How to remove and install vinyl tiles with crappy tools

Ok so this is seriously the emphasis of this post. Crappy tools. And cheap vinyl. This whole project all started when I found some cheap tiles at a dollar store. Oh and I bought a new tanning bed and needed somewhere to put it.  (I know tanning beds are bad before you comment). 

Taking carpet out and putting down tiles is easy. Deciding you hate them and want better ones and starting over sucks. After lots of Internet research and Facebook comments from people who actually know what they are doing I found I can pull up vinyl flooring with a putty knife and a hair dryer. They recommend a heat gun but I've already spent too much money. 

Then in the midst of this project I found a new show I'm obsessed with. Homeland.  I cannot stop watching it. Which means I can't get any work done. So I made myself a rule that I have to get 5 tiles placed and then I can watch 20 minutes of Homeland. 

Here are some pics of my project. 

I started by laying tiles at the beginning of the room. You're supposed to start in the center of the room but I didn't. I don't do things by the rules. And instead of taking it all out I took it out as I placed new ones so I didn't have to sit or crawl on a sticky floor. 

A few hours later....this is very tedious work. 

Oh yah. And I had a weenie dog supervising the whole time. Makes it a bit more time consuming when you have to stop and throw his toy every minute. 

And again a few hours later......

A little bit later.....

Still going and going and going.....

To be continued. 

Vintage Button obsession

I'm obsessed with buttons. Always have been. But for a few years I've started collecting vintage buttons. I just love digging through jars I find at yard sales and picking out the best ones. So I am finding ways to use these and be able to show off my collections. I'm a bobby pinning fool. Everyday whether my hair is in a ponytail or not I have a bobby pin in it. So I decided to decorate the pins with my favorite finds. Here is the first group I have made. There will be more button projects to come! 

Boomer Sooner Pumpkins!!

This was super easy! Paint and decorate. Simple. I used acrylic paint and I still need to seal them with a polyeurathane spray. In a few days I will reveal the ones my daughter is working on! 

Church pew.

It was my prize find this summer ($40 church pew) and it has made the perfect entryway piece in my house!!! And since I am obsessed with all things British I had to get this union jack pillow to accent my sitting area. Love love love.   Now I just need to get the trim back up! I redid the floors a year ago and still haven't put the trim back up! Can you say procrastinator!?!?!?! Lol. 

$2 stool remade

I am short so I need stools and I found this one for $2 a while back. A little spray paint, some burlap and acrylic paint for the cross and its done. Easy and simple!!! I love making old things new and saving $$$ cause I already had the paint and burlap.

FREE TREES FOR PLANTING

I am completely obsessed with planting and gardening. I am in the process of getting a new privacy fence because my yard has no privacy or boundaries defined whatsoever. Anyway somehow, I have been brainstorming about outdoor spaces and I started looking into landscaping ideas. TREES, duh!!! Except they are super pricy so I want to share this cool info with my blog followers, ALL 33 of YOU!! HAHAHA.

The Arbor Tree Foundation will send you 10 trees for FREE!! yes, free. You have to join for $10.00/year but it is so worth it to get 10 free trees a year. Or $1/each if you wanna get technical. No shipping cost. A friend of mine who is super gardener says she has been doing this for years. The trees come as babies and you have to plant them in pots and keep them indoors and baby them for a year before you relocate them to the ground. This works out perfect for me cause my fence is in the works and wont be done til mid summer and I wont even know where to start planting.

ANYWAY, for those of you who are super thrifty and super green, here is the link:
http://www.arborday.org/shopping/memberships/memberships.cfm