{Paper Organization on the Cheap}

I saw this WONDERFUL idea on Pinterest a few weeks ago and knew that it had to somehow work for me!

(USPS boxes turned paper storage)

It was just listed on a forum at the link above, so that's the best credit I can give.

Isn't this an uber-terrific idea??!

My first thought was scrap and art paper storage for my kiddo in our office area, but it just doesn't fit into my built-ins very well. However, my preschool classroom is low on counter space, and I find myself stacking materials and getting cluttered.

I made my own, and turned it into a "Monday-Wednesday-Friday" file cabinet for my classroom.

Now I can sort prepped materials, and the best part is......FREE!!! :)

I used spray paint and scrapbook paper that I had on hand.

I started by cutting one end off of each box, then using duck tape to secure them together. I figured that paint would stick better to duck tape than packing tape. Next I sprayed them with white primer.

I then actually sprayed it with red, but it just didn't cover as well as I would have liked. I decided to go with a basic black instead, since I knew I would be embellishing it a little with scrapbook papers.

I did 2 coats of black, and if you really look, you can still see some of the original markings on the box, but it's minor. I cut scrapbook paper and printed the days on cardstock, and adhered it to one side with sticky strip. I die cut the stars as an extra.

This will really help to keep my prepped materials organized and looking better, and I didn't have to spend any moolah.

What else can you come up using these freebie boxes?

Have a good one,

 

{Garage Sale Makeover}

I picked up this GREAT table at a garage sale a couple of months ago. It was one of those wonderful near accidents where you're driving along and literally hit the brakes in the middle of the road because the light has just poured out of heaven right onto a table at a garage sale! LOL

I've been wanting something for our bonus room, to replace the plastic Little Tikes table that my kiddo is squeezing herself into these days. I was out of town when I bought it, so I had to disassemble the whole thing to get it home...meaning I don't have a good before picture. :(

But I do have a good after picture... it was originally baby blue, but in excellent condition.

I actually sanded it down quite a bit on the top...really as a complete amateur thinking I NEEDED to do that. Now I realize I didn't need to. Oh well...I got sandy. :)  I used leftover paint from my bathroom, and I did 2 coats (no primer). I actually planned to distress it afterward, but I liked it so much the way it is that I didn't bother.

These are a few of the before pictures...disassembled:

I sanded down the chairs just a bit, but kind-of went to town on the table top. Again...I realize now that is wasn't needed, but we live and learn!

Oh, I forgot to mention how much I paid for this little beauty...a whopping $27!! It is super sturdy, in excellent condition, and folds down on the sides. It's perfect for our bonus room...for homework, playing games, and it's the right size for everyone. (Goodby Little Tikes, LOL!)

Have a great day!

{Bench Makeover #2}

Do you remember THIS BENCH?

My sister-in-law gave it to me a few years ago, originally hunter green with red undertones.

When we moved into this house, I decided it should be black.

You can read all about it HERE.

I lived with that for several months but never really got into the black.

So...I switched it up this week and came up with this:

I really love the color, although I'm still debating on putting a little bit of my chocolate glaze over it...just to tone it down a touch. I know I definitely like it better than the black. Only time will tell of course. :)

I really like the black showing through where I sanded the edges.

Paint is the ultimate home miracle worker!

Have a good one,

{Trash to Treasure: Goodwill Re-Vamp}

I've seen these wire line frames all over and loved the idea, but I'm just now gettin' to it. I've shopped around for a frame for my daughter's room, but the size I wanted was still more than I wanted to pay. I came across this beauty at Goodwill earlier this week for a whopping $3. Now that's my price!

It was stinky and nasty, but perfect for my plan.

First I scrubbed it with Murphy's Oil Soap-Citrus and pulled the nails out of the back. That was a big difference by itself!

 

 Then I brush painted it with eggshell white. I was out of white spray paint, and had a perfectly good can of paint on hand. I gave it 2 coats.

Getting better, no? And it didn't stink anymore, which is always a bonus.

I used craft wire I had on hand for the 'lines', but it was brass-colored. Yuck. I wasn't going to spend $5 on a new spool of craft wire, so I rummaged through my spray paint and found some odd gray-ish, tan-ish, platinum-ish from I-don't-know-where. (Sound like a paint expert, don't I?) I don't have a pic, but I cut my wire to the correct length, taped them to a step stool top, and sprayed that ugly brass off with my gray-ish,tan-ish,platinum-ish. Perfect.

I stapled the wires to the back side and voila....

 

I added the rolled felt flowers after I saw this tute over at My Heart is Yours . Super, super easy. I could make those all day! Using scraps of course....

I hot glued those on, and added these little clothespins from Michael's $1 Spot that I picked up a few months ago (anticipating this 'someday' project).

They're super cute and match my kiddos room.

So now we have to hang it, but we are always needing a spot in her room for a current picture, card, or whatever else she deems "special". I'm not too hot on tacks in a child's room (even if she IS 7), so this works wonderfully and is super-cute to boot.

I spent $3 all together, which you just can't beat either.

Thanks for stopping by!

