Bookshelf Makeover

The other day I read an article that said to “bring a room to life” DO NOT furnish with matching furniture.

The chair and loveseat in our living room (and the above picture is not our living room) was purchased at the same time and are the same style and color. The rest of the furniture in the living room is black . . . sure the bookshelves are different sizes and the two tables have basket drawers, but basically everything more or less matches. Even if I had the money to nix all of our current furniture for new non-matchy stuff, I’m not sure I would because it seems like a waste of money . . . unless we win the Lotto, in which case I will donate all of our current furniture to a local shelter and redo EVERYTHING!

Until that happens, I will continue to troll Pinterest for ideas on how to customize Walmart bookshelves and Home Goods clearance specials.

I like the idea of customizing bookshelves. There are, according to Pinterest, several different ways to dress up a boring bookshelf. I thought about wallpapering the interior with actual wallpaper, but wallpaper is expensive and if you mess up (and I always do on the first and, sometimes, second try) then, well that just sucks.

So I continued to troll Pinterest and what I found was this fabulous, easy and fairly inexpensive idea by Diane at in my own style.

All you need is cardboard, tape, scissors and some kind of material.

Diane uses fabric. I did too for my first try, but the fabric I used was plain and boring and I did not like the results. The great thing about this particular manner of makeover is that the material was not ruined when I removed it from the cardboard.

Then I thought I could use scrapbook paper. But as I wandered the isles of Joanne Fabrics,I realized how expensive that would be. But then (drumroll please)  I found rolls of thick craft paper that fit my budget (then found the same rolls of paper even cheaper at Michaels – grrr!) and decided to try Diane’s project using paper instead of fabric.

Not bad, right? What I LOVE about this idea is that it’s easy and inexpensive and instantly adds some pizzazz to a boring book shelf. I don’t think the paper goes well with the polka dot throw on the back of the love-seat, but I am working on patience – as in having patience while I slowly transform the rooms of our small house.

So if you are a novice crafter/DIYer (like me) who is also frugal, this is a great project.

Menu Bin

Another awesome Pinterest idea.

Erik and I do not eat out much, and when we do there are approximately 4 takeout eateries in the area to choose from – we live very in a small town. Yet, whenever we decide to eat out, we (i.e. he) can never find the menus. So this idea was not only fun and easy, but also very practical – for Erik, because I know where everything is and he has not been able to find things that were literally  right in front of his face (love you hunny 🙂 ). 

I used a Kind Bar box and supplies I had on hand; scrapbooking paper and other scrapbooking items and tape – basically I wrapped it like a present and stuck on a few embellishments and voila, the menus will never go “missing” again.

Basket Making Made Easy

This is my first attempt at a fabric basket. I photographed its good side so ya’ll would be impressed 🙂 .

In my short time as a sewer (about a week now) I have come to the conclusion that I don’t do well with patterns. I have three “simple” bag patterns in my pattern bin and have only tried one. I cut out the pattern, got confused and gave up. I work much better with video tutorials. So this little basket was made with the help of Tiffany from Quilters Workshop. It’s a fun easy project and pretty inexpensive to make.

Old Jeans= New Bag

This is the first sewing project I completed thanks to Izzy MEIMsaab. Although the handles are kind of sucky, I think it came out pretty good (overall). I figure if I can make a bag that I am not totally embarrassed to share on the internet at the beginning of my sewing career,  with some practice I should be pretty amazing !! Maybe. Or at least able to make things that I can give as gifts. (I’m talking to you mom).

Anyway, the tutorial is easy to follow and I will definitely try this one again.

BTW: That cute little nose belongs to Franklin, the most curious dog that ever lived 🙂