Gold Painted Corkboard

It’s Pinterest challenge time!  Today, I’m joining in on the Pinterest challenge put together by Young House Love, Bower Power, Decor and the Dog, and The Remodeled Life in which we actually MAKE a project inspired by something we pinned on Pinterest.  I took today’s challenge quite literally as I made something perfect for “pinning” – an updated corkboard!

My husband had a standard boring corkboard hanging near his desk in our home office (this is separate from the awesome, much girlier desk I have for myself).  The corkboard got the job done, but it’s surely nothing to brag about.



I decided to spice it up with some spray paint thanks to some inspiration I found on Pinterest. The first pin (found here, originally from Ballard Designs) gave me the idea to transform a regular bulletin board into something prettier, and the second pin (found here, from The Happy Home) gave me the idea to paint it.




So I cleared off the corkboard and got to work spray painting it.  I first covered up the actual corkboard so I could start by spray painting the frame.  I used Rustoleum spray paint in “night tide.”  It was a can I had grabbed on clearance from Home Depot a while ago, but I hadn’t used before.  I thought the color would be more navy, but it ended up being more like a deep turquoise. 



The nice thing about spray painting a corkboard is that I didn’t need to tape off the inside, I just used thumbtacks to keep my newspaper in place.  As a bonus, I spray painted the thumbtacks too so they would coordinate with the finished product.  Here’s how it looked when I was done painting the frame- better already!



Then I got to work on the actual corkboard.  I decided to spray paint gold stripes which gradually got wider.  I started off with about a 1 inch strip at the top and made each of the following strips about a quarter of an inch wider.  At the very bottom, I decided to add the word “work” for some added interest.  To make the letters, I pulled up some block letters on my computer screen and used it as a light box to trace the words onto a wide strip of painter’s tape.  Then I just cut them out with scissors and an exacto knife.  It was actually much easier to do than I thought it would be.



Then it was time for the fun part, spray painting the whole thing gold.  I used Touch ‘n Tone spray paint (from Walmart for under $2) in “metallic gold.”  And here’s how this baby looks now:



And now with some stuff on it.  You know, important work things, like pictures of my dog.





Much more glam!  Well…about as “glam” as a cork board can look in my opinion.  I like that the gold is subtle next to the original cork color, but it’s still colorful enough to add some shine and a fun look.  I really like how the word at the bottom turned out too.



Since I had all of the supplies already at hand, this project cost me a whopping zero dollars and it didn’t cost me much time either.  The corkboard went from something I mostly didn’t notice to something that makes me happy when I look at it now!  Isn’t that the best, especially from a quick and free project?


Have you made any freebie updates to anything you own lately?  Are you also joining in on the Pinterest party today?

P.S. You can find my past Pinterest challenge projects here: Map Photo Frame, Gallery Wall, Photo Coasters, Summer Fun List Poster.

P.P.S. You can follow me on Pinterest here.


I'm also linking up this project to parties at Beneath My Heart, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, We Are That Family, Beyond the Picket Fence, Someday Crafts, Katie's Nesting Spot, A Glimpse Inside, My Romantic Home, Finding Fabulous, If It's Not Baroque, Designed Decor, Shaken Together Life, Tatertots and Jello, Whipper Berry, Funky Junk Interiors, Serenity Now, Uncommon Designs, Home Stories AtoZ

DIY Craft and Office Desk Makeover

I’ve been holding out on you guys.  A while back I completed what can only be described as my FAVORITE DIY PROJECT EVER!  I took some time to tweak it and take some nice photos of it, but I’m finally ready to share it and I couldn’t be more EXCITED!  Can you sense my enthusiasm yet???

Get ready…It’s a DIY office/craft room desk makeover!  Before we get to the awesome (if I do say so myself) after photos, I must share the embarrassing before pictures.  You see, my husband is a truly wonderful man and has brought so many fantastic things into our marriage.  BUT, he also brought his computer desk from college into our home!



This style of computer desks was quite popular not that long ago and could be found in homes everywhere.  And while my husband was very fond of it and describes it as “functional” and “homey,” I was not as thrilled by it. 

This desk lived in the corner of a spare bedroom when we first moved in and I would use it occasionally (Hubby got a larger and nicer desk for his office), but I quickly decided it needed an update and one day I doodled a little sketch on a post-it note of how I could fix up this desk.



Although I didn’t stick to this plan exactly, the basics remain the same- a coat of paint and some new shelving to completely transform it.

