Decorating with CENTS

Light Shade transformed into Decorative Dish

2015-11-04T08:14:00.001-05:00

Transforming a simple light shade into a beautiful decorative dish.

BEFORE

AFTER

Wrapped beautifully with sheer fabric entwined with raffia

BEFORE & AFTER

Dare to LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Small Desk Up-cycled

2015-05-08T12:45:00.001-04:00

I needed a small desk to put in the corner of my bedroom, nothing big, just something large enough to hold my laptop and tablet.

This is the space I had to play.

Oh, did I mention I didn't want to spend money on anything? So, I did what I do best, walked around the house looking for something I could reuse.

BEFORE
Some years ago I painted this desk in my sitting area (then called computer room)you can read more here.

NOW

I liked the change but had since gotten rid of the desktop and my little TV

Here's the AFTER
Nothing fancy, I wanted to keep it on par with the furniture in my room.

I needed a shelf so I rounded up some tension rods I had laying around and confiscated a small piece of wood from a friend. The wood had a few knotholes, but I figured, what the heck, it would add character :-)

BEFORE

AFTER

Perfect fit for my little corner!

Don't forget to...LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

MY SHOE BASKET

2015-04-13T17:11:00.000-04:00

How many of us have baskets that we love throwing shoes into. I have tons of baskets used for multiple purposes but I wanted to designate one basket especially for shoes. So, with the extra ceiling fan blades lying around I decided why not.

I found this picture online and it became my inspiration for my basket

Following are pics, fairly easy, on how I did it. I started with a ceiling fan blade (with the holes puttied) and a print out.

I added the picture and print to some diluted coffee to age it. I let it in for about 15 minutes, but I probably should have left it soaking for longer.

Make sure to ball it up if you want that wrinkled affect.

By this time I had already painted my ceiling fan blades, sorry no pictures. I then glued the paper onto the painted blades using Mod Podge and once dried I brush over it.

I wasn't sure where I wanted to hang the sign, so initially I just sort of sat it on top of the basket

I later opted to glue it on top of the basket handles

I'm pleased with the results.

DON'T FORGET TO LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

WELCOME SPRING!

2015-03-09T08:08:00.000-04:00

Here's a welcome sign I made for a special friend that I wanted to share. You can see one made earlier here.

It started from a ceiling fan blade; I had already puttied the holes.

Sorry, it appears I'm really bad at taking pictures. I first painted it with a Mauve chalk style paint. After drying I lightly topped it with Driftwood. Once dried I distressed it slightly and then dry brushed it with Burnt Umber. For protection I used Minwax.

Below is the finished product

FRONT

BACK

I used dry plants and then wrapped with twine, for additional support. Gives a nice rustic look.

I found this beautiful burlap bird and nest at the fabric store

BEFORE (a plain ceiling fan blade)

AFTER A chirpy way to welcome someone into your home.

Oh, the things you can create from a ceiling fan blade...LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Crystals

2015-02-22T15:02:00.000-05:00

This is how it ended

Why are we fascinated by crystals?

Beautiful sparkles

Joined together by strings

Stunning...

Last week I posted about my crystallized napkin rings

These are the remnants...crystals that formed on the strings

I enjoy basking in their beauty

But this is where it began, an experiment, strings soaked in water. You can read more about it here

Strung together

A beautiful end

Never be afraid to do different...LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Crystalized Napkin Rings

2015-02-15T15:18:00.001-05:00

I got this idea from my nephew Denzel whom I dubbed "The Mad Scientist".

Some of you may have heard of the relationship between Borax and Crystals. I never knew of it until I visited my family in December and my nephew showed me one of his experiments. I just knew I had to play around with this when I got back home.

A lot of thoughts ran through my mind but I decided to stick with something simple...napkin rings.

I took some burlap fabric and an old metal napkin ring. I cut and rolled the fabric around the napkin ring, to get the correct size, and then stapled it on one end to keep it closed. I later fringed it, which left me with lots of string to play around with (that's another post for next week).

I boiled some water, removed it from the stove and added 1/4c Borax for each cup of water. (you can probably add less). I then stirred until the solution was dissolved.

I sat my makeshift napkin rings in the water and was especially careful not to let them touch each other. I had lots of space so I placed the strings on the other end. Then I let them sit to work their magic. ;-)

After a few hours my crystals began to form. You can decide if you want your stuff to continue sitting in water or you can remove them.

Isn't this beautiful!

The rest is history

There were a few loose crystals, so be sure to shake gently.

If you want to see more click here.

