Disguise the inside of your glass cabinet with burlap

I currently have two built-in entertainment cabinets in my home, and I've always hated staring at the contents through the glass.

 

I wanted a way to cover them up, but allow the electronics to continue to be controlled by their remotes. Not to mention I didn't want a solution that required an expensive remote extender.

I tried frosting the doors with contact paper, but you could still see the components. I then thought what about a loose weave fabric? Went to Joann's and found this chocolate brown burlap. For 1.99¢ a yard, I thought...don't know if it will work, but it's cheap enough to take it home and try it.

 

Used a staple gun to attach it, and it worked perfectly. No trouble controlling the components and it hides everything perfectly.

 

Ridiculously inexpensive solution to a nagging problem around the home. Happy stapling :)

Notes:
-The burlap frays easily. So I will most likely staple a flip seam when I do this again in my game room. You know fold over about a 1/2 inch then staple.
- you can still slightly see a light or two behind the burlap, but it is almost entirely camouflaged (that's the clock on the right top side...the rest is reflection)

98¢ spray paint to repaint furniture!

 

Well this was an experiment to see how the "cheap" spray paint at Home Depot would work at painting furniture. (yes, that's my favorite spray paint tool on the top of the can : )

I painted my kitchen tabletop the old fashioned way (can of enamel paint, roller, brush, sanding, etc.) and it was a nightmare. Took forever and was a pain! So when I had a white corner table/shelf that I wanted black, I decided...what better piece to try it on. Doesn't get a lot of use, and it just sits there.

I grabbed my can, sprayed one coat and voila! Perfect. So much better! Would I do it on my kitchen table...probably not, but the backs of my kitchen chairs that I still need to paint. Yes! So inexpensive and so fast.

Fun dotted nails!

My first nail post!

My daughter left her nail polish in the living room today, so now mine are painted!

CND Electric Purple base with with Miginailart.com black dots (fine tip applicator).

So fun :)

How to make a great earring rack!

It's my first new post of the new school year :)

My daughters and I have struggled with a way to store their earrings ever since we got their ears pierced. We kept them on the original cards, we used ice cube trays, we even bought those cute earring holders at Claire's. Nothing worked. The cards were too cumbersome, the ice cube trays left a bunch of earrings you couldn't see, and the retail racks require removing the backs every time you take them on and off. I knew there had to be a better way and there was.

I decided I needed a way to see all of the earrings and the only solution would be a flat wall rack. It would have holes large enough to allow a dangle hook to go through it with the small rubber back still on it. I also knew it didn't exist so I would have to make it.

I went to Home Depot and found these great metal sheets with different patterns punched in them (1' x 2' for $10). I chose this pattern because the holes where large enough to allow for the earring back to go through and small enough so we could hang a lot of pairs.  This is the assembled piece but a good shot of the sheet metal, too.

I then headed to the molding section. I knew it needed to be picture frame molding to allow the sheet to be recessed on the back. If I was going to hang it from the wall there would need to be space for the back of the earrings between the sheet metal and the wall. I found this l-shaped molding for 63¢ per foot.

I went ahead and cut it on their miter box there even though I have one at home. That way I was sure I had exactly enough molding, I could do a dry fit with all the pieces, and most importantly I could do all the sawing in air conditioning :)

So I headed home and began to assemble. I used two brad nails on each corner to secure each side of the frame. I used my staple gun that shoots small brad nails to make it go faster and my counter sink to sink them just slightly below the surface. 

Once the frames where assembled, I spray painted them silver to match the sheet metal.

 

Once dry, I used some glue to adhere the sheet metal to the frame, and done!

This project was so simple and my daughters were so excited. Now all those pairs of earrings will be worn!

Good luck and let me know of you have any questions :)

Notes:
- I did not use wood glue on the corners, but you can if you want it more stable during assembly. I'm too impatient to wait for drying :) and the sheet metal gluing stabilizes the whole thing in the end.
- I also did not use wood putty to fill the brad nail holes or corner joints. Again too impatient to wait or drying and sanding:) But you can if you want a more "perfectly" finished look.
- I already had the brad nails and glue and paint, so just use what you have! All can be purchased at home depot while you are there if you don't have anything yet.  This is the glue I had that worked great (LockTite Stik'nSeal Outdoor Adhesive).

- I found a few spots on the sheet metal needed to be weighted down during drying since it was coming up a little. Spaghetti boxes worked perfectly :)

Another zero calorie drink mixer post!

Yes, I'm fascinated with zero calorie drink mixers, but when I came across this one at World Market today I had to try it. It's all natural made with stevia! No gross saccharine, aspartame or sucralose.

Just tried it and OMG I love it. I'm shocked really because I usually don't like no-cal margarita mix. My recipe tonight:

Two shots Refine margarita mix
one shot tequila
one shot triple sec

Yummy! Doesn't taste like sugar free!

Hair dryer storage project complete

Whoever doesn't think Pinterest is the best website ever invented doesn't get on it!

Now that I have that off of my chest :), here is my "saw it on Pinterest and did it" project for the day.  The hair dryer storage using a magazine file.

So this is the best idea I think I've seen (did I say that before ; )

You buy a cheap magazine file (or use one you have).  These two are from Ikea, both from the as is section for $3 each (but they have a lot of options for cheap regular price ones).  I wouldn't use the strong paper ones for obvious reasons (wet area and cardboard don't mix :).  Their metal and plastic ones are mostly 2 for $7.  I personally prefer the mesh one, but my older daugther didn't want to be able to see through it, so to each their own ; )

Just screw it onto your cabinet door (use three screws that are short enough that they won't go through your cabinet door, two on top and one on bottom) and set the hairdryer in.  It couldn't have taken me more than 5 minutes to do both.

For the mesh one, it was easier (holes were already in it.  For the solid metal one, I used a nail to "predrill" the holes : ) 

I placed two screws on either side of the top just inside for both.

I also found that you need to secure the bottom as well to make sure it doesn't move around too much.  I used the hole on the spine to place one more screw on the bottom of each.  This was hard to photograph, but here's the bottom screw on the solid one.

And here it is on the mesh one.  This access hole on this one isn't very big, but it was still easy to secure the screw.

Again, don't use screws that are too long and ruin the front of your cabinet.  Also, if your cabinet is "raised panel"  make sure you are placing the screws in the right places (where you have the thickest part of the cabinet).

This is a must do if you own a hairdryer so get on it : )

Make a drawer out of your unused keyboard tray

If you have a keyboard tray you don't use on your desk (i.e., you have a laptop), turn it into a drawer with a drawer organizer.

This one we got at Ikea and used double sided tape to stick it down.

Just measure height width and depth so you get the right size (measure the depth with the keyboard tray open so it doesn't go back too far to be able to access the back bin)s.

$2.49 later my daughter has better places to store pencils, pens, etc.  Even looks good with the drawer closed since it matches the desk.  You could easily add a trim piece if yours didn't.

Quick, cheap and easy fix. 

Here's the before shot : )