Trash to Treasure Decorating: January 2011

A Brand New Friend Friday!

It's a Friday hodgepodge! Hmm...writing that made me think of ModPodge, which makes me feel a little bit crafty. However, I really have to work on getting my tax stuff organized because I have my appointment next week. So I'll leave the glue, and paper and scissors hidden away. Sigh.

I wanted to showcase a couple of things, so I thought a hodgepodge was in order. Ooo...and I did a little reorganizing and redecorating on the blog this week. Hope you like it. I'll be creating a new custom header sometime in the future, too.

Follow Friday Friends

I haven't had a link party on a Friday in a long time. I've found that sometimes my page loads slower because of the linky tool. And now I just discovered that Linky Tools, which I've used for hosting my Follow Friday link parties in the past will soon begin charging. It won't be more than $24 per year right now, but I can't afford to pay for another service. So, I'm starting something new.

Friday will be Friend Friday where you can link your blog in the comments. That means you can paste in a hyperlink to your favorite blog post or most recent project right in your comments and I'll let you "spam" me and brag on your blog! Of course comments will be moderated yet so that real spam doesn't get through. (See my sample comments below)

And on Friend Friday, I'll share ~~blather on~~ about a few of my favorite things from the week, or special offers that might interest my blog friends.

No other rules. No obligation to link back to me. However if you do want to share a link on your blog about my blog, that's cool! And if you don't mind, when I stop by your blog, I'll include a link in my comments.

Recycling Idea

I had this simple little idea yesterday that isn't so much decorative as it is functional, but I had to share! We have a pellet stove in our living room and it seems like when the box of matches starts to get beat up, they start spilling everywhere. And it looks ugly. So, I decided to put the matches in a jar. But since they are strike on box, I knew I needed those little strips from the side of the box. So I cut them off, and stuck them to the olive jar with double sided tape. Now isn't that a clever way to recycle an olive jar?

Money Earning Opportunity

I've mentioned it before, but if you haven't tried Swagbucks, you might want to check it out. I earned $25 in Amazon gift cards this month without investing a heap of time in it. I use their search engine, do my shopping through some of their sponsors, and take advantage of some of their special offers.

For example, last week, I bought a $20 Amazon gift card from one of their sponsors for $10. This week, I bought a Groupon for Bath and Body Works for $30 worth of product for $15 (You can give groupons as gifts too!). With each of those offers, I earned 280 Swagbucks which combined to enough for a $5 Amazon gift card.

My husband and teens like the games and TV features, which also earn bucks. And I've been printing and using coupons from their site and I've received 10 bucks for every coupon I've used at the store.

So many ways to earn! If you decide to sign up, click on any of the colored words in this paragraph or the banner below, and you'll go straight to Swagbucks. Then, be sure to install the toolbar to your internet browser for maximum earning.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!

Heirloom Children's Rocker Re-Do

It's Transformation Tuesday at T2T and just as promised, I have a fun project to share. A friend of mine asked if I'd recover a children's rocker that had belonged to her father. Because of the sentimental value of the heirloom, she wanted to preserve it for her own boys.

It's cute, but you can see why she wants to re-do it, right?

She selected the fabric. It's 100% cotton by Waverly and the pattern is named Columbus Circle Spa. It has a brown background with circles of cream and bluish, grayish, green (can't think of a better way to describe that color).

The photos just can't do justice to the color, but it's sweet.

It's ironic, but I trap the mice in my home and take photos of sleeping gerbils that mysteriously resemble mice. Doesn't their life look like one to envy? So simple. So peaceful. So connected with their friends and family.

Ok, so it wasn't really Muted Monday. I just had to say something about the picture. I have a cute T2T makeover project to show you tomorrow!

Show Us Your Transformation & Link Up

Transformation Tuesday

It's winter, and even though I'm not pregnant, nor do I ever plan to be again, I think I'm nesting. It's cloudy outside. We get snow nearly every day. So, I've be puttering around the house cleaning this and sorting that. I gave the built-in hutch a fresh coat of poly since I had run out and didn't give it enough way back when. I've organized my office, polished up the kitchen, and tossed a bunch of stuff. I promise, I kept my husband and teens!

