Free Friday Favorites 108
Today I am sharing a few projects I did this last week that all cost me nothing but time.
Our basement is a typical old house basement; low ceilings, a wall mounted pencil sharpener, a huge boiler sitting in the middle and a lone toilet perched off to the side. Somewhere along the line, one of the homeowners fancied it up a bit and built a few walls around the toilet. By the time we took ownership, there was not door, however, just a curtain that hung from a rod to give you privacy. This week I decided to make a door spending no money and using only what I already had. I put together scrap lumber from various projects using my drill, nail gun and chop saw....and voila! A door. I decoupaged some maps on the inside to make it fun and used the tine on a fork as the means to secure the door closed once inside. An old house number 4 helps hold the door closed when it is not occupied. Clearly, this is not fine woodworking and is not a door you would use anywhere but a quirky, 100 year old basement, but my mission was accomplished. I did not spend a dime and it really got my creative juices going. By setting the perameters of using only what I had for materials and not spending any money, I really had to challenge myself and think outside the box.
This spending no money project really got my creativity flowing, so I couldn't stop with the door. I then created my latest found object art piece....a bust. Again, the theme was using materials I had on hand. The base was a bottom of a column I'd picked up at a garage sale during one of my outings, the head was an outdoor lantern turned upside down. The nose is a spoon, the mouth is a spigot handle and I always purchase vintage glasses when I find them on my adventures as I use them all the time in my decor and art pieces. At the risk of sounding repetitive....voila! Buster was born! Found object art isn't everyone's cup of tea, but what I'm hoping to inspire you with is that you can create really interesting things when you think outside of the box and try reusing items you have laying around. Maybe you come up with a storage system for your pantry, or make a magnetic board for your kitchen. Give yourself the assignment of creating something out of nothing and I promise, you will have fun!
Since I was on such a roll, I decided to tackle another project I'd been researching for quite some time. Yarn braids or genie locs. Mekdes was due for a new hair style and I had the acrylic yarn. After watching many youtube tutorials, we got to work. Four hours later (although I spent a good bit of time cutting the yarn ahead of time) and not a single penny spent, Mekdes looks adorable! It's such an easy hairstyle for her with her basketball and she has really taken to the Willow Smith motto "I whip my hair back and forth". She's already deciding how thick she wants the braids next time and what colors she wants to use. It will be a great style for summer! There's definately a learning curve, but I know with more practice, we will perfect this fun and super cute natural hairstyle.
