diy play kitchen

i've known for quite a while that i wanted to diy a little play kitchen for ruby for christmas.
i had pinned some ideas on pinterest.
i had thought i would build something out of an old cabinet.
eventually i realized i needed to just re-do an existing play kitchen for time's sake.
i scoured craig's list and thrift shops for months until i finally found one from a neighbor for $40.
it is small and just perfect for her.  yay!

so this is what it started out looking like:

it was the perfect size and shape.
perfectly ready for me to sand and paint and update!
it sat in our attic for a few months until....you know...the weekend before christmas.
of course.
it needed a good amount of sanding and then i painted it with 2 coats of valspar paint {tropical spray, i think} that i had left over from her dresser.

most of these photos are from my iphone....sorry about the quality.

i used a silver drawer pull that we had on hand for the "towel rack."
i whipped up a little towel with some terry cloth material i had and some fun floral fabric.
and then added her name, because the cutsier the better, right?

all of the "oven knobs" are knobs from hobby lobby.
oh my gravy. have you looked through their knobs?
they are amazing.
they're often half off which is a far cry from their very similar looking counterparts at anthro.
i mean. she just needed crystal oven knobs, right??

the sink knobs are also from hob lob...i have a giant crush on mercury glass.

the "back splash" is scrapbook paper {also hobby lobby} that I just mod podged on.
i painted the burners silver with some silver paint that we had from painting ornaments. :)

seriously, we used so much that we already had.
i spray painted this hook that i found in my box o' odds and ends.
i made her the little pot holders when i was making her towel.
i love them...so little and cute and seriously probably took 10 minutes to make.

my mom got her the cutie pie red, wooden pots & some play food for kitchen.
she plays with them all constantly. :)

before and after!

christmas day!

it was so fun surprising her with this.

i'm not sure who was more excited, ruby or aj and i....or the boys. 

we were all so pumped to see her open it. :)

she did not disappoint. 

she loved it and got right to work playing with it. :)

this was such a fun and rewarding project.
i love it when what is in my head actually turns out. :)

what about y'all? diy anything fun lately?



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reason #792 to shop at thrift stores

you can come up with cutie pie outfits like this:

i found these adorbs kelly's kids pants at the thrift store for two bucks.
they retail for around $36.
boom. stickin' it to the man.
and seriously, anything with a big ruffle at the bottom is perfection.
so stinkin' cute.

ruby had an extra black shirt in her closet so i dug through my fabric stash and found some red fabric to use.
i googled an arkansas shape, printed it out on card stock and used that for my pattern.

then i just sewed the shape right onto her shirt.
i didn't iron it or use interfacing or fray check.
i like to live on the edge like that.
also, i don't have time to make this a big drawn-out project.
i like the way the edges fray a bit on the shape after you wash it.

so this whole outfit cost me $2 and i think it's pretty darn cute.
and ruby loves it.

while i had all the materials out, i quickly made another shape to make a fun arkansas hoop art for my booth. :)

that black & white jersey material is an old t-shirt that i cut up.
i also used it for ruby's head band.

i love doing craft projects....especially when they turn out how i wanted. :)

and yes, this totally fueled my thrift store shopping even more.  :)

happy monday, y'all......what are you creating lately??

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a super quick do-over

hi y'all.
welp. it's hotter'n blue blazes over here {to steal a phrase from my lovely groom}.
i'm sitting on the back porch sweating my face off while ruby does this:

never mind, now she's putting dirt from a plant into the citronella candle.
this child doesn't sit still.
she also fancies herself to color me with sidewalk chalk and put dirty water from her "pool" into my hair.
:)

anyhoooo...... i wanted to show you my fav-o-rite thing i've been making lately for gifts...

i love them!!!
and i love making them!!
i've been making all shapes and sizes, depending on what jars i find up in my cabinet.
now i'm going to have to go thrifting for more jars. darn. ;)

also, i did a super quick diy on our shoe {storage} bin this afternoon.
this morning i noticed that the burlap was getting a bit ratty.
remember when i re-did the storage bench a couple of years ago? 
{it was a fabulous craig's list find.}

you know burlap doesn't last forever and the handle is long gone.  :(
boo to that, but that means it's well used.
we use that bin every day, several times a day.
it's so functional for us.

we stopped by hob lob today and i grabbed up some gray chevron fabric for $4.

sawyer wanted to help me with the project immediately so as soon as i got ruby down for nap we went to it...working as fast as we could.

i love this kind of simple reupholstery.
so quick and satisfying. plus i love using a staple gun. :)
also, when i get sick of the chevron, it's such a simple thing to slap another fabric on top.

