Friday, April 27, 2012

DIY: Makeup Brush Holder!!!

Hey everyone! I would just like to first thank my mother-in-law for being my very first official "follower"! I got super excited when I saw it! It means a lot to me!

Anywho, the reason I am posting today! I only use makeup brushes. I don't use sponges or any of the applicators that come with makeup! They just don't really put makeup on like a brush can. I have all different brands of brushes, so they are all different heights. This makes it difficult to keep them all in the same jar or cup. 

I have seen the technique on many makeup blogs and finally did it for myself. It is so inexpensive and easy to do! Like really easy! Probably the easiest thing I have I my blog so far! 

First you want to find a jar you like. I just had this glass one that I was already using for my brushes and cleaned it out. 

 Super simple but still pretty! Next you go to Michael's and get this plant filler. It is for fake flowers! They are with all of those other pebbles and stuff for plant jars. Hobby lobby might have this stuff but I'm not sure. I know Wal-mart doesn't carry it and I don't think Target does either. You will have to go to a craft store or buy it online. 

 One bag should be plenty! Next you pour the bag of beady things in to your jar. I ended up putting some of it in a smaller jar for my eye brushes. It really only needs to be at least half full.

Next, you can put in your brushes! Did I mention how easy this project was? lol!
 Voila!!!
 They all stand up straight! You can easily add a ribbon or something but I like it simple like this! 

Hope you enjoyed this little project and maybe it will help you get your brushes in order! 

~Jamie

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Goodwill projects!

Hello all! Hope you had a good weekend and made it through Monday alright! 

These are the final weeks of the semester so my projects have slowed down for the moment. I did start repainting my bedroom furniture but am looking for hardware so I will have that post up soon. 

Anywho, I have two projects to show you today! The first one I finished right after I finished the headboard but I have just been too lazy to post it until now. 

I think you might remember the chair I bought a while back from a thrift store for a couple bucks! 

 It is quite dated and ugly! It smelled funny too. So I painted it white after we moved but had been trying to decide what color fabric I wanted to use for the cushion. I could not figure it out. Well, after I made my headboard I had just enough fabric to double cover the new and thicker cushion.

So I stapled it on real quick and ended up with this!

 I slapped a button on there that I already had and there you have it! My new chair that cost maybe $20 to make! I love it! What do you think?

The next little project I have I also put together real quick. I pinned a monogram project that had a white frame, white letter, and burlap background. I did something similar.

I started with a cheap frame from goodwill. It took a while to find one that was just the frame and big enough. They always charge so much for a frame when it has a picture in it even if its of some ugly ducks or something. 

I found this one. 

 Luckily since it was a poster picture and didn't have glass it was only $2.

I then turned the picture over and hot glued the burlap to the cardboard. I painted the frame first and the "C".

I thought the whole thing was too plain so I decided to draw some stuff on the "C". 

 Here is the final result plus a little frame I did all the same stuff to except made a paper flower for it. 

 This wall is huge and empty! I plan to make a couple more frames with little things like this to fill it. I use pictures on all the other wall we have and keep this one different! 

Have a great day!

Friday, March 30, 2012

DIY Upholsterd Headboard!

Yay! I am soooo freakin excited about this post! I did the biggest project yet! 

When me and my husband bought our bedroom furniture, it was from a friend and had everything but the headboard. I was totally cool with that since all I really needed were some drawers for all my clothes. I knew I could just find some other headboard or something later on. 

Well it is now later on...I am changing up our entire bedroom! If you saw my last post you will get an idea of what I'm going for. I want to keep everything light since I will be painting the dressers and nightstands black! 

First you want to measure how long of a piece of wood you will need!...Ours was about 64 in with a little hanging out on each side. Then how tall you want it. We had to keep it about 37 in because that was the biggest that would fit into my car! Plus keep in mind that fabric only comes so wide. I just pick a piece of wood that was about $15. It doesn't need to be pretty or anything. Next have the guy at the store cut it to your measurements. 

Next I picked up all of the other supplies. 

 A staple gun with staples and the bracket to hold it on the wall. I will explain that later. I got the fabric, batting and button making stuff at Hobby Lobby. And a twin sized bed pad at Walmart (should have gone with the double). 

I forgot to get the other half to the button making kit that makes it easier but I managed and did that first. 


Next I measured where I wanted my 12 buttons to go and marked the spots. Make sure they are level and straight or you will notice in the end. 


Then I layered everything on top evenly and stapled the batting down first and then the fabric. I should have gotten the double mattress pad because the twin was just a little too short, so when I stapled everything down it shifted from the top a little and I can tell it shifted because the fabric is so light. Lesson learned for next time. 


Next you can thread your upholstery thread to your long needle and sew on your buttons. You will just pull back tight and staple the back. 

You might be able to see that I went all different directions, if you don't the thread will just slip from the staple. 

 Yay! You can see on the bottom where it doesn't cover the whole piece of wood but that part will be cover by the mattress so its ok! 

Next you want to attach the bracket thing to the back. It is made for hanging large frames or mirrors. I bought and attached two so that I would stay even and level. One part goes on the wall and the other goes on the headboard and they just slide into each other. 

Here is the finished product! Pretty awesome! I'm in love with it! If you have any questions just leave me a comment and I will get back to you! Hope you like it!