A special shout out to my nephew Denzel for arousing my curiosity ... LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Silver Tray from Light Shade

2015-02-04T08:08:00.000-05:00

It started as a light shade...

FRONT

BACK

I puttied the hole

This is where I forgot to take pictures I primed the back and then painted it with a metallic bronze, I later protected it with a semi-gloss polyurethane.

I used silver leave for the top

SILVER LEAF

I then glazed it with a burnt umber to give it that tarnished finish and once again used a semi-gloss polyurethane to protect it.

I topped it off with candles and colorful gemstones

BEFORE

AFTER

I can't believe it's not glass...

LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

REPAINTED BATH TRAY

2015-01-24T13:22:00.000-05:00

Sometime ago I made a white bath tray for my Guest Bath. I love the the raised stenciling I added to it.

Well, after a while I decided I no longer to keep the tray white and decided to do something a little bit closer to the color of my bathroom cabinets.

That's the wonderful think about paint, if you don't like the color, or if you get tired of a color, you can always go back and repaint!

I painted it a light avocado green using chalk style paint and then dry brushed it with a raw sienna chalk style paint. Because it was going to get hit with lots and lots of water, I protected it with Minwax clear semi-gloss polyurethane.

Everything was quick and easy! You can click here to see how I made this.

I LUV IT!

BEFORE

AFTER

Almost picture perfect!

I guess both are nice...but oh, the beauty of paint. LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

WELCOME to the New Year!

2015-01-01T16:00:00.000-05:00

In a few posts back I talked about how I had taken down a few ceiling fans and held on to the ceiling fan blades.

I decided to welcome 2015 with a "Welcome" sign.

I simply glued the blades together and taped the back for additional support.

Usually I would have closed the holes, but for this I opted to keep this open. I primed the blades and used white as the base color and then streaked some red on top.

I then topped it with Country Blue paint and distressed it.

I'm not an artist and I can't print worth a flip, so I printed the words WELCOME, traced over it with #2 pencil and transferred it over to my sign.

Then it was just a matter of me painting in the letters, adding stencils and other decorative touches.

I really like how this turned out and it was a neat way to welcome in the New Year!

A lovely Welcome sign for your door or wall!

Enjoy your New Year and don't forget to LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

COCONUT OIL FOR ALZHEIMER (straying from my usual topic)

2014-01-30T12:25:00.001-05:00

Today, I'm straying away from my usual topic Decorating with Cents.

I know I've always been forgetful, but during the past few weeks I realized I was forgetting things constantly, i.e.

Frequently walking into a room and not remembering why I was in the room or what I came into the room for. I know this can happen to anyone but on the weekends, when I was home, it was an almost all day occurrence
Forgetting simple words, i.e. a colleague and I were discussing different burial procedures, I wanted to tell her that my preference would probably be “cremation” but for the life of me I couldn't remember the word, but what was really scary she, my colleague, said the word and I still couldn't remember it or how to pronounce it (scary)
Some days sitting at my desk not remembering what I was working on
Driving and not remembering where I'm going; or driving and not recognizing where I am…

These might be common occurrences but when they begin to happen constantly it can’t be normal. Sometime ago I remembered reading about coconut oil and how it can help to reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer so I did my research and decided to give it a shot. I figured, there was nothing to lose besides my memory, and that was already going…

Based on the videos the proper dosage amount is about 2 TBS coconut oil a day; I figured I didn't have Alzheimer but maybe a ‘mild’ case of memory loss so I started with 1 TBS per day but in dosages of 1 tsp in my meals throughout the day, i.e.

1 tsp in my morning tea (Looking at oil floating around in my tea cup isn't very appetizing so I try not to look at it while drinking);
1 tsp at breakfast in my grits or oatmeal; and
1 tsp at dinner in my soup or whatever I decide to have for dinner –

my goal, 3 tsp (1 TBS) per day.

Results so far – my memory is much better, where I use to draw a blank when talking, I can now remember what I want to say or thinking to say; when I'm cleaning or cooking at home I can walk into a room or pantry to get something, or do something, without drawing a "blank"; I don't sit at my desk wondering what I'm suppose to be working on.

The best part I've decided to continue to pursue my studies and it’s amazing how much information I'm retaining, no it hasn't made me super smart, but I have a better grasp of what I'm studying.

It’s only been 3 days since starting the coconut oil treatment (started Jan 28th), perhaps too soon to say much, but my brain feels refreshed, sort of like it was given a breath of fresh air, I can only hope for continued positive results.

