Gallery Wall Update

First of all, as you can probably see, I've been trying out new backgrounds:) I told you, I'm constantly changing my mind! But maybe I'll use this for a while- I'm really in to the chevron look right now!

I'm sure you remember the inspiration for my new gallery wall that I mentioned here. Well it's still a work-in-progress. I still have to paint all of my current black frames white and rearrange them all. Here is how the gallery wall looks now:

I also bought some new frames from the thrift store a couple of weeks ago. I decided to thrift some because new frames can really add up when you're buying them new! As you can see, they vary in size and color, but that's nothing that a little white spray paint can't change;) I got all of these for less than $4!

 Here they are after a fresh coat several fresh coats of white paint.

 I also scored these white mats from the Dollar Tree to use:

So here are my new frames to add to my growing collection. I still have a few more to buy, then the fun part will begin- measure, nail, measure, nail, etc...

8x10 frame with the dollar tree 5x7 mat

I was in Michael's one day and found this shadow box on sale for $5 so I thought it would be the perfect addition. And, I've been looking for a starfish for a while and it just so happens that it fits perfectly inside here! Unless I find somewhere else to put it!:)

 Last week I stopped by an antique store in town and found these vintage cameras. I love vintage cameras! For now they're just in the dining room, but I'm thinking I might try adding them to the gallery wall (maybe inside a frame) for a little 3D effect?? Hmm... decisions, decisions.

 I'll keep you updated on the wall! What do you think about the cameras?

Happy 3 years!

So this post comes a couple of weeks late but on May 17 my hubby and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary! Yay:) It has flown by but we've enjoyed every minute of it! We always buy each other the "traditional" anniversary gift and I'm so glad that we started that tradition 3 years ago. For our first, the traditional gift is paper, so we got each other concert tickets to see Coldplay- which is the BEST concert I've been to!

This year, the traditional gift is leather- great for me because that leaves him with many options ;) I contemplated about what to get him- a leather cigar case or a watch. He's wanted a casual/ outdoorsy  watch for a while so while I was in Academy one day, I saw this and thought it was perfect!

He loved it- or at least that's what he told me! He did a great job picking mine out too, although he did wait until our anniversary day to buy it ;) The only reason I know that is because I get really impatient when it comes to exchanging presents so, of course, I wanted to exchange the day before! He got me this super cute cross-body purse from UO that I love and a little wooden box that I'm sure I'll find a use for!

So Happy 3 Years to my hubby! Can't wait for year #4- Linen. Hmm... guess I better start thinking about that now...

New towel bin

You may remember from a previous post that our master bathroom is extremely tiny, so we don't really have any floor space for a cabinet to hold towels, toiletries, etc... Well I had an old metal bin in the garage that my mom saved for me when she was cleaning. It was rusty, lifeless, and not much to look at. But it was very sturdy and in good shape, besides the rust. I was having a spray paint party yesterday for some picture frames that I picked up from the thrift store. Remember, I'm wanting to spruce up my gallery wall to something like these:

Anyway, I was out in the garage painting my frames and saw the old metal bin. I decided to show him some love and give him a fresh coat of primer/paint- a dark gray, almost charcoal color. It turned out pretty well so I was thinking about what I could use it for. Then it hit me! I could roll up our white bath towels and put them in here, since they were currently stacked in the floor. I thought it would be a useful and appealing way to store the towels.

So my original plan was to put my new towel bin under the sink because I'm going to make a sink skirt like the one I made here for the guest bathroom. But I didn't want anything taking up floor space, since it's already very limited. I got Matthew to come hold it against the wall to see how it would look hanging and I actually liked it! So I threw 2 nails on the wall and hung my new towel bin!

I had to hang it low enough so that we could actually reach the towels and this left too much empty space above. I tried visualizing a picture above it but I didn't really have anything at home to use. Then I remembered I had a bunch of driftwood leftover from my spring mantel project, so I went out to the garage and grabbed 2 somewhat similar pieces. Of course, I didn't want to put any nails in the wall for what would probably just be a temporary solution so I used some good ole' duct tape to hold these babies! They're actually very light because they're hollow so it did the trick for now.

So that's how it looks for now. I may decide later that I hate it and take it down, who knows?! I'm currently shopping for a new shower curtain, bath mat, and fabric to use for a sink skirt and curtains. Here are 2 shower curtains that I'm considering:

We'll see and I'll keep you updated! What do you think of the hanging towel bin?

Thrifted lamps... yes, please!

A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted some different lamps for our master bedroom, which is still a work-in-progress. Since I had recently bought some from Target, that I'm over now, I knew I couldn't justify buying brand new lamps to my husband (although we are going to use the old lamps in the office). Enter the thrift store. I picked up 2 ceramic lamp bases for less than $12! They both have the same shape- one was green and the other was white.

Notice all of the extra driftwood in the background, haha!

I decided that I wanted the bases to be white and luckily, one already was. So I googled how to paint ceramic and got busy. First I needed to sand it down with fine grit sandpaper- I already had some so I didn't have to buy any, yay! Once it was sanded, I cleaned it and taped off the areas I didn't want painted, like the cord, switch, etc...  Now was time to prime. I sprayed 2 coats of primer, Valspar, allowing it to dry for 20 minutes between coats.

Once it was primed and dry, I sprayed 3 light coats of white in a semi-gloss finish.

It took 3 coats to cover it completely so I'm glad I was patient- I usually try to finish projects as quickly as possible, so it was hard waiting for it to dry between coats. I just found something else to work on though:) Once the color was like I wanted, I sprayed on 2 light coats of a clear gloss. This gave it that shiny, ceramic look because the paint had made it look kinda dull. Now it matched the lamp base that was already white. Mission accomplished!

Now it was time to find lampshades! Here are some that I liked:

Love the pattern on this one but it was too small :(

Too small also...

Like this but the shade was ivory instead of white- boo.

 I finally decided on a white shade. I know, you may be thinking a white lamp with a white shade?!? But it won't limit me to certain colors that I can use for bedding, pillows, rugs, etc... And I'm going to incorporate color with accessories in our bedroom. Here are the newly thrifted lamps with their new shades:

This is the one that was originally green

This is the one that was already white

And here they are together

 I already had one of these lampshades so I just had to buy one more. Got it at Target for around $20. Here is the breakdown for this project:

2 lamp bases: $12
Fine grit sandpaper: already had
Painter's tape: already had
Spray primer: already had
2 cans of white spray paint: $6
Clear gloss spray: $3
2 lampshades: $20 (already had one)

Total cost for 2 lamps: $41


Not bad for 2 ceramic lamps! Our bedroom still has a long way to go but we're off to a pretty good start:)

What do you think?

I've linked up to Shabby Chic Cottage- check out her site for some amazing transformations!

Featured on Sew Woodsy!

Great news! My post "foot stool transformation" was featured on Sew Woodsy today! Check it out! And stay tuned for another thrift store transformation:)

 

 

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!