I started off by removing the top hutch portion of the desk.  It was fairly easy to take apart and I covered up the holes from where the desk and hutch were attached with some spackle before painting.



Then, I sanded the desk down manually (it’s made of particle board so I didn’t want to go crazy and sand off too much with a power sander).  I know there are lots of tutorials online for painting furniture, but since this is a particle board desk and not an expensive antique, I just used whatever supplies I happened to have on hand.  I think I used a can of spray paint white primer to give the desk a base, then painted it with regular latex wall paint I had left over, and then finished it with a  coat of protective spray paint. 

So are you ready to see the after photos?!



Boom!  If I can pat myself on the back, I must say that’s quite a transformation!  Here’s a good before and after shot to give you the full picture:



I’m now able to plop my laptop down and use this desk as my office, or I can add my sewing machine and use it as a sewing or craft space.

Above the desk, I hung two shelves I had purchased at a garage sale.  They were originally red, but I painted them white too.  I used some empty food jars to store some paint brushes and pencils.  The letters are our initials and are from The Christmas Tree Shop.  I absolutely love the map too, it is another garage sale find.  I plan on adding pins to the map marking the places we’ve traveled.



The desk isn’t very large so I try not to keep a lot on it.  Just a lamp (also from a yard sale) and a couple of framed photos.



When I’m not using the sewing machine, I keep a little decorative box on top of the desk.  It’s filled with old birthday/holiday cards, party invitations, and other little keepsakes I like to hold onto.  I haven’t gotten a nice chair for the desk, so I’ve been using a dining room chair in the meanwhile.



Just for fun, here’s another before-and-after shot:



I couldn’t be more pleased!  This is probably the most fun and satisfying makeover project I’ve done to date.  I’m really thrilled with how this desk turned out and that I have a new office and craft space.  I’m so happy we were able to keep the desk and transform it into something that works better for us without too much difficulty and at almost no cost (about $8 spent on the map, shelves, and decorative letters, everything else we already owned).

What do you think of this transformation?  Have you created a craft or office space in your home?  Or have a spouse that has also brought some questionable furniture into the house?


I'm entering this project into the Creating with the Stars contest from East Coast Creative!

I'm linking up this project to House of Hepworths, Miss Mustard Seed, Finding Fabulous, Beneath My Heart, Thrifty Decor Chick.

Time to Spray Paint

I recently snagged a mantle clock from my cousin who was getting rid of it.  Originally from Home Goods, I liked the clock but it wasn’t really my style. 



I thought it would look nice on top of my kitchen cabinets, but the color looked too bland against the walls and cabinets.  That’s right, my kitchen cabinets are still oak colored *gasp*!  Please tell me I’m not the only one with unpainted oak cabinets still.  Anyone out there still rocking the oak too?  Anyone???



I digress...back to the clock.  I thought it would look nicer repainted and I decided to go a little wild and try a fun bright color.  I chose Valspar’s Exotic Sea turquoise which I already had on hand from spray painting an outdoor candle holder.

I gave it a go and the clock is definitely bright, but I’m not sure I’m feeling the turquoise in this situation.



The color doesn’t really seem to fit with the style of the clock either.  I could change out the face with a more modern print, but I’m still not sure if that would win me over on the turquoise.  I’m thinking it’s time to repaint. 

I was thinking to paint it a regal red (previously seen in my spray painted sea shell and outdoor planters); red just seems more kitchen-y to me.  But then I was poking around on the internet and came across a nearly identical clock in black.


This one is for sale for $49 on Amazon, which makes my $0 clock seem like even more of a steal!  But now I’m thinking maybe a black or oil-rubbed bronze color is the better way to go?

What do you think, which color should I paint the clock?  And any oak kitchens out there?

P.S. Make sure to enter my $50 Home Depot Giveaway from Kwikset this week!

Broken Ornament Photo Frame

I’m so excited to share my first DIY December project today.  If you missed it, check out my intro to DIY December here.  Now onto the project!

A couple of years ago, my fully decorated Christmas tree fell down, shattering a lot of ornaments.  Being one who likes to make lemonade when I’m handed lemons, I held onto the broken ornaments with the intentions of making something with them. Even broken, the ornaments were too pretty to just throw out.



I had the idea of making a mosaic picture frame with the broken ornaments and I finally got around to it this year.  Spoiler alert…I love how it turned out!

I took a cheapy black photo frame and spray painted it a nice holiday gold color.  I did a quick coat of spray paint and didn’t worry about making it perfect since I knew I’d be covering it up with the ornaments.



