DIY Craft Room Work Table

My Christmas gift from my husband was a butcher block work table made by him and I love it. What baby wants, baby gets.

I love the painted pink porch rail spindles that he used as legs. My ten-year old painted those with yet another gallon of oops paint that we got for $7. She did a great job, didn't she?

We found the wood counter top and legs from a local salvage shop. The legs were only $1.25 each!

This is where my repurposed organizer that holds all of my embellishments lives. You can see how I made it here. I wanted a space where I could work standing up and this workbench is perfect. Now I have a spot where Project Life, my Slice machine, and other cutting tools can stay out and ready to use.

Here is a peek before I cleaned up my craft room for you. Valentines have taken over!

I think it takes great advantage of the slanted walls.

Get your craft on!

Linked up at www.missmustardseed.com and www.carissamiss.com.

Repurposed Organizer

 I was in a craft store awhile back and saw some organizer with feet thingys and thought they were super cute. And then I saw the price tag. 

Seventy-five dollars!!!

It didn't take long to figure out that it was basically a utensil organizer on steroids. For $75. Not gonna happen. 

So I kept my eyes open for one that I could repurpose myself. Because I need more DIY action around here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found one at my sister's garage sale. I painted it light Aqua with leftover paint and added knobs for feet that I already had from my daughter's old curtains and some dresser hardware I found in Canton. Total for this refinish? $1.25!!!!

Not including all of my Valentine's goodies, of course. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linked up at www.mabeyshemadeit.com and www.carissamiss.com

 

Hutch Refinish

                  When we built my old craft room, my neighbor gave me this hutch.

 

                                  

 

I never did get around to refinishing it then and I had thought that it would be refinished to go in my daughter's room, since I bought pink knobs for it.

                                      

 

However, I started to notice how much pink stuff had made its way into my craft room in the new house. And my daughter ended up with the yellow cabinet that was in my old craft room, since her new room got a new comforter with yellow. So I decided that the hutch fit perfectly in my new craft room/ studio/ scrapbooking room.

                              

 

In its new life, the hutch is a color called Grecian Ivory, which happens to be our trim color. The builder left an almost full five gallon bucket when we moved in which my husband used to spray it while I painted the hard parts. I'm all about using what I have. Some of the glass shelves were broken in the move, so we went to Lowe's and had them cut new ones or a total of six bucks! I got the knobs at Ross for $7, so all in all I spent $13 on this piece. Not too shabby. 

 

                                                                       

(A word about sprayers: At HD, they have paint sprayers in two different areas. The first one you will probably see is a yellow brand. Pass that one up. They don't work well for painting furniture.)

  

 

 

 

        I love this refinished hutch in here. It's girly and frilly and perfect. Room Reveal may come soon, but for now you can see that I now have a place to store all of my fabric scraps, ribbons, and trim in plain view. My candlestick holders have a new life as well. I've used them as Halloween and Easter décor in the past. Today, they store more trim and ribbons.

 

 

                          

Remember this brass basket from my trip to the flea market in Canton? When I bought it, I had no idea what I was going to do with it.

 

                                   

 

It has a purpose now. It holds random objects that I can't bear to part with, because as soon as I do, I will surely need a triple cardboard ribbon holder. I hide all of that junk with all of the Matilda Jane baggies that the cutest clothes ever come in. Which I also can't bear to part with.

              

Smashbook has a spot now as well. Wrapped a scrap of pretty velvet ribbon around an old fashioned clothes pin. Stuck a pink bird pin in it. Staging. Done. (Why do I want to sing "If you like it, then you shoulda put a bird on it??"

 

What are you repainting today?

 

 

 

 

 

Linked up at Missmustardseed.com and classyclutter.net.

 

http://www.lilmrstori.com

http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2014/03/06/thrifty-thursday-week-50/thrifty-thursday-square/

Canton Loot

I recently went with friends to the flea market in Canton, TX and came back with some pretty good loot.

The best score? An old sled. Because if you are from Louisiana, you just don't find sleds. It doesn't snow much here. But a lady from Connecticut had these and I'm excited to use this for my front door Christmas decor. 

My friend found this candle sconce and asked the booth owner how much it was and I thought he said $110 so obviously I said no thanks. Turns out, it was ten dollars. It's going in my craft room.

Love this guy. It's a snowflake made from a tin ceiling tile. Paid way too much for this one, though. I know because at a different store it was $10 cheaper. Doh! That is not a mistake I make very often.

Actually, this frame came from Goodwill, but I snuck it in here. This recently received a makeover, so stay tuned for that. *You can see that here.