This week, I realized that the counter top that I so painstakingly faux finished in the built-in hutch has just become an area to collect junk. Bills, mail, batteries (not sure why dead batteries keep turning up there like dead beetles or flies) scraps of paper, CD's, phone books, and dust. So I decided to make it functional.

It's always been too dark for a buffet, but a trip to Menards (local home improvement store) and $24.95 later, I think it's super duper! It's the perfect Transformation Tuesday feature. I installed a kit with 5 puck lights and it didn't take long. Yes, I did it by myself!

Check out these pictures and then tell me what transformation you've done lately in the Linky section below. Did you make over a room, a T2T piece of furniture? Did you make over your schedule? Or your file system? Did you lose a few pounds? Tell us about your transformation and post a link to your blog post.

A Suitcase Transformed Into A...Can You Guess What it is?

I just had to show this this absolutely darling project for T2T Transformation Tuesday. But I'm not going to tell you what it is. You'll have to click over to Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone and see just what she turned this old suitcase into now. Hint...if you love "fur kids", you'll love this project!

Photo belongs to Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone

Over at Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone, you'll find a fantastic tutorial for the project, plus some other cute pictures of the finished transformation.

It's cute, fun, uses recycled junk, and it's functional. How much more T2T can you get than that. Now, I just might have to get me a "fur kid".

Here a Treasure, There a Treasure

I seldom blog on weekends, but I'm just kicking back to watch the Packers, and I'm sitting with my laptop which seemed like a good reason to send my blogging friends a note. As I look around my home from my football watching chair, I can't help but notice that there is almost nothing in my home that I purchased at retail. 95% of what's hanging on my walls came from second hand stores, yard sales, and cast-offs from relatives.

End table-yard sale
Grandfather clock-castoff
Faux fireplace-my junk wood bin
Giant mirror-yard sale
TV armoire-2nd hand shop
Coffee table-sawed off rustic kitchen table from grandma
Curtains-2nd hand store and ugly drapery makeover
Book case-$1 at a yard sale
The shelf, the footstool, the chandelier-all second hand

You get the idea. I could go on, but I've realized that my years of frugal decorating is probably why we've been able to survive on one income (plus a little extra I've brought in with speaking, writing, and selling crafts). But when I was working as a registered nurse and our first baby was on the way, I knew I had to do something to make it possible to say home with him. That wasn't my original plan, but I just knew towards the end of the pregnancy that I didn't want to go back to work and leave him behind. So we had to figure out how to get by without 2/3 of our income.

That was 18 years ago and we still have the same couch we bought before that baby was born. But instead of replacing it, several years ago, I recovered it for about $30.

And the lamps we got as a wedding gift 21 years ago? Yep. Still have them. But I gave them a paint makeover last summer.

Now that my babies are 16 and 18, I don't regret for a minute my decision to stay home and give up the ability to walk into a designer store and plunk down $3500 or more for a furniture set. We don't care that my husband still drives the same 1992 Jeep that used to be our family vehicle for so many years. Wish there was some T2T magic we could work on it though. I don't care if the only new thing hanging on my walls is a pair of photographs of my boys.

The other stuff is all trash, whether old or new, in light of the two treasures that have captured my heart and brought me more joy than anything a VISA card could buy. Yep. I love trash to treasure, but mostly because it represents something even deeper than decorative value. It represents the desires of my heart.

10 Great Transformations from 2010

Transformation Tuesday

For today's Transformation Tuesday, I'm featuring ten great transformations from 2010 that were featured on blogs. There are so many to choose from, but I decided to show some simple ones and some that are a little more involved. You'll want to follow the link to each post to see the full transformation and tutorial for how you can do it too. Just click on the titles below.

1. Dresser Makeover from Savvy Southern Style