Marshalls, Target & Ikea

My daughter-in-law just made a statement that made me realize that I am seriously in love  my family is seriously in love with a few stores. She said her Mom asked her where I got a gift I had bought my adorable granddaughter.  She told her Mom, "Probably Marshalls or Target."  I hadn't realized till then that whenever someone asks me where I bought something (translation:  Where did you get that, cause I love it!), my answer is usually, "Marshalls or Target."  Are there other stores I love? Definitely!  I love Ikea but the nearest one is hours and hours away.  Does that stop me from shopping there - no but I only go about 3 or 4 times a year.  This is a pic of my hallway.  Don't you just looovve the Ikea low profile shoe cabinets.  I also love that there is a small space to add a little holiday décor.
 

Gotta love those Target antlers.  I used them for my fall décor and I still can't get enough of them, so I kept them up for Christmas.  The reindeer and silver star is also from Target in the ornament section.  The cranberry garland is from Marshalls. 

Dress This Mess > Mud Room Explosion

Today's post was supposed to be about my organized mudroom, but instead it looks like this (sorry about the terrible pic):

I swear these coats in here are some how multiplying.  As soon as I hang up all the coats off the floor, I'll turn around, and there's another one laying there. It's actually a little creepy. It's like they are mocking me, or maybe I just have a bad case of cabin fever.

Here is my blank wall where I've envisioned a great message center with all of my family's events and papers neatly organized...

Don't even get me started on the 100 pairs of my husband's work sunglasses that ARE EVERYWHERE. I ask him why he brings home a new pair every week and he explains to me that the 300 other pairs at home are scratched from being stashed in every available drawer, pocket, and basket; at which point I do some deep breathing exercises. Hmmm...

So instead of thinking about my mudroom's mess and wanting to cry; I found some great pics of some efficiently organized mudrooms that I can pretend are mine, or at least steal some of their ideas. 

I love the idea of the "in" and "out" bins in a message center.  All those loose papers floating around drive me crazy.

Right now in my garage, I have a large frame that I've wanted to turn into a chalkboard for about 8 months, Or maybe I don't anymore since my hubby keeps trying to throw it away. Look what a great chalkboard it would make though!

On Pretty Handy Girl, she made a message center with mirror out of an old window she found in the trash. Check out her great tutorial.  Love the idea of having a little shelf.

Delightful Order makes these great individual message boards for each family member. They go in a picture frame so you can use dry erase markers on them.  Genius!

This one uses bins and organizers from everyone's favorite store, IKEA. What a great idea to use the cork board on the bottom.

We've talked before about making sure to use that valuable vertical space. I think this shelving would work great over my coat rack...

This one uses crown molding and shelf brackets to make the space free standing. This also allows for more floor space.

Cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling are a must in small spaces. I love that green color (and the fancy dog bowl holder)!

Lastly, I thought I'd throw in an inspiration room to get me and anyone else, who is wading around in an ocean of winter coats and mismatched gloves, started organizing. Even if you don't have a large space like I do, any corner or closet can be turned into a functional mudroom, with just a little help; which is exactly what A Thoughtful Place did with her stair closet:

The After!

That "window" in the back is actually a metal message center.  How cool is that?!  Don't you just love how the stripes make that little closet look huge. Check out A Thoughtful Place for her "How to Own Her Mini Mudroom."

Well I'm off to pick up some coats. If you don't hear from me, come looking.  I think those coats are against me...

~Angela

Dress This Mess > Baby Nursery Wall Decor

Happy Hallooooweeeen Everyone - Yup, today is the day your kids have been waiting for.  That's all they'll be thinking of is candy, candy, candy.  Here at the Glossy Flossy's we have our eye on Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas - that's right I'm a cyclops, but just for today cause it's Halloween.  
While keeping my eye on those three things I'm helping another Mrs. Glossy Flossy with a baby shower she is showering a friend with.  Yes, you heard me, there is another Mrs. Glossy Flossy who is talented and looooves to entertain, and yes it apparently is the year for babies.  
Remember the shower the future Mrs. 2Wicked gave for her sister and I said I would show you the wall decor that we made for the nursery - well here it is.

The inspiration for these silhouettes was the fabric that I spoke of before that I don't have a pic of and again it is 6am so no one is going to take a pic for me (I might get more organized at some point - but today is not the day.)  FM2W actually did all the work on these, I only provided technical support.

We picked out scrapbook paper that went with the nursery decor made by FM2W's momma, then found images of safari animals on the internet and sized them to fit the IKEA frames.  Printed silhouettes of animals out and FM2W traced it onto the scrapbook paper and cut them out.  The ostrich is actually scanned from the fabric used in the nursery.  A large frame with a large silhouette makes quite the impact. They turned out great and the possibilities are endless.  If your nursery theme is planes, trains, and automobiles you could use those silhouettes or how about cowboys, horses and steers.  For girls how about ballerinas and ...., I've got nothing else.  I don't have any girl grandbabies and I can't think of anything except boy stuff.


Note:  Photographing frames with glass is tricky and beyond our capabilities so we had to have FM2W's momma photograph them (she also photographed the shower.)  A big thanks goes out to her.  My suggestion is to photograph without the glass in the frame.
-Laurie

Reuse Recycle Repurpose - Skipper's Beach Club

So after my little ahha moment yesterday, we here at Chaos & Gloss decided to start a new blog feature called Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose; which will be all about using used and forgotten items in new and inventive ways. Check out "Skippers Beach Club", AKA our pool changing room /bathroom.

How cool are these orange recycled school lockers? My oldest son gave these to me for Mother's Day. You're probably thinking, "You got used lockers for Mother's Day??" Yes I did and when I saw them I was very excited as I had priced new ones and they were definitely not in my budget. You can find used lockers on Craigslist, flea markets and sometimes at yard sales at a price that someone other than Bill Gates could afford.

I loved the original color so the bathroom was decorated to accommodate this bright orange. One side of the lockers had to be painted so thank goodness that Rustoleum has a spray paint this color, a happy coincidence for us! Really wondering how much of this color they sell?

Another example of reusing and recycling is the old gate hanging on the outside of the clubhouse and the chairs in front, which were made from scrap wood that would have been thrown away.

Repurpose idea - the Ikea hooks are a made from a rubbery material and were put up on the wall to be used as a stop so the locker doors did not hit the wall. A duel purpose hook! Sometimes you have to think outside of the box to get an attractive end product - those door stops that they sell commercially were really ugly and I didn't want them to be the first thing you saw when you opened the door. Orange must have been the color this year as I picked the wall decor up at Craft Warehouse.

- Laurie