Starburst Mirror DIY

Do I have to mention again how I like to save money? Well I do. So when I came across this great idea, I had to try it. I have been wanting a starburst mirror for a while now (Remember back to this post) but store bought ones come with a hefty price tag.

Last week we took a trip to Home Depot and Michaels (armed with a few 40% off coupons, of course) and came home with these items.

- 12" Mirror (Michaels, $8)

- Floral rings (Michaels, $5)

- Hot Glue Gun and glue (Michaels, $3 and $2)

-Cedar Shims (Home Depot, $12)

Not pictured

-Wire, Wall Hanger, Mirror Glue (Home Depot, $12)

Before we started gluing the shims onto the floral rings we laid them all out to see how we wanted the shims positioned. Then we took them all away and layer by layer glued the shims on..

We used mirror glue (not just glue from the glue gun) to attach the mirror to the shims and left it for 24hours to dry. Thomas attached the wall hooks and wire to the back of the floral rings and hung it on the wall. This project took less than 3hours total.

End result? Love. It turned out great. And it was fun to have a craft night with Tomtom. :)

Of course I had to put in a picture of my Sydney bean.

Palm Tree.

Yeah. I have nothing else to title this post. It all started off like any other trip to Home Depot.. until we spotted the group of palm trees. They were on sale, for $10.00 each. I don't know if it is our lack of vitamin D or if we are longing to be back on a beach but.. we brought one home. :)

No coconuts, but it will have to do.

We also bought this little beeeeauty for $39.99 at IKEA.

And these for a bit of storage..

Our little living room.. coming together.. slowly... piece by piece..

:)

Let there be lamps

Our living room has been lacking in the lighting department for a while now. Lamps are just so darn expensive to buy. Okay, maybe not the most expensive purchase in a home.. But I'm cheap and not afraid to admit it. Thankfully, a family friend gave us a set of lamps. Behold..

I take no credit for discovering this wicked-awesome-cool spray-paint. Thomas totally picked it out. I would defiantly recommend this stuff. Very easy to paint with and leaves a really neat effect.. High five Thomas. High five. $14.00 for these and I didn't use a full can. Super. Now I get to do another project..

Lamp shades are from IKEA. $13.00 each.

Thomas had to rewire the lamp slightly to allow the shade to hang properly. He is so handy. Not sure what I would do without him.. but I'm sure it would involve a lot of wine..

Drumroll please..

TA DA.......

What do you think? Personally, I love them. THANKS Sandy! You are the greatest. :)

Spare Bedroom #1 - Update

The last time I blogged about this room was here and here . If you want to catch yourself up on its progress go check those posts out. It's been a while. :)

Since then, we have painted. The walls are ICI Deluxe paint in 'Paddlewheel Grey' and the ceiling is ICI's ceiling paint in 'The Plaza'.

We (Thomas) also finished installing the baseboards, crown moulding, and the window trim.

I still need to paint the trim. It is an annoying job, but someone has got to do it! :)

Thomas installed the closet organizer. Rubbermaid. Simple cheap and easy.

This closet defiantly helps getting ready in the morning for work. I highly recommend wallpapering your closets! I love mine. With the new doors and organizer I can actually see all my clothes. I'm hoping to come up with some jewelry organization for one of those cubbies. I also need to paint the closet doors. All in all I'm really happy with how it turned out. :)

For this room I have visions..

.. of a crafting room. A reading room. A dressing room. A guest room?

Its a tall order. And I'm not sure there is enough space for all of the above. But we will figure it out soon. :)

Bathroom Reno - Stained Vanity

We wanted to use up some dark walnut stain we had sitting around..

Before

After careful consideration we decided to update our bathroom vanity. If it did not turn out well we could paint over the stain. No harm done. We disassembled the doors and drawers for sanding. After 3 coats of stain and a trip to home depot for some new hardware we have..

After

Don't worry, we aren't done. Tiling the floor and shower is next and we are on the hunt for a new counter top. Stay tuned :)

Christmas Time

Thomas was able to put up the christmas lights before the snow fell..

We have recently returned from another sweet vacation in Vegas. It was so relaxing to just get away from the busy of everyday life. Here a few shots of the over the top Vegas style christmas decorations.

The day after we got home we got right to business and bought our first ever real tree. A recommendation from a co-worker lead us to Save On Foods for our $40.00 douglas fir. It was heavy, just ask Thomas.

We cleared this corner of our living room and setup our tree stand.

Our trees directions instructed us to remove 1" from the bottom of the tree. So thomas did. And I have started a little tradition with this piece of the tree that I might share a little later :)

Here she is in all of her wrapped up frozen glory.

Starting to defrost and fill out..

I got a great deal on some gorgeous ornaments from RH..

Although there is no topper yet.. I really like our tree. Its simple and gorgeous and ours. :)

Our first christmas in our first home is feeling wonderful. This tree makes the house smell amazing. With a generous amount of eggnog in the fridge and christmas music playing... Cozy is the best way to describe it. We have already had a little get together with some friends where I made a turkey for a big dinner. Want to see a picture of my golden bird? Okay!

We are feeling extremely blessed to have such a great group of friends and an amazing family. Looking forward to many more visits and festivities before the new year. :)

I see a white door and I want to paint it red...

Are you ready for this?

Its my most favoritest thing that we've done in the house to date.

Its awesome..

I'm not the greatest at capturing the before shots. So here is the door with a couple of samples on it. (apparently I need to calm down when I 'sample' a colour.. :) )

We decided on Benjamin Moores Affinity Color 'Dinner Party' in their exterior Aura paint. We love BM's Aura paint! Its incredible. I was able to cover this door in two coats. If you have ever painted with red before, you know thats pretty decent.

The old brass hardware just wasn't jiving with the doors pretty new colour. So a trip to Rona later..

Oh, I guess they had a sale on thermostats too.. ;)

Ugly old hinges..

Brand new and looking great!

A little before and "after" shot.. (even though we have a long way to go..)

Before our move in, May 2010

Taken tonight, October 4 2010 :)

I'm sure I speak for both Thomas and I when I say we are super proud of our little bungalow. And all that we have accomplished and done here. There is still a lot of work to be done. At this point, there is no slowing us down. We are renovating machines! :)

What do you think? Do you like our new red door? :)

Incase you were curious.. the total cost for this project including paint and new hardware was $125.00. Less than a new door and MUCH more fun! :)