Teal There Was You...

It's been awhile, friends! :)

This is a story of a girl who had $90 and some time to kill and wanted to turn her blah bedroom into something fun and eclectic.

I had some free time the last few weeks and I've been saving up a few bucks here and there to re-do the bedroom. It was my least favorite room of the house! Once I had some money tucked away for redecorating, I didn't have the time, and vice versa. Recently the stars aligned and I had time to get crafty. I had half a notebook full of ideas, things I wanted to do in the room. I could barely contain myself!

First thing's first, though...let's see the before pictures! We moved in 6 months ago but I never hung anything on the walls or really did much with the bedroom.

(Yes, I was watching House LOL).

The walls look so bare!

The dresser needed a facelift for sure!

I spent the first few days just painting. I got a really good deal on the paint. If you are in the market for paint right now, I suggest you check Wal-Mart. They have always carried Dutch Boy and Kilz paints, but they are in the process of changing out their paint suppliers as we speak. They are resetting the paint departments in several of my local stores. They will now be carrying Better Homes & Gardens paints and Glidden. Because of this, I was able to get my preferred brand of paint--Kilz--for a discount. I picked up 1 gallon and 1 quart of flat paint for $23

Here's another in-progress picture...I was sitting in bed working on my word tiles. This was one of the coolest and cheapest projects I did but don't let it fool you...it was SO time consuming!!! The supplies cost $21 but it took me like 6 hours to do! I sanded the raw wood squares, then printed out my letters and numbers and cut them out with an exacto knife. I pasted them onto the wood with Mod Podge and then covered the tiles with 3 coats of wood stain/polyurethane combo.

Here's the finished bedroom!

I moved the cubbies over and moved the bookcase out to the hallway.

The records were another fun project. I picked up 9 old records at Half Price Books for $2.00. I used fabric scraps to recover the labels. I discovered that by putting my quart of paint on the upside-down fabric, I could trace around it with a pencil and it was the right size to cut out and cover the label. I pasted the fabric on the label, and then used a nail through the center of the record to fasten them to the wall. Then I glued a button over the nail for aesthetics. Total cost of this project= $5.60.

I'm sure you're wondering about the records. Which 9 records are completely unusable and will never see a turntable?

The Best of the Statler Bros.
Barbara Streisand, Songbird.
Kool & the Gang, Everybody's Dancing
Nicolette
Christmas America
Jacky Ward, Rainbow
Caroline Crawford, My Name is Caroline
Romantic Hawaii
Cyril Stapleton and his Orchestra

The pillow covers I sewed ended up being a tiny bit loose on the forms but I discovered mid-project my sewing machine was at Tabatha's house (whoops!) so I had to sew them by hand...not as fun!

The monogram initial was another fun and easy idea. I wrapped yarn around a large chipboard letter. Total cost of this project= $3.87

The flowers were part of my Valentine's bouquet from Mr. G...the ones that were left and hadn't wilted at time of press :)

Don't know if you noticed the new TV but that was kismet! We had an unused gift card and found a great sale, so when our old TV's dvd player started messing up (it was built in) I was able to run to Best Buy and pick Mr. G up a new TV for a Valentine's Day present...it was a HUGE surprise and since it cost us next to nothing, how can you beat it? I knew that unused gift card would come in handy one day!

For the cubbies, I made a few changes. $2 worth of new baskets and a new frame (wedding gift) plus a few other projects. I spray painted the old wicker lamp and recovered the shade. Total cost of the lamp project: $3.62

This photo collage was easy and cheap! I got the frames for Christmas and I printed the prints at Sam's Club. Total cost of the photo collage: $2.88.

This is one of my favorite projects of the room! I created a digital paper, typed up one of my favorite quotes and sent it for printing! Fonts are FFF Tusj, HaloHandletter and 1942 report. The frame was recycled from another project. Cost of this project was $6.12.

I used some leftover chalkboard paint to paint a chalkboard on the back of our door. Some ribbon and buttons make it a little prettier :) Total cost for the chalboard project= $4.48.

The little hanging canvas is special for us. Mr. G and I met on match.com when he winked at me. That word has special meaning for us. I found a blank canvas, painted it and used stickers to decorate it. Total cost of the canvas project: $3.94.

It wouldn't be my room if it didn't have candy somewhere LOL! Glass was on sale last week so I picked up a few jars and some jelly belly's from the candy store at the mall. Total cost of my sweet addition: $3.47.


So here's the wrap-up:

Paint--$23
Pillow Fabric--$4.89
Letter tiles--$21
Records--$5.60
Lamp--$3.62
Baskets--$2.00
Photo Collage--$2.88
16x20 print--$6.12
Monogram letter--$3.87
Canvas--$3.94
Candy--$3.47
Chalkboard--$4.48
New analog clock--$4.97

There you have it...$89.47 and 10 days and I have a new bedroom. Oh, and Mr. G does too! ;)

Purple Is The New White

It's unusual for me to be posting two days in a row about home craft type stuff...but here I am again! Winter always gives me the blahs and for some odd reason, my solution is always to paint something.

Regardless of why my brain works this way, the good thing is it always works! I am instantly cheered by a fresh wall.

I don't have any before pictures, but it looked pretty much like this without the photo project and the white walls :) I loved the black and white theme I had going in there, but the walls needed something! I painted a few coats of Kilz Poets Purple on the walls (This color makes Mr. G happy since he's an English professor and quite the poet himself). He forgives me the purple part ;)

First thing's first...I know the purple looks different in some of the different photos. These are SOOC and I didn't edit them...some were take with the flash and some without so that's why...Sorry, but I'm not a photography expert so you get what you get! :D

The photo project was simple and cost only a couple of bucks...I had the yarn and clothespins sitting around...I spent $2 to print the prints and $1 for some white acrylic paint. I doodled designs on the dried painted clothespins using a fine Sharpie.

I used leftover chalkboard paint for the other project. I recycled a frame (pitched the glass and just hung the naked frame on the wall over the painted rectangle :)

I had to giggle that even our mouthwash matched--a total fluke I assure you ;)

And yes, I use lamps in my bathroom...I find overhead lights a bit offensive LOL.

The sconces were also recycled from my hallway, and everything else was already in there! (shower curtain, rugs, hamper, towels, jars, etc).

So there you have it...our tiny little apartment bathroom...black, white and purple all over...kind of just like before, but better! ;)

What's On The Menu?

So generally, my crafts are born out of a basic need. Because of our work schedules, James and I have to share the cooking. Every Sunday morning, we sit down and make a menu for the week, and then go grocery shopping. On James' cooking days, though, he was often calling me and saying, "What am I supposed to be making again?" And of course, I would remind him...but it got me to thinking that a solution was needed!

I was just going to buy a calendar and put it on the wall but in the end I decided to use this piece of wall we have in the hallway that was otherwise plain. It's right next to the kitchen, kind of in the entryway. It's hard to describe its location, but you get the picture. :P

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought the supplies I would need for less than $20 and spent the next week working on it.

I sanded the unfinished wood circles, then painted 3 coats of chalkboard paint on them. I nailed them directly in the wall, then painted over the nail heads. Two coats of Mod Podge over the letters, and it was missing something.

The little portion of wall behind it was white, and boring! So, I went to Wal-Mart and picked up an $8 quart of paint that had been mistinted. I spent $4 on it, bringing my project total to just under $25. The berry red color was perfect!

My favorite part are the blank spots for doodling and notes.

That is our actual menu for this week...our food isn't always very fancy (LOL!) but I figured there was no reason to change it up for the photos...at least now we will always remember what is on the menu for the day!