DIY coffee table makeover

I bought this table for $20.00 at a yard sale. It wasn't really what I was looking for, but I thought it might be cute painted. I sanded it down very lightly just to ruff it up, since it was in pretty good shape.

Next, I used a spray primer to give it a more even surface color, because the wood was so dark and it had the detail on top. Lastly, I applied cream spray paint, wiped on some brown glaze to age it a bit, and topped it off with 2 coats of polyurethane.

For $20.00 I have a new addition to my living room. Stop over to Kimba's @ Soft Place to Land for some other great DIY projects or link up to the party and show off your own.

The Junk Mammas

Blog Land parties

We often join parties to show off the stuff we have been working on, but also to get some great new ideas for our homes, new recipes, or anything else that might be out there. One of our favorite parties to be part of a is DIY @ A Soft Place to Land each week.


We have joined several times, but last week Kimba choose our post as one of her favorites. We were so excited we wanted to shout out a BIG THANK YOU to Kimba for hosting this fabulous party every week and for including us among many others as your favorite for the week.


If you haven't been there check out Kimba's DIY every Thursday, link up or just enjoy the loads of ideas.


The Junk Mammas

Custom drapes on a budget

We are linking up with Wendy from the Shabby Nest for a Frugal Friday party.

I wanted a custom curtain treatment, but without the custom price. I found some plain tab top curtains @ Target that were the perfect color, but I didn't like the tab top look and they weren't long enough. So I decided to customize them and sent them out to my seamstress. She cut off the tabs and added some fabric and trim on the top. She work really cheap because she my Mom. I really need to learn to sew.

Now with the tabs gone, I used black clip rings to hang my new custom curtains. I dressed each window for around $30.00 total.

The Junk Mammas

Scrabble anyone-Take two

We posted this idea earlier this year, but thought we'd share again for Kimba's DIY party.

Our house has no mud room or coat closet near the back door, one of the pitfuls of an older home. But I do have a back porch that I use kinda like a mud room in the warmer months. If you leave your gear out there this time of year it would be frozen. So I had to have a place for the kids to leave there jackets and backpacks inside. I'd love not to have to look at jackets every time I am in the kitchen but you have to make due with what you have sometimes.

I added some hooks to this little wall, but wanted to add the kids names somehow. One day I thought of my scrabble game that was hidden in the basement under my craft stuff. I pondered a good while how to hang them up then it came to me, poster putty. I just stuck a little on the back of each letter and put them on the molding. Now my kids know where there jackets belong. Do they get hung there, about 90% of the time.

The Junk Mammas

Vintage plastic letters

We recently came into a whole collection of vintage plastic letter and numbers. These are so much fun and the possibilities are endless with these. We are offering a few words for sale in our Etsy shop, but have plenty for custom orders as well.

They are made of a thicker plastic, so that makes them perfect for outside or inside use.




Check out these and the other fun stuff we have been adding to our Etsy shop.



The Junk Mammas

DIY Thursday

I was pregnant with my first baby and found inspiration for her room in a magazine. That was six year ago, and I still have that magazine. I have issues, really I have issues. I loved the scalloped border painted on the walls. I managed to find a plastic two foot stencil from the local craft store, but I couldn't make it work. So after a couple ideas, I finally came up with using contact paper as a stencil.

I choose two shades of yellow, because I didn't know the sex of the baby at the time. I painted the top yellow down about six inches lower then I wanted to start the scalloped border. My thinking was that it was easier to cover over a lighter color with a darker color then vice verse


Then the fun began. I traced the scallop stencil on to the contact paper and cut it out. The contact paper stencil went around the whole room, so I could just paint without having to move a stencil. The hardest part was leveling the contact paper. Our old house is just not level, so we did just eye balled some parts. One of those laser levels may of helped, but they weren't around then. I painted the second color with a small foam roller and removed the contact paper. I didn't have any residue left from the contact paper and very little paint seeped under the contact paper. I didn't leave the contact paper but overnight, just time to paint enought two coats.




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These waves would be cute to do as well. Visit DIY @ SPTL for more do it yourself ideas.

The Junk Mammas

Pottery Barn Fall

These remind me of my favorite time of year- Fall. The weather is cooler, my favorite festivals start. Kids go back to school......

Junk Mammas

Wall treatment

We live in an old house. As many of you old housers know the walls in some rooms can get pretty ugly!

The plaster cracks and chips and once you patch them it is almost impossible to get a nice paintable surface again, short of replacing the plaster with Sheetrock.

Before



Afters

Here is a solution that is cheap, easy and fun to do!

