Crafting with Carlo Rossi: Jewelry Organization

Along the same lines of furniture re-do's to make a house a home, Melissa decided that it was an absolute must to figure out a creative way to organize her jewelry. Wanting a system that was not only eye-catching and organized, Melissa wanted the whole piece to reflect her love of traveling and her addiction to purchasing new earrings, bracelets and necklaces while in foreign lands.

So it was, she sat down with an over sized cork board, some finishing nails, a giant National Geographic map, coins from around the world, super glue, black paint, a staple gun and of course a glass of Carlo Rossi. From this point she was able to move forward:

• Paint the frame black: Check
• Glue various coins to the heads of nails: Check
• Let everything dry: Check
• Sip wine: Check
• Use staple gun to attach naturally aged map: Check
• Carefully hammer coin/nails onto frame, realizing that super gluing after rather than before might have been a better idea: Check
• Poor another glass of wine: Check
• String flower wire from one nail to the next toward the upper end of the frame to create a place to hand awesome earrings: Check
• Hang Jewelry Organization system on the wall and admire daily your handiwork: Check

And there you have a DIY, over sized jewelry organization system!

Furniture Re-do's

Aside from finding great goods at garage sales, the Harringtons (mostly Melissa) took to hitting up a local Flea Market and looking at old furniture with fresh eyes. Wanting to work toward creating a simple and well organized home, but one that didn't focus on the color brown, Melissa decided a bit of paint was just what the interior decorator called for. A bit of Google searching and Pintrest grazing revealed that while laminate furniture wasn't the best for painting, it could in fact be done.

The Mrs. then made her way to a local hardware and paint store to purchase Kilz Paint Primer and, knowing that while 519 is home, it won't be home forever, opted to use up some leftover paint from the upstairs remodeling undertakings. Working only part time, the afternoons were full of free time to slap on some primer and apply a couple coats of sweet, baby blue to bring a little color to the dark basement space which the couple calls home. Although not necessarily a first choice in color, the change over of a bookshelf and TV stand have done exactly what was necessary, add color to blank walls and brown-tile floors.

From to Trash to Craft: Crate Display

Morning walks with Lady often take the Harrington's right on past 'trash corner'. There's a lot of trash there. There's also a lot of discarded goodness: shelves, chairs, 'ladders', etc. One morning, this dirty, grimy little crate was lying around. Assuming there was a perfect use for this discarded 'beauty', Melissa picked it up, took it home and set it aside until proper inspiration hit. Well, with the greatnes that is Pinterest and the joy that is never having to take to online courses ever again, for all time, inspiration finally hit...and folks, here you have a simple but AWESOME, crate display. Just push pin some twine and/or ribbon along the edges of the grate (being careful not to destroy your fingers on the crate), pick up some cute little clothespins at the stationary store and get ready to display some favorite photos, notes or Christmas cards!

Looks good against that Wyoming flag, don't you think?

From Trash, to Craft: Jewelry Organization

Those who are in close connection to the Harrington's know a thing or two about their dumpster-diving, thrift-finding, re-using ways. A bit of digging into the Harrington's U.S. lifestyle will reveal a whole-lot-of extending the shelf life of discarded foods. Heck, the couple couldn't even spend a short vacation at home without hitting a few dumpsters. And, some readers may well be aware that the couple lives in treasure finding paradise and the majority of Korea Villa furnishings are in fact other people's discarded junk. Therefore, it should be no surprise that Melissa picked up this simple, ladder-like hunk of who knows what from an infamous corner and simply counted down the days should could turn this 'trash' into a 'treasure' through a bit of craftiness. So with thumbtacks in hand (and between the teeth) Melissa threw together on heck of nifty accessory holder and has been ever the more stylish teacher for her efforts.

Korea, thanks for throwing things out, the Harrington home would be oh-so-bear were it any other way ^.^

Chopsticks: Not just for Ramen and Kimbap!

Always wanting this 'home' to feel a little more like a home the Mrs. is always looking for ways to spruce things up and create a more home-like atmosphere without spending much cash. (Let's face it, the Harrington's will probably never spend much cash to create a more home-like atmosphere). However, following the arrival of a super-sweet gift that serves as a constant reminder of their 'forever' home - 519, the Mrs. was even more encouraged to spruce up the 'brick wall' (read: brick wall papered wall) with some photos in 'frames'... And when living in the land of Kimchi what better to make frames with than left over chopsticks and twine from winter camps?

Would the Mrs. had a bit more foresight, she likely would have painted the chopsticks so as to prevent them from blending into the brick wall - regardless, chopstick picture frames are not a difficult craft to take on at all! Simply collect some disposable chopsticks and twine or string of choice. Wrap the chopsticks criss-cross with twine using the non-stuck-together-end to 'squeeze' the twine. Continue until you have a nice little square frame. The Mrs. just taped photos to the frames as the frames will likely not make their way to the states upon the Harrington's ending their time in Korea, whereas the photos will for sure accompany the couple back home.

Now, go out and enjoy some kimbap or sesame chicken and put those chopsticks to use!