I’m switching things up here at Budget Wise Home this week.  Here’s what’s going to happen.  Instead of posting your budget tip of the day, I’m going to post my own home projects all week long and give you a peek into my life and the fun things I’ve been up to.  I will be doing this during the last week of each month instead of the budget tips from now on.

Now I know this is not the last week of August, but I am about 2 weeks away from welcoming baby boy #3 into our home.  Just in case he decides to come a little early, I want to make sure you get to see what I’ve been working on.  It seems the projects are endless and that my life revolves around the phrase “before the baby comes.”  So I have been hard at work trying to finish as many projects as I can “before the baby comes.”  Here is the first of many I will show you this week.

I have been searching for a mirror for our mantel, but didn’t really want to fork out any money for one.  I went on a random thrift store trip with my sister and found this beauty for just $3.00.  I saw some great potential and could not turn it down for that price.

I’m not the biggest fan of the gold.

I covered the mirror with some paper and taped around the edges.

Three coats of white gloss spray paint, a little windex, and she’s good as new.  I wanted the look to be clean and simple.  I’m going for a light and airy look in the living room right now, and this feels perfect.

It’s got some great detail in it.  I think I will put a glaze on it to really make those pop, but that will have to wait.

This room does not have the best light, so the mirror really helps to bring in some of that light in and opens the room up a bit more.

Not too shabby for $3.00.  I really like the look of my new mantel.  It has been in need of a change for some time.

I’ve got many more projects on the way…