Transforming a Soup Jar Into Decorative Bathroom Storage

I've been wanting to do this project for a awhile. In fact, I've had all the materials for as long as I've wanted to do it.  Finding the motivation to sit down - in one spot - for a little bit was the problem. It's impossible for me to do anymore. There is just never enough time in the day to do everything that needs to be done!

The before picture is a little embarrassing.  I've been using this comb/brush/mirror setup for at least a year. It was all I had at the time to hold the stuff and it just happens that's how it has stayed. 

I had a larger soup can that I knew would work well to hold the comb/brush/mirror trio.  The rope was purchased - for no apparent reason - while at Home Depot for another project. And I always have a glue gun and glue on hand. 

I did rough the can up a little bit with a sanding block. Sometimes hot glue gets fickle with what it will stick to. I wanted the surface to be as hot glue friendly as possible.

Then I just wrapped and hot glued -- around and around.

Seriously, this probably took me all of three minutes. And I was like, "What? It took me months to sit down to do this and it only took three minutes??"

Three minutes and about three dollars....if that.

Now the comb/brush/mirror trio looks a little more "high-end" than before. 

I like it because it holds it all a bit more secure than the other one -- and it is soooo much prettier :)

Gosh I love a good -- functional DIY project!

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone.

xoxoxoxoxo
Jessica


Linking to THESE Partaayyys!!!

It's Overflowing

Up-Cycled Burlap Shade Lamp

This lamp redo by Mod Vintage Life has me wanting to run my tushie out to Goodwill STAT. 

Holy wow.

What a little paint and burlap won't fix...geesh. Where the heck is my paint and burlap!?!

Antique White 9-Drawer Dresser

This dresser was found on craigslist a few weeks back. It was really beat up, but still solid and functional. I got the vibe that the owners were a little embarrassed of it's condition. They seemed somewhat surprised when I said, "OK, let's load it up."

I keep forgetting that most of the population just want to get rid of their junk. It amazes me that they can't see what their junk could be. BUT -- better for me, right? lol. 

I posted about finding this dresser here.
Her before...well.... I guess it's not that bad. Surely not something I would buy to use "as-is".

But....she's pretty now....

Everything was hand crafted on this piece. I used homemade chalk paint and also made the color by mixing some that I already had.

I started by sanding the top down to get all the bubbling imperfections smooth. I didn't bother sanding anything else. That isn't needed when using chalk paint.

I proceeded to apply three coats of my homemade chalk paint concoction....

Once the paint dried, I got out the sand paper and sanded by hand (no palm sander, no electric sander...just me and the sandpaper).  This process gave me blisters on both of my thumbs. I may decide to go with a palm sander next time...

After sanding I applied Minwax Clear Gloss Laquer to give it a heavy duty protective coat. I've found this to be the one protective coating that really does hold up.

The knobs were given new life with a rubbed bronze spray paint.

If the old owners could only see her now. I bet they would be a little embarrassed.


Linking to:
Elizabeth & Co
Savvy Southern
Domestically Speaking
A Stroll Thru Life
The Vintage Farmhouse
The Crafty Blog Stalker
Live Laugh Rowe
Finding Fabulous

Places To Go Online Thrifting

If you are like me, you do most of your thrifting online.  So you should know that when I came across Life As A Thrifter's post Places To Thrift Online....I was totally stoked.  Normally my day starts with browsing new craigslist posts for junky furniture. And lately I've been looking for weddingware also....but that's neither here nor there.

Now I can add a few more stops in my morning junk browsing! Yay!

So head on over to Life As A Thrifter's post and check out all the different websites to thrift! 

DIY Wedding - Flower Peek

There's one thing to say about making your own flowers for your wedding....

It's a relaxing, sit-down, bond with your daughter type of time.  I really enjoy it.  And it's a good thing, because these flowers take a ton of time to make! 

