Staple-Gunner-ing.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and my amazing husband may or may not have gotten me a new wallet and a staple gun for the event.


Um. A staple gun, you say?


Best. Present. Ever.


I may or may not have been running around the apartment like a madwoman, cackling loudly, "CAN YOU FEEEEEL THE POWER KRONK!?"


But I digress. What on earth am I doing with a staple gun? Many things eventually, but first and foremost on my mind was making a "headboard" for our bed. Which was largely a part of beginning our bedroom make-over.


Here is what our bedroom looked like when I woke up this morning, give or take a few things since this is an older photo.

Photo arrangement on the wall.

Now, I didn't get any photos of the process of making my new "headboard". This was mainly because I was so excited to use my staple gun that I was almost done before it occurred to me I should be documenting the process.


Essentially what I did was take three canvases (I tend to buy the cheap 2-packs when they're on sale at Michael's since I usually end up hating what I paint) and covering them with fabric samples that I had from my days of interning at an interior design firm. These three canvases had already been used, with paintings on them that I naturally didn't like, so covering them didn't seem like a waste at all to me. That's where the staple gun came in handy. I centered the fabric on the design I wanted, pulled it taut, and then went to town. Awesome.


Here's the result.

It was difficult for me to get an accurate photo of the colors throughout the bedroom change process, but I promise things do match.

To address a few things:

• I didn't buy a new comforter - the previous blue one was a duvet cover - this is what always lived underneath.
• I'm undecided as to how I feel about the shelf over the covered panels, however I was feeling way too lazy to remove it, so for the time being, it's still there.
• The new rug on the floor does not match in any way shape or form, but it's the size of one that I would like to get for our bedroom to break up the constant beige of the walls and carpet.
• The constant beige is one reason we got a duvet cover, so I'm not sure how long I'll last with the original beige comforter, but we'll see.

Also, I did change the photos on the wall. It's a mixture of wallpaper samples and fabric samples...again from my days of interning. (They had tons of outdated samples that were just going to get thrown away so I volunteered to take them. If you love having scraps to work with, check out your local interior design shops to find out when they update their samples.)

I moved a few other things around the wall, but here's the final look of the bedroom for now.

I'm loving it for now, if not solely because it's a change. But also - the total cost of this transformation was the $27 we spent on the staple gun and staples. Not a penny more. Everything else was just shifted around from other locations in the house.

Many happy sighs from Megs today. Nothing like a good re-decoration for my birthday!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Another IKEA Addition

Surprise surprise, another IKEA item has entered our house.  Since we have little to no storage space, I've been working on paring down a lot of our clutter, so that we don't have to have an apartment full of storage boxes. 


Sometimes paring down clutter fights viciously against my tendency not to waste anything. Prime example: hair products and lotions. Expensive, but I usually get bored with them after using half the product. I don't want to throw them away though, because I do inevitably go back to using them. Thus...a storage problem is born. (I do want you to know that I'm not obsessive about these though - I do throw away things, especially if they're old. Nobody wants to use crusty lotion.)


Our bathroom is such that it connects to the main area of the apartment, but also to our bedroom via our closet. One side of the closet is clothes, the other side is a small dresser and our hamper. Here's the state of that dresser on any given day, as well as a storage tub of miscellaneous bathroom items that I've just never been able to quite find a place for. (Feel free to gasp. SHE'S MESSY!!!)

While wandering through IKEA, we discovered a bathroom storage shelf that made me suddenly grip Scott's arm with the intensity that let's him know that we're not leaving the store without that particular item.

(You can find the link here.)

It almost reminds me of a little alien with it's little feet. It's a little more generic and utilitarian than I would normally choose, but oh wait - it was only $40. For something with glass shelves. Say WHAT? And is also only 11.5" x 11.5", which means it fits in snugly right next to the dresser in our closet.


I'm proud to say that I assembled this bad boy all by myself, to the detriment of my already aching-wrist, but that's beside the point. We all make mistakes right? I won't lie...this makes me feel particularly macho, since it involved the use of my favorite hammer (yes, I have a favorite) and my drill. I may or may not have blown across the end of the drill like the barrel of a gun in an action movie when I was done.


When a full shelf comes in a box that looks like this, you KNOW there is "some assembly required". 

As you can see, I haven't dealt with the clutter on top of the dresser yet, but once the shelf was loaded up, the dresser looked significantly better. I don't have any after pictures of that...sorry! Also...please excuse the poor lighting. If this was someplace we owned, we would have replaced the lighting in the closet a LONG time ago.  

This is actually mounted to the wall. You can see the gray brackets in the inside top corners. I love this aspect, since I always worry a little bit about tall shelves like this tipping over. And the last place I want to die is the threshold between my bathroom and my closet.

Woohoo storage!! That doesn't involve digging a plastic container out from under two shoe boxes and off a top shelf!

I'm sure that I'll probably re-arrange things a few more times, but in the meantime, I'm more than thrilled to have easy access to bathroom stuff that is usually buried so deep that I dread the moment I have to dig for it.


Our closet and our bedroom is my next major project now that we finally have the living area in a set-up that I adore, so at some point I will be posting more photos of this project, hopefully with better lighting!


