Prepping a Gallery Wall: Painting Wall Decor

I hope you are all settling into fall and preparing for the up-coming holiday season.

Since Fall has hit I have turned into a regular Betty Home Maker--crafting, baking and cooking--My dog thinks I have lost my mind--but someday all this practice will be appreciated by someone! (Hopefully)

One of the things I have been working on is a Gallery Wall in my teeny tiny hall way.

I started by buying some frames--on sale at Michael's (my new hang out). The frames took me a few weeks to hang--and I am still in the process of filling them with pictures.

I knew I wanted other mediums to go on the wall as well, Canvas' with quotes, a "P" Monogram, etc. But I have had the hardest time finding things I like--in an appropriate size and color scheme. So I decided to just make my own decor.

I started with the monogram last week.

After searching every Michael's Store near me for a Metal "P" and not finding one--I settled for a wood "P" and a wood frame to go around it.

Some of the frames I have-- Are brown wood grain with a blue outer rim. So I kept with the blue theme.

I am using Command Picture Hanging strips (Velcro Strips) For the whole Gallery wall--the Small ones worked well with this.

Next I decided that since all of the pictures on my wall will most likely be from trips I have taken, I wanted a quote about traveling. I settled on "Not all those who wander are lost" --Tolkien. I saw a few canvas' online where it was painted over a map and loved it!

I found some map scrapbook  paper, and several small canvas' (I decided to break it up over 2 canvas'). 

After modge podging the paper onto the canvas's' I used a silver sharpie to write the quote out before painting it on with black acrylic paint. 

I had to redo the 'are lost' canvas once --but I made 3 to begin with so it worked out well. 

I think they turned out pretty well--Considering I can't write very straight without lines. I like the different Dimensions my wall is beginning to get.

I hope you all have a great last few weeks of October! Go get those fall crafts--Everything is on sale!

Crafters' Dream Closet

I have been talking about my craft closet for a while now--but as with anything I buy the materials and then it takes weeks for me to complete the project. 

With the projects I do, the materials I have for the kiddos I work with, and the large abundance of kids games (a sad thing really since I don't even have kids), I wanted to make use of one of the two small closets in my office. 

I have had racks on the wall for a while that hold paint:

And up until now they were also holding various other things--that would often fall through the grates onto the floor.

Annnnd the rest of my stuff looked like this-- Like a craft store vomited.

Eventually I was able to go to Lowe's and buy some pre-finished shelves, and brackets--they then rode around in my trunk for a few weeks--until a few weekends ago when I was able to get them on the wall! Again not an easy task I had a faulty drill--so I had to do the dreaded; ask a neighbor--eek.

I also bought the wrong screws so we had to make a last minute trip to the hardware store--no task with me is ever easy.

I finally finished buying baskets today! 

Here it is:

Crafting will be much more relaxing when I can easily find my materials.

Also, I wont be worrying about my dog eating buttons or tissue paper. 

Happy Crafting.

Floating Frames:Postcards

I said I would be back!

I had a lot of fun at Michael's today (I refuse to go to Hobby Lobby anymore).

My Friend Kelsey, see her blog here, had a super cute DIY Coaster Shadow Box tutorial a few weeks ago.

Here is the link: So cute. 

It gave me the idea to put all the postcards I collect from my various travels to use, and actually display them (I mean hey I pay a good .25 cents a piece for those--someone needs to see them!)

I looked at the different kinds of frames at Michael's today for quite awhile (SO MANY CHOICES) and settled on a floating frame. And Bonus--they were BOGO so I got both for $19.99!

I figured the floating frame would allow me to leave some space between postcards and it not look tacky--you would just see the wall through it not cardboard!

After collecting some postcards I had enough to make two frames.

Here is what they look like.

Now, hanging things is not my strong point... therefore I cannot confirm or deny the existence of extra nail holes in my wall due to this project. But they are up, and they are even--or at least as even as I can get them (I mean I even measured!)

I am ready to do some more traveling so I can add to the collection of frames!

Next up-- A gallery wall of actual trip pictures, etc... but frames are expensive so give me a while.

Fall Wreath

Hello Everyone! I apologize for how long it has been. To make you feel better I have been having some major crafting withdrawal, and my Pintrest boards are overflowing with ideas. 

I hope cool weather is beginning wherever you are; we had our first cool day here in St. Louis today (and I had my first Pumpkin spice (Frapp) yesterday) Therefore it is fall in my book!

