Flower Power Tools

The current COPY CAT challenge at Debbie Doos couldn't have come at a better time for me.  I actually have something to share, and it goes with my current crafting space project.

Several months ago,
I saw this idea to give your tools a little personality
on the blog  A Fish Who Likes Flowers

She used duct tape on hers.
Cute, huh?

The minute I put up that peg board in my Siberian craft space,
 I knew that I had to give my tools a little personality too.
Unfortunately, I didn't have any cute duct tape.
 I decided to do something else instead.

Boring tools...

White Fusion paint.

Tissue paper and Mod Podge

And there ya go:
Flower Power Tools

Go ahead and laugh.
That's what the husband did.

He kept laughing even after I explained the logic behind it. (There is some logic, you know.) Not only are they fun and festive, but they will be much easier to locate when they go off on scissor and tool adventures and leave their assigned post.

For some reason, my scissors and tools are prone to meandering.

This little project will keep me
from invading the sanctity of his tool box
on such a regular basis.
That's exactly what I told him.

The husband isn't so sure about that.
He did assure me, however, that it will definitely keep him from invading mine. 

*****
In case you're interested:
I used two coats of Fusion paint and then cut out the individual flowers. I'm giving them another protective coating of  Mod Podge, and I might give them a coat of clear varnish as well. I haven't decided yet. 

Siberian Facelift Part Two

If you've been following my Siberian lifestyle lift, 

this is the part where it should all start to make more sense.

There's actually a method to the wackadoo madness and crazy colors. You see, I'm a firm believer that bright colors stimulate creativity.

And I caught a little contagious creativity not long ago in blog land.  

Many of you have probably seen how Ange@The Blooming Hydrangea turned an unused closet in her home into an office space. If you haven't seen it, click HERE. She dubbed it The Cloffice. 

Well, here's my own version of a  re-purposed space.

I'm calling mine The Crathroom.

Part bathroom.

Part craft space.

You see, I don't have a single space around this joint to organize craft and painting supplies. Oh, I had them stored in an orderly fashion, but to a completely right brained person, storing and organizing are two very different animals.

If I have to pull things out of a bin that's stashed on a shelf in a garage or other such space, it's stored. If it is openly displayed and at my fingertips, it's organized. And if it's organized in a climate controlled environment, it's more likely to stay organized. 

My craft and painting supplies were stored,  but they were not organized. They were hidden here and there like munchkins. Every time I wanted to do a project, it was come out come out wherever you are.

Seeing all the great craft spaces in blog land whet my appetite for a fingertip space. Unfortunately, I didn't have a  room to sacrifice for the cause. (And don't even bother suggesting The Practical One's room. It already has a job; it's a shrine.)

This is the space I chose.

It's small, but doable.  There's a sink for washing out brushes and enough counter space to work on small projects.

Or even small pieces of furniture.
See?

I wanted it to function as a craft space, but not lose it's ability to morph back into bathroom if needed. Just because we haven't used that shower in 15 years doesn't mean we never will.

So...

Shoe bags were hung over a tension rod for spray paints and other supplies. Yes, I know that they don't match. This project had to be done without spending a dime, remember. Therefore, I used what I had, and what I had were two more members of the graduating class of 2011.

Three members actually. That little white shelf between them came from her college room too. Please picture it all grown up and twice its size. I'm planning to get a second one to stack on top of it next month. I have a few more things in the garage still waiting for a home.

The rest of it is just collected junque from around the home place and the power of paint. That's because I hoard my remnants and buy random, obscure things at the ReStore.

I had bought that peg board at the Restore in the spring, and we happened to have just enough of that molding to frame it.  I painted it with more of that green paint.

Yes, I know I haven't put anything on it yet.

 I haven't finished organizing the stuff in the cabinets and drawers yet either,

 but I'm showing the room anyway.

 This post is long enough so I'll save something

 for another day.  

That's where Siberia is this morning. Maybe not magazine material,

 but considering where we started...

Plus the fact  that I did it all without spending a dime,

 I'd say it's close enough to perfect for me.

By the way, did anyone notice where I'm storing the extra noodles?

*****

I'll be sharing at Inspiration Friday
'cause I know you're all inspired to go create a
Crathroom now, right?
Right?
Yeah, that's what I was afraid of.

Siberian Facelift Part One

You know how you open a blog with a big, beautiful reveal

 and immediately start ooohing and ahhhhing? 

Yeah, well, this won't be one of those times. 

This little makeover wouldn't be bloggable at all were it not for the fact that I promised to show it, and that it was done without spending a single dime.

Not a single dime, people.

Do you know how hard that is?

Keep that in mind before I open the door.  

Siberia before

And Siberia as of this morning.

Still a work in progress.

