Y'all - get into this ceiling fan! For years now I've been staring at this ugly white ceiling fan, and every time I looked at it I got a little mad. LOL. I finally decided to do something about it. I still can't believe I refreshed it for less than $12 with 2 cans of spray paint! It ain't one of my diy projects if it isn't budget friendly, amirite?!

Here is what you will need:
1. a can of brushed nickel spray paint
2. a can of black spray paint (satin finish)
3. a piece of cardboard
4 a drill to remove the screws
5. a hot glue gun

Here's the thing - I've installed a ceiling fan before and I know that it is a lot of work. Like, A LOT!. I was not about to pull this one down and reinstall - at least not completely. If you are careful with the spray paint, it can be done!

​Disclaimer: this is the process I chose to take because I have some experience changing out light fixtures/ceiling fans. Please proceed at your own risk and/or consult an electrician.

Step 1: turn off the power
Safety first! Turn off the power at the breaker box (don't just turn of the fan at the light switch!) Double check to make sure it's off

Step 2: unscrew the fan blades

Step 3: unscrew the lower portion of the fan where the light bulbs are
But don't remove it completely. You can let it hang from it's wires. Make sure you remove the light bulbs and the glass covers first - and when you remove those, that lower portion is not very heavy at all so it shouldn't put a lot of weight on the wires

Step 4: Remove the lower engine cover & filter from the fan.
Once you remove the lower portion (in step 3), it will be easy to unscrew and remove this portion. You'll notice that the cover has a thin piece of linen-like fabric that is glued to it. Gently remove this from it, and if  the fabric has dust in it, rinse it out and put it to dry.

Step 5: Spray paint the part of the fan that remains hanging.
Be sure to ventilate your room by opening the windows to promote airflow. Also remember to clear out the room so that the spray paint doesn't get on anything (because it will). And of course, wear safety equipment like a mask and goggles. 

Here is where the cardboard comes in. Use your cardboard and place it above the area you are spray painting. This way you avoid getting spray paint on your ceiling or getting it in your fan engine. If your ceiling fan has a down rod like mine, spray the down rod first, then once it's dry, put the cardboard behind the ceiling cap, then paint that.

Step 6: Spray paint your fan blades, hardware and your engine cover.
Do this outside. Place them on a piece of cardboard and go to town, spraying in smooth strokes. For your blades, detach the blade hardware from the actual blade, given that they will be painted different colors. Don't forget to spray your screws! (I sprayed mine black)

Step 6: Re-assemble the engine cover.
Once the engine cover and the filter fabric are dry, it's time to put them back together. Grab your glue gun and re-attach the dried fabric back to the cover

Step 7. Re-assemble the hanging portion of the fan.
Once the fan is dry, put the pieces back together (i.e. re-attach the engine cover, and the lower portion of the fan. Finally add the newly sprayed blades and hardware.

That's it! It was super easy and quick. And now I can't stop staring at how much I like the fan now. Talk about drab to fab! Yassss!

Do you have a ceiling fan that needs a makeover? If you decide to spray paint it, let me know how it turns out!

Until the next adventure,
​~T

New desk, who dis? I'm officially two weeks into my new role and I am so excited! Naturally, I'm still getting settled in my new space. One of the first things I made sure to do is decorate my desk. We all love the look of a bland cube or office desk (said no one ever). Boooring!! If you're like me, your environment around you, the style and how it makes you feel matters a lot. The reality is you spend most of your day at work, so you might as well make that space as cozy and comfortable as possible. It will help with productivity, stress, and might spark conversation with coworkers sitting nearby.

My desk decor was pretty simple. Included 3 key elements: a message board, a picture board, and a tassel garland, which I made. I'll show you the first 2, and then I'll go into detail of how I made the garland.

1. Message board
I have one of these at home and I just love writing love notes to myself. I decided to get another one for work because, let's face it, I'm pretty witty and funny, LOL. Well, I am! I thought this would be a fun way to express myself at work and keep myself (and my coworkers) entertained. And who knows, maybe my coworkers will look forward to my messages as I change it out from time to time.

My first message on the board is self explanatory. I'm the newbie in the office, i.e. fresh meat. My immediate team members know I'm new, but not everyone knows - but hopefully now they'll know, lol. I paired it with this cute faux plant that I got at TJ Maxx for only $5!

These boards are typically around $14.99, but I got this one at Kohl's on sale for about $12. I prefer the black background boards because it's modern and looks cleaner. What I especially love about this board is that it comes will special symbols that you can use to flank your text (for example the 4 corners around "Fresh Meat"), as well as a few words in cursive. 
​

2. Picture Board
​This was a MUST have for my desk. Pictures make me happy, especially pics of my travels. I found this hexagon push pin board and thought it was the perfect architectural piece for my desk. It's large so can fill the entire space on that side of my cube. 

