Book Page Wreath

I am loving all of the projects using book pages that are showing up everywhere! I found a great tutorial at Makely Home for Girls blog. A trip to Habitat ReStore for some old paperbacks and a wreath form and I was set. My paperback book was really old and yellowed - just the way I wanted it to be! You really need a flat wreath form (in my opinion) for this to work properly and LOTS of glue sticks!! And I mean LOTS! But the most important item you need is a good ole #2 pencil so you don't burn your fingers like I did! I had blisters because I kept touching the same spots. Live and learn!

I have this hanging on the door of my sewing room and I love it.

Gilded to Chalkboard

I have been visiting the blog parties at Miss Mustard Seed and Elizabeth & Co. and seeing all the beautiful and clever things that other bloggers have done with furniture finds that I thought I should show you my mirror turned chalkboard. This began as a gold plastic framed mirror from the thrift store for $20.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it but I loved the detail on it. I found a how-to for transforming a mirror into a chalkboard.

I sprayed the entire mirror and frame with a 2 coats of spray primer and let it dry.

Then I applied 4 coats of chalkboard paint (you can buy a quart at most home improvement stores) and one coat of red semi-gloss paint. After everything was dry, I used some fine sandpaper and began distressing the frame here and there so the original gold mirror would show in some places.

The cutouts in the mirror frame make the perfect place to put the chalk. When my grandkids visited last summer, I posted each day's menu. They loved it! So look outside the box when you are thrift store shopping. If it has great detail you can do something wonderful with it.

My Guest Room Redo

Welcome to my blog! Today has been a cold one here in NC. No gardening today, but I am in my sewing room where I can always find inspiration. I wanted to share a few photos of some recent DIY projects for one of my guest rooms.  I needed a headboard for a new set of mattresses so I was on the hunt at my favorite thrift store here in Denver. It didn't take long for the perfect one to show up! I bought this for $12.50! It was natural finished maple but that just wouldn't do for what I had planned. I brought it home - it barely fit in my car - then proceeded to transform it. I painted it and that was it! I also snagged a beautiful oak desk chair ($8.00) that really wasn't in bad condition but I wanted to use it in the same guest room so, you guessed it, I painted it red too! I love it. I added new casters and the burlap pillow. Of course, that wasn't all I bought at the thrift store that day. I also scored 4 shutters at $2.00 each. I painted one pair red and used them as window treatments. I love the look of the guest room and so did my first guests. I have lots of DIY projects to show you so come back again soon.