If I felt like renaming this room (and I don't), I might choose The Graduate.  That's because nearly everything used in this room is a cast off from the dorm days of The Practical One.

This shower curtain graduated in 2011. 

This part was kind of serendipitous because I had already decoupaged those cabinet pulls when I remembered that curtain.  I had been planning to fashion something together with fabric remnants, but decided to use that one instead.

Nothing like letting a hoarded napkin decide an entire room design...

I like it because not only is it free but it lets me introduce a dozen fun colors into the room. I plan to introduce them all.  I promise that there actually is a method to all this wackadoo madness...

 For shower rings, I just sprayed those old plastic blue ones with white Fusion and then gave them a coat of the same trusty lime as the cabinet pulls. 

Little wooden buttons were painted and glued to the hooks

to dress it up a little. 

The extra cabinet is from the same graduating class as the shower curtain. It was white laminate, but I think it looks better painted heirloom white to blend better with the cabinets. I used Kilz on it first.  I'm not positive that's necessary since my HW has primer in it, but I would rather be safe than sorry when painting cheap laminate.

More green for the knobs.

The ugly brass light fixture got a facelift too.

 I had originally intended to go white with it. (By the way, here's my tip of the day: Hoard burned out light bulbs to use when painting a light fixture.)  But really, I want to replace that fixture completely. That being the case, I didn't think it would hurt for it to go green as well. 

Oh no, she didn't...

Oh yes, I did. 

Wackadoo. 

It's just a cheap brass fixture, people.

Now, I'm sure you noticed that this room is stark and boring and needs some 
accessories to finish it.

Let me explain...

It's not going to get any. 

You see, the room is not only called Siberia because it's cold in there; it's called Siberia because it's extremely remote. Basically, it's the Wonka Land of the home place. Nobody ever goes in, and nobody ever comes out. It just sits there,  hidden from view, a vast wasteland.  

Emphasis on the waste part.

That's why I decided to change its function and give it a job description. Don't you think giving a space a job description just makes it perform better?

Yeah, I think so too.

Unfortunately, this post has already gotten too long so the full  lifestyle lift will have to be a post for another day. Hopefully by Monday.

Here's a little clue....

I need the Man of the Place to help me put up some final things before I'm finished, and he's still out of town.  Poor guy comes home to a honey do list every weekend. Good thing I give myself that Friday facial so he  comes home to sugar lips as well.

And that's the way it is. Friday, July 27, 2012...

Free Funky Handles

Just a little update on my progress in the cold and remote bathroom that I like to call Siberia. I'm nearly finished with it, at least as much as I can do without spending any money in this No Buy July.

It has been fun. 

Actually, No Buy July has been fun.

 Really...

 The fact that I had to rely on what I have on hand has been good for the brain.  

Joining this zero cost makeover already in progress...

Cabinets before

Stained "oak-ish" cabinets were painted Heirloom White. 

I might have picked  a more adventurous color,
but I didn't happen to have an adventurous color around here.
 I did happen to have about a quart of Heirloom White 
and the matching spray paint for a smooth finish. 

So Heirloom White it is. 

I used the existing handles since that's the only style I have on hand. (Actually, I have a whole basket full of this style. They were on every cabinet in the place and have been hoarded as I replaced them room by room. 

They come apart which makes this project so easy.

I used this stuff.

(Hope that Mod Podge lasts until August...)

I sprayed all parts with some Universal satin to give them some stick 'em. (Would have just used spray primer, but I'm out of it right now. )

Metal parts got a coat of this limey green from a kitchen project.

Ceramic inserts got a little Mod Podge

Polka Dots for the drawers

Stripes for the doors. 

And Ta Da.

Free funky handles. 

Yes, they are a little wackadoo,
 but wackadoo is the look I'm going for
so I'm giving this the thumb's up. 

I'll be finished with Siberia this week so I'll show the rest of the project then.
In the meantime, enjoy the other projects on
Metamorphosis Monday


*****
By the way,
can I just take this moment to shout out the auction
 at My Place To Yours?
It's for a very worthy cause.

A Strip Tease

It's hot here people.

I know... I know...

 It's summertime. 

It has always been this hot. 

Maybe so, but I haven't always been 50. 

It seems to be worse this year than ever. 

I'm thinking of moving to Siberia and becoming a stripper

 until this raging hormone thing is over. 

Since that's probably not a reasonable option,

 I have come up with a different plan instead. 

If you need me, I'll be in Siberia.  

Lovely, isn't it? 

Siberia is a rarely used bathroom in the most remote corner of the house.  Outside of family, no one even knows Siberia exists. That's because I keep the door closed so as to employ the ostrich method of decorating.

What you can't see can't hurt you.

