Bathroom Makeover

After having the classic 'beach theme' bathroom for several years, I decided I wanted a bathroom makeover. I had no idea, at first, what I wanted to switch to, but I thought something with purple would be nice. I started with my poppy picture and pieced together an elegant poppy, purple and orange bathroom.

  When I got my first apartment on my own, I was excited to decorate in themes and colors of my choice. I picked seashells and beach colors for the bathroom and found three seashell art pieces online for just $5 each and free shipping. Even when I first bought them, I knew I could easily paint over them when I wanted something different to look at. And that's exactly what I did as I redid my bathroom look.

  I started by completely painting one of the pieces completely tan;

I wanted to create a 'wooden pallet' look to the already wood square.
  After the paint had dried, I sanded it down a bit and put on a second coat. While the paint was still wet, I brushed in strokes of darker shades of brown to make it look like wood grains and knots. I used different sized paint brushes and, for some spots, brushed in a circle, let it dry a little, then brushed it out. Once I was happy with how it looked, I let it dry overnight, before starting to outline the lettering.
  I had seen this quote on a canvas at Target about a year ago and I loved it. I think it is a great reminder to have hanging next to the bathroom mirror, so that I see it each morning as I'm getting ready for the day.
  First, I measured out three sections and penciled in straight lines. Then I started penciling in the words. There was a lot of erasing and adjusting to get the letters (mostly) centered and to give each letter a calligraphy look. It was a lot of close-up work; I had to keep setting it down and coming back to it, so that I didn't get a headache. It was a few days to get all the letters penciled and painted on, but well worth it!

This bathroom feels super relaxing, happy, and inspirational.
I also added a picture that a friend made me as a Christmas gift.
He used mirror paint on the frame's glass, then painted in the
words from a stencil - absolutely perfect!

Fabric Covered Box

Today's project: cover a sturdy box with fabric to turn it into a cute storage box!

To make this, I used a mix of hot glue gun and fabric glue. The hot glue gun leaves texture under the fabric, which I didn't love, but I didn't want to run out to the store for other glue. I may do the next box with rubber cement or super glue.

Cut out the fabric with a little excess to fold over to prevent fraying.

I decided not to cover the top of this box, since the plain white matches the fabric print anyway - saves time and fabric!

Now I have a pretty storage box for my extra fabric!

Note (added 1/6/15): I went looking for a better gluing solution and decided to try Elmer's Spray Adhesive (which I found at Target). It's a very, sticky mess if you get it on anything you don't want it on; otherwise it worked perfectly!

Picture Frame Makeover #2

Here's a great before and after project! 

First, a little background -
I love Kohl's; everything about it. I have a Kohl's credit card; and with my statements I often get coupons. One of these coupons was for a free 16x20 print through Shutterfly (score!). Picking out one of my photos proved to be the hard part, but I settled on a close up of a poppy from my dad's backyard and placed my order.

I thought if I could find a thick, purple frame that it would match nicely with the center color of the poppy and make the orange petals pop. However, I had no luck finding what I was hoping for in stores. After scouring the internet, I found exactly what I wanted... for upwards of $50, plus more to ship it. That was a bit more than I was willing to pay, but it got me thinking, maybe I could make my own.

I found this frame at a thrift store, complete with an Anne Geddes poster (that I won't be keeping), for just $2.99! It had a plastic pane that had a crack, but I knew it could be exactly what I wanted once I dressed it up. I found another 16x20 frame with a glass pane that could replace the ugly plastic, for another $2.99. (So now I'm at $5.98 total.)

I was set on having a purple frame; so, immediately following this purchase, I headed over to Lowe's and picked out several purple paint samples. 

Upon arriving home (I'm not sure I even took my coat off, I was so excited), I proceeded to match up the colors with the photo, viewing them under different lighting to make sure the final choice was perfect. I settled on "Royal Plum" by Olympic.
I had to wait til the next day to get the $2.98, 7 oz. sampler of paint. (Total cost now at $8.96 and I'll have a bit of extra paint for other projects.)

With two coats of paint and a little sanding to create a weathered look, I had pretty much the exact frame I had wanted with a whole lot of savings!

Isn't it perfect? I think so! 

I love a great makeover craft; are there any gems you've found at a thrift store and made your own? I'd love to see your story!

Picture Frame Makeover

Just a quick post to show off this picture frame that I have finally finished!

When I moved into my apartment, two years ago, I printed these photos of mine and had the frame that I needed to repaint. It was previously red and not an easy task to cover.

I began my first attempt at covering the red the same week I moved in, The wood of the frame must have been treated. The red was glossy and the paint wasn't sticking. Two coats wasn't enough. And as soon as I peeled the painter's tape off one color it pulled all the paint with it.

I washed (literally, washed in my bathtub) the whole frame and tried another approach - sand the red off until I got to the bare wood. I think the wood was soaked in glossy red evil. I sanded and sanded, but didn't see much of a difference.

To give you an idea, here's the back of the frame - sorry, I didn't take photos throughout the process.

Frustrated, I walked away from the project; and almost two years later, it was still in my basement.

I decided to give it one more try and if the paint still peeled, I would toss the frame and buy a new one. But a happy day for me, the paint stuck and it looked just the way I had imagined!

Some projects get lost for a while, but they're always satisfying to see completed!