Wallpapered Genius

I occasionally get a decorating ideas newsletter from Better Homes and Gardens. After looking at their featured slideshow, I continued to look around on their site and found an awesome slideshow about using wallpaper remanants. They had the traditional ideas that we see in the crafting world--you know decoupaged inside a tray, covering a cubby box, inside the back of shelves, and so on. But some of those ideas were just genius! I kept saying, "Oh my gosh" or "Awesome, I have to do that!" To see the whole slideshow start here. Here are a few of my favorites:

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This old display cabinet gets a fresh coat of paint, some funky wallpaper, and a few hooks to become a jewelry cabinet. (I'm seriously going to do this one once I find a cabinet!)

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Okay, so this isn't a particularly new idea but I love the print and color combo on this dresser. I have a desk I'm planning on redoing and this gives me some inspiration. Can you spot the other wallpapered accesories in the picture?

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A little twist on an old trick. The shelves on the wall are cubes covered in wallpaper and then mounted on the wall as display shelves. But wouldn't this be cool if they were open on the top (like a box) and then screwed into the wall for storage. You could store markers and paintbrushes and stuff as art in a craft area.

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I love this idea but I know the hubbie would never approve of wallpaper, let alone patchwork wallpaper. Although, this is great if you're worried about not being able to match and line up patterns because it's random. That's my kind of decorating (where no one can tell if you messed up)! Maybe I could get away with this on a smaller scale, like a couple of canvases above my bed.

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I love this idea. I like the look of a white plate collection on the wall, but I always thought it looked like...well, plates hanging on a wall. This is a cool way to freshen that up. Slap some wallpaper (or scrapbook paper) on some white plates and white painted wooden plaques and you have some art. Presto!

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This is my absolute favorite! They wrapped and stapled wallpaper to a canvas. Then added the pink vinyl (I think) saying. The shelf is just wood screwed into the bottom wood stretcher of the canvas. Add some fresh flowers in a vase and voila! Form and function. :)

The whole slideshow has some cool ideas, check it out here. Now, I want to know where they found all of their cool wallpapers...



Spring Mantel

My fireplace mantel desperately needed an uplift. While I had planned on doing a fun switch of decor at St. Patrick's Day, my mantel has been untouched since February. I had a few things that I wanted to work in for sure and everything else I had to just wing it. What do you think?

I know it's not perfect, but I really like it. I love how bright and colorful it is without being cartoonish or sillly like some Easter decorations can be. Plus, I love how it brightens up the room. Just looking at it makes me smile. So here's the breakdown...

On the right side of the mantel, I have a green frame with fabric framed, white planter with artificial flowers, an iron horse, a yellow watering can with a package of flower seeds inside, and 2 gerber daisy hairclips. The hairclips are homemade from flowers I bought at Hobby Lobby. The iron horse was bought at an antique store during an anniversary bed and breakfast vacation. The pink flowers are from Wal-mart and the white ones are from Hobby Lobby. The white planter is from IKEA (more on that in a minute). The yellow watering can, seed packet, and green frame are all from Target's dollar spot or on clearance. The fabric in the green frame is part of a bandana that I found at Wal-mart, cut, and backed with white paper, placed in the frame.

On the left side of the mantel, I have a blue bunny, white and pink birdhouses, yellow flower hairclip, white planter with artificial flowers, and an iron bird votive holder. The iron bird was from the Dollar Tree. The hairclip was made from Hobby Lobby flower. The white planter came from IKEA. The flowers are from Wal-mart and Hobby Lobby. The white bird house was unfinished wood that I painted and the pink birdhouse was a paper mache ornament that I painted and decoupaged pink scrapbook paper on. Both were from Hobby Lobby. The blue bunny came from Target. He has a broken foot, so I was able to get it at a discount. My original plan was to fix his foot and recover him in my favorite vintage print fabric (which I might still do) but I love the pop of blue, so for now he stays as-is.

I think the banner might be my favorite part. I took some hemp twine and cut it to the length I wanted (just a little short because it sags with the clothespins). Then I cut out some triangles from various springy scrapbook papers that I had on hand: you know ginghams, polka dots, florals, all that fun stuff. :) Then I took some Dollar Tree clothespins and clipped them on. I alternated between unfinished clothespins and ones that I had previously painted pink. In order to keep the clothespins from flipping over (top-heavy), I had to shove the clothespins on the twine all the way up to the springs on them. I don't think this would have been a problem if my twine was heavier (I used twine made for making necklaces). All and all I love it! I've been thinking about possibly painting my iron animals white, but right now, I like the contrast. Also, I'm thinking about maybe laminating my banner pieces so that I can reuse them but also write messages on them like, "Happy Easter" or even "Happy Birthday" and then be able to erase them to change it when I want. What do you think, good idea or no?  Most of these things I already had on hand. The bunny, watering can, and white pots were the only things bought specifically for this mantel. If I went back and totaled the cost of everything collected and used, I would say it cost somewhere between $20 and $25 dollars. Again, most of it I already had on hand, so I really only spent $12. Pretty cool, right?

Now, a word on the lacy IKEA pots...

Image via IKEA

I must say I LOVE these pots! I was at IKEA yesterday looking for a few other things and came across these. I was actually looking at a different pot when 20-month-old Bee reached over and pulled these out of a stack of boxes that hadn't been unpacked and shelved yet. At first, I sternly reacted, grabbed it from her and put it back. Then, I walked away, but I wasn't more than 5 steps away when I realized the beauty she had uncovered. I quickly went back and looked again. All that lacy cut-out goodness on the top of this white metal pot, I was literally drooling.  No price tag was anywhere to be found. So we carried it around the store looking for one of those price checker things. Only 2.99! Bee held on to it for dear life. She seriously wanted me to put back the stuffed animal I was going to buy her so that she could hold this, two of them in fact. I was happy to oblige. I actually wanted more but was already at my limit for that trip's budget. I may have to go back and buy more to use in my bedroom and elsewhere. Like I said, I am totally LOVING these pots. I must say that Bee's got good taste. I may have to take her shopping with me more. ;)