This little brassy shelf is bent and rusty, but it was only $3 and a girl can never have enough shelves. Am I right? You know I am. I will probably spray paint it. Not sure what color.

I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do with these metal basket tray thingys, but it's going to be awesome.

Brass is all the rage right now, so I couldn't leave this basket in the booth. Click here to see what I did with it.

Alas, this one really didn't come home with me. Pooh. And it wasn't even at Canton. It's in a local antique shop. And to be honest, I'm not positive it is even old. I'm suspicious. It may just look old. BUT, I love it!!! I love all the cubbies. I love the numbers. I love the chippy paint. And I really want to take this piece of furniture home. But it is pretty yellowy which is not the right color for my other stuff. But I am willing to change everything else.

Annnd these are the friends I rode with. Annnd we ran out of gas on the way. Yes we did. Coasted downhill, then walked uphill to the gas station, bought a gas can and left it there so we didn't all get high from the gas smell.

Note to self: Don't listen to the girl in the back who wants to wait for the good gas station with the Sonic inside so she can get fruit water. Just stop when the Empty light comes on. Definitely when the alarm goes off. 

I can't wait to go back to Canton! With gas.

Blue Cabinet

As soon as I saw this piece of furniture I knew what I wanted to do with it. Even though it had mismatched hinges, I thought they could be easily replaced.

Browsing through Pinterest, I remembered seeing this blue and white rug from Shades of Light and it inspired me.

I knew I had a gallon of blue oops paint that my husband got from Home Depot. (Not sure what he thought I would do with it or the "Blogger Orange" gallon, but it was only $5.) 

This was not an easy paint job, but there is something therapeutic about painting with a brush. Not that I would try it again. I like how it brings in more of the blue from the chandelier to my studio.

And no, it is not easy to find hinges. I am willing to swap out all four, but all I can find are shiny brass or hinges for inside. Where do you find hinges???

The former wet bar is now my stamping station. I guess it was a wet bar. It has real keyholes (you know-to keep rowdy teenagers from drinking all of your Kahlua or Courvoisier or Crown or...OK you get the point) and the top "drawer" actually folds down and is covered in a hideous laminate. The top flips up and there are various sized holes which I can only assume hold liquor. Anyway, it hides my ribbon and extra paper cutters and mats, not my stash of scotch or aforementioned beverages.

Have I mentioned how much I love my new studio/ craft room/ scrap room?? I love having an air conditioned place to refurbish furniture like this piece!

These are the paint brushes I purchased and use. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are worth it. I don't get paid to say that. I do get paid a small amount if you click the link and purchase them. Thanks for keeping my blog alive!

Crib Spring Bulletin Board

I have been wanting to do this, but I can't always get into my attic, because my husband's boat is in the way.  But I finally got him to move it and convinced him that it would be a good idea to hang a big, rusty, metal spring on the new walls of my studio.  (Not easy.)

This look is not for everyone, I am sure.  Some of the springs are rusty.  It takes up a lot of space.  But those are things that I like about it.

I like having a place to put all of those little tags and such that I think are too cute to throw away.  Sometimes, they inspire me to make my own tags. 

But, it can also hold a whole catalog if I want it to.  Love that!  See that Anthropologie catalog?  That was our (my sisters and mom) inspiration for the vintage circus themed baby shower for my sister. Coming Soon!!  Wait until you see the invitations!  Sooooo cute!

I used Tim Holtz mini hinge clips.  I had a hard time finding hinge clips.  I found big ugly plastic ones.  I found expensive ones with magnets on the back.  Didn't need that.  I thought Tim made some, but couldn't find them at Hobby Lobby or Michael's.  I finally thought to check Amazon, and there they were.  Perfect!  I love the color, love the size, love the price. Not a bad deal at all. 

Get R' Done

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.  I've been trying really hard to finish this:

I have been working on this for way too long.  I mean, we went to Disney last year!  When it is finally finished,
I promise to show you the inside.  And it is cute. 

And then, unexpectedly, MY NEW STUDIO/ scrapbook room/craft room was completed!!  Well, almost.  Still needs vent covers and a toilet installed.  But as far as I am concerned it is ready to move in.

I decided to use the blue and white chandelier in this room.  I wasn't sure about it, but I really liked it and hated to sell it or see it sit unused.  Plus, have you priced a chandy lately?  Hmmm, $200 or $5.  $200 or $5.  I think I like the $5 price tag better.  You can read more about this light fixture here (but don't try to vote for me.  Alas, I did not win.  But I have made peace with that.  Sort of.)

I am off to go move in to my NEW STUDIO!! I just love saying that...