Painting Projects

The painting bug has bitten me and nothing is safe! I had been struggling with our new 'rental' status, after always owning and living in our own home. I love to be able to drill holes, put shelves up, add bits and pieces around the house and anytime I please. In a rental you have to be creative and use other things to get the 'change hit'. Its like a drug to me, I paint something, make something, change something and I get this high and then after a while it runs out and I need to find the next thing. 

Perhaps I should go on The Block?

Whats the best thing to mix it up and give a 'change hit' in a rental? Why paint of course. Adding pops of colour to items around your home can really boost a room and your mood. So the past few weeks have been full of painting projects.

Kmart has been rocking it in the home wares department  and I picked up this house shelf. The outside was a whitewashed wood and the backing a hessian type material with the printing. Pretty drab really 

A trip to the paint shop, a sample pot of Seafoam half and we were set!

I pre under coated the unit (more for the hessian at the back) and then popped a few coats of this yummy blue all over. 

Ta - da!! A new home for little Super hero figurines in the boys room and a colour hit at the base of Angus' bed. The boys love it! Win

Next on the list was these cute houses that I finally managed to nab from Cotton On Kids. The sold out so quickly the last time they were released and I just had to have one! 

A base coat ( I already had a tin from my Kitchen makeover project) and a few coats of these yummy colours ;

 a pretty yellow called Lemon Delicious and the most devine pale pink called Tea Party.

And now they are a cute feature in the corner of the play/toy area. 

A few command strips and voila, perfect for a rental! 

The perfect spot for little bunnies to look cute and watch over all the fun play that happens here ( and the bickering and snatching etc)

I have been on a basket buying ban for a while and have only just allowed myself to purchase a few newbies in the last few months. Why? Because it was like they were breeding in our house. I had baskets everywhere and not all of them were being put to good use. 

Now? A few years on , they are all starting to look a little worse for wear. Nothing a can of spray paint won't fix!! This little basket was white, dirty and scratched and ready for the bin. Now its the ideal home for bits and pieces of lego that I find around the house and any projects that Max is working on at the time. 

Its situated low on the boys bookcase in their room and matches with their new photo wall perfectly ( a post on that is coming soon!! )

An old tray that was a very yellowy/creamy colour needs a spruce up , again , nothing that a can of white paint couldn't fix. Nice and fresh now! 

And another little Kmart purchase that received the start makeover treatment was this cute metal stationery tray. It was originally a bright red colour and a bit leery for our home , especially the girls very pink bedroom. But as the 'Loom craze' has overtaken our house, I have been finding those little suckers everywhere!! Long after the girls have packed the boxes away, random little bands pop their ugly little heads up. ALL. OVER.THE. FLOOR. Drives me bonkers. 

And me being lazy, I simply can not be bothered walking to their room, opening the containers and putting the found bands back in there, so they were ending up in the bin. These chucked bands add up and I knew I had to stop. Enter the Stationery tray. Kmart for about $8 I think. A can of white spray paint. Wonderful!

It is a great size and sits well on the shelf of their bookcase. It is a quick dumping spot for all the bands that I find around the house, for half finished bracelets, beads in bags and items that Stella likes to keep handy, in the event of having a few minutes spare to loom up her magic. 

The loom band storage boxes sit next to it, as do the loom boards so its all corralled in the same convenient area.

These are only a few of the paint projects happening here, I doubt the list will ever end and the workers at the Paint Place are really getting to know me and the kids now! 

Oh the power of a good paint colour , warms my heart! hehe

Kids Kitchen Makeover

After having our kids IKEA kitchen for a fair few years now, it was looking tired and grotty. Our toy area is a part of our open lounge room area and every time I sat on the couch , I seemed to catch sight of it and it bugged me. After seeing a gorgeous picture on Instagram of someones clever makeover of an IKEA kitchen for their daughter , I was inspired. It couldn't be that hard to do , surely?

Enter mass Pinterest pinning session.... It didn't take long to convince myself that I could do it!

And now ? I am so so pleased with how it turned out!

 Not only does it add a gorgeous pop of colour to an otherwise bland area, but it looks devine ad the kids have been re-inspired to play and use it. Win win! 

