DIY Chevron Tray

Over a year ago during a trip to Goodwill, I picked up an old, tired, wooden frame.  It was only $2, and because of the wood and the depth of the frame, I knew it would make a great tray.

I've looked at it and have never been sure how I wanted to fix it.  After I finished my end table last week, I had a little bit of paint left, so I decided to use it for this tray.

The old wire and hooks needed to be removed, the nails in the back got pounded in a bit {so as not to scratch any surfaces}, and the entire thing got a fresh  coat of ASCP in Paris Grey.  I distressed a tad with fine grit sandpaper, and then applied clear wax.

Then, I cut a piece of chevron fabric to size and used mod podge to apply it.  I had to hot glue around the frame, to secure it a bit.  I then sprayed some Scotch Guard on the fabric, just in case someone actually puts a coffee cup in there and we have a spill.

The bottom of the frame is wood, as is the top of our current coffee table, so I put felt pieces cut to size along the edges of the frame bottom.  This will keep it from scratching the coffee table.

I like that it's large enough to hold magazines, if I want, the remote, some coasters, a candy dish, or an occasional seasonal decoration.  Although, we will probably wait a few years for it to hold decorations.

There are some things that just don't fly in a house full of toddlers, so I choose my battles!  One day we'll have pretty things on our coffee table, but for now, legos will do.


Have a great weekend!

Linking to:

  

My New Chalkboard for the Kitchen

Ever since we moved into our new home I've been wanting a chalkboard for the kitchen.  My first inspiration came from Janell at Isabella & Max Rooms.  She has a great tutorial on how to build your own chalkboard message board, which you can find here.  I would have loved to do this, but decided to go with something a bit simpler.  During a recent trip to Goodwill, I stumbled upon this beauty:

For $4 I couldn't pass up such a great wooden frame.  I didn't want a huge board, so this was just the right size, and I loved the depth of the wood--perfect for what I wanted. 

After removing the glass and picture from the frame, I spray painted the entire frame with Krylon gloss white (sorry, no pictures).  When I turned it over to finish, I didn't check to make sure the paint was dry, so when I thought I was ready to complete my project, there was newspaper stuck to the frame!  Distressing hadn't been in my original plan, but thanks to my moment of neglect the chalkboard frame is beautifully distressed and I love it!

My husband told me a few weeks ago that if I was going to distress anything else I needed to research more how to do it.  This was his gentle way of saying that what I had tried didn't look right.  He agreed that I did a much better job with this distressing job.  Thanks, honey.

The chalkboard is simply the original picture and glass, just spray painted with chalkboard spray paint.  I applied 4 coats of paint, allowed it to dry for 24 hours, and then rubbed chalk over the entire surface.  It sat like this for a couple of weeks until we finally got around to hanging it last night. 

Here's a little tip for hanging large frames that might move around (such as when writing on a chalkboard):

Cut triangle shaped pieces of felt for each corner of your frame.  Then attach with hot glue.  

The hardware needed to be replaced, so Bradley attached some new hooks and placed a piece of wire across the entire frame.  

Here's the finished product:

I love that I can use this chalkboard for all kinds of things, but right now it's a scriptural reminder of what I need to work on this week.  

The breakfast nook with new chalkboard and fresh flowers from a sweet friend.

 Linking to:
End of August Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality

$6 Knock off Pottery Barn Chandelier

Shopping at thrift stores is becoming a habit of mine, and I'm finding that in order to find something I can use, I need to do it on a regular basis.  During my last shopping trip to Goodwill, I found six small lamp shades, perfect for my dining room light fixture!  I mentioned in a previous post, which you can find here, that I was looking at several different options to change these shades up to fit the room.  The burlap shades won, so here is my new knock-off chandelier:

And, the inspiration:

source

Here's how I did it:

Supplies:
burlap
adhesive spray
burlap trim
hot glue gun and glue sticks
scissors

First, I cut the burlap in a curved shape, following the shape of the shade.  Because of the slant of the shade, this made the application much easier than simply cutting in a straight line.

Then, starting at the original seam, I sprayed a bit of adhesive spray and then placed the burlap on top, smoothing out the fabric.

I continued spraying, placing and smoothing, until I reached the starting point.

I then cut the excess fabric off right at the top and bottom edges of the shade, so that my trim would lie exactly on the edges. 

Next, I folded over the burlap (to hide the cut edge) and using my hot glue gun, placed a thin line of hot glue to hold the end in place.

Using the hot glue gun again, I attached the burlap trim around the top and bottom edges, pressing down after each application so that the trim would be straight.

I allowed it to dry for a few hours before attaching the shades to the bulbs.

The look is perfect for what I wanted and I'm thrilled that I now have a 'new' chandelier for only $6!

I'll be linking this up to these parties this week:

Between Naps on the Porch
Southern Hospitality
Home Stories A to Z

The burlap, trim, glue, and adhesive spray I already had on hand, so my only cost at this time was $6 for the shades.

Dining Room Lighting

Believe it or not, my dining room chairs are almost done.  I thought the day would never come, but I think tomorrow the slipcovers will be finished!  

Now that I have paint on the walls and the chairs are almost done, I've moved onto some of the other elements in the room.  I wasn't planning to change the chandelier right now, simply because of how expensive it would be to get what I really wanted.  The light fixture is brand new, it came with the house, but I've always felt like it was lacking something, sort of naked, you could say.  

Current light fixture

It needs a little dressing up, and I've always liked the shades that I've seen online, but the ones I like run around $20 a piece, which would mean I'd spend $100 on 'fixing' my chandelier.  There's no way I'm going to do that to a brand new fixture, so guess what?  I was in Goodwill yesterday and found 6 of the same lamp shades, just the size that I need for this fixture!  At $1.01 a piece (why do they add 1 cent to everything??), I couldn't resist!

However, they also need a bit of dressing up.  Here's what I'm considering:

This would add a new element of texture to the room, but I'm not exactly sure how to recreate it:

via Ballard Designs

This would be simple, and I think I might have some linen on hand.

via Ballard Designs

Same as above just with a contrast trim.

via Ballard Designs

I like the classic, clean look of these

via Pottery Barn

Another option for some added texture.

via Pottery Barn

Could burlap not be an option? I know I have enough and I even have some burlap trim that I picked up at a fabric warehouse in Pennsylvania last month. Hmmm...

via Pottery Barn

Which one would you choose?