summertime DIY home projects

As promised, I'm posting some of the home projects I tackled at the end of May / beginning of June when I moved into my new house.  As with all moves, there was a lot going on and now things have mellowed down, thankfully - just in time for school to start up again and the routines of the daily grind to return.

DIY framed chalkboard
Something I had been lusting after was a cute chalkboard to do list I could hang in the office / craft room.  I posted about this in the entry below but the lil Chihuahuas were more of the focal point.  Here you can see it in all of it's glory as my working To Do list - I love the bistro chalk markers.  I feel like I'm a barista at Starbucks everytime I use them!

DIY white filing cabinet
Well I had added the cute touches with my vintage framed chalkboard, but I still needed some functional pieces for my office.  Enter the need for a filing cabinet.  Thankfully I have frequented the Goodwill enough to know about their every other Saturday 50% off everything sale - so I did a little strategic scouting on Friday night and snapped the only "before" pic I have of my filing cabinet.  Although there was some rusting on the top I knew I would be making it pretty anyway.  The important part was finding one that opened and closed properly.  Luckily, I was able to navigate straight to the cabinet (I left all the junk on top of it to deter any fickle shoppers) and leave with it at a STEAL price of $5.  Two coats of spraypaint and a thin coat of polyeurethane later, it was glamorous enough to move into the office - I just love how it turned out!!

DIY shabby chic coastal coffee table
I love the beach and I knew I wanted to go with a more natural / lighter look in the family room since I wanted to accent the natural lighting in my house and the white dining table in the breakfast nook.  Everywhere I looked, tables were $400 or more, and being the frugal diva that I am, I was not looking to spend more than $200 on a piece of furniture.  Luckily, I happened to run across this little gem while grocery shopping at the local Fry's Marketplace (Kroger chain grocery store in AZ that also offers items for your house - furniture, dishware, bedding, bath, etc.)

The only problem was that I would need to lighten the espresso finish because I was not digging that look with my coastal, light & bright decorating scheme.  Lucky for me, I followed the refinishing advice of this pinner and created my own shabby chic coastal coffee table.  Also I was able to discover Annie Sloan chalk paint which did a tremendous job of helping me achieve the shabby chic look I was coveting.

DIY bathroom wall art
Keeping with the beachy vibe of summertime that I had going in other parts of the house, I felt the bathroom needed some cute framed art to cover up those ugly holes in the wall left behind from the previous tenant.  i whipped up these 5x7 prints to fit inside the 5x7 frames sold at IKEA.  Then, I just used some 3M hanging strips to set them on the wall that way it wouldn't leave any more unsightly holes.  The silver framed set is hanging in my master bathroom and the white framed set goes in the guest bath - gotta make sure everyone remembers to wash their hands! LOL :)

Winner Announcement: Stephanie, you have won the PIN IT TO WIN IT giveaway, and I will be sending you the ROLL OUT 4th grade math dice games pack. 

TTFN {ta ta for now} :)