Transformation Tuesday #57

I have some great transformations to share this week! This first one is actually mine (well, Jerry's). Noah and Eli bought him a LEGO Star Wars - Yoda set for Christmas. I don't know that Jerry's ever actually put together a whole set before (he hates reading/following instructions for anything!) but he sat down and put together this whole set (1771 pieces) on Christmas Day.

(It was funny--before the kids got it for him, they asked me if there was a place that I would "let" him display it--hahaha! Jerry would display Star Wars stuff all over the house if I was cool with it (I'm not a Star Wars fan). I assured the kids that we would find a spot for it (I would not put it in the back of a closet, in other words). So they went ahead and got it for him--they were SO EXCITED for him to open it!

He's very lucky; when I was vacuuming, I found two pieces of the ear that had "come off" (I put that in quotes because I can guess with 99.9% accuracy that Duck probably bit the pieces off). Thankfully, I grabbed the pieces before the vacuum got them and I was able to put them back on.

Here are a few readers' transformations...

I sell doors and windows for a living, usually helping clients who are building new homes to pick out their doors and windows. I was thrilled when my sister bought her first house this summer--she hated the front door and wanted help picking out a new one. She had two narrow doors, so we changed the configuration to one large door with two narrow Sidelites. As her birthday gift I painted them red for her. Such a huge difference!

Before - solid 60s style with storm doors hiding them
After - lets in natural light and makes a welcoming statement

- Valerie, Oklahoma

Valerie, the new door is beautiful!! What a drastic update to your sister's home. It looks so welcoming, and I love the shade of red that you chose. My doors need an update now--along with the rest of the exterior of my house!--and this is inspiring. I am sure your sister loves it! - Katie

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I hope you mean it when you say you’d like to see even the smallest transformations! 

I am a reseller of vintage treasures on Instagram (@Freckle_Face_Finds), so I spend a lot of time digging around at estate sales and flapping my number at auctions. I loved this little dude when I found him at an estate sale, and then the daughters running the sale told me all about how their mom made him in ceramics class long ago and how proud she was of her creation.

Of course I had to scoop him up, but what to do about his broken heart? I decided to seal the outsides of the hole with Modpodge and then hot glue a red felted heart over the hole. I’m still trying to decide whether to include him in a future sale or to keep him for myself.

- Jennifer

Jennifer, he is adorable! I definitely think you should keep him for yourself. It reminds me of a review on Amazon for these silly squirrel finger puppets; someone at an auction bought a taxidermied squirrel that was missing its arms because they just couldn't stand the thought of him getting thrown away. So they bought the finger puppets to put the arms on their squirrel, and I thought it was the cutest/funniest thing! I love things like this with a story behind them. Now, what are you going to name him? ;)  - Katie

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Above the kitchen cabinets redo/clean up:

I have had a “strawberry” kitchen since being married (so 21 years and 3 different houses). Originally, it was fun to find strawberry stuff—my friends and fam would get me anything strawberry-related as well. I’m not putting down themed rooms (and I didn’t throw away all of my beloved strawberries—some went to Goodwill and some went into a tub for storage), but lately I hated to look above the cabinets because it just looked junky.

Also, I have to force myself to clean up there. I don’t do it nearly enough because there are so many pieces to take down, wash, reset, ugh. SO, I scoured Pinterest for ideas and went more minimalist with my shopping choices for a more uniform-ish look. It cost a little under $300, and it makes me so happy to walk in there now. Nearly everything came from Big Lots with just a few items from Hobby Lobby and Burkes Outlet.

Amy from Piketon, Ohio…bargain-shopping amateur decorator who hates to clean

Amy, what a lovely change! I think the strawberry theme was cute, but I know what you mean about it getting tired after a while. I can also see why it would be daunting to clean everything up there! I think the new, more minimal decor not only looks great with your cupboards, but will be much easier to clean. (I'm pretty sure that NOBODY enjoys cleaning above their cabinets!)  - Katie

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Thank you so much to everyone for sharing your transformations! Please keep them coming so I can keep posting Transformation Tuesday. I love seeing the things you come up with to transform. To submit a transformation, just send a before photo and an after photo to me at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Include your name and a description of your transformation. And like Jennifer mentioned, I don't think any transformation is too small!