A Thrifty Bathroom Makeover

We have a half bath on the main level of our house that was covered in wall paper when we moved in. Here is a before picture:

In March of 2015 we bartered wall paper removal with a friend of ours who runs a painting/wallpaper removal business. My husband does her taxes for her and she does some painting etc work for us.

Here it is after wall paper removal but before paint.

Next I painted the walls and trim.  Wall paint was approximately $35 ( paint color is Spinach White by Sherwin Williams) and trim paint we already had.

After I painted my Hubby turned the built in magazine rack into the toilet paper cubby. We spent about $5 on that. You can kinda see it in the first before picture at the top.  Here is the after:

Next up we added a new light $78 at Lowes but I had a $50 gift card to use towards it.  We also added a new mirror which I bought off Overstock for $102.99 and then took apart and spray painted the frame gold using paint we already had.  I had a very hard time finding a round mirror for a reasonable price.  We also added a new facet

 light switch cover, outlet cover, door knob and door hinges all of which I bought on eBay, $80.11.  Next up I painted the vanity navy blue and added new handles and towel holder both of which I purchased at Hobby Lobby. I spent $28 on the paint for the vanity and $14.98 at Hobby Lobby.  Last thing I bought was some wall dot stickers for about $10.  I spray painted a frame I already had the same gold as the mirror frame and hung a poster in it that I already owned also. All decor I used in the bathroom I already owned. 

Here are a bunch of after pictures :)

Happy Tuesday!

Well I didn't manage to post over the weekend or yesterday which was a holiday from school for Kid #5.  Today we are back to our normal schedule.  Nothing to exciting happening this week.  We just have our usual schedule until the weekend.

 I do have a few projects I am hoping to finish.

 One is the recovering of our dinning room chairs.  I have 3 left to do so I plan to work on them today.

 The second is I am spray painting some of our light fixtures that I really wanted to update but discovered they would cost us about $40 a piece to do that.  We have 4 of them.  The can of spray paint cost me about $5. This was a much cheaper option.

The third project is finishing up the painting of my half bathroom vanity. I was waiting on my husband to help me with the holes for the new handles I bought, which he did over the weekend. So now I can paint the primer on them and then purchase the actual paint.

I need to run to the Post Office at some point today as I have 3 packages from my eBay sales to mail off.  EBay  has been slow going for me but at least I am making some money doing it. Every little bit helps!

Hope you all are having a great day!

Rainy Day

It is raining today so that kind of puts a damper on my house projects that involve spray painting.  I typically like to do that outside.  I have tried to take advantage of nice weather when we have it to get my painting projects completed before the cold sets in.

I am in the process of recovering my dining room chairs though so I guess I can get that finished up today instead. 

I also want to paint my half bath vanity. We have stripped wallpaper, painted and added new fixtures since moving here a little over a year ago. The vanity is the last project to complete that room.  I will post pictures when it is all done.  I have the primer to start painting it so I think maybe I will work on that also today.

I will need to make a run to the post office also.  I have an eBay sell item I need to get mailed.  I have consistently sold 4-5 items a week since June.  Not a ton but at least it is something.  My goal with my profits is to buy new tires for each of our cars.  I have enough now to pay for my husbands car.  Every little bit of extra money helps!

Well those are my plans for the day. What are yours?

Skirts....

Last week I sat down and made Kid # 3 and # 5 each a skirt.

I have many craft supplies that I have bought and not followed threw on making. 

This is going to be my year of changing that! 

Anyway here are the skirts :)

This one is Kid #3's.  The waist is made from an old white tshirt.  The striped part is from some material I had in my stash.  I read several tutorials on Pinterest to figure this out but didn't really follow any one.  It turned out cute I think 

The next one is Kid # 5's and she loves it.  She has already worn it to school one day. I even got her to model it for me :)

Orginally I followed this tutorial I found on Pinterest.  However I didn't measure correctly and ended up modifying it to correct my mistake.  It still turned out pretty cute and Kid # 5 really likes it which is what matters :)

Duvet Cover

A few weeks ago I posted on a 5 Frugal Things Friday post about making Kid # 5 a new duvet cover for her bed.  I of course meant to post pictures of it a few days after that.  Life has a funny way of getting in the way though :)

Anyway here it is

I used a flat zebra print twin sheet I had picked up at Goodwill for alittle over $2 for the front side.  Kid # 5 is all about the zebra print at the moment.

