Dollar Tree DIY Home Decor

Lately, I have been doing a lot of surfing on YouTube. I have been trying to find something to do to fill my time this winter. So...this is what I found...Dollar Tree DIY Home Decor. What I love about this...is that these projects are so cheap! And they are so easy! Here are three small DIY projects that I did last week to help decorate my house.

Have you seen or ever wanted those amazing wrought iron decorations from Hobby Lobby? I have too but hadn't purchased one to use for the space I wanted one for. I was looking for something to hang in the corner of my living room above our TV. It was such an empty space and I couldn't find something that would work. UNTIL NOW!!

On my surfing of the YouTube channel, I found this idea. It was mindblowing! You can go to your local Dollar Tree and buy plastic garden fences that have the look of wrought iron.  They are actually very pretty.

 Once I brought them home, I took a pair of utility scissors to cut off the stakes and the pieces on each edge that would hook into another fence. You can also use a knife or a razor blade to cut these pieces off. They are pretty easy to take off. There may be some loose paint on the places that you cut, but you can use black paint or a sharpie marker to cover it up. Since mine was going to be up high, I didn't cover up any spots. And that is it! WhaLaa!

 




I hung the 'wrought iron' fences upside-down along my ceiling with some screws. I did end up using four fences for this decoration. It has made a perfect addition to the corner above my TV in the living room.

The next project that I made was super cute! I can't wait for you to see it!

I bought this galvanized planter at the Dollar Tree. The white paint was from Walmart. I painted the outside of the planter white with a sponge brush. I used two coats to make sure that it was covered the way I wanted it. 

Once the planter was dry, I took a black sharpie marker to trace the raised letters that were already on the planter. There are words on both sides of the planter and I traced both sides. 

Next, I took a small paintbrush and painted the top and bottom rims of the planter. I didn't really take my time as I wanted it to look more antique and more like enamelware. 

I decided that I wanted to add small legs to bring the planter up some. At the Dollar Tree, I found a chess set in the kids' section. I took four pawns from the chess game and hot glued them onto the bottom of the planter. Here is the finished product and I am so happy about how it turned out. I have put in over by my door to catch the mail on my blue stand that I had redone. 

Lastly, I have always wanted a special bowl in my kitchen for bananas. I could never find the right type of bowl. The YouTube videos gave me some great inspiration about just looking around at the Dollar Tree to see what I can find. 

Here is what I found....a clear plastic bowl and a glass candle holder. The foam brushes are also from the Dollar Tree and the white paint is from Walmart. 

I painted the bowl and the candle holder white. I needed to have two coats to have mostly full coverage. I did end up going outside and spray painted one coat of white to make sure there was full coverage. 

             

I used E6000 Glue and Hot Glue to attach the candlestick to the bowl. I used both to make sure it stuck well and fast. I went around the edges with a thin paintbrush and black paint. I made it look like enamelware and antique, like the planter. I am really happy with the outcome of this. It works perfectly for my bananas. 

Thanks Again for Reading! Look for a new BLog Every Sunday!

~Sue

What To Do With Those Old Pieces In Your House!

Do you have some old furniture pieces in your house? Are they kind of ratty and tattered? Are they heirlooms handed down from family? If they are handed down from family, you don't want to get rid of them. Do you have a piece of furniture that you think is cute, but needs some cleaning up?

That is exactly where I have been. Some pieces of furniture that I have, I just couldn't get rid of. But yet, they really needed a makeover. So...let's get into three pieces of furniture that have needed some TLC in my house.

When we moved into our own home in September 2018, of course, we just left things as it was until we decided what we wanted to do. The first furniture piece is a small stand that my grandfather made. My mother had it for many many years before me, but then I was able to have it when I moved out. I moved it to every new place I lived and now it has a new purpose. When we moved into our home in 2018, I used this stand for a wine and coffee bar. I had painted this stand so many times, to make sure that it matched whichever kitchen I was in. It was super cute, but when we decided to redo our kitchen in summer 2019, we did not have the space for the wine and coffee bar. What I didn't have, was a small island in the center of the kitchen.

So, as I said, the summer of 2019, we decided to redo our kitchen. (Another blog post for another day) The colors of our kitchen were going to be yellow and country blue. I really wanted to have an island in the center of the kitchen, but I knew it was going to have to be small. Since we were not going to have room for this stand as a wine/coffee bar, I decided that this stand would work wonderful as my small island. I did, however, want to have a longer top and spruce up the bottom portion and have doors for the shelves. To be able to do this project, I knew that it would be ME putting things together. Why? Because you will all learn in my DIY and Renovation posts that my husband is NOT Handy At All! He will be the first to admit it. He did go with me to Menards and choose the right materials that I needed to create my island. 

 

Here is what I did...I enclosed the outer portion of the stand with car siding (tongue & groove). From our old cabinet under the sink, we were able to use the front part with the cupboard doors. I was able to secure it onto the stand so I could have doors in front of the shelves. For the top, I glued boards with liquid nails to the already placed top of the stand. I stained the boards and then sealed them with a glossy polyurethane. I put on about 4-5 coats of sealer to make sure that it was durable and counter worthy. This new island is perfect in a small kitchen!

The next furniture pieces had their makeovers last weekend (1/25-26/2020). I had been watching some DIY YouTube videos and they gave me some amazing inspiration. The first piece is a small entryway stand that I had picked up at a Good Will many years ago. It was brown with some weird paper attached to the outside of it. I had lived with it for so many years and have always wanted to do something about it. It was time to make it pretty!

I decided to paint this stand country blue with a white top. I started out by painting a leg with primer but found that just painting it with the blue right away covered so much better. So I continued painting the bottom portion the country blue. I did have to use two coats of paint to cover the brown. I painted the top with white paint. The original plan was to take a white patterned piece of fabric and modge podge it to the top. As I continued to paint, I realized that the modge podge would not look as good as just the paint. I ended up using 3 coats of white paint on the top. I also took the drawer knob off and spray painted it black. 

I LOVE how it turned out!! I placed it by the front door so we can drop our mail, keys, etc right next to the door. The stand has a drawer, and that is where I put the checkbook, any loose papers, or anything else I don't want left out.

The last piece is an old dresser. This was also inherited from my grandfather. I have had this dresser since 1998. Again, it has moved with me every place I have lived. With all the moves, it has been banged up and looking kind of rough. We had it up in the kid's room, but they really didn't use it to its full potential. I have been a de-cluttering mood and I was looking for something downstairs to house all the clutter. The dresser had been moved out into the hallway, so I realized what I needed to do with it. First things first, I had to have my husband help me haul it downstairs. I ensured him that it would not need to go back upstairs. So...here is the before dresser. Note: I forgot to take pics of it altogether, so you get pics of it taken apart before I painted it. 

 

First, I took off all the drawer pulls. I used black spray paint to freshen them up. I started painting the dresser with primer. I was using a paintbrush, but then realized it was easier to paint with a small sponge roller on the flat surfaces. That made the painting go more quickly. After the primer was dry, I painted the dresser and drawers with light grey paint. I needed to use two coats of the grey for full coverage. When it was completely dry, I put the drawer pulls back on. It looked AMAZING and I was so Excited to see the transformation!

This beautiful new dresser is now placed in my living room. It houses paperwork, loose ends of whatever, Scentsy wax, dog items, etc. I LOVE this so much now. I truly believe that my grandfather would be so happy to see what I have done. 

Now it's time for you to see what you can do with the pieces of furniture you have! Do you need some suggestions and inspiration? Please comment below with pictures of your pieces of furniture and I would be happy to help you with suggestions and tips! 

HAPPY DIYing!