Wendy from the Shabby Nest is having a Frugal Friday party and I'm joining with some frugal lamp makeovers.

You know I've been collecting treasures at yard sales that I'm now using as I re-do my laundry room. First up, this sweet wooden lamp from a yard sale for $2:

I spray painted the base black. Then, I had fabric left over from this project,

so I just tore it in half, tied a knot in the back and then in the front in the same way I did for this lamp.

I hot-glued a few edges under, set it on top of the dryer and we're good to go!

I love how it coordinates with the toile chair pad that came with the desk:

Next up:

Do you remember this little lamp for $2, also from a yard sale?

I passed this wall in the garage one day, and the rope caught my eye:


I remembered seeing someone in blogland making a lampshade with rope. I can't find it for the life of me~anyone?? I know Sarah and Kimba have made jute covered vases, but I swear someone did a lampshade. Anyway, I thought it would give some great texture to my desk top.

You just cut the rope and start wrapping and hot gluing:
About 5 minutes later, we have a new shade from some trusty rope hanging on the garage wall. I don't even think my husband will notice that a piece is cut off?


Little, inexpensive touches in less than an hour (for both!) that make a big difference.
Have a fabulous weekend!

I decided I wanted to have some storage in the empty space between my washer and dryer, so when I found this shelf at a yard sale last month for $7, I snatched it up.

It's not real wood, but for the laundry room, it will do the trick and the price was right. I primed it with 2 coats of Kilz Premium, and then used 2-3 coats of leftover paint from my bathroom cabinets, using a small foam roller. I also knew I wanted to utilize the space behind the shelf with easy access, so I screwed in these wheels on the bottom:

you can buy them in packs of 2 for about $4 something each at Lowes or HD:

It's really hard to photograph black painted shelves in bad light, but here they are after the paint and wheels. I also didn't want to expose everything on the shelves, so I knew I needed some fabric. I looked online, at JoAnn's, Hancocks, and Hobby Lobby here in town, and really couldn't find anything I loved for under 17.99 a yard.

I was in TJ Maxx and saw this yummy twin quilt for 19.99~I was wishing that I could find fabric that looked exactly like this and a light went on. Great inspiration happens in that store, I'm telling you! Use the quilt for your fabric, Melissa! It works out to be about 7 dollars a yard, PLUS the edges were finished, AND it was the perfect pattern that I had in mind.
I bring it home, and start cutting it up. {gasp} I know, but if you have been with me long, you know I'm not afraid to whip out my trusty scissors (like I did here and here) if I have a crazy vision of what it could be in the end.
I cut two sections, leaving the cute scallop for the side and bottom and then bring out the glue gun and fold and glue the top and side that I've cut. If you know me "sewing maching" is not in my decor vocabulary. As I'm taking these pictures I realize I've folded the wrong side over! Brilliant me.
So, I rip it off and start it over. The beauty of hot glue. Then, I take a small tension rod (it's like a miniature shower curtain rod that gets longer or shorter when you twist it)
and run it through the top of the fold I created with the glue gun

Then, I adjust the tension rod to the inside of the shelf, and ta-da:

we have hidden storage! Just what is behind that curtain, you ask? I love to know what is on people's shelves as well:

Top shelf: Laundry soap and softener, in the black bin (from dollar tree) is stained clothing that needs extra attention.
2nd shelf: plastic 3 drawer holds my glue gun, glue sticks, measuring tapes, and extension cords. The black bin holds home dry cleaning stuff, and extra laundry stuff like goo gone, fels naptha soap, and Zout stain remover.
Bottom shelf: black bin holds birthday candles, decorations, and gift bags. The bucket is used as a garbage.

Then, if you wheel the shelf out, you'll see lots of Christmas gift bags from Target clearance hanging on a nail, an extra drill battery charging, empty boxes (I'm a box monger~I love having the perfect box on hand if I need it), a bag full of papers and packaging for sending packages, and lots of empty frames and yard sale finds waiting to be made over.

Whoa, this was a long post, but I'm so excited things are getting accomplished little by little. Do you see my painted walls? Yea, yea! It's coming along! My sweet friend (thank you Sherilyn!) took my oldest 3 for the whole afternoon while I got me a sonic chiller, put my babies down for a nap, and went to town in the laundry room.

I'm joining Kimba's DIY Party today:


Go, and be inspired by all the DIY projects!

