Shutters

I had been looking for something to add to our mantel to give it a little more depth. 

Our fireplace sits against a huge wall and sometimes the things that I put on our mantel get swallowed up by the big wall.

So while I was out junkin' one weekend, I came across a pair of shutters that were just the right size to sit next to the mirror on our mantel. 

How did I know they would be the right size?? 

Well I carry a handy dandy little tape measure in my purse at all times, or course!

The shutters weren't very pretty when I bought them (for 10 bucks!).

This is actually a picture of the backsides (looks the same as the front did) because I got too excited and spray painted the fronts before I took a 'before' picture!

 Speckled red paint on the trim with bad gold paint on the louvers.

Nothing a little sand paper and spray paint couldn't fix though!

And viola! 

Here is how they look now after a few coats of Valspar Warm Grey spray paint. 

Pretend you don't see the beginnings of my Christmas decorations, just look at the pretty shutters!

Now I think I need to paint the ginormous wall behind it - ugh.

Linking up to:

Funky Junk Interiors: SNS #53 - Shutters

Sawdust and Paper Scraps: Weekend Party

Book Page Wreath

I finally decided on a Fall wreath to replace the one on our front door 

(see this post on my choices).

Using the fabulous TUTORIAL from Emily at Jones Design Company,

I ended up making a book page wreath.

While it was ultra time consuming and used A LOT of hot glue, 

it was pretty easy to make and totally worth the time!

It was pretty inexpensive too - all I had to buy was a wreath form ($5 at Michael's) and an old Thesaurus (.79 cents at Goodwill).

Here's how it turned out...

 Isn't it pretty!?

I'm debating whether or not I should keep it on the front door...

I'm worried about it getting ruined outside (even though our front porch is covered) 

and I think it would look really pretty hanging in the house somewhere...

Craigslist Treasures

How lucky are we that our world has Craigslist in it!?

Where would we be without it?

Would we have to search the newspaper classifieds to find the junk we were looking for?

Would we have to park the items we wanted to sell on the side of the road with a FOR SALE sign on them?

Would we drive around aimlessly looking for yard sales?

I can't even imagine a life without it.

I'm joking, of course, but Craigslist sure does make buying and selling used 'stuff' a whole heck of a lot easier.

This weekend, I scored a bunch of cool stuff, thanks to my friend Craig.

I bought the coffee table for 5 bucks!! 

Sure, it's a little beat up and needs some TLC, but I've got big plans for it.

The main reason I got it was because I loved its legs.

So even if I scrap the whole thing and only use the legs, it was still a bargain at $5.

Everything else I found at a yard sale that was listed on Craigslist.

It actually turned out to be an antique sale that a woman was holding  in her barn.

After digging through her barn that was filled with treasures, I found this little stool.

I had originally purchased it thinking I would paint it, but it is so full of character that I might just keep it like it is. 

I love how the top of it is all wavy from years of use.

I have the perfect spot for it (I'll show you later!).

I have been keeping my eyes peeled for old wooden sodas crates for a long time, but have not been willing to pay the hefty price tag that usually accompanies them. I've seen them at tons of antique stores, but they usually run around $25-$30. 

Pottery Barn also carries them for $24. 

So I was thrilled when I found a whole pile of them in the barn for $5 a piece!

And of course, I never can pass up aqua mason jars when I see them...

 (don't mind the sleeping beagle on her throne in the background)

I had never seen one as big as the one on the right, so I had to have it.

I'm super excited about all of my purchases.

Can't wait to show you what I have in store for them!

 Linking up to:
Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures

Moving the Paddle

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post and offered advice about whether I should center the paddle above the office doors or center it on the wall.

Originally I had hung it centered on the wall.

I took a picture looking upwards so that you could see the massiveness of the wall that I hung it on...

Everyone who commented and the dear hubby thought it should be centered above the double doors to the office.

So I took everyone's advice and moved it today.

And I have to admit that everyone else was right. 

It does look better centered above the door.

I know, Jacob, I should have listened to you in the first place :)

Someone had asked how I hung the paddle on the wall...

I just put two short little screws into the back (one on each end) and wrapped some wire around the screws to form a loop, like this...

Then I put two screws in the wall and hung the wire loops onto the wall screws.

Another commenter asked about the paint pens I used to write on the paddle...

They can usually be found in the art section at most craft stores.

 These are the ones I used...

They are SO much easier to use than a little paint brush and paint!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So do you agree? 

Does it look better centered above the doors??

