Upcycled Side Table.... Beach style!

I definitely have to have some small projects to keep me busy while Jason's away at Basic Training. My first one is complete... or at least part of it. I've decided to make our 1/2 bath beach themed. I started with an old table I already had sitting in there.

Here's my plain ol' table. You can see I already
started with some seashell decor

I had some of this sample paint laying around

I painted up the table. I wasn't too worried about
an even coat. I had plans to do a little sanding.

I found a few images online to work with and put them together.

I scribbled on the back of the page, taped the paper to the table
in the correct place and then traced over the design

Image transferred

I used a thin brush for the outlines. Again, I didn't worry too
much about the details, this is suppose to look old and worn.

Filled in with my muted beach colors

And sanded down

I sanded down the entire table especially
on the edges.

Sew, what should I do?

After I can't tell you how many years I'm finally getting an art studio. With our basement cleaned out, the work has begun in setting up my own studio. And it's not only an art studio, with a 40 inch flat screen tv, love seat and couch it's practically a whole new home for me! Pictures coming soon!

And if that's not enough, I finally can pull out the sewing cabinet my mom gave me. And she said I'd never use it. So after making my Boot Socks (see my Upcycle an old sweater to make Boot Socks blog) I got the itch to make myself some other new clothes. As always I've started a board on Pinterest under Make Your Own Clothes. My love for upcycling continues with reusing old t-shirts but I've also found a few items to try out my sewing skills on. (Mom, if you're reading this, prepare yourself for several phone calls.)

Sweet Verbena
I might make this my first sewing project. Absolutely adorable.
What do you think about making it a dress?

MeandD
Not to steal any thunder from MeandD. Her shop
on Etsy has some adorable items (check out her
Fleece Yoga Wrap. So comfy!) But I may have
to try this myself.

Show Tell Share
No cutting, no sewing. Quick, easy instructions
for updating an old tee.

Needles, Thread and Love
A tutorial is provided to create this
Wrap Dress. Bonus: You can wrap
it multiple ways!

Fine and Feathered
I love everything Josie blogs.
Check out her easy-to-do crisscross headband.

Make It and Love It
Hey mamas! Don't throw out your old tees. Make your
mini-me a new dress!

Connect the Dotson's
Steal your mans tees and create a new,
no-sew t-shirt for yourself.

Your Style Rocks
The grand finale! I'll have to work my
way up to this one but it looks elegant
and there's a free pattern.

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Upcycle an old sweater to make boot socks!

I saw this on Pinterest and had to make them. Unfortunately for my fiance (but SO lucky for me) he had a tear in a sweater of his. Instead of throwing it out I made them into boot socks. Here are a few steps for creating your own.

So find an old sweater first... or run to a thrift store for a cheap one.

Cut off the sleeves

An extra step here, but I did a quick stitch around to
reduce the fraying.

And that's it! New boot socks!
(Sorry the pics a little dark)

An added step would be sewing them to an actual pair
of socks. I've come across a few instructions that
mention doing this.

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Sparkling Wine Bottles

As mentioned in my Happy Holidays blog, I saved up some bottles to follow Cleverly Inspired's Wine Bottle Christmas Display. The whole process took a few hours. Most of which was waiting for paint, glue, etc to dry. I used a few different and new items to create mine and received the same results. Below are my pictures and instructions.

Supplies:
3 bottles of different sizes (mine are all the same and I definitely think they would look better with varying sizes)
Spray Primer I used regular old white spray paint I had laying around
Epson Salt
Spray Glue
Clear Sealant (This was a step I added. The epson salt falls off fairly easily. Maybe it had to do with chilly temperature since I was working in the garage. I had some clear sealant laying around so I sprayed it on. It did seem to help)

Lay down some newspaper and get to spraying. Cover all three bottles
with the white or primer spray paint.

I gathered up the rest of my supplies

Spread out some Epsom salt and spray your bottles with the glue.
While the bottle is still tacky, roll it through the Epsom salt. I did
this step twice, waiting about 1/2 hour in between.

At this point I sprayed on the sealant

Tada!

It looks like snow!

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Upcycling ~ Wine Bottles & Corks...... continued

I found these adorable trees on Twitter today and they seemed PERFECT for this blog.

Check out Donna's creativity on Facebook and follow her
Funky Junk Interiors blog for other great Christmas decorating tips

Upcycling ~ Wine Bottles & Corks

My latest craze... upcycling and vintage items. Most likely due to my genetics (my mom and grandma do the exact same thing) I've found myself keeping items over the years saying to myself, I could make something really fun out of this! Sometimes I do... sometimes I don't.

Don't get me wrong, I am NOT a hoarder. At this point in my life I'm finally able to look at these items and really ask myself; do I have a project in mind, is there room to store it somewhere and will I make the time to complete it. Ummm, well.... I'm starting with baby steps here.

So after all the Thanksgiving feasts I noticed a number of wine bottles sitting about and tried to find a few ideas. You can check out my Upcycle ~ Wine Bottles and Corks board on Pinterest. Otherwise most of them are below.

One of my favorite. Maybe it's because I love candles
but probably because I LOVE Grey Goose. :)

Wine Bottle Hurricanes

Home Tone has some creative ways to reuse Wine Bottles too.

Justina Blakeney also shows 12 ways to reuse bottles.
I'd loved to figure out how to make the hanging plants!

Cork Wreath

Dip them in Chalk paint. Decorate the bottles with a message
or table numbers. Also dip the bottom of your wine in the chalk paint. Your guest
can write their names on their own glasses.

Wit & Whistle's blog takes you through the steps of adding lights to bottles

A monogram cork! An easy gift to make for friends and family or make one for yourself.
greenisuniversal-reuse.com explains the simple steps.

Jaime walks you through the steps to create this adorable vase and
candle holder on her Crafty Scrappy Happy blog.

On A Yellow Bicycle blog they also have a few ideas for Bottle DIY projects.
I love this lantern and the tiki torch (below). Both are a must do before next spring

Bathmat made of Corks by Monica Ewing at houzz.com/

Get out your paint brushes and stencils.
I found both of these through Etsy

Another way to identify your drinking glasses from Craftzine

With instructions from Zero Waste Designs you can build a shelf

And if you don't have any painting, cutting or building skills there's even a few projects for you!

At Home Furnishings displays a beautiful centerpiece with various shapes
and sizes of bottles and tapered candles

And a few more centerpiece ideas from Curbly

If nothing else, use them as a border. Check out Trashy Wench: The Queen of Creative Reuse's
No Whine Wine Creations blog.

I'm realizing already people may start to think I have a small drinking problem if I do create all of these. Whoops. ;)