We are finalists in the True Value DIY Drama Contest!!!!

Can you believe it? I can't! I can't even win a free coke from a pop top!

All I can think about is what this would mean if we were to actually win - no more wearing coats around the house, a new bathroom (the bathroom is so cold that nobody will used it so having it warm would be like gaining a new bathroom), lower gas bills, and kids that don't complain about getting up in Antartic conditions... I could go on and on! I can't imagine actually winning but I'm shamelessly going to beg for votes. So, if you find yourself with some time and want to vote for us...

Persons 13 and older can vote once per day through December 4, 2009. You can click on the post title to go to the True Value Hardware page to cast your vote.

We greatly appreciate each vote and thanks for listening to my shameless plea for votes.

A bed fit for a grouch.

As a drove my van to the store one day, something caught my eye.

Yep, guilty as charged! I love to look at what people have in the trash. You just never know what you might spot and that day I spotted something particularly nice.

There, pushed up beside the garbage, was a wood bed with large round posts. I turned around and drove by again. Yep, it was worth stopping. I pulled over and got out. A bit of an inspection told me why it was headed to a new home in a landfill.

The side rails were coming apart and warped. One had it's hooks torn out. (If there is a technical term for those metal arms, I have no idea.) On top of that, the whole thing was covered in white dog hair. I'm not too squeamish when it comes to stuff like that so I continued my inspection.

Headboard... dirty but nice... check. Rails... broken but may be able to fix... check.

Then the heartbreak.

The footboard looked terrible. Big chunks had been gnawed off. Like CSI, it came together. That white fur pointed to a criminal - the criminal that had probably done the misdeed of chewing off those large chunks of the footboard. I could only imagine a beaver being able to destroy the wood so thoroughly.

What kind of people keep a white pet beaver?

Okay, so it was probably a dog, but that dog had to be part beaver. I only wish I had been blogging at the time and took before pictures. It was just a few weeks ago but before I made the commitment put my heart and soul into this. I only have the rail pics due to me forgetting to put them out with the trash.

On with the story...

I couldn't just leave the bed there. The thought did cross my mind but I decided to go ahead and see what I could do. It was so terribly chewed up that after I washed it off the wood on the footboard was just crumbly and splintered. When I tried to sand it the wood just flaked out of the chewed spots. I ended up painting it first to give the chewed spots some stability. I then sanded the rough spots and added tons of wood filler. I reshaped curves that weren't there anymore.

These are two spots that didn't exist before the wonderful tub of wood filler.

Okay, so not perfection but pretty good in my opinion.

It took two applications of wood filler to build the spots up enough and I think it could used a third for those little imperfections above. After the wood filler applications dried I painted those spots again.

The side rails turned out to not be salvageable. Our bed had been on a bed frame before I brought this little project home and we decided to keep it on there. We simply added 1X6's to the outside edges of the headboard and footboard.

The 1x6's are the black things in this picture that look like side rails.

We just held them up to the side and added basic wood screws. We did pre-drill the holes to keep the wood from splitting.

After they got a coat of paint, the project was as good as done.

I hope our Oscar the Grouch bed inspired you to dig through garbages all over your community.

However, I must warn that you will find no inspiration in the current room decor. Our bedroom is in for a complete revamp, slowly but surely. The blue pillow is one that I got to recover and haven't gotten around to it. The white and black pillows belong in the living area but got borrowed for this picture because I need new bedding. The desk may be moving, the mirror will be replaced, and the giant canvas on the wall is something that currently can't find a home so it's on the wall in our master for now. I'll post pictures as I complete these projects. Just check back often. Until then...

Happy decorating!

You can see other blogger's trash to treasure makeovers by clicking here.

Christmas Door Bucket

Just a quick picture of my winter themed door bucket...


If you love the door numbers, don't worship me yet. I spotted these on-line and stole the look. I saved some cash and didn't order them. Instead, I did them myself with a handy dandy utility knife. If you want the directions for this less than $2 project just follow this link: http://themanyfacesofmom.blogspot.com/2009/10/vinyl-door-numbers-monograms-such.html


And here is a close-up...


You can't really tell, unless you click on the picture to enlarge it, but the picks I used are icy looking. Believe it or not, this is just three pics and my usually palm and tropical greenery that I keep in it, no matter the season. I love the feathery accents but I didn't love the fact that they weren't real. I looked almost everywhere for the real McCoy but failed. I won't fret too much. I've still got one other place to check. ;) I would love this baby to be a super feathery winter delight!


And yes, I'm guilty of skipping Thanksgiving decor. Hey, what can I say? I needed the tree up so that the presents could come out of hiding.


Next year... a fall tree!
I thought it would be too much work but then I spotted a nifty idea at the mall - a Christmas tree with fall leaves sprinkled on it. Easy enough, right?

Fabulous, Fantastic, and Frugal Friday - Gift No. 2 - Embellished Hurricane Vases

This Friday's gift starts as a very simple find. Almost any vase will work. I used a glass hurricane for this one. I spot tons of glass vases and hurricanes at yard sales and thrift stores all the time. I don't think I've ever ran across one reselling for more than $1. I've seen these at the Dollar Tree, too.

The next step is to find something to add to the glass vase. I used clay. I rolled out the clay using a dowel and slats. That made my clay the same thickness. Then, I cut out a shape and pressed a rubber stamp into it to emboss it. You can use a cookie cutter to cut a shape out of clay, too. I put it on the vase while it dried - so that it would hug the vase. After it dried, I painted it with a shiny silver oil based paint.

You could use an ornament, wood letter, rhinestones, or just about anything. The item you add doesn't have to hug the vase. As long as you use a really strong glue it should be fine. I use E6000 when I want something to stay in place. It holds wonderfully. I don't get any money from them. I just like the glue. It took me a while before I found one I really liked but this is it. I'm never without a tube. lol.
Just be careful because this glue isn't recommended with heat. I use it but not at high temperatures.

After the glue dries, you may want to fill the vase up with some type of candy, pencils, or etc. Here's how mine turned out.

I used candy canes but how cute would this be as a pencil can for a desk or a soap holder in the bathroom? This is a very simple addition but I think it makes a world of difference.

Happy Gift Giving!

Modified Light Fixture

When the Cellula Chandelier came out I was head over heals, but buying it was just not going to happen. I can justify buying certain things; however, that was one price tag I just couldn't swallow. I immediately went on a mission to get my hands on something similar.

I know this is a far cry but bare with me. ROLF!

I rushed to the store to search for something that I could transform. I didn't think to take before photos because I wasn't blogging at the time. The before photo would have looked much like this, though - gold bars, white frosty glass shades - This one is much better than what mine looked like. Mine had gold on the frosty glass shades and an old pattern.


My $18 substitution got it's shades taken off and a layer of silver paint. Then I marched myself down to a lighting and resale shop and bought 14 strings of prisms with pins for less than $20. I had a roll of thin silver colored wire at home. I used needle-nose pliers to bend the wire and pins. I cut pieces big enough to go over the bar of the fixture and curl on each end. Under that I made an "s" shape wire to give some length and connect the two curled ends. I then used the pins but looped the end so that the "s" wire could hook in.

After adding my little jewels, I had this...


It's not exact but it's the same modern but glamorous sparkly feeling that I love about the Cellula. I had planned on buying some more glass prisms but I wanted to see how full it looked before I bought more. Needless to say, I never made it back to get anymore. Hmmm... I guess that needs to go on my to-do list.

See more blogger's projects here:

http://www.theletteredcottage.net/2009/12/favorites-of-2009-tutorials.html