Ombre Painted Table

I've had this nagging desire to incorporate a lavender color into our living room decor... this table is my latest victim

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I had no idea how to "style" this thing.  I shopped the house and couldn't find anything so I thought I'd draw my accessories onto the table.

Here is what it used to look like

It was natural stained wood when I first got it (it was my husband's).  It looks like it's missing a drawer, so I figured it would be safe to paint.  I had painted the table white and then distressed it.  But it was really boring me, especially next to that white chair.

I brought it outside to paint it with some home made chalk paint (tutorial at No Minimalist Here).

I used Sherwin Williams Imagine for the lighter color and Sherwin Williams Soulmate for the deeper color.  I mixed the two together in a third bucket for the transition between the colors on the table legs.  I had always wanted to try some of the purple hues of Chalk Paint, but I didn't have actual samples to compare the colors to other brands.  I found a great blog post at Altar'd that pinpointed close matches for ASCP colors.  That was all the motivation I needed!

Can you see where I spray painted our deck?  The overspray from another project reached beyond the bounds of my drop cloth... oops!  Thank God I have an uber-forgiving husband!

I used thumb tacks on the bottom of the feet of the table to keep it from sticking to the drop cloth once it was painted.  This is my favorite tip I've learned about painting furniture in the past year!  I don't know the original source...

I painted the feet first in the darker color

I carefully worked my way up the legs, transitioning to the lighter color

Until I got to the top, where I used the lightest color.  Where's the pic of this step?  Good question.  I wish I knew.  I also put two coats of wax on it and then proceeded to leave the table outside as it started drizzling.  Doh!  Actually, that wax is amazing stuff... the raindrops beaded up and rolled right off the table!

And here she is all done

What do you think?  I know purple isn't for everyone but it's been a long-time fav for me.  Thanks so much for visiting today!

Blessings,
Jamie

This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life

Using Storage Bins to Organize Kids' Games (and other stuff too)

I am so tired of worn-out, broken and ripped boxes for storing games.  My family is just really rough on stuff I guess.  Anyway, I think I came up with a solution that works for us.

Ta da!

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This is what I was dealing with before

Is it just me?  I feel like I need a lot more patience and/or a degree in engineering to figure out how to get all the pieces back in the box.  The "Cootie" games are the perfect size for the shoebox sized storage bins.

I love these things... they are all over my house.  I try to buy the same brand every time so that all of them will stack nicely (and I can move them from room to room as our needs change).  The shoebox sized one have helped so much with my pantry.

I know.  The labels are lame.  I'll get around to it.

By the way, this is great for puzzles too!  My son loves puzzles... our puzzle boxes were downright dilapidated.

I cut out the name of the game and used packing tape to adhere it to the side of the bin.

Put all the game pieces into a bin

If you put multiple in one bin, keep the games separated with ziploc bags

Store the game board on it's side.

So much better!

As you can see, there are a few games that required I save the original box.  I don't know what I would do with Connect 4 or Trouble's game board without the box.  Awkward and ginormous.  I think I'll at least reinforce the box corners with some clear tape.

Do you have any suggestions?
Blessings,
Jamie

This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life

The Ugliest Wall in My House

This is the first wall you see when you walk in my house.  I'm standing near the front doorway taking this pic

You probably recognize it from from last year's slipcovered sectional post.

This is what the wall looks like with nothing on it

Seriously?!  Who designed this?  I'd like to have a little talk with him.  We spend a lot of time in this room... it serves as a foyer, mud room, living room, family room, play room and sometimes craft room.  I would like it to be inviting, but what do you do with a wall like this?  We left the wall blank for a long time because nothing of substance fit there.

Then one day the hubs was cleaning out the car and asked, "What do you want to do with this old atlas?  Can I just throw it away?"  I understand we live in the age of GPSs now, but I couldn't part with my atlas.  It had been on many a road trip with me and had such a special place in my heart.  I love maps, so how was I expected to throw away an entire book of maps?

That's when the idea hit.  My husband and I have lived in a lot of different cities, so I decided to frame all of the cities each of us has lived in since we were born.  The arrangement seems to hide some of the ugly features of the wall.  Who knew a repurposed atlas and some dollar store frames could make such a big difference?

So now these are much less of a nuisance

And I love this wall, because it is ours.

Do you have anything built into your house that is super annoying?  Did it force you to come up with a creative solution?  I'd love to hear your story in the comments!

Blessings,
Jamie

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script> This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life

Dry Erase Ramekins

We had friends over for dinner last night.  I was serving different sauces to go with the pork tenderloin but I didn't want to put the bottles on the table.  I poured the sauces into ramekins... hmmm, no one would know which was which.  I thought about making little cards to put in front of them, but this is a casual dinner and I'd feel like a total dork doing that.  So I got out my dry erase marker...

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Why didn't I think of this like 10 years ago???  I was mostly inspired by my dry erase lamp (at least it gave me the guts to write on one of my dishes)

After dinner was over, it washed right off!  I seriously could not wait to share this idea; sometimes it's the simplest things...

And one more thing before I go.  I know I've mentioned before that I live in a small house.  For the first few  years we lived here I hardly ever had people over.  I hated the thought of people not being comfortable because we'd have to all cram into our little kitchen (we don't have a dining room).  I was so wrong.  If you've ever felt the same way, or you've found that you're "too busy" to keep up with friends, you need to read this post by Christina Britt Lewis of the Redesign Company.  It changed the way I look at my life.  You really should read it... it will take less than a minute.

This group of friends has a standing dinner once a week at rotating houses.  We promised we wouldn't cook to impress one another and we wouldn't yell at our families to clean up before the guests arrive.  It is beautiful on so many levels... I can only encourage you to do something like this with your friends.  We even named the group:  the POD (which stands for "pants optional dinner" because my daughter has this uncanny habit of taking her pants off and running around in her diaper at some point throughout the night).  It is what it is.  And we love it just the way it is.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life

Hanging Hairbrush Storage from Tin Cans

I get really frustrated when I'm getting ready in our bathroom.  I long for a drawer.  Just one little drawer for my brush.  And the toothpaste.  And my moisturizer.  And some makeup.  OK, maybe I'd really like two drawers, but that's not what this post is about.  It's about this

*cue angels singing*

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So it might not look glorious to you, but it's a game changer for me.  I don't have to get down on my knees and go digging under the sink to find my brush every morning!

It all started with some tomato paste.  I made chili last week just so I could get my hands on these sweet little cans.

I used the can opener to take the bottom off (as well as the top).

Wrapped it in a piece of scrapbook paper

taped it up

and sealed it with some Mod Podge.

I just bought this over the weekend

It's a gallon!  Amazing, right?  I might just Mod Podge anything in the house that doesn't move (or move fast enough)

Back to the brush holder.  I used some command strips to attach them to the inside of the cabinet door.  I used hot glue an adhesive called Duco Cement to secure the can to the command strip.

Voila!

Here's where I used to keep the brushes

...and you thought I was all organized, didn't you?  What a mess.  At least these brush holders should help a little.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

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This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life