Toilet Paper Roll Decor

So, I know what you're thinking, "Umm... ghet-to!".  It's the cheapest, weirdest-material decor that you will ever come across.   But you will also absolutely love it and *no it does NOT look like it was made out of TP rolls. 

I started collecting a batch when I was inspired by this on Pinterest:

Haven't heard of pinterest.com?  Um it's awesome.  Here's a little explanation from the site iteself:

"Pinning 101What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes."

What I used:

• Toilet paper and paper towel rolls
• Glue gun
• Primer spray paint
• Rust-oleum Ultra Cover Satin in Wildflower Blue

I flattened out each roll and creased the edges before cutting them into 3/4" thick strips.  You can eye it however wide you'd like it.  Before glueing it together, I tried to figure out what design I wanted to go with.  You can create ANYTHING for ANY PLACE in your home, so it's a great DIY.

I decided it was going to live above the shelves in the family room.  So I hot glued it into shape and Matt primed it up for me.

Then added the wallflower blue spray paint.  Here it is in its new home.  Shh-wing!

This was for the Pinterest Challenge that some fabulous lady bloggers started.  You're suppose to finish one project that inspired you on Pinterest.  This was mine!  Hope you enjoyed and will create something for your little slice of heaven.  :o]

How to Hang Shelves Without Studs

Waiting for your husband, brother, father, etc. to come over and hang a shelf or picture is silly when any girl can do it.  Any girl with the right tools that is.  Even if you have to hold your shelf up with one hand, hold your drill with the other and use your teeth to put the screw on your drill.

Who's taking the picture then?  Oh, that would be friend, Kristen (Friend: another person you shouldn't wait on to hang things) who was a little too occupied to help...

Maybe it's because Troy was on TV and who can resist staring into Brad Pitt's eyes for a couple of hours?  "Immortality! Take it! It's yours!"

Admittedly, I used to be drill-iterate.  (ha.  yes.)  But now, I give myself an A for effort on yielding a drill and attacking my own mini projects all over the place.  Do they always turn out right?  Nope.  But I'm learning.

Here's a quick 'how-to' to hang shelves without studs.  The days of "You have to find the stud in the wall to hang anything heavy" are over.  You can basically hang them where ever you want if you have the right equipment going into the job.  And you probably already have most everything.

You'll need:

• Shelf or Shelves
• Brackets
• Screws
• Drywall Anchors (about same size as screws)
• Drill
• Hammer
• Leveler
• Measuring Tape

Make sure you get the right type of drywall anchors.  Ask a specialist at your local store what you will need for the size shelf you're using and also what is going on it.

1. Find the perfect spot.
2. Use your measuring tape and measure how wide your shelf is.  Using a pencil, take the measurement and the leveler to mark your wall where the shelf will go.   Measure the brackets accordingly and mark the walls where your screws will be going.
3. Take your drill, using a bit that's about the size of the tip of your drywall anchor and drill a hole in each marked area for your screws.  You don't want this hole too big (that's what she said) because the anchor needs to be snug. 
4. Once all the holes are drilled, take your wall anchor and gently tap it into each hole using your hammer.  The anchors should be flush with the wall.  Now you can place the bracket(s) on the wall and screw your screws into the wall anchor. 

Also, make sure you put your brackets on the right side up.  Don't be like me, and hang it upside down before realizing what you've done.  And then realizing when you turn it right side up, that the holes don't match up.  And then possibly falling to the ground in a temper tantrum.  That may or may not have happened. 

Don't mind the crazy hair flip, I was in work mode that day

 After that debacle, I pulled it together (with a little pep talk from my friend Kristen who ended up being a lifesaver even if she didn't lift a finger) and finished the job up nicely.  Sometimes you gotta give yourself a pat on the back even if things go wrong.

Another Fireplace Post?

Yes another one.  But it's worth sharing, I promise. 

Happy Friday by the way!  Don't you love summer?  Love it because you want to, and most of the time get to be outside and enjoy the lovely weather (when it's not scorching in the 100's).  Not to mention seeing all the new flowers come out and surprise new home owners.  I'll have to post about them later.

Anyhoo - back to the fireplace!  We were so happy that the new digs had one and we can't wait to put it to good use in the winter months.  My few, but loved, readers that continue coming back week to week have seen some pictures of it in previous posts.  Check 'em out here and here. 

Here's our before shot of the fireplace in the family room.

Yikes.  First we had to remove the old wire you can see to the left and right of the fireplace opening... 

...which left us with this hot mess (pun absolutely intended).  I guess it's normal for a 20 year old fireplace that has had some good lovin' over the years.  A little messy though, if you're trying to use it in the summer to house some perty candles and not just a nice coat of soot.

Grab a can of High-Heat spray paint!  Yeah yeah, spray paint again.  You know how much I loves it.  Haven't read about my obsession yet?  Check it out here and here.

 Matt went after it and in no time it was looking so fresh and so clean clean.  Is it still lame to quote Outkast? *Shrugs shoulders.  Whatevs.

This isn't the end of said fireplace.  Eventually, we'd like to reface the marble and also redo the accessories a bit.  Perhaps add a sunburst mirror that's all the rave these days...? 

Yes please....

It's a never ending process I tell ya'.

P.S. The front porch is getting revamped as we speak and hopefully I'll be posting about it next week sometime.

I have another love, and his name is Craigslist

Don't worry, Matt knows all about him.  I visit him about once a week, sometimes 5 times a week if I'm feeling spunky (as in, bought a new house and "need" tons of stuff).  I've always wanted a briefcase side table, but I was not paying the $30-$60 for vintage pieces.  I can be a real cheap-o and since I needed 4 or 5 of them, the $120-$300 price tag for a side table just wasn't going to happen.  I gave up on my life-would-be-complete-with-you-in-it side table.

But then one random day I decided to check in on my friend Craigslist...  (you can visit him too at Craigslist.com in case you had no idea what/whom I was speaking of).  Low-and-behold, someone had listed 5 briefcases from the 60's and 70's...
FOR FREE.

Yes, f-r-e-e.  I couldn't believe it.  I also couldn't believe when she emailed me back and said they were still available.  AND if that wasn't enough, she drove out of her way to meet me and hand deliver these babies.

They were a littly musty and needed a good wipedown, but other than that - they were all in pristine condition, perfect for my stackable side table.  And that's literally all the work this took.  I stacked them up.  Boy am I crafty!  Make sure you write that down if you're planning on doing one too, 'cause this could get tricky.  ;)  Of course, when we decide to start having little Ogo's, we'll have to connect these and put some weights in the bottom suitcase. 

Anyhoo, here it is in our family room.

This is my first post about my main-other-man Craig, and certainly not the last.  Have you found an amazing-out-of-this-world deal on Craigslist lately?