Gitter Done – Redo the Porch!

Edited Post: Donna from Funky Junk Interiors has asked us to share our favorite projects. I would have to say that this one is my favorite right now. I first posted this on Donna’s Gitter Done project…now, Linking this to:

Lately, this (below) has been the view of my porch:

That’s right a fold up table, a chair and an old beat up Tonka truck.

Here’s my mailbox…looking a little sad.

I’ve been planning to do something about this for a while, but just couldn’t get motivated. Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors offered just the push I needed.Today she is hosting a day for getting things done!

So, here is what I’ve been up to:

My porch now! Here are the details:

One of my brothers gave me this glider rocker.

A bit worn out…so I spray painted it black and made some new pillows for the back. 

I spray painted my mailbox black, and look…there’s my tropical birhouse!

                           

Here’s my rope lamp on a shelf full of trinkets.

I made a new cushion and pillow for the wicker chair.

A cozy little table to eat breakfast at in the mornings! And no, that is not a hole in my lamp (as my husband suggested) it is a decorative ribbon that I will probably remove. I just don’t feel like re-taking the photos.

Another view.

OK…Here comes my favorite part!!!

Can you guess what this is? Well…it’s made out of these shutters…

It’s my beautiful new table made for me by my Sweet (and talented) Husband! Isn’t it lovely?! A couple of months ago, a really awesome neighbor crawled under her house and pulled some lovely shutters (a whole stack!). She gave them to me (so generous and sweet)! My husband took one set and made this table for me! =D

He left it so the slats could still open. His explanation was that if there were crumbs on top you could open the slats and let the crumbs fall through.

My new table is a great place to have a cup of tea! 

Here’s a little candle I spruced up to put on my new table.

Ah, my table…

Umm…anyway, here are some more shots of my porch:

I love my new porch! Thanks, Donna for the little push that I needed to “Gitter Done”!

And thanks for stopping by

Beachy Hanging Candle Holder

It’s that time of year (Spring…Yay!). OK…well, almost. I look out at my front porch and realize how neglected it has been throughout winter. Since it’s still too cold to tackle any of the big projects I have in mind, I’ll start small.

First, I took a picture frame from the dollar store (an old frame would work too), and drilled four holes in the middle of each side.

Then I took an old horseradish jar and glued it to the glass from the frame with a hot glue gun.

I also removed the stand for the frame (is there another word for that?).

Put the frame back together the way it came…except now there is a jar on the front. Pull twine or ribbon through the holes and tie them in nice sturdy knots.

Tie the top together with two knots to make a loop to hang on the hook.

(Please disregard the beads on the jar in the picture..hehe…changed my mind on those!)

OK, I ended up painting the frame white. I guess that would have been easier in the beginning, but I had trouble deciding how I wanted this to look.

I ended up with this.

I sanded it a little to get a little bit of a distressed look.

Then I glued on a few seashells.

I also glued a white ribbon and a seashell on the jar.

It still needed something…my husband suggested colored water and I liked the idea. So I added seafoam green water and a tea light.

Here is my little helper.

Another picture of the candle holder.

Thanks for stopping by! )

Michelle

I’m linking to these fun parties:

It’s So Very Cheri – It’s So Very CreativeThe Persimmon Perch – Made it Monday

Bathroom Luxury on a Budget

Doesn’t everyone want to be pampered a little? Don’t we all want every room in our home to be a place we can relax and unwind in?

Up until recently my bathroom had been sorely overlooked. I mean, it looked OK…it was functional and nothing I was ashamed of, but I felt like it could be better. So I marched into the bathroom and put all the toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, brushes…you know, all the functional, everyday items into the closet (of course, that meant a little re-organizing).

I realized that I don’t have to spend a fortune to get a little luxury for my bathroom.

First, I looked through what I already owned. It’s amazing the things that sit in your house everyday, unnoticed and unused, isn’t it?

I found these:

I inherited the bell-shaped bottle from my grandmother and found the other one when we moved in. If you don’t have anything like this you can usually find them at thrift stores.

Candles are great! They look good just about anywhere and they are cheap and easy to find.

I think interesting soaps are great for decorating in a bathroom! 

Hand made soaps in an old Mason jar.

Or interesting store-bought soaps in a wide mouth vase.

This particular soap is a Chinese brand called Bee & Flower. They are very inexpensive and are sold in most Asian markets.

I found some nice cork-lid jars at Goodwill for .50 cents each and filled them with interesting textures. Bath salts in one, seashells in the other. I wrapped them in twine to add to the texture.

A basket with rolled hand-towels or wash cloths looks nice, too!

It doesn’t have to cost much to look great!

I am linking to:

It’s So Very Cheri