Oh, no you didn't.

Yes, yes, I did.  I chopped off the shearling from these Frye boots.  Now, they are cute little clog booties that I can't wait to wear.  The truth is the shearling just looked silly on me; it was WAY TOO WIDE on my leg and I looked like a pirate.  I've owned these for several years and I considered selling them, but then I thought "hmm, what if I chopped them off???"

Still, they are not as cool as these...

or these

but, heck, they were $0.  

After I polish them up a bit, I promise to share an outfit!

P.S. I'm really excited about this week.  First off, I'm participating in a fun fall Recipe Exchange hosted by Michelle @ Pretty Mommy. Today, Michelle has posted a seriously yummy Taco Soup.  Find my recipe(s) here this Wednesday! And, find a bunch of lovely ladies' festive recipes all month at the following...

Oct 4th - Michelle @ Pretty Mommy
Oct 5th - Torrie @ a place to share...
Oct 6th - Katie @ the30girl.com
Oct 7th - Karen @ http://itallstartedatmothers.blogspot.com
Oct 8th - Estelle @ www.underapinkmoon.com

Oct 11th - Danielle @ domestic dish
Oct 12th - Chassity @ Look Linger Love
Oct 13th - Rebecca @ Reluctant Floridian
Oct 14th - Elisabeth @ You Plus Me Equals
Oct 15th - Jora @ Domestic Reflections

Oct 18th - Catherine @ Rikshaw Design
Oct 19th - Abby @ 5th Joy
Oct 20th - Stephanie @ Scrumptious
Oct 21st - Jennifer @ whiskitgood.com
Oct 22nd - Kate @ butthesqueal.blogspot.com

Oct 25th - Tina @ Bull In A China Shop
Oct 26th - Kim @ Lighter and Local 
Oct 27th - Elaine @ Mama Seasonings
Oct 28th - Jess @ Shades of Sunshine
Oct 29th - Michelle @ Studio Surface, The Blog

Nov 4th- Miya @ You Plus Me Equals 

P.P.S. This week Tiptoe Butterfly is hosted a giveaway of my t-shirt necklaces. Stay tuned for more info! I'm so excited! 

waiting for the postman...

I hope everyone had a splendid Valentine's Day and hopefully a restful 3-day weekend!

I thought I would share with you a couple things that I'm waiting for in the mail.

 

1. These vintage gardening books.  I am hoping to use some of the botanical sketches in these books as wall art. Plus, I plan to stack them artfully in my "formal living room".  

 

2. Remember this $50 dollar craig's list find?  Well, I finally decided on the chair cover.  I ordered the Collette wing chair cover in Cocoa from Sure Fit.  I'm still unsure of the color, but I love the design and I really wanted the legs to show.  We'll find out soon if it works.  Unless I was going to shell out the funds for a custom cover, this one at $47.99 (I used a 20% off promo code) can't be beat. Cross your fingers that it works! 

Are you waiting for anything exciting in the mail? Please drop me a comment and let me know:)

diy playroom art, on a budget

If you were reading, you might remember this post from last week, well I finished the project! So, here is the "how-to".

First, I used the Malma Mirrors from Ikea. Once upon a time, I purchased 6 of them.  At $2.99, the price couldn't be beat...I new I would get inspiration to use them someday.

 

In order to remove the mirror from each frame, I used a box cutter to cut the glue around the edges of the mirror.  Then, I knocked the mirror loose by gently hitting it with a rubber mallet. I'll admit, it did require a bit of elbow grease, but it only took me about 45 minutes to do all 6.  

After mirror removal, the frames were ready for paint.  I simply painted two coats of white, semi-gloss paint on each frame.  If you want to see less would grain, you could definitely go with three coats since the natural wood really soaks up the paint.  Or, you could use primer as the base coat.  For me, I usually try to use what I have on hand to avoid any unnecessary spending.  

Now, the frames were ready for the art.

For the artwork, I cut each picture to size using my handy-dandy paper cutter.  At which point, I glued (using non-toxic, acid-free glue) each picture to a piece of foam core board that I cut to the same size as the pictures and frame opening--4.5x4.5 inches.  I did contemplate using spray adhesive, but it's so toxic--a little Martha Stewart glue did the trick perfectly.  

Then, I inserted my foam core pictures into the freshly painted frames and I secured them into place with one 1/4 inch staple from my staple gun.  

 

By the way, instead of using the rather complicated picture hangers that came with the frames, I nailed saw-tooth picture hooks into the back of each frame.  These toothy things definitely made hanging easier.

 

 Basically, that is the process.  Here are a few close ups. 

 

  

The playroom is in our basement and has been void of natural light lately due the consistent lack of sun; so, I apologize for the poor quality of these pics.  As soon as I see some sun, I'll snap some new ones to really show off how great this little project really turned out.  

Overall, I had fun doing this project and I'm pleased with the result and price. 

Frames: 15.00

Art: 1.98 (cost of printing)

Paint: Free from basement

Picture Hangers: Free from basement

Foam Core: Free from office

Total Cost: $16.98

If you would like to make this project too, I've posted a .pdf file of my artwork in the sidebar under From the30girl... Or, email me and I will send you the original jpeg files.

Thanks for reading!