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 Tatertots & Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party
 
Sundae Scoop

{Weekly Summer Wipe-Off Planner}

Only 2 more days 'til school's out!!! YIPPEE!!! Do you loooove having your kiddo(s) home for the summer as much as I do???! I know it will be over only too fast, so we have a million fun things planned and I'm going to savor each moment. My baby goes to first grade next year, which means she will be in school ALL DAY for the very first time. (sniff, sniff)

Crying aside, because I'm a teacher and I live for learning every day, I try to create a light but somewhat structured learning plan for the summer. It's important to keep those little brains-a-workin'. One way I plan to stay on track this summer is by sticking to a schedule of completing ONE "smarty" activity every day. These are always simple, since this IS summer, but nevertheless they are there. We have a fun "theme" for each day:

 Math Monday  

Terrific Tuesday   

Wacky or Water Wednesday (a guaranteed pool day!)  

Thinking Thursday

Funky Friday

The goal for me is to stick to my one-a-day learning, reinforcement, review...whatever it might be. Mostly these are short 15 min.-ish activities (for my soon-to-be 7 yr old). Telling time, addition and subtraction facts, journaling 3x/week, map work, and loads of reading (which we don't have to work in because she's always got her nose in a book anyway). If your kiddo is resistant to reading, check out this fun idea.

Okay...I'm getting long-winded here! To stay on track and keep stick-it notes off of every surface in my kitchen, I grabbed an unused frame that's been patiently waiting in the wings.I stuck in a super-simple grid I made up in Word.

I printed it on creamy cardstock, plopped it in the frame, and added some sticky velcro to the frame and the pen to create a cute wipe-off board. It's just enough room for me to write ONE learning reminder for the day, but it will really help me to stay on track. I need a note for everything, and I didn't want learning activities to get mixed up in my regular everyday to-do's. This keeps them separate, clear, and my kiddo can read them and stay updated, too. It's only made for 5 days, and I liked the extra room for notes or other reminders about things we've worked on.

You can download the 5-Day Planner here . I used "Freeze" for my original font from Free Scrapbook Fonts
but no matter what I try I can't them to transfer to Scribd that way. Sorry! So the font is plain, but once you download it you could change it any way you like.  If I figure out the problem, I'll try to correct it...or if a techie can help, that would be great, too! :)

Only 2 more days....I can't wait!
Take care,

 

{Clubhouse Makeover}

I've been MIA lately, but have several projects I'm working on! The weather has FINALLY been beautiful and it FINALLY stopped raining, so we spent the holiday weekend getting multiple yard projects out of the way.  Do you love to work in the yard? I absolutely love it... the satisfaction of checking something off our to-do list and admiring the end result.

Our first project was to makeover this "clubhouse". We moved into our 3rd home a little less than a year ago, and inherited the clubhouse from owners several years ago. It had great bones and great structure, but needed a few repairs and some cuteness for my nearly 7-yr old daughter.

 

It's located at the back of our 1.5 acre property, near the woods.

I had a vision of making general repairs, adding some playset accessories, and a few cuties to make it work for us. We have a wooden playset, but it's smaller. In hindsight, we would have purchased a larger one, simply for a larger "clubhouse" feature. But...with only one child, nearly 7, it doesn't seem cost effective to purchase a new $1K set when we had this clubhouse we could re-work. :)

Here's the finished product. We're happy with it, and best of all, she loves it!

 

Whatcha think?

For a hair over $100, we made a few repairs,  replaced the flooring, relocated the ladder entrance, and added the safety handles, steering wheel, mulch, and telescope.

 I covered the bottom with a weed mat and filled it in with mulch that matches the rest of our landscaping. She wants to add a few pinwheels at the bottom as well. :)

 We've had these outgrown rainboots on hold for a donation for at least 2 months! I saw an idea recently to use them as planters and I fell in love with it. I have no idea where I saw it, but it's a great idea so we kept the boots just for this purpose.

Now it's a safe clubhouse to play in, which is currently acting as one of the following:

1. a lookout for poachers in Africa

2. an animal rescue truck on the African savannah

or

3. an animal science lab.  :)

Can you tell she wants to be a biologist?

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope your weekend was as productive as ours!

I'm linking up over at:

I Heart Naptime

 

{A New Twist on my Old Frame}

We moved into our new (to us) home about 6mths ago, which, as anyone who has moved before knows, that means that things that worked well in the old home don't always have a great place in the new home.

So this empty frame that I bought at an antique shop years ago just sat for a few months. 

It originally had antique kitchen items hung "inside" it in the kitchen of our previous home. The spacing on the kitchen walls just didn't work for it here, but I REALLY love that frame! My brain started working and I saw a need in our entryway for a coat rack or hooks of some kind, so I found a way to re-use my beloved frame.

I'm thrilled with it!

I found some beautiful "antique" looking fabric  (I love antiques!) and I stretched it across the back and stapled it to the frame. I then added 7 coat hooks across the front. I thought of doorknobs at first, probably my first choice, but honestly in a new town and a new house I just didn't see myself antiquing for a while.

I had a hard time deciding between black and silver at Lowe's, but I'm happy with the silver in the end.

Hubby screwed it to the wall for me and it not only makes a GREAT place for our coats and bags, it 

looks super cute, too!

The bench makeover underneath it is still to come.

Have a happy day!

Deanna

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