Bottom line – even if you don’t have Alzheimer’s, but you find yourself forgetting frequently, perhaps a daily dose of coconut oil could help

On the below links Dr. Newport talks about her husband who was experiencing severe stages of Alzheimer's and her research which led her to coconut oil. The results are astounding and worth your time.

Dr. Newport's story - Memory Loss and Alzheimer Pt1
Dr. Newport's story - Memory Loss and Alzheimer Pt2
Dr. Newport's story - Memory Loss and Alzheimer Pt3
Dr. Newport's story - Memory Loss and Alzheimer Pt4
Dr. Newport's story - Memory Loss and Alzheimer Pt5

If you're pushed for time, check out the below links instead. The first link is a summary of Dr. Newport's research; on the second link someone else talks about his his bout with Alzheimer.

Man dramatically reverses Alzheimer with coconut oil

Our Story; Alzheimer's

Feel free to share with anyone, you never know, you might be able to help someone who is suffering.

After all, there's no sense in me Decorating with Cents when I can't remember what I'm decorating...LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Bathroom Chalk Board (from ceiling fan blades)

2014-01-06T12:12:00.001-05:00

Sometime ago I changed my ceiling fans and held on to all of my ceiling fan blades

Some of the blades were light

and some dark, but it didn't matter.

I had been reading so much about chalk boards, so I decided to experiment and came up with a lovely board for my ~~son's~~ guest bathroom. I found the chalk paint recipe on line.

I used strips of sheer fabric (glued with hot glue) to hang the boards.

Of course, my son didn't find the the Bathroom Rules humorous

But I thought it was cute...

For the chalk holder I simply took a small styro cup

Cut it in half & painted it (I wanted it to look like a clay pot).

And then hot glued it to the board

It doesn't have to be bathroom rules, it can be anything, and I guess at some point someone, or I, will change it.

but for now it stands...

It's a New Year so don't forget to LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

The last of my MINI TRAYS aka PERSONAL COFFEE/TEA TRAYS

2013-12-17T10:51:00.000-05:00

If you're just popping in you might want to visit this blog to see how I painted my trays then you can visit here and here to see some other trays.

Here's the last of my Trays that I painted. There are lots of pictures, so I hope you're sitting down with your cup of tea, or to store your jewelry and trinkets ;-)

Blue/Gray trim w/silver

Copper & Black

Multicolor

Silver

Blue/Grey

Black w/silver trim (set)

Copper

Silver

Here's another glimpse of ~~all~~ most of them

LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

THE BIRDS - Coffee/Tea Trays

2013-12-13T17:13:00.003-05:00

First, if you're just popping in you can go here to see more or you can peek here to see how I painted my trays and what they're made from.

I'm still working diligently to get my trays out before the holiday and here are a few more. For these trays I decided to go with birds...

It doesn't matter if your tray has little dinks in them, that slight imperfection gives them a unique, personal, home-y, kinda look. I like to call it "character". Use to hold jewelry or other trinkets.

I had a smaller tray, so I decided to make this a set.

The small trays are idea for holding coffee or maybe a few crackers

And here's one in silver

Once again I painted a smaller tray to make a set

The back of most of my trays were painted black, but I painted the back of these silver

Here's the set

One of the styro trays I used was extremely sturdy but deep, sort of like a bowl. Initially I was hesitant about using it

but I'm glad I did

Here's another that was a bit flimsy

So I adhered two together

And here we have one other lonely bird ;-)

and to think it all started from this

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Always remember to LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

MINI TRAYS aka PERSONAL COFFEE/TEA TRAYS (red, gold, silver)

2013-12-11T09:17:00.002-05:00

I mentioned in my earlier blog that I was painting trays for gifts and personal requests. I just want to share some pictures of trays I've completed already.

If you haven't read my earlier blog here's what I started with

AFTER

And here's another

And a set - silver & gold

All wrapped & ready to give to owner

It's amazing what a little creativity can do

If you have these...

You can make these...

It's amazing what a little creativity can do. I have quite a bit to finish, so until my next posting.... but you can go here to see how I painted my trays.

Don't forget to LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

MINI TRAY aka PERSONAL COFFEE/TEA TRAY

2013-12-09T19:57:00.001-05:00

I'm sure all of us have those styro trays hanging around for something or other. I usually use them for painting.

I've been experimenting and came across a wonderful use for them I call it my PERSONAL COFFEE/TEA TRAY (actually my sister came up with the name).

Here's the before

The bottom painted black

The inside painted Venetian Gold

I then decided to stencil it

The gold was a bit too bright so I darkened it with a glaze

(Below) The left is before glazing - the right after applying the glaze

Voila!

