Placemat Crafts

I am always on the look-out for unique crafting materials so when I came across two packages of vintage placemats at a thrift store I knew it was a major score!

Here are just a few of them:

Some of them are your standard restaurant placemats with floral borders, but many are actually pretty cool! As you can see from the picture above, there are ones showing different kinds of seashells, flowers, and leaves, one showing patterns of bird migration, one depicting the solar system and another with about 20 optical illusions! And the graphics are awesome!

So I started brainstorming inventive ways to use them. So far I have thought of two (I think pretty awesome) ways...

First 

A Placemat Tray!!

This placemat features recipes for some common cocktails. Perfect for a tray!

I used a wooden tray from Michaels that I sprayed black, and then Mod Podged the placemat onto the bottom! 

Second

Placemat Notebooks!!

Back Covers!

I used super cheap composition notebooks from target for this project, total cost: $4! I simply Mod Podged the placemats onto the front and back covers and secured them on the inside of the covers like so: 

More Pics :)

I used a placemat with an Asian-inspired scene for this mini composition notebook. This is going to be a birthday gift for my Mom :)

Another mini notebook done with a leaf identification placemat!  

Full-sized Comp. Notebook with a North American Birds placemat

I made this one for my boyfriend using a Florida map placemat!

I still have a ton of these placemats left, so I'm sure I will find some other ways to use them soon! 

Thanks for stopping by!

-Liz :)

Lovely Lacey Wall Art

I have previously mentioned my struggle with my master bathroom. This was the one room in my apartment that i just could not seem to develop a clear concept or even color scheme to tie the room together. I think I considered just about every color to "pop" off my black and gray chevron shower curtain from yellows and oranges to blues and greens, I even considered going totally girly despite my boyfriend's protests to the land of purples and pinks!

And then I got an idea! The lace design of the washi tape I used on my medicine cabinet (see here), inspired me to use more lace! Check it out:

By painting the lace (see below), I was able to set a color scheme (blues and greens win!) while keeping it modern and not too girly!!

So for anyone out there who likes my lacey wall art and wants to know how to recreate it, heres how i did it:

1) First I bought some lace! I got mine from Joann's where you can buy lace by the yard. I got 1/2 yard of each kind of lace (each cost between $1.99-$2.99/yd). My total cost for lace was only $5!!

2) Next I cut my lace to size. I knew I wanted to mat it to 8x10" so I cut my pieces to about 9" to have a little wiggle room.

3) Next I painted my lace using a pouncer to dab on the paint like so:

4) Once all my pieces were painted I arranged them on a piece of white cover stock and secured the ends with a little double-stick tape

5) Last I got a pre-matted white-on-white frame from target ($17), matted and framed my artwork and voila!

Close- up :)

Looks great with my towels too! lol

Bathroom panorama! Love how the colors pop off the white-on-white frame 

Now I have unique statement piece to build this room off of :) And for less than $25!

Thanks for stopping by!

- Liz :)

Here's a Magnet, There's a Magnet, Everywhere's a Magnet!!

Hey!!

This post is all about, you guessed it, magnets!! This is such a simple idea, that you will never buy decorative magnets again!!

All you need is magnet backs like these adhesive magnet circles from Aleene's:

These are great for easily making magnets, they are super adhesive and don't need any extra glue to hold tight. They also come in stripes and rectangular sheets for custom shapes!

And any trinkets or odds and ends you find at thrift stores, antique stores, on sale at big box stores, or just lying around your own house! 

So just peel and stick your magnets to the back of your object and voila!

Check out what I used:

I used large wine corks from old wine barrels, old liquer bottle caps (from an antique store), and the metal western themed magnets were once button covers that I found at a thrift store :)

This adorable elephant magnet is one of about 12 old cracker jack prizes that I got for about $2 off of etsy! 

So start digging through those junk drawers and find some tiny treasures worthy of magnet status to personalize your fridge!

-Liz :)

More Upcycled Planters!

Hi again!

I am back in Florida after a month long vacation at home in Wisconsin! Sadly, when my boyfriend picked me up at the airport he hesitantly told me about the tragedy that had occurred in my absence... all my plants had died :( lol. Yes, worse things have happened, and yes I kind of expected this (even with my regular reminders to water them!), but nonetheless I couldn't help feel a small sense of loss! But with any loss comes opportunity to rebuild, so thats what I did!! This time instead of using many small containers for my garden I have decided to consolidate (so much easier to water!!).

My plan this time was to have three main containers, 1) a herb garden, 2) a succulent garden and 3) a flower box.