~Jamie




Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Hi everyone! This is going to be a quick post!
I am redoing our master bedroom and it has taken me about 6 months to figure out just what I wanted to do with it. The major thing is that I wanted to use a neutral color on the walls since it is a rental. We currently have a burgundy thing going on with white walls and mismatched furniture. I am not going to show a picture until I have an after picture to show! :)

I seem to be gravitating towards light and bright things in our house now. Two big things that can help achieve that is paint and drapes. Anyways, I wanted to show you my two inspiration bedrooms that really show what I am going for.


So I love things about both of these rooms! I'm not going to do the purple bench but I am doing a purple blanket like the second one. I just prefer the paint and sheet colors from the first one. I guess the second one really only shows the blanket and black furniture while the first one show pretty much everything else that I want.

Let me know what you think! I will have an before and after as soon as I get it all done!

Jamie

Friday, March 23, 2012

Someone's trash! My treasure!

Hello all! 
I finally have a new post! This is something that I am really excited about sharing with you. I went into a thrift store about 2 months ago just to look around and I found this piece of crap dresser!
 They actually labeled the tag as "3 drawer dresser with side storage"! Can you believe that? I thought it was hilarious, but at least they didn't just toss it because I decided I would make something beautiful with it! I needed some extra hideaway storage in my craft room, which the drawers would be used for! I knew I could figure out something for the "side storage".

First I bought some satin black paint from Home Depot. And then painted the dresser.
The part with the basket took like 3 coats because it was the exposed mdf that would usually be hidden by drawers. After those coats it looked great! I love the finish of the satin. 
Although, it really needs a coat of poly or something because as soon as I set something on it, it chipped! I suppose that has something to do with the fact that I didn't sand it or prime it! It is just a dresser to give me storage until something better comes along. Oh well, I know for next time! I plan to put a clear coat on though. 
Next I wanted baskets but big ones are just not in my budget...well I guess they could be! So instead I bought a pack of 3 bankers boxes for 9 bucks at Wally-world and got some burlap from Hobby Lobby. I covered the boxes in white paper and then hot glued the burlap to the boxes. 
Ta-Da! Cute boxes that can actually hold quite a bit of stuff! They aren't full and now I have room to grow if I need. I only have that red table runner on there until I clear coat it. I don't know if I like the original hardware but that is another expense I need to save a little for. We will see if it changes. It might grow on me.

The finished project looks great though! I love the "side storage" I might even put shelves in it one day! There are other things I would like to tackle first though! 

Hope you enjoyed! Have a great weekend! 

-Jamie




Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Repainting office!

Hi everyone!
I hope your week is going well! Mine sure is...I got some good grades on my exams for the week!

Anyways, I recently repainted the man cave the office. I don't really use this space as much as my husband since we don't have any kids yet, but one day we will have to share! This room was this really dark and unattractive hunter green! Some people may like this color, but I am all about light and bright these days! The dark colors just never look right to me.

So this is what the room looked like before (not our choice of color).

I am relieved that all the trim is white. I really like white trim. Some older houses have wood trim. In can work int the right house. I like white though. Just not hunter green! This space also lacks some good storage.





I just didn't know where to start other than the paint! When I did start painting, my thoughts started to come together and a vision started to form!
Sooooooo much brighter and inviting! I got that bowl from TJMaxx. It is actually a mixing bowl now serving as a dumping ground for small things with no home! The two little tea light candle holders I got from Michael's and they were 50% off! Yay! I'm still deciding what to put on the shelf with the bear...but I'm not to worried about it!
I cleaned off the entire desk and put everything in a hideaway place! When i figure out just how I want to add storage to this desk I will show you! It is glass with zero drawers! I like things to be concealed! Organized...but concealed! Got a little memo board to keep his important numbers and little things! I am still so happy with this wall color! It is Soft Suede by Glidden Duo.



I would love to do some board and batten or something like that in this house but we are renting and can't do stuff like that...plus I wouldn't want to put in the extra effort without any return.

I also did a quick redo on my pencil cup that had a picture of us in it. I believe I got this cup from Office Depot or Staples!
The green and blue scrapbook paper goes great with the bowl and candle holders on the shelf!
I hope you all like my little updates! Have a good week!



-Jamie

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Valentines Day Cookies!

Hello again! These are a little later than most posts for Valentines, but here are my sugar cookies that I made.

I have realized that I love making these because I love being able to draw and make them cute and original. I just buy the package of sugar cookie mix and follow the instructions on the back. Then I get the little bags of the icing the gets hard after a couple of minutes. This stuff is amazing! It hardens so smooth and pretty! Here are the cookies I made. Sorry for the lack of pretty presentation.
I love them and they are super Yummy!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Desk Redo!

Hello All! This is officially my first post! I wanted to start a blog so that I could share the things I love with all of you. When I say the things I love, I mean crafts, home decor and the two put together. Occasionally I will add some other things, but I am currently trying to get our house put together! 

These are just a few things that I am working on at the moment! I most definitely will have some "after" photos coming soon! 



This is a desk that I bought from a yard sale for $5...You heard right $5 buckaroos! 



I sanded it down just enough to get rid of the shine from the old white paint. 
This is the finished product! Not bad for a $5 dollar desk right? I mean the cost of paint and new hardware brought it to about 35 or 40 bucks. Still not that bad!
I hope you enjoyed my first post! And there will be more to come.