it sure makes me happy.
sure, the wicker could use another coat of spray paint, but why?
three boys getting in and out of it every day...it's fine. :)

every pair of my boys' shoes stay in that bin.
i'm telling you that is one of the best things i've done.
that's a happy little entry way right there. :)

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first project in the new house.

so i told you i have some fun updates to share.

today i'm sharing numero uno.

i have been working on re-doing our buffet {to be henceforth pronounced boo-ffay, ala pheobe buffay} in between unpacking boxes and taking care of chirrens.
on saturday i instagrammed this before pic:

you may remember it from our last kitchen....it holds all the boys art supplies and homeschool what-nots.

i picked it up a few years ago for 40 bones at a yard sale.
love the mid-century lines.
she's a peach.

but you know, i can't leave well enough alone and i can't possibly make my life simple, so i decided she needed an update...3 days after we moved into a new house.
we are pretty much bleeding money these days....you know how it is when you move...so i decided to go with free and use some leftover paint i had on hand from my giant chalkboard project i did two houses ago {wow}.
the color is bluefin and it's a walmart color place color.
honestly not the best paint but it's what i had.

first i sanded that sucker.
sanding is such an annoying step but definitely necessary if you're using cheapo paint like i did.

next, three coats of paint...waiting at least four hours in between coats.
i finished yesterday and am just letting her sit and cure for a bit.
can't wait to start styling her up!

it was pretty much impossible to get an accurate photo of the color.
mostly these pics look more blue than it really is.
it is actually more saturated with more green undertones.

the pic above is closer but still not spot on.

i thought about changing the hardware but decided to leave them in their au natural, mad men glory.
they are rad and i love the pops of gold.

welcome.

we have boxes and ladders and junk everywhere....distract yourself with this pretty teal buffet. :)

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75 cent lamp redo

i love immediate results.
my favorite projects are those that i can whip out in an hour.

we needed another lamp in our front room since there are no overhead lights and we are using the room daily now.

i've had a lamp base hanging around for a while and have been checking the thrift store on and off for a new shade.
last week i finally found a shade the right size for the right price . . . 75 cents.
sold.

soooo.....to keep the lamp makeover in the el cheapo category, i used some spray paint that i had on hand to give the base a fun pop of color.

i used valspar tropical oasis {leftover from ruby's high chair}.

also, i taped off the cord and electrical parts with frog tape beforehand. :)
i think i could solve the world's problems with frog tape and spray paint.
and hot glue. obveez.

i looked through my fabric stash and couldn't decide which fabric to use.
so i didn't.
i used them all. :)

seriously, best decision.
this took me a half an hour while we were watching downton.
didn't even fire up the glue gun.
i literally ripped pieces of fabric and tied them on the existing shade.
and if they weren't long enough, i knotted two pieces together and slid the knot to the back.

i looooooove how it turned out.
love the glossy paint on the base.
love that i was able to incorporate so many different fabrics.
love that it required zero measuring & zero cutting.

i think thrift stores are my drug of choice.
i'm slightly embarrassed when i see the employees i know because i go there so often.
but seriously, when you can get a lamp shade for less than a dollar......how do you not become addicted??
on the same day that i got the shade, i found a set of two fleecy sleepers for ruby for 25 cents, total.
hello? i cannot help my self.
i may need an intervention. may.

but that sure is a pretty lamp. :)




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simple fall mantel

you know what i am loving right now?

i love to open all the windows, put on my sweats and drape myself with a cozy blanket.
oh and have a warm cup of tea or coffee.
so. cozy. 
it's finally getting cool enough to feel like fall....not too hot, not too cold.

i love putting throws all around the house this time of year.
i need to be within arms reach of one at all times.
yesterday i scored this awesome cream afghan at the thrift store.
four bucks.
boom.

i also gave our mantel a little fall lovin' over the weekend.
i decided to forgo my go-to fall garland and come up with something new....using stuff i found around the house.

i have had this old frame in the garage forever, just waiting on the right project.
it was actually part of a mirror but the mirror broke so i've just been hanging onto the frame.
i love the fancy detail but the brassy gold got the boot.

i gave it a few coats with cream spray paint and i love how it turned out.
while i was at it, i spray painted some ceramic pumpkins that i already had with the same cream paint.

for the fall bunting i just cut out triangles from old book pages and wrote on them with a sharpie.
i hung them up with some twine and called it good.

it was so nice to have some free time on saturday to do something crafty.

who knows, next year i may drag out the orange leafy garland again . . . but this year, i'm digging the simplicity. :)

p.s. check out fox hollow cottage for more fall mantel inspiration. :) Pin It