Maps & Mod Podge

This is a quick and easy project for anyone looking for some personalized coasters. I bought this pack of 6 coasters at Goodwill for $1.00 (50% off day, of course!). Even though the colours actually went well with my family room I wasn't really into the leaping antelopes.




I whipped out the Mod Podge and my atlas that I also bought at Goodwill for $2. I ALWAYS see atlases at thrift stores for anyone looking to do something similar.





After the mod podge dried, I applied a couple coats of polycrylic to the tops for extra protection.

I used pages of Canada for my project but I think this would be a great project to do with special places you've visited.

I bought a magnet set at Anthropologie that is very similar to these. Which one do you think I spent more money on?


Linking with:
Thrift Share Monday at Apron Thrift Girl

Thrifted Pillows

When we purchased our sofa it came with some interesting accent pillows. When I say interesting what I really mean is fug. Straight outta the 80's with radical geometric shapes. I immediately went to Ikea and bought some covers for them. They were okay, just plain brown, nothing fancy. They were good enough for a while. But then they really started to show some wear and it was definitely time to replace them.

Pretty pathetic looking, right?



I drew some inspiration from a couple pages I had torn out of Canadian House and Home and/or Style at Home and headed to Goodwill.

I really love the texture of these pillows and thought they would really add to the room.





I went to the mens sweater section and looked for some neutral knits in good shape. I found a nice cableknit and a plain knit both in beige. I also grabbed a plaid skirt and a red cardigan sweater from the womens section. I took everything home and threw it in wash. When it was all dry I got to work.

I don't have any "befores" of the sweaters but you've seen sweaters before, right?

I took a measurement of the old covers and then measured and cut from the fronts and backs of the two beige sweaters. I put in the pillows and sewed them in. Unfortunately they do not come out for easy washing. One of the sweaters had leather buttons down the front so I took them off and sewed them back down the side of the pillow for a little added interest.





I had new inserts for the red sweater and the plaid pillows. The red cardigan was actually a little easier than the beige sweaters. And it just unbuttons if you want to take the pillow out.





All new pillows for under $10! I love them, they're so cozy.

Linking with:
Apron Thrift Girl, Thrift Share Mondays

Homemade Wooden Crate

The challenge this week at The CSI Project is "Pottery Barn Inspired". Since I've only ever been into a Pottery Barn one quick time (did you just gasp?) I didn't really know what that challenge meant. Actually, the first I had heard about Pottery Barn was that episode of Friends where Rachel tricks Phoebe into thinking she bought everything at a flea market. Anyone remember that one?

I hopped onto to their website to see what's what. Since shipping to Canada is pretty astronomical with most US companies I usually don't tease myself with such things. A quick look on their website says shipping to Canada is not even an option.

While drooling over the site I think I lost sensation in my eyeballs. Seriously some gorgeous stuff. I just love the soft, warm, natural colours with the rustic elements thrown in.

Like this room. Beautiful. I want to take a nap there.



Image: Pottery Barn

Then I saw this picture and I thought the little crate would be perfect to hold my phonebooks and cookbooks which are currently in a messy pile on the counter in the kitchen.



Image: Pottery Barn

I had some thin sheets of mahogany from a previous project that I thought would work well for this one. I measured the widest book I had to make sure everything would fit and then just made the measurements of the crate from there. After I dragged the table saw up from the basement and outside (by myself!) I cut out 4 panels that were 3"x9" and 8 panels that were 4"x11". I sanded all the edges then beat up the wood a bit with a hammer and a screwdriver so they weren't so perfect.



I used a combination of little nails and wood glue to put it together and then added little upholstery tacks to add a little character to it.



I first stained the wood with some Minwax Red Oak stain that I had on hand. Then I added Ellrose Dairy Co. to the front which was the name of my Grandpa's dairy farm. After the letters dried I sanded the letters to distress them a bit. Then I took some Minwax Ebony stain that I had and lightly rubbed some over the Red Oak and the letters to tone it down and a little darker around the corners.



A totally free project that helps me control my clutter!



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