Upcycled Yardstick

 Have you ever seen the episode on Friends where Chandler finds Monica's secret closet? Monica was a clean freak and every thing had a place, but she had this one closet that nobody knew about. Well, you could say I might have a few closets like that. I am not proud of this and it drives me absolutely insane every time I open a closet door I am attacked by all of the crap stuffed in the closet. Sometimes I think I could probably qualify for the show Hoarders. My living spaces are usually clean minus the toddler finger prints and toys.  I have really tried hard to work on my hoarding, I have even purged a few things which to a hoarder can be the hardest decision they ever have to make.

One of the closets that I am working on is our utility closet. Um, I must confess you can't even see the floor.  I have lunch bags, shopping bags and aprons just thrown on the floor. The first thing I need to do is get the floor picked up. I am really into using the resources I already have because I don't think I should be spending my child's college fund on pretty baskets and hooks. So, I looked around my house and came up with the idea of using clothes pins (as hooks) glued to a yard stick.

Please note that all of the bags are empty and do not have anything in them. I don't know how well the clothespin will hold a bag filled with stuff. I just wanted to add that disclaimer. 

I think the clothespins hooks would also be cute to use in a kitchen command center or to display child's art work. Or lost socks in the laundry room.

I know you are all jealous of my Wonder Woman apron. :)

Let's take a look at what the floor looked before shall we?

Holy, HOT MESS Batman! I told you it was bad! It was such a relief to get that stuff off of the floor and get rid of the things I didn't need. I think it already looks a lot better in there.

Here is how I made the rack using the yardstick and clothespins.

I got these clothespins at the Dollar Tree awhile back. I painted (5) of them white just to make them a look a little prettier as hooks. 

I then printed out some blue and white striped paper from this blog. (On a side note: Did you know you can get almost any color of scrapbook paper you want on the internet? You just need a printer.) After I printed out the design on the paper I then cut out strips to lay on the clothespins and used Mod Podge to finish off the look of the clothespins. 

I then laid all of the clothes pins out on the yardstick so I could figure out where they would be glued

I used a little Gorilla Glue and glued the back of the clothespin onto the yardstick. I placed a rock on the clothespins to add some pressure when drying.  Once you have let it dry then you are ready to hang the yardstick. This was such an easy project. You can get yardsticks or rulers just about anywhere. I found this one for .69 cents at Lowes. Hopefully, I haven't scared you all away with my messy unorganized closet. I hope you all have a great weekend! 

I am linking to:
Debbie Doos
Fox Hollow Cottage
Coastal Charm
Under The Table and Dreaming
Savvy Southern Style

Chalkboard for the Babe!

I can't believe I might actually have some weekly posts. Go me!!!  I have had this project done for over a year now but have not had a chance to post pics. My husband made this beautiful chalkboard for my daughter before she was born. We just used some plywood, some trim and chalkboard paint to put it together. You can really use anything to make a chalkboard. I wanted something custom fit because I was huge pregnant and I didn't have time nor the energy to go to garage sales to find a frame. I am pretty happy with how it all turned out!

I made the bunting to drape over the top. I will have to do a tutorial on that someday. It is easy squeezy to make! 

These chalk holders are made from cheap gold/brass cabinet door handles. I saw this idea on Pinterest forever ago. I am sorry I can't take the credit for this idea. You can find the handles at Lowes or any home improvement store. 

Photo courtesy of sears.com

I painted the handles using Krylons Ocean Breeze spray paint from Walmart and then used Gorilla Glue to attach them to the chalkboard.


I am linking to:

Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Party
Today's Creative Blog: Get your Craft on Tuesday
DIY Show Off: That DIY Party
Homestories A to Z: Tutorials and Tips

A New Shadow Box

I bought this magnetic dart board at Goodwill a few weeks ago for $.80. I thought it would make a great shadow box. First, I removed the dart board from the frame and painted it with some mis-tinted, semi-gloss paint that I got from Lowes for $2.00.

After I finished painting the box I had my husband cut a piece of bead board we had left over from another project.  I glued the bead board to the box with gorilla glue. 

I then hot glued some twine around the border of the frame to trim out the edges of the beadboard.

I then used gorilla glue to glue the star fish to the beadboard.  I am going to hang it up in my guest bathroom.  You can buy the picture hangers at any hardware store.  I loved how it turned out!

 

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