For the back side I used about 2 yards of black fleece I already owned.

To be able to easily take it on and off for washing I used some velcro tabs I already had and sewed them on in 4 different spots.

I think it turned out pretty cute and was very frugal too.  Kid # 5 loves it and I guess that is what really matters :)

5 Things I Did That Were Frugal This Week

1. Had money left in our two week gas budget. Moved it to savings.

2. Ad matched fot the first time at Target. Then also used Target Cartwheel app to get cheap coffee.

3.  Made this "new" storage box for Kid # 5's room. Using duck tape and a shoe box.  I will for sure be making some more :)

4. Had Hubby stop and pick up Kid # 4 on his way home from work. This saved me time and us money combining trips.

5. We had a leftovers night again this week.

* I kinda lost track of my no spend days this month but this week I had 3 :)

Bathroom Remodel

I can't believe I haven't shared this on here before now.....

About 10 months or so ago I got a wild hair and decided I could not stand our main floor bathroom any longer.  It was one of the only rooms we had not remodeled or done much of anything to.

Here is what it looked like before:

Here is what it looks like now :)

This is what we did.  First I painted the stripes.  One gallon of Queens Anne Lace white paint from Lowes $30.  One 3/4 gallon of paint I bought off a local facebook site for $5, that is the tan color.  I have no idea what the name of that color is.  

My husband had removed the vanity so that I could paint the stripes and I had planned to paint the vanity anyway.  Along time ago I had found the new medicine cabinet on clearence at Lowes for $20.  I knew I wanted the vanity to match so I took a shelf out of it and had it color match at Lowes.  I then primed it with 2 coat of Zinsser primer and then 2 coats of the color matched paint $25.  We added new knobs from Hobby Lobby 50% off around $10 and eventually will add a new faucet when the funds are available.

I found the light above the medicine cabinet on clearence at Walmart for $35. My husband added the glass tile backsplash for $ 40 . The circle towel ring was free from my sister who replaced hers. 

I painted the closet door the same color white as the white stripe and all the trim.  I added a new handle and hinges purchased from ebay for $20.   

We replaced the floor, door casings and base boards for about $200. 

We also replaced the light switch plate, toliet paper holder and outlet cover all bought at Walmart for  $18.

The curved shower curtain rod was bought at Gordmans with a 20% off coupon for $15.  The shower curtain I already had and the hooks were bought at a yard sale for a $1.  The stool I bought at a flea market for $5 and the bath mat I already had also.

My husbad made the shelves above the toliet for me.  The brackets I got at Hobby Lobby 50% off and the wood tops he made from scrap wood we already had.  I painted them white with the paint we already had.  Total $15

The towel "hooks" my husband also made me.  I can't remember the exact cost of it.  I want to say around $20.  The knobs used as hooks were purchased at Hobby Lobby 50% off.  The sign above it was purchased at a store in my home town called Country Junction.  I think it was around $30.  

This whole project I worked on for about 5 months.  As you can see I tried my best to save as much money on it as I could.  This summer we would like to purchase a new faucet, possibly a new sink, a fan/light combo for the ceiling and put crown molding. Then the room will be officially done.  

Oh all the accersories on the shelves I shopped my house for also :)

Birthday Present For My Mom

Several months ago my Mom and I were at a local craft fair and she wanted to buy this purse like thing to hold her water bottle.  I talked her out of it.  I thought it was to much to pay and also something I could easily make for her.

Fast forward to her birthday a few weeks ago and here is what I made for her.

I thought it turned out well.  She really liked it.  I had everything on hand and did not have to purchase anything for this present.

I used this tutorial  for the measurements only.  Otherwise I didn't use any batting and lined the inside with terry cloth and used a canvas strap all of which I already had. 

Frugal Valentines Day

We don't usually go all out for Valentine's Day. This year I think we did pretty well staying frugal.

Kid # 5 is still young enough to have Valentine's Day parties at school. In her class they exchange cards and make boxes to use as mailboxes for the card exchange. She is all about Minecraft this year so I found some cards to make on Pinterest and printed them for her from here. She did the rest of the work.

I just had to buy a bag of miniature candy bars for approximately $3, otherwise I had the card stock and green paper. 

For her Valentine box we used an empty cracker box and green construction paper. 

I made some homemade toffee for my hubby for his gift the recipe can be found here . I put it in a cellophane treat bag which I already had and then a Valentine gift bag which I also already had. It turned out wonderful and he loved it. 