Here it is before its little tizzy up. The bench top are had a dark stain/mark that I could not get off, the tap was broken and it was looking a little used and abused. 

Now it stands , pride of place in the toy area. Surrounded by a sea of gold polka dots at that! 

We have added some pretty glass knobs above the oven area as well as a few cute tea towels (I cut a pretty Target tea towel in half and just whizzed up the edge on my sewing machine).

We also added a 'splash back' behind the sink and stove area using some pretty wrapping paper and a thin sheet ply board cut to size. 

A few cute bowls that I picked up the the Coles Dollar Dazzlers section finished the new look perfectly and the kids are having a ball with 'precious bowls'.

As I said, we are completely in love with the 'new' kitchen and think that it looks amazing. It wasn't hard, nor expensive to do and it makes such a change to an otherwise plain kitchen and kids area.

Stay tuned for a follow up post on how we underwent this project. 

Updates ...

There is nothing I like more than quick, easy and most of all , budget savvy updates for me or my home. I am a 'homey' person, always choosing to spend time or money on furnishings/ decor than clothing or items for myself and I like change. I like to have something to do all the time and I don't like to spend a lot of money while doing it! My husband calls that 'stingy'  I call it 'budget savvy'. Same same really . 

Here are a few ways I have been satisfying the need for change and gaining that 'hit' that I need every now and then, without breaking the bank! 

I have been on the lookout for more storage for our Toy area for a while , but with the cost of freight to get things up here, and our limited shopping options, my hunt was not very successful. And then this little bookcase gem popped up on our local Facebook buy and sell page. We have these Ikea bookcases in the kids rooms, as well as some small cube storage in the same range so it fits with our existing furniture perfectly. It didn't take long to be filled and used but I have plans to recover the backboard with some pretty paper or fabric. I will just add that to the Projects list , shall I!?

Before our big move to the Pilbara , I used to have my nails done with a gel polish and loved it! Move to the Pilbara and the prices are astronomical to get them done (as it is with everything) so I just couldn't justify it. 

So I researched and ended up buying myself a lamp and gel polishes and now do my nails myself. 

So much fun! 

You've got to love when your shirt and nails match!! Definitely not on purpose but a welcomed coincidence. 

After a impulsive purchase of this floor rug from Kmart (less that $30) , I then got it home and had no where to put it. Not good! They are the worst purchases of all.

Then I had the idea to fold it in half , tuck it under the beds legs and use it next to my side of the bed ( I have this bizarre issue with moisturiser, clean feet and going to bed . No,  Seriously!)

Not only has it helped with my 'issue' it has added a nice pop of colour to our previously neutral and dull bedroom. I am loving this 'embrace colour' phase I am going through! 

No money spent here, and this project cost was an hour of my time. Its amazing what a wee little tidy up can do to a key area of your home. Functionality and aesthetics aside, it makes me feel good!

After picking up 4 of these gorgeous green glass knobs on eBay for $12 including postage, the cabinet I had intended on using them on , was a pain to remove the old knobs.  No problem, plenty of others to jazz up. 

Loving the little pops of colour and snazz up to our TV unit! 

During a recent little tidy up of our store room , I rediscovered my boxes of fabrics and decided they either had to be used , and soonish, or sold off on eBay/facebook etc. So while my husband was home one day (he is shift working now) I set up the sewing machine and buzzed up some pillowcases for our room ( the blue/teal ones in the middle) . Again, the pop of colour is gorgeous and the satisfaction of knowing I made them is even better!

I am definitely on a "revamp, reorganise , re evaluate" phase and its so refreshing! 

Organising a Storage Cupboard

Slowly but surely I am making my way through the cupboards in our house , tidying, culling and labelling. I will probably reach the end of my list and have to start again but that is ok. I like a challenge and a project!! 

Seeing as though we are renting, we can't permanently add more storage to the house as I would have done in the past and we really have to work with what we have. 

The cupboards are quite random throughout the place. I have no broom/mop/full length cupboard and others don't have the right shelving etc inside of them so you can't use them to their maximum capacity. 

Oh well ... It just means we have to be creative ! Creative with limited shopping and storage options of course ;)

This single door cupboard is near our main bathroom, toilet and laundry and comes off a bedroom (which I use to work out of ). It tended to be a random dumping zone for anything that didn't really have a home so it was one of the most important areas to make over.