Some of you may know I am obsessed with Wreaths-- see previous wreath post here.  I love the feeling I get when I drive up and I see my front door is decorated, and personalized. 

I saw a super cute fall wreath on--where else Pintrest, see that post here. So I bought myself the materials and went to work (literally as soon as I got home).

 It was literally the easiest project ever-- Just involved some cutting, hot gluing and placement of items.

And ta-da. The one I saw on Pintrest had a Monogram in the middle (where I have a flower) but I decided that since my 'spring' wreath had a monogram I would switch it up--and the flower goes better with the natural theme of this. 

And I have enough maple leaves for another fall project--hitting the Pintrest boards now!

Fruit Baskets and Coasters

As you know my kitchen is very limited on space. One day, many moons ago, I saw a project on Pintrest for hanging fruit baskets! What a great way to save valuable counter and table space!
So I of course went out and bought the materials and went on my way making these gems!

Realistically this should have been one of the easiest projects ever.

• Hanging (wall mounted) planters
• Spray paint (I choose Silver) But you don't even need to paint them!
• And a way to mount them on the wall (this is where I had trouble)

After getting them spray painted; and eagerly placing my fruit in them I realized I have no idea how to hang these on the wall... My brother advised me to buy dry wall anchors, so I finally did after about a month--But didn't have a drill.

This week while thrifting I bought some gorilla hooks (you just screw them into the wall and they hold up to 50lbs!) Low and behold approx. 3 months later I have mounted fruit baskets!

How awesome of an idea is this!

Bonus:

After making my dry bar last month I had some extra tiles. I wanted to try to make them into coasters. I bought cork squares, and measured out how many tiles I would need for each one and cut them all.

I played around with the idea of using grout to attach them to the cork--but that would have been a very heavy coaster!

I eventually decided--eventually being about 3 weeks after having them ready (and just sitting on my counter) that if I cut the spacers out and glued them with tacky glue to the cork that they should work find.

**They have mesh spacers between each tile to make them even when you add grouting--can you imagine measuring between each small tile!**

I have not used them yet--but they seem sturdy!

I got some cute napkin holders to put them in-- about 6 fit in each one. I have one in the kitchen and one on the bar!

Cheers!

Reupholstered Bench

Since my birthday (in November) I have been wanting to add extra seating in my living room--as to not have the problem of people standing when they come over. Because that's just awkward.
I have a large space in front of my front window that had nothing in it--except a tree at Christmas.
On an excursion to Jamie's basement I saw bench--with retro zebra fabric-- that I convinced her to let me have--and help me reupholster.

See said (before) bench:

So when I was finally able to get a Monday off, I recruited Jamie's help (of course) and we made a day of thrifting for materials (and other goodies), lunch and finally recovering this bad boy (which we discovered had been done many times before).

I was able to score some cute fabric--actually an old curtain for $4.00 at Goodwill.

I love this pattern:

After I painstakingly held the bench up so Jamie could pull the staples out (I know she gave me the hardest part--what was she thinking!!) We were ready to staple the new fabric on.

Why yes I did use a staple gun; and yes she did have to tell me how to do it properly...almost every time.

Jamie then used a touch up pen to fill in the wood as best as she could--but a wood filler and stain will be needed--but I will leave that for another weekend.

But the end result is a beautiful bench, that fits perfectly in front of my window--not so perfectly in my car (but that's a whole other story).

Although I like this bench I don't think I will be doing another reupholstering project any time soon!

(But I do have extra fabric to make some matching pillows!)

From Useless Hole to Dry Bar!

Disclaimer: This post required the use of a lot of tools--granted they were not mine--but this would not have been possible with out saws and drills and what not.

Let me start you all with a picture of the finished product--because I LOVE IT (I stare at it all the time; mostly because its in my living room, but also because it is BEAUTIFUL!)

Now lets start from the beginning. When I moved in I had a large hole, box, inset what ever you want to call it in the middle of my living room wall. Its dimensions are 24"Wx42"Hx28"D. Now tell me WTF, do you do with a space that big! The previous owners had a statue...of a cat... in it. But I am not really a statue person--more of a drinker.

Here is what we had to work with:

It was literally just plywood sitting in the wall--the edges weren't even finished! (Also don't mind the banged up wall--silly recliner--that has since been touched up too!)

We started by painting it a dark gray--it was a dark brown; and measuring out for the shelves. I painted, Jamie measured--I hang things crooked--its a fact just come to my house you'll probably think my house is lopsided.

