Signs of Summer

Some of you may remember my Spring Free post, where I "lightened up" my decor for spring. I liked the lightened up look so much, I kept it and now I'm goin' even LIGHTER for summer!

Still for free, though. I kind of enjoy the challenge of changing things up with stuff I already have. Especially if it's something someone else didn't want.

Those bookshelves that I REINVENTED for the Procrastination Party have been sitting in my foyer waiting for accessories. All trimmed out and painted, but NAKED.

So I shopped the house. AND the beach bag. I'd like to tell ya that we've been to the beach for some shell hunting THIS YEAR. But, honestly, when I pulled out the beach bag, there were shells and sand from LAST SUMMER still in there. Yeah, gross.

Here they are in my wood pedestal bowl from the thrift store. Painted Heirloom White, of course.

This frame I've had for awhile. I found it at the Goodwill, but it originally came from Target. I gave it a light coat of Heirloom White to just highlight the details and left the background dark. A small piece of scrapbook paper in my favorite polka dots and a hot-glued shell for summery art!

I also shopped the kids' bookshelves and brought down our Little House on the Prairie books. I LOVED this series when I was a kid, and have fond memories of summer afternoons reading and rereading these stories.

Here's the bookshelf with it's LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER look.





The bottom three shelves are still empty. I'm still thinking of how to dress these up without too much clutter. Baskets, maybe?

Since these changes were cheap, cheap, cheap, I'm linking up to Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest. Go check it out!

Summer Project Inspiration

I'd like to think that y'all come here to REINVENTED for great ideas, so I've got some to share today. They're not exactly MINE, but they're so good I wish I'd thought of them, and I seriously might copy them. You should too!

These photos are all from countryliving.com

More chalkboards, now made from enamelware! Very stylish in the kitchen.

Wouldn't this bandana table runner be fabulous for a picnic? I hear you can buy bandanas at the Dollar Tree!

Here's a great idea for a Trash to Treasure project. Any old food or paint can, covered in colored pencils! I'm sure they used hot glue to attach them, and you could do any color combination to fit your decor, or for a theme party. Love this one.

Embellish your environmentally friendly canvas shopping bags with seashells! Another reason to go shell hunting with your kids this summer.

Another use for those thrift store frames. I have loved this idea for awhile, you may see it in my house soon!

Enjoy your day, I hope you found some inspiration!

Trash to Treasure Tuesday--The Teen Edition

Good morning. I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend relaxing with family and honoring our military.




Before we get to the treasures, I'm REALLY excited to let you know that today I'm guest posting at The Blah Blah Blahger for Tool Talk Tuesday! J.J. has a fantastic series goin' on, so check it out!




Now for an easy project to please your TEENAGER. Yes, I said PLEASE your TEENAGER. It IS possible, just doesn't happen very often.




My 14 year old daughter loves design too, so we've had fun decorating her room. On a very strict budget, of course. The first issue we tackled was jewelry storage. The girl LOVES her necklaces.









I found these peg racks at, where else, the Goodwill. A couple of coats of black paint and they make fabulous storage and display for her necklaces.

This next idea was hers. My girl LOVES fashion too, and thank goodness she's not into expensive fashion, as long as it's cute, she doesn't care where it came from. She saves the tags from her clothes and decided to make a collage out of them.

I think this turned out really cute and was a fantastic way to add color to her walls.

So, my friends, give it a try. YOU, TOO, CAN MAKE A TEENAGER HAPPY!

Now, link up those projects! (please be sure to link back to REINVENTED in your post!)

Thrifty Wish List

Every year as flea market and garage sale season gets going, I make a wish list of items I'd like to find.

Now, I don't always FOLLOW my lists, but I LOVE to make them. I've been known to come home with a van load of stuff, but NONE of it on my list. My husband LOVES when that happens.

Wanna know a secret? When I make a To Do list, I write down tasks I've already done, just so that I can have some stuff crossed off right away. Is that weird?

Don't answer that.

I thought I'd share this year's wish list with you, in pictures!

One can never have enough mud room storage, I think. I would love to find some old locker room baskets, or milk crates like these to organize sporting equipment.

I don't really NEED silverware and linen storage, but isn't this old tool chest COOL? I'm sure I could find something to put in it.

