Abbie is a frequent feature here on A to Z and I’m excited to introduce her to you all! Her blog is adorable and her tutorials always clear. Today she has a super fun project that might just have you wanting to sweep! Take it away Abbie!
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Hi there, folks!
I’m super excited that Beth invited me over to meet you guys today!
My name is Abbie from Five days…5 ways, and, while I dabble in a bit of everything over in my corner of blogland (I have a theme for each day of the week: Move-it Monday—Fitness, Try-it Tuesday—Tutorials, Wardrobe Wednesday—Fashion, 5 Things Thursday, and so on), I love, love, love home design (which means, of course, that I’m a big fan of Beth’s blog and all the inspiration that she shares with us).
But what I love even more than decorating is decorating on the cheap.
Which is why I spend waaaay more time at Goodwill and other bargain haunts than a woman with three kids under six and another one on the way (yep, that’s me) should if she values her sanity.
That ottoman in the above pic was originally a $40 Craigslist coffee table, which I transformed because I wasn’t willing to pay 10-15 times as much for something similar from a furniture store.
And since I like to keep things consistent, most other things in my living room are either thrifted, DIYed, or majorly discounted.
What can I say? I adore a great deal!
What I don’t adore?
Cleaning the rooms I’ve decorated.
But since sweeping is right up there with death and taxes as far as life’s certainties go, I was actually pretty tickled when I saw these fun broom/dustpan combos at Marshall’s the other day.
That is…until I actually thought about paying $15 for something that I had a perfectly good pair of at home.
But it got my wheels turning, so I headed home and started digging through my stash of spray paint, scrapbook paper, and glue—which is about all it takes to transform some ordinary cleaning tools from this:
{Blech, right?}
…to this!
As it turned out, I had everything I needed lying around the house, so that means that my entire transformation = $0!
My favorite price-tag of all time!
So, how did I do it?
Well, first I taped off the bristles of my sad little broom…
…wrapped them in a plastic grocery bag…
…and then taped off the handle as well (what can I say?—canary yellow wasn’t doing it for me).
I’m always a fan of aqua spray paint, though!
Then I took a little of these (including my secret cheapie weapon: homemade Mod Podge):
…and got to spray-painting, gluing, and wrapping.
Once everything dried for the first round, I sealed it all with another layer of glue goop.
And once that one dried, I was done!
This really is a no-brainer little project—I did it outside in the gorgeous Spring weather with all three of the kiddos running around in the grass—and, even with the distractions, it took all of an hour.
So…
From this:
to this:
…in an hour for zero money?
Yes, please!
Actually, it occurs to me that I have a history of sprucing up household items in attempt to make the mundane a little more manageable.
In this case?
Laundry.
Beth was actually sweet enough to feature that transformation, and, while I can’t say that I actually think laundry is fun even with polka dots involved, it’s a lot easier to swallow than when my machines looked like this:
Wanna see what other bargain-friendly transformations I have coming up?
Well, it just so happens that I’m sharing an inspiration board for my daughter’s new big girl room over on my blog for 5 Things Thursday today, and I would be pretty much thrilled if you stopped by for a visit!
Thanks again, Beth, for having me by to chat and to meet your awesome readers!
I look forward to getting to know you guys better!
~Abbie
Toni says
If you wanted to go one step further with sealing your finished decoupage item, you could spray it with a non-yellowing acrylic sealer or a poly-sealer. Guaranteed to help prolong the life of any creatively inspired DIY project
Angie says
Adorable dust pan!! And that washer and dryer couldn’t be any cuter~Angie
CELINA BROWN says
I think this is so adorable…. and who doesn’t have pretty paper at home just waiting to transform the broom… you could even decorate the small kids brooms they sell in the toy department. So your little helpers can help learn to clean!! 🙂
Amanda - Small Home Big Start says
Fantastic idea! I need to do this to my own broom. Maybe then I wouldn’t hide it in the closet and I’d remember to sweep more…maybe
Lisa says
Sweeping is about my least favorite part of cleaning, right up there with mopping, but this transformation made me smile. Using tools that are pretty somehow makes it more like a choice, not a chore. 🙂
Linda says
WOW! Fantastic!
Jen says
What a great idea and so cute!
Abbie (Five days...5 ways) says
Yipppeee! Thanks for having me by, Beth! (I think I’m gonna go sweep something now! : ))