Then I started hot gluing small pieces of the broken ornaments onto the frame.  At this point, I must warn you that as far as craft projects go, this is a dangerous one!  With little pieces of glass ornaments everywhere, I had a to be very cautious not to cut myself.  I was also very careful to clean up the project area afterwards to make sure there weren’t any tiny pieces of broken glass that slipped by me.  This is definitely not a project for kids!

Back to the project- I started in the corner, gluing larger pieces onto the frame first.  Since the ornaments are curved, I used a lot of hot glue to fill in gaps on their underside and get them to stick to the frame.



I kept gluing along the frame, trying to alternate the types of ornaments I was using.



Once I glued one layer of ornaments around the entire frame, I filled in the gaps between pieces with a second layer of smaller ornaments.



And here’s how the finished frame looks!



I love it!  I’m so happy I was able to reuse the broken ornaments in a unique way.  The texture of the frame is still a little rough, so this is a project I would keep away from kids even when finished.  Even so, I’m very happy to display this frame for the holidays.  I think it would make a pretty cool homemade gift too.  The ornaments just look so festive, colorful, and cheerful! 



What do you think? Have you found a way to reuse broken ornaments or turn other holiday mishaps into something new?

I'm sharing this project over at NewlyWoodward's Dare to Give Homemade Gifts party, House of Hepworths, and DIY Showoff.

Twine Wrapped Candles: My unFootball Sunday

I’ve been having so much fun with (un)Football Sundays each week and am excited that it’s my turn to share a fall project today.  If you missed any of the past projects, you can check out the projects from Traci, Alissa, Kim, and Rhoda.

I got the inspiration for my fall project from these rather plain looking candles.  You have probably seen these same ones at Walmart where they sell for $1 or $2.  They smell great, but there is nothing striking about their look.  So I decided to spruce these babies up for fall by wrapping them in twine.

I had some twine on hand (purchased a while ago from the dollar store) and hot glued it to the bottom of the candle.  I placed dots of hot glue around the bottom of the candle and wrapped the twine around, and then continued wrapping it up the sides.

I continued to place dots of hot glue sporadically around the candle and wrapped the twine tightly around it.

The candles looked better already, but I decided to give them a fun twist with some spray paint.  I taped off horizontal stripes on one candle and vertical stripes on the other.


Then I got busy spray painting and donned one in white and the other in red.  I think these colors go nice for the fall, but would also look nice in the summertime for a nautical look. 


I’m really pleased with how these candles turned out.

Here are the candles on my living room table, next to my red painted shell.

This was such a quick and easy project and I was able to use materials that I already had on hand.  I’m really enjoying this candle transformation, what do you think?

Regal Red Shell

I love decorating with shells, but they aren’t too fitting for the Fall considering that I live an hour away from the closest beach.  Yet, I like to keep some beachy touches around year-round because they remind me of warm, happy, summer times.  So I decided to Fall-ify a shell so it could be beachy, but still a little autumn-y.



Plus, I had been itching to use the Rustoleum “regal red” spray paint again since I really loved how it looked on my outdoor planters.  So I gave the shell a crisp red coat of paint and I love how it turned out.





It’s still beachy, but I like the pop of fall color.


I love how the shell turned out and want to try spray painting different shaped shells in more colors. What do you think?

I Love Lamp

I’m not just saying it, I love lamp. 





I’m talking about this glass lamp that I picked up at a garage sale for just $2.50.



What?  You’re not in love with it’s brassy finish?  Well me neither.  I love this lamp, but only after some serious spray painting to change its finish. 

After a few coats of Rustoleum, this lamp got the silver treatment and is now much more lovable. 



I replaced an old lamp (another garage sale find from a few years ago), with the new glass lamp on my family room side table and like it much better.





I picked up the lampshade at another garage sale for $3 bucks, bringing the total for this lamp to just $5.50.  So not only do I love the lamp, but I love the price too!  Especially since I had been drooling over these much more expensive glass lamps before finding my steal.

Pottery Barn $199

Crate & Barrel $199

Pottery Barn $199

I like the idea of filling the lamp with something like the Pottery Barn lamp above.  Maybe not rope, but I think shells would look nice, like the lamp from Cougar Town (my favorite TV “home”).

I think I’ll enjoy the lamp as-is for now, but might be tempted to add some shells to it next summer.  Here’s another look at the lamp, with the before and after shots.



What do you think of my garage sale lamp makeover?  Should I leave it empty for now or try to fill it with something?

I'm linking this project to Southern Hospitality, House of Hepworths, and The DIY Showoff; check out the other great projects featured.