For my habitat and yours

I finally checked out the Habitat for Humanity Restore they opened not far from my house. I've been meaning to go there for awhile. The community choir that I sing with helped build a Habitat House here in town so I've supported the organization in other ways. And you know how I love a bargain.

A couple weeks ago a windy day laid waste to the storm door on the side of my house. The frame of the door blew completely apart, but the storm windows were still in perfect condition. Since the new door I bought to replace it came with storm windows, I put the old storm windows in my car and drove over to the Restore to donate them and take a look around.

If you have a Habitat Restore near you, get there quickly cuz it is full of good bargains. I looked at the section with doors hoping I might find a replacement for my front door. I rummaged around where there were scads of knobs and hinges and picked out a knob to go on my new sheet music cabinet.

Then I spent considerable time in the paint aisle opening up $1 quarts of pre-mixed paints til I found 4 that I could use, including the black I'll use on the music cabinet project. Plus I bought a few cans of spray paint.

And as I headed for the cash register, I spotted them . . . stacks and stacks of commercial carpet tiles . . . literally hundreds of them. Most were 2 ft. X 2 ft. And as I started picking up tiles here and there, leafing through them to see the selection, I saw the colors in my living room staring up at me. They were saying, "Yes! You need me! You need an area rug to go over those newly re-finished hardwood floors. You need a rug your dog can happily drag her belly around on in order to give herself a good scratchin."


So I picked three different colors/patterns to mix and match and just taped them together with duct tape, the tape of a thousand uses. I put a 1/4 inch carpet pad underneath for a little extra cush. The tiles were $2 each. The carpet pad was $15.

Hello! I am loving my new area rug. And as for the dog, I think the new rug makes up for the fact that I made her wear homemade dog sweaters this winter.

This post also appears at Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft On, Skip to My Lou Made by You Mondays, Flour Me With Love Mix it Up Mondays, and DIY Home Sweet Home More the Merrier Mondays.