Old Tray Gets a Cottage Style Makeover

Today was another snow day in Kansas City. We just got over an ice storm that left everything covered in ice for about a week and now we are getting 5 inches of snow. So while I am cooped up inside I decided to tackle a few small projects that I had wanted to do for a while now. 

One of my projects is to do something with this tray that I got at the thrift store. I did not care for the winter bird scene, although the more I looked at it I didn't think it was THAT bad, but it definitely needed an update. 

I toyed around with the idea of painting it, but I really liked the outer edges of the tray. The brown/gray color stain and distressing was just right but I wanted to do something about that bird scene and really didn't think painting it was something I wanted to do. 

So I remembered that I had this roll of wallpaper in my closet for about the past SEVEN years. 

I have had it so long that I don't quite remember when I got it....and I had never even unrolled it to fully check it out so I was curious. 

After I took it out of the plastic sleeve I was in for a big surprise!!!!

Look at how pretty it is!!!! 

And I let this sit around for SEVEN YEARS!!!! Oopsie! LOL

You guys! This wallpaper is so nice and thick and in perfect condition!

It is also not even a long ROLL of paper, it is several of these large sheets all rolled up...so it is also the perfect size to work with. I just LOVE it!

I turned over the tray and laid the wallpaper on top and cut around the perimeter of the tray with scissors. 

Then I turned the tray back over and placed the wallpaper piece inside the tray and pushed down with my fingernails around the edges of the tray to create a crease, then cut along the crease to get a customized fit. 

Once I had the right size cut out I simply rubbed a glue stick over the perimeter of the base of the tray and across the middle, then simply laid the wallpaper piece on top. The last step was to press around the edges and in the middle to rub out any air bubbles and make sure the wallpaper was sticking to the glue. 

And that's it! The tray now looks totally different. It has a cottage feel and the colors will look great in my bedroom so I plan on putting this on my nightstand. 

So what do you think?

This was a SUPER easy project-perfect for a beginner DIYer. 

There were no tools involved, other than scissors and a glue stick of course, so this is the perfect type of project to tackle if you are beginner DIYer/decorater. 

I will eventually paint that nightstand and give my bedroom a complete makeover, but for now I will add simple updates like this to freshen it up. 

Jennifer

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Easy Valentines Day Wreath

Hi everyone! I have a fun project for you today! On one of my trips to the thrift store back around the holidays, I came across this guy. The best part he was 50% off so he only cost me $1.50 and I knew immediately I had to have him. 

I had been looking for wood pieces for a while because I knew I wanted to do this craft, and the fact that I found a heart wreath made it that much better!

I knew I wanted to give this a feminine look and I knew I wanted to use pink and purple tones so I headed to Joanns to look for scrapbook paper. 

As you can see, there are a TON of options today in decorative paper so I played around with several different patterns then decided on two. 

I picked a pink plaid and a purple and pink floral . 

To start this project pick your scrapbook paper, paint the entire wreath (front and sides) with white paint. I used white chalk paint. 

Then simply place one sheet of scrapbook paper over one of the hearts and use a pencil to trace the heart onto the paper. 

Simply cut out the heart and use this as your template for the rest of your hearts. 

Once you have your hearts cut out (I alternated between patterns) then place them on each of the hearts around the wreath and trim with scissors for a good fit. The next step is to apply ModPodge to the wreath and add attach your heart to it, pushing out any air bubbles with your fingers or a scraper. 

Then once all the hearts are dry, the last step is to gently sand around the edges of the hearts to lightly distress them. The more you sand, the heavier your distressing will be, so go slow until you find the level of distressing that you like. 

And that's it!!!! You now have an adorable Valentines Day wreath! 

I attached a pink ribbon to mine and hung it from some hooks on my bead board entryway, but this can sit on a shelf or be hung almost anywhere around the house! The scrapbook paper was $0.99 cents each and the wreath was $1.50, so this project cost me less than $5 bucks!!!! 

So the next time you are thrifting and come across outdated wooden pieces, snatch them up and give them a scrapbook paper makeover!!! 

Happy Valentines Day!

Jennifer 

Candlesticks get a Christmas Makeover

I am so excited to share this simple Christmas décor makeover today! 

It is amazing how the power of paint can drastically change your décor. 

In fact, I always tell people when shopping clearance sales and thrift stores to keep an open mind and look for pieces that are the right shape and size because you can always change the color with new paint. 

So this past Summer when I attended the Nell Hill's annual tent sale, I followed my own advice and picked  up these awesome candlesticks for $8 bucks each. They even came WITH the glass hurricanes BUT my dog knocked them over and broke the glass. Sigh.....so I no longer have the glass pieces but that's ok. I actually prefer to use the candlesticks without them anyway. 

As you can see, the candlestick had an overly aged finish, which is probably why they were in the tent sale, but they were a fantastic deal that I could not pass up! 

The shape and height were perfect for sitting next to my fireplace so I had to get them. 

I debated on whether or not to stain or paint them, and in the end I decided that I wanted them to be green so I chose this green color by Behr called Chard and just bought a small sample of it in the flat finish. 

This green is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Its perfect for not only Christmas but for the Spring too when I decorate with green, yellow, and pink colors. 

 

 So after I gave the candlesticks a coat of paint they instantly set the tone for Christmas. 

  

I simply added flames three wick candles for Kirklands. I bought two of these on Black Friday when they were 20% off. 

I really don't like my Christmas tree and keep saying I will be getting a new one, but I just can't dish out anymore money on another tree! I have had four in the last ten years. But I still love to decorate around my fireplace and these candle sticks now set the tone. 

After Christmas I will simply change out the floral to something Spring-y and I will continue to use these throughout the rest of the year. 

I love how these turned out and it just goes to prove how much the power of paint can update décor you already have. I'm all about budget friendly ways to update your home and this is definitely a budget friendly project.