$5 Beauty

As all of you know rates are super low in the mortgage department right now... so the three of us have been slaving away processing your refinance we haven't had much time to craft let alone blog. But if the other two are slacking i will post my favorite new project... I was with Ash at the DI and found this beauty for $5...

BEFORE

AFTER

I love how it turned out! When I bought it I had no idea where i was going to put it.... I drilled a hole in the back and it happens to be the perfect nook for our ugly router. I was showing meg pics of the finished product and come to find out she has it's twin. Maybe this will motivate her to post a pic of hers!

-CIC-



oh Krylon... my life would be so bland with out you

Oh how a coat of spray paint can transform junk into some of my favorite things!! 

I saved  two of these beauties from the dumpster while working at Bath & Body Works. They were props from many many years ago. Everyone thought they were hideous. I knew they had potential.... 

Add a little Cherry Red Krylon Spray paint.....POOF!

Just like magic... new vases!

I love them with the TV.... They make the hubbies MANLY TV feel a little more frilly :)



Thank you Krylon!!!

-CIC

Shoe Cupboard Part 2

It's DONE!!!! And I love it!!!!  I covered the back wall of the cupboard with a brown and white damask print, spray painted the shelves blue, covered the side walls in a plain brown broadcloth, and mod podged cute scrapbook paper to some 12x12 boxes to hold hats and scarves on the top shelves.  I'm thrilled with my final result:

Aaaaaaah  how I love organization!  No more shoes scattered in the entryway in this girl's house!  Life is good. :)

-Ash

Shoe Cupboard Part 1

I recently moved into a new apartment, and my neighbor across the street said he had an old cupboard he was getting rid of, and asked if I'd like it.  It was just a basic cupboard:

 Not much to look at, but naturally, I saw it's potential.  I accepted his offer, and thought it would work beautifully for a shoe-closet in my entry way.  When people come in, they can throw their shoes in there and my entryway won't need to be littered with them.  Perfect, right?  I spray-painted it red, then used a good, old-fashioned stamp and applied blue paint to it to do the detail on it.  Of course, when I took pictures I took them all sideways and I still can't figure out how to rotate pictures on here... sorry about that.  But here's what it looks like now:

 Here's the side view, from the kitchen:

Cute, right?  I'm pretty excited about it.  The inside is going to be adorable too, but it's not done so you can't see it yet.  Keep an eye out for it though, it'll be here soon :)

--Ash

Spooky......

I just realized Halloween is just around the corner and I have no costume! I don't even have any clever ideas! I love to see the things people come up with! Luckily Scooter has his costume!

Yes you heard correctly. He has a costume and I don't!

I can't wait to see what everyone including Meg and Ash come up with!

How could I post about Halloween and not post a previous Halloween picture?

(Palin & McCain the Halloween before the election, It was alot of fun!)

Instant Gratification

I'm all about cheap, easy, quick ways to spruce up a room.  Don't get me wrong, I love making quilts and refinishing furniture and other time-consuming crafts, but if you give me a project I can finish in one night, I'll be one happy girl!  I recently moved into a brand new apartment.  It's great, but there are a LOT of sad, empty walls just screaming for me to give them a makeover.  Cic and I were at DI one day and she gave me the idea to put cute fabric in wooden hoops and hang them.  Later that night I was at Jo-Ann's, picking out my fabric.  About an hour and less than $20 later, my entry way was looking great!  I bought cross-stitching hoops in varying sizes and got small cuts of fabric to stretch across them.  Originally I was going to paint the hoops too, but I was too excited to wait, and in the end, I think that might have been too much color! I put the fabric in, attached the top layer of the hoop, cut off the excess, and voila!  I had a masterpiece.  I tied ribbons to the hoops to hang them at varying heights.   It was seriously so easy and fun, and I absolutely love the result!

The best part is, I can put new fabric in those babies whenever I want a new look!  Give it a try!  You just might fall in love.

-Ash

More to Life Than Mortgages

Let's face it:  Mortgages are a big part of life.  If you ever plan on buying a house, you'd better plan on being tied down to a mortgage for at least 15 years.  Every month that chunk of money comes out of your income, you pay your balance down, and dream of the day you'll own your home free and clear.  You might think about your mortgage frequently, but what about the people who actually make that loan a reality?  Ever think of them?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  And if you did think of them, you'd probably imagine something along the lines of... boring people in shirts and ties, staring at computer screens all day, who get their kicks by ordering new pocket protectors online.  Well, I'm here to tell you... sometimes the people who take care of your mortgage are fun and creative.  And that's where we come in.  Meagan, Cicelie and Ashleigh:  Crafting Extraordinaires.  You'd be hard pressed to find three girls who love creating masterpieces more than we do.  All day long we work hard inside the "Box" to help put our husbands through school, but at night it's our time to play "Outside The Box," by painting, mod podge-ing, sewing, wallpapering, and decorating anything we can get our hands on.  Everyone deserves an outlet for their creativity, and this just happens to be ours!  Caution:  By observing our fabulous creations, you may find yourself buying bolts of fabric that you're not sure what you're going to do with yet, searching for yard sales near you on Craigslist, purchasing mod podge by the gallon, and making excuses for reasons to stop at DI.  After reading our blog, your pocket books may end up being considerably lighter as you search for ways to create your own beauties.  Consider yourself warned.


-Ash