menu chalkboard

I had this giant corner on my kitchen counter that I just didn't know how to fill. Does anyone else have problems decorating counters and shelves? Initially I stuck a clock over there but it just didn't look right. So I made this instead. I got the frame at Helping Hands,I believe it's an 11x13. Then I got a piece of plywood I had laying around,and traced the inside of the frame onto the plywood. But when I whipped out my trusty jigsaw,I cut about a quarter inch outside the line so I could glue it to the inside of the frame. Then I painted it with chalkboard paint,made some flowers,and put it on that cute little easel.Make one for your kitchen,be creative with it,it's something you can easily personalize to your decor and it's so cheap but looks super nice!

I posted this to Savvy Southern Style's link up party. Check out her blog,she's got some awesome stuff on there. A talented lady!

One more post tonight...before and afters

Before. It's cute,sure. But it's not me,I don't think it's very homey and I'm not a fan of brown.I could repaint and maybe I will in the near future,but it's too much work for this busy lady. I definitely need to hire someone to do it and that's just not in the books right now. So I tried to think of ways to break up the brown and add some color.

AFTER

 Like most of us,I'm on a serious budget. I really have to make do with what I have and add to it with the smaller,cheaper things. So instead of buying or making new curtains,I added white sheers($10 for both) to the brown ones. I think it makes it feel softer and more cozy. To break up the brown floor/couch,I added a cream rug. Honestly,I so badly wanted the brown zebra print I saw but it was $70. Which is still cheap but it's not SUPER cheap! Cream rug,$35!  I found the coffee table at Helping Hands for $20. I think that's a great deal since it's real wood and I like the structure of it. My original intention was to turn it into an ottoman and to repaint the hardware. However I decided to put this off until I get some sort of work space in my house b/c I use that spot to do my homework! I also sewed some pillows($5) to add some warmth(and got a little doggy to add some love!)! So,for $70 I added some homeyness to my living room without having to paint.

Here's another before from the other side of the room. I'd really like to rearrange the furniture but not sure how to do it with the door and cable hook ups being where they are. But like before,it's nice,but it's not that homey,it's not really me. Actually,it's my sister,this is all her stuff! She moved out and is getting married.

After. I'm sure you can't see my mirror that well but it looks great in real life. In another post I added how I made the stuff on the wall. Total cost for the pics,mirror,and lampshade. Around $25. The running tally so far,is $95 for the living room redo. A few things I want to work on:I don't like the area around the lamp and tv. I think it looks like it's missing something. The room doesn't seemed balanced and I LOATHE cords showing!!! If you have any advice on how to  make things really pop,let me know! Your criticism is my future wisdom! Btw,I know the ceiling fan is hideous! However I live in Arkansas and we NEED our ceiling fans.

Last pic for the living room. I don't have a before but there was just a plant there. This I haven't been happy with. I've been debating on putting a floating shelf over there and maybe one of those tiered fruit baskets that go on the floor,for stuff like hats,gloves,dog toys. I still don't know. But it does look better than before. Before there was just a plant on a barstool.

First living room project is this starburst mirror. I love them and couldn't wait to make one! This is just the standard,small dowel rods mixed with chopsticks. But for an extra touch I hot glued twine around it. But if you chose to do it(personally,I think it would look great against a colored wall),be VERY careful with the hot glue. As you can tell,there are smudges on it,that's from the hot glue. I can't really see it in person but it shows up on camera.Go figure.

 My favorite thing,I actually made these up myself! Atleast that's what i think but something is always thought of by someone somewhere! The "S" is for our last name and the "O" is for my son and the "C" is for me. Everyone who comes over compliments me on them. The other good thing about them is I can just change out the scrapbook paper when I redecorate! The frame for the "S" came from Helping Hands..it's a store here like Goodwill...It was this really gross looking landscape that had serious sun damage. But the frame was nice,so I painted over the pic.The "mat" is actually just scrapbook paper.

 I wanted to do a hanging lamp in the corner but I kept procrastinating on buying a kit.So to force myself to do it I went ahead and made the shade. I got this shade for $1 at Helping Hands,covered it,and made some flowers. I pinned the flowers on so that if I change my mind I can just take them off and put them on something else. Instead of buying a kit I put the lamp shade on my old lamp(it's one of those that looks like a bowl at the top).

I debated forever if I should put a photo wall here or photo ledge,something with photos.This is the back wall by my front door. But no matter what I did it looked cluttered. So I was poking around Pottery Barn and found some burlap matted frames. Then I went over to Helping Hands...and yes,they do know me there...found a giant frame with another ugly picture,then got a smaller frame,bought some burlap,covered the picture in burlap(after taking out the glass of course). Then I hit a snag. I realized that I had no way of putting the pic in the smaller frame unless I cut the back out of the bigger picture. Well,I knew if i did this I would ruin the whole thing so I just hammered a nail through the pic into the wall. Now it's a snap to change the pic. Even easier than if I had cut a hole in the back! I get lots of compliments on this too!