2 For 1 Friday! ~ DIY/Thrifty Finds For Under $10

Part 1 ~ DIY How to hang a shelf


If there's one thing I hate more than anything, it's hanging a picture or shelf with keyholes (or asking my busy husband to help me do it when I just want to do it myself). So I've come up with a fairly easy way to get it done without a bunch of measuring.

First things first, get your tools lined out. You will need a level, cordless drill with a Phillip's head screw bit, a drywall drill bit (size depends on your anchors), drywall anchors with coordinating screws (make sure these fit in the keyholes before hanging), painters tape, a hammer, stud finder, and a piece of paper of some sort.







I found this cute little shelf (at the DI of course) and it had 4 keyholes on the back.













Basically all I did was make a template of the back of the shelf. Line your paper evenly across the top and tape it on. Locate the screw holes and puncture them to create the template. Easy right! Then carefully lift the paper off and tape it up on the wall. Use your level to ensure it's straight. Then just mark where the holes will go on the wall.











Making the template on back side of shelf










Next, use your stud finder to determine if there are any studs where your holes will be drilled. (I skipped this part cause it was like 5:30 in the morning and way too cold to go outside and look for it in our MESSY tool box). Anyway, then use the drywall drill bit and pre-drill your holes. Tap in your anchors where needed and insert the screws part way.












To attach the shelf, tip it up and align the keyholes with the screws, tip it back down until the screws insert into keyholes, then slide it down until it's firmly in place. (Sorry there's no picture of this part.... couldn't hold the camera and the shelf at the same time!... I'm good, but not that good LOL!) If the keyholes are not aligning with the screws, you can remove the 2 inner screws and just leave the outer ones in place - (with the drywall anchors in place, 2 should be strong enough to hold the weight of whatever you are placing on top of the shelf, and if you're screws were level, the shelf will hide the other 2 holes, make sense?). Check to make sure it's level. If not, make your adjustments and realign. Tip: shove a little bit of toilet paper in a keyhole that is deeper than the others. That's it! Yay!








Part 2 ~ Thrifty Finds









Here's the fun part! Of course I love finding deals at the DI... but this just goes to show that you can decorate on a budget, it just takes a little searching and imagination. This ensemble cost me less than $10. No joke! Everything came from the DI or was free! Here's a breakdown.


The shelf I just installed was only $2. It was probably donated because it was a project gone wrong for somebody else. Unfortunately I don't have any before pics... but it had gobs and drips of yellow paint all over it. So I removed what I could of their awful mess, and applied a coat of black paint I already had. Then I just sanded it in a few places to distress it and sealed it with shellac I also already had. EASY! Total cost, $2!


This is the ultimate Trash to Treasure... Free vase! - I got this little tube in the mail from Staples which had some promotional items in it for a new local store. So I just took off the shipping label, adhered some scrap booking paper I had and used some twigs from my backyard to create a vase. Total cost, FREE!








The letter C (for Create, or Carter...or Cool, cause I'm cool!) came from the DI and again, I just used some black paint and scrap booking remnants I already had to doll it up. Total cost, $1!


Then lastly the clock was only $5 and the Believe sign was 50 cents. Grand total, $8.50!