Getting the Look for Less

Ballard Bellesol Mirror (Medium) 31.5" diameter
$159

HomeGoods Mirror, 32" diameter

$79.99

How to Make Art for Zero Dollars

Wanted to share a few things with you. Do you like free art? Rhetorical question, I realize. Of course you do. I’ll get to that later. First, I wanted to share a quick “after” with you (the frame).  Don't judge me for not touching up the spots above the frame...we hung it too high and I HAD to have it lowered.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a “before” picture because I did this before I began thinking about blogging and obsessively taking pictures. This frame was a gift from an uncle of mine. He had many health problems and was giving many of us something to remember him by. One evening when we had them over for dinner, he brought an antique gold frame with him. Apparently, he had repaired an old frame in need of some TLC and decided to gold leaf it.

I loved the shape and detail of my new goodie, but the gold leaf, not so much. So I got out my trusty friend, white spray paint. I LOVE the results. Once painted white, the details of the frame really popped. This quickly became my favorite frame.

I hung the frame over our console table in the entryway. While I loved the empty frame look, when the holidays came, I thought it needed a little pop of color.

While shopping the house, I found a placemat I had left over from another project. (Another post for another day).

I pinned the placemat to the wall using some map pins I had on hand. Now I love how the pattern fits in the frame with a little wall border that looks like a mat. As of right now, I plan on leaving it up all year since the color fits with our scheme (or at least until I’m bored with it). I used the placemat because it was on hand and FREE, but there are so many options – scrap fabric, wallpaper, wrapping paper.

So have you ever used a placemat as art? What about any other kitchen textile? Do you think it’s working?  Hope you like it Uncle Al.  I think of you everytime I see it!  We miss you...

Linking to:
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Make it Your Monday @ The Twice Remembered Cottage
Trash to Treasure Tuesdays @ Reinvented
DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land
Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage

The Crap Has Hit the Fan

Ok, in all fairness, it hasn't hit the fan, just our garden.  Since we are in Florida, while most of the rest of the world is still getting hit with their winter storms, it's time for us to begin thinking about our garden.  Just so you know what we're dealing with, here's a photo from last year.

The first thing we have to think about is compost.  Yes, ladies and gents, I'm talking about manure.  Poo.  Crap.  As Snoop would say - shizzle. 

Last year I left this up the the hubs.  We have some friends out in the country that have about 1,000 acres and raise cows.  Hubs and my brother went out on a poo scavenger hunt.  Walking around the property with shovels in hand, they piled the piles (hehe) into the bed of a truck.  Needless to say, that took all day. 

This year, we thought about purchasing it from a lady who bags it.  That didn't sound like the best plan for us because 1) we need a LOT and it would probably get expensive 2) We'd have to manually spread each bag 3) it was a little drive from us.

So I decided to consult the best friend a girl can have...craig.  You know, I checked his list.  Yeah, craigslist.  In the farm + garden section, I checked for manure.  No dice.  So I did what I didn't think would work, I put up a wanted ad for free manure.  Amazingly, we received 6 emails with people offering their manure.  We settled on a couple that lives only a few miles from us.  On Sunday, we put our shovel in the back of the truck thinking we'd be shoveling for hours (but again, it's free!) only to be ecstatic when we pulled up to the house to find the husband in a tractor.  Score!

They were the nicest couple who gave us a heaping truck bed full of fresh manure and compost, no shoveling required.  Once we got home, the spreading went quickly.  Somehow, I managed to foget to take a picture of the weighted down truck - what was I thinking? (This is not our truck our our steaming manure, but you get the point)

Next weekend, we'll till it into the soil and be one step closer to the fresh veges and herbs we love.  We probably could have gotten another truck bed full, but this will do wonders for the nutrients in our soil.

So I ask, has anyone else posted a wanted ad on craiglist?  Was is successful or not?  We learned a lesson that I'm sure we'll use in the future.