For the flower box I will be using a vintage planter that needs a little work, so stay tuned for the before and after on that one!

For my herb garden I decided to use a gorgeous vintage 7up divided crate that I found at an estate sale for $10 back in Wisconsin! Check it out:

Love the graphic! Even though its a little faded, just adds to the vintage charm :)

Four herbs so far: boxwood basil, rosemary, parsley, and peppermint! This container can hold up to 10 (the two middle ones on the sides have handles cut into them so would not be able to hold enough dirt, but 10 is plenty for me!)

And for my succulent garden I used an old wooden box (I believe an old tool box?) that I have had for awhile:

I used mostly succulents I already had that were still in their original plastic containers, and bought a few more to round out the garden :)

Close-up!

I also had to replace the plant in my hanging planter that I made from an old egg basket:

This beautiful bunch of yellow flowers looks much sturdier than the original white flowers I had planted (crossing my fingers I can keep them alive!!)

Close-up of hanging crystals! 

A little more inspiration for your container gardens at home :)

-Liz :)

Telephone Table Update

Hi again,

Here's an update on the telephone table I mentioned a couple weeks ago, Telephone Table Upcycle.

So the other day I began the upcycling process which begins of course with disassembling! I love this first step where you get rid of all the old worn down fabric and finish and begin to see the real potential!

So with my telephone table I first unscrewed the seat, then removed the two shelfs. After the seat was off a got a glimpse at what this table looked like in a past life. Check out the cool bright baby blue paint:

Maybe this color will make a reappearance??

After the seat was removed, I decided to remove the old fabric and batting (if these are in good condition I like just upholster over, to save time and materials, but in this case the fabric was kind of smelly so it had to go!). After a good struggle removing upholstery tacks with a screwdriver I managed to remove all the old fabric and got another surprise! Check out what was used for the base of the seat:

It's a piece of old laminate countertop! 

Close-up of the glittery countertop

It's kind of hard to tell in the picture, but the top of the board that was used to make the seat is covered in old gold glittery laminate! So it looks like someone already beat me to the punch and this table has been repurposed before, using a piece of countertop for the seat! Kind of cool to see how this table has evolved through the years! And what's the next step in its evolution? Well, I have some ideas but I'm not revealing anything yet, you'll just have to wait and see :)

-Liz

Roadtrip Repurposing

Hey all,

Well I am back from my road trip, on which I wasn't able to post as much as I would have liked due to lack of internet and lack of time (seeing all the sights!) but, I still have some camping/trip related posts I meant to share so we are just going to pretend I am still on the road!

One thing I wanted to share was a few awesomely inspiring repurposes I saw at different stops along the way!

First up is this awesome planter idea:

I saw this chair outside a shop in a small town in Northern, WI. What a creative way to reuse an old rocking chair! Just cut a hole in the upholstery of the seat (burlap in this case), remove the padding and replace with dirt! Then plant!

Next up is this creative way to display vintage dinnerware:

Yes, this is what you think it is! This wooden fence was bedazzled with vintage glass serving dishes, teacups and bell jar lids! Scroll down for close-ups :)

A little better lighting :)

This flower display was on about 4 gates total throughout the property.  Vintage glass chip-and-dip trays make up the petals, leaf shaped plates for the leaves of course, and a glass bud holder makes up the center of the flower! 

Check out these panels made up of vintage bell jar lids!

Glass trays fit perfectly between the fence posts and glass teacups add another touch of sparkle at the bottom of the fence!

Teacup close-up

These bench was also made to incorporate the vintage wares, with rectangular plates making up the back! 

So Pretty!

I found this gorgeous glass dinnerware-embellished fence at one of our campgrounds in the tiny town of Salem, SD. I first saw the bench on the night we arrived and later found the repurposing mother-load on a nearby fence, such a unique and cute idea!! And check out the awesome glow through the glass at sunset:

So cool!

Last but not least is probably one of the most famous, and largest repurposing projects in the country:

The Mitchell Corn Palace!

Close-up of the corn on the marquee

The Corn Palace!!! hahaha. Probably not a practical repurposing project for the home, but turning cobs of corn into giant murals definitely takes some creativity!! The corn palace was one of the highlights of South Dakota and is definitely worth a stop if you are headed out west. The "palace" is actually the towns arena so it isn't as grand as I expected lol. But there are more murals inside as well as some cool displays showing the history of the palace and how they make it! And best of all its totally free!! Can't beat that!

So, always remember to keep an eye out for inspiration! You just might find it in the most random places :)


-Liz