Industrial End Table

Okay isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen? It turns and its on wheels! I'm in love! I saw two of these (I have two) chairs (as seen below) at a sale and I fell head over heels for the metal industrial base on this chair and new I had to do something with it. This table took me 2 minutes to create from this:

 We wanted to share this awesomeness with you!

xoxo,

The White House Girls

Polaroid Coasters {DIY}

I am in LOVE with these! White Tiles turned --Polaroid Wannabe's--Slash Coasters! Ha, say that 5 times fast!  They were so so easy and so inexpensive {that's our favorite part}!  I purchased roughly 40 coasters at our local Restore home store for $2.50! No Joke! 

What you Need:

White Tiles {the ones I grabbed measured roughly 4 1/4" x 4 1/4"}

Mod Podge {I used the antique style Mod Podge}

Computer & printer

Scissors

Paper cloth or rag {if you use the antique style mod podge}

Ruler 

First step is to print off your pictures of desire!  I searched for ones that had a little bit of artsy flare to them! A couple of them were from a talented photographer in the area {with her approval of course}, some I found on Flickr.com, & some were from my own photo library!  How fun to even use old photos from the family or all black and white ones!  So many possibilities! Ahhhhh I love it!  So once the pictures are saved to your computer I just used Microsoft office word {I am sure there are other programs to use but I found this the easiest to print of a picture in the exact size I needed} I then opened up a new document and inserted my picture of choice!  Once it plopped into the document I re-sized it to resemble a Polaroid- leaving a little space on the edges {top and sides} and of course leaving a larger white area on the bottom! This is where your ruler comes into play! I literally held the ruler up to the computer screen measuring each picture out so it gets to be the right size!  It prints actual size that's on screen! I am sure that there is a ruler that you can pull up on your document but I am not that computer savvy! Print these suckers and then start cutting them out!  

Now it's time to get down and dirty!  Add mod podge to the bottom of the picture so it sticks to the tile and you can line it up!  Once in place and air bubbles are pushed out add mod podge to the top of it {pressing  out all air bubbles}!  Once you have completely covered the top of the picture and along the edges this is where I grabbed a paper towel and wiped off the access glue-{the antiquing mod podge has a yellowish tint to it and I did not want it on the white edges so it would lose it's polaroid effect}

Let dry and Bam!  You have your Polaroid Coasters!  Too fun for words!  I think these would make great gifts, a fun craft to do with friends!  Share you thoughts and comments!  We would love to hear from you! xoxo The White House Girls

AmAzInG lighting!

Okay so as we mentioned before that the industrial look is a big hit these days. And lighting is a easy and inexpensive way to get the industrial look. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the lamp and lampshade. It is and can transform any room . There is tons of lamps and lampshades out there, but why stop there? Why not take it a bit further, be a bit more daring, and take that leap towards something a bit more creative. I'm talking spot lights, vintage desk lights, heat lamps etc. (pretty much anything that is unique that gives off light)! Here are a few that I have found over the past year. We have some even more amazing lighting like these available for sale at the white house! Don't miss out!
xoxo
The White House Girls

Junkers- Saving the Earth

Happy Earth Day people!  I think I came up with a great definition of a true Junker today to celebrate Earth Day!

"Junker: Saving the Earth one piece of Junk at a time."

-The White House Girls

Truly, it made me start to then think about all the things that we have saved from going to the landfills!  We have a week here in Fargo called garbage throw out week! And that is a Holiday for us!  It is a sight to be seen.  Everyone piles up their garbage on the side of the curb and then the "Junkers" come out of the woodwork....driving up and down, up and down, all the side streets looking for that amazing treasure!  Trailers, trucks, vans....you name it we've seen it {and probably have done it}!  It is hilarious but at the same time such a great feeling knowing that all this stuff is given another life instead of being tossed away into that big pile of garbage! Our cars really should be beautified by the bumper sticker "this car brakes for junk"!When we first started to become Dumpster Divers it was  kind of embarrassing looking through someones trash, but after all a while there is no shame in the game! It becomes a thrill when you spot a good pile, a competition!  You start to learn the tricks- if you can't fit a find in your car such as a dresser you take the drawers and come back for it! So with all of this-yes-I would say us Junkers are SAVING the EARTH....one piece of junk at a time!  So Happy Earth day!  We would love for you to share your dumpster diving stories with us!  We would love to hear from you!

Windows!  So Many Windows!  That's my little Sis diving in like a pro!  And Check out that Chair!  This was a good Stop!

Just some of the many Treasures!

This find was a funny one, my sister was running down the road to grab that garden cart and look at how many treasures we found a long the way and this was just while we were on a walk with the kids we even got some Honks with all that gorgeous junk!

We just couldn't pass this beauty up!

Our Husbands are so proud! Yes that is all our garbage finds!

Who would throw these things away!

Yup this one we had to pass up...just no room, but we did share it on our Facebook Page and we think that she was saved by someone!

This one needed some love...but it was vintage so it held a place in our hearts!

This gets me fired up for this year throw out week!  Stay tuned for our finds...

Bohemian Style.

