Land of Nod Knockoff Wall Book Bin

I know that many of us out there love Pottery Barn,

and we also love Restoration Hardware, 

and I am sure that we love Crate and Barrel.

Well, I absolutely adore Crate and Barrel's kids stare

LAND OF NOD

Even the name is cute.

Their prices are fairly reasonable,

depending on what you are looking for of course.

For instance these shelves right here aren't too hefty a price.

They are $49

However . . . 

I made a knock off for a grand total of 

$9

This is a serious savings!!!

So what did I do?

First I found this at the thrift store.

It is a Norman Rockwell plate rack.

It cost $2.25.

Woot! Woot!

Okay, then I ran to Home Depot and picked me up some white spray paint.

I was ready to ROCK!!!!

Here we go . . . 

First, I removed this lovely gold placard.

No longer necessary.

Then I grabbed some 300 grit sand paper that the hubs had in the garage.

There were some spots I had to smooth out. 

I also sanded lightly over the entire shelf.

Once that was all nicely done,

I got down to business and started spraying.

I think I did about 6 or 7 very light coats.

Next comes the molding. 

This molding was .59 per foot.

The hubs cut it and nailed it on, and then he did the touch up painting.

Next he hung it up.

Looking good, right?

Well, there was just the small matter of those little spots
in the middle where the metal placards had been.

I knew I wanted to put a quote there.
Then I remembered that for my MA Graduation invitations
my friend Jenna had found a great quote about literature from
my favorite author DH Lawrence.

If you are familiar with Lawrence's work you may be thinking,
"She put something HE said in a babies room?!?!?"

It's not inappropriate. PROMISE.
It says:
Oh literature, oh the glorious Art, how it preys upon the marrow in our bones.
It scoops the stuffing out of us, and chucks us aside. Alas!




See. Not bad.
I like how it demonstrates the deep emotional connection that can be made to books.

I printed each sentence on cardstock and cut them down to the appropriate measurement.
5x3/4 inch


Then, after like three weeks of distractions, I Mod Podged them onto the book bin.

I had some trouble getting them to be completely smooth.

Any tips for next time?

VOILA!!!
(Yes, I say this at the end of most projects. Why not?)

Some of the books are different because it took so long to finish up this project.

Then I added those final decorative touches you see on top of the book bin.

First, these blocks.
 I picked them up at a local antique store.
They were $1 for the small ones and $2 for the large one.

I know that isn't exactly cheap,
but I only wanted these 5.
Also, I didn't feel like scouring the thrift shops for wood blocks.

I love the way they turned out.

Next, I placed one of our favorite books atop.
I Love You Through and Through

Have you read this one?
If you haven't, I promise it is cute and fun to read with the kiddos.


There you have it.

All done.

What do you think?
What thrifty transformations have you been working on?


*** I have entered this item in Seven Thirty-Threes Knock It Off Contest****
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