New Uses for Snow Cone Cups

I love it when magazines do a feature on re-purposing vintage items and show how to use them in new, creative ways. This past summer, I did a room in a designer show house and my theme was creativity and style on a budget. I'm a total bargain shopper and styler on the cheap, so I deliberately chose that theme to challenge myself, keep my cost of doing the room low, and show people a room that was bright and fun that had been put together for almost no money.

My room was a big, sunny upstairs corner bedroom. It had some of the most gorgeous light I've ever seen. With Scott's help, I painted the walls "Buttery" by Pratt & Lambert, then got to work on assembling the furnishings. I wanted a bedroom that would have several functions: a place to sleep, a cozy area to sit and read, and a place for doing artwork, scrapbooking, and just generally being creative.

In the creative area especially, I wanted to show ideas for using old objects in different ways. I set up a vintage painted table in the corner as a work/crafts table with supplies and papers.

On the corner of the table, I used an old wire drink carrier for craft supplies. I filled it with bright plastic cups that I found at Wal-Mart and interspersed those with fun polka dot snowcone cups (also from Wal-Mart). I poured buttons in one cup, arranged colored pencils in another, found a spot for a measuring tape, thread, and my favorite bulldog clips.

Next to the work table, I placed a smaller table for holding a stack of storage boxes, a lamp, and an old metal potato chip rack as an inspiration board.

This chip rack idea appealed to me more than using a bulletin board for inspirational items. Somehow, when I put something on a bulletin board, it stays there forever. It's like I think the item has become etched in stone and I can never remove anything without disrupting the whole board. Items on the chip rack seem much more moveable and temporary. I hung all sorts of little items on here: scraps of fabric, cards of vintage buttons, beads, swatches of wrapping paper from Target, and a curl of old shimmery metallic pipecleaner.

I'm still using the drink carrier, but have replaced a couple of the cups with some red-lidded jars to hold paperclips and safety pins. The inspiration sign on the chip rack is now hanging above some shelving in my studio where I keep some of my best-loved things for both decoration and inspiration.

I'll show you the reading corner and the finished room as a whole one day soon.

Holly

Comments

[tina]

This room design is darling! I love all your ideas! CUTE! Are you still selling on ebay? ; - )

[kay ellen hammar]

Hi
Just found your blog...love your color's!
Happy New Year!

New blogger:)

kayellen.typepad.com

[Mary Jane]

Your design ideas are inspirational. I need to look through my stash of stuff and see what cuties I can find. Thanks.

[Elizabeth Holcombe]

Your workspace is to die for! Love love LOVE the colors! I think your use of the snow conbes for storage is brilliant!~~~XXOO, Beth