I got this set at Target for $6.99. It's two-sided; one side is cork board, but I preferred the black for the same reason I liked the message board - it looks more modern and makes a nice contrast to my colorful pics. The set originally came with 3M adhesive strips, which obviously won't work in a push pin cube. I got creative and used small file clips and push pins to hang it up. Looks good!

3. Tassel Garland
​Ok, now the fun part! These tassel garlands are becoming increasingly popular, and honestly I really like the look. But when I went to buy some, the price was like $10. If y'all know me, you know that I'm thrifty, and that my mantra in life is "I can make that!" LOL. For real, when you look at the construction of the garland, it's not complicated at all! So, in true Living Life to the T fashion, I decided to make my own. 

Let me lead with this: this garland only cost me about $3.50 to make! Here is what you'll need:

Materials:
1. Silver stringing wire (which I already had in my craft box; bought at Michael's)
2. Two balls of yarn in colors of your choice ($1.77 each at Walmart)
3. Scissors

Step 1. Measure how long you want the garland to be and then cut the wire. My wire is thin, and although I knew that the tassels would not be heavy, I decided to double the wire (in order to fold it over) for reinforcement. 

Step 2. Take your first ball of yarn and string it back and forth flat on the floor. The length is totally up to you.  I wanted my tassels more on the thick side, so I strung mine back and forth about 20 times.

​Regarding the length of each pile (i.e. from end to end), keep in mind is that you will be folding the yarn over the wire. So whatever length you would prefer your tassels to be, just double it when you are doing this initial stringing. (Trust me, it will make sense in a minute). Once you make your first pile of yarn, then go ahead and cut it off from the roll. ​

Step 3. Now, fold your first pile over the wire. Secure it to the wire by cutting another small piece of yarn from the roll and tying it to the top close to the wire. Once you have a good knot, feel free to cut off the ends of that piece.

Step 4. You might notice that the yarn has loops in it. That's ok, because this is when we cut of the looped edges. Take your scissors and try to cut the bottom of the tassel as flat as possible. Take some time to pat yourself on the back because you now have your first tassel!!.

Step 5. Repeat this process with the second yarn color. I decided to do a black-green-black-green pattern. Just be sure to determine how many total tassels you will need based on the length of your wire and make enough to comfortably fill the space. I made 8 tassels in total, 4 in each color. Don't worry about spacing too much because you will be able to slide the tassels and adjust their position once you hang the garland up.

And that's it!! Easy peasy tassel garland! The best part is, you'll likely not use all the yarn, leaving you with leftovers for your next project!! Score!!

​I love how it all came together at my new desk!!

If my post inspired you to make a tassel garland, please let me know! I'd love to see how you put your spin on it!

Until the next adventure,
​~T

How much do console tables cost?? In my house - $15! This has got to be my greatest Ikea hack to date! I love it so much that I made two of them! Keep reading and I'll show you how!

I just bought my first home about 6 months ago and I've been busy doing lots of diy projects and getting each room set up. As I started to unpack, I realized there were a lot of items I had from my apartment that just did not go with my new home. One of those things was my old tv stand. About a year ago I bought this tv stand at Ikea for about $15. It's a low profile stand and is very narrow. Besides the tv, it couldn't hold much else. It was perfect for apartment living because I didn't have a large tv and I really did not want to spend a lot of money on a tv stand for an apartment, especially because I was gearing up to purchase my home. Additionally, I am all about reusing and up cycling things, if possible. I didn't want to get rid of it unless I couldn't use it for something in the house.

 Don't get me wrong - it's a super cute tv stand. It just didn't fit my needs (I'm mounting my tv at my new house). I literally stood there staring at the tv stand trying to conjure up some creativity. I was thinking "hmmm....how could I reuse this table elsewhere in the house?" And then BAM! It occurred to me! Stack the legs, mount it to the wall, and turn it into a console table! Simple, right?!

​I made a quick YouTube video of how I created it. Check it out below (subscribe to my YouTube channel while you're at it! #shamelessplug

I think it they turned out pretty good! I turned the original console I made into a bar. It's right by the kitchen and it gave me an opportunity to display my cool bar set I bought a few months before buying the house. I couldn't WAIT to bust it out :) I also bought a small wine rack from the At Home store for when I'm ready to pop some bottles. 

Here are some more photos of the finished product.

I turned the second stand into a more traditional console table that has books and frames. It will anchor the small sitting area behind the couch.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think or if you try this!

​-T