This is the before photo (and this was tidied a little while before);

It wasn't too bad but as you can see, some really strange items ended up in here! 

I pulled everything out, purchased some white tubs from Red Dot (will on a day trip to Karratha) and sorted the items groups for the tubs. Luckily we already had the plastic drawers , and they were being a nuisance , taking up space in the store room so it was nice to find them a use! 

Ta -Da!! 

Now this is the home for the kids DSI and tablet devices and their accessories and travel bags ( honestly, they really only play with these items every 4-6 weeks or when we are travelling) we didn't feel the need for them to be anywhere more accessible, plus we love how they are out of reach of the children (giving us the control).

 It is also where I now store our cards, ribbon and wrapping paper for gifts ( I do miss the wrapping station that I created at our old house) and some cleaning items (like dustpan and brush set, a few scrubbing brushes etc. 

These white tubs have made all the difference. They are super cheap and light to pull out , which is important to a shorty like me when they are stored up high!  I made these labels using THIS tutorial and then backed them on some pretty paper before running them through a laminator. I just stuck them to the tubs with BluTack. I want to be able to swap and change around the tubs and contents whenever I like so this method works well. 

All the earphones, chargers and travel bags for the devices are in the tubs and drawers and then I made use of the void of space under the shelf with some baskets from Kmart. As the bottom of the cupboard is where my vacuum cleaner lives,  this basket is perfect to store the different attachments so they are handy all the time. The other under shelf basket houses our double adaptors/plugs as we seem to always need one of these ( especially when we have visitors).

I didn't forget the Miscellaneous tub. Every cupboard needs one in my opinion!! 

This one has a few small gift items that I picked up super cheap at Kmart (like 10c each) such as skipping ropes, wooden cupcakes and a few cars and trucks and I often add them to a present or use the skipping ropes when wrapping gifts. I will keep adding to it anytime I see something on special. 

A few hours of my time, over a few days, $20 for some plastic tubs and we now have a very pretty and tidy cupboard. Got to love that! 

Now onto the next one!! 

Don't forget to check out the rest of my 'Organising on a budget' series .

Our Portable Fairy Garden

After seeing many many gorgeous fairy gardens on the wonderful world of the Internet, on pinterest and on my social media feeds, we decided that perhaps we would like to make one for our home.

Seeing as though we are in a rental, are unsure if we will have to move next year when the lease is up and are in a cyclone prone area, there were more factors that we needed to consider when creating our little garden.

Not to mention the fact that during our summer it is consistently at temperatures of the high 40's , day in, day out for MONTHS on end. The sun is brutal and not many lovely flowers or plants survive the heat onslaught! We hardly survive it!

So .. the garden needed to be portable - so that it can be brought inside or to the shed when a cyclone decides to grace us, so that we can take it to any house we live in and so that we can move it around depending on the seasons and weather. 

Living in the Pilbara means limited shopping opportunities , and really not a lot of choice full stop. If only we had a Bunnings! And a Target and and and and ......

However, we don't, we have a Hardware store but you pay through the nose for anything really, especially a lovely ceramic pot or a half wine barrel (oh how I would have loved to use one of those!!)

Instead , a trip to Kmart , and this lovely tub was bought. It has handles for transporting, its light enough to be less hassle when moving and its a great size. 

All supplies were purchased from Kmart or Thingz ( a WA franchise, its a giftware type shop) and cost less than $40 for everything! If you have more stores to choose from, I am sure you could pick up some really gorgeous items and there are some amazing online stores that cater for these things especially but we went with what we could find locally and rehomed a lot of items we already had. 

The kids were so excited and had a ball helping us put it all together. They really got into the fact that fairies would come and perch themselves in the garden for a rest, the check on the kids or for outings with each other! 

We firstly filled the tub with potting mix (for when we use real plants instead of the lovely artificial ones pictured). 

We then created 'zones' in the garden - a path using some small pebbles (sourced from our front verge hehe) , some small plastic type crystals for the garden sections, a plaque at the back with a saying and some gems on it (both from Thingz)

We added a rock (also sourced from our garden) , some shells for the path edging and an area at the back, some toadstools (actually sharpeners from Kmart, they come in a pack of 2) , a bunch of artificial lillies and a ladybug spinner (from Kmart). 