The shower in this room has never been used. We have plenty of others around here. The commode is rarely used either,  and this lovely '80s vanity area? It  has been used for the past decade to store my attempt at an emergency food bank.

In fact, Siberia has become the vast wasteland of the home place, hiding all manner of my schtuff.


Teaching supplies in the shower;
teaching career in the toilet. 

Now folks, please don't think that I'm the one who gave this room a case of the blues. I didn't, at least not intentionally.   If you have read my Big Fat 80s Kitchen story, you might recall that we purchased this house for its size and location, even though it was covered top to bottom with '80s wallpaper. 

Blue and peach '80s wallpaper. 

Really, that was the color scheme of the entire house. 

You'll might also recall that I had done my stripping act all over this joint until I developed a severe case of sheetrockaphobia whilst stripping in the guest bathroom. (Which is not this bathroom.) 

 Sheetrockophobia: The unnatural fear that ugly '80s wallpaper

 has been superglued to bare sheet rock 

and will bring said sheet rock down with it upon removal. 

At that point, I threw up my hands, shut the door, and started pretending that the wallpaper didn't exist. The blue shower liner and towels were remnants of our first home so I just stuck them in there with the rest of the blues. In for a penny; in for a pound. 

But here's the thing:

Not only is this room the most remote corner of the house, it's also the coldest one. That's because it's the first one on the line of our monster air conditioning unit. When the door is closed, which it generally is, the room becomes a freezer. 

Are you following me here?

And so, with a little long distance encouragement from a very practical daughter, I have decided to spend the  rest of No Buy July as a Siberian Stripper.  

Which  is an upgrade from my usual role as Siberian husky. 


 And the best part about it? Stripping wallpaper didn't cost a dime.  In fact, repainting it didn't cost a dime either. I had a nearly full gallon of the yellow from my kitchen just waiting for a home.  

So here's the strip...

And here's the tease...
(The blue curtain will go. I'm just hiding something behind it.)

That's as far as I've gotten, but I have more plans for Siberia by the end of the month.
You see, I'm changing it from a Siberian wasteland
into something much more useful.

And I'm determined to do the entire thing without spending a dime.

Want to guess what it's going to be? 

By the way, just one bit of advice as I close this:
If you're searching google images for a picture to illustrate a blog post,
it's best not to type in the words
STRIP TEASE.

Don't ask me how I know...

The Name Game

Debi Debi Bo Bebi-  Banana Fana Fo Febi...

Thanks for all the commiseration and advice about the Great Hacking Adventure of 2012. Clearly, confession is good for the soul. That's the way it appears, anyway, since I have yakked my story abroad to anyone who will listen for a week. You wouldn't believe how it  has been decorated by now. 

But then again, maybe you would. 

The husband, on the other hand, is already sick and tired of hearing about it.  He told me that he doesn't want to hear the phrase austerity measures one more time.

Therefore, I have given it a new name. I'm calling it No Buy July.  Doesn't that sound a lot more adventurous than austerity measures?  If there is one tip that defines my outlook on life, it's this:  Anything can be made more tolerable when dubbed an adventure, and every adventure is so much more adventurous when given a nifty name.  

Disclaimer: I have yet to find a name for carrots nifty enough to make me want to eat them.

Since it was Debi the debit card who got me into this mess, I'm giving her a new name for July as well. I shall now call her Debil instead.

Resist the Debil, and she will flee from you...

That pretty much describes No Buy July in a nutshell. I'm simply resisting anything that isn't a need. 

Food is a need. 
However, trying a new recipe with some random ingredient not on the pantry shelf is not. Besides... it's so much more adventurous to see what you can make from the freezer and pantry shelves. It sparks the creativity. 

Creativity is a need. 
At least, it's a need around here. If I can't be can't be creative, I get kind of cranky, and no one wants to be around a cranky fifty year old drama queen in the south Georgia summer. Trust me on that one.

However, starting a project for which one does not have supplies is not a need. 

So here's my project for the week. It's nothing fancy, but it didn't cost a dime either.  OK, technically, it didn't cost a July dime. The "before" parts were purchased in June at the Habitat ReStore, also known as Debbie's Waterloo. 

You thought I would never get to this part, didn't you? 

Old cheese dome: $2.00

Old wooden candle holder: $1.00

Old wooden candle holder with candle holder part removed. 

Gorilla wood glue

Heirloom white spray paint.

Nifty little pedestal cloche.

So there you have it, a silly little craft without spending a July dime. 

If anyone else is in need of saving money,

 I invite you to join me on the No Buy July Adventure.

You might as well take advantage of it while you can, people.

There's absolutely nothing creative

 that rhymes with the word August. 

*****
Thanks to Bunny Jean,
who sweetly featured this silly story and craft on her Bunny Hop.
 Hop on over and see more!