Now You See It...

So summer is here which means your house is all spring cleaned up and now you're just sitting back, basking in the glow of a spotless home, right?  Yeah, er, me too.  Well ok, maybe spotless is a little strong.  Perhaps somewhat picked-up would be a bit more truthful.  The fact is, with a newly mobile baby it's all one can do to keep him in one piece in a place that is a, for lack of a better word, death trap with cords and bookshelves lurking at every corner.  Not to mention the constant sweeping and mopping you have to do to keep his shirt from looking like a total lint pad after a day of crawling.  The truth is, my house may appear to be picked up but behind every door is a cacophony of clutter.  It's really been bothering me, and I am working on it.  But I've come to a realization lately... ready?   it's o.k.!  It is.  It's definitely important to keep your home safe, but at least at this point in life, my job is to be right there on the floor with my little one exploring and learning, not caught up in scrubbing door jams.  I can already feel the baby-ness of my son slipping away, so I intend to spend as much quality time as I can with him.  Ok, I've made my point.  Now for the reason of this post.  Out of necessity, I've been coming up with unique ways to mask my behind the scenes clutter and wanted to share one of them with you.  Think of a duck in the pond.  From the on-lookers perspective you see a tranquil animal gliding along a serene pond.  However, take a peak under the surface and you find two little feet furiously paddling away to keep things heading in the right direction.  This tip will help visitors see your home as the peaceful duck.  It can be adapted to fit various situations, here I chose to conceal the contents of my t.v. stand which has sliding glass doors.

It's simple, really.  I had found this rad orange print fabric at a garage sale and waited for an opportunity to show it off.  I decided to attach it behind the glass doors of my TV stand to give it a more clean look.  I toyed with the idea of sticking it on with Velcro, but was too afraid of the commitment to adhere it to the wood so I settled on good ole' packing tape.

If you don't like my fabric (I think you either love it or hate it) don't let it deter you from trying this idea.  I'm not married to it and will probably change it up soon myself.  I could see this looking great with something more simple and clean like burlap or linen.  All you do is cut two pieces of your fabric a little bigger than the space you're trying to conceal, pull taut and secure with tape.  No fuss, no commitment, and best of all no ugly clutter!

My Little Mirror Makeover

It's almost midnight, it's been a very long day, and I'm sitting in bed stuffing my face with Doritos and watching Bones.   I know, not one of my loveliest moments, but I'm still excited to show you what I've been working on!

 Everyone has something in their house they don't like - a piece of furniture that doesn't fit, and you're tempted to get rid of, but that darn thrifty voice in your head just won't let you. Well, at least that's what I'd like to believe because that would mean I'm not alone.  For me it's this mirror...

 

It was my husband's before we met.  Bless his heart, he tried.  But I don't like the wood, I don't like the lines, it's, in a word, blah.  And so, since I'm on a huge revamping kick, I decided something had to be done.  Enter my cheap little acrylic paint friend.  

I wanted it to have a worn feel, so I used a paper towel (ok, that was just because I couldn't find a brush - but it worked quite well) and dry brushed it on. No special technique, but I brushed in the direction of the grain and used thin layers.  I wanted a little of the wood to peak through.  After the turquoise dried, I very lightly dry brushed some diluted brown paint on for an added dimension.

 

And finally, to make it multi-purposed, I added 3 little hooks to the bottom.  You know, the ones that screw into things? They're magical, I say. 

Ta-dah! A functional, not so ugly mirror!  You may recognize the felt flower belt I made {here} and the yellow teething necklace made {here}.

 

Hooray for paint, and hooray for my new mirror!  

What are you revamping in your house?