Spongy Clock

I am always amazed at what a little bit of paint and some paper towels can do.  My mom recently repainted her kitchen a pretty blue.  The problem was, she had this ugly green plastic clock hanging on the wall.  She didn't want to buy a new clock, and the only way to fix it was paint.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take the before picture before I sanded the clock, so you don't get the full effect of what it looked like, but you can get a general idea, it was plain and boring (and looked horrible against her new blue wall).

After taking everything apart, I fully sanded the frame of the clock (then took the before picture above...oops).   Because it was plastic, I gave it a quick coat of primer.  I let the primer completely dry, then came 2 coats of dark blue.  Being cheap frugal, I didn't want buy anything for this project so I used paper towels to sponge the wall color and white all over the clock frame.  And voila...beautiful cheap frugal clock.

I hope you enjoy your new clock mom :)

Dollar Store Thank You Card

I just love the wonderful ladies at The CSI Project.  This week's challenge is Dollar Store projects.  As I wandered through the aisles at the Dollar Tree, I was inspired when I walked past the flowers.  My mom sent me the greatest card with a flower and tulle on the front for Mother's Day.  I knew I couldn't do the same thing, but could do something quite similar with dollar store items.  I picked a bunch that had a different colored flowers so I would get the most bang for my buck.  Then, I wanted over to the wedding section for the tulle.  When I got home, I assembled my materials...

I yanked plucked a yellow flower from the bunch, cut a small hunk carefully measured and cut the right amount of tulle and set to work gluing it to the front of the card.  While the glue was drying, I used my Cricut machine to cut a circle for the center of the flower, inked my "Thanks" stamp in black and slapped centered it on the circle.  Once the glue from the flower was dry, I used double sided tape to stick the circle to the flower, and voila....cute Dollar Store Thank You Card.

Just imagine the possibilities of what can go in the center of this flower...As limitless as my stamp collection :)

Recycled Fish

I just love projects that allow me to use items I already have in my stash, as well as recycle things that would likely be thrown in the trash.  This cute kids craft from Family Fun utilizes both of these elements.  It was also great fun making with my 5 year old daughter. 

To make these projects you will need everything pictured below.  The small water bottle is optional (we did not use them in our fish)

To get started, you will need to cut the bottom of the soda bottle off.  I drew on the bottle first with a permanent marker before attacking with my scissors.  Once the bottom is cut off, use the masking tape to close the opening.  If you want top or side fins, cut your water bottle and secure the pieces with masking tape.  Tape a length of fishing line to your bottle (you can also use string or whatever you have on hand).  Make sure you tape it well, I didn't and then had to retape during the paper mache process. Now it's time to get messy.  You can use Mod Podge, but thinned cheap white glue works just as well.  It took 2 layers to completely cover the fish.

After your paper mache is completely dry (we let ours dry over night) you can start painting.  We used a milk jug lid cut in half for behind the eye and a silver twist tie for the mouth.

Here are our new pets in all their glory.  Mine is one looking left and my DD's fish is the one looking to the right.  They are a great addition to our playroom.

New Family Room

We have been very slowly repainting our boring builder's white walls throughout the house.  I have finished the master and kids bedrooms and now am moving to the other rooms in the house.  Our adventure for Memorial Day weekend was repainting the Family Room.  Here is the before picture. 

See how the pictures and curtains just blend right into the walls? Yuck! I have been living with this for two years before I finally pulled the trigger and selected a color. Of course, I agonized about which color to use because we spend the most time in this room, and I wanted to make sure I loved the color. Plus, it had to be fairly neutral since we will eventually get rid of our horrible couches (they are so old and stained, I wouldn't dare even picture them in public!). Anyway, I digress.  I looked at several swatches and finally chose Adobe Straw from Behr (my favorite brand). 

First thing on Saturday morning, we took the kiddos over to Grandma and Grandpa and started taping.  It is such a tedious process, but makes the painting so much easier since we don't have to worry about being perfect.  I don't know what it is, but I just love a room framed in blue tape, don't you?

After the taping was complete, we primed all the walls.  This isn't something I usually do, but I have found that these walls just suck up the paint since they were only sprayed by the builder.  Primer helps the color cover walls while using less of the more expensive high quality paint.  Since I was using a fairly light color, I did not tint the primer.  Here it what the wall looks like all primed and ready for color.

And 24 hours later.....voila....

My brand new family room.  I just love how the pictures and the curtains pop off the walls now.  It looks like the tile around the fireplace blends in, but it really doesn't.  The room is still a work in progress. I need something more on the main wall, all I have right now is a TV and speakers (you can see one of them in the top left of the picture).  I am waiting for inspiration to strike me with the perfect thing to hang on the wall.  In the meantime, here are the before and after pictures side-by-side.

Ahhhh, so much warmer and more welcoming now.