Long Necklace Storage

Long necklace storage can be a pain.

They get tangled so easily.

My solution used to be an over the door hook rack.

It would clang EVERY. TIME. THE. DOOR. WOULD. OPEN. or CLOSE.

It was annoying (my husband hardly ever complains and he hated it!)

So I came up with a better solution.

You know these things that show up at thrift stores all the time?

These accordian peg racks:

I'm really not sure what they are supposed to be used for...

hats, clothes, towels, mugs, purses, hotpads, coats?

Anybody know?

I picked up one for $1.00 at the thrift store for my necklaces.

All I did to it was stain it to match the wood on my bed and dressers,

then I sprayed it with a clear finish

.

It was soooo easy and fast! 

Next step: Hanging it on the wall & adding necklaces:

Wanna know a secret?  This is what it really looks like after all of most of my necklaces are added...

So I have a lot of necklaces...what's a girl to do?  

At least they're not clanging!

Maybe I need to get rid of some of them.

Maybe I need another holder.

I'm just keeping it real here.

Linking to:

Lil' Luna

One Mans Trash = This Chicks Treasure

Sheesh.  Where have I been?

Besides inlaws, work, inlaws, work, home, work...

Just trying to get settled in again and get in a routine now that I'm back from my 3 month vacay :)

I have almost everything unpacked and cleaned.

I think something about living with the bare minimum all summer has made me realize that I have a lot of junk stuff.  I have seriously been in a cleaning frenzy since I got home.

Maybe it's because I didn't fully "spring clean" but I have been going through room by room and organizing/de-junking/shining everything up.

I told you I had some trash treasures to show you.

I was just walking by our dumpster minding my own business at our apartment before we left Seattle 

when out of the blue I glanced over and saw something that caught my eye.

"Is that what I think it is?"  I thought.

I rushed over to it and snatched it up.

 Wait, there's more?

2 of them?

 score!

Hold the phone, THREE of them?!?

Say Whaaaaaat!?

Ya darn right.

Not one, not two, but three of these amazing, beautiful, perfect condition plastic frames.

I was once close to buying one like this at IKEA a few months back.

I didn't feel like forking out the $30 for it though.

Gladly rejoicing in the fact that I waited.

There you have it.

I may or may not have found other dumpster goodies too,

but we'll save that for another day.

 

I'm off to enjoy a nice summer afternoon with my family!

Don't be scared to look in dumpsters! 

Okay, maybe be a little bit cautious...

 

So Long, Seattle!

Just wanted to write a quick post while I should be packing to move...

If you don't know, we moved to Seattle for the summer so my husband could do an internship with Amazon.

We got to spend some time together as a family and see a few last minute sites in this beautiful city the past weekend. (like the Freemont Troll)

 And one last view of the beautiful skyline from Kerry Park:

I am flying home tomorrow with my daughter and my awesome husband is driving this weekend. 

I am excited to get back, I have a lot of projects already in the works.

But at the same time, I have also really enjoyed the 12 week vacation I have been on all summer :)

I'm really going to miss our view:

Bear with me as I get adjusted at home and work the next week (Can you believe they kept my job for me all summer? I love where I work!)

I really do have some awesome things to show you! (one may or may not involve some things I found in the dumpster!)  

For now, just gaze at that beautiful picture of Lake Union {taken from my balcany} and dream of whatever it is you dream of...ahhhh, so relaxing...

Jewelry Stand/Holder/Keeper

I don't know what this is:

 Could be a cake stand, but it's kinda small for that.  And not durable enough.

I think it's a candle holder, like for a big candle, or maybe a few smaller ones?

Whatever it may be, I picked it up at a thrift store by my house

(which is out of business now, boo)

I really love how ornate it is.

But, I'm not a gold person.

I decided I wanted to use it in my bedroom as a jewelry holder.

At night when I'm too lazy tired to hang my jewelry back in place, it works very nicely.

It makes the jewelry feel like it belongs there.

I decided to paint it the same color as my lamps

I love the coral color with the aqua, cream, and brown in the room.

I primed with Kilz,

Spray painted it with Krylon Coral Isle,

and of course had to glaze it to make those ornate details pop.

 

It also accommodates some of my larger odd-shaped earrings that don't fit with my other ones.

Isn't it purdy?

Side Table Save

This side table is one of my great Craigslist finds before moving from Las Vegas.

I bought it because I fell in love with the detailed scroll carvings; however, the green/gold just wasn't me.

Here's some before pictures:

 Look at the details!

 The handles on this piece were the same greeny-gold color.

Sorry, no picture.

There was glass built in over the top.