Next we decided that tile would be awesome--I was secretly hoping she would tell me she could help me add tile to it! So after spending about 2 hours at home depot getting shelves, trim, and tiles and grout, we returned home to finish.

Fact: Cutting trim is apparently hard. Fact: Jamie is a good problem solver.

Fact: You CAN add too much water to grout and will have to go back to home depot and buy more.

This is what grout SHOULD look like:

The first batch I made was like grey soup. Lesson learned--Never assume the 'fill line' is at the top of the container! 

I think it looks awesome-- I can't wait to have some people over for drinks!

My Favorite part is the tile!

Happy end of the semester!

1st Mod Podge Experience

Ever since I started decorating my guestroom/office I have been on the hunt of coral decorations to accent the teal(ish)-turquoise walls. This has proven to be a hard task-- coral is a popular color but not necessarily for home decor.
Thus I decided to improvise and make some of my own decorations. All over pintrest are ideas for making things using mod podge and canvas--seemed easy--so I gave it a go.

I picked out 2 sheets of scrapbook paper that had coral in them for the office, and 8X10 canvas; as well as 4 different blue papers and smaller 4x6 canvas for my bedroom (to go with the new blue curtains I got--however I have since decided I didn't buy the right shades of blue so I am going to try to sell them on eBay).

Here is what I started with:

As it turns out sitting on the living room floor while drinking wine and watching TV= Mod podge all over your yoga pants... ah well. 

Here are the two in the guest bedroom/Office--Both have some coral and some turquoise. I think they coordinate pretty well with out being too matchy.

 I love how these little one look--however I think they would be better suited for a bathroom or Nursery. I have since bought a decorative Mirror in a navy color that matches the curtains better.

Happy Crafting!

A Touch of Coral...Crackle Photo Frames

I have been searching everywhere for coral decor for my guest rook/ office-- which I painted a vibrant shade of teal/turquoise. To my surprise coral is hard to find.
My friend Jamie (she has a lot of things) gave me some frames and floating shelves. The frames were already painted a teal color. She suggested painting over them in gray and using sand paper to make the teal peek through.
When I was at Hobby Lobby (my home away from home) I saw crackle paint! What a genius invention! I got gray and coral to go with the crackle-- and headed home (along with the items for various other projects that you will see later) and began on my frames.

Here is what the frames looked like when I received them.

I started my experimenting with the ones that would be teal and gray. Per the crackle directions I added a 'medium coat' (I am still not exactly sure what that means) to two of the teal frames I let it dry until 'tacky'-- and added the layer of contrasting color on top. The 2nd coat of paint came at various points in the drying process because I couldn't quite grasp what tacky meant exactly.
You then let it dry and it does its thing!

As you see I did (2) with coral on the bottom and gray on top; (2) with teal then gray; and (2) with gray then coral.

I think they turned out pretty good!

 I actually had to get photos developed-- did you know you could still do that!

And how does one hand shelves with minimal tools-- paper, a pen and a screw driver-- bet you didn't know you could measure with a piece of paper! 

Spring Organization

Happy Spring everyone! We have had a few days of nice weather which has helped get me out of my winter funk, and put me back in house mode-- starting with some organization!
Having a small house-- and a lot of stuff, I feel like I am always cramming things where ever I can find a place, which leads to things being lost. Solution? Organization! and shopping for more things of course!

After receiving some baskets and things from a friend, thanks Jamie! I decided to also make a trip to the container store and bought a few more things to make my small space easier to live in.

I do not have a pantry so I am forced to use my largest main cabinet as a makeshift pantry (this was a lot harder when I had a roommate--twice the food).

One of my pet peeves is to have a box in the cabinet with 1 or 2 items in so I now have a basket for misc. items, and added another basket on top to utilize the empty space. I also used a riser so small items wouldn't be lost (I can't be bothered with searching for Ramen at 1 am!) The space underneath can then be used also!

I love that I can just look in the cabinet and see exactly what I need-- no searching or digging!

I have a very small linen closet in the hall-- this is the only closest I have (other than bedrooms). Before adding the hanging shelf I had the dish towels and washrags next to my bath towels-- a HUGE waste of overhead (or over towel) space. I also have some risers in here for my multiple hair curlers-- and are the perfect height for my baskets that hold my ample amounts of hand sanitizers (what! I work with kids!) and wallflower refills! (What you can't see is the two rows of Bath and Body works hand soaps--I may have a shopping problem).

My linen closet will now double as a kitchen appliance closet! This closet still needs A LOT of work but it is much more functional already.