A reinvented ladder would make a fabulous pot rack.

Old dressers can be made into a variety of storage options. Anyone care for a glass of wine?

An old window would be perfect on the empty wall above our bathtub.

Do y'all think I'm a STORAGE JUNKIE? What are you looking for?

I'm linking up to Julia's Hooked on Fridays party, check out all the links!

(all above pictures from bhg.com)

Sometimes Trash Should Stay Trash

Okay. So the PVC pipe "feet" aren't working out so well. I've been working on accessorizing the shelves all/part of the weekend, and I can't get past the feet. They look PLASTIC.

'Cuz they are.

See? (Why is this picture upside down?)

At the risk of y'all doubting my BRILLIANTNESS, I've decided to scrap the plastic feet. I'm not throwing them away yet, though. You never know when a girl might NEED the cheap plastic look. If leg warmers can come back in style, ANYTHING can happen.

Now I have these:

These blocks of wood are made from scraps from this project:

(I take no credit for this one. My hubby and FIL built it a couple of years ago. I just took 35 coats off to take the picture.)

I guess the new legs would be a TRASH TO TREASURE project, but I haven't "treasured" them yet. Use your imagination, they'll be BLACK soon. And not PLASTIC.

Since y'all came to see an actual TREASURE, I've stolen one for you. From Dawn at Eventually Cottage. Dawn delivered the sheer genius that I haven't been able to muster up today. She made this out of a COOKIE SHEET, people. Isn't that just the coolest thing? You must check out her fabulous blog. She has this really cool button on display that says REINVENTED on it. But that's not why I LOVE her. Just sayin'.

If you've got a project to share, link up! Please be sure to link back to REINVENTED so that everyone can envy your talents!

Paint and Procrastination

Oh my, I guess I procrastinate WAY MORE than I have previously been willing to admit. It is 7:24am right now, and I JUST finished painting my shelves. That two week deadline was PRESSURE, let me tell ya.

I'm not sure whether Melissa, from The Inspired Room is my best friend or worst enemy.

You see, I don't blame myself for my faults, I prefer to blame the person who makes me admit they exist.

Well, here we go, the REINVENTED bookshelf. I had a hard time getting good pictures (anyone want to give me FREE photography lessons?), so I hope you can see what I did.

Here's the BEFORE again. I have to remind you how BAD it was.

And here's the AFTER.

Not bad, for a cheap addition to my naked wall. First I reinforced the shelves that were loose. Then attached decorative trim to the front edges of each shelf. I painted the whole thing with semi-gloss black spray paint, and added "feet." You'll never guess what the feet are. I priced some nice "bun feet" at Home Depot and they were over $8.00 a piece. So my husband cut some 3 inch diamter PVC pipe in to 2 inch pieces, I painted them black and VOILA!

I'm sure that furniture makers would be APPALLED, and you may be too, but I just couldn't justify $32 for "feet." I don't spend that much for a pedicure on my OWN feet!

Here's a close-up of the trim. I {heart} it.

I'm excited to have a new place to accessorize, by shopping the house, of course. And maybe the Goodwill.

You know, after getting this all off my chest, I think I've forgiven Melissa!

Now head over to the Inspired Room and check out all of the finished projects!

Drop Cloths and Polka Dots

WE HAVE A WINNER IN THE REINVENTED READER APPRECIATION DAY DROP CLOTH GIVEAWAY!!!




It's Michelle, from The Barnecks! E-mail me your address Michelle so I can ship out your drop cloth!




In true procrastinator fashion, I'm working feverishly today to finish my project for tomorrow's
Procrastinator Party at the Inspired Room.




So, today, I'm sharing PROOF that spring has finally arrived in Buckeye Country!




Woohoo!!! I painted my "B" because as I saw the spring flowers coming up and everything "greening" up, I decided that the red wouldn't work. So I went with a green and pink theme. Subject to change in the fall, but for now I LOVE it!




Have you painted your pots yet? Need inspiration? Look HERE, and HERE and HERE.

I decided to try coleus this year, because there are LOTS of pink flowers (see above pic!) and I'm told that coleus is EASY to grow, which works for me. AND, I'm thinking this won't need dead-heading. I hate that. Plus, I LOVE the pink and green.

I'll be back tomorrow for the Procrastinator's party with my REINVENTED bookshelf!

