Embellishing Boring Baskets

I've been trying to spruce up my little mudroom.  It's far from done, but this weekend I got around to  my baskets.  They definitely needed something!

Here they are before looking SO boring!

 I bought them a few months ago from Garden Ridge

Here they are NOW!  This project took me about 15 minutes...oh yeah!

I got these little things at Hobby Lobby.  I wasn't sure which one I wanted to use, but I ended up going with the white ones.  They were $2.49 each (pack of 4)

I had this set of fabric paint and stamps, so I pulled that out to use:

These work just like stamps, so quick and easy.  

Once I had stamped my labels, I got some blue burlap and twine.  I folded the blue burlap in half, then tied the burlap over it.  

Confession:  I didn't even wrap the entire basket with the burlap!  I'm too cheap, and because these baskets are mainly for looks (nonfunctional), I figured the back wouldn't be seen, so it cuts off on the sides of the basket.  The twine still holds it in place just fine! 

I chose to attach my labels with wire.  I used my tiny hole punch, then strung the wire through:

I looped the wire around the twine knot, twisted it like a "twistie tie" and tucked it under

And there you have it!  

 Not nearly as boring, right?!

Therena

Link Parties:
DIY Sunday Showcase, I Heart Naptime, DIY Showoff, Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, Coastal Charm, Skip to My Lou, Rain on a Tin Roof, A Stroll Thru Life, Love Grows Wild, Adventures of a DIY Mom, BeBetsy, Not Just a Housewife, Nap-Time Creations, Sugar Bee Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, Fluster Buster, Savvy Southern Style, The Blissful Bee, Gingerly Made, House of Hepworths, Someday Crafts, Love of Family & Home

Six Sisters Stuff

Thrifty Thursday: Bread Box

This week was not very fruitful for me in the way of decor/furniture.  Although I did score 2 awesome Hurley swimsuits-one for each of my big boys!  Nice!

The one find I was totally excited about was my new bread box! 

(Here he is AFTER, of course!)

Last week I was SO inspired by Chelsea's bread box at Making Home Base, that I was pretty much in shock when I saw them....yes them!  There were 2 boxes.  The only difference was the painting on the front.

I went with the cows!

I painted him with a frenchy blue acrylic paint, then sanded and stained her with 

Martha Stewart's Metallic Glaze

 

The letters were added with my trusty transfer method found 

here:

I switched out the wooden knob for a cute one from Hobby Lobby!

He is very happy in his new home on my kitchen counter!

 Thrift Store box: $4.00

Hobby Lobby knob: $2.00

Total cost for this guy: $6.00!!!!! Oh yeah!

Therena

Party Links:
I Gotta Create, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Start at Home, House of Hepworths,
 The Blissful Bee, Made in a Day, The Pin Junkie, The Frugal Girls, All Our Days, Love of Family & Home, Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Remodelaholic, Six Sisters Stuff, Its Overflowing, I Heart Naptime, Craft-O-Maniac, Coastal Charm, Rain on a Tin Roof, Adventures of a DIY Mom, BeBetsy, Not Just a Housewife, Sugar Bee Crafts, Savvy Southern Style

Pre-Blog Projects

 I was going through some of my old photos last night and came across a few with furniture pieces from before I refinished them!  Oh, the memories it brought back.  So I thought it would be fun to tell you a little about them: 

 If you've looked at my "Things I've Painted" page, you will recognize both of these pieces!

TV Console NOW: 

THEN:

We bought this piece from a unique furniture store in Gilbert, AZ called The Potato Barn.  I had it almost 7 years before I refinished it.

And that adorable face is my middle boy Barrett :)

When refinishing this piece, I left the top alone, and painted the bottom with a creamy white (not sure the color.....remember this is Pre-Blog!).  I glazed it with an antiquing glaze, but used a DRY cloth instead of a damp cloth to give it a heavier antique look

Ok, moving on!

Bench NOW:

THEN:

 I love this bench!  When I was growing up this bench was in the waiting room at my Dad's office.  When I was a senior in High School, my Dad went to work for a company and moved out of the office.  I begged him to let me keep the bench!  He so lovingly did, and even stored it for me while I went off to college!  So I have had this bench for a loooong time!

