Master Bath: Sink skirt

I'm not sure if I've told you yet but I got a sewing machine and free sewing lessons for my birthday! (both from my mom) This mini-project was my first test of actually making something for our casa by myself. :) I decided to cover up the ugly pipes under the sink in our master bath with a sink skirt, just like I did in the guest bath. Remember, this one:

Sink skirts are perfect for concealing a trash can.

It was very easy and took around 30-45 minutes from start to finish. First, I measured the length around the sink so I would know the width for my fabric. Then, of course, I measured the height. I added 2 inches to the height and width so I could use a 1/2 seam on each side.

Just to give you a refresher course, this is the sink in our master bath. It's hard to tell in this photo but the pipes are exposed underneath and I finally got tired of looking at them!

So I whipped up this sink skirt and now it looks like this:

Much better on the eyes, don't you think? Total cost for this project = around $5. The only thing I had to purchase was the velcro because I found the fabric in my mom's collection. I bought the heavy duty sticky-back kind from Hancock's and it was 50% off. Yay. I stuck the hook (rough side) to the sink and sewed a band of the loop (soft side) to the top of the skirt. That way when I need to wash it, lint won't stick to the velcro. :)

Happy Tuesday!

Pinterest Project and Gallery Wall Update

So raise your hand if you're addicted to Pinterest? Yeah, me too. ;) This week I was browsing all of my "pinned" items and thought it would be fun to actually make one of them. I've already made this one, the chevron art piece to hang over a mantle, but that was several months ago. So as I looked through I saw this cute idea:

I had been wanting to spruce up our gallery wall since this post, so I thought this little project would be the perfect addition. I already had a bag full of old buttons that belonged to my grandmother plus a few that I got from my mom. So the only thing I had to buy was a frame, which I got from Wal-Mart for $9. The first thing I did for this is print out an "e" that I found online, cut it out and trace it on a piece of white cardstock.

I played around with the placement of the buttons for a while...

And then glued them all down once it looked right to me. ;)

And here's how the rest of the gallery wall in the hallway looks:

Btw, don't you love that rug?! It was handmade by my dad's mother probably 50ish years ago. I'm convinced that we would have very similar taste in decor, if only I had had the chance to meet her.

Here is a close-up of each frame:

A stereotype USA found on Pinterest that the Mr. and I think is funny.

 It's hard to read what each is so here is a larger version.

A sweet little saying found again on Pinterest :)

 These next 2 are my attempts to include more of Matthew's taste in our decor. (I also accomplished this when I hung Batman in the hall bathroom, which I guess I need to show you)

Grand Theft Auto (one of his fave Xbox games)

Winter is Coming... from Game of Thrones (which I also like although I haven't read the books, yet...)

 

Postcard we bought while we were in Kentucky last summer for Matthew's 30th birthday. We went on the Bourbon Trail.

Now for one last view:

 I love all of the color that this wall adds to the small hallway! Oh and those two print on the back wall are from the Etsy store, Freshline. The prints are 8x10 that I ordered last year. I got 11x14 frames from Target that are matted for a 8x10. This is what they look like up close:

What I love most about this little gallery wall is that there's plenty of room to add new frames with new memories. Or I can switch up the pictures inside, maybe with something seasonal...? Who knows? But for now, it's a nice little burst of color in what-could-be a boring little hallway.

50 cent yard sale eye-sore!

So, I know I haven't posted in a while, but it's not that I haven't been doing any projects. Really. I've just gotten out of the habit of blogging so here's to hopefully getting back on track for 2012...yay!

And yes, you read that right. I got this lovely, rusty eye-sore for less than a dollar at a neighborhood yard sale about 2 months ago. Then it just sat in the garage for several weeks, all depressed looking...

...until one day when I was in the garage working on another project (the thrifted art deco desk peaking in the back that you'll see in a future post). I once again lost my focus and started working on this puppy. The first thing I had to do was scrape off the white chipped paint from the racks. So I grabbed the nearest tool that looked like it would scrape off the paint, a garden spade. :)

All of that white, rusty paint got pretty messy!

So I scraped paint for about 10 minutes or so and then it was time for some spray paint. Spray paint projects are definitely my fave because they take very little time, usually, and they give you instant gratification! After a few light coats of Oil Rubbed Bronze spray and overnight drying, the once eye-sore found it's new home in the hall bath.

Turns out the baskets are the perfect size to hold toilet paper... who knew? And I really like the industrial look of it - it balances out the other decor mentioned here. Kinda reminds me of something from Restoration Hardware. I'm sure it will move around the house when I find new places to use it, but for now I kinda like it in here.

As for the wicker basket that once held the title of toilet paper holder, it now resides in the living room holding all of our cuddly blankets within an arm's reach. :)

Total cost for this project = around $4.50. Not too shabby, huh? Has anyone else found any steals at yard sales, thrift stores, etc...? Or had fun with spray paint projects?

Happy Wednesday!