Thrifted Toy Storage

  

    I have been buying and painting furniture from the thrift store for as long as I can remember. My favorite piece I got before going off to college, where I knew I would have my own space to design and fill. I bought a vintage school desk and painted it orange and left on the old flowery knobs. I still have this piece of furniture, after many different coats of paint and several knob changes, it sits in my son's room and once served as his changing table. I love to give things a new look.... when you're decorating on a budget (and don't want plastic furniture) this is the perfect way to transform a space. You are also doing a solid for mother earth-you should always consider buying a 'used' or as I like to call is 'seasoned' piece of furniture. Not only are you being green, but you will feel so good once you have completed a great project for your own home, all by yourself :)

Materials: 

• one piece of used or 'seasoned' furniture
• Paper towels and cleaner
• Paint color of choice (I used 1/2 a can for this piece.) 
•  Medium size brush
• New knobs

    First choose your piece of furniture. I knew I needed more storage in my son's playroom.    I was looking for something with a few drawers, that wasn't too tall, he's a climber.  I found this old t.v. cabinet and it was missing the top drawer. Because of this it was marked down to $7. I SAID SEVEN DOLLARS, PEOPLE! Usually, I would expect to pay around $15 or so for a piece this size, still way cheaper than new!  

    I always wipe down the surface of any thrift furniture I buy.  You never know where it has been or who has touched it, so I always recommend washing off your thrift finds before you begin painting, or using it even if you don't paint it.
   Now remove the old knobs. Even if you don't plan on replacing the knobs (some do come with pretty hardware) still remove them so you don't get paint on them.  They could also use a good wash if you plan on using its original hardware. If you like the knobs but not the color, why not paint them, too? They make specific spray paint for metal-go for it!
   Paint the furniture with a good quality paint. I had Behr interior paint left over so I used the rest of that. Don't try to use left over 'craft' paint like acrylic or oil. It will just end up chipping and wearing over a short period of time and then all your hard work will be ruined!
   Let your first coat dry overnight and give it a second coat once you are sure the first is completely dry.

   Replace the knobs after you give it another night to sit and dry. I also found these knobs at Goodwill. I paid $2.94 for a bag of about 30 knobs. What. A. Deal.  I've already used these on several different pieces around the house. You never know what people will get rid of :)

   Lastly, stock pile those drawers and enjoy the new storage and newly found floor space! We use ours as a garage. That's where all of Eli's cars 'live' and he knows where to put them all when it's clean up time! I put two large baskets in the 'empty drawer' and even stored puzzles in bewtween them :) Enjoy your recycled storage, we do!!!!

 

Here are some knobs I love :)

  

Home Made Bird Seed Patties!

  

    I have been looking for a 'bird seed patty' recipe that didn't include weird ingredients that I had to make an extra grocery trip for and I finally found it! This little project is great for those rainy days when you can only paint and craft for so long... my little guy loves using mixing bowls and spatulas and adding ingredients to the pot. He also loves to watch the birds from our back window- guess I shouldn't use saying 'killing two birds with one stone' in this post but we really did :)  hehe Enjoy the home made birdie patties, everyone!

Materials:

• 4 cups bird seed
•  3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons corn syrup (I used light and it worked just as well.)
• Twine or String
• Cookie Cutters (I found that the larger ones work best.)
• PAM Spray (or any brand.)
• Aluminum Foil
• Plastic Straws

    I like to pre-measure all of my ingredients so they are all ready for my little helping hands to toss into the bowl. I find the more time I involve him the more interested he is.  So allow your little ones to combine all of the ingredients: bird seed, flour, water and corn syrup.  Stir the mixture until the entire bowl is moistened.
   Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray the foil with your cooking spray. Place the cookie cutters on the cookie sheet and also spray the inside of each cutter, this will allow for easy patty removal in the end.
   Pack the cookie cutters to the brim using a spoon or a spatula and push on them to ensure the mixture has made it into all the nooks and crannies.
   Once you have used all of the bird seed mixture, use a straw to poke a hole near the top middle of each patty, you will have to manuver it back and forth to get it the whole way through.  Cut the straw up and leave  a small part of the it in each cutter so the hole wouldn't close up over night.
   Periodically pack the mixture down in each cutter so your patties will stay together longer once they are hanging outside.
  Once they have dried and are hard, pop them out of the cookie cutter and string them up where ever you want to see more birds! Ours only lasted a few days because the birds loved them so much! Next time I will only put a few outside at a time :)
   This recipe will make about 2 dozen normal size cookie cutter patties,
you can cut all the ingredients in half to make a dozen if you don't want to use that much bird seed... but remember they make cute little gifts for the grandparents!
  

Repurposed Frames

   This is another project that I have been doing for years. It's so easy and will really save you a TON of money. All you need are old frames, or frames purchased from the thrift store, and some paint. I love to group a bunch of pictures together, but that can get pretty expensive. This idea,  takes so little time and money and  will give you a beautiful arrangement of pictures you can be proud of!







Materials:

• Spray paint (or any kind of permanent paint.)
• Assortment of thrift store frames
• Drop cloth
• Painters tape  

   To start this project, make a run to your local Goodwill or any other local thrift store.  Go straight to the frame section, and trust me, there will be a HUGE frame section. It always amazes me what some people will throw away.  Luckily, for me, they decided to recycle it instead :)  Choose an assortment of frames with different textures and border widths. Don't worry about what they look like now..try to look past any ugly floral patterns or paint chipped frames, they will be beautiful when you are done with them! The one thing I do suggest is only choosing frames that still have the glass intact-you need frames with 'good bones.'   First, take the frames apart leaving the glass separate so it doesn't get painted.  Now grab a drop cloth so you can prepare for painting.  I try to keep the pieces together so I know which frame went with which parts.  You can even go as far as labeling them with a pencil before you take them apart.  You want to have just the actual border part of the frame, but if the back stays attached you can just take out the glass and cover any area you don't want painted with painter's tape.

  Bring your frame pieces to your drop cloth and cover with one coat of paint. Use even strokes so you avoid any drops of paint falling and glooping on the frame. I usually use spray paint because it is so much quicker but you can always use paint and a brush, too. Allow your frames to dry for at least an hour before applying another coat of paint. I recommend at least two coats so your frames are not splotchy.
  Let all your frames dry overnight then re-assemble to see the magic you have made! Now all these matching frames are ready to be hung in your home! Don't you feel so proud of yourself?! Go enjoy and repeat :) These frames would look great over your DIY headboard!
 

This is the paint I used for this project (I used whtite):

Re-purposed Head Board!

I love, love, love turning thrift store finds into functional pieces of art.  My guest room has sat empty since we've moved in (I'm not going to admit we've been here over a year) and I figured with our first overnight guests coming it could use some sprucing up!  This project is so simple it hurts me to think how much people are spending on store bought head boards!  Just a few simple steps and you can have this gem for your home, too!
   
Materials:

• one old fireplace mantel (purchase from the thrift store if possible!)
• one can of any color spray paint
• hammer
• sand paper
• nails

   I started this project by high-jacking this awesome old fireplace mantel that was just sitting in my parents basement.  I was so excited when I saw it sitting there and even more so when I got the go ahead to take it.  My brother and I now both live very close to our parents home.   This is not the house where we grew up so all of our left-over childhood trinkets are packed into brown boxes and stored in my parents massive basement.   This is kind of a sticky subject in their house...so needless to say, almost every time we leave family dinner on Sunday night, we leave with a few boxes and some random clutter my dad wants to get rid of. I love this. My parents both work full time so they don't have time to do all the DIY projects like I do. Another plus for me :)