Makeover Monday: DIY Fabric Embellished Vintage Shelf

I mentioned a a few posts ago that I have an issue with keeping things my mother (a.k.a. Mimi) gives me to sell.  Some things just never seem to find their way out of my house...  Recently she sent two boxes of goodies over with the intention that they be sold. I really do have intentions of selling MOST of it... but this little vintage shelf/paper towel holder caught my eye and I just decided it was entirely TOO heavy to ship (that's my story, anyway) and it needed to find a new purpose in Dear Daughter's bathroom.

I forgot to snap a pic before Handsome Hubby sanded and wood puttied, but here it is just after he worked his magic...

It was a cute little oak colored shelf like it was (before the sanding, you get the idea)... but I have bigger plans.  Hubs gave it a light sanding to take the finish off and make it easier for the paint to stick, then filled any nail holes or obvious cracks with wood putty.  Now it was my turn to get busy. My vision is for it to match Dear Daughter's fabulous new shower curtain ...

I have quite a bit of the fabric left over, and that VISION in my head... out comes my trusty spray paint.  I painted a couple of coats of this pretty blue, and decided to paint the rod a contrasting green color, just for fun.  

Of course, you know this is likely to involve a little Mod Podge, which I used to apply the fabric.  I use the pastry roller (yeah, Handsome Hubby who is also the household chef was not so happy about that) to smooth down the fabric.  I have looked high and low for a craft brayer for this purpose, to no avail, but the pastry roller seems to do the trick just fine.

After I played around with some fabric combinations, I measured the inside of the shelves and cut the fabric to fit.  I also traced the top and cut a fabric embellishment.  Then I applied one fairly thick coat of Mod Podge, smoothed down the fabric and let dry for 15 minutes.  Finally I went back and applied a nice layer on top to secure the fabric.  

Here's the finished product... 

It makes me so happy when the end result turns out better than my VISION (not always that lucky, but this time VICTORY)... here it is hanging in her bathroom.   Isn't this more fun than a boring old wooden shelf?  It is so easy to make things for your home that are original and can't be found on the pages of the Big Box store catalog... find some ordinary and make it extraordinary.   In the wise words of the good Dr. Seuss, "Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"

More GREAT Mod Podge projects here:

DIY: Shabby Chic Dry Erase Memo Board

Home with sickly Dear Daughter yesterday so I worked on this fun little project... It started out with an old cheap wood frame that had once housed this lovely vintage pen and ink bird drawing.  I found this at a thrift store and bought it for the drawing, which will be nesting in a different frame...

Ok, this is just a BORING frame... but it is wood, and has good glass.  Thinking, thinking, thinking... digging in my stash and decide to use some vintage fabric that I also found at the thrift store.  It's a pretty blue and cream and reminds me of my great grandmother's dresses.  I grabbed my trusty off-white spray paint and gave the frame a good coating.  Rub the edges with an old candle before you paint and it will be easy to "shabby" when the paint dries...

To keep it flat and in place, use some spray adhesive (and yes, I always end up sticky from head to toe when I use this stuff, as I am a supremely messy crafter) to adhere the fabric to the cardboard frame backing.

Once the paint dries, take a rag and RUB the paint in the areas that you applied the candle wax... the paint will come right off, and the black frame peeks through giving it that old worn look (that we all pay too much money to Pottery Barn to achieve).  Put the entire thing back together and back it with a sheet of sticky magnet... I LOVE this stuff!  I had it left over from another project...

Just cut it to the size you need, peel off the backing and stick it right on... I covered the entire back to make sure it would hold the weight of the frame and glass.

All finished and this is the end result...

Shabby Chic Dry Erase Memo Board

I LOVE it... if I do say so myself.  A dry erase marker works like a charm on the glass.  It's great on a fridge or file cabinet... or make a bright fun version for a student's locker or dorm room.  If you really LOVE this one like I do, visit Orangies Attic, and it's all yours!  Here's our little birdy friend in HIS new nest...

Framed Shabby Vintage Bird Drawing

Drab to Fab

Every home has things we've had for years that are functional, but no longer "work" with our decor or just look TIRED... kind of like me.  HA!  My mom says we should all get to have another wedding shower after 20 years to replace all the stuff that doesn't work or is just outdated.  I think some men call that a mid-life crisis... but I DIGRESS.  Since I haven't talked any of my friends into hosting that shower, I've found there are some quick ways to spruce up things around the house.  Here's an easy little project I just finished for my etsy store to give you an idea...

