PinHappy Mondays: Dream Closet

So, I thought the closet in our master bedroom was pretty great. I mean, I still have a dresser full of clothes, but our closet holds quite a bit as well.

But now? Well, now I'm planning out the closet for my dream home because of this pin (linked from this site.)

I Re-Upholstered a Hamper

Yup, you read that right, but let's start off with the obvious: Hampers are expensive. No joke.

I had no idea how much money a hamper could cost. I know we registered for one we didn't get (which is good because now it wouldn't have matched!) that was a $50. I thought it was a lot, but whatever. People were buying us fancy gifts, who was I to complain? Anyway, after we moved into our townhome, I shopped on and off for a hamper, but seriously? Who wants to spend $40 for a hamper? Not me.

I couldn't find a hamper for less than $35 that I liked. I came really close to a $35 at Tuesday Morning, but the top was broken. And honestly? $35 seemed way to much for a cheap-o like me. I mean, we had just been dropping our dirty clothes into a laundry basket. No big deal, considering that eventually we'd have to dump 'em into a basket anyway, it just doesn't look as pretty :-D.

Here's an older photo before we replaced the ceiling fan with a way more awesome one, but you can see our laundry basket on the right side. Clearly, we hadn't done laundry for a while. Oops.

Then something amazing happened! I didn't get a new hamper, but my mom did! I then asked her why she never upgraded hers in the past (because trust me, it was super ugly and didn't fit in with her style at all, and she's a person who likes everything to match) and she said because hampers were expensive. Huh. Go figure.

Anyway, my mom's old hamper was not glamorous. I mean seriously. It was covered in this tablecloth/vinyl/old material that had brown eagles and liberty bells on it. If the brown and poop orange wasn't bad enough for you, the eagle and bells were also made to look cross-stitched. I mean, as a hamper it did its job, but boy was it an eyesore.

Yup, that really is the fabric.

I asked mom where she got it, and she told me that she & my dad had received it as a wedding gift 30-some years ago. Well, it looked dated but it worked, so what did I decide to do? Update it, of course!

After pulling off the vinyl, it became super obvious that I could just re-upholster the sucker. Not bad. Although, in the interest of full disclosure, it was totally my mom's idea. My dad was going to toss it, and she thought it looked easy to re-do so she made him save it for me. I'm sure he grumbled about that, because he seems to think that I'm always collecting people's old stuff.

Also, how weird is it that the whole hamper shape was like made from thin cardboard/paperboard? So weird.

Remember the chair and ottoman I re-upholstered for our bedroom?

Luckily, I had no idea how much fabric to buy for that project, so I had just enough left for this one. Score. Of course, I was going to make a pillow with it, but we have more than enough pillows, and upgrading the hamper was way more cool.

Look at all that left over fabric!

I used the vinyl pieces as a template and simply cut fabric to match. Easy peasy. I used my staple gun to staple it on. Easiest project ever. And if you're wondering, that vinyl went straight to the trash. (I called mom to see if she wanted it back. She thought I was super funny.)

 I did the lid first, after I removed it from the hamper. I didn't worry too much about what the underside looked like, because there was a small piece of paperboard that covered up the middle (You can see it in the top left corner of the second photo).

I'm still debating adding trim, like I did on my chair, but for now I'm super happy with it. Like all caps SUPER. That's how much happiness there is.

Oh and the best part? Besides, y'know, having a fancy, pretty hamper in my room? This product cost $0. That's right. No dollars at all. None. I just had to say it again so you know that you read that right. Makes me happy!

Happy ending, right? . . . Well, only if I could get Tris to open the hamper and put his clothes inside it, rather than on top of it. . .

Avengers Love

So, like two billion other people, I had to go see The Avengers last weekend. Granted, I knew it was opening weekend, but I would've waited a week if I knew it was going to be sooo crowded! I figured that since The Hunger Games wasn't so bad opening weekend, that Avengers wouldn't be either.

Boy, was I wrong! The show was sold out, so we bought tickets for the following one, and that one had quickly sold out, too! The theater was crazzzy crowded.

And, if you're curious, I did nothing to hid my [giant] inner comic book geek. I'm a huge Marvel fan, so you better believe i wore my Avengers TShirt to the show (... as did a handful of 8 yeas olds as well. Whatever).

My take on the movie? See it. See it now!

Also, what's going on that poster? Is it the official one? It doesn't make any sense to have both Tony Stark and Iron Man on it. What's up with that?

PinHappy Mondays: Sewing Room

In an effort to get myself blogging more, I'm going to try and have an easy Pinterest Post every morning about something cool I've seen on Pinterest. Sounds pretty easy to me!

