It Worked!!!

We took the plunge yesterday and cut our large bathroom mirror and IT WORKED!  I now have 2 smaller mirrors that are awaiting frames to be made for them on Wednesday of this week.  YEAH!  I am so glad that we tried this.  Thanks to all of you who left me advice on doing this. 

 I do have the top half of the kids bathroom painted.  We are putting Wainscot on the bottom half and then I will paint that a slightly darker color than the top part of the wall.  Hope to have this all done by Thursday!  Don't want to carry this project any longer and with this week being Spring Break week I have to time to work on it. 

Now I have to show you some TS finds.  I found these Pfaltzgraff bowls at GW on Friday.  I debated about them, they are large for individual bowls, but a little on the small side for serving bowls.  I love the mustard color so decided to buy 2, they were only $1.00 each.  After I left I got thinking, I should have bought all 8 of them.  I went back about an hour later and the rest of the set was gone.  Someone please kick me! 

 

For a mass produced basket, this one is very nice.  It is old and well constructed, so for 75 cents I've added it to my collection.  I am NOT big on mass produced baskets, but I will make an exception once in awhile. 

The two unfinished frames were $1.00 each, I usually pass by the frames at GW unless they are half off that day, but unfinished is a different story!  The small wooden frame was 25cents - that was a good buy - I love little frames.  The blue ball jar and framed cross stitch were each half off for 50 cents. I have a zinc lid for the ball jar and I think it will go in the "new" bathroom with cotton balls in it.  I'm calling the flag a plant pick, not sure what it was used for, but I can see it added to a crock around the house. 

I see sunshine today!  After rain all day yesterday I'm ready for the sunshine.  Have a great day!  ~Ann

Trashy Thursday Tutorial

Several weeks ago, a forum that I belong to was having a "Tin Can" challenge.  The rules were simple, take a recyclable tin can and transform it into something primitive.  After thinking about this for many days, this is what I entered. 

 I have a thing for silicone light bulbs and grubby candles! 

Here's what you need:  

Plaster of Paris

Clean soup can

spices

Modge Podge

Spanish Moss

Cheap window candle(start looking at garage sales - usually you can pick these up for 25 cents)

Briwax or Burnt Umber Oil paint (the kind artists use)

scrap Styrofoam

silicone bulb

Candle ring

1.  Fill the can about 1/3 of the way with Plaster of Paris, let sit until hard

2.  brush the outside of the can with a coat of modge podge and sprinkle with cinnamon spice mixture - whatever you want, repeating at least once more

3.  cut the candle to an appropriate length, being careful not to cut the electrical cord!  I use one of DH's hacksaws to do this. With a paper towel rub on the antiquing medium of your choice

4.  Place the candle into the can and hold in place with pieces of Styrofoam.  I just broke off small pieces and used them to prop up the candle. Run the electrical cord over the back rim of the can.   Cover the Styrofoam with Spanish moss and place your candle ring on top.  You now have a nifty little accent light. 

The candle rings were actually also a trash item.  I had these on my tin chandelier in the dining room, but all the red berries popped!  Don't you hate it when the pip berries do that?  I just cut off all the red ones and decided it would be perfect on this. Hope you enjoyed this,  I was very pleased with how it turned out and it looks good in my half bath!  ~Ann 

Have you Ever....

Cut a large mirror into smaller mirrors?  I'm in the middle of an overhaul of our kids' bathroom and this large mirror screams 1976 (the year this house was built). 

I would like to cut it into 2 smaller rectangular mirrors to hang over each sink.  We've bought the cutter, DH has read up online how to do it, now we are procrastinating!  I can see the "new" mirrors with frames around them painted the color of the trim.  If you have cut a mirror - did it work, did you break the mirror, should I call in a professional, am I crazy?  Any advice is more than welcome!

The bug wallpaper was really cute in here when I redid the bathroom when the kids were 6, 3 and 10 months.  Now it is a little too juvenile for a 15, 12 and 9 year old. (actually it is all gone, I've spent the last couple of weeks removing the paper with any spare moment I've had)

I loved the clean white look when I redid this, the old fixtures were harvest gold amd dark brown wood - one of those great '70's combinations.  We replaced the toilet, countertops, sinks, cabinets and flooring.  I painted the harvest gold tub white - quite the job, but well worth my time investment (much less $$$ than replacing the tub/shower combination).  I have new paint color samples hanging and I'm trying to decide on the color of taupe/cream that I want to paint the walls.  Thanks for any advice you may have on the mirror!  ~Ann

Curtain Tie Back

Here's a recap of my bathroom curtain project - The old valance that I wanted to replace...

The new curtain made from osnaburg...

New curtain with ripped piece of osnaburg for a tie back.  Thanks to those of you who suggested this option.  I really like how it looks. 

Doesn't light make a huge difference in how things look?   The first two pictures were taken at night time and the third one was during the day.  Everything in the bathroom looks pale during the day.

Just rearranging a few things around the house...

 To finish this post, I have a confession to make - I am not always the most organized person!  I usually know where something is, but I do end up with stacks like this one on top of the fridge...

Everything up here is school related, schedules, sports, etc.  I don't have a desk to work from at home and I just make sure that anything related to the kids goes up here.  I also am not a "clean front" fridge person.  I have photos of my own kids and kids that have been in my class, plus pictures of my nieces and nephew, a highschool basketball schedule, a baseball schedule, etc hanging on the front.  

In an effort to make things a little tidier, I used this wooden pop crate to contain all my important papers.  I bought this off ebay a couple of years ago, paid more for shipping than I did for the crate itself and haven't ever used it!   

I will probably never have a "clean front" on the fridge but organizing it looks a little better.  The things on the front make me smile when I look at them. These mementos always help get my day off to a bright start. 

We're off to (probably) our last basketball game of the season.  Our Highschool team starts playoffs tonight - shhh...I don't think they will win - so we will be done!  ~Ann