Yes I am a bit crazy. I wanted to show a part of my style and give you a look into my TV room. It is a bit of a circus! I have so many styles that I love, but bohemian is probably my fav! My husband and I love to travel so I think it comes a bit from that. I have always been a lover of hippy style and it has definitely shown through with my décor. I'll probably change it again next month but here's what I got right now! The cool thing is 99% of everything that you are looking at in the room I got at a garage sale or thrift store!

Pillows- 50 cents- $7 (thrift stores)
Couch- $50 thrift store turn painted see before here
Coffee table (piano bench garage sale painted with emerald green)
End table- $15 (thrift store painted emerald green)
Basket- $20 (a bit of a splurge at thrift store)
End drum tables- $2-small $20 large (thrift stores)
Globe- $4 (thrift store)
Clocks- $1-$2 (garage sale)
Bike- $3 (thrift store)
Gold chicken wire frame- $9 frame (thrift store) turned chicken wire frame see how to
Vintage wall art- $8 total see how to
Industrial lamp- $4
Cameras- $2-$7 (thrift stores/garage sales)
Bottles- free (garbage)
Elephant statue- $15 (thrift store)
Curtains- Ikea 2 for $10 (I KNOW A STEAL!)
shelf- ?? not really sure how much but at a thrift store 6 years ago?
Books- 10 cents thrift store

Cheap never felt so good!! :)

Gray.....the new white.

See our how to here.

Industrial Revolution hits the Midwest

It's coming folks....the industrial revolution is hitting the Midwest...and I am addicted and in LOVE!  Anything metal makes my heart beat an extra beat!  A little added Rust is also a plus! I have been wanting the perfect hanging lamp but I also don't want to pay a fortune! Rummage sale season is coming up and we need to save all the pennies we can!  I came across this lamp at a thrift store and practically ran across the room to grab it!  I new instantly what I was going to do with it, and couldn't wait to get it home!  I purchased this bad boy for $9.  It was full of dust, cobwebs, and the wicker was all bent up on one side! The guy at the checkout counter looked a little concerned with my purchase- wondering who would pay $9 for this thing!  Only did he Know I was going to beautify it!!  As I stated above the wicker was bent on one side which made it easier to destroy, but if the wicker was in perfect condition and one happens to come across a hanging wicker lamp, they are pretty darn cute just given a fresh coat of paint! But if you are searching for the original look keep on reading!

All I truly did was wash it up....removed the dust and cobwebs and tore off the wicker! Underneath the damaged wicker was this beautiful metal lamp shade frame!  This one came with an added bonus of a glass globe, but it would super cute with a round globe light!  I can't wait to hang it up and admire him from afar!  I will be back with a picture of him in action!  Have a great Monday~ xoxo The White House Girls!

We "BRAKE" for Rummage Sales {Our Secrets}!

 Rummage Sale is truly our Happy!  When the snow melts the bright neon signs start popping up; it puts a smile on our face and an extra giddy up in our step!  Okay that might have been a little much but we truly LOVE LOVE LOVE rummage sales.   Apparently we are feeling extra generous because today is your lucky day!  We are sharing our secrets on our JUNK HUNT!
1.} One of the MOST important crucial rule which applies MOST of the time is the areas you rummage at!  We really truly do not waste our time in the new neighborhoods.  We LOVE small town rummaging and older neighborhoods.  Not that there is anything wrong with new neighborhoods but in the older parts you find the treasures!  In the Newer parts you will usually find kid toys, clothes, and more clothes.  Sometimes you are lucky to hit up a treasure but we don't waste our time!
2.} Never Never EVER judge a rummage sale by it's cover.  The crappier it looks the better it probably is, you would be surprised at what you might find!
3.} Early bird gets the junk. If you have time the night before....great! Check out the paper, look on craigslist, find something that you might be searching for but we have found that this is and may be a huge time waster!  And not only that but everyone is doing the same thing you are doing so if you are not there at the butt crack of dawn and the first one there you will probably miss out on the item of interest!  As the saying goes "The Early Bird gets the Junk."  When my Sis and I hop in the car we have the bare necessities our bucket of change, a cell phone, a cup of coffee for that extra jolt, oh yeah and our Kids!  We can't forget them!  They love when we hit up a rummage sale with cars and Barbies!  We Never have a plan in action or it mapped out!  We have found that when you just drive around and hit up the signs that are posted on the main roads they lead us to our destination!  A hint to anyone out there that will be hosting a rummage sale that is our biggest complainant **make sure you  have signs at all turns to your garage sale**  if it's not posted well we loose all interest in trying to hunt for it!
4.} Once you find your treasure...... BARTER....always barter!  Everyone is willing to make a deal.....We remember being so embarrassed when our mother would wheel and deal at Rummage Sales but apparently we learned from the best....now it's like second nature!  When Mom sees us in action she is so proud!
5.} Never think on something!  If you like it get it, it will be gone by the time you think about it, and then you will be bummed! Remember people, this is a garage sale, there is rarely two of something so get it before the treasure is gone.
6.} If you are heading into a large multi-rummage sale and there are a couple of you going; split up!!  No point of sticking together because you will probably go for the same stuff anyway. This way you are hitting the entire building at a great speed! You can guarantee that things won't get snatched up before you!
7.} Ohhh....another great tip for a large indoor rummage sale is to be equipped with an over-sized bag or even one of those bag lady cart on wheels thing we call it our "bag lady cart". This is so nice to have because you only have two hands and we all know those will be filled fast!!  We bring with our bag lady cart even when going to Junk Bonanza and Junk Fest!! So handy and saves trips to the car!! One last one for you, if your going to a flea market, or a large rummage sale leave your purse behind! Either use a really cool fanny pack or stuff the money in your pocket; purses are just another thing to carry and get in the way of diving in.
8.} Make sure to carry cash and enough of it!! A lot of people don't want to deal with checks and that equals no good!

