DIY Mirror Frame

Hello! I was so flattered by the comments I got about my bathroom re-do and I'm so excited to show you how I fixed up the builder grade bathroom mirror. I know so many of us have those and don't know what to do with them. I got the idea from Mirror Mate, a company that sells custom frames for boring mirrors. While they're great, I just didn't want to spend much money.

I started with my boring, plain, builder grade mirror.

I picked out some decorative trim from Home Depot. I decided to stick with something narrow since this isn't a very big mirror to begin with and I didn't want to take up too much of the mirror surface.

I cut the trim, angling the corners, using a miter saw...

...and notched out the back where the frame was going to go over the clips holding the mirror in place.

I painted the frame yellow with just a standard spray paint. and bought these Command poster hanging strips. I considered getting the picture hanging strips but this trim is so light weight and I wanted it to sit as flush against the mirror as possible. This line of products from Command is awesome! I use them on everything!

I just adhered the individual pieces of trim to the mirror...

...and there you have it! All in all this project cost less than $20 - $15 for the trim and $3 for the paint. It took less than an hour in work time. Not bad for something that makes such a big impact!

Next, I'll be working on my master bath mirror. I'm thinking about a somewhat different treatment for that one though. I'm still working out the logistics but I can tell you, it's going to be GREAT!

I finally was able to get a short enough break in the humidity to get my sunburst mirrors painted. I'll be posting them within the next few days :)

What kind of changes have you made that took so little but made a huge impact?

Summer Pasta Salad

Around here, Summer seems to be the time for potlucks. Here is my go-to dish for all those Summer parties. Trust me, this is about the easiest thing you can make!

Here is what I use. A package of tri-color rotini, a bottle of Italian dressing (I find that Wishbone has the best flavor), a red onion, some tomatoes (I prefer cherry tomatoes but Roma are so much less expensive), black olives, pepperoni, cheese (feta or shredded Parmesan - not the shaker type) and cucumbers (not pictured).

Cook your noodles according to package directions. Rinse with COLD water until the noodles are actually cool.

Thinly slice the red onion.

Seed and chop the cucumber. I peel and halve it first.

Then halve it again lengthwise.

Then slice off the layer of seeds.

Viola.

Slice again lengthwise...

...cut into about 1/4 inch pieces.

If you're using cherry tomatoes, either halve or quarter them. Grape tomatoes I usually halve and roma tomatoes I dice into about 1/4 inch pieces.

Pepperoni...I am not a huge fan but it does give this salad great flavor. I've done it meatless and also used grilled chicken, diced ham or salami.

I like the vacuum package because I can cut it right in the package.

I peel the slices of pepperoni apart and add it to your bowl with all the other ingredients. I forgot to take a picture here of how I cut the olives but really, you can do what you like. I quarter them lengthwise, you can slice them or leave them whole...it really doesn't matter.

Add about 3/4 your bottle of dressing and mix well.

Add about 3/4 of your cheese and mix again. I like to let this sit overnight but really it only needs an hour or so. Right before serving, add the rest of your dressing to give it more "squish" and sprinkle remaining cheese over top of salad.

This really is a hit and so easy to make. I love that you can vary the recipe according to your taste. This would also be great with cubed ham, peas and cheddar cheese...hmmm. What other variations would you try? Do you have any go-to recipies like this? Share in the comments below!

Linking up to:

Little Brick Ranch

Craigslist Dresser...Done?

Hello, all! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty mellow...I started working on a couple sunburst mirrors. I would be done but it was SO hot and humid, I didn't want to go outside to paint them. So, hopefully today after work I will be able to get those done!

Today I'm going to show you a peek at my downstairs family room. This room is BAD. Disgusting. It has been severely neglected since we moved in to this house a year and a half ago. My husband and I can't agree on a direction for this room to take. We've got two of his outdoorsy, sportsman type pictures hanging down here and as much as I hate them, I feel like I need to give him some input. I told him that we can put his autographed baseballs and bat down here somewhere (because I flat-out refuse to put them in the bedroom, where he really wants them!) but I don't know how to mix his sports memorabilia with the outdoorsman type stuff. I swear that one of these days I will figure it out. It's at the top of my to-do list!

Anyway, here is the TV wall. We used to have an entertainment armoire here but it just seemed too heavy for the space. In the interim, we've been using this old farmhouse table that I used to use for my desk.

Look at all that clutter! It drives me so crazy. Luckily, I spend so little time down here that I don't need to see it constantly. I realized that we needed a solution for storage so I was on the hunt for a dresser I could use as a media stand.

Enter my $35 Craigslist dresser...

I loved the faux bamboo trim on here. It's also huge and heavy. It is going to provide so much storage!

I sanded...

...and primed.

...and had issues with the paint bubbling, chronicled here. I really was exasperated and had to fight to keep myself from giving up.

Well, after sanding and re sanding a few (10?) times, I finally got it looking pretty!

I've still got a lot of work to do in this room. It's a work in process :)

I still need to get some new hardware for it. The dresser was missing one of the original pulls. Unfortunately, there is no way I'll be able to find a match because they are so unique, so I'm on the hunt for new ones. I'm thinking some polished chrome would look really pretty on there.

I have some posts in process for this week and like I mentioned earlier, I'm really hoping to get those sunburst mirrors done. So, my question for today is...what have you found on Craigslist?

Linking up to:

Thrifty Decor Chick

Not JUST A Housewife

Miss Mustard Seed

Downstairs Bathroom - DONE!

A while back I posted about a mini-redo of my downstairs bathroom I was planning on starting and I showed you some simple DIY art. Well, I finally figured out a solution and I'm happy to report that the bathroom is basically done!

Here is a before. First, this bathroom is tiny and it was impossible for me to get a decent picture of the whole thing so when you get to the "after" pictures, think of it like a patchwork quilt :)

I love the gray on the walls and the floor is a slate (linoleum) pattern. The shower curtain was never meant to be permanent. I'm not a big fan of the color and that together with the walls just made the room feel blah.

My inspiration for the little re-do came from the Waverly shower curtain I picked up on clearance. ($8.00!!).

I did some simple DIY fabric/canvas art. Then, I was on the hunt for a new mirror. I scoured Craigslist, rummage sales and thrift stores and just couldn't come across one the right size. So...I decided to DIY. I'll post that process later :) 

Here we go:

The mirror. I love the frame - it looks finished now! The candlestick is gone. I need something else there but just don't know exactly what...I bought a new soap dispenser from Dollar Tree. Seriously, one dollar and it's a huge improvement over the plastic one the soap came in that I kept refilling! I'm thinking of maybe doing some sort of pattern on there with vinyl...

Next angle. I like that you can kind of see all the elements in this picture...a peek of the shower curtain and the art.

I told you it was a small bathroom!

The Waverly print shower curtain that started it all...

And my art, up on the wall. I love it! It was such a cheap and simple fix. My daughter loves it and it's growing on my husband :) There are a couple small other things I want to do. I'm still trying to figure out a solution for niche on the counter and I'm going to make a small sunburst mirror to probably hang above the towel bar. I've got all the supplies, I just need to get it done!

What do you think? Do you have any suggestions for the niche on the counter? I will post a quick tutorial on the mirror and my process on the sunburst mirror when I get around to doing it. So far, I'm thrilled with what I've got. :)  I'll be back soon - I promise I won't have another huge lag between posts. I've been a bum :(

Linking up to:

Just A Girl

Young and Crafty

Funky Junk Interiors

Dittle Dattle