Matching Hardware.

I get home one day and use my key to get in my house.  I get in fine but the key isn't going to come out of my doorknob.  After trying my general fix of "tapping with force" to get it out I gave up and retrieved my screwdriver to remove the knob in whole.  I figured I may not be able to get it out but someone else might be so it was better to have a hole in my door then leave my house key out for the taking.  Before I could sneak out and get a new knob the Hubby came home and removed the key, but there was no using the doorknob after.  We put it all back together and went on a quest to find doorknobs we like to use and to look at. We opted to not use the brass finish we had before.  Seemed perfect at the time but we ran into a problem after we got home. 

I do really like the look of these doorknobs and they fit our style so much more.  We are taking tiny steps to make our house our home.  These tiny changes are adding up to this being our place. 

Here is the problem.  The rest of our house is done in brass knobs and there is no way we want to swing replacing all doorknobs at once.  There are a lot of things higher on the priority list. 

This is my Sons door just around the corner from our new hardware.  Shiny brass in view of our black just drew out the attention more that we needed to change things. I again turned to my dollar a can spray paint and added three coats.  It takes a while to dry before you can really grip it or you could leave finger prints in the paint and end up doing it all over again but other then that its simple.  I stand the knob up in the lid of the spray paint and that way I can shot from all angles and turn it around with out touching the still tacky paint. 

Its not perfect but it is better then what it was.  It will work fine until we can buy the matching doorknobs.  Ive loved being able to make the changes myself instead of wait until our budget said we could.  It means a lot to me to work my budget instead of my budget working me.

XOXO Mist 

Cheap fix for an old light bar.

My house is getting old enough it needs tiny fixes and its not a top priority in our budget.  Id love to be able to fix it all but Id love more to live comfortable in my home and pay my bills at the same time.  My bathroom light bar has been rusting bit by bit.  I just wanted a new look to get us by until we found the perfect fixture and brought it home. 

You can just barely peek the rust at the bottom and no matter how many shots I took it shouldn't show better then this.  This is the light bar that came in our starter home 10 years ago and what we have hanging today.  My hubby is against the idea and he may have a point but I decided to paint it black.  He may have a point but really I think I cant break broken so why worry about it.   Its just a temporary fix but I think it matches our style more then brass and rust. 

Don't laugh at my light bulb choice.  They throw great light.  We will upgrade these too but for now temporary fix with a total cost of $1 for the cheap flat spray paint they sell at Walmart.  We are in the slow process of changing the decor to a Mickey Mouse theme.  Now we just wait for the Hubbs to get home.  Better to ask for forgivness then permission. 

XOXO Mist

Old hack even cheaper (AKA coffee filter wreath)

I know that this has been done all over blogland and since I am late in the game on decorating, I am only recently attempting it. I tell people that I want my home to be inviting, cozy, and look like we're not renting. And since I've started blogging I find myself out on the quest to make new friends (like Tracy H, Susan, and Daniella...Hi!). That leads me to the ever addicting habit of blog stalking. It's like a disease! I just can't stop. I see so many awesome things out there to make or do and it leads me to wonder just how many pages I can bookmark before my computer vomits. I haven't reached it yet but I'm sure that I'm close. I have only recently come across coffee filter wreaths and since I am not a wreath kind of person, I was surprised to find that I really like these. So I decided to put that one on the checklist for later. It has been raining quite a bit at my house so I figured that now would be the time. Luckily I had almost everything I needed. The only thing I didn't have was a wreath form. I saw that most people have used styrofoam wreath forms but I really didn't want to go to the store with all the kids so I had this brilliant idea that I would make my own. I gathered all my supplies and got to work.

I took an empty diaper box(bulk size of course), leftover scraps from my skirt/sheet project, my glue gun, and newspaper. I rummaged through my recycle bag for those. I had everything on hand, even the coffee filters. So I began by drawing a 12 inch circle on my cardboard diaper box. Then I drew a 9 inch circle within the 12 inch circle. I cut that out. That was to give me a shape. Sorry that I don't have a picture of that. Next I tore my newspaper into even pieces and scrunched them into balls. Hot glue those babies on both sides of the circle frame.

 Don't worry if it's not exact it won't matter.

 Next, take your fabric scraps, and tear them into strips. I then wrapped the strips of fabric around the newspaper frame.

At this point you can wrap it loosely or tightly to try to make the frame even all the way around. Glue you ends and Voila!

 A wreath frame out of trash, ahem...all ready on hand supplies. Now all that's left to do is attach the coffee filters. I only had these ones on hand so that is what I used.

Because of that, I cut mine out into circles and stuck the blunt end of a pen in the center. I then pushed the filter down over the pen and put my dot of glue in the center of the filter and then stuck it on pressing with the pen. Easy peasy. And 4 hours and 1 fit (not mine) later, I had this.

Awesome, huh! Notice the sneak peak which is the background. That'll be coming soon. I hope this inspired you to made do with what you have and try a new project...maybe a coffee filter wreath. If you decide to make this we'd love to hear about it. Link back to us and share the blog lovin.


Linked up at A Creative Princess

     

                                         Eve