So, y'all know I'm in the middle of painting, and I thought I'd share a few tips I've learned along the way:

* always keep a wet rag handy to quickly fix mistakes or wipe up paint drips. I just keep mine on my shoulder while I'm working.

* I always paint in bare feet so I can feel if I have wet paint on them before I go tracking it in on the carpet (not that I have ever done that :)

* keep some small disposable containers in your paint stash to use when you're cutting in along the edges with your brush. My choice for today? An old Easy Mac container :)

* When you are finished painting a room fill a little container with a tight fitting lid with some leftover paint. Stock up on the small foam brushes when they're on sale (Michael's has them on sale about twice a year for 20 for $1) Keep the little container and a few brushes in every room so you can quickly do touch-ups without hauling out a big can and looking for a brush. I found these little baby food containers at the dollar store~they work perfectly!

* don't get rid of those ugly old sheets! Keep them and use them to cover your floors when you paint.

* a good angled brush and a steady hand can be your best friend. No more taping off if you practice enough. My friend, Lynette in Idaho never used tape and went to town with her angled brush. I never thought I could do it, but I finally got the guts to try it in here and I may never go back to taping trim off. Just keep that wet rag close by! A good, quality brush makes all the difference and was worth the extra money.

What other great paint tips have you discovered?

I'm linking up to WFMW :

Have a great day~

I do!
Finally...I have a blog button to share.

Feel free to paste it to your blog, your blogroll, your website, your jean jacket, the back of your car, your dog's collar, your kid's backpacks....

We had kind of a crazy weekend, so I didn't intentionally head out to yard sales, but stopped at a few on the way home from the park on Friday. I found:

this lovely framed doily with dusty mauve and country blue accents for $1. Can't resist chunky frames like this:
I found a day bed frame with a trundle mattress frame underneath for $50. We're going to get rid of the bunkbeds in my girls' room~yay!! but we'll get to that after we get the laundry room finished.

A few more shelves to show you:

Here are the numbered pots on a shelf with a frame,

And here is another shelf with the PB dishes with an empty black frame (both from yard sales) behind them.

I'll keep showing you as it comes together...happy Monday!

I'm sharing my thrifty treasures over at Rhoda's today:

Some great news: remember the Ethan Allen desk and hutch from the $35 yard sale? Remember how I ran back to measure to see if it would fit? I wanted it to fit in my laundry room and it does~perfectly!

Eventually, it will probably end up in one of my daughter's room. But for now, it's going to be my work space in the laundry room.
Doesn't that sound inviting?
The laundry room?

Hey, I'll take what I can get. :) The kitchen desk is much more of a family area, so I want to make it into a little space I can love and retreat to.

So, for my first baby steps, I painted the backboard Grasscloth by Behr (this is the same color Rhoda used in her laundry room). Then I added the pottery barn plates and candlestick from that same wonderful yard sale.

For the candle, I simply took a big, fat, green candle from TJ Maxx, cut a strip of scrapbook paper from Michaels and wrapped it around the bottom, and then took a piece of rope and tied it between the two.

We're making progress here....yeah!!

Oh, and do you know what really helps me make progress?

These:

Sonic cherry limeade chillers.
They are divine.
And you can get one for 99 cents now until July 24th on Sonic's website.
But warning: once you try one, you'll be going back for more. I've used every email I've ever had and will be using my husband's next.

Sonic Guy: "Hey lady, weren't you just here getting one these a couple of hours ago??"

Me: "Oh no,no....that must have been another crazy blonde lady in a white van with Behr grasscloth green paint in her hair, Target sunglasses, and 5 kids in the back." :)

Have a great weekend~

Remember this little cupboard shelf I found one weekend at a yard sale? I've decided to put her in my laundry room and a little makeover was in order!

First, I put a coat of heirloom white spray paint on, then I screwed in a mug hook in each side,

then, I put some rolls of ribbon on a dowel,

placed the dowel on the hooks,

And there we have a perfect little ribbon holder for my laundry room.
See the little cupboard on top? That's where I keep my fabric scissors so little hands can't use them for cutting who knows what, plus it looks like a perfect place for my chocolate stash. :)
I can't put her up yet, because I'm not finished painting, but I'm trying to keep myself motivated with little, satisfying projects. :) Oh, and you know that's not all the ribbon I have...I have 2 more boxes of these, but for the ones I use most often, it's pretty handy...

Have a wonderful Thursday!