Magazine Rack

Here's a simple project to do if you have a spare 10 minutes.

I had gotten sick of my old magazine rack. I hate having to bend over for an hour just to be able to find the right magazine. If I hate it now, it's only going to get worse with age.

So then the thought pops in my head, "At doctors' offices, the racks are on the wall."


Genius.

So this is what I started with. I'm not in love with the color, but I don't hate it. And actually, I love how worn it is. I had originally painted this when I first moved into my old apartment, at 18!

So I set my table saw to the highest setting and carefully zipped it through, cutting it in half (but obviously a bit to the side to leave the middle separator intact).

I drilled two holes into the top, screwed it into the wall, made a bow to cover up the screws.

Much better.

That's a plant I had outside that I brought in for the winter, and to cover up the outlet. I love the bucket =)




So, I need some advice. Do I leave the legs of the rack on, or should I saw them off and try getting a paint match?

Anyways, I want to show you what I found in my basement.

You're not going to see this again for a while. It's part of a HUGE project that I will probably be doing a little at a time over the winter. You'll probably even forget about this silly little window. But you'll love it when it's done. Trust me.

The Letter of the Day is.....

I've been shopping like a pro lately, so I'm going to show you two awesome deals that I just scored.

I've been wanting something to flank the sides of my patio doors for some time now. I found these at Younkers for only $4.50 a piece! They were originally $50 a piece, so I think I got a good deal ;)

Also at Younkers, dress shirt+tie for $7! And a new kitchen valance for only 75 cents! I love that place =D

I found this puppy at Bed Bath & Beyond for only $1.70! Original price=$19.99. I almost peed in the store! It's very heavy (so it's not one of those cheap Walmart wooden ones). The "P" is for my last name.

Tomorrow: magazine rack redo, then onto a look of my roman shades!

Fern Plaques

I'm participating in the Knock Off Knock Out Party at It's So Very Cheri! Click the button below to check it out!


I'm also particpating in Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered.
Here's my Knock Off:

I saw this picture in a Country Living magazine.

I instantly fell in love! When I saw the prices ($60 for a large one, $40 for a small) I knew there was no way I was going to be able to buy one. I wanted at least two of them, a small and large, so that would run me up $100+shipping and handling. No way!

So I made my own. And get this: It was free!



Supplies:
----------
-Paint
-Wood plaque (I already had two from an old woodburning kit)

I knew I didn't want the back to be green. My mudroom's walls are green, and well, that's just too much green! So I went with a white and black combo.

I just painted the face white, then very VERY carefully hand painted the ferns black.

I stuck on some hanging hardware, and done!


Theirs:




Mine:




If you want these, you can contact Two's Company at 1-800-896-7266. Large-$60 Small-$40
Or you can drop me a comment and we can make arrangements!

I WILL be posting on my faux roman shades, a magazine rack redo, and an awesome find at an awesome store soon! Be patient with me!

Creating Storage Space

Want to see what I did with that darn space under my corner bench?

This is what I started with. The basket underneath was too small for the space, and I hate seeing cords.

So after a good tip to try decorating with some books, this is what I had. I liked it, but not in my bedroom. My room is very modern chic, and the basket and books looked too eclectic. I don't even have dressers in my room because I don't want the space to look busy. Gah....so now what should I do?

So I get this awesome idea! I'm going to build a door under the bench to create some much needed storage space while still keeping with the clean lines of the room. All I needed was to buy some hinges. The rest of this project came from scrap materials, even the leather!

So I measured the space and cut a piece of plywood to size with my trusty table saw.

Then I stapled my brown leather onto it. Convenient that I own leather in the chocolate accent color of my room, right? I added some upholstery nails to it to give it a little punch.

Then I screwed some hinges on it, mounted it to my floor, made a little leather pull tab so that it can easily be opened (but not easily seen), and this is what I had.

This is what it looks like when it's opened. I'm going to be putting a piece of leather over the unfinished wood, but for now it's okay.

But it still looked unfinished to me. So I brought back the basket with my garter from my wedding, my fountain, and the bamboo my husband picked out for me a while back.



Here's what the end product is.

Coming up: a look at some faux roman shades, making an old magazine rack feel like new, and an awesome find at an awesome store!

Bow Holder

Here's my daughter's bow holder that I had promised.

I got the idea to do this from The Fabric Floozie. I'm so jealous of her little girl's room! Click on her link to get a tutorial on how to do this.

This is what I ended up with...

Wow, is it nice to be able to organize all those bows and clips!

If anyone has any ideas on something cute like this to hold pony tails or headbands, let me know!

Anyways, remember I said that my Corner Garden was being invaded by sunflowers? Here's what I clipped out of it yesterday!