Duct Tape Decor

Who would of thought I be sticking Duct tape to things around my house because I like the way it looks. Have you seen the Duct tape prints that have come out? My dear friend brought me this roll and said "create" when she handed it to me (knowing it is my favorite print) Here are a few of my favorite items I have dressed up using it.......

candle and kitchen soap pump.....

the edge of a frame in my favorite photo grouping...

Gift bag using a sharpie marker

I jazzed up a gift bag for my son's friends party with a sharpie marker :) Spiderman was the theme and I only spent .99 on the plain bag.

Brick fireplace makeover

I finally addressed my ugly fireplace. After a long time of agonizing what to do, I chose the cheapest way possible to change the look. I dry brushed each brick with semi glass trim paint then blotted and wiped with a wet rag. I bought a few lumber pieces from Lowes ( I spent around $30 on wood) then attached it to the mantle for a surround to frame the fireplace. I think I might add a little molding here or there. It's a fun day when you get to break out the saw! I am really in love with my fireplace now! It has really brighten up the basement!

after.........

After....

during.....

before....

Valentines Door

I wanted to jazz up my front door for Valentines day....It is amazing what a hot glue gun, left over quilt binding and some Damask duct tape can do!

Ebay drapes

Here are a few pics of my dining room. Don't you love the view of the 18 inches of snow we got last week? The color is "Royal Red" from the Biltmore Estate collection at Lowes.

Shopping for a drape/curtain solution was a little stressful for this patio door. I wanted neutral, NON vertical blinds, something classy, insulated, but not too formal or fussy......

A patio panel drape is immediatly what I knew I wanted, but at the cost of $180.00, I didn't think it would happen. Until I checked out Ebay! I got these drapes for $11 (including shipping!!)

Oh, and here is my hutch in my red dining room now. You can read about this hutch makeover at http://diydecor.blogspot.com/2009/05/hutch-makeover.html

Meet my enemy...

Meet my enemy....this dark, drab, basement brick fireplace....

picture this.....brick ripped out....mantle/molding in white added....bookcases flanking each side of the fireplace....SNAP...back to reality....

I am posting this hoping I will get some great advise on what to do that would be budget friendly. The wall color is a great smokey blue/green....the art on the mantle I got for $28 at Jcpenney that had been $180! It looks less blue in this photo, but trust me, it's lovely....

Help me! I am leaning toward this to address the dark brick issues I have....then adding a molding....

http://www.theoldwhitecottageblog.com/2010/11/whitewashing-brick.html

thoughts? thoughts?

Wall Tree

I found a decal mural online that I liked for my daughters room, but decided to go with just painting it myself. I sketched it out on the wall, then used paint for the tree trunk/branches. I used scrapbooking paper for the leaves and flowers (with help from my Cricut) This project cost me about 2 dollars for paint and paper.

cakes

Flip Album

This mini flip album was so much fun to make! I used my snap shots from my sister-in-laws wedding and had it ready for them when they got back from their honeymoon.

For instructions to make this go to:

http://www.making-mini-scrapbooks.com/flipalbum.html

Painting Furniture Black

In July we moved into our new home. The livingroom furniture has been on my mind for years. It was light pine, that was supposed to be "American Cherry" when we stained it...that's another story..... Here are the before/after photos. I primed and painted 5 pieces, changed hardware and am love with it now! The next step is adding wainscoting. I can't wait for the final vision of this room to be complete.

before......(house in Cali)

after.....(back in Missouri)

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Changing Table to Kitchen

I have been wanting to make my daughter a play kitchen for a while. I love the look of the wooden ones, but not the price. I found this changing table on the curb down the street, check out what I did! I spent about $20 on cream spraypaint, fabric, drawer knobs, 9x9 baking pan used for sink and a plumbing pipe used for faucet.



upside down to make my "cutting marks"


I think I use my husbands saw more than he does...



Put back together, I used the side rails as a shelf, and used white hooks for tea cups

All I have left are the burners, I traced a DVD with a sharpie, but I need to work on it a little more. My daughter picked out the fabric. We love it!

It's mine!!

I spotted this advent house at Kohls earlier this month and decided it would be mine after Christmas when everything went on sale! So here is my advent house that I got for 75% off the day after Christmas.

I am so excited to use it next year. Our church gave us this AWESOME advent list to do. We barely got any of it done this year. I had my tonsils in mid December...so yeah...not really up to doing ANYTHING before Christmas.

Here are some of the things listed for advent I was given. So much better than candy...

Day5- birthday candle -- for Jesus' birthday

Day6- a key --- Jesus is the key to life

Day7- a crouton -- These croutons would not go very far if you were hungry! But Jesus can make much out of little. Read John 6:1-15

Isn't that awesome?! Each day has a bible passage to read your children...So I may add some candy to some doors WITH the items suggested on this list.

Photgraphy Name Art

I saw this idea on a website that actually spammed a post I did.

http://www.alphabetpix.com/

Of course I am all about DIY, so why would I pay them to do

this for me? My sister in-laws last name is POPP, I made this

for their Christmas present. I struggled with coming up with

3 different "P"s So I reused one...It is amazing how many

letters I find in iron work now when I am out and about!

I bought the frame at Kmart on clearance for $6, it this was a

fairly inexpensive gift, but personal and I had a blast doing it!

I hope they like it!

My daughter, the party planner

I love to make anything into a "lesson"...My daughter wanted to throw a tea party with her BFF Milla. I told her she may as long as she planned it all. I explained she needed to make a menu and shopping list. She was actually thrilled to do these things! She made the shopping list (cookies and pudding, hey it's a start), decorated the deck/playhouse area and even created a sign to direct her guest to the bathroom (which she lost, but we found it after the party)

I think little things like this will make her a better mother! Now personally I hate making menu plans and shopping lists (anyone who knows me is laughing right now) I love that she is learning what it takes to "throw a party"...

Milla and my daughter Allison (on the right)

Wall art transformation

Oh, the Home Interior Party days.....Ever have one of these? I received a print like this for a wedding gift. I was able to transform this print for $10 and now it can actually hang on my wall.

I first tore it apart to see what I could and couldn't use.

I was able to reuse the frame and matte. I purchased a new print at Michaels for around $7 then bought craft paint in brown and then a metallic bronze color. I painted the matte brown, then painted over the gold frame with the metallic color.