My stuff has coats...

...OF SPRAY PAINT THAT IS! My name is Tabitha and...well, this isn't easy, ya know? I have an addiction.  I buy things with the intent to change the color.  Is that bad? TO LITERALLY pick up something and say it would work if it were just the right shade of -- WAIT! That's where my addiction gets focused... my preferred color weapon of choice is WHITE! It's clean, chic, modern, unifying, just *perfect* and great and... have I said perfect? I am a certifiable white spray paint addict.  An I-think-I-have-a-permanent-cramp-in-my-pointer-finger-from-the-act-of-spray-painting kind of addict... It's a problem and I. love. it.


It's not a BAD problem just makes me think, if I like something, COLOR doesn't make me not buy it! I have the power to instantly update a piece to perfectly match my room for $1 (or less). CRAZINESS I know but I was taught a long time ago that color is not a boundary in life unless you LET it be. I was raised by parents who taught me everyone is brown, we're just different shades... As the only minority in my class, this mindset leveled the playing field and made the mental road block of my color SUDDENLY non-existent.  I learned to think independently of others and, to this day, march to the beat of my own drum... I like to think the world is watching so sometimes I give them a show to behold (like when I let my hair BLOW in the wind or sing out loud on the metro...) BUT THIS WHOLE SPRAY PAINT THING?! I MUST SHARE WITH SOMEONE so I'm not the only one getting locked up in the crazy house when I start spray painting sock bottoms white :)


It started with munchface's room. I wanted a Princess and the Frog theme without it being theme-y, ya know? Something about character sheets and blankets that everyone else has just puts me off... Anyways, while in Ross...I stumbled upon this garden statue of a ballerina frog...you know that garden gnome color that's like brownish green (as if it's already conditioned for bugs and outdoor conditions)? Well, THAT's the color it was...but it was cute and the perfect size and REALLY spoke to me (I think I said something like that to hubs when I carried it in the house)... $6 later, it was in my car and on the shelf in munchface's room.  Though, something was off, no matter where I put it, the frog was just...a garden frog and THAT needed to change.  2 coats of white spray paint later, I had a fabulous ballerina frog that was fresh and girly and...perfect! I spray painted all of munch's frames for her room white, found a green, lavender and white bedding that was a perfect mix of polka dots, and stripes.  WOW, the bedroom was on its way Fabville! YAY!


I've been on the hunt for some overhead lighting in munchface's room. The tiny size makes every surface important and every piece important - there's room for smart design choices ONLY! Requirements: girly, sparkle, lamp (it couldn't be permanent for when if I change my mind).  Long story short, to Goodwill I went. I found a Brass (gross) chandelier for $4 (GREAT). I know!! It was one of those, 'if it were in my house, I'd probably snatch it from the wall and replace it too' kind of chandeliers... BUT, it was the right size and I knew my spray paint would spruce it up... Re-cap:


$4 victim + 3 coats of white spray paint (that I buy like toilet paper when I run out) + $2 lamp kit + leftover rhinestones, and an ornament AND she's beautiful... I made a cord cover (in the background) but check her out:

The mounting happened during Zion's bath time.  She came out of the tub eyes wide and said, "IT'S! BEAUTIFUL!"  *insert girly squeal-y happy dance in a towel... until it fell on the floor.  OMG go lotion your hindparts, the lamp isn't going anywhere, child!*

I love that she loved it but I promise, after all that work, her approval didn't matter!  I'll get around to posting some pics of things I've changed and, my mom has chandelier shades that I will be girly-ing but, for now... I really want to enjoy the chandelier.  O and I want to thank my hubs for helping to make this small dose of fabulous possible. He went into the attic (eek!) to figure out the location and, after like 4 holes, we had it up! I could stare at it all day :)

Frugal and Fabulous

If things were too easily come by, what would be special?

That's my mindset when I make things around the house... If I had money to buy anything I wanted, I probably would.  I wonder, though, if it would feel as awesome as getting a compliment on the things I make...I doubt it...  No sense in wondering! I'm not rich so here goes a post series...

Today's topic is a frugal and fabulous material - COFFEE FILTERS. My appreciation for the morning brew's bff started in November with my job's Christmas party.  We had next to nada for a budget and I became this I-can-do-anything-for-next-to-free party person... A fabulous party was born from what we had immediate access to in bulk - office products! One of my favorite, versatile products has (hands down) GOT to be COFFEE FILTERS!  With a Winter Wonderland themed party, the coffee filters made great decor and prop items.  However, in my real life, I can buy 1,000 filters from the Dollar Tree and I have some personal goals in my life for this weekend.


First, I SHALL finish the feature wall in Zion's room. I SHALL, I SHALL, I SHALL...if it kills Brian :) Zion's room started out with lavender walls and a butterfly theme... It's still lavender only we've gone lavender, green and white for a Princess and the Frog (without commercial decor) theme... Polka dots, stripes and tiaras? I'm in heaven... AnYwAyS, I decided earlier this fall to remove this Ikea shelf that really cut into the design and space. It was just too wide... So, I took it down and painted an accent wall of soft green (truthfully, I did this taping technique for a striping effect but it really needs some touch-ups, and some simple but girly wall art... Queue the COFFEE FILTER WREATH!  I saw alot of these around blogland over the holidays and I just love the ruffles and frills of the filters when folded... The perfect addition to my design. So, last night, while I cooked dinner, I folded and glued to create this:

Total cost: $3 (not including the 3 glue sticks and glue gun I already had).


Total time: 1.5 hours (I completed other mommy projects while making it so it might take less time)
 


Other fabulous uses for coffee filters? Check these out:

1. Coffee filters are lint-free and make the perfect partner for Windex when cleaning windows, mirrors, and other glass items(including ornaments, decorative jars, etc.)

2. Protect your fine china by separating with a coffee filter between each dish

3. Filter broken cork from wine by straining the bottle's contents through a filter... I wish I would've remembered this when I gulped some coffee with the grinds...GROSS!

4. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter to rid the particles of food that make that coffee can or jar or whatever smell so badly.

5. Use strips of coffee filters to wax your eyebrows.

6. Put a few in a plate to absorb grease from your fried foods like bacon, fries, chicken, sausage, etc.

7. Use as inexpensive Doilies under a plate full of cookies or mini cakes

8. Decor items: not only is the coffee filter wreath fab but a coffee filter topiary (hot gluing around a styrofoam ball), party decor possibilities are endless and O, if you take a paper lantern and hot glue coffee filters around it, you get this:

*Picture from here.

 Coffee filters for design.  Loads of money? Nope.  Loads of awesomefantastic-ness? Yes!  Possibilities are endless.  Pull out your creative goggles and look for where you can make an everyday item with a dose of fabulosity.  I love the reward of seeing an ordinary thing used in an unexpected manner.  Now, I need to just find a way to fabulositize laundry :)... Wish me luck! 

P.S. - All made-up cool words are accepted and used 'round these parts!