New Use for an Old Window

I bought this old window when I was still pregnant.  Carey and I found it at an antique show for just $10.  Score!  I was so excited and had big plans to up-cycle it as soon as we got Gray’s newborn photos.  After he arrived, I realized that taking and shower and brushing my teeth would become luxuries during my day.  The first 10 weeks of his life are somewhat of a blur now.  Thank goodness I have these sweet pictures (by Julie Dawkins Photography) to help me remember just how sweet and precious he was during those foggy-brain days.  We took his 4 month pictures yesterday and I can’t wait to see how they turn out.  I’m on the lookout for another old window to repurpose.

This is what it looked like when we brought it home.  It was pretty dirty and chipped.

Carey pulled that metal piece out with pliers. The, I sanded it down and taped around the edge of the glass.

I added a quick coat of off-white paint we had from a different project.

Carey added some photo hooks to the back and we mounted it on the wall.

All so we can stare at this cute face every time we come into our bedroom.  Gotta love those pouty lips and skinny legs.

Pinterest Challenge Chalkboard

I don’t know if you’ve been bitten by the Pinterest bug yet, but I definitely have the fever. Pinterest is a website where you can “pin” items you see on the world-wide-web that tickle your fancy.  There are so many inspirational ideas…and so many creative people out there.

Over on YHL last week, I saw that they were hosting a Pinterest Challenge with a few other bloggers.  I stuck that idea in the back of my head, but didn’t think much more about it until Monday afternoon.  Procrastination is one of my weaknesses.  I sent Carey a quick text asking if we were going to participate.  We had talked earlier that weekend about making one of these great Laundry Basket Dressers, so he went on a search for some plywood.  The only thing he could find in our price range (free) were these old carpet displays.  As soon as I saw them, I changed our evening DIY project immediately.  There was no way I was going to let him tear these babies apart!

Original Carpet Display Box

After stacking one box on top of another to avoid getting it stuck to the handy drop cloth, I applied a quick coat of white paint that we had left over from our closet reorganization project.  After that, I added a few coats of chalkboard paint to the interior.  Next, I used super glue to attach a drawer pull (upside down so that it could hold the chalk – see inspiration photo on Pinterest here).

Carey drilled in some drawer pulls to hang my aprons and the project was finished.  In all, it took about 2 hours and a little under $20 to complete.  Now, we have a great place to write messages to each other and hang some of my aprons.