365 Days of Pinterest Projects

I really love today's project!  At our house, we are always in need of some sort of containers or baskets to contain all of our clutter.  I will be making a variety of these because they are quick and easy and cheap to make! Introducing Pinterest Project #10... Fabric Covered Boxes!     Don't you just love this fabric?  I found this great fabric at Walmart, bought half a yard, and it cost me $1.50.  I also picked up some yarn that matches the colors of this fabric, for yarn-wrapped letters which is another project I have pinned for my 365 Days of Pinterest Projects (on a Budget!) challenge. Before I tell you about the fabric covered boxes, I'd like to just say how irritating it is when you pin something on Pinterest and you click the link hoping to see more info or a tutorial or something, and the link takes you to some spam website.  It's irritating, but it also forces me to rely on my own creativity....

Pinterest Project #9 of my 365 Days of Pinterest Projects (on a Budget!) Challenge...   Stained-Glass Candle Holder!       The picture above does NOT do this candle holder justice, it is SO pretty with a candle glowing inside!  I saw this idea on Pinterest, but I think they used little flowers on theirs.  I really like the hearts I chose for this one, but you can make any shape.  Polka dots would be really cute.  Any colors you like!   I got the glass at a thrift store for 27 cents.  Because I'm a saver (or as my husband would say, a hoarder), I keep all the gift bags and tissue paper from my kids birthday presents.  So for this project you need a glass or vase, tissue paper, and Mod Podge.  I'm using the homemade Mod Podge from yesterday's project.     I am all about fast results, so I figured out a quick and easy way to cut out the hearts.  First, cut a long strip of tissue paper....

Pinterest Project #8 of my 365 Days of Pinterest Projects (on a Budget!) Challenge... Homemade Mod Podge!   Guess what, I found a recipe on Pinterest for homemade Mod Podge.  I think I've only bought Mod Podge one time in my life, but since I started pinning projects & gathering ideas for my challenge over this next year, I realized I need to get ahold of some Mod Podge.  I'm a frugal gal, so the thought of making my own appealed to me! Speaking of being frugal, if you are inclined to buy real Mod Podge, it is fairly cheap at Walmart.  But might I suggest if you have a Hobby Lobby nearby, use a 40% off coupon that Hobby Lobby offers every week (print the coupon online) and it ends up being cheaper than Walmart!  Incidentally, Hobby Lobby's Krylon spray paint will also end up being cheaper than Walmart if you use a 40% off coupon. Alright, on to the recipe for homemade Mod Podge.  A lot of homemade Mod Podg...

Yesterday there was no Pinterest Project.  I did attempt some fabric flowers idea that worked out so much better in my head, but my trial-and-error was cut short because I had to help my husband put together bunk beds for my youngest daughters. We found the bunk beds for free by the curb while we were walking in our neighborhood a couple of weeks ago.  My husband tweaked them a little and they became twin beds in our youngest daughters' room.  Partly because I wanted my daughters to get used to sleeping in their new beds, and also because we didn't have the money to finish buying the dowels and remaining screws to completely put them together as bunk beds. My husband decided yesterday was the day.  I really thought it would be as simple as lifting one bed on top of the other, making sure the dowels were in the holes to help secure it, and voila - bunk beds!  Not so fast. First my husband had to add the rails to the top bed.  Easy enough....

Well, I finally finished Pinterest Project #7, my painted nightstands.  Actually, only one of them is done.  The other one is still unfinished in my garage.   Fair warning: the picture quality in this post is a bit poor. When we first moved into our house about one year ago, we didn't have a lot of furniture.  We used large cardboard boxes turned on their sides as nightstands.  It held an alarm clock and a can of Coke that my husband liked to take a few drinks of before bed.  When the alarm went off the next morning, my husband reached over to slam his hand down on the snooze button, and the box collapsed onto itself!  Coke splashed everywhere and the alarm clock dangled by its cord.  Needless to say there was no snoozing that morning! So when I found these end tables/shelves on Craigslist for only 5 bucks each, I knew right away that they would be transformed into our long-awaited nightstands! Here they are in my kitchen, ...

I have been working on my latest Pinterest Project for about three days now.  It is spray-painted shelving unit-type thingies.  I bought these two on craigslist for $5 each.  They were dirty and very wobbly, just needed a good washing and tightening of the screws!  I want to turn them into nightstands for our master bedroom, so I am painting them white and adding a stencil saying on top. Here are my top five tips on spray-painting furniture. #1 Invest in a spray paint grip with trigger.  They are only $2.50 at my local Walmart, and I am so grateful to whoever invented this!  If you've ever spray-painted before, you know how the tip of your finger hurts after continually pressing down on the nozzle!  With the trigger, it's much easier! #2 If you must use your finger to spray-paint the regular way, wear some type of gloves!  This will prevent any spray-paint from ending up on the pad of your finger!  Use an old so...