"Miss, can you tell me where the reclaimed wood addicts are meeting this week? Room 117? Got it, thanks."

Within about 30 minutes of leaving the antique store where I purchased some driftwood for the project I just shared, I knew I needed more. I could hardly sleep that night as I thought of all the things I could possibly do with it. I told myself I'd have to come up with something solid before I could go back and by morning I was set: a shelf. "Honey, let's head South; I have shopping to do."

Just after breakfast we were on the road, off to my new favorite store ... move over Crate and Barrel, there's a new game in town! We rolled into the parking lot and I jumped out the window before Mike had the car in park. Okay that's not true but I did start clapping like a six month old baby when I saw it was open on a Sunday. (Think Pee Wee Herman-esk only with long hair and without the gray suit - emm, still scary.)

After a little bit of hunting I spied a piece I had liked the day before and added it to my pile-o-stuff. Here's the one I took home.

I liked this one because it wasn't straight, and the different curves would give the shelf some character. Since this particular wood was the byproduct of a century old logging business, it had thickness as well (it was the top, rounded part of the log that was discarded into the water; you're seeing the flat side in the pic above).

The shelf's home would be at the cottage we purchased with my sister and brother 'n law. Its rustic vibe would be perfect and with a few new accessories, it'd fill an open space on a wall in the living area (next to my diy curtains and reupholstered chairs, oh yeah, I'm that nuts-o).

Here's what I ended up with: wood letters (r&r, i.e. rest and relaxation), yellow spray paint, brackets to hang the shelf, a picture frame, a matted print, and some extra big fishing bobbers. For tools, I needed a drill and a utility knife because the print was a little too large for the frame.

I started by giving the letters a little mini makeover with one of my favorite tools of all time: spray paint. My addiction to it started about a year ago and is still going strong. It allows you to transform something almost instantly and makes shopping easier as you can purchase something you love but that might not be the right color. For the price of a $3.00 can it's a cheap and easy fix to make something not quite right, perfect.

The letters would only need about 15 minutes to dry so while those were doin' their thing I got to working on the print. I lined it up with the back of the frame, made my mark and used my blade to make a fairly precise but not perfect cut. (The edge of the frame would give me some wiggle room, making "perfect" unnecessary and "close" good enough.)

I trimmed each side until it fit and got it in place. By then, the letters were dry and the bobbers were good as-is. Accessories: check. For the shelf, my awesome hubby determined it would be better to put the brackets on the wall first. Then we could slide the shelf up, screwing it to the top of the shelf (vs. the bottom) which would hide most of the bracket. When we were done, it looked great. Shelf price with hardware: $6.50. Not too shabby.

And if wood like this wouldn't look good in your home, you could try inexpensive white shelving and just touch up the ends with spray paint or craft paint (think white shelving), or you could stain or paint an inexpensive piece of wood from a home improvement store. Cheap and simple floating shelf - presto!

With the picture frame ready, letters a bright cheery shade of yellow, and some bobbers for a little pop of red and "lake living" feel, it was done. This was about a 30 minute project and believe it or not, cost $30 too. Cheap and easy, yet different just by adjusting the size of the print, changing the color of the letters and picking up some inexpensive and unexpected extras.

Now for that ugly white "TV cabinet" we inherited with the purchase of this home ...