Repurposing an old picture frame

About a month ago, I hit the point where I was tired of everything looking 1. cheap, and 2. tired. However, I am a FIRM believer of ‘Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or Do without!’

Thanks to a trusty little can of Rust-Oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint, I was able to give all of my picture frames a new lift and a fresh look. Plus, they all match now … even if they are different styles. The result was awesome. I’ll be continuing my quest to give all of my accessories a face lift, but for now, let me show you what I am talking about. Here is a $10 picture frame from IKEA that I purchased a couple years ago:



Boring and cheap looking, right? Right.

Well. Check it out  now:



It’s amazing what a little spray paint can do for something. I spray painted both the frame and the matting to match. Then, I flipped it horizontal and hung it up on a different wall in my house.

Mission accomplished.

Total cost: Probably 50 cents worth of spray paint. Win.

Here’s the side by side comparison:


We even got a little crazy and spray painted ALL the picture frames in the hallway so that they were all the same … but still different. I LOVE this.

If you haven’t done so yet … you need to go buy some Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint!! :D

How To: make rain gutter bookshelves

I love the look of rain gutter bookshelves. But, I hate the actual rain gutter ones. So, when I decided to turn a wall in the preschool room into a bookshelf, I knew it had to match the crown molding in the room … which isn’t in the picture. Because I’m just awesome like that. ;)

So, I asked Superman to pick up some 4” crown molding. He measured the wall before heading to Home Depot. He had them cut the pieces down to size so that his job wasn’t as bad when he started. He still had to make a few cuts and tweak things to make them work (who knew that walls could be so imperfect?!).



He used the 4” crown molding and then another 3” strip of wood, to act as the shelf for the books to sit on. Here is what the actual construction looks like:



Don’t forget to caulk all of the imperfections … and along the back of the shelf, by the wall. And measure the distance between each shelf with precise, exact measurements. Use a level when you install the shelves.



Then, putty the holes and paint.

I think, in all, it took him just under 2 hours, start to finish. It wasn’t a difficult project at all. Anyone with a nail gun can do this, especially if you have Home Depot make all the cuts for you.

 

The finished product is so dang cute and it really brightens up the preschool room. Thank you, Superman!