Bedroom Revamp: Reclaimed Wood Headboard and Wax Paper Chandelier

 Our bedroom has been a work in progress. It actually started about two summers ago.(You can see what I worked on back then by clicking here and here.)

I had been wanting a cool headboard for a while, and a search through Pinterest led me to love the idea of nailing reclaimed wood into the walls. So, this spring, my husband found a pile of free untreated (chemical-free) wood planks. It doesn't get any better than free!

So, my husband measured and cut them to size, then drilled them into our wall panel in this cool pattern. I love it against the pale yellow walls! It reminds me of a barn door-so rustic and unrefined. And, the feminine part was added by me. I made the faux capiz shell chandelier-also seen all over Pinterest. It was the fifth one I've made-so I'm pretty much an expert by now! (for pictures of the other chandeliers and the tutorial-click here) 

Anthropologie Knock-Off Rustic Wall Hook

Who loves Anthropologie? And who loves a great knock-off craft? I have been having

fun challenging myself to make a few Anthro-inspired projects lately. Did you see my

side table makeover? or potted succulents?

I love rustic style, and was drawn to this cool "Forest Found Hook" by Anthropologie,

and for $30, not too bad...but, I thought about materials I already had at home, like pallet

wood and a metal hook. Oh, and coffee (I'll get to that part later.)

 And thought about how I could make this for...free!

Let me show you how I did it:

You will need: 

metal household hook, pallet plank or other salvage wood, shiny black spray paint, scrap of mat board, 

coffee or wood stain, paint brush, exacto knife, framing nails (4), Dremel or jigsaw, drill.

First, cut your pallet plank in half (I used a Dremel with the cutting attachment, but I 

think a jigsaw would have been more efficient and made a cleaner cut because 

I ended up having to sand the top with an electric sander).

Then, apply your wood stain. I tried an all-natural, ultra cheap coffee stain for the first time!

Basically, brew some coffee, have a few sips if you want, and let it cool. 

Then brush onto wood and allow to dry.

I applied a few coats of coffee and allowed to dry until it was as dark as I wanted it to be.

My 3 year old even got in on the fun and helped me out with the final coat. 

While I was waiting for the coats of stain to dry (I did 3) I spray painted a metal hook

with black spray paint for a faux cast iron look.

 Then, I cut a piece of mat board into a rectangle for the backing.

And after I spray painted it with two coats, I was surprised by how much it looked

 like cast iron and not paper at all. Pretty sneaky...

I drilled 4 holes onto the edges of the backing rectangle after it was dry and nailed it

to the wood with tiny framing nails.

Then, I drilled two holes where the hook would go along with the screws.

I attached a rope loop with a staple gun to the back so I could hang it to my wall and

I was done!

Not to bad, eh? And, like I said, it cost me nothing to make because I

 already had all the materials at home. 

I have loved sharing these ideas with all of you and am determined

to live with style on a budget. 

Next, I really need to get a jigsaw so I can cut up some more stuff!

Until next time,

Linking up with these parties and this party.

Creating Anthropologie Style in Your Home for Less!

Hello everyone! It's another bright sunny February day here in the midwest--

and I'm loving it! It has been so nice to let my boys go out and play this winter

with our mild temperatures--the best winter I can remember! 

So, if you're been following along, you might know that I've been working 

on a few projects inspired by that gorgeous store, Anthropologie. 

(Did you see my table revamp? )

 It's not within my budget to buy things there, but I love

making a good knock-off decoration! 

Something I really like to do this time of year when I'm antsy for

 spring to arrive is buy a few new houseplants to bring 

something fresh and living inside.

And today I'm going to show you how I took a thrift store milk glass vase

and repurposed it into a pretty planter to create my Anthro style for less! 

On the left, you see what I created. And on the right, my inspiration:

This is so easy, you barely need a tutorial, but pictures are always fun, so here goes: 

Here's what you'll need:

 I used wine corks as a drainage and filler. 

