cracked mirror

I like a "good deal"

It sort of narrows my creativity down to a specific task.
And the challenge is greater (thus more fun/rewarding) when sticking to a tight budget.

And then I don't feel very attached. Who cares if a $4 coffee table gets climbed on or spilled on or used for everyday life! (although my husband and I, for the fun of it, eyeballed some $1000+ ones that we loved. Whew, so glad I DONT have one of those!)

For me, it makes me work together with God as a team instead of feeling capable without Him.
And it reigns in my materialism (I have to guage if something is worth the time and/or cost, and reminds me that both money and time are valuable assets)...

Pity that my mom lives so very far away or I would drag her through a lot more projects...

Anyway!

So when I saw this mirror at 90% off (due to the crack running through it) I thought "hmm, I bet I could do something with that..."

and home it came.

The rack was mostly a clean straight line, with one little branch spurting off.

I used a sheet of "chalkboard contact paper" and cut out slices to create a branch that covered the crack, and a bird and leaves that covered any little other defects.

This is how it turned out:

And here it is in the outdoor screen porch (which is still under progress but God graciously answered several specific prayers to make it come this far... like this clearance bistro set which was rather cheap, last one and display model from a grocery store. I saw it in early summer and I liked it a lot, but it wasn't a good price. It's a store I rarely shop at, but God let me be there at the right moment and time to get it when it was about 75% off. It was a good reminder to wait for God's timing.)

Guest Bath

This was my first project in the house, and it's still not quite finished. It's a very tiny bathroom and the wallpaper reminded me of a dentist office.

When I took it down - this is what was underneath. (Notice the ugly light fixture too)

I painted with random neutral paint. I wanted to rewallpaper (something non-busy like grasscloth etc) but a quick paint job made the most time and money sence.

I bought an outdoor light fixture for about $30 from Home Depot

The mirror was at one of those discount stores (like a TJ Maxx, only called Tuesday Morning). The mirror was actually with bright green highlights, but I just repainted to be orange to match my color scheme. I had to use blue because the tile in the shower is blue and the counter top was blue. (In my ideal home I wouldn't use this sink...)

Blue and orange are opposites on the color wheel, so that make a simple color solution for a tiny bathroom.

I painted the vanity and actually painted the shower and faucet handles from the bright gold to a silver. It calmed it down.

I hung a blank frame on the wall and drew a bike right unto the wall with a washable marker.

And that summed up the bathroom transformation...

I made wall art from some rocks I had found in France. The art says "One less rock, one more voice." It is a reminder from a song. The lyrics are based on the Bible verse where Jesus said that His worthiness demands glory and praise and that if humans will not give it, even the very rocks will cry out.

But I don't want the rocks to do my job that I was created for.

And one more look at the bathroom (I don't have very good photos/colors for this room. It wasn't good lighting and I didn't have the right lens on, but oh well. This is what you get.)

Headboard

When we first viewed the house, this is how the master bedroom looked:

It's rather an amazing bedroom - but I felt like the windows were demanding to frame a scale-appropriate headboard.

I found a gray linen one that made me nod and smile.
But it was very pricey.
I loved some tufted ones, but they seemed very time-consuming to make, and not super cheap either (to make) and VERY expensive to buy.

Then my mom was telling me about these boxes of upholstery samples (that were discontinued) that she was given. Now I know discontinued fabric means it's not the latest trend. But I was nevertheless excited. Free quality fabric + my mom's talent and generous sweetness = a respectable headboard.

 

My dad and I went to Home Depot and got a big piece of plywood cut into a square. My mom had sewn a "quilt" of the fabric samples all together. And then we used an old stained cheap comforter for padding. The layers got stapled unto the board and then screwed together and mounted on the wall.

And this is how the headboard looks now. Isn't it a nice scale? Fabric = free. Labor (because I have awesome talent giving parents) = free. Plywood about $12? And that's that. A headboard that I'm pleased with. I still don't love the wall color - but the brown DID help calm down all that blue-green. And one day I'll paint.