Pull Down School Map

I really love maps and globes. I think they make great decor. Last month I bought an old school pull down map off of Etsy.com for $75. The map is 72" wide by 54" long. I needed a piece that was large and could take up a lot of wall space. This map does the job, plus it looks awesome. Everyone who has come to my house comments how cool it looks. It has definitely been a conversation piece.

The shop owner who sold me the map has other maps available for purchase. Go check out her shop HERE.

Ballard Design's Botanical Prints- Knockoff

Have you seen these awesome Christmas plant/flower botanical prints That Ballard Designs have for sale? They are adorable!!!

Since they are so adorable, I wanted some for my wall. But at $150, that was not going to happen... So, I enlisted the help of my Photoshop savvy husband to make them for me.

First thing I had to do was find botanical prints that look like the ones on Ballard Designs. Thankfully, I found them and all in one spot... Etsy.com. For my project, Matt was able to take the images off the internet and redesign them in Photoshop. If you are not able to do that, click on the flower name and it will take you to the Etsy shops that I found them in...

American Holly

Hawthorne Berry

Amaryllis

Poinsettia

After Matt had designed and sized them to what I wanted them, we sent them off to Sam's Club to be developed. We spent about $12 on four 12"x16" prints. Not too shabby. Once the prints were back, we put them in Ikea frames and hung them on the wall.

Easy Spring Wreath

Easy Spring Wreath Tutorial:


Supplies:
-twig wreath
-flowers- I used three
-wire cutters

The first thing to do, is cut the branches off the stem. The longer branches, I cut in half so I could have two.Next, stick the individual branches into the wreath. Make sure the branch is secure. I did not need to use floral tape or wire. Go around the wreath and evenly place the flower branches.

You should have something like this once you are done!




I got everything at Hobby Lobby
$9.00 for the wreath (40% off coupon)
$7.50 for the flowers (%50 off sale)

Total: $16.50!

Don't you think the yellow planters are awesome?!?! I got them at Ikea for $14.99 each. What a great deal!

Bookself Crates

Bookcase Crates Tutorial:

Supplies:
-(18)5 ½ “X 6’ cedar fence boards ($1.97 each at Home Depot)
-(4) 2”x2x8’ furring strips ($1.52 each at Home Depot)
-(16) “L” brackets ($.67 each at Home Depot
-(6) metal label holders (I bought a package of 10 on Amazon.com for $11.99)
-finishing nailer gun + nails
-walnut stain
-sander
Cut each of the cedar fence posts in half. Each strip should measure 2.5” X 6’.
Next, cut those strips into the lengths desired.

Cutting list for my crates:

Large Crates:
(9) 29.5” stripes (front, back, & bottom)
(6) 7” strips (sides)
(4) 8”- 2”X 2” strips (inside supports)

Small Crates:
(9) 9” stripes (front, back, & bottom)
(6) 7” strips (sides)
(4) 8”- 2”X 2” strips (inside supports)
The easiest way to put these together is to nail the 2”X2”s to the three side slats. Then nail the front and back slats to the side pieces.Once the sides, front, and back slats have been nailed together, nail the bottom slats on.Next, sand, sand, sand.Once the crates have been sanded, they can be stained or painted. This product is awesome. We bought this aerosol can and jar at Home Depot for $5. I was able to spray the stain on all the crates instead of spending hours brushing it on. Finally, attach the “L” brackets. I used little black carpet nails. I think it adds a rustic feel. On the little crates, I added some metal label holders. I bought a package of 10 from Amazon.com for $11.99. Go HERE to purchase those. They will need to be spray-painted though...

***The metal holders pictured are ones I took off my filing cabinet. These will be traded out once the ones I bought from Amazon arrive. These are just to show what they will look like once they are finished. Unfortunately, I only had enough label holders for one side.***

I had a hard time trying to come up with a configuration for these. I moved them around a few times, then I finally settled on this. This way, when I have little visitors, they won’t be able to manhandle my stuff (can you tell I don’t have kids…) Anyway, I think it adds a lot to the look of the bookcases- a more mature look. I still need to figure out what to do with the top of the bookcases. I think it’s a little cluttered as it stands.



Go see these great blog posts that inspired my crates:

House of Smith’s
Shanty 2 Chic

Another Laundry Room

A few weeks ago I entered my VINYL LAUNDRY SYMBOLS in a service auction for my church. My cute Neighbor won them. She painted a vertical stripe on her wall then stuck the symbols in the stripe. Way awesome!

This is what I did with my symbols...

Go HERE to see my original post.
Go HERE to purchase your own LAUNDRY ROOM SYMBOLS.

Dollar Store Fall Wreath

The following project was pretty much inspired by House of Hepworth's Pinwheel Wreath. Allison made an awesome wreath out of Dollar Tree grasses and pinwheels.
I loved the wreath, so I bought my supplies and went to work.


You can find the tutorial for the wreath HERE. Allison posted a great video that is simple to follow. Instead of adding pinwheels, I decided to add fall foliage. SO, once I have all the grasses glued down, I added cattails and other things into the grass to add interest.





I think in all this cost maybe $10. Way cheap, and super easy.

Shim Mirror

This mirror was pretty easy and cheap to make. Most of the stuff I had on hand. I only had to buy shims.



Supply list:
mirror
shims (2 packs at HD)
mdf back (I had this circle from another project)
wood glue
stain

Start glueing shims to the mdf board.

Glue some more

start layering the shims and glue some more.

Layer some more and fill in the gaps. I had to use paint cans to keep it all together.

After the glue dried, I stained the beast with walnut stain.

Attach some hanging hardware on the back. Also glue a mirror onto the front... in the middle.

Hang on the wall...

Step back and enjoy!