My hubby gave me the same thing he has given me for the last 10 years. A love letter he wrote to me. It is my favorite gift and I love getting them! 

He also gave me some candy and some new ear buds for my iPad. 

It was a fantastic and frugal Valentine's Day!

Snow Day Project

We have had several snow days in January here in the midwest.  This has given me time to work on a few projects that I had bought supplies for but not completed.  I have decided that this is the year that I will finally complete and purge my craft room of supplies I have bought to make certain things with but then never finished or sometimes even started.

Kid # 5 and I were in need of a chart not only for chores but for other things that she needed to get done before bedtime each evening.  

Here is what I created for her:

This is a magnet board made from a old burner cover. I used modge podge to glue scrapbook paper and rick rack on it.  I then made some little cards that I glued magnets on the back of for the "to do" and "done" and the "letter explanation ".  That way if I wanted to use the magnet board for something else in the future they were not permanate.   The letter tiles are old scrabble tiles and each letter represents an item that Kid # 5 must complete before she goes to bed.  

I have hung this in the kitchen so that not only does Kid # 5 have access to it but I also see it regularly though out the evening also and can keep up with what is left to do.

So far it is working well :)

More Cheap Curtains!

Kid # 5 has been asking for a while to update her room.  She will be 11 this year and feels that her princess'y room is to "babyish" for her.  She is all about the zebra print at the moment.  I ruled out any painting as we did that a few years ago and the treatment to her walls is something she can grow with.  I did however agree to update her curtains and bedding, possibly some accessories too, we will see.

Anyway, I mentioned in an earlier post this week that I had found some zebra print curtains/sheers someone was selling on one of my local facebook sites.  I spent $16 for them.  Here they are off the Walmart site.

As you can see they are floor length and I only got two panels.  But Kid #5 has two windows and she didn't really need floor length ones either.  They would have just gotten in the way.  

So I cut each panel in half.  Took out the seams for the hem and the curtain rod pockets.  Sewed new hems on the sides and bottoms.  Sewed a new curtain rod pockets and I now have 4 panels instead of  just two.

Here is how they turned out.

I think they turned out wonderful.  To buy 4 panels I would have had to pay $7.95 a panel.  So I saved myself some money and just used a little of my time instead.  

Best of all Kid # 5 loves them and that is what matters the most :) 

PS: she to that lamp in the last picture as a Christmas gift from my Mom.  She was thrilled with it too :)

Few Projects I Have Done Recently

When I did the craft show about a month ago I had a large chalk board I had made out of an old cabinet door which I ended up selling. A friend of Kid # 3 saw it and commissioned one from me for her to give as a Christmas gift. The one I made for her is a smaller then the one I sold at the craft store but still made from an old cabinet door.

Here it is:

I think it turned out pretty cute :)

The hubby and I made these versions of ruler grow charts for Christmas gift for our nephew and grandson. Hubby sanded and measured te lines for me. I stained and painted the numbers and lines in. We are a good team :)

I love how they turned out! 

Present For My Nephew

My nephew turned 6 this week. Tomorrow is his birthday party. I wanted to make him something special. I also wanted it to be a frugal project and use up somethings I already had.  I decided to make him a felt car mat. I scoured Pinterest looking at all the different ideas there are to make them. I ended up using fabric glue and making the layout up as I went along.

Here is what I spent a few hours everyday this week working on and all day today finishing it up. I love how it turned out :)

Homecoming Flowers

Today is Kid # 4's homecoming dance. I started making Kid #3's flowers for her several years ago. She always wanted something different, not your usual corsage. So it seems I am carrying on this tradition with Kid #4, even though he is a boy. Luckily his girlfriend liked the idea too :)

I posted a couple of times that I only spent $3.92 on a few supplies to make the flowers. I bought one roll of tulle and then the white rose for the boutineer. I used a 40% off mobile coupon at Hobby Lobby for the roll of tulle and then the rose was on sale 50% off.

Anyway, here they are. I love how the turned out :)

Baby Gift

My cousin had a baby boy recently and I wanted to take her a gift. 

I didn't have much money to spend. I did have some leftover fabric from making my Grandson a few things.

I made a large blanket, a burp cloth and a reversible bib

Here is some pictures of both sides of the bib.

All the items were well received. I think I will be making more in the future when baby gifts are needed :)