Leona Lane

PENNY PINCHER TIP

Penny Pincher Tip No.1 // Use What You Already Have

One of the things on my "If 2015 Was Perfect" list, was to carve out a reading nook. And since I don't have any perfect attic windows to transform, I decided to transform a corner of our guest room/ piano room/ TV room into a reading nook using things I already had around. 

I had a couple half painted boards from my pop up shop last summer that were just sitting around. I decided to put those up on the wall as a simple shelf. I thought about stacking them but decided to go with one long shelf instead. I just mounted them on the wall with some simple white brackets. 

Anthropologie had some huge paintings of trees in their Seattle store this winter, it was such a cool look. I decided to try a similar effect to help fill the white space above the shelf, albeit mine ended up quite a bit brighter because of the paint I had on hand, I used a combination of latex paint and acrylic paint (earmuffs real artists - I'm sure thats a no no). I pulled the craft paper off my craft paper pinboard and just painted directly on top of the poster board. Admittedly, I wouldn't go get poster board to paint on... but it did the trick and it was totally free. 

And the giant dream catcher is one of my favorite spontanoeus crafts. Joe found that bike wheel on the side of the street and brought it home for me! I grabbed all my random bits of yarn and twine, tied pieces to different spokes and then wrapped it in a variety of ways.

So now with all the books on the shelf, plus a few pillows and a stack of blankets it's turning into a nice little reading nook. And bonus points for our snowboards fitting behind the couch perfectly. (Storage space is at a premium in small houses.)

What have you reused in creative ways to save a few bucks? I'm always love hearing new ideas! 

EASY HOLIDAY DECOR IDEA

Life has been so busy that I haven't had much time for decorating lately! This little project took one trip to the Grocery store and about five minutes of my time. Even better, I love how it brightens up my livingroom with greenery and holiday cheer!

I purchased a little collection of holly at Trader Joe's on Sunday morning. I already had a 12 pack of Pellegrino (I'm obsessed with the stuff) and I dug through my recycle bin to find some empty bottles. I used the bottles as vases, and separated the holly into three little bunches. There were several loose leaves that I sprinkled at the base of the three bottles. 

In other news, we completely rearranged our living room, and we now have our table right next to the largest window. I love that anything I put on the table refects alot of light into the room. We have our Charlie Brown tree and my succulent on the table right now too. I have a few more holiday decorations to get to, such as my white lights and my collection of snowmen. But for now, these little bouquets are brightening up out house.

Now all we need is a blanket of white snow outside to complete the picture!

PANTRY | BEFORE & AFTER

Sometimes things need a little refresh... was our pantry a mess or what? And a scrap of chalkboard contact paper was just what I needed to get me motivated.

Little backstory, when we moved into our rental, we were pretty excited to find such a spacious pantry. It's very similar to the one we had in our last house. I was all excited to organize it and fill it with yummy ingredients. I envisioned covering the door with chalkboard paint for writing out grocery lists, and making the inside all neat and tidy. However, once we moved in and found that the drawers kept falling off the rails and dumping their contents everywhere, the motivation turned south.

We ended up just stashing things in there haphazardly, stopped pulling out the drawers all together, and low and behold, it turned into a hot mess. (surprise, surprise.) That mess certainly did not inspire anything good. However, it did result in awkward over-buying, hello three jars of dill weed. 

So despite my vision of a well organized pantry covered in chalkboard paint, none of that happened. 

Until one afternoon, when I found myself with an awkward sized piece of leftover chalkboard contact paper. I wondered if it would be enough to cover the drawer fronts, so I measured, remeasured and then just started cutting. Cause when inspiration strikes, I say just go with it.

After getting the pieces cut to size, I carefully applied them to the drawer fronts, making sure to line it up straight at the beginning and smooth out the surface as I peeled of the backing to keep those stupid bubbles at bay. I started by peeling back an inch or two of the backing, positioned it on one edge of the drawer - then checked to see if it was lined up well and then pulled the rest of the backing off slowly. Patience my friend, patience.

Then take a chalkboard pen and label the drawers accordingly. I've found that chalkboard pen is actually a bit difficult to wipe off. So for a project like this that is going to get touched, it is perfect because it won't get all smudged.

As for the wonky drawers... I very gently took the curved end of the hammer and bent the rails back in just a bit. Worked like a charm! Sure wish I would have figured that out sooner. 

I'm pretty happy I got this all cleaned up and organized, just in time for all the holiday cooking too. What about you guys? How do you keep your kitchen organized?

Supplies Used: chalkboard contact paper, chalkboard pen

Tenant Welcome Basket

As you may have seen, my hubby and I recently found some amazing renters for our home, and have been living in my parents apartment while house searching. After seeing some cute welcome basket ideas on Pinterest, I just couldn't resist making something to welcome them to their new home. Here's what I came up with:

Since our renters are expecting a little girl this fall, I added some cute baby clothes and those (eeek, how adorable!!!!) sparkly baby shoes. And so the fridge wouldn't sit empty, a few hubby recommended beers for him, and some sparkling lemonade for her. 

Here's a list of what I included:

1- Paper towels. Every move requires paper towels.

2- Surge protector

3- A few baby onesies

4- My favorite dish scrubber (complete with refills)

5- Phase 10- Nathan and my favorite card game

6- Mrs. Meyers Dish Soap, Hand soap, and countertop spray- Basil scent

7- Beverage Napkins

8- This fabulous onesie

9- Amazing baby shoes!!!

10- Paper straws

11- Champagne glasses- to enjoy the goodies in the fridge

Not pictured: I tucked one of my favorite BBW candles underneath.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We're so happy to have you guys as our renters!! Hope you get lots of use out of this little basket :)

LADDER TURNED PLANT STAND

I've always loved geraniums in the summer, especially ones in terracotta pots perched on cute windowsills or balconies or hung up on rustic fences. They're so cheery and I love the way the leaves smell! (Side note: the geraniums in Spain are stunning!)

Anyways, I decided to try growing some in my backyard this summer. Admittedly, we don't have the sunniest back yard and according to this article on caring for geraniums, they like lots of sun! Especially in climates where it doesn't get too hot - like Seattle. I thought about putting some up on the shed wall, but decided it would be better if the arrangement was more mobile, because one, we're renting and two, if they aren't getting enough sun, I could easily move them. 

When digging through the Goodwill on one of my recent trips, I found three terracotta pots and a step ladder! The perfect set up for a little movable plant stand. I picked up three geraniums in various shades of pink and popped them in the pots with some potting soil. Then I picked one of the sunnier spots in the backyard on the ladder and set a pot on each rung. So far they seem reasonably happy back there. We'll see how it goes, I've got my fingers crossed!

Also, I want to hear your thoughts... I've decided to start sharing some easier projects on the blog. I know everyone is busy and juggling a bunch of things. I personally find that the projects I'm most motivated to actually make are the ones that I can do immediately, no long term planning, no serious skill set required. Something I could easily make in an afternoon or less. So I'm curious to hear what you think? Do easy projects like this inspire you to get up and make something because it seems more do-able? Are easy DIYs, crafts or projects something you would be interested in reading about?