It's About Time!!!

Wow!  It's been a long time since I have posted!!!  I know Whit shared with you all where I have been spending the majority of my time lately so I won't go into it anymore!!  I am also still painting the Cameron Storage System that I built and it is taking a long time and a lot of paint but I am so excited to get it in my gameroom! 

I do have a fun project to share with you all!!!  This is a shelf that I made for my boys bathroom.  I am going with the whole mature western theme because they are getting older and it is the only bathroom we have upstairs.  I want it to be "manish" but still chic...it's a work in progress:)

So, I didn't get any tutorial pictures but it is very easy to explain how I did this!

1)  I started with an unfinished wooden shelf from Hobby Lobby.  You can purchase them at Garden Ridge and Michael's as well. 

2)  I took the knobs off and painted the shelf with 2 coats of acrylic Burnt Umber.

3)  I painted the knobs with with acrylic Antique White and then painted on an acrylic crackle medium followed by acrylic Burnt Umber.  When you are crackling you can only go over with the top color one time or it will not crackle properly.

4)  Do you see those super cute letters?  I bought them from Hobby Lobby for about $2.00 each.  They are the paper mache letters near the unfinished wood.  I painted these and crackled them with the same colors and steps as the knobs.

5)  I purchased the barrels from Anthropology on clearance and rolled up 3 hand towels for each barrel to coordinate with the color scheme of the bathroom.  I purchased the hand towels at Wal-Mart for $1.50 each!

I just love how this shelf turned out!  It's the perfect "western" touch for a big boy bathroom without going overboard:)  This is a very fun color scheme for me as well and I can't wait to tackle the rest of their bathroom!!!

~Ashley

Check out Cheap Thrills Decor!!!  The most creative design and remodeling business around!!!  If you are local you can visit the Cheap Thrills Decor warehouse in Keller, TX!  If you're not local it's worth the road trip:)

Warehouse Location:

13017 Gateway Alliance Drive

Keller, Texas 76248

Map HERE!

 

Napkin Rings for Any Occasion!!

Happy Wednesday! I want to share a fun and super easy project I did today.  I'm not much of a tablescaper but I do love to add a bit of fun here and there.  I made napkin rings that can be easily customized... and they are super cheap!

You only need a few supplies for this one!

I used metal drapery rings with clips for my napkin rings.  I found mine at Hobby Lobby for $6.99 for 12 with no sale or coupon.  You can also find them at Lowe's, JoAnn's and many other stores.  They come in lots of different finishes.  I was originally going to paint mine but I really liked the bronze finish with my other decor.

I also purchased several pieces of coordinating scrapbook papers from Hobby Lobby.

The possibilities are endless for these napkin rings but I will show you a few that I came up with.  For two of mine I was able to use my Cricut Expression Machine with my new Songbird Font Cartridge... Love it!!

I used the machine to cut out a tag shape with one piece of paper.

I then cut the same shape 1/2" smaller with a different sheet of paper. 

I glued those together and cut a "G" out to finish it off.  I love using our initials on almost everything :)

You then just attach a ring to it and you are finished... that easy and that cute!

I made these for Easter... I thought the colors and pattern was perfect!

I also made some that coordinated with the colors in my dining room.

I used the same technique, just different paper and shapes.

I used my Cricut Storybook Font for this tag.

Finally, I couldn't resist my addiction love of burlap.  I used some black acrylic paint to stencil numbers on small pieces of burlap.  After they dried I attached them to a ring and I was done.... LOVE it :)  Anything burlap with numbers pretty much does it for me! 

Thanks so much for stopping by guys!  For under $10 this is a great project that can be revamped and changed all year round.  I hope you like it!

~Whitney

 

Whitney's Burlap Monogram

Hey guys!  This week has and will be a bit crazy for both Ash and I.  This weekend is my daughter's NCA Nationals competition for cheerleading.  This means that Ashley has been putting in 4837520 extra hours or work getting CCA ready to compete.  Forgive us for being a bit absent :)

So... I was able to play with my new favorite tool on this project!

This is my new super cute Cricut Expression Machine.

