Redecorating (and a little DIY).

Decorating has never really come naturally to me. I love making things look pretty and feel cozy, and I get lots of ideas from magazines and blogs, but sometimes it's hard to make things flow in a home the way I wish they would... especially with lots of hand-me-down furniture that newlyweds tend to inherit.

For example, see Exhibit A:



This little nook in our guest bedroom has been sitting bare for quite some time. The dresser was actually from my nursery as a baby (and still has the same shelf paper!) and the lamp came from my grandmother who passed away last year. Though I probably wouldn't pick out either piece from a store, they are sentimental and so they will stay. They just needed a little dressing up to make it feel our guests feel a bit cozier, in my opinion. I also wanted to stick with a vintage/antique/family heritage sort of feel with not a lot of color since that's what I've already started with.

My goal was to spend less than an hour and no money. Lofty? Maybe. I love redecorating with things I already have, though. And, of course, cheap and easy DIY projects.

First, I found this old canvas I had painted way back when. Not really our style, but I could use the canvas.



I found some natural looking fabric I had laying around and stapled it with a staple gun all the way around the edges.



Looking better already!

Then, I searched for "bird silhouette" online and came up with this image and printed it.



Next, I took a sheet of freezer paper and traced the outline of the bird onto the papery side of it.





I then took a very sharp X-acto knife and cut around the bird.



I positioned the bird onto my canvas...



Then I ironed it down with a hot, dry iron quickly (with the plastic side to the canvas) to make it stay. This freezer paper is awesome!

I then painted the inside with white acrylic paint by dabbing the paint into the silhouette.



Pull the paper off and.... voila!



I then went treasure hunting in all the rooms of my house, looking for things that would "go."



These are what I found...

A window that I had painted the panes a while ago with chalkboard paint ($12)
A bird cage I found at an antique store ($4)
A frame with a picture of Shawn's grandparents on their wedding day ($5)
My little birdie (free!)
Paper flowers in a milk glass vase (probably $1 all together)
And a little trim to hang from the window





Sometimes you have to take it a corner at a time...