Hello! My name is Amanda from the blog “Be Sweet”.
Thank you so much Jen for having me. 🙂
Be Sweet is a blog/ journal where I keep track of current craft projects, home renovations, what’s going on in our life, and the ups and downs of motherhood.
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| (Pay no attention my daughter- she really does like me.) |
My husband and I recently bought a small fixer-upper. This small fixer- upper has turned into a larger fixer-upper than we planned.
( Isnt that always how it goes!?) Ha. The extra projects have cut into our decorating budget.
( Yes, I say “our” since my husband thinks he is the next Nate Berkus and has a decorating opinion on everything!)
SO I have had to get creative. Here are a few ideas of things I have used around my house to help it feel more like home and not so much like ” we just moved in.”
1. My Dad gave me this old wooden ironing board he saved a while back. We took off the old green cover, gave it a quick wash down and now it has new life as a bulletin board in our laundry area. I love how it goes with the theme of the space but is also functional.
2. I bought this yard stick at a Antique store for 3 bucks. I glued on some clothes pins and now it displays my daughters art work in her playroom.
* Notice the poor cupcake’s real sprinkles are all gone?? More than once I have caught my daughter licking the paper… awesome.
I also re-painted this frame, added some wire, vintage playing cards and you’ve got yourself some art work. 🙂
Her playroom is a vintage Dick and Jane theme so they match well.
3. We turned old gardening crates into display shelves in our kitchen. All we had to do was shake out the extra dirt and wipe them out with soap and water. I love how they are different sizes to display all kinds of treasures.
4. I dont think their is such a thing as too much storage. We don’t have a home office so the solution to this has been great. We use an old dresser in our living room to set our TV on. The drawers provide tons of space for printer paper, envelopes, ipods/ chargers, magazines, DVDs etc. Plus its a unique piece that people constantly comment on when they come over.
Lastly, some smaller things are a vase for my utensils,an old soda box for a bar catch all ( does anyone else’s bar seem to be a magnet for anything and everything??), a towel rack and shower curtain hooks to hold scissors etc, and a step stool as a plant display.
Hope these spark some ideas of your own to re-purpose items in your home!
Stop by “Be Sweet” for a chance to win 10 vintage playing cards for your own art work! 🙂
Thanks again for having me Jen!
Thanks Amanda — wonderful ideas!!
I love up-cycling and re-purposing!!
Some other great ideas that I love at Be Sweet are:
Be sure to stop by Be Sweet and enter her giveaway —
you will love following Amanda along in her thrifting adventures!!
xoxox
I use ribbon for our artwork, which is like yours. I painted the clothes pins. I love the idea of using a yard stick. It won't fall down!
I love the Happy Easter craft. I had a tree with little eggs, but have no idea where I put them.
Love your blog!
There are some really creative ideas here. I like the garden crates…very clever! Sometimes the best ideas come from the most unusual inspirations!
I was sold as soon as I read her daughter licks the "sprinkles" off her artwork cupcake. That alone is going to make me follow her (oh, yeah, and her stuff is awesome!!).
very fun ideas~ makes me want to go scavaging around my house to see what i've got hiding 🙂
I loved seeing all the fun things you've done in your home. My fave is the yard stick, too, and I'd love to do that in my craft room! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing!
I'm literally looking at my collection of yardsticks, like 4 or 5 and thinking how clever she was to use hers like that!
She has an ADORABLE place!
I absolutely love that yard stick art gallery!!!!