I didn't spray paint it!

My Mom gave me this painting last spring:

I keep an eye out for original art when I am out thrifting. I like this painting, but the frame wasn't working for me. I considered spray painting it, but I never got around to it. I think it's been in the basement for a year.

Then I decided to change some stuff out in the dining room for spring. I wanted new art, but didn't have anything in my hiding spot that was catching my eye. Then I remembered this painting. I emailed Mom to see if I could modify it.

My idea was to make it into a chalkboard. I was all set to get something to make into a chalkboard and paint it. Then I found this piece of poster board that was already painted. And it fit. Maybe I DO have too much stuff! I was going to do a quote or something, but I decided to just go with a doodle. I hung it up, but there was a nail hold showing above it. I stole this little plate from my plate wall, hot glued a pop can tab to the back, and hung it up.

I am so ready to decorate for spring. I've got a couple other crafty ideas for the dining room. Here's one that's almost done:

Felted nest.

I made this nest by holding one strand of wool yarn with one piece of novelty yarn on every other row. Some is cotton, and some is eyelash yarn. There's some twine in there too, but I didn't like the look of it after it felted so I cut most of it off. I still need to paint a little egg and put it inside.

I put it in my huge ironstone bowl, and it will be our dining room centerpiece until I get sick of looking at it.

The basement is so close to being done! I just need to put one more coat of paint on the cabinet doors and the hand rail. I took it down to paint it, so I'll need to hang it back up again. I'm still hoping to get it done by March 1st.

All you need is......

Before.

All you need is 1. a free piece of art from your Mom's yard sale pile (broken glass optional), 2. red spray paint, and 3. chalkboard spray paint. Oh and chalk borrowed from the kids.

After.

I got rid of the broken glass. I spray painted over the boat print which was actually a nice, heavy cardstock. I just shoved it back in the frame with the two pieces of cardboard that were behind the picture. It's not even secured. 

I  made this last night:

Book page wreath #2.

I never was overly satisfied with the first book page wreath I made. I needed something to hang on the dining room door since I moved the stick wreath to our bedroom. I have a good supply of vintage books right now thanks to my Dad. He bought two boxes of them at the auction he frequents. I think he paid a dollar or two per BOX and there were 12-15 books per box.

I'm starting to see a pattern here. I get a lot of free "junk" from my parents.

Stolen from Dad's yard sale pile. Didn't even give him 50 cents.

I've tried many times to pay Dad from the stuff I take from him. He buys it super cheap though, so he never wants money for it. He has a couple booths at an indoor flea market where he resells stuff. Anyway, I thought this was a good shaped frame when I stole it. I actually plan to cut the picture in two and keep the horse and buggy. That's a project for another day. 

Mystery art.

I actually forgot I had the frame. It was down in my hoarding spot in the basement. John and I had talked about framing this little piece of mystery art for our gallery wall. It was warm enough to spray a paint yesterday, so I painted the frame to match the others I'll be using.

As for the mystery art, John's Grandma painted it. When her estate was settled, all of her artwork was distributed. We got several beautiful pieces. Then it came down to this sort of strange scrap pile. John and I both loved this one piece. The back is almost just as pretty, though I don't think it is a painting. It it just brush strokes in yellows, blues, and oranges. Like maybe she was cleaning her brushes or testing colors. As for the barn on the front, I'll always wonder where the other half is. Or why someone would paint something so beautiful and then cut it in half. Maybe she was unhappy with it or just doodling. Or maybe she spilled her coffee on it. We will never know, but I do love it anyway.

I didn't want to clean today.

So I spent the morning taking random pictures.

An apple?

I've been working on the ledge shelves in the bathroom. I spray painted the frames a while back when we had a nice afternoon. I thought it would be fun to get some mat boards for the art. Well, they were $2 or $3 each. Dang. I'm not paying $3 for a matting to go into a thrifty frame holding a scribble. So I coughed up the money for a mat board cutter. I didn't even know they existed. I'm certainly not an expert on using it yet, but I can do a pretty good job. Now I can wait until the huge sheets of mat board go one sale at Hobby Lobby and cut several (10? 15?) in custom sizes. The cutter was $30 and the mat board goes on sale for (I think) $4.

DIY ledge shelves

John made me these shelves. They are three feet long. He made the same thing for my Mom for Christmas. Hers are four feet long, and she painted them white. Idea/plans here: Ana White Ten Dollar Ledges. Her site used to be called Knock Off Wood, and it is where we also got the plans for our headboard.

Remember the bird print from my Indy thrifting trip?


It was in the cheapest plastic frame EVER. It just peeled off the picture in one big piece. The front was real glass though, so I kept it.


I spray painted a gold frame I already had, cut the matting, and put the birds in. It's an odd sized frame though. I'm not entirely pleased with it.

It's a big improvement from when I bought it though, huh? I'll keep my eye out for a different frame for it.

I'm feeling pretty good about the stuff I bought in Indy. I've used the Easter eggs, the man's shirt, the thrifty frames and the one from Target. Oh, and the wreath.

Coffee filter wreath.

And the mirror for Ellie's room that I bought at Target that day.

It was the perfect size and shape.

I can't believe I paid full price for this and painted it.

I think the mirror was twenty bucks. Considering she has a free dresser and lamps, I figured it was okay to spend so much.

Busy me! I realized last night that my bedtime is no longer 10:30pm. I usually stay up until 11:30pm or midnight. It's catching up with me though. I've got to start going to bed earlier. Right after I finished my next couple projects. That sounds like a plan to me.