It was somewhat scary to get it out.  We had to break it (my best friend ended up smashing it with a hammer)

Then we carefully took all the pieces out.

I think there was only one minor cut in the process (my friend's finger)

I took the hose on the vacuum and sucked all the remaining little tiny pieces of glass out of the nooks and crannies. 

I debated FOREVER about what color to paint this and whether to keep it 2-toned.

I finally decided on a classic white all over.

Since this piece was in great condition, the only prep work I did was:

1) break the glass and remove it

2) remove the handles

3) wipe it down with a damp rag

Normally, I would take off the door and paint it separately...I gave the job to my trusty husband.

Apparently the screws on the door were completely striped, so he got one of the hinges off, but the other one wasn't budging. (that's why the door looks crooked in the pictures, it only has the bottom hinge on)

Seeing as how I wanted to start painting right away, and I had already been so patient {wink, wink}...

I decided to work around the little door problem and just leave it on.

Anywho, after some Kilz primer, a couple coats of spray paint to both the table and hardware, black glaze, Polycrylic, {plus some blood (my friends), sweat, and work}...Behold, the finished product:

I was thinking about getting another piece of glass made to put on the top; but I sort of like it how it is now.

I just don't know about dusting in all those nooks and crannies...
 Ah well, for now I love it.


Linking to:
Domestically Speaking: power of paint party
Primitive and Proper 
Thrifty Decor Chick
Perfectly Imperfect  
Miss Mustard Seed
Chic on a Shoestring
Fingerprints on the Fridge
The Shabby Nest
Finding Fabulous
Remodelaholic
Simple Home Life
Tatertos and Jello
I Heart Naptime 
Coastal Charm 
Sassy Sites 
Home Stories A to Z 
Not JUST a Housewife 

Pharmacist Recommended :: Pinterest

If you're a reader of any craft/hobby/decorating blogs, I'm sure you've heard of Pinterest.

I really wish I would have thought of the idea, it's brilliant.

There have been so many times where I've been browsing the web and come across a great idea, picture, recipe, inspiration, etc and if I'm too lazy to bookmark it with the hundreds of other bookmarks that I never look at, it gets lost and most of the time, forgotten. {If I don't forget about it, it's nearly impossible to try to locate again and there is much wasted time looking!}

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard, allowing you to "pin" the things you love to one specific place on the web.  You can organize it to different pinboards however you wish.  The best part is, it keeps the original site that the picture came from so you can easily refer back to it, whether it be for the recipe, how-to, printable, tutorial, idea, etc.

You can also view and follow other people's boards and pins; getting inspiration and ideas from what others have already found. 

If you place the "Pin It" button to your toolbar on your browser, you can easily pin anything you want while browsing your favorite blogs, websites, or even shopping!

Warning, this can be addictive...I've stayed up past midnight on more than one occasion...but it's so fun!  I can't wait until I get back to my desktop computer back home so I can put all my "bookmarks" on my pinboards!

Right now it is still an "invite only" website to join.  However, it's very easy to join:

1} You can request an invite from the Pinterest website

2} I can send you an invite, I just need your email!

3} You can visit Beth from Home Stories AtoZ like I did and get access right away by clicking her link.

You won't regret it! Here's just a few of my recent finds on Pinterest:

flip flop hangers, brilliant!

Source

Bored in the bathroom?

Wouldn't it be fun to do this in a friend's bathroom?

I think it'd be a pleasant surprise...

Adorable pillow:

I love this braid, and must try it with my hair:

Adding bookshelves to a dresser:

 

I'm already thinking about Halloween!

How cute is this?

Pinterest is in no way endorsing or paying me to recommend it.  I just love it, and think you will too! Check it out if you haven't already!

Prettied Up With Modge Podge

I love a good bargain.  

I found some wall hangings for my daughter's room on clearance in T.J.Maxx.  

I wasn't fond of their original state, but knew that I could fix them :)

They were a honey colored wood with cute cut-outs attached:

First, I painted the sides of them with a dark brown acrylic craft paint.

 

Then, I pried off the cut-outs.

This was probably the hardest part...it was partly stapled and partly glued, and I didn't want to break it!

The best tool was a plain old butter knife;

Oh, the multi-uses of a butter knife! Worked perfect!

{and of course I don't have a picture of the blank wood}

 I picked out some cutesie scrapbook paper that would match my daughter's room and modge podged it on there! 

{side note: my husband HATES the word modge podge, so I try to say it around him as often as possible...haha}

I distressed the edges a bit with some ink/paint/chalk...I couldn't decide what method so I tried a few.

Then I glued the cut-outs back on

 

ahhh...So much better!