Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Hosting Our First Giveaway

We are hosting a giveaway at Bear Rabbit Bear beginning today and going throughout the next week. We are excited that Megan's sister, Lindsay Bowen, has donated these beautiful earrings for the giveaway!  


Here is the link for the giveaway:  Stella & Dot Giveaway at Bear Rabbit Bear


Hope you decide to enter! It's easy to do and fun. I think that they will be the perfect summer accessory for anyone.  


Megan

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Lamp Redo by Megan


I went shopping for a new light lamp for our 2nd bedroom a few weeks ago. I went to Goodwill first, and it was a major bust. The lamps that I was somewhat interested in redoing were more expensive than this lamp that I found at Marshall's right next door.  I had wanted a base just like this one that I could paint gray. It was a light beige before I painted it.


As you can tell the lampshade it came with was dented pretty well.  I went to the nearest associate and asked them what their best price would be on it. I had never done that before at Marshall's but with a $50 price tag I thought it wasn't really fair considering the shade. Plus, knowing this lamp would be that price in good condition at Home Goods I thought it warranted a discount.

Boy am I glad that asked! She took off 18 dollars off the price, so I ended up paying $32 for it.  I feel that it is a pretty substantial size and worth the final price offered.



I taped off the lamp, sanded it with some rough sandpaper, and then sprayed it with the same gray Valspar spray paint I've used in other projects.  I had an extra shade lying around that I purchased at Home Goods a few months back. The shade was $12 dollars. I hope to possibly recover the damaged shade that this lamp base originally came with in the future. Luckily both of these shades were similar in size. Here is the lamp after the update:


The total cost for this lamp redo was $44 dollars for the lamp and shade. Thanks for stopping by!

Megan

Easy and Thrifty Artwork by Megan

I am working on a gray & yellow bedroom for our house. Of course I haven't really thought about that much past the dresser we did a few months back.  I have been pondering some ideas for wall decor or art too. I had a stash of pictures that I used before and wanted to reuse some of the frames.  


I took the frame and removed the artwork. I used some Valspar gray spray paint and covered the frame. Then I used the free printable that I found from Pinterest to place in the frame now.  Here is the link to the free printable: Persnickety Prints.  I am hoping that one day this room will be for another child, so I like the Love You in this printable.


Before & After



 I am going to be leaving the back without backing, so when I place it on the wall the color will show through. I like the look of the saying floating in the frame.  



I already the frame and spray paint, and the printable was free. I am a fan of projects that are fun and are thrifty.  I am excited to add it to the other items I already have in mind for the walls in the room.  Thanks for checking it out.  

Megan

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Grandma's Wreath Redo into a Monogram Wreath by Amy & Chris

My grandparents sold their house, and now my grandma wants to get rid of all of her junk.  She had so many random things laying around. Of course I was convinced to take a trunk load of stuff home. Lol! She gave me a few wreaths that weren't my style, but I had a few ideas for them.  Take a look at the transformation:



I started by taking the flowers off.   Next, I gathered left over material I had laying around. Which included burlap, material, flowers, ribbon and styrofoam balls.



I cut the styrofoam balls in half, so I could make a half of a pom. Then I started to cut the material in small circles.



I folded the circles of fabric in half. Place a dab of glue in the middle and fold again. Then I glued the fabric to the styrofoam ball.




I then wrapped the burlap around the wreath and started hot gluing flowers I bought from Michaels. I also picked up a letter V that I wanted to incorporate into the wreath. I attached hooks to the back and then tied ribbon around the wreath.




Here is the final transformation! Total cost was $10!!


Thanks for stopping by: Amy & Chris

Lucketts Market - Amazing!

Amy and I were able to attend the Lucketts Market for the first time today. It was seriously amazing!! The Old Lucketts Store in Leesburg, VA hosts an annual market. Here are some of the amazing finds we saw there...









Amy was contemplating purchasing this turquoise table at first, but found another great table a few tents later.  See what she got below!




The table above was done by Ekster Antiques. There tent was unreal and we were literally drooling all over their merchandise. I hope to get to one of their barn sales outside of Leesburg very soon.  Check out their site Ekster Antiques










Here is the adorable table that Amy scored an amazing deal on! I can't wait to see what she does with it.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Craigslist Patio Chair Redo

I found this chair a few weeks back on Craigslist for $15.  It was a little faded, but I knew that I could use it on our deck. I purchased some outdoor spray paint from Lowe's.  Two cans of it cost me around $10.00 all together.  



After the first coat I could definitely tell the difference and the chair was beginning to have show some life again.
I am thinking about redoing the cushions that it came with in the future, but for now they are in pretty good shape.  I think I'm going to enjoy reading some books on this chair during naptime.  



The total cost was approximately $25 for the entire chair redo.  It wasn't in the budget to buy some furniture for the deck we are working on. Therefore, I'm happy I was able to get a budget friendly chair for it.


Thanks for stopping by.

Megan

Sunday, May 13, 2012

A Desk Transformed

I picked up this desk the other day on Craigslist for $35.00.  I was searching for this style of desk for a while that was in my area and not too pricey. I was able to get this one only a few miles from my house.  It just needed a little time and elbow grease to get it to where I wanted it to be.



First I used my Octo hand sander and sanded down the entire desk.  I then used Mineral Spirits to wipe off all the saw dust that had accumulated on the desk.




I even had a little reader while I took a break from hand sanding some drawers.



I then used used Valspar's Lyndhurst Duchess Blue to paint the desk.  After several coats I went over it all with 320 grit sandpaper and then sprayed it over with polyurethane.


This project cost all together around $55 dollars after I bought the additional supplies.  I am excited with how the desk turned out.  It was the first project involving furniture that I did all alone...usually Rob is the expert.

Megan




Sunday, May 6, 2012

Master Closet Redo: Made with blood, sweat and tears literally! By Amy & Chris

Chris has wanted to redo our master closet since we moved in two years ago. Finally he got his wish, he had off work for spring break and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to complete the master closet project. We have had this project done for weeks but I wanted to change the light fixture in our closet, needless to say that was an adventure in itself. After 2 trips to Ikea and one to Lowes we finally have a light. I wanted a cute mini chandelier but the ones we found at ikea we either too long or didnt work in the space. Since I was at work, Chris was supposed to be in charge a taking pictures...need I say more?  Sorry guys but this is the only before picture we have. Just imagine a bare closet with 2 wire racks.



Chris started by clearing everything out and painting the walls. Next he placed wood ledgers around the closet to give a floating shelf effect. The ledgers were 10 inches off the ground. We wanted space underneath to store our shoes and I had space on top to store my purses.



Next, he started building the frame of the closet using MDF board which was 6ft wide by 6ft high. He built the frame on the floor first.  He used toggle bolts to secure the closet in place. He then built the cubed shelves on the floor as well and then installed them as one unit. This was much easier then trying to build cube by cube on the wall. Building the shelves prior to install was also easier to make them even.  I wasn't kidding when I said blood, sweat and tears lol.......


 He added closet rods in multiple areas so we could hang our clothes.




After many many many trips to Home Depot...it is finally complete!  I thank my wonderful husband for all his hard work to give me my dream closet, I could be happier.  :)




Thanks for stopping by. We hope you enjoy it!!


The project total cost: $300


Amy & Chris