Friday, April 27, 2012

Thrifty DIY Locker Basket

Happy happy Friday, YAY!!! The weather is beautiful here in So Cal and we are ready for some weekend fun. One of my best friends is currently in labor with her first baby girl and I am SO excited to hear the news. Baby Emma is already SO loved!! I'm hoping to head out to palm Springs this Sunday to give her a squeeze. New babies are the best!!!

Earlier this week I hit up one of our local thrift stores (we are seriously lacking in the thrift store department around here). Luckily this little shop is right next to the dollar tree so I get in there pretty often. This time I picked up this big wire basket for $3. I think it's one of those wire drawers from Ikea, but I could be wrong (sorry - kind of hard to see in the below pic).

I knew exactly where I wanted to use it (no judging please). Take a look at the top of my craft cabinet (yikes).

It's so messy and cluttered. Icky (& yes, that's a punching balloon that got taken away from Noah for reasons I won't mention. ha ha). Anyway, this area needed an overhaul and this was just the basket to do it!

I decided to spray paint it aqua (my go-to color)....again, kind of hard to see it. Sorry.


I knew I needed to do something to it to make it look like more than just a boring white basket. I am always drooling over the vintage locker baskets that I see on other blogs and in Antique shops but have yet to find one that fits my budget.

Once the paint was dry, Hayden made sure it was extra durable :)

I was in Staples the other day and found the Martha Stewart section. WOW! Martha really knows how to make great products! I picked up a 3-pack of these bookplates for $3.99 and knew adding one of these would do the trick.
I spray painted it aqua to match the basket...
I thought I was going to need to use E6000 to adhere it to the basket, but the adhesive that comes on it is super strong!! I even placed it in the wrong place at first and had a bit of trouble pulling it off to adjust it. It feels pretty secure on there so I don't think I will have to use glue.
 I typed out a special label code number on kraft paper and cut it to size (my birth date if you must know)......

Doesn't it look like it was meant to be there all along?? I think so!

Wanna see the big picture??
Bigger???
BIGGER???
Biggest :)
Ahhh, much better! So much more light, airy, and tidy looking. I like it :)
(ultimately I would love to paint this cabinet white and remove the wrought iron details but for now, this will have to do).
Now my vintage books and pom poms look extra chic in their fancy "locker basket" instead of icky messy. Woohoo! This was super easy and the total project cost was about $5. YAY! That is definitely in my budget :)
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

{6}


6 is BIG. And apparently smart, funny, witty, happy, goofy, handsome, friendly, imaginative, kind, and AWESOME!!!!!! My itty bitty tiny baby boy is 6 freaking years old! What the!!??

Our new tradition in our house is the Birthday balloon bomb. We did it for Hayden, now it's Noah's turn. Last night Josh and I tackled these.....
50 balloons (purchased in two 25 packs at the dollar tree). We must be full of hot air ;)
Shhhhhhhhhh....sleeping boy on his birthday eve night.

Look closer.....
{6} of these magical balloons had hidden treasure in them :)

Good morning birthday boy!!!!!!

He is SO happy that he is 6  :)
Hey - What's in here?!

These are the {6} treasure balloons.


POP! (ok, we actually cut them gently because none of us are fans of balloon popping)
Treasure!!!! 3 paper dollars and 3 special gold dollars. Awesome :)

Then Hayden woke up and joined the party :)



It was a fabulous birthday morning for my GIANT 6 year old baby boy (he promised me that he would always be my baby)!! Now he's at school wearing a birthday crown made by his teacher and having a happy happy day!

"I love you sweet Noah! You are the very best kid on the planet!!!! Keep up the great work and always remember that you own my heart! xo"


Saturday, April 21, 2012

Friday's Etsy Faves - Saturday edition

Happy Saturday everyone! I spaced out and forgot to do my Friday's Etsy Faves post, but it's better late than never, huh!?

I browse on Etsy pretty much every day and I always find things I am drooling over. This week is no exception. Take a look.

I think I might be willing to trade my first born for this gorgeous French eco friendly bag from ika bags. Seriously!!!!
I can totally see myself strolling along at the Luckett's Antique Market this May with this beautiful bag (yep - you heard that right people, I get to go to Luckett's this year!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!).

Next on my list today is this beautiful vintage fabric tape from In the Clear. I actually don't own any decorative tape at the moment, but it is definitely a fun and versatile supply to have. I am seriously tempted by the adorable vintage print on this one. SO pretty :)

This necklace from Julie Garland Jewelry MUST be mine! I love the dainty industrial style. This is an "everyday wear" kind of necklace and I love it. A LOT.

I am also seriously in love with this throw pillow from Forever Lovely Design. The stripes on the back and the fun vintage fabric is exactly the style I love!!

And last, but certainly not least is this awesome vintage brass change dish from The Gilded Tassel.
My grandpa used to always have lose change in his pockets and at the end of the day he would empty them out into a dish on his dresser. If he were around today, this would most definitely be his Father's day gift.

