Hello! Thanks for all your well wishes for my phone a friend adventure~I feel three times smarter from all of the trivia I've been scouring over in the past couple of days. :)

My sister had to sign a million contracts saying she would not say anything about what happens on the show, but I can tell you I didn't get a call and that it will be broadcast on Aug 9 during prime time. Most of me is relieved, but a little part of me wants to see how I would have done. :)

She's having a blast in New York with her husband.

Old Navy wasn't so great for me this time around. My store didn't have the selection they usually do, but I did get a few things. The add'l 50% is over, but here is a friends and family coupon (thanks, Victoria!) for 30% off at Banana Republic, Gap, or Old Navy through the weekend.

I did have good luck at Dillards though~they are having add'l 40% off their clearance (including home and furniture!!) through the weekend and I got some great deals on good school shoes for the kids.

I have also put some shelves in the hutch ~ they had a few built in shelves already, but the adjustable ones were missing. So, I just got some cheap wood at Lowes, had them cut it to size for me,

and then I got this cute scalloped trim at Michael's for $1 each. (back by their wood crafts and dowels)I attached to the edge with liquid nails,


spray painted it a cream color to match the rest, and then rested them on those little shelf holder supports that fit into the holes. (is there a name for them??)

I also made a fabulous discovery: remember the little clock (looks like Pottery Barn, but I'm pretty sure it's not) that I got for 50 cents that they said didn't work?

Well, I put a battery in, and it works!!
Yahoo! The alarm also works as I found out at 3:30 a.m. when my husband was out of town and it went off and I could not figure out for the life of me what it was. Scared me to death! I thought it was a bomb signaling that it was about to go off. Anyway, I gave it a new home on the shelf next to a "happy" sign I found on a Target endcap this spring for $3.24:

So, the walls are painted, the desk is finished, I'm finishing the cabinets, and I should have a complete laundry room to show you Monday!

Remember that there is no natural light in here, making for some not so great pics:

I'm linking up to Kimba's DIY party...happy Thursday!

I'm so nervous I could throw up right now...
Remember, my sister Kristin? (cute cabinet family sign girl)

Well, as we speak, she is in NYC, because she was chosen to be on:

No joke! Oh, wait, it gets better...

She has chosen me to be one of her lifelines for phone a friend. Yes, me and
Yes, I said the same thing: "What are you thinking??"

It's a special anniversary edition and Regis will be back (more on that here) and they'll be doing the old format where you have to put things in order the fastest to get on, so she may not make it, but she's a piano and cello player and has pretty quick little hands, so I won't be surprised if she does.
She's under strict instructions not to call me unless it's a question about Sonic, yard sales, hgtv, paint colors, having 5 kids, or it's something I could google very quickly. :)
She got a free three day trip to NYC with her husband though with all expenses paid, so that's worth it right there, and I shouldn't feel any pressure about potentially making her miss out on $25,000 or so, right??
They'll call me (Wed afternoon) to give me a heads up if she gets on, and then I have to stay by my land line and ship my kids to the neighbors lightning quick and get some really smart people over to my house, just in case.

Oh man, could y'all be on an instant chat or something?? I wish!
I'll let you know what happens...
anyone have any tips for me??

I know you're still laughing that she chose me :)
Off to practice googling random trivia questions...

Call your store, but I think most are doing it! Besides yard sales, this is one of my favorite sales, especially before school starts! I've been waiting for this...To sweeten the deal, go to www.oldnavyweekly.com to get a coupon. The best I could find was to click on the tan pair of uniform pants on the right, and drag them over to the kid with the navy blue shirt and messenger bag~that gave me an add'l 15% off coupon. They may update the coupons soon though. Guess this means I'm not getting to the laundry room today :)

Good luck!

Hi everyone! I was hoping to have a finished laundry room to present, but I'm not quite there. I'm shooting for next Monday. As always, things seem to take a little bit longer than expected around here :) Hang in there with me!
I wanted to share some paint tips that you shared last week that I love:

Kara said: Here are two tips I used just this morning.
1-If you get interrupted in the middle of a paint job, you can wrap your brush in a plastic bag. When you come back, you can just pull it out and start painting.
2-After you finish rolling on the first coat and are waiting for it to dry, just leave the roller in the tray and wrap the entire thing in a garbage bag. No time wasted rinsing out the darn roller!

Cheri said, :When ever you get paint, pick up an extra paint stick and brush on some paint to the end of the stick, let it dry then on the unpainted portion of the stick write the name of the paint, where you got it, the code, and what room/s you painted that color in. Tie all of your paint sticks together and hang then in the garage and if you ever need to pick up an extra can of paint you will know exactly what you got last time. It is also great for anyne who purchases your home, if they like the colors they know where to go for extra paint.

Gina said: "If you ever have to rush away for a few hours (like a kid breaks a finger...) then wrap the brush and stick it in the fridge. Pull it out when you're ready to paint again (like 2 days later after surgery)."

Rhoda said, "Like Gina, I wrap my paint brush as well as the paint tray in plastic wrap & stick it in the fridge, sometimes for days. Great trick! ...And I don't ever tape off my trim either. I've learned to be pretty handy with those angled brushes."

Fantastic~thanks to all of you!
And a final tip to start your Monday: Michael's has the little foam brushes that are great for touch-ups on sale for 15 for $1 this week~go stock up!

Remember this lovely birdcage?

I simply stripped it down, gave it a coat of black spray paint and let it just be simple.

I put it on top of my hutch in between two fabric storage boxes, both from a yard sale.

Happy Monday!

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~