This is a CUTCO Kitchen Tool Holder... these retail for $39, have lifetime guarantee,  are made of sturdy oak and there is NO reason to get rid of it except the oak color is kind of drab and doesn't have much POP.   What it looked like to me was an awesome blank canvas...

One coat of spray primer, and 2 coats of black satin spray paint got me started... digging in my stash I found this scrap of toile scrapbook paper and a leftover "jewel" I had from another project.

Trimmed a piece of the toile to fit one side and whipped out my trusty Mod Podge to apply... one coat of Mod Podge, then lay down the paper, smooth it out, wait 15 minutes and apply a second coat on top.  The smell of Mod Podge always makes me feel like I am in 3rd grade doing a paper mache pinata out of a blown-up ballon... remember?  Here's a cute Easter Egg Version with a link to the EASY How-To:

Easter Egg Pinata How-To

There I go digressing again!  Back to our project...

I attached the "jewel" to the front with this Super Glue Gel, which I love because it has a very controlled dispenser and doesn't run everywhere (thus gluing your fingers together)...

I finished the entire thing off with a coat of satin varnish and here is the finished product...

Upcycled Cutco Kitchen Tool Holder

So fun, and so many uses... pencil holder, craft supplies, q-tips... you name it.  I'm sure there is something in your home just waiting for a facelift, or a new "purpose"... have fun with it!  If you're just not feeling so crafty, this and other "upcycled" and repurposed items are available in my store... Orangie's Attic  Come see me!

Shell Shock

Thought I would share another easy peasy project we did for Dear Daughter's big girl room... this room has been in the PLANNING stages for two years, but Mommy failed to get off her duff and get it done.  That said, we had lots of time to gather ideas and this was one of them...

Vacationed this summer at the awesome Amelia Island, Florida... now, I am a Gulf Coast girl going WAY back in my childhood, but that blasted oil spill put a damper on our usual trip to Gulf Shores so we had to regroup and discover a new beach on the "OTHER" side of Florida.  Blasphemy.  I want the sandy white beaches of my youth, but I put on my big girl undies and endured the very LONG drive to the Atlantic side.  What a surprise treat Amelia turned out to be!  Different beaches for sure, but LOADED with shells, awesome waves, and just a delightfully sleepy southern town vibe.  Actually THINK my handsome hubby is taking me back there with him on a business trip soon... yippee!  Here is Sweet Son skim boarding on the Amelia beaches... taken with my iphone and the WAY cool Hipstamatic app...

Of course, Mimi and I always have to take at least one day away from the surf, sand, and skim boarding (JUST KIDDING, I tried to skim board ONCE... not pretty)  to visit the local antique shops, and Amelia was a GOLDMINE.   Wandering through one great eclectic shop I came across this:

Pardon the poor picture quality... it was dark in there and I was using my phone camera.

Ok, so I LOVED this... perfect for Dear Daughter's beachy, vintage theme room... but seriously, the price was HIGH at around $100.  Remember how I mentioned there are millions of GREAT shells on the Amelia Island beaches?  My kids spend literally HOURS scouring the beaches for shells... and then there was that day I made Handsome Hubby walk about 6 miles down the beach with me collecting shells in his shirt... oops, forgot to bring a bag.  I decided to snap a pic and HOPEFULLY remember when I got home to try to recreate this idea...

I have been keeping my eye out for the perfect frame.  In my favorite thrift store one day I found 2 matching framed pieces of art... sort of that 70's Home Interiors style... ugly, dreary looking "fake" paintings in some really scrolly french provencial plastic frames.  One dollar each... JACKPOT.  I didn't even need to get canvases for the shells, they could go directly on the old "paintings"...

Dear Daughter picked out a shade of purple acrylic paint for the frames, to match a surfboard we painted in the same color. Got to work painting the frames... no primer, just slapped a couple of coats right on... because these are some form of cheap plastic, without primer some of the old frame peeks through, giving them exactly the vintage look we were going for anyway.  Next I grabbed my trusty hot glue gun and went to town with those million shells we collected... very little time and about $3 later... voila!

Dear Daughter is in heaven!  These are perfect for the "collage" of stuff above her bed (will blog on that later) and they are very special to her because the shells were collected by her family during her favorite week of the year... Mommy loves them because they were fun to make, turned out cuter than the inspiration (in my humble Mommy opinion), and saved me about 97 bucks... yea me!