Trash to Treasure Tuesday--Practice Makes Perfect?

Welcome to Trash to Treasure Tuesday.

The one where I try to prove that I'm not a complete idiot. I said try, people, I'm not promising anything.

Remember this tray?

Yeah, I'm showing you my MISTAKE again, so that even MORE people can see it. I'm savvy like that. This LESS THAN PERFECT treasure found a home on top of the fridge, where the imperfections don't show as much. It looks pretty good up there.

A couple of you wonderful readers suggested that I try a tray with SQUARE edges next. I'm not sure why I didn't try that first, 'cuz I already had this:

Shiny and green? Come on, who designs this stuff?

I like to think I can LEARN from my mistakes, so this time I stopped after decoupaging the flat part. After two coats of Heirloom White, of course.

Here's the AFTER:

Better, huh? I'm going to put this on my bathroom counter. It will hold all of the pretty containers I'm looking for to hold all of my "essentials." THEN, I'll only have one thing to move when I clean. Wow. pretty and practical. Cool.

Let's see those projects! Link up, and remember to link back to REINVENTED in your post!

The Family Couch

I {HEART} our sofa.

It's the place where I start my mornings, before anyone else is up, with my steaming mug of chai tea and my Bible.

It's the place where I lounged a bit too much yesterday while my children waited on me. (They actually did CHORES without complaining, y'all!)

It's where we all gather on Tuesday and Wednesday nights to CHEER for Chris, Allison, Danny and Adam. And where we mourned the loss of Allison and her amazing voice last week.

Our sofa is where books are shared, boo-boos are soothed and kissed (well, not so much anymore!), and where we made the decision to buy that darn trampoline. (As a nurse, I lost the battle on that one--no injuries yet, and my fingers are crossed).

Our sofa is NOT where we partake of food, but I still vacuum crumbs from between the cushions every week. Hmm...how does that happen?

What's your SOFA STYLE?

Ours is traditional in style, and upholstered in leather (pictured above). I LOVE LEATHER. Not in clothes, mind you, but in couches. Leather is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. And it just looks better with age.

Do you like modern styles? I'm sorry, but where do you lay your head on this one when you've got the flu? (photo from modernlinefurniture.com)

How about this more formal look? (photo from SofaSofa)


I love this casual, slip-covered look, but I think I'd be obsessed with keeping it clean. (photo from potterybarn.com)


Whatever your style, there are countless choices. I'd recommend buying the best quality you can afford. A good sofa will last you a long time. Shop at a reputable furniture store and check out their return policy and warranties. Craig's List and Ebay are options too, there are people in this world who can afford to buy a good quality sofa, decide they don't like it, sell it to you, and buy another really good quality sofa.

What to look for:

1. A kiln-dried, hardwood frame
2. Heavy cushions (heavy=better foam)
3. Springs made out of s-shaped wires that run front to back on the seat.
4. Top grain leather (if that's your thing) or tightly woven fabric. Microfiber is also a great choice because you can wipe it off.
   

What happens on your sofa? (let's keep it clean people!)

Projects and PMS

Happy Thursday everyone! Today I'm sharing a project that just about GOT THE BEST OF ME yesterday.

I started with this inspirational picture:

And I said to myself: "Self, you can do that!"

I found this tray for $.99 at the Goodwill Store.

And some fabulous fabric from Fabric Closet on Etsy.

I covered the flat part of the tray with Mod Podge and got to work. It was EASY to cover that flat part. THEN THE TROUBLE STARTED.

It is NOT easy to glue and wrap fabric around the curved lip of the tray.

In fact, I wouldn't recommend trying this project if you are in the throes of PMS, or prone to swearing. Not that I would know. I'm just sayin'.

HORMONE STORMS AND MOD PODGE DO NOT MIX.

Here's the finished product. Notice the conspicuous lack of close-up photos.

It would look fabulous ABOVE my cabinets. WAY UP THERE.

This is what a nine year olds face looks like when you say a four letter word in front of her that starts with SHHHHH.

If anyone has some good tips that I should have asked for BEFORE I started this project, please let all of us know.

I'm linking up to Thrift Store Thursday at Homebody. Hopefully you'll find many SUCCESSFUL projects there.

And Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville (gotta love that title!). Check them both out!

Reader Appreciation Day

Since this is MY blog, and I get to decide, I've declared today REINVENTED READER APPRECIATION DAY.

Today I get to show my appreciation to all of you that read my silly blog. And to those of you that came back after I attempted to sound like DR. SEUSS.

I love everyone of you, especially those who kept reading a blog about home decor after you'd seen my bedroom, BEFORE. And stuck around for the AFTER.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

AND NOW FOR THE THANK YOU GIFT. You were hoping there was a gift, weren't you? It's okay, I would be too.

Well...To show my appreciation, I am giving away one of THESE!

Wow. That picture is small. It's a canvas drop cloth! 8 feet 9 inches by 11 feet 9 inches!

Girls, you could make a lot of pillows or curtains with this baby.

Here's how to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter (just write a tweet with a link to this post and leave me a comment with a link to the Tweet!--this is not as hard as it sounds)
3. If you are a new or existing follower/e-mail or RSS subscriber, you get another entry! (please leave a separate comment to let me know you're a follower/e-mail or RSS subscriber)
4. Write a post on your own blog about the giveaway (leave me a separate comment with a link to the post)

So, whether you do 1, 2, 3, or 4 of these, please leave a comment for EACH one. I'll announce the winner one week from today, on May 13. Now I'm off to work on a project!

Trash to Treasure Tuesday

Today, I'm NOT sharing a project for Trash to Treasure Tuesday.

What? What? What?

Calm down and let me 'splain myself. I'm sharing a COLLECTION of projects, or ideas, sort of. And attempting to solve a decorating dilema that I think is fairly common.

Do you have that space ABOVE your kitchen cabinets? (If you have those soffit thingies, then that's a post for another day, 'cuz I'm solvin' my own problem today, and I'm selfish like that.)

Is that space above your cabinets, like, as challenging to accessorize for you as it is for me? Good. I KNEW I wasn't alone in my misery.

I like fabulous accessories just as much as the next girl, but since I'm CHEAP, I never wanted to spend much on decorative items for UP THERE.

Then, the lightbulb came on. That's what I like to say when I get a good idea, 'cuz I'm not so good at hiding the fact that I'm excited about something. THAT'S WHY I STINK AT POKER.

THAT SPACE is the perfect place to display treasures made from trash. Even if they didn't turn out so good, because no one can see them up close unless they pull up a ladder. And no one's friends do that, do they? Well, I had a couple that did, but I don't invite them over much anymore.

Now, for some pictures.

Everthing here came from a thrift store. Well, the "plant" didn't, but it probably should be trash, I just haven't found anything better to replace it with. I painted the plate, 'cuz it was ugly, you know. The frame was already beautiful black, I just printed out the B on my computer and framed it. This picture also illustrates how easy it can be to change a color scheme with remade objects. When I fell in love with the red/aqua combo, I started looking for thrift store items in those colors. I found that cool Ball jar in aqua, printed the B in the same color and added red with paint and the candle (man, that candle is crooked).

Are you seeing a theme here? No, not the UGLY PLANT theme. Here's another painted plate, only square this time, with aqua accents. The box on the right was $.50 at the Goodwill. It was a Christmas item, so I just added paint and the same stencil that's on the plate.

This stuff is all unaltered thrift store goodies. I like to add the greenery for some texture (this stuff is better than those other plants), and vary the shapes. I also vary the height of the objects, it's just more interesting to look at that way.

More Goodwill stuff. Probably $4.00 total here, people. I did have to paint the star, so I guess that adds a nickel or so.

Here are my TOP FOUR TIPS FOR DECORATING THAT SPACE "UP THERE":

1. Decide on a color scheme and start looking for items that either match, or can be painted to match. Don't look for perfection, unless your friends have ladders.


2. Vary the texture. Use plants (but please find some better than mine), baskets or other rough textured items to balance out the smooth stuff.


3. Vary the height. If all of your items are similar in size, set some pieces on small boxes or pieces of scrap wood to elevate them.


4. Put stuff up there you like to look at. My space doesn't look "professionally" done, but it makes me happy, and isn't that what it's all about?

All right, enough about me ladies. Link up those projects!

Please don't forget to link back to REINVENTED in your posts so that your readers can check out all of the great ideas!