Drab to Fab: Ribbon Board

Yesterday I showed you my fancy, new-to-me mail slot. It was a $2.99 find at my local VV Boutique. Sure, it needed some TLC to bring it into this century, but it was nothing that a can of chalk board spray paint couldn’t handle.

I also gave you a sneak peek of my DIY ribbon board. Pretty, huh? I think so. It didn’t start out that way though.

One day while leaving work, I passed by the Give & Take Table in our underground parking garage. Normally I don’t bat an eyelash at the table because it’s usually full of junky items that people really should have thrown out. On the table was a wooden frame with broken glass. Garbage, right? It definitely could have passed for it, but I ended up grabbing the frame anyway because it was really deep, almost like a shadow box. I knew I could turn it into an upholstered pin board.

I immediately brought the frame home, threw out the busted up glass and gave it a coat of white spray paint. As you can see, I was so intent on starting this project that I didn’t get a “before” shot. Bad blogger, I know. 🙂

Next, I headed off to my local Fabricland and went straight to their remnant box. For a few bucks, I got a yard of stripped grey and white outdoor fabric and some white ribbon.

The process of putting it together was simple. I layered some batting over a piece of cardboard to fit the frame, then layered on the fabric. To secure the fabric and batting, I used some duct tape. Easy, right? Then, I arranged the ribbon in a diagonal grid and secured that to the back of the fabric covered cardboard using, of course, more duct tape.

Here’s the final product…

The ribbon board is perfect next to the mail slot, as we can stick invitations, important notices and other reminders on the board so they don’t get lost or thrown out by accident. It also gives the foyer a pop of colour.

How do you handle clutter in your foyer? I’d love to hear about it!

Linking up with…
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
I Heart Organizing

Thrifty Finds: Paint, Pots & Putty

Today was a good day for thrifty finds — some that landed in my lap, some that I searched for.

Let’s start with the ones that fell in my lap.

I work as a Copywriter for a design and branding agency that focuses mainly on package design. Needless to say, we normally have a lot of product sitting around. Today, some co-workers were cleaning out some older product to make room for new product. I snagged some wood filler and wood glue because, really, you can never have too much of either!

At work, we also have a “Give & Take Table” in our underground parking garage. While on my way out this afternoon, I saw this small white plant pot that will look very cute on my closet vanity with a faux boxwood plant (more on the closet vanity later!)

Then, on my way home from work, I made my weekly visit to my local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. I was looking to find some small knobs for another project (no luck) and some paint for our upcoming upstairs bathroom refresh. Well, I was pleased to find a gallon of Benjamin Moore paint in Gray Mist for, get this, $10.00!

The price alone was awesome and Benjamin Moore is my go-to paint for The 236. But, that’s not all — when I looked at the paint lid, I saw that the paint was mixed at my local Rona store less than a month ago. Fresh, brand new paint in a gorgeous, neutral colour? Sign me up! Here’s a paint chip of Gray Mist — a true classic:

Then, I made my way to my neighbourhood Goodwill to see what other treasures I could find. I was hoping to score some vintage Pyrex (no such luck), but I did come across two more white pots bringing my grand total to three white pots in one day! Not sure where these will go, but I’ll find a home for them. Both were 99 cents each and from Ikea.

So, not a bad day for some finds! I can’t wait to start our upstairs bathroom refresh so I can see the new paints on the walls.

Until then, thanks for stopping by The 236!