We took a bucket of joint compound(bought at our local hardware store for around $10.00). First, thin the compound out with water to the consistency of pudding. Next, roll it on your walls like paint(you will want to patch any holes or cracks you have first, but they don't need to be perfect). You can pick different napes on the rollers to get the desired texture you are looking for. It's really that simple, and once it dries you can then cover it with your favorite color of paint.

We have done this in several of our rooms and love the way it looks! This treatment would be great in new houses too, giving those flat walls a little more pizazz!

Stop over to Kimba's DYI party and check out some other great ideas!

The Junk Mammas

Hannah Montana Explosion

We survived the 2nd birthday party in a row, Hannah Montana style. My daughter has been obsessed with her since last year. My husband walked into the house and said we must of had a Hannah Montana explosion in here. He thinks the party themes are getting a little more ridiculous each year, but I love that part.

I think the farther a head you can plan for these parties the more you can get for your money. I bought the goodie buckets last year on clearance after Halloween for $.75 each, and have picking up things here and there to fill them with.

The kids decorated poster board guitars, that I printed off of Nick Jr. com. I used HM ribbon for the straps that I bought at Michael's for $1.00 a spool. Most of the art supplies were stuff we already had in our stash at home.

The poster was from a calander we had in my daughers room, the microphones were made from toliet paper rolls, with balls covered in tin foil on top. I bought the fabric for a few dollars at Walmart and the cupcake gutair cake was purchased there as well.

The party was a hit and not so bad on the budget either!

The Junk Mammas

Hello Kitty Birthday Party

My daughter's 6th birthday party was this past Saturday. After many discussions she decided on a Hello Kitty roller skating party. This was the first time we haven't had it at the house. It is way easier, but there is just something I really enjoy about planning the food, games, and decorations. I missed making some decorations, but that doesn't mean we didn't bring some with us.

We used some of the typical party supplies a Hello Kitty table cloth, napkins and plates. But we added a unique floral centerpiece, which I think turned out pretty cute if I say so myself. I borrowed roller skates from a friend and placed a mason jar in the skate then laced up the skate. I added the water to the jar and a simple grocery store bouquet of flowers. Tucked a extra party invite taped to a skewer into the bouquet. I would of picked up some cute laces for the skate but of course didn't think of that until I was putting it all together.

And of course the favor. My favorite part and can add to the budget quickly. So I try to pick up things on clearance here and there during the year.

Each guest received a Hello Kitty bag with candy, stickers, tattoos, lip gloss, back pack clip, and dipped pretzel rods (birthday must at our house) tied with a note thanking each guest for coming to the party. I found the pink bags at Micheal's, 3 for a buck. Ironed on fusible web onto white felt and cut out the Hello Kitty head shapes and ironed the kitty head to bag. I did melt a couple bags because my iron was too hot and I also placed a tea towel between the iron and the bag to make sure I didn't melt the bag to my iron. Cut out eyes and nose out of black and yellow felt and glued them on because they were so small. Added a purchased flowers, I found a Walmart for a "bow". Sewed her whiskers with black embroidery floss. The bags were complete in one afternoon nap time.

Our daughters birthdays are only a day apart, so watch for the next party.

The Junk Mammas

Zucchini Bread

I love to grow a garden each year. And like most years, we end up with way to much zucchini.

One of my favorite things to do with it besides grilling it, is making bread.

Here is a quick and easy recipe that I use to make it.

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2-3 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup vegtable oil
3 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 cups shredded zucchini

Bake 1 hour @ 325 degrees

Recipe makes 2 loaves

*Stir in options that are great with this recipe

walnuts
chocolate chips
pecans

The Junk Mammas

Quick project

We decided to join the fun @ Kimba's "Do it yourself day". Check out all of the great projects your fellow bloggers have been busy working on.

Today, I made over my shelf in the front hallway. Since I put the house numbers on my back door, I have been itching to do another project with numbers.


Above is the before, the shelf had pegs for hangers and they were not very sturdy. As you can see I am missing a peg.


Here is the after, I attached some hooks that I purchased at Walmart for under $10. Next, I printed out some numbers on my computer to the size that would fit above the hooks. Last, I traced them with carbon paper and used a paint pen to fill them in.

The Junk Mammas

The tale of the 3 legged tray...

Sliver trays our a weakness for us and when I found one with those fancy legs on the bottom I just had to scoop it up.

I purchased it for $5.00 at a rummage sale. The tray was extremely heavy and had those cute feet on it. I swear I turned it over before I bought it, but low and behold when I got it home I realized it had a leg missing. While it is still a great tray don't get me wrong, I was looking for one just a little different then the ones I already had.

It was no more then a few days later, Kim and I were at a local flea market and she found a beautiful silver tray with the feet. We looked it over and the feet were intact, we weren't going to let that happpen again! When we got to the car we realized one foot was partially broken off.

