2014 Project Review

Yesterday I posted my year in review post with lots about lessons I've learned in 2014. It is a lot of personal posts and things that I learned A LOT from.

But for those of you who could care less about my life and just want some good project ideas, here is the year in review just for you!!

Murphy Bed Tutorial - complete with not so great pictures :) 

DIY Cloud Light - a gift for a babies nursery 

Whimsical Stump Chairs - my favorite part of our yard! 

Industrial Hanging Planter - cheap cheap look for less 

Not one but TWO dress refashions! 

Long Bridesmaid Dress 

Little Black Dress turned Skirt 

DIY Arrows - rustic fall decoration

Halloween Costumes for you and your Pup!

Custom Built Wine Buffet - by far my favorite project of 2014!  

What a transformation to look back on 2014. I can't believe it, but at the rate I'm progressing I'm excited to see what projects I come up with in 2015!! 

DIY Pottery Barn Beachcomber Round Tray (Look4Less Design Challenge) & Giveaway!

It's that time again, the Look for Less Design Challenge is here and these Fine Ladies have some amazing projects ready to inspire the socks off of you :) You can check out their links at the end of this post, and this time we have a great opportunity for YOU to join in the fun! Thats right, you can link up your personal projects and enter to win a TARGET GIFT CARD!! 

This time I was inspired by the ever trusty Pottery Barn! This beachcomber tray is something I knew would look great in so many places around our house, but I don't really need it so I couldn't justify spending $69. 

I started looking around for materials and actually ended up having everything I needed on hand! But for those of you that don't, run to your local Lowes and pick up a prepackaged thing of sisal rope and hot glue. Yep so you can get everything you need for under $15 bucks! I had a left over piece of glass and decided to use this as the bottom of my tray so it was a bit more even for glasses :) 

Getting started was EASY. Just start rolling and glueing. Yep add a bead of glue along the edge of the rope and twist. 

Keep on keeping on until your base is large enough for your tray.
Then keep gluing but this time start stacking the rows ON TOP of each other.
Once you have gone around enough times to create the depth you like (You only need a couple of inches) simply cut your rope leaving a few inches on the end loose. Then glue the end to the inside of your tray.

If y'all know me at all. by now you know that I don't ever just copy something. I've always gotta put a little twist on my projects :) This one I could have simply made the handles with the remainder of my rope for the tray to really look like the Pottery Barn tray. BUTTT I wanted a pop of color.
I grabbed some leftover leather and cut in two strips. Then I slipped the leather through the rope sides and attached with grommets.

There you have it! A super awesome and cheap rope tray that you can make in less than an hour!! 

Ooo I love this and keep moving it around the house, originally I had it out on the porch but now it's sitting on our kitchen table holding my flowers and salt and pepper shakers  :) 

Home Coming - X Leg Ottoman

Absolutely Arkansas - Pottery Barn Inspired Mirror

Life On Virginia Street - Outdoor Couch

Like A Saturday - Henna Monogram Letter

Life Love Larson - Ribbon Trimmed Roman Shades

Now go enter this awesome contest by linking up YOUR look for less projects! Oh and don't forget to click over to my fine friends pages to see their projects too! 

Look For Less: Industrial Hanging Planter

The Look For Less Design Challenge is back with vengeance! Everyone has some pretty awesome projects that are sure to spruce up your space so please be sure to visit each of these ladies!  Also, I've got a bit of a sneak peak and links at the bottom of the post too :)

For this challenge I've known I wanted to try something outside. I love our yard and have written about it multiple times but there was always this one spot that I just couldn't figure out how to make it pretty.  Our house is old which means old siding, and old molding. The age is really showing next to our back door. There is just a bit of a junky spot. So I decided to search the wonderful google machine to find some inspiration that could help me beautify this tattered spot.

Of course West Elm has some amazing things. I've pinned a ton of planters I wanted to try but as soon as I saw this Galvanized Industrial Hanging Planter I fell in love  but not with the $49 price tag. So I  started brain storming ways I could get this look for less.

Basically all I needed was PVC pipe, some spray paint, rope, and pretty flowers. Heres a quick materials list with the prices.

1 5ft section of 4 in PVC pipe     $9

4 4 inch end caps                       $5

1 spool of rope                          $6

Silver Spray paint                      $6

This means for about $26 I made TWO planters! 

Now to get two planters I bought a large enough piece of PVC to cut in half both ways (hot dog and hamburger style). So first off I cut the board in to 2 1/2 ft sections. 

Then I guestimated how much I needed to cut off to leave room for the plants. I would recommend getting a larger diameter piece of PVC, but for the small flowers I was planning to use this was just fine :) I marked a straight line down either side of the board and slowly cut with my jig saw. 

Then I chose my largest drill bit, and drilled two holes on either end for my rope. 

