$3.00 Chair Makeover

Well, so much for spring! We are buried again here in the good old W of I. So all of these great outdoor projects I have been wanting to accomplish will have to wait a bit longer!

But I wanted to share this little tid bit with you all this morning! The easiest chairs to reupholster.

This little project cost me $3.00. Yes, $3.00

The chair was free, and the fun fabric was on clearance at Joann's for $6.00 a yard. It only takes a half a yard for one of these chairs and you can find them everywhere! My Mom and I just found some more at the Salvation Army for next to nothing this past week. You can unify a mismatched set with fabric, or jazz up just one chair for a small accent like I did. This chair sits next to our french patio doors. It's nice to sit down and take your shoes off, or set your garden gloves on when you have to take Dr. Pepper break! :)

On chairs like these, you simply remove the screws underneath (mine only had four), and place the new fabric over the old. I tucked it in tight and secured it with just a bit of fabric glue. You can also use a staple gun, but the frame of this chair was so solid, it is holding the fabric nicely. The glue was simply to keep any scraggly bits from hanging underneath and tempting my cat to tear it apart. :)

I also like to polish up the wood with a bit of lemon and olive oil and make it look brand new. Super easy right? I am a bit chair obsessed but at $3.00, it's a reasonably priced infatuation. I might add one of those adorable coral deco pillows from Target for a bit of color, but we'll see!! And as soon as you get bored with this patter, guess what? You can easily do it again!

Happy chair hunting!

Xo, Natasha

DIY: Updating a plain black Hobby Lobby canvas frame.

Quick and easy DIY (aren't all my DIYs quick and easy) for you today! Updating a simple canvas frame with a little gold spray paint!

I had been meaning to get my son's art framed and finally the week had come when these frames were 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I got the size I needed but it just needed a little something...

I love black and white but this was a little too boring, even for me. So I simply taped off the majority of the frame, except for a little strip lined up with the inner bevel.

Then I hit it with the gold spray paint. I love the result:

Happy Hobby Lobby-ing, everyone!
Xoxo, Natasha

DIY: Marble Photo Frame

Hey, everyone!

Today I am excited to share this super easy and super chic DIY project with you!

What could be more glam than a marble photo frame? Such a pretty way to display a favorite photo! Let me show you how!

You will need:

Marble Contact Paper, sold here:



Scissors
Scotch Tape
Picture Frame (flat on all sides, not beveled)

Start by measuring your frame against the back of the contact paper. There is a handy grid and ruler on the back so it is super easy!

Figure out the width of the sides plus the front,

and the depth. I had to guess at this, and I gave myself a bit extra, just incase.

Figure out the height you will need and cut out the first strip.

I did the long sides first, and once you have your first strip cut, you can simply trace that piece and cut another.

Lay your first piece, starting at the back and wrapping towards the front. The paper is not super sticky which is good and bad. Good because you can easily adjust it. Bad because it can tend to lift in the corners. That's where the Scotch tape will come in later.

Once you have it smoothed down in the front, grab your scissors and make a small cut in towards the frame. This will allow you to wrap it inside..

 like so:

Then do the same at the outside corners. I covered my corners in a bit of Scotch tape to help them hold. You can't see it at all if you're careful!

Both sides completed:

Now I again measured the top and bottom. I just remember my previous width and adjusted the height.

Wrap back to front and snip the corners. Seal any questionable places with Scotch tape and...

Voila!

So pretty! You will have seams, but you can't tell at all!

This took very little contact paper and the roll comes with a LOT. I had this left over from another (several) projects I was working on, so you get a lot of bang for your buck with this paper.

I love how it looks with my other frames! Happy crafting, everyone!

baby photography courtesty of: Thompson Digital Image

Xoxo,
Natasha

How To: Deep Clean Your Shark Navigator

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Mid-week is usually a good time to break down and get serious about cleaning my house. I've recovered from the last weekend and Monday, and need to gear up for another one.

