Jars and Racks

More Beachy things today.  

First off will be the fish-net jar.  

It's super easy to do, it just looks a little intimidating.  

Really it's not.  

I probably should have done more strands around the jar, 

but I'm happy with the result and it was just the added touch my glassware grouping needed.

I'm using a recycled Vlasic Pickle jar.  

It's big and has a great shape.  

And yes, we do eat alot of pickles on sandwiches around here.

You will also need several strands of jute.

The first one is a circle tied to be just smaller than the bottom of the jar.

Then measure at least 1 1/2 times the height of your jar for the side strands.

I cut 8 strands. 10 might be a little better, either way the process is the same.

Tie the circle, then add each strand, spacing them evenly around the base circle.

Set your jar on top and start tying over-hand knots like shown.  

Keep the spacing and the knot height as even as you can as you work around the jar.

Keep working around the jar alternating strands and tying the knots up the sides of the jar.

Tie another circle around the top of the jar.

Then tie the remaining strands to the top circle like shown.

Done!

I wrapped a couple of shell necklaces we got in Hawaii 

around the top of the jar and let some of 

the necklace drape down the side of the jar.  

Then added a bit of sand and some fun shells.

Beachy, perfect.

Now on to the shelf.  

This was mostly pallet wood, minus the wooden knobs.

The pieces were cut from pallets we used on the garden box.  

I left the slats in place with the original hardware. 

Those are stuck together like nobodies business 

so I wasn't too worried about adding more nails or screws.

Each shelf got a good sanding, 

then I added some wooden knobs I already had in my stash.

Each one got a light white wash, then I added a little color to each slat.  

Then another good sanding.

Each piece got a wax finish.  

Damp bathrooms aren't good for wood so they needed a layer of wax protection.  

Plus with my kids hanging and re-hanging their towels, 

it definitely needed a little more protection.

Each shelf got hung, then I placed a few shells and a necklace for decoration.

It's cute and the best part is I don't have to be constanly hanging up towels anymore!

Hoo-Ray!

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Summer!

Beachy Things - A tutorial

I still can't believe the bathroom is all done.
My husband came home last night from a weeklong scout camp
and was very impressed.
He said he couldn't believe I made it all out of pallet wood.
I wasn't sure if he meant he couldn't believe I could make stuff like that,
or that pallet wood could be made into such cool stuff.

Either way I'm happy with it.

So here's a quick tutorial on how I did the wood signs and surf board for this wall.

I looked all over for a cute surf board that was DIY and didn't really find anything 

so I made up my own design.  

I'm really pleased at how it all came together.  

Here's how I did it:

First I got 4 similar sized slats of pallet wood, cut them to the shape I wanted,
(mostly freehanded), then sanded them down.

I got the Kids involved helping me paint each slat.
I was a fun easy thing for the kids to help do.

After drying and a light sanding, 

I used my Cricut Storybook cartridge to cut out the hibiscus flower out of contact paper.  

It's much, much cheaper than vinyl and sticks perfectly but not permanently for projects like this.  

The wavy stripe was also cut out of contact paper and spaced to give the lines I wanted.  

Then it got a quick coat of red acrylic paint.  

I let it dry slightly, and remove the contact paper.  

Sand it again a little.

I followed the same process for the surf, sand, sun, and beach signs.  

The font was from the Billionaire cartridge for the Cricut.  

Sorry the sand sign is upside down.  I work that way sometimes.

After the paint dried, I gave each piece a coat of finishing wax.  

Love that stuff!  

I knew they would be in a moist bathroom and I definitely 

wanted the pieces to last so they got a wax coating to protect the wood.

I let everything dry in the hot Arizona Sun.  

It only took a little while.  

I guess there are some benefits to 100 degree weather.  

I think drying paint is the only one.

I added the D-Ring hanging hardware to the backs of each piece along with some hanging wire.

Mark the placement of each piece and hang.  

Done!

I will share some more of the how-to's next week.

Happy Beachy Day!

My Beachy Bathroom Makeover for under $30

This is going to be a picture rich post. 

Just a forewarning.  

I'm so excited to have this latest project done.  

I'm so in love with it, and super proud of myself for doing it for under $30.  

My upstairs bathroom has been plain and boring since we moved in, 

about 2 years ago.  

Plus we have had a tote full of shells collected from our many beach outings just sitting in the garage.  

We have some really great pieces and no one could see them stuck in the garage.  

I've been thinking about ways to display them.  

I even considered a glass coffee table filled with sand and shells, 

but since my carpentry skills are lacking, that one got pushed out of the relm of possbilities.  

I also searched google and pinterest for ideas and didn't find a lot that I liked or could afford to do.  

I do have a huge stack of pallet wood and crate wood from my scouring construction sites and Craigslist.  

All for free.  

So I didn't spend any money on the wood I used.  

So what did I spend money on you might ask?  

Well here's the breakdown:

$14 on Chalkboard paint. 

(I didn't have some already and only used 1/10 of what was there.  Plenty more for more projects)  

I spent $6 on sheets for the shower curtains.  

$5 for the lime green sheet at Walmart, and $1 for the white one from dollar days at Goodwill. 

Finally I needed hanging hardware, 

so I bought a pack of d-ring hooks at Home Depot for about $7.  

The grand Total: $27.  

That's it!  Awesome!

So you want to see.  Let's take a tour.

First the before's.  

Plain.  Standard.  Boring.

I did take the shower curtain down before the pics to wash it, but it was just a plain white one.  

Uber-Boring!

The first to go up was the wood valance over the window.

Next was the pallet wood towel rack.  

It was actually a left-over piece of pallet that we cut down for the Garden box.  

The slats were already attached to the cross piece.  

I just added wooden knobs from my stash, painted, waxed, and hung it up. 

Next were my surf, sand, and sun boards.
Each was a cut down piece of pallet wood, painted, waxed, and hung.

My favorite piece is the surf board.
Also made of pallet wood.
I will share the how-to in a future post.

Very simple and very beachy.
A must have in my opinion.

Here's the collection all together.

Now for the other wall.  

I made these shelves with crate wood.  

They got a light whitewash, waxed, and hung.

They were perfect to display our our beach treasures.  

Some came from Hawaii, some from California, and some from Washington.

The shower curtain was 2 twin sheets, ripped up and sewn together in wide horizontal stripes.  

Button holes at the top finished it off.

There's the collection.

I had more sand dollars than would fit on the shelves and I needed something for the wall above the shower.
So I came up with this sand dollar garland.
They are just tied together with jute.
Simple.

Last, the sink side.
There are a few fun elements here.
I google-mapped how far we are from a beach.
The closest one is in San Diego.
393 miles.  
That's a long way, but the sign was necessary for a beach themed bath.

I had an old cupboard door that I got from my sister.  

It got a coat of red for the frame and the inside got 2 coats of chalkboard paint. 

I still want to play with some chalkboard art, but for now, high tide works for me.

The hand towel holder was another piece of the towel rack cut down to size. 

I added some shells to the top of the shelf.

The counter vingette was a collection of glassware, a metal bucket, sand, and shells.  

I made the large jute wrapped jar myself.  

I promise to share how in another future post.  

Super easy.

A few more pics.

Of course the before and afters.
It's amazing what a few dollars, some time, and creativity can do.

Have a fun Beachy kind of day!

I'm linking up over at Remodelaholic and Domestically Speaking today!

And I was featured here over at SheKnows.