REdecorating by REpurposing - Recycling Old to Become New in Home Decor

Hi Friends!

One of my favorite things about home decor blogs, is seeing just how CREATIVE everyone is.  I always find it fascinating how people can see something old or completely dumpster worthy and turn it into something spectacular.  

For instance, take a look at Renee did with this old door she got.  

With a little fun she turned it into a DIY shelf bookcase (complete with light!!) 

Bulbstoblossoms.com

How about these re purposing home decor ideas:

This person took a cattle trough and installed a fiberglass liner in it. (She said the whole thing cost her 90 bucks!)  I could definitely see this in a farmhouse style home.

Kim from Baileywife had an old water trough and her young son made it into a great console table! I love the wheels he added to it.

How fun is that?

What do you think about using old wash-bins and turning them into chic light fixtures?

Creative - huh.  

One of my own TRASH to TREASURE projects was when I ran across this old 1970's painting.  

It was huge and I just knew I could create something cool out of it.  It didn't hit me as to what I would do with it until I started taking apart an old hanging seashell decoration.  I knew I could create something either completely dorky (that looked like a potato chip collage) or something totally fun.  

I'm hoping you all think it turned out fun :-)

You can see the entire 1970's painting turned eclectic art tutorial here.

And hey, if you happen to have an old rowboat hanging around your backyard, how about re purposing it and turning it into a bed. :-) I have decided this is where I want to sleep.... cuddly feather bed and all.

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Home Decor Ideas: What You Can do with Old Window Panes.

Happy Friday Everyone! 

I never know what topic will create the most interest, but this recent post about creating a great entry table according to your style has really "taken off".  This console table vignette was my first discussed entry display.

So for this post, I thought it would be fun to show all kinds of examples of Home Decor using old window panes.  

I'll start of with one of my OWN projects.  

Old Windows Used As Frames

I printed out 4 of my favorite pictures from Costco in the size of the window opening and taped them in.  The other panels you can put scrapbook paper or fabric in.  The entire project cost me under $17.00

What Holly did from Down to Earth Styling BLOWS my mind! - Take a look at how she turned her old window pane into a unique headboard!

I find this little hand made table with an old window pane ADORABLE and proves my point in the entry table post that sometimes you just need a console table to add character to a space (it doesn't HAVE to be practical,  it just fills in an area of your home that needs some character!)

Another great way to use old window panes is just to add coat hooks!  SO simple but really adds a nice touch.  This could also be in a bathroom and towels could hang from it.

archetectureartdesigns.com

I also love how simple this idea is....just fill in the glass (or empty squares if they glass is removed!) with fun colored pieces of scrapbook paper.  These days, even pieces of paper  can definitely be considered art!  What a great BIG piece of art for NOT a lot of money spent!

And for all of you wine drinkers......you can always keep all your corks and assemble your own homemade cork board! 

Mom 4 Real

And lastly, just because I LOVE EYE CANDY......here is a beautiful room full of character using an old antique arched window pane as a focal point.  

Some of you are probably wondering where you can find these old windows.  Honestly, I have found almost all of mine at yard sales!  You can also go to glass/window replacement shops and a lot of times they have them just laying around and ready to be taken to the dumpster!  From what I have heard, the east coast has a lot more of these old glass windows than the west coast. (due to so many older buildings)  For those who don't mind paying a bit more, you can almost always find these windows at antique shops or flea markets. 

I hope this post inspired those that like this style to find some old window panes and add them to your home decor.  :-)  Enjoy your weekend!

Top 10 Most Viewed Creative Juices Decor Posts

In the January "top 10" spirit, I thought it would be fun to do a post on the top 10 most viewed projects on my blog.  :-)  

#1.) Map on Canvas Art

This project has been a top 10 since I posted it - for those that are looking for a large piece of art for not a lot of money - go check out how to make this in my step by step tutorial - how to take a paper map and put it on canvas. (I found mine at the thrift store)

#2) Wine Bottle Crafts

 Need to figure out a way to use up all those saved wine bottles?  This is a great project.  Just prime and spray paint the bottles.  After they dry, tape off and add some black chalk paint.  Write your own personal message and voila! 

#3) How to Decorate the Top of Your Cabinets

This post has been circulating around Pinterest like crazy.  It's great for those who just need some tips and ideas on decorating all those empty spaces not only on top of cabinets, but on top of hutches or any area where you might decide to put some accessories together.

#4) Make a Pottery Barn Clock "Knockoff" out of a piece of wood.

Personally, this is one of MY favorite posts.  I remember seeing this crazy orange circle at the thrift store and wondering what I could do with it.  At the price of $1.50 I felt that even if I ruined that beautiful orange circle I wouldn't be out a lot of money so I was just going to have some fun!  

And a few very FUN hours later - I had myself a decorative clock (that looked just like the 100 dollar version from Pottery Barn!) You can use this aging technique with anything.  Go check out the post for some inspiration. (-:

#5) Rock Candy

Well, sometimes I'll do a post and it just becomes a hit - like this one!  My kids LOVE making this....but I think they LOVE eating it even more!  It's just pure sugar......makes a mom so happy (-:

#6) Ice Candles

This winter has been VERY mild where I live, I can't remember another year that didn't have snow on the ground right now.  This project is for my cold weather winter friends that want to add some glamour to their entry (or anywhere)  You just begin to freeze water in either a cup (small) or a 5 gallon bucket (huge) and right before the entire thing becomes frozen solid, you dump out the remaining water and put a candle in it - SOOOOO pretty!!!  

