Styled Shelves: DIY

I'm telling y'all, I'm convinced that beautiful weather gets me motivated to cross off some things on the to-do decorating list. I have been wanting to restyle the shelves {really more like picture ledges} in our dining room for some time, but haven't been inspired to do so. I used to be SUCH an impulse decorator, and as a result would grow weary of the decor I chose after just a short while. It would cause me to want to change it again and again. I have finally learned "my style", and the style that I want for this home/our future home. I am trying to incorporate decor that will carry over into a new home one day. Back to the shelves, I got the itch yesterday to rearrange them. They were only styled with black and white frames prior to my redecorating. They weren't horrid, but they were absolutely nothing to write home about, if you know what I mean. It all started with the sign you see below.

Before

After

DIY #1: Wooden "gather" sign

I knew I wanted to go for a more natural, farmhouse vibe. It's all the rage now, you guys! HAHA Anyway, I started by removing all of the frames so that I had a blank canvas. I knew I needed something rather large for the center of the shelves, so this first DIY was perfect. I had this wooden {almost pallet-like} sign that you see above  that was just sitting unused in the garage {it's painted already in the picture, sorry!}. I spray painted it white + then literally sawed it in half, to make 2 signs. It was perfect and exactly what I wanted. I love the word "gather" in an eating/living space because that's what people do in those spaces. I grabbed these wooden letters at Michaels for $1.99 each. The entire word was ~$13 after tax. I did NOT paint the letters because I liked the raw wood look against the white sign. All I did to attach them to the wood sign was dab some hot glue on the back of each letter and press it down for 5-10 seconds while it got good + attached. It worked beautifully. So, to make this yourself {if you don't have a wooden sign hanging around like I did}, all you'll need is a couple pieces of wood or a pieces from a pallet board would work. Secure them together using either wood glue or nails. For the next part, you can either spray paint it your desired color or you can leave it raw wood. Then determine a word or phrase you want to apply, and either buy the letters like I did, or stencil them on if you prefer the stenciled look. Glue them down and VOILA! This project can be done for under $15-30 depending on materials needed. If you're looking for pallet boards, check Craigslist; people get rid of those things all the time. Also, check with local stores that use them for loading. We've gotten several from stores that don't want them/have tons of them around back.  The great thing about this DIY is that you can make a sign like this for any room in the house!

DIY # 2: "Bloom" standing word

This one is so easy, it almost hurts. It was an impulse buy, that took just an ounce of imagination. This little "Bloom" sign {for lack of a better description} is actually made of foam. It was hot pink and covered in sparkles when I bought it. I don't have a before picture of it, I'm sorry. It was hanging in the party/craft supplies section at Walmart. GET THIS...it was only $0.10. Like, you could buy 10 of these for $1-haha! All I did was spray paint it white and now it rests on the top shelf beautifully. It is thick enough to stand alone, but lightweight enough that even if it falls, no harm done because it's FOAM. I love that it brings a touch of spring to these shelves and practically for free.  

DIY # 3: L.O.V.E

So, when I started adding more to the shelves, I decided to add this awesome rusted metal L, this grapevine wreath, and the mini chalkboard. {All 3 are from Goodwill for under $3 each, btw.} 

Without any forethought, I placed the L + the circular wreath side-by-side, like in the top left picture up above. I stepped back and realized that it almost looked as if I were trying to spell out the word LOVE using unconventional items. AhA! That's when my creative genius wheel started spinning. I knew I was going to have to come up with a V and an E. I had already been to Michaels that day and it's a 30+ minute drive, so going back was out of the question. My friend, Bree {who blogs over at The Homemaking Momma} is literally the queen of beautifully styled shelves, so I texted her and asked for suggestions. Of course, she came through for me.

She was so helpful and suggested covering a letter in greenery somehow. So, I bought a dowel rod for $0.57 at Walmart and used a faux boxwood plant that I already owned {one of my favorites too} and got to work. The plant came apart in little sections {I just pulled it section by section from the foam that was holding it in place in the little planter} and I just hot glued them one at a time {slightly overlapping each} on the V that I created using the dowel rod. It was a very in depth process; I cut  broke the dowel rod in half, then duck tapped it together at the bottom, so it formed a 'V', and then I glued the pieces of boxwood to the dowel rod. It took me about 5-10 minutes total and cost me $0.57 cents. This letter is my favorite of the four!

The 'e' was a little more complicated. I pondered for a while, until I realized I could make an 'e' for free using sticks from our back yard {we have TONS of pines that like to shed their branches + pinecones daily}. I played around with them and I originally made a capital E, but it ended up falling apart, plus it was a little small compared to the other letters. I went back outside for more sticks, and this time I decided to do a lower case 'e' and to make it larger. If you can picture this, I was literally bent over outside hunting for sticks that had a curve like in a lower case 'e'. I found a couple actually, and after playing around for a few minutes I was able to make an 'e' using the sticks that I found. I used floral wire to piece them together and then I added some faux greenery/small white flowers {from Michaels on sale for $1.49} to cover most of the wire. I can't really explain how I created the 'e' specifically; all I can say is if you try it, just play around with it until it resembles the letter you want. 

I am in LOVE with how these shelves turned out. I was expecting to have to spend money that I didn't have in order to achieve a look that I wanted, but in the end, I didn't have to spend much at all. What's fabulous is that they are a true reflection of me and my style. 99% of the items on these shelves were thrifted.  Um, hello! Have you met me? The only parts that aren't thrifted are the banner, which is a Target dollar spot $1 purchase, the white frames {Target a while back}, the taller clear glass bottles and the faux flowers/greenery {Michaels}.  I try not to brag, but I'm just gonna' say it, I think these looks dang good considering the amount of money I spent on them. Just another reason to add to the already VERY long list of reasons why I LOVE thrift store shopping. Remember, the key is to be open-minded and don't see things at face-value; think outside the box!

I hope you love them as much as I do! Thanks for reading! Come back tomorrow for another post in the series "Tackling Clutter". I'll be tackling my office space, and it includes a couple of very simple DIY's too! You won't want to miss it. XO!