50 Dollar Fix: Buffet Tables

     

       So in the midst of planning for our lovely potluck, Lotti and I realized we need somewhere to set all the delicious food, like Hank. We wanted to use our normal dining table for people to sit at and our kitchen is too tiny for doing the buffet there. My first thought was to rent a table, because a 8ft table will normally only cost 6 dollars to rent, which isn’t too bad on the bottom line and normally you get to keep it for three days. I called a party rental store near us but they only had an 8ft by 30 inches, which was way too deep for a buffet. We wanted it to be tall and skinny (about 20 inches wide we estimated), like a traditional buffet. Quandary.  Well, as I was anxiously looking around the apartment for some piece of furniture that could double as a buffet (none found), I stumbled upon some relegated wood, Lily and I had bought two summers ago in the a Home Depot frenzy. Relegated wood, as we refer to it, is wood that is leftover from bigger pieces Home Depot cuts for people. And normally its SUPER CHEAP. It’s great for little projects, like these frames.They were just about the right depth, so now the question was how to make them a table. I went and sat in my living room to ponder while watching Martha Stewart. By the way, love the new layout of the show,  its seems so modern! While there, I saw my bookshelves I built this summer. PRESTO! Idea!

I could stack two of the crates on top of each other and form a tall structure for the wood to sit on! So now we had one 4ft table figured out, but we wanted a second one, hmmmmm… As I went into our third room (Lotti’s study, my craft room), I saw Lotti’s keyboard. ON A STAND.

The perfect sized stand to balance another piece of wood. Buffet table born! After craftily covering it with a table cloth, no one was the wiser.

All and all this buffet table cost me nothing, but I bet if you were to do it on your own it wouldn’t cost you more than 50 either. Most people have some odd furniture that could double as the base of a table so all you really need a piece of wood and just look at the reclaimed wood section at your home improvement store for that! Have you ever had to be ingenious with your furniture to get it to meet your needs?

Bedroom Art Update!

So remember when I did this? And then finally, like 3 months later I put it up? Well I have done more things! First I did some more of this:

Which took some time and more painted arms. Though I am not finished yet I thought I would give you guys a sneak peak!

So please ignore the fact that they aren’t symmetrical, I just wanted to get them up before they sat around for another three months. Also, all you readers who diligently read my posts (tell me, its not just my mom), what color do you think I should paint the small ones? I was playing around with a few browns in the upper corner but I can’t decide.

50 Dollar Fix: Fabric Frames

    
     So remember how I filled that blank space behind my couch, I had another blank wall to conquer in my apartment. This time it was behind my tv and quite expansive. Yet again, I'd show you a picture but it was a large blank white wall behind a tv, surely you don't need a photo, you can imagine it on your own. Anyways, I decided to try that whole framing a piece of fabric. It was quite inexpensive and I think it looks pretty plus it fills up space. Goal achieved. Here's my how to:

Materials:
Paint
Fabric
Modpodge
Hot Glue
Penny Nails
Decorative Molding cut to size
Thin Wood (for back of frames)

Directions:
1) Determine the size of the frames and have decorative molding cut at the store (most do it for free, see if they can cut the edges at angles to make it look prettier) Paint boards and all the sides!

2) Modpodge fabric to board and smooth out all wrinkles. I used modpodge because it allows for corrections.

3) Hot glue the baords down to frame the fabric the use penny nails to nail the board to the wall and secure the baords. I used hot glue to secure the boards in place until I placed the frames on the wall and then used the nails to actually secure the boards.

Jewelry Frames

As a girl on a budget, framed art pieces to decorate my walls are a bit out of my price range, so I have had to get a bit creative. In my bedroom for instance, I framed my jewelry. This actually doubles as a very easy to keep organized storage for it as well. I bought frames from Goodwill, Michael's, and even the Dollar Store. A simple way to save money is to buy frames that have broken glass, since it's not needed for this project (Clearance aisles are a godsend).

Materials:

Frames

Corkboard (can be found at Joann's, Michael's, Home Depot, etc)

Hot Glue

Tacks or pretty Push Pins (again craft or home improvement stores)

Paint (Optional)

Jewelry!!!!

Tips:

• Always lay the jewelry out on the cork before pushing in the pins
  
• Make sure you place it vertical so you will see how it will hang.
  
• Glue on the back so nothing shows through
• Make sure the cork is thick enough that the pushpins stay intact
• You can paint frames to match your decor