So, I have totally been bitten by the "craft bug" lately! I am doing little projects all over the house! The best news is... most of these little projects are free or cost next to nothing! - perfect for my budget! lolI think this need, itch, desire (whatever you want to call it) to craft, came from last weeks trip to the Goodwill. I actually went in there to look for some work jeans for Loren. You can pick up a couple pairs for $5 a pop... not bad! I also like to peruse through the kids book section... Greta is always in need of a new bedtime story.
Well, while I was there I thought it wouldn't hurt to take a "looksie" down the dishes and glass aisle.... along with the furniture and home aisle. To my surprise I hit the jack pot! I didn't buy anything big or make a major purchase, instead I walked out with a few little "ditties" that I had some BIG plans for! OH, and a new book about using the potty for Greta. (no jeans for Loren, sorry honey!)
Over the weekend I whipped up quite a few little projects around our house! (with the help of my honey of course! - although you don't technically need a man to do any of these projects... it is just nice to have their company.) I can't tell you how doing some little decorating/crafty project can make you feel so happy about your house.
Are any of you girls like me.... certain days or months you just feel "BLAH" about your whole house?! You'd rather move and start over. Start fresh and buy all new. Change your decorating style... or just plain old feel down in the dumps about your little old grandma house that you will now be staying in waaaaay longer than you had anticipated when you first bought and moved in.
Sound like any of you?! Well that has been me lately, so Loren and I decided we needed some change. So we automatically started talking new paint, board and batten in the living room, finishing... or actually starting Tuck's room! And just talking made me feel better. Then pair that with my goodies from the Goodwill and I was totally jazzed about doing little things to make me happier with my home!
So, over the next couple days, weeks, posts, I will be sharing with you some of my super cute, super cheap little craft ideas! All of the projects have 3 things in common....
2.) They all took minimal effort and not much time!
3.) They are by no means going to change the whole look or feel of my house... but they were just enough to "make" the space. You know that feeling of a new piece in your house.... it is just that extra something that makes you smile everytime you look at it! - that's really what I needed right now... to find joy in the LITTLE things!
So the first little project I whipped up was this super sweet and extremely sentimental framed love letter...
And it actually all started with that white vase up above. A friend of mine picked up a couple of these cute $2 Ikea vases for me. When she brought them over I started rummaging through my fake flower basket to see which petals would be pretty enough to put in a few of these vases. While digging I ran across this rose.
You see, the very first Valentine's day Loren and I celebrated as a married couple he had gotten me this fake rose. It was actually shoved in a dozen of real red roses with a little envelope that said... "I'll love you till the last rose wilts." Inside that envelope was this letter.
As soon as I found this rose I knew it had to be displayed in one of these vases. Once the rose was in the vase I set off on a mission to dig until I found this letter. And sure enough... in the very very bottom of my "Memorabelia" box was this letter from my first Valentines day as Mrs. Jennifer Appleberry.
The letter was beyond wonderful and brought a huge smile to my face when I read it again almost 4 years after the day he had given it to me.
So, with my charming rose sitting nicely in its new vase I went into my craft room to grab a wooden frame I had just bought from the Goodwill the day before! Guess how much the frame was... A DOLLAR! It was chunky and beautiful.... and for a dollar I knew I could paint it and display something cute in it. - And that's exactly what I did!
NOTE: Girls! Cheap, chunky frames are your new best friend!!! Keep a look out for them at Thrift stores, Garage sales, The Dollar Store, wherever! Any frame can be "gutted" of its old ugly picture and painted a beautiful new color. Or... if you like options... leave the art behind the glass, slap some chalkboard paint right on top of the glass, and then paint the frame the color of your choice. Instant, cute, chalkboard! - I suppose I could whip one of those up and do a post if you girls need a visual!)
*** And Here's The Visual....
(although instead of painting chalkboard paint on an old frame I grabbed a little silver platter I had snatched from a garage sale years and years ago.)
Anyways. As you can see, I painted my $1 Goodwill frame a whipped cream and once it dried, sanded it down to give it that old weathered look. The letter was not quite big enough to fill the frame so I grabbed a piece of scrapbook paper and used it as my matting. Then I glued the letter to my new matting and put it all together! Easy as pie I tell ya!
I put both items on my bedside table. Now, every time I wake up or crawl into bed I have this wonderful, personalized, framed art that makes me smile and feel so blessed to call my hubby all mine!
Easy, cheap, and it totally made the space! Instead of dust and an old kleenex box... I now have this to look at and make me smile when I walk into our bedroom.
There ya' go! The first of many cute, cheap, little projects that all you girls can do!
Find joy in the little things, right?! If you can't redo your whole house.... redo a small area or add a little homemade project to a space. - You'll be amazed at how big the impact can be from such a small piece.
Go on.... whip one of these up tonight! Your hubby might just get a huge boost of confidence knowing his silly little love letters could become such a wonderful piece of art!
And as always, if you make a little somethin' somethin' like this.... we wanna see it! Email me a picture and I will link you up to this post! Nothings more powerful than women bouncing ideas off eachother and sharing to get inspiration!
Chat later,
Jen
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