Sitting on it in this picture is my oldest son Talmage (it was his 5th birthday)

 I used the exact same technique for this bench as I did for the TV console:

So now you know the history behind these two pieces that you've

 seen throughout my blog!

Therena

Party Links:

Brag About It Link Party, Sugar Bee Crafts, Savvy Southern Style, Domestically Speaking,

Lil Luna, Not Just a Housewife, Someday Crafts, Shabby Creek Cottage, Start at Home, Huckleberry Love, House of Hepworths, Gingerly Made, The Pin Junkie, All Our Days, Love of Family & Home, Miss Mustard Seed, Tatertots & Jello, Remodelaholic, Six Sisters Stuff, Its Overflowing, DIY Sunday Showcase, DIY Showoff, Keeping it Simple,

Craft-O-Maniac, Coastal Charm, Mod Vintage Life, Skip to My Lou, A Stroll Thru Life,

 Nap-time Creations, Fluster Buster

Burlap Flower Tutorial

Lately at Hobby Lobby I've been seeing some adorable burlap flowers.  I really like the look of them, but I am too cheap! Even on sale the price makes me cringe!!!

It took me a few weeks, and multiple times to Hobby Lobby, before it dawned on me that I have been making fabric flowers for as long as I can remember!!! Silly Me!

So I bought some burlap and went to work!  

These are the simplest flowers to make.  I have made so many before using fabric, for things like headbands and dress embellishments. 

 There are 2 different flowers that I'll show you

Here's what you need:

burlap

felt

stapler

glue gun

Flower #1

1.  With your burlap, cut out 4 large circles, however large you want your flower to be.

2.  Cut out 4 smaller circles

3. Cut your base circle with your felt 

4.  Take a circle and fold it in half

5.  Then fold in half again, and staple the tip, so it looks like this:

Do this to all 8 circles:

6.  Take the 4 Large circles and hot glue them to the base:

7.  Take the 4 Small circles and glue them on top of the larger ones:

8.  Glue on your center!  I like to use twine, but you can use anything you want 

(button, jewel, whatever!)

I roll my twine like this, and just make sure to tuck the end under before I glue it in the center

That's Flower #1! 

Flower #2

1.  Cut a long, thin strip of burlap

(Also cut a base circle with your felt, just like the previous flower) 

2.  Twist the burlap strip so it looks like this:

3. While holding one end, twist it into a tight circle, and continue to do so until all the burlap is used:

4.  Tuck in the loose end and glue it to the base piece:

And there's Flower #2!

Ok, next I'll show you how I finished them.  I used the same method for both flowers: 

For some reason I always keep the stems of flowers that I've removed.  So I dug those out!  

I poked a hole through the felt, then added some glue, and stuck in the stem

For the leaves, I just cut a small strip of green burlap, like this:

 And tied it around the stem:

Here are a few I made:

I stuck these ones in a mason jar (a blue vintage one), and tied green burlap around it.  I also added a few non-burlap flowers to give the bouquet more variety in texture

I placed it on one of my thrift store serving trays, and put it on top the little hutch in my kitchen!

I'm really liking it....What do you think?!

 Therena

Party Links:
Its Overflowing, Keeping it Simple, Pink When: DIY Sunday Showcase, I Heart Naptime, Craft-O-Maniac, DIY Showoff, Give Me the Goods Party, Love Grows Wild, Coastal Charm, Nap-Time Creations, A Stroll Through Life, Skip to My Lou, Mod Vintage Life, 
Adventures of a DIY Mom, A Diamond in the Stuff, Not Just a Housewife, Brag About It Link Party, Sugar Bee Crafts, Savvy Southern Style, Lil Luna, Someday Crafts, 
Shabby Creek Cottage, Artsy Chicks Rule, Huckleberry Love, House of Hepworths 

Gingerly Made, I Gotta Create, The Blissful Bee, Made in a Day, The Pin Junkie, The Frugal Girls, All Our Days, Love of Family & Home, Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Remodelaholic, Six Sisters Stuff, BeBetsy, Domestically Speaking: Fun in the Sun, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Funky Junk Interiors, Domestically Speaking