Linking up to:

Boat Rentals Sign

I picked up an old, rustic oar at the Northwest's Largest Garage Sale at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds a few months ago for only 5 bucks.

(I highly doubt it was the Northwest's Largest Garage Sale, though. It was kinda puny.)

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the oar, but I knew I had to have it 

considering how hard it was for me to find the oars we used in our bedroom.

And so it sat in the corner of the living room for a few months.

I'm sure Jacob was thoroughly pleased about that.

He's always complaining about the junk I bring home.

"But honey, I swear I have a vision for it!"

Anyways, I finally got to making it pretty and giving it a home this weekend.

Using transfer paper, I copied an arrow and "BOAT RENTALS" onto the oar (I actually think it's a paddle though) and then filled in the letters with my black and white paint pens.

It was as easy as that.

 

Then I hung it centered on the huge wall in our entryway, 

above the office and powder room doors.

Jacob thinks it should be centered above the double doors to the office,

but I think it should be centered on the big wall.

What do you think??

 Linking up to:
The Lettered Cottage's Favorite Yard Sale Scores
The DIY Showoff Project Parade

Ceramic Garden Stool - A Steal!

I've been coveting ceramic garden stools ever since I saw them featured in my House Beautiful magazine awhile back.

You know the ones...

you see them everywhere...

Here's what House Beautiful had to say about them...

But they are oh, so expensive!

I've searched high and low for a good deal on one.

Ballard Designs has them for $139

Target sells them for $169

Pottery Barn sells them for $159

But the best price I found was at Wisteria for $99 (on sale).

I still wasn't willing to spend that much.

I resigned to the fact that I would never have one.

Then I got a tip from Beth over at The 7 Daggetts. 

She found garden stools at Big Lots for $10!

That's right, I said TEN DOLLARS!!!

And they are EXACTLY the same as the ones from Ballard Designs, Target, and Wisteria.

Thanks, Beth!!!!

So of course, I packed all of the kids up this morning and raced out to Big Lots.

I searched the whole store and finally found them in the back corner with the gardening supplies (duh!).

I had a hard time choosing between red, blue or white, but ultimately settled on the white one.

The price tag was marked at $20 (still a killer deal!), but when the cashier rang it up I found out it was 50% off.

I am beyond thrilled at my purchase. 

In fact, I think I may go back and get the blue one too :)

Beachy Accessories

One of the best parts of a beach vacation is shopping for beachy accessories to take home.

Since I've become such a penny pincher lately, I now look at a lot of things and think  

"I could make that for way cheaper"

and thus I end up buying very little because I just know some day I will get around to making some of those cute things I spied on my trip.

Unfortunately that some day rarely comes.

So I decided to write this post to document those cute things I saw that I know I could make myself and hopefully (eventually) I will be inspired to blog about those things that I actually did make myself...

we'll see. 

I spied this cute "Coast" sign hanging on the front of one of the beach cottages.

I thought it was pretty clever.

I'm a sucker for signs and they are SO easy to make yourself. 

They were everywhere I looked!

I liked this "Surf Shack" one,

the "Sandcastles and Surf" one,

the tiny little "Life's at Ease with and Ocean Breeze" one,

 

and the arrows pointing to the "Shore" and the "Beach".

Then I saw these Scrabble pieces spelling out "Beach Time" for sale. 

I repeat, FOR SALE! 

I could make that for FREE using the Scrabble game we never play!

This isn't the best picture of this, but it was a framed description of a sailboat alongside a sketch of the boat. 

How easy would that be to use some scrapbook paper or fabric for the background, 

find the words and picture online, 

and stick it in a vintage frame?

I also saw several of these driftwood whirly gig things hanging from people's front porches.

I fell in love with them.

They couldn't be that hard to make, right?

Therefore, I repeatedly drug Jacob down to the beach and made him collect driftwood pieces with me.

We ended up filling a whole grocery bag with driftwood.

I WILL make one of those...

some day.

But I promised myself I would not start any new projects 

until our Master Bedroom is finally complete.

Here are the few things I actually did purchase.

They were all things I knew I couldn't  make myself.

A rustic little wooden tea box,

 

2 blue finger starfish,

a decorative plate with a great phrase,

You cannot change the wind, but you can adjust your sails.

and two vintage books that were a great color with meaningful titles.

I love coming home from a trip with new treasures for the house and 

ideas for new things to create!

 

Linking up to:

 Inspired By Linky Party @ The Inspired Room