Valentine's Day for Boys

My son is OBSESSED with dinosaurs.  So it was a done deal when I came across this DIY valentine on Pinterest:

Here is my version:

I used stationary cards that I already had and traced a clipart image of a cute dinosaur onto construction paper.  A few Brach's heart candies are the dino's spikes.

Here's the inside...complete with my son's "signature."

Here he is working hard :)  Isn't he cute??

Just be careful that they don't try to pick the candies off :)

Have a DINO-MITE Valentine's Day!

"I'm Gonna Pop Some Tags..."

Last week I took on Young House Love's Thrift Shop Challenge.  With $20 in my pocket, I popped some tags :)

I unfortunately didn't get any pictures while I was in the store but here is a look at my spoils.

6 stackable coffee cups for $2 a piece

Aren't they cute?  The perfect size for an espresso if you choose.

And I scored this awesome ceramic tray.  I'm in love!!  I love the handles and the segmented sections.  This tray would be perfect for chips & dip, tacos with the fixings on the sides, or even a fruit platter.

Here's a closer look at the different patterns on the cups.

Check out these: little deer and flowers...so cute!

So there you have it.  Many gems can be found while a-thriftin'  :)

Guest Bedroom & Closet Re-do

This is our guest bedroom closet...

We removed the weird shelving that was in there when we purchased the home and repainted the walls.

After some Ikea closet pieces, here is the after...

At Ikea, you can design and piece together your own closet configuration.  First you decided where you want shelves and where you want hanging space.

Then you pick out the size of shelf/hanging brackets.

Now I have lots of space for my purses, overnight bags and overflow from my own closet.

And this is what the guest bedroom looked like when we first moved in...

After some new paint, trim color, and accessories, this is what the room currently looks like...

The look of the room all started with this vintage light I found at antique store.

Shortly after that, I found this classroom map at an antique mall for just $50.

This is my husband's grandma's dresser that she gave to us.  I painted it a fun kelly green to match the light pendent.

I added new hardware from Home Depot.

My mom found a pair of these chairs at an estate sale for just $30!  I took one and my sister took the other.  There may be plans to re-upholster it in the far future but for now it brings out the oranges in the map.

My husband just started law school and currently studies in this room.  I have plans to find a secretary desk to put in place of the bookcase on the right.  That way my husband has a writing surface and storage for his books.  But can still be hidden when guests come to stay.

I held out for a long time to find the perfect accent pillows.  I think these Home Goods pillows do the trick.  The have the same blues and greens and the ikat pattern seems blend in perfectly.

There's still work to be done in this room (finding a secretary desk, rug and wall art) but for now I'm loving the bright colors during these cold, wintery days.

Before & After Party with Thrifty Decor Chick

DIY Advent Calendar

I want to share with you a project my mom worked on last week.  I'm sure a lot of you have seen the Evergreen Tree fabric from Ikea.

There have been several blogs that have done different things with it.

Normally, the fabric is just $6.99/yd (which is awesome already) but we were lucky enough to find it on sale for $3.99/yd.  Crazy!

My mom's idea was to add 24 buttons to various spots on the tree.

This would allow for little ornaments to be hung.

And here is the entire tree "decorated" with felt ornaments.

I think my  mom found all these ornaments at JoAnn Fabrics.

She will be giving this tree as a gift to a friend's grandkids as their Advent calendar.  Cute, huh?

Joining Metamorphosis Mondays with Between Naps on the Porch

Chalkboard Door

This is our pocket door in the kitchen that leads to the basement.  I thought it would be fun to paint the entire door in chalkboard paint.

And since it's a pocket door, you can just slide it into the wall when it's not in use.

This was a quick Saturday project.  But the chalkboard couldn't be written on for 3 days.  

And now I have my own Advent calendar :)

I originally thought this would be fun for my 19 month old son to use but I seem to be enjoying it more!

And when I don't want it to be seen...just slide away.

Here are some great inspiration chalkboard art.

Linking up with Thrifty Decor Chick