I bought my milk glass vase at a thrift store earlier for only $1

(which I don't think is genuine milk glass, but I like the look).

Next, I added my organic potting mix from the greenhouse. (Do you like my action shot?)

Then, I carefully added my succulent plant.
(these are nice because they are low-maintenance plants)

And, was done! Easy, right? 

I hope you enjoyed this post! I've been really overwhelmed by all the great comments I've been getting on my projects-I am so thankful for all of my followers and support by fellow bloggers and friends.

Please bear with me as I work on responding and visiting all of you too-
I am also a full-time mommy of 2 active boys learning how to juggle my responsibilities and hobbies! (But I'm having a lot of fun! )

Thanks for visiting today! And don't forget, you have only one more day to enter the $100 Ramsign giveaway-click on the button on the sidebar to the right to enter!

Linking up with these parties

Anthropologie-Inspired Side Table Makeover

                                            Who's ready for another furniture revamp?

If you've been following along, you might know that I love to

 try new things with paint (check out my Patchwork Table

Revamp and my Pie Safe Makeover to see some of my 

latest creations.) 

Well, since the switch to yellow accents in my house, 

I have felt the need to change the rest of my painted

furniture so it doesn't look so rainbow-ey.

So where did I look for my inspiration? That gorgeous

Anthropologie catalog. Not quite in my budget to buy their 

furniture at $900 + a piece, but this DIY girl didn't mind 

getting her hands dirty to make a version of her own. 

Here are a few of their

furniture pieces that inspired me for my project:

"Twisted Roots Alter Ego Chair", Anthropologie

"Kasbah End Table", Anthropologie

I loved the distressing techniques the designers used and different

layers of paint peeking through. I had already done a patchwork paint technique before, 

so I felt confident to take a vintage thrift store find of mine to transform.

So, this is what I decided to work with, my Mod Podged Vintage Songbird Table. 

Cute, right? Now you might be thinking, why would I mess with a good thing?

Don't hate me for what I decided to do with it...

I decided to strip it. Little did I know how messy it would be

to work with. (my husband did warn me...but I can be stubborn.)   

For some reason, all of the paint wouldn't come off completely, 

even after two applications of spray stripper.

 And then the directions said to use steel wool to rub off the 

sludge but because there were so many layers of paint a 

lot of the goo still stayed on. 

I was about ready to kick this table to the curb. But after

a few days to think and take a break, I decided to 

try and sand off some of the flaky paint. 

By this time the paint had time to dry and it was much 

easier to remove with my electric sander. Yes! 

All I wanted at this point was for a somewhat smooth 

surface to work with. I also used my Dremel wire brush

 attachment to try to remove extra chunks of paint.

 (This was becoming my labor of love!) 

So after the paint was mostly smooth, I covered small sections 

in aqua, tangerine and yellow eggshell latex paint in the 

patchwork technique I had used before. 

(Sorry I don't have pictures of this part-I still wasn't sure if 

the table would survive my "surgery".) 

But, after letting my patchwork sections dry, I decided to

paint the entire table in pale gray paint. Yes, even the little

songbirds got covered. 

And after waiting a day for that to dry, turned on my 

electric sander to see if it would be a disaster or a masterpiece....

But, I was so pleasantly surprised by my results! 

So, after sanding through the top layer, the soft paint colors were revealed. 

(A lot like those Anthro pieces I loved!)

And, my Mod Podged song pages and birds were intact! After a spraying

of Deco Art acrylic sealer, my table was done! 

It reminded me of an old barn that had been painted,
then weathered by the elements for decades. 

(I think I love it even more than I did before!)

I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to showing you

a few more Anthropologie inspired projects I have up my sleeve! 

P.S. It's not too late to enter my huge giveaway of a gorgeous handcrafted European enamel 

house sign, if you haven't done so already. Scroll down the page to enter and winner will be announced on Fri. Feb. 10th! 

Linking up with these parties and this party.