Using old ratty flannels and a worn pair of jeans from the closet (thanks to Marie Kondo for making me feel like a hoarder…) I created this one of a kind banner for my fall decor and the cost was practically nothing!
I started with this plain wood banner from the craft store. They typically come packaged with the twine as well. Pretty sure I bought this one clearanced, but even at full price they are fairly inexpensive.
Using a black marker, I traced the outline of the triangular banner on the inside of the flannels and jeans. Inside is important because it will hide your black lines on the finished product.
Grab that Mod Podge! Yes, there’s Mod Podge specifically for fabrics, but I’m a “use what you’ve got” sorta girl and what I had was traditional Matte Mod Podge. Plus, I was still in my PJ’s on this particular fine Saturday morning and my hair was in a not-so-pinterest-approved “messy bun” so I was avoiding a trip to the store at all costs. I mean, seriously. Who wants to get dressed and tame their mane on a Saturday if they don’t have to anyway?!
Using a foam craft brush, I applied a layer of Mod Podge to the wood, placed the cut fabric on top – black lined and cut side down – and applied another layer of Mod Podge over the fabric. Let fully dry. Using a screw driver or hammer and nail, make holes through the fabric that lines up with the preexisting holes in the wood banner.
Hang this cute banner thang with the length of twine anywhere that needs a little touch of flannel-y fall y’all!
After a good (and I mean really, really good) scrubbing, I took a tired, old plastic Little Tikes playhouse and transformed it into the sweetest little English Cottage-Style Playhouse you ever did see. Complete with a faux thatched roof! Seriously people – it has a thatched roof!!!
I mean, if this cottage isn’t fit for a “Princess Fairy Goddess Queen”, I sure the heck don’t know what is!
Here’s where we started. This house has been with us for almost 13 years. She has been endlessly played with throughout every single one of those years. Well loved, but she was worse for wear. There *may* have been a previous super crappy previous paint job by a frustrated and tired mother desperate to get her backyard looking decent before a birthday party about 5 years ago, but she definitely needed a facelift. Buying a “New” fancy wood playhouse wasn’t in the budget (let’s be real. Pretty much nothing is ever in the dumb “budget”) So, as always, I got creative.
This step is the least fun. Taking it apart, cleaning and scrubbing the heck out of it and letting it fully dry. Ugh. Not a good time, but totally necessary.
I decided to prime first using a can of primer in my paint sprayer. Was this needed? Heck, I don’t know. I’ve painted plenty of projects going straight for the spray paint and skipping the prime all together and honestly, they’ve been just fine. So, this is really up to your discretion. I can say, without a doubt, to make sure you get spray paint that specifically says it works on plastic. Otherwise, you will have wasted your money. And ain’t nobody got time for that!
The outside was painted white, but I decided to add some pretty green on the bottom half of the inside. Some painters tape and newspaper did the job of separating the colors on the wall.
Now the thatch roof! This was an idea I had floating in my head and had absolutely no idea if it would even work. But, boy oh boy, I’m glad I decided to just do it and see what happened!
I bought an artificial grass rug from Home Depot. But, they have them at most home goods stores in the spring and summer. I measured the roof of the house and added a few inches on each side to allow hangover grass that could be tucked under the roof.
FUN TIP: the best way to measure and mark artificial grass is on the back side using a piece of chalk. The best way to cut? A box cutter!
I simply spray painted the grass with an even coat of brown. I just did one coat, though. I liked the green color through the brown.
As you can see, I didn’t paint the top of the roof. I felt it was a waste of time. I did paint the edges using the same brown I used on the artificial grass so if it was visible, it would still blend.
Using Liquid Nails, I attached the grass to the roof. And using extra garden bricks, I placed them on top to push the grass onto the roof until the glue was dry.
Taking the extra grass that hung off the side, I tucked it underneath the roof and used a staple gun to keep it in place.
FUN TIP:
Flip flops are not good spray painting shoes….
Now, of course, I wanted to make this house adorable with allllll the accessories. I pulled out some extra pieces of scalloped vinyl trim left over from our front porch (’cause we don’t throw anything away. Ever.)