Today, I've re-pinned this to-die-for sewing room. I don't know much about sewing, but I'm sure I could learn if I had a room like that. I'm actually planning on signing up for a sewing class next month, so I have to make room in my scrapbook room to set up my hand-me-down sewing machine I got my from grandma.

Here's the pin, and here's the source site to check it out yourself.

DIY Ribbon Shelf

So I've know for a long time, that I wanted a 'ribbon shelf for my scrapbook room. My ribbons are all stuffed in a small cube, and I can never find what I need.

Something like this or this.

I've been hunting on Craigslist for some kind of shelf, but I hadn't had any luck.

Luckily, I found just what I needed at a garage sale this weekend! It was only $1! Score! I forgot to take a photo before I spray painted it, but it was just plain unfinished wood. I painted it in Berry Pink because that's what I all ready had.

Cute, right?

Then I headed to the hardware store and bought some wooden dowels for $.88 each. I measured them, cut them, and picked a drill bit that would make a hole big enough for them to fit through.

 I used painter's tape to mark where I wanted the holes to be, and drilled right through it.

 And that was it! You can see that the bottom dowel is so not straight. Part of it was that it was really hard to get my drill bit through that middle section (I didn't have enough room). I'll probably fix it later, but for now I was anxious just to get it up.

 And The I put my ribbon on it! Much easier than digging through a bin, and way cuter :). I am super super happy with this project, especially because I've wanted something like this forever.

Not bad for a dollar! Well, and the other dollar and a half for the dowels too.

What'd you do this weekend?

Color picking and choosing

So I picked up that chest after work on Thursday and am absolutely smitten. I put it in my truck and took it straight home.

Here we are on our way.

 

I had Tris help me take it right up to our room. We moved the bright blue foot locker that had been there, and put the chest in its new home.

 

And then? Well, then came the Photoshopping. 

 

Source

Oh, and sidebar, our bedding is Poppy Pop by Echo. I absolutely adore it. It took a loooong time before Tris and I could agree on bedding, but when we finally saw this one we both loved it. Seriously, trying to agree on bedding and dishes took days; who knew how hard registering would be, but that's beyond the point. A few very nice people got it for us from our registry. I love everything about it, especially the color (bonus: it's also reversible). It's closeout sale at Macy's now if anyone is interested.

Anyway! See, I was thinking I'd paint it teal to add some 'pop' and to do something kind of unexpected. Tris said 'no way' and voted for black to match the rest of the furniture in our room. The only way to know for sure? Well, Photoshop if course, and then decide.

 

The clear winner? Black of course, and glossy black to match the rest of our 90's furniture. And then, just for fun, I tried it out with a fake color block for our cushion. 

I was thinking the bench would be too tall, but if I make a skinny cushion maybe not. I was planning to remove the legs entirely, but I'm just in love with all their tapered goodness. I can't seem to accept the idea of chopping 'em off, so skinny cushion/seat it will have to be :-D.

Oh, and just for kicks? Maybe one day, folks, maybe one day. . . . And hopsefully sometime soon we can get rid of that horrible wallpaper boarder and those pink blinds. Man, oh man, is it ugly.

How do you choose your paint colors? Aren't think just easier with Photoshop ;-) ?

Still Craigs Obsessed

So, now that I've found a chandelier, my Craigslist want list is down to two things.

Yes, our wallpaper is still awful and needs to come down... but our newly paint oil-rubbed-bronze light fixture looks amazing!

I would really like a Buffet or long dresser I can paint to place in our living area. Apparently, though, these suckers don't come cheap, as I've learned after lusting for one on CL that's listed at $325. Unfortunately, my budget is more around the $30-$50 range.

Blargh.

Anyway, number two is a bench for the end of our bed, or a coffee table that I can retrofit into a bench. We don't need storage (but aren't opposed to it), but I would like a place where I can set down on while folding laundry or another place to put my socks on... Or just for decoration. Either way.

I'd pretty much settled on the coffee table to bench idea, because those seem much easier to come across on CL and cheaper than any benches I've seen so far.

Last night, though, I thought I found my answer to my buffet quest. I found the most awesome mid-century piece that looks amazing! I started drooling and immediately shot an email to the seller. Turns out, the dimensions weren't quite right for a buffet, but could be perfect for a bench.

It might be a few inches too tall, but I absolutely adore the piece, and honestly? It sounds crazy, but I might try to cut each leg down by like 2.5" just to make it work. That's how much I want it to work, and the legs are gorgeous. We'll see.

Whatever- I'm going to email the seller and tell her that I want it! Legit!

The beauty? Here she is;

Edit: Here's a bigger picture!