Sports Ribbon Display-Option 2

Do you remember the free crib I got from Craigslist? Do you remember the 1st project from it? The Sports Ribbon Display I made for my daughter from the free crib? Well, today's project is the same but different. Using the same free crib I have made a sports ribbon display for my son.

My son, Jackson is our track star and has a ton of ribbons from his 2 years of middle school track. He did like his sister's ribbon display, just not for himself, "it's too girly." So, instead of using the side of the crib I used the bottom-springy part that holds the mattress. I can't find my before pictures so just imagine the above photo in black. It would have been fine to hang it without painting it but he wanted to use a school color, so it got several coats of royal blue spray paint. My advice to anyone wanting to paint one is to spray a couple coats, let dry, then move it. Turn it upside down or something to get the springs to wiggle just a little or you could end up with unpainted lines under where the springs attach to the frame.

My husband hung the whole unit on the wall using 4 "L" brackets. I think you could hang it with 2 brackets at the top and let the bottom rest on the wall if you wanted. I like how the whole thing stands out from the wall. My son is 15 and in high school, if he hurts himself on the screws or any part of it then I might have to take the display away from him. (kidding) Seriously, if you do make this for a younger child it would probably be a good idea to put caps on the screws and have a no climbing rule.

None of the ribbons he earned came with a string to hang them with so we punched small holes in them and added some string. While I added the string Jackson put all the ribbons on his display. It was his idea to line them up, I think I would have just randomly put them here and there. He's already asked me to paint some frames to put certificates in around the frame-that's my boy! 

Now 2 of my kids have reminders in their rooms that hard work pays off and that Mommy is very proud of them. 

Thanks for stopping by At Home with Sweet T!

-Tracy

Linking up to these fabulous parties:

Display for Sports Ribbons- Repurpose Project

Ready for more Craigslist love?!?! Today, I'm showing you how I re-purposed a free crib into a display for my daughter's swim ribbons. Oh yeah, I said FREE!!! I found a free crib listed on Craigslist awhile back. I'm pretty sure the "seller" didn't want the crib to go to someone with a baby since it was an old, now un-safe drop-side style crib. So, I was happy to take it to see how many projects I could make from it. This is project #1 from the crib. I hope my daughter loves it as much as I do.
For this project I used the drop-side:

I removed the plastic hardware, easy breezy. Then, grabbed a can of white satin spray paint and got to work. It's been a long time since I've spray painted anything. Here's a helpful hint: don't wear your favorite black shorts when spraying white paint. (doh!) 

It took 2 cans to cover the dark brown. After it was dry and wiped clean I added pop-tab style hook thingies to the two now vertical pieces. I had my daughter gather all of her ribbons. We used a hole punch and put holes near the top of the ribbons then added string. 

Here it is all done:

Now for a little bragging (every mom has the right to brag in my opinion)-These ribbons are from her first season of competitive swimming. I am so happy she has found an activity she loves and is good at. She is only 10 but we have tried almost every option out there- softball, basketball, soccer, and dance and none of them stuck with her like swimming. She's part fish, I tell ya. Makes this momma's heart smile when a coach tells you how hard she is working and to see her improve all season. This project was a way to show her how proud I am of her hard work. I'm looking forward to watching her add more ribbons to her new display!

I have a lot of crib leftover so I see some more great projects to come. 

Have a great week!

-Tracy

Joined the following fabulous linky parties:

    

Photo door

I'm am so excited to show you why I am in love with Craigslist!!! I stalk Craigslist, yep I even have the app on my phone. I browse random categories looking for treasures. Recently, I found a 15 glass panel, old, and dirty door in the Arts & Crafts category. I wish I could post the original listing but I forgot to save it. :(
Once I saw this beauty in person I knew it would be the perfect "frame" for our family pictures.
Here's the door all set up and ready to be sanded and scraped:

It is so nice to be married to a carpenter, he's got every tool imaginable (even though he thinks he needs more.) He set me up with his sanders and scrapers and I got right to work.

Right away, a beautiful mint green color was revealed under the dirt and top coat of white. Sadly the mint color wasn't over that entire side of the door. I played with the tools and the mint side and eventually decided to see what the other side looked like sanded down. This was the side meant to frame my family portraits.
The door was a little too long for it's place on our wall. So, hubby measured from the top of the door to the first glass pane and cut the bottom of the door to be the same. Then, he remounted the hinges to be evenly spaced and used the hinges to carefully hang the door on our wall.
Here she is all sanded, scraped,cleaned and skillfully hung on our wall:

So, now we had the tough task of family portraits on a tight budget. It just so happens that my sister in law has access to a fancy dancy camera and we talked her into bringing it along to a family get together at my husband's parents. Their property is so beautiful and it was a perfect day. I was worried I wouldn't have 15 photos to fill all the spots but it turns out I struggled to narrow it down to only 15. I edited the pictures to the best of my abilities, left some in color and turn some to black & white. Then, I went crazy for a week looking at empty glass panes and waiting for the photos to arrive. I literally took these pictures from the mailbox to being matted and in place in about an hour. I love it!!!
What do you think?!?!

Have a great week!
Linking up:

-Tracy