I cut pieces to size that fit right underneath each window.
I then used Dollar Store plastic fencing upside down and attached it on top of the scalloped trim. I honestly just winged this whole thing and got lucky with the way it turned out and that everything fit just like it did in my head. Because, trust me, my life typically does not turn out this way!
I also used a spare piece of vinyl to go around the front window. I wanted to add a bit of thatch covering to this window and knew I needed something that could bend in the shape of the round window top but also be sturdy enough to hold and attach the artificial grass to.
FUN TIP: Even though the house is plastic, I found attaching items with a staple gun and screws really worked well.
I picked up a number “8” from the Habitat for Humanity Restore in town for .50 cents. Why the 8? Oh, I have 8 children.
Yes, I really do.
Yes, they’re all mine.
Yes, I’m crazy.
Yes, my house is a Circus Carnival Zoo.
No, I would not have it any other way.
I distressed the painted doors and shutters after I painted them because these seem to be the parts that wear the most on the house. I figured if I started the game off worn, maybe it would just add to the “look” as it weathered on its own.
The addition of the window box (Dollar Aisle at Target), mailbox and door handle hardware (more Restore finds) and the faux greenery (Dollar General), helped to create a unique, cozy cottage for my girls that you simply cannot buy at a store. Especially not for $50. Am I right?!
These jar DIY’s are simply DILLightful! (Sorry – I had to!)
#1 – Storage Jars
Seriously, how adorable are these jars? Perfect for storing those little toys the kids insist on lovingly leaving all over the floor for us to step on. Or even in a bathroom with Q-tips and cotton balls? How ’bout filling them with battery operated fairy lights to use as a nightlight?! OOOOOH! What about poking some holes in the lid and using them to hold all those creepy crawly bugs the littles are gonna catch in the backyard soon?! SO.MANY.POSSIBILITIES!
Gather your supplies. In this case, the jars, the hot glue gun & the plastic toys.
Make sure the toys have flat bases to ensure a good hold on the lid.
Hot glue those babies on!
Spray paint the lid & let fully dry!
#2 – Bird Feeder
You have to feed those birdies! Spring is springing (or has it sprung?) and the birdies are busy makin’ babies and like every new Mama, they need to EAT! So, why not make a cute lil’ shabby chic feeder to place right outside your kitchen window and watch those sweet feathered beauties go to work?
Our local thrift store was giving away books! I was like WHA????????
So, of course I ran over there and got me some!
They weren’t books I would read (and trust me, I love to read!) and most of them were ripped, stained or somehow destroyed hence making them unreadable.
And they were free books – so why the heck not, right?!
I decided to make a decor piece for my mantle. I have seen so many cute pictures with shelves of painted books floating around the Pinterest world, but I personally never had any books that I felt comfortable painting.
Until now!
I grabbed the thickest hardcover books I could find. I also tried to grab them in different heights.
The point of this piece is that is not wide and only appears to be full books. This is handy when the shelf you want to use the display on is narrow. It’s also lighter and easier to move around. Plus, it’s decor. I am painting them and NOT actually reading them ever!
Note: I used my circular saw to cut the spines from the books against my better judgement. I did not really measure. I simply cut the spines off in “around” the same places on each book.
I wanted the end result to look realistic and imperfect. Just like me!
Would I say this is the easiest way to do it? I’m not so sure. It was definitely messy. And would I say I *may* have clogged my saw’s dust bag and caused my saw to overheat which resulted in me having a complete panic attack?
Yes, yes I would.
Next I built my frame.
My husband and I are no-shame wood hoarders. We keep any and all scrap wood from projects.
It comes in handy so often and honestly, we’re too cheap to throw away something we paid good money for!
I gathered up a few scrap pieces, cut them to size with my saw and screwed them together. The bottom strip is to hold the book spines and the side pieces are cut 2×4’s that will serve as anchors to keep the entire piece together.
Here is the finished frame. Nothing professional here folks. Just a bit of book decor fun on a budget of FREE!
I kept 2 books off to the side for the end pieces. I was lucky enough to find 2 of the exact same books so I just used those.