When it comes to cleaning, my Mom (who owns her own cleaning company) has me hooked on Shark products, especially the Shark Navigator. It's affordable, lightweight, and cleans like a champ. Another one of my favorite features? It is easy to disassemble to give it a good cleaning, because, let's face it, no matter what brand of vacuum you use, you always need to give it a good cleaning. I would say at least every 6 months, for me it's about every 3 (think two kids, a dog, a cat and a husband).

Here's my process:

Star with a filthy vacuum. Then gather several rags, cleaner of choice, scissors and a screwdriver (or something pointy to get into those tight crannies).

Go ahead and remove the tank and the main filter.

One you remove the dark grey piece that holds the filter, flip it upside down and you will find another.

Pop out the front piece and remove that filter as well. I throw these in the washing machine on speed wash with a teensy tinsy bit of detergent and a little bleach. Do not put them in alone, you don't want to ruin your washing machine with an excess of water. I usually throw in a towel or my other cleaning supplies (mopheads, dusters, etc).

 Detach the hose as well.

Lay it on it's back and grab those scissors! The scissors allow you to cut all the hair, strings, etc that have wound around the brush. Keep on clipping and pulling. 

Then I grab my screwdriver to scrape all the dust and debris that has plastered itself to the inside.

I washed off the brush bar with my cleaner, and then wrap it around the end of the screwdriver to scrub in the crannies.

Flip it over onto it's front and lets start scrubbing the outside. I start with the wheels as they are usually the dirtiest and then wipe down the rest.

Now stand it back up and clean off the front, top and handles. Make sure to get into the hose openings.

Now onto the sink! 

Spray the canisters with cleaner, scrub and rinse. 

 I lay the main canister out to dry on a kitchen mat.
 

 By this point, my filters have finished washing and I have thrown them in the dryer with a towel to dry. They dry very fast. In fact, they are nearly dry coming out of the wash, but you want to make sure they are completely dry. Otherwise all that dust and dirt you are vacuuming will stick to the filters and you will have a nastier mess than you started with.

Go ahead and reassemble and test it out!

 Can you feel the power??

Happy hump-day!
Xo, Natasha

Dollar Tree Drawer Liners

Good morning! I just wanted to really quickly share with you this little dollar tree gem: these pretty black and white toile drawer liners!

They are adhesive backed and VERY easy to place. They have a grid on the back with measurements so it's a snap to get them right! And I love how they look!

I bought two rolls because I wasn't sure how much one would cover in my kitchen drawers (they are extra wide and deep because they used to be for linens). They actually cover quite a bit! I will have to get one more roll to finish the last two drawers, but I was planning on getting more anyways once I realized how simple they were to use.

I also spray painted the old white knobs gold to match the solid brass knobs that are on the china cabinet. I will eventually just replace these with real brass as well, but in the meantime...

Hopefully you guys can find some great treasures at Dollar Tree, too!

Xoxo, Natasha

Ikea Hack: Gold Terrarium/Green House

Hi, guys! Sorry for the absence the past few days! I was battling an eye infection and am getting ready for my little sister's beauty school graduation party this coming weekend! But I do have a few new projects to share with you, one of them being this super-simple Ikea hack.

Last time I was at Ikea, I picked up one of these SOCKER Greenhouses:

Not a bad size for $19.99, and I love white, but once I set it up in the kitchen it just felt a little... rustic? Shabby chic? Which is perfect for my mom's house (we actually both love shabby chic), but in the current direction our home is taking, it needed a little glam.

Nothing a $3.00 can of gold spray paint can't fix. I used Rustoleum Bright Metallic (the absolute best gold spray paint out there).

The after:

Much more dramatic and expensive-looking.

This project does require a little patience as far as taking out all of the plexi-glass and getting paint into every nook and cranny, but such a simple thing can have such a big impact!

Xoxo,
Natasha