Lastly the bathroom. As I already addressed I have a huge lack of storage in my bathroom-- which means I generally just shove stuff under the sink.

I got a hair dryer holder for over the cabinet door-- which means no more pulling it out by its cord hoping I don't pull out rolls of toilet paper and what ever else! I also got a two tiered over the door rack. This is for, well, feminine items, I was tired of falling off the toilet to try to find them under the sink! 

(Sunday wanted to be part of the picture taking action)

So much room to store other things-- don't mind the random wood in the back. My house has really shotty finishes-- Apparently the last owners did their own cabinets... ah well.

I am also working on turning one of the closets in the guest room into a craft closet (Stay tuned), and hoping to redo my bedroom closet to make more room for shoes, and just update it from the basic one pole system.

DIY Coat Hooks

Upon arriving home from work I have gotten into the habit of bringing all my things (generally a purse, bag, lunch box and coat) into the kitchen and putting them all on the chairs and table... This greatly disrupts the functionality of my kitchen space, which is already small.

I have been considering the idea of a coat rack for a while but couldn't decide of I wanted one that was wall mounted or a more free standing one. One night during a Pintrest induced insomnia-- I found DIY coat hooks! Just what I need!

Here is what I used to create them:

Easy enough right! (Wood, scrap book paper, paint, metal hooks, spray paint and glue) I made 3-- because that is what Pintrest told me to do and Pintrest knows best right!

First I painted the wood brown, and let it dry. Then, I traced the size of the wood on the paper and cut it out, using Elmer's Glue All, I glued it to the wood, and used a credit card to make sure it was completely glued down with no air bubbles. (See ladies credit cards are good for more than just shoes!)

In the meantime I spray painted the hooks bronze to better match the decor in my living room-- I have grown very fond of spray paint!

Here is what they looked like all 'crafted':

Cute Right!? Well me being the planner that I am decided exactly where I wanted them--not considering practicality. I was brought back down to earth by my brother (who actually owns tools and assisted me in assembling these, and attaching them to the wall). Since coats can be heavy these should be attached to studs. Since I wanted them by the door (makes sense) this meant I was only able to use 2 of them. 

After much stress getting them on they wall here they are!

In the process of attaching them to the wall, we broke 2 screws off in the wall, resulting in them being a little bit uneven. Just tilt your head and they look fine. 

Now I just have to remember to use them when I come home-- not Friday afternoon when I am cleaning the house!

Tax Return Plans

2014 is passing quickly-- and before you know it the tax deadline will be here. If you're like me you have already filed your taxes and you are just waiting patiently for your money, and planning how to spend it (or maybe you have already spent it!)

Obviously some of the money will go to bills/debt, because I am responsible like that, but I want to have some fun too and spruce up the humble abode a little.

Since I moved in, in May I have been washing dishes by hand (cringe); some of you that know me personally may know that I despise cleaning. For this reason I typically wait until ALL the dishes are dirty before washing any of them, this looks tacky-- and makes for a long night. Therefore one of the things I want to do with my tax return is buy a dishwasher and get it installed (which is a little tricky because it will require taking out some cabinets--which I am already lacking).

Here is the space now:

(Ignore the dog food all over the floor Sunday is a very messy eater)

Seeing these cabinets go will mean finding a new place for my trashcan and indoor recycle container:

(Having them hidden away has been great! Sunday can't eat the trash and I don't have to look at them all the time!)

Moving to the outside. I want to get my privacy fence redone. We tend to have some strong winds here in St. Louis, and the last owners did a less than ideal job on my current fence resulting in pieces randomly falling off-- ALL the time.

Here is what the fence currently looks like:

As you can see there are gaps near the bottom (that Sunday frequently sicks her head in-- thank god she's big) The fence is tilted, and it only goes around 2/3's of the yard (although I am sure Weezy will miss talking to me if I enclose her side--Yes, my elderly neighbor goes by Weezy). 

What you can't see are the piece that I have propped up/ taped up to prevent Sunday from getting out-- talk about ghetto.

Finally-- I want to add paving rocks to my back patio. Possibly make it larger, and fix the concrete pad where my trashcans are.

Here is what I am working with for my back Patio:

(I think if I enlarged it-- adding furniture and eventually covering it would be more practical!)

(See How the concrete is broken under the trashcans-- I want to redo it so it is all one slab.

Here is what I am thinking for the paving rock patio (Thanks Google Images!):

If any of you has done any of these projects and has any tips or advice please let me know! Also advice for contractors is always welcome!

Check back later this summer to see home progress--hopefully!