I'm off to continue munching on something that is no doubt not very healthy and I will regret later, but football is my excuse.


Happy Superbowl Sunday from the house that bleeds Green & Yellow. Go Packers!

Even curtains can be frugal!

A question my dad asked made me realize I should probably mention something about this. I was giving my parents a tour of our newly re-arranged apartment via Skype when my dad paused and asked me to go back to show him our curtains.

"Where did you get those curtains?"


Interesting question Dad...


Everything is from IKEA. The sheer white panels were two for $10 and could be adjusted to whatever height you needed. The red panels are also from IKEA, but you won't find them with the other curtains. Because I may or may not have done something a little different.


I was wandering through the store trying to think of some inexpensive window treatments for our then colorless apartment. Colorless because if we paint walls, we have to paint them back before we move out and that's a step I just can't bring myself to take. And fabric stores are not exactly a bargain lately, as far as making them from scratch goes. And I just couldn't find anything I liked for under $20...a PANEL, anywhere. 


Let me rephrase that. That means it would be at least $80 to put some form of colored curtains up around our apartment. Hmm.


That doesn't fly well with me. 


Determined to beat the system, I started thinking. "Well, I could use flat sheets..." Which I've done before. But all the flat sheets were...eh. And would still have been around $40 by the time I bought each sheet.


And then lo and behold...my eyes landed on a duvet cover. Twin size, with matching pillow sham, for $10.


Have I mentioned I love IKEA?


I LOVE IKEA.


Okay. Anyways. I'm afraid I don't have pictures to document the process of how I turned the duvet cover into curtain panels, since I wasn't blogging at the time that I did this and it didn't occur to me to document the process. However, here are the basic steps, all of which only took me a couple hours on a Saturday.


 It should be noted that these panels aren't meant to actually cover the window, but to provide a visual frame and some interest. If you want panels that will cover your entire window, I recommend using a larger duvet cover, like a full or queen-size.

• Remove and wash duvet cover & pillow sham. Dry, and iron.
• (Here's the tedious part) Rip out all the seams of the pillow sham and duvet cover. Some people are talented enough to do this by an actual ripping motion, but I usually wind up doing more damage so I put on an episode of Friends and sat down with my seam ripper, going to work.
• Once the seams are removed, you should have two basic large panels, and two basic small panels.
• Cut each of the large panels in half "hotdog-ways" to form four narrow panels. The pillow sham panels will provide you with the fabric needed to make your tab-tops.

From here, I leave you with the first video in a "How-To" series on how to make tab-top curtains. Because it's just a bit too complicated to try and type out. Go here to check out this great series.

End result? I'm proud to say that I was able to outfit our two large picture windows with curtains for $30. Now THAT is my kind of bargain! Hopefully this has given you a hope that it's possible for you, too, to find affordable window coverings. 

Have you done anything crafty and frugal lately? Please share!

Holy Cuteness Batman.

So, remember when I told you about the awesome deal I got on some mailing labels made by Erin Condren through One Kings Lane?


Well my friends, this is one amazing lady!


Check out what I got in the mail:

www.erincondren.com

 Please note the handwritten card thanking me for my order! And coupons! And a business card!

www.erincondren.com

Not only did this fabulous company send my mailing labels (seen on the right) but also a sample pack of some gift tags (left). I'm pretty sure I'm in love with this whole adorable place right now.


The feature was on One Kings Lane for just a day (although I've seen her featured again since then, so I'll keep you posted if I see her again), but you should definitely check out her website. These would make great gifts for someone who just moved as a housewarming gift.


Also on my favorites list from her website are the following:

This adorable deskpad just blows my mind. 52 sheets.

I'm pretty sure this is on my Christmas wishlist.
The "Everything Book" - Monthly Planner Edition.
For weirdos like me who love Monthly planners.
Here's the link too. Someone please tell Santa?

Okay okay. I'm done raving now. Go check it out! And order some cuteness for yourself.


**I received no compensation for writing this post.  The words used, and opinions expressed here, are solely and entirely my own.**

The Return of Goodie Bags

Merry Monday! As the holidays approach and the days get darker, personal calendars start to fill up with dinner parties and other gatherings. This year, why not add a little treat at the end of one of your planned get-togethers?


As far as I'm concerned, the days of goodie bags being just for kids birthday parties are over! Weddings and other events today have hyped up adult "favors" as these expensive, useless little trinkets. When I Google'd "wedding favors", these are some of the first things that came up:

Who DOESN'T need
bride and groom
ruuber duckies?

...or cowboy boot-shaped
bubble blowers?

Just in case you weren't convinced
on the duckies, they have
the WHOLE BRIDAL PARTY.

...but I digress. This wasn't a post about wedding favors, but just about the return of cheap, easy, and thoughtful goodie bags. I still get a little bit mystified when I see those "mystery prizes" stapled in a brown paper bag. What could possibly be in it?? Gold? Diamonds? CHOCOLATE?!


In honor of bringing this childhood tradition back, I decided to put a couple quick and easy bags together when we had a bunch of friends over to our apartment a few weeks ago. 