#7) Cinnamon Ornaments using Glue

This can be a fun project to make even if it's not Christmas time.  You can do any cookie cutter shape you want and use it as a gift tag.  They smell HEAVENLY cooking and kids have a blast making them.  It's just cinnamon, applesauce and glue.

#8) Free Plate Hanger - DIY

OK, this is also one of MY favorite tutorials.  I have always wanted to do a huge plate collage with the plates I had collected from various thrift stores.  It always bothered me though that to HANG each plate would cost 3 times as much as I spent on the plate itself. /-:  But then I realized I could just make my own plate hanger!  It involves hot glue, felt and a paper clip.  If you have ever wanted to make a plate collage, this post is a MUST READ!

#9) Gingerbread Playdough

Who doesn't enjoy a wonderful smelling playdough recipe? :-)  I even added some gold glitter to this batch.  Kids of all ages love this craft.  

#10)  Homemade Cherry Pie Lara Bars Recipe

I LOVE these, I mean I could eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  You can use this recipe to make any flavor you want.  Apple Pie, Coconut Pie, Peach Pie - just substitute your favorite dried fruit flavor.  Kids really like them too and it's SO much cheaper to make them yourself instead of buying the at the store.  

Enjoy my friends, I hope at least one of these posts was of interest to YOU!  

Till next week :-)

Favorite American Clay Jobs - Before and After Showcase!

Happy Friday Everyone!

I have been doing an American Clay project all week long.  I'll take the final "after" photos some time today but here is a sneak peak of all the colors I used - I had fun mixing and being "artistic" on each wall.

1) Savannah moss (it was actually more a brown than green)

2) Chesapeake Bay (very blue/grey)

3) Snow Canyon  (clay in it's natural whitish state)

Since I have American Clay on my mind, I thought it would be fun to do a post on some of my past clay projects.  A little Before and After Showcase. :-)

Before ENTRY with Colorado Red Clay - skip troweled

After

Tuscan Gold clay over concrete walls (this was an all green thermal mass home).

After (such a pretty glowing color)

One of my favorite clay projects was this guest room.  She wanted me to "age" the fireplace hood and then paint a true fresco of an antler.  It was HUGE (or else I just have a tiny head) :-) but it turned out great and was a lot of fun.  

Before (aging process)

After (complete with fresco using earth pigments)

This project was a client in California.  This is the exact same wall in both pictures.  I also helped with re-arranging and decorating the entire room.  Acacia American Clay

Before

 And the after!  

This series below is a photographers living room wall.  

This couple wanted to get rid of all their hanging photography canvases and just have a beautiful clay wall in their living room in which they could still shoot their photos.  

Before

After

This home was GORGEOUS......every time I came to the job site I felt like I was in another world!  You can see her entire Tuscan American Clay home on this other post. She literally had me (and my team) do the ENTIRE home in clay.....yes, including the garage.  

This is in the same home.....it was at least 30' high up by that window......we had 2 scaffolding's and a tall ladder on top of that and guess who the lucky chosen applicator was.......me :-)

My little girl's room......she chose PINK American Clay....of course ;-)

Before

After

And lastly, my own home......Nearly 200 hours worth of American Clay in this house :-)  I was exhausted!

Till next week my friends!  As always, I hope to inspire some of you to give American Clay a try in your own home....you'd love it.

HEALTHY Cookie Recipe Guide

Happy New Year!!! 

Who likes New Year resolutions?  I like them (and I know some people don't!) but I just feel there is never a BAD time of year to write (or reaffirm) your goals.  

In regards to the #1 New Year resolution of eating better I decided to post some of the healthier versions of my favorite cookies.

Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 

1 cup egg whites

2 1/2 cups raw oats

1 RIPE BANANA 

2/3 c fat free Greek Yogurt

2 tsp Stevia (or sprinkle in to taste)

3 TBSP almond or peanut butter (can try less if you want)

72 choc chips (3 chips per cookie)  :-)

SO EASY......just mix all together and bake!  

350 oven.....

25 - 30 min until golden brown

Makes 24 cookies

75 calories

Macros:  3 g fat/4 g protein/ 2 g fiber/ 9 g carbs

Optional additions:

cocoa nibs or cocoa powder

craisens or raisins

coconut flakes

carob chips

nuts

white chocolate chips

chia seeds

In the picture below, I only had white chocolate chips on hand and they tasted GREAT in it.  I also sprinkled some coconut palm sugar on the top before baking which gave them a nice caramel look.

One thing you will notice when baking yummy treats in a healthier fashion is that a lot of times they call for bananas or applesauce.  Here's the trick though, the bananas have to be OVERLY ripe.  I always keep a bag of peeled bananas that have become way too ripe for my kids to eat in my freezer.  It is PERFECT for making shakes and baking.  You'll never have to throw away an old banana again!

Here are a few more inspirational cookie recipes!

A good friend sent me this recipe:

Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

He said that by using applesauce instead of the egg whites the cookies below were more moist than the oatmeal ones above.  (I like the added protein in using the egg whites myself!)

skinny fork

This recipe looked fantastic!

No Bake Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate Covered Katie

These are other very tasty healthy cookies I have made.

This recipe used ripe bananas and almond flour rolled in shredded coconut.  VERY GOOD!

Uber Healthy Cookies

There you have it!  Give them a try and tell me what you think.  :-)

The cool thing is, you totally could eat ANY of these cookies for breakfast and not feel bad :-)

Coffee and Healthy Cookies.....what more could you ask for? :-)