I posted some flower ideas here when I was still undecided on the direction I wanted to go.  Can you tell what one won my heart? :))

  

All the colored flowers are being done by hand.  I found that watering down acrylic paint and painting the paper before making the flower works great.  And with the vast variety of acrylic paints out there, I was able to find the exact colors for our wedding! Score!

Linking to these parties...
It's Overflowing
Funky Junk Interiors
VMG206

Three Mango Seeds
CRAFT
Domestically Speaking
Live Laugh Rowe
The Crafty Blog Stalker
Coastal Charm

New Thrifty Finds & A Present To Me

The last few days have been super exciting....and let me tell you why.  I was able to score a few items that were better left for the road -- or so their owners thought.  Aannd I was also able to score a little something else for myself.... keep reading.

Here we have two dressers that I found on craigslist.  

Not too shabby. Right?  

Both were gotten for a total of $40. And in decent working condition. The second one would be perfect for a TV entertainment stand. Wouldn't you agree?

And a little side table that a family member didn't want. I'm getting this more and more now that the word is out that I take in crap no one wants. lol.

I have ideas for all of these pieces. They are also going to be my first items that I sell at an actual consignment shop (more on that later hopefully!!). 

Aanndd.....my biggest news today? 

My fiance no longer has to be at my beck and call to pick up roadside finds with his truck.  I can do it myself with this handy-dandy HUMMER! Ooooo how inlove I am with this machine.  So glad I took the leap and got it. It's so fun to drive :)

Do any of you other thrifting ladies out there drive a big tank? I'd be interested to hear what you think of them :) 

Happy Wednesday everyone! Till next time!!!!

Jessica

Wardrobe Storage

This little wardrobe would be the perfect addition to a bathroom as storage or maybe even in the kitchen as a pantry.

Love the added wording.

Apartment Therapy

Jessica

Messy Yellow Desk

Last week I posted a little peek at a few things I had been doing at my Think Yellow...  post.  One of them was this little yellow desk. 

It's not your usual paint job. My fiance thinks I may have ruined it lol. But everyone else has commented on how cute it is sitting in it's new spot in the craft room.

Yellow isn't usually my "go-to" color for painting (anything).  It was a toss up between the yellow and the teal I had from previous projects...I really just needed to get rid of the paint. Teal won to begin with...but when I opened it I found that I had not sealed it well enough and it was hard as a rock! 

So yellow it was. 

The original plan had been to paint it yellow and then use a brown glaze to antique it. But after a few brush strokes, that went out the window also.

The paint just ended up being more of a dry brushed look.  And I really love how it turned out. 

And it was fun to paint.

What do you think? Have you ever painted anything like this?

Linking to:
The Crafty Blog Stalker - The Shabby Creek Cottage - Miss Mustard Seed
Funky Junk Interiors - It's Overflowing - Crafty Scrappy Happy - Three Mango Seeds

Jessica

DIY Wedding - Paper Flower Ideas

Happy Wednesday everybody! I hope your week is treating you well. The last few days have been go-go-go around here.  I've been trying to incorporate some sort of wedding planning into my -- already busy -- schedule every day.  This week flowers are the focus. 

Because I do everything myself already, I wouldn't think about having real flowers at the wedding.  And that really has nothing to do with me being cheap (although I am lol). I just really like how you can get a vintage/rustic feel when you make them on your own. Plus, they don't die and I can have some for keepsakes.

 Here is a list of flowers that I am loving right now.   They can be used for everyday decorating as well!

Wedding Chicks

 Hub Pages

Wedding Chicks

The DIY Adventures

Papers and Petals - Etsy

Style Me Pretty

United With Love

Danas Paper Flowers - Etsy

I've been working on a couple of different styles this week. The best part? My daughter likes to help and that means I get to hang out with her AND do crafts :) 

Jessica

Perfect Dresser Redo

When I saw this dresser the first thing I thought was....I NEED to get a dresser just like this and do the same thing...IMMEDIATELY...lol. And it was one of those early morning perusing Pinterest on my phone while I wake up type deals. All logic out the window....I thought about the dresser all day. 

Thank you PB&J Stories....

