Quick + Easy Projects

Somebody stop me!  I have been bitten by the DYI bug.  On an icy day like today, these two projects that I completed really help put my cabin fever at bay.

First up is a nail-head bulletin board.  I have admired the look for a long time, but I didn't want to shell out the money to buy one a la Ballard Designs.  I recently came across a bulletin board that was shoved to the back of a closet, so I decided to try give it a new life.  Instead of using burlap (which is very cheap), I went with a painter's drop cloth.  Honestly, I needed to run to Home Depot for some other things, and in an effort to minimize my outings.  While there, I also picked up some silver thumb tacks.  I like the color, so no need to spray paint them, but by all means, if you feel up for it, I'm sure it would be pretty quick.

Naturally I didn't take a photo of the bulletin board before, but I did manage to take some photos about halfway through.  This is the backside once I stapled the drop cloth in place.  I suggest pulling it taught because it will make adding the thumb tacks that much easier.

Here is the final result hanging on the wall:

It's a little different from the Ballard Designs version, but I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the final result.  And, the total cost was around $12! and took all of twenty minutes!  You can't beat that!

Next up, I found these tiles at Home Depot for $.33 each.  I snagged eight of them with the idea of turning them into coasters.  All I needed to do was add felt protectors to each corner, and presto, it worked!

Before (as just plain tiles)

After in their new life

Pretty amazing, right?  This project cost me $8 and took about ten minutes to pull each piece of felt and put it in the corner.

Love cheap and easy projects!  Happy Weekend!