So let us sum it up for you! Get up early so you don't miss the goodies, just wing it...travel the main roads and let the signs lead you in the older parts of town, make sure to have caffeine always by your side so there is no dragging, barter {ALWAYS}, bring a large bag for your finds if your going to a large rummage sale, never think on it....grab it and run {fast} ;)!
Now you know the White House Gals rummaging secrets, may the best and brightest shopper win! GAME ON!

We were so proud!  We were first in line for this bad boy!  We were early risers and it paid off!

We truly Love our Junk!  And the best part about it is how much we love to share it as a family!!  Maybe not the Husbands as much!  But us ladies sure do!!

One of the many hauls we made at an indoor arena!  Wow....that was fun!  Such a high!

These are the baskets on wheels we were referring too!  Also a great thing to have in your car is an umbrella just in case you have to stand in line!  Luckily I had an extra diaper in my purse to keep me dry! 

Signs can come in any shape or form!  Make sure to keep a look out!  And Yes that is still snow on the Ground!! ugh..

Knitted Yoga Ball {DIY}

 

  Okay so we fell in love with these knitted yoga balls while surfing the net. The only problem is they come with a hefty price tag LARGE: $440 (AU) MEDIUM: $395 (AU)!

Source

Source

 But we had to have one and by golly thats just what we are going to do! We thought they would make such cute foot stools, even a chair to a desk or for a kids play room?! So we decided to do it ourselves. Here's what we did:

• We got a yoga ball (about $5-$20) this one we found at a thrift store for $5
• An knitted granny blanket (anywhere from $Free-$10 at thrift stores/in your mom's closet)
• Needle and thread
• Scissors
• Seriously thats it!

We exchanged a couple looks like how the heck are we going to do this.....giggled a few times and then went to it!  We are getting really good at winging things! We grabbed the knitted blanket and spread it out on the floor and wrapped it around the ball so that the blanket is covering the ball in all directions.  We pinched both sides and my sister started on one side and I started on the other; and started sewing.  

We made sure that when we made the "seam" that our first stitch would be our rough draft and we would be cutting off the access fabric/blanket so make sure that you are not sewing over the seam but under it because when you trim the fabric you want it to still be in tact {hope that makes sense}! We pulled the blanket as tight as possible around the ball and sewed all around the ball which ended up making two seams.

Next we cut the access blanket off with a scissors. 

Then,  we went back and sewed it once again to make sure that the blanket stayed together and made it durable on the ball. With this stitch we were able to go on top of the seam which made the seams stronger and also cleaned and tucked up the loose and rough edges from cutting the blanket {also hopes that makes sense...haha}  The two of us completed it in less than an hour (while taking care of a 7 month old and 3 year old). It turned out even cooler than we imagined.   So much fun, so different, and so VINTAGE!  LOVe LoVe & LoVE!!

If that seems like too big of a project for you just use the adorable blankets to recover a thrift stool!  They are cute no matter where you use them!   Lov'in us some vintage! xoxo Have a great day!

25 cent chair turned Shabby Chic

So I got this chair for $.25! Yes the decimal is right on that! A QUARTER! They were going to throw it away at a thrift store because the fabric was torn is several places. So I took it because I don't like seeing such beautiful things going to the trash! :) I see potential! I loved the wood structure of this chair. So I took on this project.

I began to tear it apart! That's right EVERYTHING! I tore all the fabric off of it and got it down to the wood. This is fun (I have been told many times that I am weird due to thinking this is fun) but also takes a lot of muscle as well. While tearing the fabric off I found $.70! I already made money of this sucker!

 

So I have wanted to recover a chair with this flour sack I scored for $2! And this was the perfect project.

I had some white cotton fabric that I got for 50 cents a while back. It was to white so I did my moms old fashioned trick died it with coffee to match the ivory stained color of the flour sack. I made about 8 cups of coffee (real dark) and put it in a pan and let my fabric soak for about 2 hours. Then I washed it and it came out perfectly! Down below is a picture of the change in color from white to coffee stained look!

 

So I took my flour sack and stained fabric and I stapled the onto the structure of the chair. I used upholstery nails for around the flour sack to add some cuteness! It turned out so cute!

On the back I just added a layer of burlap, batting (for some cushion). I wanted to leave the springs exposed because it gives it a industrial look.

Before

After

Aint bad?