DIY: the book sling!

I ran across a super cute book sling tutorial from Penny Carnival earlier this week. I could hardly wait to try it out so I gathered the supplies and got to work today. It was super easy- I don't claim to be an expert on the sewing machine but I know enough to get by. I think all in all I got it done in about an hour and half if you include hanging time. I'm thrilled with the result and it looks so cute in Lucy's nursery. Total cost of the project including fabric, felt for monogram, dowel rods, and hardware was under $20. The possibilities are endless too- these could be scaled down and installed in bathrooms if floor space is an issue for magazine holders. You can find the tutorial I followed here. Be sure to check out her "Henny Penny Apron" too, I'm tempted to try that out next!

note: No, Lucy does not pass her time reading Martha Stewart Living or Coastal Living but until she knows how to pick out her own books I'll stash a little momma reading material in there too.

hall closet before & after

It's totally embarrassing to admit it but I'm pretty confident I'm not the only one that has a horrible secret like the one below.

From top to bottom there really isn't an excuse for what this hall coat closet was hiding. It concealed everything from seasonal decor, table runners, crafts in addition to the given scarfs, hats gloves, coats etc...

The solution: A fresh coat of paint inside, shoe organizer on the door, I sprung for new wooden hangers, a floor shoe rack and a galvanized storage tub up top. The details including the total cost of the project are at the bottom.

I started by emptying everything out and finding new homes for things that did not belong. I then went on the hunt for new wood coat hangers. I found a value box of 20 at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $12.99 and of course had one of their handy 20% coupons to boot. Next I found a door shoe holder for $7.99. I chose clear so we could see everything easily. I secured it to the closet door all the way around with heavy duty Velcro. I also painted the inside of the closet with leftover paint we had in the garage. The overflow like super heavy scarves that wouldn't fit in door holder are in the tin tub on the top shelf (the tub was just sitting empty in the garage not being used). Lastly the shoe rack on the floor was added- it too was re-purposed from another closet where it wasn't being utilized. The entire project cost me less than $20 to do and I finished it all in one day. I'm proud to say that 3 weeks later and it still looks this good too!!!