Makin' a Home on the Prairie: May I Take a Message?

Do you ever walk in to your house and say to yourself, "Wow, that's ugly"? When I say this to myself, then I am OBSESSED until I can make it un-ugly (atleast in my eyes).

Current Obsession:
#1. Entry bulletin board
#2. Where to put the kids' artwork

#1-
Recovered entry bulletin board with burlap and put it in an old frame:

This baby was on of those el-cheapo boards from Wal-Mart that had absolutely NO character. {BTW - these are readily available at thrift stores EVERYWHERE!} I tore off the old frame and covered the cork with burlap. Then I popped it in the frame and secured it with a staple gun.

Much classier - don't ya think?

This was absolutely free! Remember, I had all the supplies, so no costs are realized!

#2 -
Project number one lead to an idea for problem #2:
More recovered bulletin boards! This time I stepped out a little and went to Menard's for the board and the trim. Did I mention that I HATE MENARD'S?! More on that in a minute. Because I have 5 children it would be necessary for us to have a rather large art display. For $9.00 we found this:

It's 48X32 - HUGE and PERFECT! But I also needed some decorative trim for the frame. Here's where the loathing comes into play. I found an oak piece for $6 for a 6 feet piece or I could buy an 8 foot piece of that primed MDF stuff for $4 - no brainer since I'm going to paint it anyway, right? But how is one to get it into her CAR? I asked the kind gentleman behind the "lumber desk" if they could cut the 8ft piece in half. He said, "Well, we might have a hand saw back here somewhere." Huh? Are you kidding me? On second thought, is there a Lowe's nearby? (NO) Believe it or not, I got the 2 - 8 foot pieces in the front seat of my car. The kids had to ride home with their heads cocked a little to the right but they've recovered.

Anyway... I painted the trim pieces and then covered the board with upholstery fabric while the paint was drying. I distressed the trim a little and found that the white came through -duh. So, I used some wood stain to go over the sanded parts and it turned out to be amazing. Maybe not amazing, but it looks nice.

I glued and stapled and nailed all of these parts onto a 1/4 inch piece of "somethin' cheap" plywood.