It's just big enough to hold a single serving - so now when I decide to munch while sitting on the sofa watching TV, I can use my Mini Tray aka Personal Coffee/Tea Tray.

Not too large,
not too small,
just right, to hold in my lap!

I liked it so much I decided to make a set of 4 - excellent when company comes by.

Can you guess what I'm going to make my colleagues for Christmas presents????? ;-) I'm sure they will look great on the desk, just big enough to hold a hot cup of coffee or tea along with some cookies, a muffin or crackers.

I showed these to a few people and I've had quite a few requests for them. I've already started on quite a few and will post as I complete them...

So....you can settle for this

Or you can have this...

So until later don't forget to LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

My Rusty File Cabinet (peek inside the draw)

2013-10-16T09:04:00.000-04:00

I hadn't realized so many people had pinned my Rusty File Cabinet that I had posted. Not until I had gotten one or two queries about how the inside of the cabinet draw had turned out. It appears I had forgotten to post pictures of the draw when I finished. So, I decided to take a few minutes to post a picture - a peek inside the draw.

It's been a few years since painting my file cabinet and its holding out well. Before painting it I did lots of sanding and priming, it was well worth the elbow grease, I don't see any rust spots reappearing.

BEFORE - you can go here or here to read the post.

AFTER - inside of the draw, where I hide my linen.

Excellent storage space!

My file cabinet nested in my guest bedroom closet.

Remember, always LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

The Orange Handpainted Vase

2013-09-09T12:29:00.000-04:00

In my previous post (a very long time ago) I showed a vase I was asked to paint. You can click here hand-painted-glass-vase. I've been extremely busy, then it's been hot, which means I got good and lazy. Although I had completed the other vase I never got around to posting it.

Anyways I was browsing through my blog and decided better late than never :-)

Here is the BEFORE:

Here is the AFTER:

All Pretty Up!

There were 2 vases to be painted

These were her prefer colors

The Finished Product

There you have it, two plain vases all jazzed up! Go ahead and LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Hand Painted Glass Vase

2013-06-13T10:07:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile since I last posted, but studies are finally over and I'm back in the grove for painting. Here I just want to show off a vase I was asked to paint.

It started as two plain simple glass vases (oops, you can see where I started painting before snapping a "before" pic).

She wanted "bright" colors - something too pop - colors similar to this!

Here's one of the vases I completed

And here's the finish product

From this

To this

I'll show off the other vase next week. So, what do you think? Do the colors pop?

Go ahead and LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Fetish for Boxes???

2013-01-09T19:11:00.000-05:00

I've be out for a while due to surgery, but everything went well and I had a beautiful New Year!

It's that time where I have to begin focusing on studies again but I have to ask the question, "Am I fetish for boxes?"

The other day I was browsing through my blog and I'm amazed at the number of boxes I've painted and/or decorated. Believe me, I don't go looking for boxes to paint, I just believe if you can save a few $$$ use what you have, and I guess that's what I did ;-) So let's see...

Blog "Paint a Box"

BEFORE

AFTER

2. Blog "Decorative Shoe Box"

BEFORE

AFTER

3. Blog "Cube Cushions"

BEFORE

AFTER

4. Blog "Mirror, Box, Coconut Branch"

BEFORE

AFTER

5. Blog "Painted Mailbox"

BEFORE

AFTER

6. Blog "Decorative Fabric Box"

BEFORE

AFTER

7. Blog "Armoire Getting Organized"

BEFORE

AFTER

8. Blog "Armoire Update"

BEFORE

AFTER

9. Blog "Bedroom Wastebasket"

BEFORE

AFTER

There you have it! Is it just me? Am I obsessed with boxes??? Did I mention I have another box in front of me that I'm contemplating painting? :-) LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW! I'll be back after my studies.

Merry Christmas!

2012-12-24T19:53:00.000-05:00

Wishing each and everyone of my fellow bloggers a Beautiful Christmas!

Candy Bowls with a native Flair!

2012-12-17T08:30:00.000-05:00

I completed all of my candy bowls, I'm due to have surgery, so passed them out early to my colleagues! If you didn't catch my previous blog, my native candy bowls started from globes from my ceiling fans.

Everybody loved them! So, here are the last 5 completed, you can see the others here.

