Home Depot (UPC# 747583006349, $4.99/sq ft, sold in sheets)
Glue gun
Dark brown paint (left over from painting my living room wall)
Small Paint roller

Here's how I did it:
1. Since the tile I'm using is slightly smaller than the tile currently on the mirror, I had to get rid of the pink/orange so it wouldn't show through. Although latex paint usually doesn't stick well to glass, I figured I'd try it since I have it. Using a small paint roller, I applied dark brown paint to the mosaic portion of the mirror. I let the paint dry for about an hour.


2. Next, I peeled the mosaic tile off the tile sheet. Starting with the inner ring of the mirror, I dry fit the tile on the mirror to make sure it was spaced properly.


3. Using a glue gun, I carefully attached each tile to the mirror. Make sure you don't put too much glue or it will glob out on the sides of the tile.


4. I then repeated step #2 and #3 for the next 3 rings of tile.

5. I wiped down the mirror and checked to make sure there were no loose tiles.

That's it! Now to figure out where I should hang it up :)

Time to clean out the fridge!

After an intense thunderstorm and a 22 hour power outage, I decided that maybe it was a good time to clean out the fridge (something I've been putting off for a while!). After throwing out all the old spoiled food, the shelves looked a little gross. I've used general household cleaners in the fridge before but they leave a chemical smell and I'm trying to be greener this year, so I made my own cleaner and it worked great!

I mixed some baking soda with hot water in a spray bottle and sprayed down the inside of the fridge. The baking soda neutralized the odors and wiped away easily. Baking soda can leave a residue on surfaces so once the cleaned areas were dry, I used a moist paper towel to wipe up any residue and then wiped the shelves with some lemon juice. The fridge and freezer look and smell great!

Bargain Alert: $25 Brushed Nickel Bathroom Faucets @ Lowes!

I found a great deal on some quality faucets at Lowes.com. These Allen + Roth Creative Suites brushed nickel faucets are on clearance for $25 each and Lowes.com offers free shipping if you order 2 or more! If you aren't happy with the faucets, you can return them at any Lowes store for a full refund. I ordered the 8" Widespread faucet and will probably use it in our master bathroom remodel. These faucets DO NOT include the drain kit, so if you need to plug the drain to fill the sink with water, you'll have to do it manually under the sink. Even without the drain kit, this is a GREAT deal!

Links!!:

Allen + Roth Creative Suites Brushed Nickel Single Handle WaterSense® Bathroom Faucet


allen + roth Creative Suites Brushed Nickel WaterSense® 8" widespread Bathroom Faucet

Bargain Alert: $99 Patio set!

We're in the process of redecorating our deck and I was on the hunt for a patio set. I was ready to buy this great looking set at Walmart when I came across a post on slickdeals.net made by sunrl for the Martha Stewart Living Pacifica Collection 4 piece Chat Set @ Home Depot for $99! The set is $199 online but the price was reduced to $99 instore. If you're interested in purchasing this set, go to your local Home Depot and give them the sku# 705693. If they don't have it, they can tell you if any stores do. You can also use a Home Depot 10% off coupon or a Lowes 10% off coupon (you can find them online or at the post office in the mover's packets and Home Depot takes competitor coupons!) and this will make the price $89 + tax. Some people have had success calling the homedepot.com customer service and getting them to price match the instore price so it's worth trying if you can't find this set in store!

The $100 Bathroom Remodel

Ok... I know $100 doesn't seem like a feasible amount for a bathroom remodel, but I was determined to make our not so stylish basement bathroom at least presentable.