Sweet and Simple

I love this little sweet and simple project I tackled last week that took me no time to make!

I needed a little something else on my mantel, I new the size and color it needed to be....so my brain starting turning! 

Here are the supplies I used:

Wood....provided by the massive wind storm we had a week or so ago.....so yep, FREE

My new best friend.....meet Krylon--in Blue Ocean Breeze

The Hubby's hammer and a few nails

Now, you must be thinking what my plan was uh?? 

I began by turning my piece of wood over and nailing the nails to the underneath where the points would stick out the top.

I nailed a total of 4 nails into the wood

After the nails were secure, I spray painted the entire wood piece, including the nails.  I let the paint dry about 10 minutes, applied another coat and then waited another 10 minutes.....the piece was then completely dry and ready for project completion!

I then added 4 white candles that I already had

Took the piece inside to the mantel, it's new home!  Just a sweet and simple little project that adds a lot of character and cuteness to my house.  Hope you enjoyed!

Quick Picture Fix

I have had this big picture for 6 years now.  I purchased it at Kirklands on clearance for 9.99....the reason that is was so cheap was that the glass had broke, but I thought it looked great without the glass so I got it and it has been a great piece in my house ever since.  I knew this picture was the perfect size to go on our new mantel, but once again was not the style I wanted to continue with. 

                    

Here is the Before:

I found this fabric at JoAnn -{oh how I love that store}-  I knew this was my inspiration piece for the style I wanted my living room to be.

So, I took the "picture paper" off the back of the picture and found that only staples held the cardboard photo in place.  I removed the staples, popped out the cardboard picture and laid the image face down on the fabric (which I did iron before).  Guess you know where I am going with this now, uh??

I cut the fabric to where there was about an inch left on all sides to fold over.  That actually gave me a good bit of extra fabric for another project. I simply stapled the fabric to the picture

Be sure to pull he fabric tightly while you are stapling to get a tight coverage.  Once the fabric was all stapled my photo now looked like this.....I was already in love.

The next step was simple....I just placed the picture board back into the frame and re-stapled it to the frame.

This was a VERY simple and cheap project.  The fabric cost me 1.99 per yard and I only bought 1 1/2 yards....so for less than $3.00 dollars I got a new picture that looked like this

I was excited to get it on the mantel with my other things.  Hope you liked this project.  This would be a great idea to use with seasonal fabrics for an easy and cheap decoration.











Spray Paint can fix anything!

As I have started changing over my decor-style....I have found that a little spray paint goes a long way!  I have heard & read about the wonderful transformations a $3.00 can of color can do....but have never really went as far as to "use it"  Well, now I must own at least half of the Krylon company by now!

So...needed a little something in our new guest room.  My brother had this black iron sofa table in his basement/storage room that had not been used for 5 years.  It was dusty and a little rusty.....but hey there is a little inspiration in everything! 

I knew the color I wanted it to be and guess what...Krylon of course had it!  I went with the hosta leaf green



Next Step is Simple.... Point and Spray and you get this after 2 quick coats

I let it dry for a bit and then brought it inside to it's new home

Added a birdcage that I found at Goodwill for 3.00 bucks which I toned down the white color with some brown glaze (well, actually  brown craft paint diluted with water) wanted to sound fancy for a second.  An old window pane from a church I attended in NC....the old sanctuary was torn down and I grabbed a couple of these for decor and sentimental reasons,and a wooden bowl that was my great grandmothers which is priceless.  Simple, easy and cheap....now the guests can come!

The project that started my inner "Shabby Love"

As I mentioned in my first blog post, my love for the "shabby" decor is making a fast appearance.  I have always had a love for dark, rich colored items, geometric shapes, and animal prints.  When my husband mentioned that we could possibly be moving from our hometown in North Carolina to Florida near the beach.....the first thing I thought was "oh, I need to become shabby chic"  not sure why I think living near the beach must change my decor, but the recent move has inspired my inner "Shabby Chic" and new love for turning something old into something new!

 My brain has been churning with idea after idea for my new love and I have had to slow myself down with all the "want to do's" I have on my list.  I do want to share with you the first, small project that sent me sailing in the shabby world a couple weeks ago!!

 I found this old wooden cheese platter at a local thrift store back in NC for .59 cents

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it when I was buying it.  My hubby thought I was crazy and told me he trusted me....that is always good to know:)

I then found this awesome candle holder at another thrift store a couple days later for .75 cents

Once I had my two items I needed, I made a quick trip to Walmart for some spray paint for 3.00

(chosen color, Peekaboo Blue)

I then spray painted both items.  With both of them I did not want a perfect coverage so I was not picky with the paint. 

After the paint  dried, I took sandpaper and "roughed" up the platter and candle holder to bring out that shabby style. 

Once I got the look I wanted, I took some famous gorilla glue and glued the base of the platter to the top of the candle holder and "Ta-Da" 

I was so excited that this piece made it through the moving company packing and moving it.  It landed safely in Florida and now is home to some cute little starfish that my mom bought me..

So happy with how this turned out and love even more that it only cost me a total of $4.34



The Shabby Shack

Welcome to the Shabby Shack!  After spending hours upon hours reading and enjoying decorating blogs I finally thought to myself..."heck, why don't I start my own blog".  I can only hope that one day I will have readers like myself that will sit and read/follow my blog.  My family and I have recently relocated to Florida where my inner "shabby chic" style is slowing coming out....I love saying the word "Shabby Chic", especially to my husband because for some reason he can not stand it......though I did catch him saying the word recently in a store and I quickly called him out to let him know that he has be "Shabby Chiced"....he may not admit it, but I can tell he is falling for the chic!!  I hope you all enjoy following my budget friendly transformations of old and outdated furniture and accessories.  Send me some love and follow The Shabby Shack where you will get updates via email when a new transformation as been revealed!