Pallet and Scrap Wood Ottoman/Game Table

Oh my goodness! I have projects going all over the house right now. Thanks to the puppy, who seems to have some beaver in her genes, we have had to completely redo our entire house. Gone are the days of nice furniture, at least for now.  The puppy has managed to eat, chew on or otherwise destroy quite a few items, including walls!  Hopefully, she will outgrow this phase in a year or two.  In the meantime, we will be living with funky, cheap and free furniture.

As an example, our "new" ottoman. Well, more specifically this is an ottoman, storage bin and game table combination.  It is amazing what one can do with a couple of free pallets. Okay, maybe not amazing, but fun and funky.

This project cost less than $30 which is right up my frugally-minded alley. It consists of two pallets, scrap 2x4 pieces of lumber, scrap plywood sheeting, baseboard trim, screws and swivel casters. The bulk of the expense happens to be in the casters. The pallets, lumber, paint, and plywood were freebies from various sources. It is amazing what you can find on the side of the road, Craigslist postings, the local landfill or the Home Depot culled lumber bin.

Assembly was rather simple. I cut off the thin cross pieces on one side of each pallet so I could stack them together, sandwich fashion. Between the top and bottom pallets, I cut scrap 2x4's to fit the "notched" areas down the sides of the pallets. Using my handy dandy pocket hole jig, I affixed each layer together with screws and finished the assembly off with locking caster wheels. The whole contraption was topped with a scrap piece of plywood and trimmed with baseboard moulding. A little paint from the dump and a couple of cute bins from Ikea and this little baby is complete!

Hopefully, the destructive puppy won't eat this as she has everything else. However, if she does, we won't be out much money - just time. All the while continuing her introduction to human manners; namely, don't eat the house!

Next project on the list, a puppy proof couch followed by a sleeper chair and a wine bottle rack.  Oh and a wall mounted, drop-down table. Fingers crossed!

A Magic (the Gathering) Lamp

My man and I are currently redesigning our living space.  Not by choice, but by necessity.  Everything that enters our home must meet strict design requirements.  Namely, it must be puppy proof or suspended from the ceiling. (sigh)

Our oversized puppy has struck once more!  The little darling has chewed through two legs of our dining room table, eaten the baseboards and demolished my once pretty little storage cabinet.  Apparently, the goofy girl is part beaver.  Sheesh!  I love this dog, but she can certainly push her luck! And my patience!

This situation called for immediate action. Or, as we like to call it, a family pow-wow. We determined that our first priority was to replace our dining table. The chewed up table and cabinet were sent to the curb and quickly picked up by some industrious person.  Next came  a trip to IKEA which brought all sorts of ideas for new indoor decor.  While at IKEA, we found a nifty little table with metal (aka, chew proof) legs. We loved it and brought the little cutie home.  The new table will not replace our dining table exactly, but will provide a place for game play and school work. Two key activities in our home. A replacement for the full dining table is still in the works.

Considering the table will be used for school work and playing games, proper lighting is important.  However, our over-sized, super excited puppy creates challenges when it comes to home furnishings. Thankfully, I love a challenge! 

While my man and I were brainstorming possible solutions for lighting, my teen decided to do a little idea generation of his own. That genius boy of mine searched for and found a clever idea; a Magic the Gathering (MTG) game lamp.  He showed me a picture of a lamp he wanted which was made with MTG cards.  I thought this was a very clever idea and got busy strategizing my own version of this nifty lamp. 

I am a frugal girl so I started searching our house for a possible lampshade frame.  After all, I see no reason to buy a lampshade just for the frame.  While I couldn't find anything I wanted to use within our house, I did find something outside.  Tucked away in the garden was an old tomato cage. The frame was in reasonably good condition but was both the wrong size and color. 

Changing the size of the frame could not have been easier. A few snips with the wire cutters created the perfect size for a frame. Changing colors was just as easy to fix, I simply wrapped the previously green frame with black electrical tape. All that was left was to determine how to suspend the cards from the frame in a decorative fashion. I decided to use inexpensive jewelry findings I found in the clearance aisle at Joann's Fabric and Craft. 

A hole punch, pair of pliers and a little bit of patience were all that was needed to complete my boy's Magic Lamp. I am rather tickled with the result. Especially once I added a little sparkle to the bottom of the shade with a few glass beads. He gets his magic and I get my sparkles; a perfect combination. 

While there won't be any genies popping out of this magic lamp, I did have a wish fulfilled. My boy came up with a creative solution which provided us an opportunity to dream together. Life doesn't get any better than that!!

Plastic containers run amok!

I have a love/hate relationship with plastic storage containers.  I love them for the ease of use when it comes to leftovers.  I absolutely hate them when it comes to organization. The amount of time I have spent trying to find a lid to match a container is ridiculous!

Thankfully, once I become irritated with a situation, I make sure I find a resolution.  My solutions are far from designer level goods, but they work for me.  Case in point, my oddball plastic container storage solution.

Although I try to avoid the packrat lifestyle, I realize I have an abundance of "stuff" in our home.  As an example, I was given bags full of material, yarn and t-shirts last year.  At the time, I had no idea what I would do with so much fabric, etc. but was not going to decline an offer of free textiles. Many projects later,  I am still working my way through this bounty.  This project is a result of that process.

Among the bags full of fabric, I found many upholstery samples.  You know the type, small pieces of heavy fabric affixed together with grommets to be displayed on a rack.  Essentially, it is a stack of heavy fabric stapled together with grommets.  Well, hot dog! I finally found a use for these odd sized pieces of fabric!