"Ingredients":

• brown paper lunch bags (less than $3 for about 100)
• some of the dollar spools of ribbon from Michaels...or yarn...or any leftover ribbon you might have laying around the house
• Goodies! This time of year is good for clearanced Halloween Candy, hot cocoa packets marked down, and of course...candy canes! Get creative. Of course you can do non-food items if you want, but I'm a firm believer in food being the way to everyone's heart.

"Directions":

Simple!

Fill however many bags you need with your goodies, and fold the tops down about 3 - 4 inches.

You can even sing the chorus to the song 1901
by Phoenix as you do this part... "Fold It! Fold It! Fold It!"
(I just KNEW that song would come in handy some day!)

Next! Take a regular hole-punch and punch two holes near the center of the folded portion of the bag.

This part is optional. If you happen to have a pair of craft scissors with designs in them, make the folded edge of the bag pretty. I have a collection of these that I found in the dollar bin at Michaels over time. I just love that place. If you don't have pretty scissors, fear not - remember, you're still giving out goodie bags, which in traditional child-fashion will be ripped to shreds the minute they hit the car.

Final step! Take your ribbon or yarn and cut a 10-14 inch piece. The length will vary on exactly how you want the ribbon to look. Remember, if you're doing a simple bow, this will take more ribbon/yarn. Start on the front side (side with the folded edge as in the picture above) and thread your ribbon through, loop around the back and then thread through the front. Congratulations! You just completed Sewing 101! Tie your ribbon or yarn into a simple knot or a bow, whatever you choose. Just make sure not to pull the central knot too tight or your bag will crinkle up and rip.

Voila! Beautiful goodie bags will all the mystery that a brown bag entails.

Aren't you dying to know what's inside?

Now, I know you're all thinking, who has the time to do this? But seriously my friends, this took me between 15 and 20 minutes, tops. Which is precisely how long you've probably been sitting in front of your computer reading this post. 

If time still isn't on your side, you could very easily apply this project to Christmas gifts for neighbors and office acquaintances.

Other thoughts on "fillings" for the goodie bags / Christmas gifts:

• Baked goods, snack mixes, etc.
• An assortment of teas, gourmet (or regular) hot cocoa packets, and coffee singles
• Assortment of hard candies
• The Dollar Tree has a great toy aisle...let your inner child out and explore for goodie-options
• If you work in an office and want to deliver these in the morning, breakfast options are always good. Mini-muffins, granola bars, breakfast coupons to McDonalds, etc.

I hope this post has left you feeling inspired! Please comment and share ideas for great, inexpensive goodie-bag/Christmas fillers. Merry Monday everyone!

One Kings Lane - Erin Condren

UPDATE: This sale ends Saturday, 10/30/10. So don't miss out!

Oh sweet mercy.

I've been scanning One Kings Lane daily since I told you all about it, and today, I struck GOLD.

I just got some of the CUTEST mailing address labels I have ever seen in my life, for FREE.

When I signed up for One Kings Lane, I got a $15 credit. And it just so happens that a set of these personalized labels from Erin Condren is $15. Hellooooo cute freebie!

And they can be free for you too!

Just sign up at One Kings Lane (absolutely free, it just involves giving them your e-mail address so they can let you know about more fabulous sales). Once you've signed up, you'll have the same $15 credit. And bada-bing! Free, cute labels! Or gift labels, or whatever you choose.

In the words of Cuzco from the Emperor's New Groove....I'm so...happy! I'm also an Erin Condren fan for life.

One Kings Lane

I recently found out about something FABULOUS from my lovely friend Aliesha's blog, and I just had to share it with you too!

Prepare to have your socks knocked off, because One Kings Lane is just that amazing.

Ever read design magazines and daydream about all the beautiful things they're showcasing, but just shake your head and keep flipping because you'll never be able to afford any of it? (I'm talking directly to myself here.) Enter, One Kings Lane.

This website has sales every day that typically last about 72 hours or until the items sell out. These sales are nothing but designer names at serious, serious markdowns (up to 70%) so that the rest of us get to enjoy great design in our homes as well. You get to save on everything from bedding, to furniture, lighting, even bath and food products that would make awesome presents.

You do have to become a member before you can purchase anything, but all that really entails is just getting e-mails from them to let you know what's on sale - no fees, just giving them your e-mail address.

Did I mention that you get a $15 credit just for signing up?

Drop everything you're doing, and go check out One Kings Lane. Here are a few samples of today's sale, just to whet your appetite.

Graphic Image - Leather Accessories

Jiti Design - Decorative Pillows

Robert Allen - Fabrics by the Yard

Trip Haenisch - Furniture, Accessories, & Vintage Finds

Well Howdy-Doo. :)

I thought it would be appropriate to make my first post something completely random, because let's face it, this blog will be a collection of random things. 

This is my latest find that makes my toes tingle. I found these two knobs in the bottom of a clearance bin in my favorite place in the world: Anthropologie. Originally $14, they were marked down to $3. Not quite sure where they're going yet, but they were just so PRETTY I couldn't pass them up! Feel free to bask in their glow with me.