Before & After...

I love reading home decor blogs ~ especially those with a creative edge. I love that I share my hobby (turning a castaway into something useful and beautiful) with others out in blogland. Here are a few of my re-dos. I wish I had taken before pictures, but I'm learning along the way...


The above photo shows the corner of the top of our cabinets in our kitchen. The teapot was a gift from a dear friend (thanks, Emily!:), the vase I had, the natural pieces I assembled, the hurricane candle piece was from years past so I used my jute rope and dressed it up. To make the vase & its contents more noticeable, I simply wrapped a square block in burlap and placed it underneath.

The above tiles were a find. They were originally a cream color with some type of rose painted on them and sayings painted on them. It was more of a country feel, which is not my style at all. They were priced right and I saw the potential. I got them home and sanded them, took my titanium silver spray paint to them and voila... stainless tiles for a backsplash over our stainless stove.

Welcoming summer over dinner one evening. Just a little centerpiece I threw together. I have a ton of shells in my stash so I pulled out a pretty vase I had, mixed two bags of crushed shells and added large collected shells over the years. Candles pulled it all together to welcome summer!


The first photo above is an arrangement on the top of our refrigerator. The wire vase in the center was purchased while out thrifting last summer and it was mint green. I loved the curves, not the color. I used it in our wedding as our wishing well once I sprayed it chocolate brown. I pulled it out of our wedding supplies, added some decor balls, and made a ball using a styrofoam ball (6") and jute rope. I was pleased with the result. I will have to post a tutorial on decor balls some time.

The above photo is just a candle I embellished. It was a plain one that I picked up on clearance at one of my fave stores, Hobby Lobby (aka: Hob Lob), and it had a small dent in the center. It was too cute and cheap to pass on. I got it home and dug into my burlap stash, pulled out leftover chocolate brown ribbon from our wedding, and added a charm that says "Love". This photo was staged. I actually have it on a wooden candlestick in a curio cabinet with family photos (both DH's family and my family). The tile on the left was a plain jane 8" white tile that I picked up for a song, so I got some decorative paper (Paris market scene) and mod podged it on the tile. The metal DREAM plaque is from Hob Lob. The candle went from drab to fab.


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This one is not so much decor as it is functional. It's a toilet paper holder that I sprayed heirloom white (a slight off-white that is shabby chic), and hung on the wall in our office. I needed a place to put some of the ribbon I have for scrapbooking and realized I could re-purpose it.

The above photo was a project for Dear Husband (aka: DH:) for Father's Day. We recently adopted a Mini Australian Shepherd, Kiley, and we adore her. Yes, he got Father's Day gifts from our doggie girl via me. :) I used 4.25" tiles purchased at Home Depot for like 16 cents each, cut scrapbook paper to that size, had photos printed as a 4x4" size (must have photos professionally printed or you will end up with black goo when you put it all together), used mod podge to attach scrapbook paper and then the photo. Covered with 2 coats Mod Podge Matte, sprayed 3 coats clear polyurethene, used chocolate ribbon around each tile to hide the rough edges and mod podged it, attached 4x4" cork tiles to the back with my E6000epoxy glue and voila...coasters Gray can use without damaging the photo. I made some for girlfriends when we saw "SATC2" together with a picture of the 6 of us at a friend's recent wedding. Wish I had taken a photo. They turned out cute! Note to self: Must post a tutorial on the tiles/coasters. I will go find the link soon to the blog that posted the tutorial I followed. I'll post my own tutorial and note the blog again when I make some more for a sweet sister's b'day in September (shhh!).

Coming soon.... I will have a Before & After to post soon. I wanted a decorative shelf to place in the office with some inspirational items. I found the brackets, which I will prime and then spray either flat black or ORB (oil rubbed bronze). The black shelf is from Pottery Barn and is meant to sit on a table, desk, somewhere. I'm going to flip it upside down (the scratches are on the underbelly, which will not be seen) as I don't want items sliding off the shelf and breaking. A functional use for this shelf - yah!