Thrifty Makeovers

As promised, today I've got some makeovers to show off. I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, but here's what I have.

Wire basket thingy before.

Wire basket thingy after. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it. Maybe some sort of fall arrangement for the front door or something. Regardless, I think it's already an improvement, don't you? Next:

Frames before.

Frames after. I spray painted them satin black and put my kids' artwork in them. Then I hung them in our stairwell. I love it! It looks like a gallery! The top two came with glass and I just cut the mats to fit (adding a note here, as I unintentionally misled my friend; these are not real mats, it's just the cardstock mat the art teacher used). The bottom one does not have any glass and is a tad too big, so I may keep my eye out for a replacement. However, I did not intend for this to be permanent; rather the idea is to have a rotating collection, so when they bring home other pieces, I can change it out. I think the kids will be thrilled to have it on display!

It was pretty tricky to hang the top one because I'm short, so I ended up placing a small step-stool on the top step of a bigger folding step-stool. It was a little scary, because did I also mention that I don't have the greatest balance? This blog has inspired me to quit procrastinating on some things and just go ahead and get them done; formerly, I would've just waited for Handsome to get home and let him do it. Instead I risked plummeting off a double-decker step-stool down the stairs, but all's well that ends well. And the end result was worth it!

Here's a wider shot to better show the feeling of it hanging in the stairwell.