Re-purposing – Page 4 – Love My DIY Home

A Sentimental Journey – Preserving the Past Through DIY Decor

Walking Downtown Wausau at Dusk If you are wondering how to choose window tint, it’s the perfect time to look inside people’s windows in the old houses – the hundred year old houses with the old town flavor. No, I’m not creepy. I just like to see how other people decorate their homes. Some of the homes still had the original windows…you know, the ones that when you look through them, they are wavy and distorted? Cool stuff. You can have those replaced with curtain walling liverpool. NOSTALGIA INSPIRES Not that I want an old house with wavy windows which I wanted to fix from Maverick Windows in Houston, uh…no. But the flavor of those old houses when they are expertly decorated with quality furnishings creates such a warm fuzzy feeling inside of me. Connecting with those in our past has always been intriguing. I wish I had some … Read more

2 Candle Holders Upcycled = A DIY Bird Feeder

Do you have an eye? Do you have an eye for upcycling? The craziest Goodwill finds can be combined to make useful and trendy home decor. Ya just gotta see it – imagine possibilities and be willing to experiment. That’s the case with these two candle holders – 1+1=1 For this tutorial, I’m going to be very specific and detailed – not because it’s a difficult or very detailed project, but because I want you to see the process for how a project comes together. Simple or complex, each project requires planning and contemplation for it to come together. Do you see how they can combine to make a one-of-a-kind bird feeder? 1. Turn the candle holder into a cup by creating a larger area to hold the bird seed. This is what it looked like “before.” DH called in the big guns for this job – it’s called a … Read more

Bakers Rack Repurposed as Paint Studio Storage

Sometimes You Don’t Want to Paint Did I just say that out loud? Most of the time we look for projects to paint but occasionally we decide to keep it as is, just spiff it up a bit by adding detail or simply cleaning it up. We found this bakers rack on a weekend getaway to Door County at a sweet little consignment shop for just $35. It may have been an impulse buy, but it was one of the best so far. I Dragged it Out of Our Barn to Paint it for My New Studio I decided I liked it as is and cleaned it with water, a scrubbie and (afflinks) Krud Kutter. Sometimes Krud Kutter works better than you want and it took off a bit of the grunge that I thought was part of its charm, mainly, the water ring. BUT, sometimes a snafu can lead … Read more

Old Tissue Box Revived – Spray Paint Season is Here!

I first wrote this in the beginning of 2015, and the technique has become quite popular, so I’m playing it again, Sam… Another consignment shop find has found itself at the end of my spray paint can. I do enjoy spray painting – it’s quick and requires no top coat. It doesn’t fit every scenario, but once in a while it’s the best choice. Spray paint season is once upon us and so let the games begin… While dropping off STUFF…you know that STUFF that sat in your basement for years wondering if they’d ever turn into a “real piece of decor,” I found this cool little tissue box holder slathered in hand painted foofy flowers. Not really my style, but I could picture it painted. E.A.S.I.L.Y. I had done something similar to what was floating around in my head on an antique table for … Read more

Wicker File Cabinet Re-purposed to a Paint Cart

Here is a quick example of how you can re-purpose those garage sale finds inexpensively and easily. No muss. No fuss. Just a can of spray paint, black glaze and a sponge paint brush turned this wicker file cabinet into something useful. Wicker isn’t very popular any more and you will find wicker everything out in garage sales for just a dollar or two. I bought this one at a garage sale for $2 this summer. STEP #1 Spray with Rustoleum Painters Touch spray paint. Pick a color, any color. STEP #2 Dab, wipe or brush on glaze – all over, including the metal bars. I used Wise Owl black glaze using a sponge brush. You can use a regular sponge, brush or even a paper towel. Just use what you have on hand. No need to be particular, just have at it! I took about 30 seconds to brush … Read more

China Cabinet turned Buffet {Love My DIY Home}

An Old China Cabinet Gets a Split Personality – with Country Chic Paint

We picked up this china cabinet at an estate sale in town. Everyone wondered why I would buy ANOTHER china cabinet. I already have three. I had plans for this one – but not for china. Nor am I keeping it. As I said last week, nobody collects or wants china anymore. But they do want buffets AND book shelves. Yep, a buffet and book shelf out of one china cabinet. One unwanted, outdated china cabinet into two highly desirable pieces. Because the china cabinet was all wood with dovetailed drawers plus a top of the line name brand piece from the 60’s made by ETHAN ALLEN by BAUMRITTER (a VERY big name back in my mom’s day), I knew right away I wanted it and what I would do with it. Ethan Allen by Baumritter People may not have china, but most could use additional storage for kitchen ware … Read more

Lettuce Flower Arrangement – Use What You Have

The Most Unexpected Flower Arranging Item I grew zinnias and asters and brought them inside with my hydrangias. I planted a bunch of other stuff out in my garden. One of the things that I regrow is lettuce and celery from store bought. The lettuce will regrow once, typically, and the celery will keep growing even when you cut it. I’ve been experimenting. Crazy Lettuce I bought lettuce from Aldis and replanted it once it started regrowing (read details here). Once it was out on my deck and I cut what I wanted, I just let it grow to see what would happen. It kinda went crazy and it grew funny spirals out the top. Cut Here When I cut my flowers to bring inside I just happened to look out and see what had become of that lettuce that was going wild. I went out and cut the spirals … Read more

Weeds for Sale – Dirt Cheap! A Fun Garden Sign

Weeds 4 Sale – Dirt Cheap! DH replaced the steps leading to our basement, so I took the old boards and painted a sign for the garden – my “step garden” behind my garage. I’ll show you the before and afters of that later, but for now, here is how I did my sign (super easy): 1. Grab a board, any board. I used an old one with chippy paint – very rustic and not good for much else. 2. Hand draw your wording – you don’t have to be perfect. Just write it on and paint the letters with black paint and a little paint brush. I saw this saying on Pinterest – by Shelley at Sow and Dipity. She has so many really cute signs. 3. Take some sand paper and rough it up a bit to make it consistently “worn looking.” 4. Add a … Read more

Are You a Younger, Older or an In-betweener?

Are you an older, younger or an in-betweener? On my way to work I was thinking about a comment made on my guest post about making your home Alzheimer’s ready. For some reason this has overshadowed my thinking lately and I have to address it. The comment was that we should always hire a professional in home updates. I asked my Facebook followers on Love My DIY Home page if they agreed with him and several didn’t. Now that’s not to say that there aren’t jobs we shouldn’t tackle. That goes without saying. Last July we had a problem with our well that had to be addressed immediately because we had several back to back family activities with a full out of people. So yes, there are times where we have to hire someone else to take care of a problem. BUT, I think we do it too often. I … Read more

Hobby Lobby Hack – or so I thought!

I thought I was going to do a candle holder Hobby Lobby hack… I’ve been admiring a few pieces of decor in a friend’s house and finally asked if I could do some hacks on her home decor. Check out a picture of my friend’s candle holder – I thought it was from Hobby Lobby but when I asked if I could do a (afflink) Hobby Lobby Hack of her candle holder, she told me it was her own DIY project! I was surprised (not because she I didn’t think she had it in her, but because it was so Hobby Lobby-ish). I actually had looked around (afflink) Hobby Lobby to see if I could find it in the store to see how expensive it was so I could do a cost comparison of “Store vs. DIY!” Here is her candle holder Hobby Lobby look alike: This is what … Read more