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A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers! **You are all so awesome for voting over at the One Project Closer site!! I didn’t think you could vote more than once, but I think some have been able to…so if you want, check it out. It takes about two seconds to vote…http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/before-after-2009-vote-for-the-best/ The contest goes through Friday night. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your vote. icon smile A dining hutch redo and fall fillers! **

So my latest project was one that was about a year in the making. I had plans to do this foreva. I couldn’t decide on the details so it just didn’t happen until I started the redo a few weeks ago.

I LOVE our dining room hutch. It’s dark and curvy, just the way I like hutches. If I had a thing for hutches that is.

There is only one issue that has bugged me from day one:

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!Can you tell what it is? The mirrors that line the back of the hutch drove me cray-zay. They reflected ev.er.y.thing — I mean, that’s the deal with mirrors right? When I filled it with accessories, it felt like they all just disappeared into a reflected abyss. You couldn’t really see anything that was in there.

So, about a year ago, I decided to cover the backs — I started with foam poster boards (from the dollar store) and some leftover fabric from my drapes. I stopped after one though, because as I mentioned before, I just wasn’t “feeling” the room.

A couple weeks ago I decided to finish this everlasting project up. But what to cover it with? I didn’t want to do the same fabric from the drapes because a.) it was more than I wanted to spend on this and b.) I didn’t want it to be too matchy and c.) I was lazy.

So I thunk and I thunk and I thunk. It hit me — DOH. I had a ton of wallpaper left from this project. And it was already white. SCORE!

Here’s how I did it…

Measured each section of mirror horizontally and vertically:

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!Then I marked the measurements on the foam board:

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!I marked the measurements down the board, then connected the dots with the level to make a line:
 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!The foam is thin enough to just cut with scissors:
 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!
Then, check it to make sure it fits the spot! I had to do some trimming to make them fit perfect. A fork is useful for this part — if it fits well it’s impossible to get the foam out without one. icon smile A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!
 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!Then just cut the wallpaper to the size I needed, then used the hot glue to wrap the paper around the foam:

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers! It turned out pretty much exactly how I had hoped!:
 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers! A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!Then I was able to decorate the hutch for autumn…some pumpkins and leaves bling it up:

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!My apothecary jars are so fun to fill for fall and Christmas! They are filled with a bunch ‘o fall stuff — leaves, pumpkins, beads, pears, apples:

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers! Teeny tiny acorns and beads that I snipped off pics from Hobby Lobby:

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers! A pumpkin under glass:

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!More beady stuff. Are you surprised?:

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers! Those FAB plates are my HomeGoods finds from today and whoooeee they are gorg! I needed to lift a couple items up and for now, they are the perfect way to do that.

The knobs that were on the hutch were very pretty but have never felt right to me:

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers! Enter half price (faux) crystal knobs from Hob Lob:
 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!Fat round ones in the middle, small square ones on the doors.
The top of the hutch is filled with a couple items I already had, then my long scrolly candleholder turned on it’s side, and a couple platters at $9.99 each from HomeGoods:
 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!Stink Eye Sister doesn’t like the scrolly thing on it’s side. It makes her “uncomfortable” that I am not using it as it should be. I told her where her “not as it should be” can (nicely) go cause I like it!
 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!Love you sis! Smooches!
I love how subtle the texture of the wallpaper is!:  A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!I was toying with touching up the raised areas with some stain or paint, to bring out the texture, but now I’m thinking that would get too busy.
Here’s a before — helloooooo accessories? Where are yoooooou?
DSC02836 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!
Ah yes, there you are!
 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers! And I love it at night even more, of course:
 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!

 A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!Oh yeah, did I mention this was FAAAREEEE? Well, I bought nine foam boards for a buck each, but that was a year ago so it totally doesn’t count.
I made what are simply the cauuutest Halloween decorations last night –I can’t wait to show you later this week!

(Almost) free Halloween decor

 (Almost) free Halloween decorI’m so stinking excited you all love my redo as much as I do!! It’s GORG, eh? It just feels like “home” to me, like it always should have looked this way. icon wink (Almost) free Halloween decor

It hit me this week that, uhhhhh, Halloween is like, in two days and I hadn’t shown you more of my decor. Maybe you can file some ideas away for next year, yes?

Most of my Halloween decor — well ALL of my Halloween decor — was made by moi or purchased on the cheap. I showed you my free spooky mantel here, my ghouly candleholders here and my Halloween crafting here. All were super cheap or faaaareeee!

Here’s more of the other el cheapo decorations I promise every one of you can do!

A glittery word from Hob Lob, cut off the ribbon and attach it to scrapbook paper in an old frame:
 (Almost) free Halloween decorThe gumball machine was $4 at Goodwill and I couldn’t. resist. it. I tried, I did. It’s perfect for peanut M&M’s. Makes it a bit harder to get to them, which is a good thing. icon wink (Almost) free Halloween decor

These labels are free online (if you search Halloween labels you should find some) — I did these last year with Goodwill bottles so I can’t remember where I found them:
 (Almost) free Halloween decorThis year I got a few more little jars for $.25 each at GW, and printed off itty bitty labels I found here. (You have to see all of the ideas Lorie finds — amazing!! I couldn’t find the actual post for these — do you know where it is Lorie?)

 (Almost) free Halloween decorYears ago I found images online, printed them out and cut out the shapes in stiff felt. They’ve lasted for a long time and I love how they look on our windows:

 (Almost) free Halloween decor

 (Almost) free Halloween decorWhen you take three cardboard letters that spell out BOO and half off scrapbook paper, this is what you get:
 (Almost) free Halloween decorFour bucks total, I believe? (Almost) free Halloween decor I think the paper cost more than the pumpkin for this one:

 (Almost) free Halloween decorOutside, I used spidey web lights I found at the drug store last year on clearance (drug stores have some fun stuff for CHEAP after the holidays.) I think these cost me two bucks:

 (Almost) free Halloween decor And of course my dollar store tombstones are all over the front yard! I touched them up with white paint and they look awesome:

 (Almost) free Halloween decorThis one was probably the most expensive project — I found these vinyl stickers at HomeGoods a few weeks ago and got Spooky and Scary for $6:
 (Almost) free Halloween decorI took some scrap wood, spray painted it, distressed it and drilled holes for the ribbon to hang it:

 (Almost) free Halloween decor

 (Almost) free Halloween decor Adorable. Cheap. Thankyouverymuch. (“Scary” is vertical and leans against a wall in our foyer.)

 (Almost) free Halloween decorFun stuff eh??
Please don’t let all of this fool you. I have a secret…
I am sooooo cheating…
 (Almost) free Halloween decor I couldn’t resist, really. Could you? (Don’t tell me if you could.)

Another Before and After Party is coming up this Monday!! (I’ll have the post up Sunday night!) You just need a before picture and the after to join us. Wooeee, I love a party!!
beforeafter (Almost) free Halloween decor

I’ll also share my first Christmas project next week — I’ve mentioned it before but you’ll need some time to prepare for this one. icon wink (Almost) free Halloween decor