Not forgetting somewhere for the Fairies to sit when they visit, some chairs from the unused dolls house were rehomed , as was a small bucket (in the front) that I had in my party supplies. 

We left a small patch at the front bare as I wanted to source a small off cut of fake turf , and put a call out on our local community facebook page. 

Our prayer was answered by a lovely lady we know from dancing, and she had this cute grass mat with flowers that she had used for a birthday party. 

I shaped it with the garden shears and created a cute little grassy area. 

Some renovations also took place when I rediscovered the white bird house in our store room cleanup - so out with the rock, and in with the cute house. Perfect!! 

Our little fairy garden is a constant work in progress. It gets changed and added to constantly by the kids with things they have found or made.  Every child that comes to visit likes to stop and check out all the magic as its at our front door, and I have no doubt they all request one from their parents too!! 

Our portable , magical Fairy garden has been in place for a few months now (sorry for being so late to share) and we all still love it! Everything is wearing well and its easy to care for, we just clean a few loose leaves off it occasionally. 

It wasn't hard, nor expensive and its amazing how something so small, can create so much joy, imagination and magic in our little cherubs. Totally worth it! 

Maybe you would like to make one too? I would love to see them if you do!

Lately ......

Lately ..  I have been the blogger that doesn't blog. 

A Mum enjoying the slower pace of the school holidays

A lady going mad because all of my favourite shows (that I like to watch online) are on season breaks! (first world problems here peeps) 

And a crazy DIY-er with a few projects on the go, paint in my hair and all over my arms and waiting on bits and pieces to finish them all off!

Lately life has been busy, the weather has been glorious (in the sunny Pilbara) and we have plenty to look forward to. That always seems to make the days and weeks fly by!

Hubby has started a shift roster, which is bittersweet. Long days , where I am literally doing everything and he is just eating, working and sleeping but then bigger blocks of time off. We can take day trips, I can work a little more and we have more time to spend together.  Like I said ... bittersweet. 

I seem to have found my crafty mojo. The only problem being , I want to have a go at everything that has been on my wish or 'to do' list for a while. So much I want to do, so little time and so little supplies in this town! Oh how I miss Spotlight!

I have so many projects and bits and pieces to share with you all, but here is a bit of whats been happening in the Team M house ....

The painting of shadow boxes, these ones are from Cotton on Kids

And this is from Kmart (it was beige and hessian but I undercoated them with this white before painting on the colour coats)

A photo on Instagram inspired me to tizzy up the kids kitchen! It is nearly completed , just waiting on some yummy wrapping paper I am using as a splash back and I will definitely be sharing the finished product!

Post coming soon!!

School holiday fun has meant lots of plays at the park,  lots of scooter riding, a day trip to Karratha , and a trip to the movies yesterday! So excited as it doesn't happen very often up here, and it was Angus' first time!

The weather has been chilly, for Pilbara standards, and I took the opportunity to whip out the beloved boots! Such a novelty!

More paint projects, baskets and lids. Frames for walls and hooks. Fun fun 

One of the finished mini projects , a simple Ikea jar , a spare knob glued on the top and a touch of spray paint. A cute update for my 'Tea and Coffee Cupboard" revamp. Again, another post to share when the labels have arrived and I am finished!

I have crates of fabric begging to be turned into something pretty and a few bunny dresses and skirts were the prefect starter projects! 

Late afternoon walks along the paths and lookouts to kill time while waiting for Daddy to finish work. This really is a beautiful part of the country, and somewhere that people just never want to visit.

And the most important thing of all. I've been busy being a Mum to my 4 cherubs. When I posted this photo on instagram I wrote this ;

Motherhood is sleep deprivation and self doubt, testing and a content challenge. You lose a lot of who you were before but become so much more in the process. Today I feel lucky to have 4 happy , healthy kids (and I will use this post to look back on next week when school holidays start and they are fighting like cat and dog)

And they have been fighting , but they have also been playing beautifully. I still feel the same a few weeks later, at the tail end of the holidays , thankfully!!

Happy Saturday everyone, I am looking forward to sharing some new things soon!