Sewing the pieces together was quick and easy.  I pulled out the serger, grabbed some fabric samples and made some pockets.  A seam across the bottom of each pocket followed by a seam on either side and the sewing aspect of this project was complete! Since the back piece was part of the upholstery sample, I left the grommets in and used those grommets as hangers. Hanging the happy little organizer inside the cabinet doors was a breeze. A small drill bit and two cup hooks later and my organizational wonder was complete.

Now all of my lids are hanging inside the cabinet doors while the matching containers are stacked ever so neatly on the shelves.  This new system has worked out so well!  Rather than opening the cabinet and having plastic pieces flying out, I can easily grab whatever I need. Not to mention, I get to see the pretty colors of the fabric holders every time I open the doors.  I just love that!

Fitness rewards

FitBit Rocks! I am getting fit and racking up miles in the #Achieve15 challenge.  Oh, and did I mention that I have earned another $5 in points at Shop Your Way?! Oh my goodness! I encourage any Shop Your Way members with FitBit devices to link your accounts so you too can earn reward points.  It is almost as good as money in the bank!

FitStudio

For those not familiar with Shop Your Way, I encourage you to look into opening the free account.  Shop Your Way (SYW) is a reward site for the Sears, Kmart and Land's End companies.  Members can load coupons to their accounts which can be applied to purchases.  In addition to coupons, SWY members can earn reward points by linking a fitness tracker. Surprise points are occasionally issued to account holders as well.  To be clear,  points equal money to spend in store or online.  I don't know about you, but I can always find something at Sears or Kmart. From groceries to jewelry and everything in between, Sears and Kmart have it all.

Shop Your Way

My man has a FitBit of his own, as well as the SYW rewards account.
His job requires quite a bit of walking which has allowed him to accumulate many miles each week.  Last week, he used his points to buy me an undergarment and laundry soap for the house.  This week, he will be picking up some bags of mulch. Now, I recognize this type of reward is not for everyone.  But for us, it is perfect. My man and I are painfully frugal, both by nature and necessity. Getting everyday essentials without spending any cash is what we love! And best of all, we are able to do this by completing fitness goals!  Life is good!!

Booth Dinette upcycle

I recently received this sweet little treat from my man.  Some women may enjoy flowers or candy as gifts, however, I happen to appreciate pieces of furniture.  The funkier, the better! Free goodies from Craigslist just make my heart flutter!
                                                                                                                                                                                       My poor little benches were in desperate need of some love and affection.  The previous owners appear to have tried to fix these benches by adding screws, to no avail.  And when I say they added screws, I mean they ADDED screws.  There must have been 20 extra screws and accompanying holes!  Thank goodness I keep wood putty on hand, otherwise these little babies would resemble Swiss cheese.

Not only did my cute benches have extra screws and holes, the pieces did not fit together!  No wonder the previous owners added screws as these babies were never going to stay together without some serious adjustments.  Namely, a saw.  I realized, after multiple attempts at reassembly, that I would have to cut 1/4" off the back support pieces if I had any hope of putting the darlings back together.  Thankfully, I have the necessary tools to make this kind of mistake disappear.

After much fiddling, sanding and reassembling, my sweet little benches are complete.  I just LOVE the color combinations, much more so than the original light stain.  Next project, a table to go with my benches!!  

Flowers for the Garden

After making my garden hose mat, I found I had a little hose left over. Not wanting to waste my scrap materials, I decided to make a flower for my fence. Have I mentioned how much I love flowers?  

The most time consuming aspect of this little project was waiting for the paint to dry.  Other than that, this was a snap to put together.  Quite simply, I cut three equal lengths of hose and used electrical tape to keep them in a "petal" shape.  Next, I used a little more electrical tape to tie the "petals" together.  A pretty little yellow spray paint job and my ugly old hose bits became a cute little flower for my fence.  

This flower now hangs on a fence in an area that gets a little dark at night. Considering I do not like dark little corners, I decided to add a little glow of my own.  I placed a solar light in the center of the flower.  This small landscape light emits a sweet little glow each night.  Now I can enjoy my flower day or night!  The silliest things bring me joy!

Tropical transformation - metal patio furniture

Many years ago, I purchased a patio set.  My boy was very young at the time, so I wanted something sturdy, heavy and not easily tipped.  Toddlers have a tendency to topple furniture.  I wanted to prevent my little one from taking a nose dive on the concrete floor of the lanai.  Simple mommy logic - keep the young ones out of the emergency room, if at all possible.  Long story short, I ended up with a somewhat heavy metal patio set.  In black - my least favorite color for outdoor furniture in Florida.  

My boy is now a teenager.  The black paint has long since peeled away and I have been looking at one ugly patio set for quite some time.  Black may be my least favorite color, but rust is even worse.  Yuck!  It was time to either throw the set away, send it to the scrap yard or find a way to fix the mess.  I chose the latter; I have a strong dislike of disposing of usable items.

This particular revamp was quite time-consuming.  The black paint had not completely peeled away and the rust had made quite the mess. There were many hours spent sanding, scraping and pressure washing. This was followed by priming, spray painting, light sanding and painting again. Although I love the tropical colors, I was very tired of smelling the paint. I spent the better part of a week in my back yard, applying paint.  Bright sunshine and paint fumes can give a girl a whopper of a headache! 

Only time will tell how long this paint job will last.  I have seen what rain, direct sunshine and teething puppies can do to metal patio furniture.  It's not good.  Hopefully, all of the prep work will pay off in the long run.  If not, well, I'll just cross that bridge later.