Green/Blue Candy Bowl with a splash of Gold Leaf

Crackled Navy/Silver Candy Bowl

Chalk Painted Candy Bowl

Bronze Candy Bowl with Gold Leafing

BLUE CANDY BOWL - gold leaf on rim

I'm going to be laying low for a short while after my surgery but I wish each and everyone of you a Blessed, Merry Christmas; Happiness and Joy throughout the Holiday Season! Continue to do what you do best and never forget to LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Native Candy Bowls

2012-12-14T09:18:00.000-05:00

With the holidays almost here, I realized it's time for me to take a break from my studies and get busy on gifts. As usual, for the office I wanted to do something a bit different for my colleagues. I wasn't sure what until it dawned on me, I had my ceiling fans changed and I had been holding on to the globes.

There were two different types of globes. After some thought I decided to go with candy bowls with a native Bahamian flair.

I first based coated with several coats of gesso.

I then proceeded with different color variations. I used metallic paint on some, others I used silver/gold leafing and I experimented with chalk paint on another (haven't completed yet). I then used coconut fiber to seal the bottom - great way to add that native flair! I'm doing 10 in total, but I've only completed 5 so far. Here are the pictures.

Bronze & Hunter Green Candy Bowl with Gold Leafing

Turquoise Candy Bowl with Gold Leafing

Blue Candy Bowl with Silver Leafing

Bronze, Pink & Blue Candy Bowl with Silver Leafing

Purple Candy Bowl with Variegated Leafing

Each is a "one of a kind" and I'm sure will be appreciated. I'll post the other 5 once I've completed them. So until then LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Spray Paint Bath Faucets

2012-12-06T19:52:00.000-05:00

In my earlier blog when I updated my spare bath I mentioned I couldn't find the faucets I was looking for so I opted to spray paint what I had.

While I had experience painting faucets (see here) I had never spray painted faucets, especially while they were still in tact on the wall. Although I was skeptical at first, it turned out to be very simple and only took 2 days to complete.

Here were my faucets before

To start, tape around faucets thoroughly, don't be stingy with your tape! (this is important if you don't want the paint to leak through on your walls)

Grab a plastic bag, cut a hole at the bottom, slip the bag over the faucets and tape (make sure there's no opening at the bottom or the paint can seep through and get on your walls or tub.

If you're satisfied with your tape job, grab your spray paint and start spraying. Here's the paint I used.

I used the black Paint & Primer In One for the base coat (this is suppose to be for metal);

After the 1st coat was dry (I gave it an hour), I applied the 2nd coat I used copper

Once that was dry (another hour or so) I applied the 3rd coat - the black Paint & Primer In One again, but this time I sprayed it sparingly. I wanted that two-tone look. I gave it a day and then I sealed it with the Clear Gloss (I used several coats, but waited 30 minutes between each coat)

After I removed the tape I discovered what happens when you don't tape properly ;-(

Thankfully, with a Q-tip & paint remover I was able to clean up my goof.

I love how my faucets turned out!

Note this is the spare bath and it will be a few weeks before it gets used, which is plenty of time for the paint to cure. I realize this is a temporary fix but I'm hoping this will last for a year or until I can find the perfect faucets.

You can see more here, but if you prefer to use a paint brush click here.

I would advise giving it a week or more before using your faucets, just to make sure the paint is cured. So the next time you're looking for a temporary fix, get creative, have fun LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Bath Trays

2012-11-30T18:24:00.000-05:00

I fell in love with bath trays every since I spied this.

Source: Indulgy.com

So while I was redoing my spare bath I knew I had to have one. What I didn't know was that these trays can be expensive, so I did the next best thing; make my own.

I needed wood unfortunately I don't own an electric saw and I don't know of anyone who has a saw to cut wood for me so I shopped around for a substitute.

At Kelly's I came across boards 12" x 24", although this was a shy bit too short I decided to improvise. I had some spare molding laying around and shims so decided to give it a try. It worked out perfect!

For adhesion I used wood glue; caulking was used to fill in the crevices.

For my Spare Bath I kept it white and added raised stenciling for detail, sealing it with poly.

This also makes for nice shelving for tub accessories

This is a terrific way to beautify a tub and accessorize.

For my bath I was inspired by a bronze & silver metal vase I keep on top of my tub.

So I used metallic paints.

By candle light.

Have fun and LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!

Ready for Christmas!

2012-11-26T15:59:00.001-05:00

Hope everybody had a terrific Thanksgiving! I'm taking a break from studies to get into the holiday spirit. I've started making gifts but haven't finished, but I did get my Christmas tree up and wanted to share. My color theme this year is green & blue. I was pretty lazy, so I opted for lots of mesh and less ornaments. Gotta admit, it was my easiest tree ever!

I'll be posting my hand crafted gifts as I complete them.

Have a great day and don't forget to LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!