I was really wanting to make a monogram for above my bed.  I loved Ashley's she made and was ready to create my own.  This is how I did it!

I started with a free hand me down frame.

I knew I wouldn't be using the glass so I just moved on to the paint.  I gave it two coats of Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch in Canyon Black.

I let the frame dry and moved on to the next step.  I used some extra fabric I had left from my bedding I made for the next step.

I cut a piece large enough to cover the cardboard.  I used my hot glue gun attach the edges to the back of the cardboard.

My finished piece looked like this.

Now for the fun part!  I used my Cricut Expressions Machine to cut my stencils out.  I chose to use a great monogram font called Plantin Schoolbook.

I cut my letters out.  You just attach your stencil paper  (or regular paper) to your cutting mat, type in your letters and push a button.  It's THAT easy :)  The best part about the Cricut Expression Machine is that you can cut your letters up to 24"... Wow and woohoo!!

After cutting my stencils, I used the letters to plan where I would paint.  I would like to add on this part that I did not space my letters evenly :( !  I went ahead and finished so I could share with you guys but I would suggest that you measure before painting... duh.  Then you won't have to redo yours like I will soon be doing.

I cut a piece of burlap 3" shorter than my cardboard.

 

I used a stencil brush and some black acrylic paint to do my stenciling. 

Just dab your brush up and down, not side to side to get the best outcome.

I finished all my letters and I was ready for my final step.  I hot glued the burlap to the fabric and then wanted to add just a little something more.  I decided to use bronze nail heads around the edge of the burlap.  I spaced them 2" apart and pressed them through my cardboard.  Then, I turned the cardboard around and hammered the nails down to the side.

My final step was getting a few pictures for you.  I waited to hang it above the bed until I go back and fix my stencil job... bummer:) 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wish us luck the weekend. It's a huge weekend for both Ashley, my daughter and the entire gym. Go CCA!

~Whitney

Cheapo but Chic Full Length Mirror

Ahhh! It's been FOREVER. Sorry to stay gone so long but I had a series of things happen that kept me away from the computer... But I'm back :)  I'm so excited to share my next project with you.  This is an easy one you can have done in a few hours but it will look like it took you much longer.  I have been wanting a full length mirror so I made this.

This is how I did it.  I started by purchasing a few things that were cheap and easy to find.

I found my full length mirror in black at Walmart for $5.00... Can't beat that!

I found everything else at Lowes.  The 5 fence posts were super cheap!

The wooden scrolly was around $7.

And my wood screws were about $5 also but will last me a long time.

My first step was to cut my posts the same length.  I used my miter saw for this part but you can also use a small hand saw or have Home Depot cut them for you.  Mine were about 5' tall each after I cut them.

I also cut a piece of scrap 1x2 to anchor my posts together.  These are around $1.50 at Lowe's also.  I put all my posts good side down on the ground.  These are the tools you need now.

I ran  a line of Gorilla Wood Glue one the posts where my 1x2 would lay.

Then, I put the 1x2 on top of it and used my drill to drive a wood screw into each post.

When I was finished it looked like this.

I repeated this step on the other end and I was done.  I then used some cream latex paint to dry brush my posts.  I wanted it to look and worn.

While that was drying I moved on to the other pieces.  I taped off my cheap black mirror so I wouldn't have to take it apart.

I then painted the entire black edge with FolkArt Seamist acrylic paint that I get at Hobby Lobby.  This took at least 3 coats but they dry fast so it's no big deal.  After it was dry I added a bit of Ralph Lauren Smoke Glaze.  You just paint it on and then wipe off as much as you want with a wiping cloth or old t-shirt.

I also painted and glazed my scrolly...

Now it was time to put this baby together.  Because both my mirror and scrolly were so light I decided to hot glue it to the posts.  I just added LOTS of hot glue under the mirror to make sure it sticks.  Then, I attached the scrolly.

I really like the look of this leaning against a wall rather then hanging so my work is done.  For now, it sits in the reading area of my bedroom.  I love it!  What do you think??

Hope you guys like it! It was a simple and cheap way to create a very custom mirror!  It's good to be back... Thanks so much!!

~Whitney