See what I mean!? Sooooo many awesome treasures on Etsy!
I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend so far :)

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Thrifty find {LOVE}

Happy Tuesday people!!!!
This past Sunday was the perfect day! Absolutely gorgeous weather!! My in laws were SO kind and watched my kiddos for me so I could take my sis in law to the Long Beach Flea Market. I am a regular there but she had never been so I was excited to show her the awesomeness. I even came away with a few (awesome) treasures. Wanna see??

First - my absolute favorite thrifty find to date....
Isn't this vintage chalkboard soooo adorable!? I am in love with it!!!!! It was the best $15 that I've spent in a while. Happy!!
Look at this sweet moo-cow. And those worn edges. And the awesome green color. {Sigh}.
I am so glad I "popped" on this. I would have regretted leaving it behind for sure! I need to add some hangers to the back and I think I will hang it on the wall between the kid's rooms. Love it!

I also picked up this gorgeous milk glass bowl. I have a $5 limit for milk glass pieces and I was sort of nervous as I was turning it over to see the price. Much to my surprise, $5!!! YAY!!!!
It is in perfect condition without any cracks or "flea bites" as the little chips are called in vintage land. I just love the shape and the details of this one...a true favorite :)

I also found this super cute milk glass swan (haha - even my sis in law approved of this little guy and she is NOT on board with my love for swans).
Again - a $5 milk glass piece in perfect condition. A must have!!!
Last but not least, I picked up some pretty white sea stars from the shell guy. He's there every time and has a great selection and great prices! I think I'm getting antsy for Summer because I've already started sprinkling beachy decor around. Living in SoCal, I think it's ok to be beachy all year round :)

I got the apothecary urn at Michael's with a coupon, and the realistic sand came from Pottery Barn. Yep - that's right, fancy schmancy sand. I couldn't find realistic looking sand anywhere else and I was trying to avoid that super smooth white craft sand. Not a fan.





I am so happy that the flea market didn't end up getting rained out, and I was able to cruise the aisles with my sis in law too. She found some awesome treasures also and I'm sure she'll be sharing them on her blog soon :)
Have a great day everyone!!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Girly tid-bits

It is the last stretch of Spring break and it is a rainy mess outside. A perfect wet and gloomy day to stay in and get cozy. Who is the bonehead that takes her squirly kids out on errands in this weather you ask!? ME! Ha ha! Ugh! Not my very best idea, but I couldn't imagine an entire day stuck indoors with them. The silly squirrels get squirly for sure! ha ha!

Anyway, in wrapping up Hayden's room-refresh, I thought I would talk about the other details of her room. Some stayed the same, a few changed, and all in all it was a successful refresh :)

FIRST - you must take a look at the "before" pics so that you can clearly see why a refresh was in order. Take a look (& try not to cry when you see the m-e-s-s).

1. Dresser/changing table (sorry about the icky cell phone pic)


2. bed along the window making the curtains impossible to open and close easily. MESS!
3. Closet of doom. Look at that mess! The house shaped toy shelf is jammed with those creepy babies and animals. ha ha. Ewe!
(this above picture literally gives me hives)

Now let's get to some refreshed "after" shots, k!? Phew! that was rough.
We are currently in potty training mode over here so I thought it was an ok time to ditch the changing pad on the dresser. I definitely wanted to add more play space on the floor for playing and I felt like eliminating the giant yellow dresser from the room would be a good idea. However, it was painted especially for her by yours truly, and we really need the clothes storage. Like, really!!! She's quite the fashionista :)
So..........

It ended up here. The top of the dresser is still in progress, but you get the gist. Ideally I would like to ony have the laundry basket live up there and everything else be cleared. Ideally. Right now it holds storage bins, rain boots, etc.

Oh - and here's a shot of her magnet board wall that is still in full effect. It's a bit messy looking, but she loves it so it stays. Plus, spackle is not my friend and there are a ton of holes under there. ha ha!

The next big change that occurred was the bed moved away from the windows to the other wall. I can not tell you how much better it is to have the curtains more easily accessible.

I had totally forgotten that I had this adorable vintagey looking twin sized chenille quilt in the linen closet. I purchased it loooong ago from Ross for $9.99. I had no real plan for it, but I loved it and it had to be mine. Here's a close-up for you...
Just look at those cute dots and pom pom trim. {LOVE}.

Of course the bird-a-lier stayed put and is still one of my favorite projects to date :)

Since the yellow dresser moved into the closet, the dollhouse shelves needed to be moved out. Take a look:
It's definitely much easier to maneuver the curtains behind the shelves. MUCH easier. I didn't get a great pic of the wall with the windows unfortunately and am too lazy busy to take one at the moment.

The last part of the switch-eroo was to put her little bookcase on the wall where the dresser was. It's much smaller in scale and doesn't make this side of the room feel so heavy. Plus, my girl loves her books :)

(note: I plan to get rid of that ugly lamp asap. I want to find a cute lamp to go on top of the white cabinet on the left side)

All in all, while I didn't actually add to the square footage of floor play space, the layout is much more open and airy feeling and I think everything turned out great. Hayden loves her "new" room and that is really all that matters in the end.

I hope you are having a safe, warm, and happy Friday! Please cross your fingers for me that the flea market on Sunday doesn't get rained out. I am dying to get my thrift on ;)


Original project post links:
Dresser
Bookcase
Magnet board wall
Bird-a-lier