[so cheap, so easy]: West Elm Inspired Frame

I have this frame in my living room. Once upon a time, it was a goldish color. I bought it for the shape and size and then painted it...but only three times, so naturally, it was time to paint it again. 

This is paint job number three. I painted it white and made a faux croc texture. The tutorial is here. 

I found this West Elm frame on Pinterest (it is no longer sold), and I got to work. I used the seams in the corners as a guide and then used a ruler to draw on the lines with a pencil. I then just free-handed the paint, since the surface was too textured for tape.

image from West Elm via Pinterest

Here's the finished product. I like the color and pattern it adds to the room. Maybe I'll leave it like this for a while. I mean, really, who would paint something five times?!

Linking up at the following:

Mom On Timeout

The Dedicated House

[so cheap, so easy]: Brass Frames

When I posted about mixing metals the other day, I remembered this fabulous project that Courtney from A Thoughtful Place shared on her blog. (Everything she does is gorgeous!) She added brass to her existing black frames using only spray paint and painters tape--ummm, genius! Check out the full tutorial here. Love it!

images from A Thoughtful Place

[color kreyv]: Coral & Mint

I've had this color palette on the mind lately as an option for Stella's room. Little Miss is getting ready to transition to a big girl bed, and of course, I can't just get a new bed. She obviously needs a new room. Her room is so 2.5 years ago, AND I may or may not have a little bit of decor ADD. We'll just blame it on Stella and her needs as a two and a half year old. Don't judge. The hubs seems to be going along with it, so I say let's give the girl a new room. 

image from This Old House

image from Tobi Fairley

image from Thibaut Design

Not Too Shabby

I have always wanted to design a shabby chic guest room. I know, I know, that puts me at like ten guest rooms.  So...let's just say I need to rethink some things, but for now, let's just admire my vivid imagination, shall we? I love a little shabby chic as long as it is not overdone. (Especially love those overlapping frames in the first image. Gorg. Looks like a great diy to me.) As for this imaginary house of mine, who wants to come stay in it? Rumor has it that the guest rooms are spectacular, which totally makes up for the subpar food.

image from Elle Decor

image from A Beach Cottage

image from Euro Antique Market

[so cheap, so easy]: Framed Sticks

We all know I have a gigantic love for sticks.  There are sticks in Stella's room, the powder room, AND the living room (both in a planter and in my sunburst mirror). I just can't get enough, which is lucky for me, because I have found something else to do with lovely sticks! Plus, I still have a couple rooms without sticks...don't want them to feel left out.

I came across this beauty on Pinterest.  The original post and tutorial can be found at Cleverly Inspired. She made the entire project for only two dollars.  Two dollars people! That is next to nothing for this giant piece of awesomeness. (Hmmm, didn't think awesomeness was really a word, but I didn't get a big red line under it, so I guess it is.  Good, because I meant it.) Definitely going to copycat this one! Love it!

image from Cleverly Inspired

[so cheap, so easy]: Picture Extenders

Ok, dumb name, I know. Not my most clever moment in time, but what can I say? That's what they are, they extend your pictures. Anyway...we all know that one of my peeves is putting up pictures that are too small for a large wall. Well, here's your solution. Excited? You better be.

I bought these botanical prints in college. Yes, people, they're nineties vintage. They're from a little shop called Fred Meyer (which is really a department store that is now out of business, but just play along). There. Now instead of making them sound outdated, they just sound uber cool. They are actually a set of four, but I just used two of them in Stella's room.

To make them bigger, and to add a little more umph, I added a piece of painted plywood to the back. Decide how big you want your extenders (sorry, that's their official name, now), have your favorite home improvement store cut the wood for you, and paint them. Of course, I added stain over the paint to give it more dimension. To hang the pictures, I (and by I, I mean the Mr.) just drilled the wood to the wall leaving enough of the screw to hang the picture, so you are only using one screw. There you have it. Cheap, check. Easy, check.

[so cheap, so easy]: Wooden Letter Collage

For tutorial, visit eighteen25.

[so cheap, so easy]: License Plate Art

For my full feature and tutorial, go to  eighteen 25.

Start with a piece of particle board cut to 31x24. This was less than $7 at the hardware store. Because the overall look is very simple, I decided to cover the board with fabric to add more texture to the piece. (I wanted to cover it in burlap, but thought it would blend into my paint color. The possibilities are endless here!) I then attached my three spray-painted license plates with nickel furniture nails (less than $2).

[so cheap, so easy]: Faux Croc Frame

You know how I have this problem of always wanting to change things? Well, that's exactly how this project started. I wanted to give this frame a make-over, a third make-over to be exact. The original plan was to paint it white, then dry brush some metallic grey over it. Plan, shplan...

Because the frame had already been painted with a three layer process, the white paint was not looking that great. It was getting too thick. Right as I was thinking, "Great, I just ruined a perfectly good frame," I got an idea.

While the white paint was still wet, I used a plastic fork to make vertical and horizontal lines through the paint. Once that dried, I dry brushed the metallic gray over the top. (I mixed the gray paint with water.) My final step was sanding it up a bit, just to give it some character. I am really happy with the finished product (for now).

Five Must Have Home Accessories

I think it's time I tell you about my other man--Nate Berkus. I've never been into talk shows, so I was excited when he started a show about interior design (and this, that, and the other). I'll be honest, the first time I watched the show, I was a little bit disappointed. I wanted less serious talk and more interior design talk. But, now I love it. I record it every day, and, as nerdy as it is, I sometimes take notes. Okay, I said it. I take notes. Let's move on.

I decided to start a repeating post titled, "Nate Says." This is kind of a joke at our house, because many a time, I share Nate's advice with my hubby. I start the sentence with, "Nate says..." Jeremy laughs at me, but I know he secretly loves it and probably takes notes himself. So, with that being said, this post is about Nate's five must have home accessories.

1) Mirrors

image from Decor Pad

image from Casa Sugar

image from Design Files

2)Books

image from Material Girls

image from Real Living

image from Real Living

3)Something from Nature

image from Nesting Newbies

image from Rol Vn

4) Silver Frames

image from Pottery Barn

image from Pottery Barn

5)Original Art or Sculpture

image from B-Metro

image from Life in a Venti Cup