Category Archives: home décor (recycle and upcycle)

Coffee Pot Make-over: Stunning Purple Painted Pot

Make a thrift store coffee pot into something much more fun and interesting. You can use it as a vase with flowers or use it to serve a beverage.

This coffee pot was silver plated but it didn’t look good anymore because the silver was worn away in places and couldn’t be properly polished.

I used very fine sandpaper: the kind for metal work. I sanded the exterior of the coffeepot. Sanding helps the paint to adhere to the metal. Also, I recommend using a metal primer before applying a top coat of the color spray paint that you desire. I say, why not go bold?!

I painted mine purple because it looks good in my daughter’s room with the collection of thrift store tea cups she has.

I also used this coffee pot as part of the décor during a Mad Hatter’s Dinner Tea Party. Most of the feathers were collected over the years from my chickens when they molted. A few peacock feathers etc. came from local farms. The feathers are bunched together in small bouquets and tied to the top of chopsticks and then arranged in the pot.

Upcycled Plastic Pots: Beautiful Bark Covered Pots

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Something as simple as covering a plastic nursery pot with bark can have wonderful results.

Adding a ribbon around the pot is a nice touch.

Nice for a house-warming gift or teacher gift.

Beautiful for a wedding or dinner party.

Add bark in a horizontal pattern or a vertical pattern.

We have a wood burning stove so I’m able to gather bark from around our log pile. Alternatively, you can harvest some from fallen trees. Using a hot glue gun, attach strips of bark. I used a pair of pliers to break the pieces to the appropriate length. Work your way around the pot: adding strips as you go. Reuse plastic pots you have hanging around your garage or find some secondhand. This blog is about wise use of resources so ask around and reuse items as much as possible.

I used 3 inches tall pots with square tops for a windowsill herb garden and I used a 4.5 inches tall round pot for a centerpiece.

Chandelier Make-Over: When Switching To Energy Efficient Light Bulbs, Try Frosting Glass Shades To Hide Unsightly Bulbs

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I wanted to “green” up our chandelier but the new light bulbs didn’t look good.

First I tried to achieve a frosted look by using etching cream. (I used Armour Etch Glass Etching Cream. See pictures below.)

Then I thought maybe I could paint the inside but wanted it to be transparent. Also I wanted the resulting look of the chandelier to be neutral.

I found this site (http://lifehacker.com/399731/increase-your-privacy-with-16-diy-window-frosting) which describes how they put acrylic wall glaze on windows to give a milky opaque look to increase privacy. I decided to try it on my chandelier shades.

I think it turned out terrific!

This is a before picture.

This is also a before picture. The kids and I like to decorate this chandelier according to the season or holiday.

How to:

Find some acrylic glaze. I went to my local Habitat for Humanity and would you believe they had some. I found Behr brand glazing liquid. You might want to ask around to see if anyone had some in their garage. It only takes a small amount.

Clean the shades and let dry.

Paint a thin layer on the inside of the shades.

The brush bristles left lines in the paint that were noticeable on the top half so I used a paper towel to give it a ragged on look instead. The bottom half has three layers on it. Let dry between coats.

The benefit of this solution is that the glaze can be scrubbed out if you ever change your mind.

These shades have the etching cream on them.

Here is what it looked like after using the etching cream two times. It has a cool patchy look but not what I want for this project. I tried a third time without sufficient results. At Armour Products website it says that this product is not recommended for large areas. Large is relative; I thought they meant large like a window.

Bedroom Blizzard: Paper Snowflake Decor

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Add a little fun to your life by making a winter wonderland in the comfort of your own home.

This snowflake was made from an invoice I received. I’ve been collecting these invoices and instead of sending them to be recycled (which is good too) I saved them to make a blizzard. Invoices work because the little bit of writing on the back isn’t overly noticeable. Also, I try to work with the whitest parts.

Put a few of the snowflakes directly on the wall. Also, you can hang one snowflake under another.

Hang snowflakes at different levels for a more natural snowing affect. I used salvaged fishing wire to hang some of the snowflakes. I have some fishing wire found during beach clean-ups. Parts that aren’t too tangled can be washed and reused.

It’s so lovely to go in that room and look up (or if you are lying on the bed and looking up); it makes you feel like the snow is really falling down all around. I couldn’t capture it in a picture so you’ll have to make it to see for yourself.

How to tips:

Paper snowflakes can be made with scrap paper, invoices, and used printer paper that still has a lot of white left. Have you ever printed stuff from the internet and the last page that prints only has the web address on it?

I save my favorite snowflakes to use again. Store them where they can stay flat such as in an unwanted (salvaged) book. The added benefit is that pressing them in a book flattens them out nicely.

Note: I tried ironing my snowflakes. (That’s not a sentence you see too often.) What I discovered is that some invoices such as from Amazon are printed with a heat printer of some kind; thus, rendering one side of the snowflake black when ironed. Best to test your paper first if ironing.

Thrift Store Coffee Table Turned Princess And The Pea Inspired Bench: Altering Bench

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I was looking for a bench for my daughter’s room when I came upon this coffee table at a local thrift store. When I saw it I liked its clean lines and decided that it could also be used as a bench.
Located near a sunny window, this bench has become a prized spot in our house.
It has even inspired imaginative play. How could it not?

This bench is for my reader and writer: hence the vintage typewriter, books, and writing journal.

How to convert this rickety old coffee table into a nice sturdy bench:

1. Some of the pieces had shifted out of place over time so they needed to be tapped back in place and glued.

2. The legs were wobbly so the wing nuts were tightened but not before the washers were replaced by larger ones. The smaller ones were getting squeezed into the wood and therefore not doing their job anymore.

3. To create a lip, you’ll need to cut the long edge off of what will become the back side of the bench. This lip will help keep the pillows in place when the bench is complete but is not needed if your table/bench doesn’t allow for it. Measure and clamp a guide board onto your table. This will allow you to cut a nice straight line.

4. Run the skill saw along the edge of the board; cutting a strip off one of the long sides.

5. Turn the strip up on end (becomes the lip) and glue into place. Also add a few screws from the bottom. This allows the table (now bench) to go up against the wall and also adds a bit of a design element.