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Building Built-In Bookshelves

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I've always wanted built-in bookshelves - not just for books, but as a place to display the many treasures I've collected over the years.   In all the houses we've owned, it never happened.   Until this one. Welcome back to the next installment of Creating a Charming Cottage.  We've been very busy with all sorts of projects around here and I thought it was time to share a major improvement we made to the living room.  First, let me show you what we now have: And now, let's talk about how it came to be. It all began with this little wall: Remember that green paint? You are looking at it from the front door.  Now let's look at it straight on: The molding on the right is the coat closet.  Please ignore the 'extras' on the floor.  This picture was taken soon after we moved in and this is how things looked...you know I like to keep things real, but let's move on. In my mind, I could see cabinets across the bottom with shelves above, so I started m...
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Jewelry Box Makeover

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I found this vintage jewelry box at an estate sale and thought it was very pretty. However, the inside was not so pretty. It was faded, worn, and dusty.   When do I ever let that stop me from buying something at the right price?   Never! It came home with me and I got to work. First, a little research.  Since I couldn't find any identifying marks on it, I searched the image and found many references stating it was most likely a Godinger silver-plated jewelry box.  Good to know! This post may contain affiliate links. I cleaned-up the outside with a little silver polish and then focused on the inside, removing everything.  Each piece was chipboard covered with some sort of flocked fabric.  The mirror was left in place. All of the pieces were laid out how they were in the box and I took a picture.  That way I'd know how to put them back together! Starting with the ring organizer, the fabric was removed and an old toothbrush was used to remove ...
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Valentine Blues - Upcycled Denim Heart

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  It's February.  Besides winter and cold weather, that means Valentine's Day will be here soon.  This year I decided to craft something using non-traditional Valentine's Day colors and since I'm all about upcycling....here we go! This post may contain affiliate links. I started by cutting out two heart shapes from an old pair of jeans.   With right sides together, they were pinned and stitched leaving an opening for turning. The curved seams were all snipped. Then the heart was turned right side out and pressed. A vintage earring was added to the center.  Some fiberfill was added... ...and the opening was stitched shut. Time for the lace! The lace was applied with a hot glue gun .   Silicone finger protectors are a must! There was still one thing missing. I made a tiny red rosebud from satin ribbon and surrounded it with some rolled/twisted fabric to finish the flower.   Just a small pop of red as a nod to Valentine's Day! A piece of ...
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Upcycled Paper - A Step by Step Guide

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If you do any shopping online, I'm sure you've had more than one order arrive with tons of packing paper.  Usually this goes straight into the recycle bin but, since this it the 'Do It Over' Designers challenge, I had other plans for it!   W elcome to the 'Do It Over' Designers blog hop.  We are a group of bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/DIY.  I'm happy to host this hop and I hope you'll visit everyone to see what they have to share with you. This time our theme is  'Out of the Recycle Bin'   and I've challenged the team to take something out of their recycle bin and do it over.  It can be anything that gets recycled from paper to glass to plastic.  Please visit to see everyone's creativity.  The links will be listed at the end of this post. This post may contain affiliate links. OK, let's talk about packing paper.   You've seen it.   It looks something like this when you open the box:   Let's upcy...
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