~a $25 tablescape~ {thrifty thursday}

When creating a beautiful tables cape, you don't need to have a ton of money.

I am going to show you how I created this garden inspired tables cape  with $25 and a trip to the thrift and grocery store.

A dozen white roses for $9.99 at the grocery store…..

6 glass vases from Goodwill for .69 cents each = $4.14….

Glass juice pitcher from the Goodwill = $2.69

4 ironstone plates from the Goodwill  = $4.00

Taper candles I had on hand = free

6 stemware glasses, also .69 cents each = $4.14….

Place a cement garden piece/statue in the center of your table. You can also add an urn with even more flowers. I re purposed this piece from another room.

I also added misc. ironstone trays and bowls which I already had.

xoxo

~thrifty Thursday~{French crate}

Here is how I made this tray for $3.00, and you can too!

I started with this piece of expanded steel. You can buy this at home improvement stores.

I happen to have this in my studio, so I didn't have to buy mine.

Think outside the box here. You don't necessarily need a piece of expanded steel for this project.

Look around for unusual pieces in the right size.

Perhaps plexi glass, grates, old windows, etc.

My piece of expanded metal measured 32" x 19"

You are going to need to pick up 3 1x2's at the hardware store.

These are I believe 8' long and are only 97 cents each.

I purposely picked out the roughest ones I could find because I wanted my crate to look old.

So grab ones that are cracked, rough, and a little beat up.

For my crate 

{you will need to adjust to the size of your insert, meaning metal piece, etc.}

I cut 6 bottom pieces slightly larger than the 19" width.

I cut them at 20 1/2"

Then I cut 4 end pieces at 18 3/4" and 4 side pieces at 34" and finally, 4 short pieces to brace everything together in the corners. These are 5"

Again, you will need to adjust to your own measurements, this will just be a guideline for you.

Next you will need to darken up those pieces of unfinished wood.

You can use a stain, or if you are impatient like me and want a quick dry product, wipe on a little dark wax. I bet you could even use shoe polish. Does anyone still have any of that?

Now it is time to assemble.

I first laid my 6 pieces flat on the ground. This is what your metal will lie on top of.

Place the metal on top and make sure the bottom pieces are straight.

Add the end pieces and the side pieces. I used a air nailer to attach them all together.

If you don't have an air nailer, wood glue and small nails would work.

Note that the sides and end pieces of wood should be sitting on the taller side, not laying down like the bottom pieces.

{sorry, I am horrible at tutorials!}

Here is  a close up of what it should look like at this point.

Next, take the 4 shortest pieces and place them in each corner securing with your nails.

Attach the 2 remaining sides and the 2 remaining ends flush with the top of the shortest pieces.

Notice how one of my pieces of wood is totally broken off and because my measurements were slightly off, the pieces of wood don't meet up?

Yep, I like to call that character :)

Here it is all done!

Oh, and I don't know if you can see it real well, but I used a French stencil to add some wording to the centers of each side, just to really give it that old crate feel.

So, are you going to make one, or have I totally lost you with these directions?

xoxo

~French crate in our dining room~

Ok, so the title might be a bit misleading.

It's really not a French crate, but I have always wanted one, so I made one to mimic the real deal.

I will be showing you how you can make your own on Thursday, so come back then if you are interested.

p.s it cost me $3.00

xoxo

~freshening up the dining room for spring~

Thank you for all your comments on the living room paint.

It's amazing what a little white paint can do!

Since the dining room is off of the living room, I also painted it Swiss Coffee.

When I went to take pictures of it, my lens on my camera broke, so I had to rely on my zoom lens, which is why I couldn't get any good overall shots.

So, sorry for all the close ups!

Last week I went to a grand opening of a new Value Village thrift shop in Issaquah Washington, 

{for you locals}

and picked up this large vase.

I actually think it is a umbrella stand, but today it holding branches from the yard.

Could not pass up the $12.99 price tag.

We have had unusually nice sunny weather lately for this time of year.

I love looking out the window and seeing the lake sparkling.

I also hung my new antlers from Joss and Main.

Hopefully I will get a new lens soon and be able to take some overall shots of the space.

xoxo

~our dining room & break~

Kids are on vacation this week, so I am taking a few days off from blogging to spend time with them.

If you'd like to follow along on instagram, you can do so here.

In the meantime, I am loving the blue pillows I moved from Savannah's room to the living room so much, that I went to TJ Maxx and scored a Broyhill lamp I love for the adjoining dining room.

Pillows from Spark Modern.

xoxo

~a few new things in our dining room~

I recently just scored at the Restoration Hardware Outlet.

I found these linen chair slips, regularly $279.00, marked down to $14.99!

Do you even know how fast I paid for those and bolted home to put them on my Ikea chairs?

Yep, they fit perfectly on my Ikea parsons chairs!

So naturally, the new dining chair slips made me want to have a sit down family dinner and make the dining room all pretty and clean. So here you have it, my clean dining room with my new linen slipcovers.

If inquiring minds want to know, the bowls are from Target.

You can find them here along with many other pretty colors!

xoxo