I could really put one of these in each room of my house. Same knobs and pulls....everything. Pink does not go with my decor...but who cares! 

xoxoxo

Jessica

Think Yellow...

This week has been a pretty good week for getting things done.  It feels like each week just gets better and better now that I'm done with school and we are settling into the house.

But back to getting things done this week :)

I had some time to redo a little desk my future mother-in-law gave me. It used to be my fiances when he was a boy. Now my daughter gets to have it. Other than a bunch of scribbles he did all over it, the desk is in great condition. The pulls are so awesome, I kept them as they are.

While I was doing the desk, I used the same yellow paint and coated the inside of these jelly jars I had on hand (here is where the multitasking comes in -- along with some drinks too). I love how they turned out.  They might just find their way into our wedding decor :) Wouldn't they be perfect with some cute white flowers?

Speaking of wedding decor. I'm trying to juggle doing the invites AND making the flowers right now. When I first got engaged I felt so overwhelmed with the thought of having to plan a wedding. Now that I'm actually doing it, I'm finding it's actually fun :) I love sitting on the couch with my family at night, making my flowers while they watch their shows. It's so relaxing.

More on the flowers later. I have some other things I'm going to try with them. I figure, I have a year to get it right...lol.

A midst all of this crafting, I found time to trim some hedges....

And take long bike rides with my daughter. This is a picture of the train tracks below a gigantic bridge we were on. It was her first time on the big bridge (not in a car) and sort of a big deal.

What have you done this week?

Peace!

xoxoxo
Jessica

Linking to:

Funky Junk Interiors

I Bought A Paint Sprayer {A Review}

A few weeks ago I purchased a new paint sprayer. We had several interior doors that we needed to paint and I knew the sprayer would do the job well. Plus I've been wanting to try a sprayer out on my furniture. So it was a win win situation.

I figured a gallon of paint would do all 8 interior doors we had. Especially because it's a paint/primer in one. And an expensive $34 per gallon paint. I was really wrong....

Well, as you can see there was a LOT of over-spray. I'm not sure if I was doing it wrong or what, but this stuff was all over the place. And god forbid the wind shift my way. 

It ended up getting all over me. ALL over me. And all over my yard. Oh, and I managed to get some on the house too!

The painting part was much quicker though, and I really like the way it covers without streak marks of a brush. BUT there are a couple of disadvantages in using a paint sprayer. 

For starters, that gallon of paint/primer only got me 4 doors into the project before I had to go buy another gallon. 

Second, the weather has to be just right to go outside to use the sprayer. I could never use it inside because of the over-spray. I've found that his has put several of my projects on hold, when I could have just painted inside by hand.

The doors did turn out really nice and we are happy with them. But I think the use of the sprayer is going to be limited to really large projects. 

 So, I'm back to painting with a brush lol. I would be interested to hear what others have to say about using a paint sprayer!

xoxoxo

Jessica

What's Happening At TJN....

There are so many projects going on around here lately, and I've been sort of MIA. I thought I would give you a peek at what I'm currently working on -- in my free time.

I've been trying hard to finish this ONE dresser (that's been sitting around for a month)...and every time I plan on getting it done, something comes up. Well, tonight I was "for sure" going to finish it. And then guess what happened? As I'm putting on the last of the knobs, I realize I'm two short! Wow what a tard!

But I think it's going to be fantastic. AND, it's already sold.

Of course I found this and another tall matching dresser on craigslist (for a steal). Some people just need to get stuff out of their garage! The tall dresser that came with it is in my craft room. Would you believe that one isn't finished either??

I've also been working on these chicken wire frames. I've got a few people that want them. I've got the one hanging by my back door at my house and everyone that comes over wants one! If I keep giving them away...I'll never make my money back!

Tonight, I don't know what my problem was. But I cut three different lengths out of this wire to fit into that frame and EVERY SINGLE ONE was too small.

Maybe today just wasn't meant for crafts.
But hopefully next week that dresser will be done and I can start on the one in my craft room. 

xoxoxoxo

Jessica