Introducing a new guest nester! Australian Abby Matthews blogs about the things that inspire her at Two Little Dicky Birds. Abby’s remake of this tired, chipped pine dressing table reminds me of my wallpapered cart, but she used an entirely different (and better?) process, so I had to share it with you. Abby writes: “I [...]

Whenever I speak to my dad on the phone, he always asks, “Miss me?” This past month I’ve been getting concerned emails, so apparently some of you missed me—or at least my weekly blog posts. I’ve missed you too. I think I just needed a break. But I’m happy to say I’m back. I’ll be [...]

Here’s a last-minute idea for us last-minute gift wrappers. I felt guilty about discarding those round, sturdy cardboard canisters that hold nuts, cocoa, and other foods. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think they can be recycled (aluminum + cardboard?). But they definitely can be reused! Here, I covered them in gift wrap [...]

Remember my tank top totes from a few weeks ago? Well, I just had to share this tip. The piece I cut off the bottom of the one of the tank tops made a perfect—and super comfortable—headband. My friend Rhean did a beautiful job modeling it for me. So, save your scraps. Mine is about [...]

Our new guest nester, Maria Romvari, transformed this corner of her house for her Hungarian blog A Hoover-gáton is túl, and she’s sharing her tutorial with us! Maria used ordinary thrift store items—side table, vase, and mismatched frames—totaling $10.67 to create this stunning vignette. Another $17.75 spent on paint, primer, and a brush bring the [...]

Before you pack away your summer clothes for the winter, you might want to set one of your tank tops aside to make one of these easy totes. The best kind of tank tops to use for this project are ones that have front and back necklines that are the same height—or very close. Otherwise, [...]

What a difference a little color makes! I decided my white sunburst mirror was a little boring. It only looked good from an angle, where the shadows would emphasize the shapes. Straight on, it looked more like a plain white circle. So I grabbed some paint samples and started painting the sun’s rays. I’m happy [...]

What can I make with an old picture frame that’s missing glass, a free fabric sample from FabMo, and an 8- x 10-inch LoRan magnet board that my friend Chris gave me? Another friend, Kristi, had an idea: a mini magnetic board. If you add a few more magnetic boards, frames, and coordinating fabrics, you [...]

Why anyone would paint over window panes is beyond me. But that’s exactly what someone did to this window that I bought at a salvage yard for $20. It took a couple hours to scrape away all the stray paint and caulking, but the effort was totally worth it, considering I now have a fun [...]

I bought this little library table on Craigslist last year for $15. I loved its cute shape, but it needed lots of repairs. I pulled 21 (mostly bent) nails out of this thing—and filled twice as many holes. Then a few coats of shiny silver paint and a handmade stencil gave it an instant update. [...]