I removed the hardcover jacket completely from the book pages. This was crazy easy and really just involved ripping it off.
Hindsight – I probably could have done this for all of the books, used wood pieces to “fake” the inside of the books and avoided causing unwanted damage to my saw
(for those of you concerned, she still works. Just needed a bit of time to cool off -whew! I got out of explaining that one to the hubby!)
I measured how wide I wanted the end books to be, marked with a ruler and used a box cutter to remove the unwanted portion of the book jacket.
I wrapped the cut-to-size spine ends around the wood piece. I did choose to screw these pieces in to make sure they were secure.
I just screwed straight through the jacket into the wood.
I attached everything from this point on with hot glue. It’s mostly attaching cardboard and paper to other pieces of cardboard and paper so superglue works perfectly fine!
Each book was glued on both sides to the book next to it.
Once they were glued together, I painted the whole piece white.
Note: the finished piece is top heavy. But, it’s a decor item meant to sit back against a wall or shelf back.
I distressed the paint a bit with a sandpaper block because that’s the look I like. I am undecided if I will add any sort of numbers or lettering to the spines. For now, I kind of like it as it is. The original hardcover colors show through in the distressed sections and I am loving the contrast.
In true disclosure, I will most likely change my mind……many times!
I have seen so many amazing greenhouses lately. From Pinterest, to my favorite decor magazines, it seems a lot of people are making and designing their own greenhouses. Some are mini versions that sit on your counter while others are huge spaces that resemble glass houses more than plant growing stations. After drooling over so many, I finally decided I needed a greenhouse.
Space is a wee bit tight in these parts (you know, small-ish house with 10 people, 2 dogs, 4 chickens and a bunny…) so I decided to build myself a lil’ one to go in this narrow opening on my back deck. It’s right by the electrical outlet, so I can use special greenhouse lights this winter to keep my plants alive and thriving through the colder months without having to move them inside and take up a lot of our indoor living space. And come spring, I can finally start my own veggies for the garden!
I made this matching awning and greenhouse entirely with scrap wood from our workshop, an old window and a few slate roof pieces I was gifted from a house built in 1907. I started by lining up what wood pieces I had by size. After figuring out which ones would work the best for the frames, I started building. It took a good week from start to finish (these kids apparently need fed 3x a day and I seem to be the only one knowledgeable in the craft of clothes washing), but the end result is even better than I imagined. My favorite feature is the greenhouse door. I really wanted something unique and different. A ‘Statement’ door. I attached this cool piece of art I had picked up at the Goodwill a handful of years ago using a few vintage hinges from the workshop.
This Little Black Greenhouse and awning of mine is proof that you can build anything you put your mind to. And you can do it as inexpensively as necessary. Plus, it’s always so fun to upcycle a good piece of art!
To see more of my Greenhouse, join me on Instagram!
A few months back I found a pile of bamboo plate chargers for .25 cents at our local ReStore. I knew I could do something with them, I just didn’t know what at the time.
So, of course, I bought them and put them away for almost 6 months 🙂
Then it came to me the other day. I could make a Sunflower decoration out of them for my front porch! (I have no idea where these ideas come from. They literally come out of no where!)
This project was so quick and easy. It took me under 10 minutes to make from start to finish and only required a handful of zipties, twine, a small grapevine wreath, sisal rope and scissors.
First, I laid out my bamboo circles in the shape of the Sunflower.
After slightly overlapping each one, I attached the overlapped chargers with a ziptie.
These aren’t heavy, so a small ziptie is perfect.
Once the outside of the Sunflower was put together, I attached another bamboo circle for the middle. I flipped it backwards so it would stand out from the outer layer.
This was attached with a ziptie as well.
Next, I added the grapevine wreath to the middle. You guessed it – zipties!
At this point I thought I was done. It was cute, but I felt like it just needed something more. I added a section of sisal rope for a whimsical stem and it was perfect!
Cute, but needed something more…
Perfect!
I love this one-of-a-kind summer addition to my porch!
Perfect!
If you decide to try your own hand at a Bamboo Sunflower, let me know!