Now comes the part where you kinda just play around. I sprayed each of my pieces of PVC with the silver spray paint, then I dry brushed some white craft paint on and smudged it around a good bit so it wasn't "too" noticeable. I couldn't figure out what to use to get the dark spots and then I remembered I had some ebony wood stain. So I splotched some one and wiped it around too. You can see in the third picture that the top has the stain and the bottom doesn't. 

WAH LA! Thats pretty close to the real deal I think.

 Then all that was left to do was attach the rope. And in this case it was SUPER easy! Just measure out your rope length for your specific spot, pull the rope through and under the PVC. I used shower curtain rings as the hooks and simply tied them together and done!

I just LOVE these planters. I mean they aren't perfect but for $26 for 2 I think they do exactly what I needed! They add some texture and allow new space for beautiful new plants. By adding these small planters I created a whole new atmosphere on our porch and I'm in love with it!

Now be sure to check out all of these lovely ladies and their Look for Less projects! 

Life On Virginia Street:              No Sew Pottery Barn Inspired Ribbon Curtains
Life Love Larson:                      DIY Succulent 
Like A Saturday:                        Anthropologie Inspired Dessert Stand
Absolutely Arkansas:                  Anthropologie Inspired Mirrored Tray 
Home Coming:                           DIY Towel Rail 

THESE ARE AWESOME so please go look :) 

Work Bench (Look For Less #2)

It's time for another Look For Less challenge!! If you missed the first challenge head over HERE to check it out. If you are looking for my Wishful Wednesday ETSY list I posted that yesterday (Tuesday) so be sure to head back and check that out! 

Design Challenge: Look For Less

Welcome to my first ever blogger challenge! The Look For Less design challenge is hosted by myself and 6 other fabulously talented homemakers and bloggers. We would all love for you to roam around our blogs and make it to as many hosts as you can :) I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback on my look for less!!

Here is a sneak peak of everyones project so be sure to check them all out! 

 1.Life on Virginia Street - DIY wood bead chandelier

2. Like a Saturday - Drink Station

3. Sewing Barefoot - Coasters

4. Absolutely Arkansas- Build Your Own Board & Batten Shutters

5. Home Coming - West Elm Inspired Herringbone Floor Mirror

6. Live. Love. Larson- Peace Wreath

7. ME! - Easy DIY Faux Pie Safe

 

I started this project a while ago and this challenge was a perfect kick in the rear to get it finished and out of my guest room! I have always loved pie safes. They have such a rich looking lived history and all the little details make each piece so totally unique. However, they tend to be a little pricey. I've never looked at buying one new because what I love about them is the antique history that comes with it.

So here is my inspiration for this piece. It is an antique pie safe that costs $300. But I've seen them range anywhere from $200  to over $1,000! And there was no way I could afford that right now.

What I did was find an old armour at a thrift store for $20. (Thats a steal right!) It was a little rough but mostly just needed to be refinished, over all it was very sturdy. The lines of it where perfect for turning in to an old pie safe. 

Here is a quick before and after. 

The supplies I used are kinda odd. But I knew I wanted it to have the punched tin look and trying to find that on the cheap was seemingly impossible. I looked everywhere then decided I would just make my own! I then searched everyone for flat foil cookie sheets but couldn't find any, and settled on the textured foil oven liners and just cut them in to squares.

After spending many afternoons in front of the TV measuring and cutting squares from the oven liners I began to apply them to the "pie safe". Yep simple as hot glue on each corner and lining it up with the next piece!!



Once I did all of that I decided that it sure would be loads of "chrome" if I added the faux tin to the front to door panels and decided instead to paint them with chalkboard paint making it a perfect space to leave notes, make lists, or just draw pretty pictures :)
I struggled figuring out what color to paint it and was originally wanting to do some crazy cool color like purple or lime green but thought the faux tin was enough pizazz for one project and settle on ultra glossy white.

The fabulously flashy pie safe is a bit of traditional with a twist and I love it!
It fits perfectly out in the studio and will be a fun space for me to keep project to-do lists and tool wish lists while also storing loads of random materials.

The studio isn't finished yet but adding the faux pie safe made me super excited to see how I organize the rest of the space. Totally isn't going to be mistaken for a shed with this kinda gem waiting for you inside!!

Don't forget to check out the other fabulous challenge hosts and leave us all some love too! 

 1.Life on Virginia Street - DIY wood bead chandelier

2. Like a Saturday - Drink Station

3. Sewing Barefoot - Coasters

4. Absolutely Arkansas- Build Your Own Board & Batten Shutters

5. Home Coming - West Elm Inspired Herringbone Floor Mirror

6. Live. Love. Larson- Peace Wreath

7. ME! - Easy DIY Faux Pie Safe