We got a good laugh out of the whole thing though. The trays are pretty similar, so now I just need to talk her into giving me one of her legs.

The Junk Mammas

Candy bar shortbread

I found this recipe in my junk mail one day. It was in one of those book offers, I tried it and loved it. I didn't buy the book, but I may try and find it. And it is sure easy. Mix, Cook, and Melt. If you love Toblerone you love this.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
pinch salt
3 (3.52 oz) Toblerone chocolate bars, coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Stack 2 baking sheets together and line top sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until blended. Add flour and salt and mix to make a stiff dough that does not quite hold together. Pat dough into a 13 x 9 inch pan lined with parchment paper and set pan on prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden, 25 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate on hot uncut shortbread. Let set about 5 minutes and smear chocolate around. Cut into 2 inch squares and remove cooking to fridge or freezer to set up.


The Junk Mammas

Frugal Friday

Wendy at the Shabby Nest is having Frugal Friday Party. Who are we to turn down a party?

I have wanted a drop leaf table coffee table for in my living room for a few years now. I wanted an antique one, but was not willing to pay $100 to $200 bucks to then cut down the legs. I just couldn't do it, and I never found one painted the right color.

I found a table on Craig's List in May for $40 bucks. And it sat in the corner of my dining room until last week. I wasn't sure I really liked it, didn't know what color to paint it, blah, blah. I decided just to go for it and had my husband cut the legs down and then pulled out the wood kindergarten chairs Jenny found a church sales for 7 dollar each. Now it is the perfect place for my kids to play games, eat a snack, or color. I am glad we went for it, now should I paint it. What color, it may take me until next summer to decide. So for my $54, I have a sturdy coffee table my kids can use.


The Junk Mammas

Weekend Finds Part -2

We had a great weekend of junkin, as you can see by some our lastest posts photos. We found this great estate sale in the paper. It said 30's and 40's vintage items. Low and behold the house was filled. Look at the stacks of vintage tableclothes.

She had a ton of ironstone, Chamber pots, pitchers, etc. Kim asked if they minded if we took some photos for the blog. Here our some of the items we left behind. She had some really wonderful stuff.

The Junk Mammas

Weekend Finds

We hit a few really good sales this weekend. And most were super cheap, love it. Now we need to find homes for all our stuff. I swear one day sometime soon, we will actually do something with our junk and blog about it.

Most of the stuff we found was $1.00 or under, minus the white ironstone chamber pot and pitchers.

Stop by tomorrow and checkout part 2 of our weekend finds, and see what we passed up. Also, head over to and see http://southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com/ for the weekly finds and others.

The Junk Mammas

Greeting, from the land of junk

The land of junk continues to grow at our houses. Here is junk from the weekend. Lanterns from Walmart on clearance $10.00 each, marked down from $25.00. Silver tray was $5.00. A window with grid screening already in it for $3, a vintage suitcase $5, 2 wood planters $2 for both, 5 finals for $2, rake head for $1, which my son thought I bought him. And the hat stand was a find from Goodwill. I only have plans for the suitcase, a perfect place for my daughter's dress up clothes. She can't get it open without my help, so mean. At least I can then say no dress up clothes without cleaning up the million other toys first.

Check out Rhonda @ Southern Hospitality for others weekend finds.

The Junk Mammas

Price my space at Nesting Place

The Nester is having a "Price my space party." I decided to use my daughter Maddie's room to share, as most of her stuff was found at a bargain price.

The white bed was found at a rummage sale for $20.00, the pink bedspread at an estate sale for $6.00. Then there is my Pottery Barn Kids bedding. I love that blue bedding. I have had some of this stuff since crib size. I bought it all at 1/2 price or less and picked up a few pieces on Ebay for next to nothing. Basket was an Ebay find, it is Pottery Barn Kids and matches my blue bedding, I bought 2 for under $10.00. The rocking chair was a 1st birthday gift and the pillow was a rummage find for $.50.
The white dresser was my sons that we bought unfinished for around $100.00. Pink bird house and Madeline sign I picked up at TJMAXX on clearance. Both were scratch and dent and paid $3.50 for the bird house and $6.00 for the name sign. The lamp shade is the blue PBK again, and I added some pink ball fringe. I paid $5.00 for the lamp shade, the base is a candle stick base that I bought way back and painted it white.
White wire basket was $1.00 at Salvation Army, and the rabbit jar was a baby gift.

The scalloped shelf is from TJMAXX, it was chipped so I only paid $5.00 for it. I put a fresh coat of pink paint and it's as good as new. Wood rabbit was an after Easter find one year for 75% off.

This room is one of my favorite rooms in our house and one of the smallest. I love the way it turned out and it was all furnished on a budget of less than $200.00.

The Junk Mammas