Showing posts with label furniture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label furniture. Show all posts
Chalk Paint Table
When we moved into our house, my sister gave us a little unfinished table that she wasn't using anymore. In the 3 years we've been here, it has been 3 different colors! This time I used a cream colored chalk paint with greige accents.
My Savvy Sister Chalk Paint Dust
First of all, let me say that this is not a sponsored post and I was not asked to review My Savvy Sister Chalk Paint Dust. I was offered a sample of the Chalk Paint Dust to try with no strings attached. I feel so strongly about this product though that I had to share my experience.
Your Favorite Posts! 2013 Top Ten Posts!
2013 was a long, hard year. Granted, we are all healthy, safe, and comfortable and for that we are always grateful. But we tried to get lots of house projects done on a wee budget, I struggled as a stay-at-home mom, and, oh this and that, whine, whine, whine.
One of the bright spots for us was this blog and for me, personally, reaching out to YOU, friend. Connecting with you, enjoying your comments, appreciating your encouragement, and getting to know you is what drives me to continue blogging when I'm tired or burned out.
And so, in honor of my awesome readers, here are the posts that got the most action!
Goodwill Nightstand Furniture Redo
Jim and I purchased our bedroom set many moons ago. We bought it during a tent sale and there was only 1 nightstand. Not one to love a matchy-matchy look, I decided it was fine and I would come across something someday soon. Fast forward 9 years. No nightstand. Well, until....
How To Make Faux Driftwood
A few weeks ago I showed y'all the microwave cart I turned into a pool center for all of our summer beach and pool gear. I wanted to beach it up a bit so I painted the top to resemble driftwood and I was really happy with the results. It was an easy DIY project that even the art-impaired can accomplish!
Microwave Cart To Pool Center
We are members of a pool club and spend the summer stuffing our bags full of towels, snacks, flip flops, sunblock, etc. to take with us. To help us stay organized, I re-purposed a garbage pick microwave cart into a beach/pool command center!
Table Refinishing, Thanks, and Excitement!
Hi all! This blog post is going to be all over the place but with all good things! First, I am meeting some local bloggers for a day of DIY, lunch, and blog chatter. I am so excited! This is my first blog get together and I must admit I am a tad nervous! What if I'm the only one without a rolled flower necklace or homemade infinity scarf? Yikes. I'll bring my camera though and hopefully I'll have pictures to share!
Refinished Country Table and Homemade Chalk Paint (Furniture Redo)
My sister found a crummy old table out on the curb for garbage and she thought of me! um?? I guess that's a good thing? HA! Of course it is! She knows I like to DIY furniture redos and she knows I'm struggling to put my dining room together so I was tickled to get it! Plus I knew it would be the perfect project to try out a homemade chalk paint recipe!
I'm using it as a sideboard right now.
Rub-n-Buff Inspiration
I've been wanting to make my metal and glass end table a little less yellow and a tad more gold. It had these little brown spots on it too that I kinda didn't understand. So I grabbed a trusty tube of Rub-n-Buff in Gold Leaf and gave it a little more glam! Rub-n-Buff is a metallic wax that comes in a variety of colors. It is exactly what I wanted so I'm excited about how it turned out! I keep looking around the house to see what else can I turn gold!
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| Joann.com |
Here is a picture of what I started with. It doesn't really show the yellow color of the metal. It was more of a mustard color than gold than it appears here. Trust me though...it's better.
Now I'm an experienced DIYer so don't worry if you don't get all the steps right the first time. Patience, Grasshopper.
Step 1: Rub
Step 2: Buff
It's that easy! I love this stuff!
Here are some other Rub-n-Buff projects from the interwebs!
Our Fifth House
Miss Madison's Charmed Life
ReNew ReDo
Hello Newman's!
Hodge Podge
View Along the Way
Jenny
Glass Cabinet Doors
We spent the whole afternoon at the pool and my kids are wiped! We went back after dinner so they got a double dose and now they are tucked in bed snoozing the day away! I hope you had a great day too!
It looked like this when I began. The glass was held in place by very slim pieces of wooden moulding that were nailed onto the cabinet door with teeny tiny nails that only a mouse could hammer in.
You can see the wood moulding here a bit. See it on the right side of the arch? It's boinging out because the nails were rusty, missing, or the wood had dried and split away from them.
I wanted the glass but I knew the original method wasn't going to work for me since I didn't have a teeny tiny hammer or the interest in finding wood that thin, bending it, etc. Nope, silcone caulk was the way for me! I used one that said it was for doors, windows, and trim.
Make sure to get clear as it comes in different colors! This stuff rocks!
I flipped the door so the outer side was on the table. I had a routed lip/ edge/channel in which to lay the glass so I didn't need to do anything to create the lip/edge/channel thing. So I centered it as much as possible in the channel and then slowly ran a bed of caulk so that half the bead was on the glass and half was on the wood. I snipped the tip so that I had a pretty thick bead because there was a large gap between the glass and the door frame.
Then I smoothed the bead with my finger and wiped any smudges with a wet paper towel. I let it dry over night and it was perfect! The glass was held in place and I didn't need to find a mouse to wield a tiny hammer!
Easy peasy. Don't you love when it's easy peasy?
Cheers!
Jenny
I wanted to post a little tutorial on how I repaired the glass in the cabinet doors of the china cabinet I made over.
It looked like this when I began. The glass was held in place by very slim pieces of wooden moulding that were nailed onto the cabinet door with teeny tiny nails that only a mouse could hammer in.
You can see the wood moulding here a bit. See it on the right side of the arch? It's boinging out because the nails were rusty, missing, or the wood had dried and split away from them.
I wanted the glass but I knew the original method wasn't going to work for me since I didn't have a teeny tiny hammer or the interest in finding wood that thin, bending it, etc. Nope, silcone caulk was the way for me! I used one that said it was for doors, windows, and trim.
Make sure to get clear as it comes in different colors! This stuff rocks!
I flipped the door so the outer side was on the table. I had a routed lip/ edge/channel in which to lay the glass so I didn't need to do anything to create the lip/edge/channel thing. So I centered it as much as possible in the channel and then slowly ran a bed of caulk so that half the bead was on the glass and half was on the wood. I snipped the tip so that I had a pretty thick bead because there was a large gap between the glass and the door frame.
Then I smoothed the bead with my finger and wiped any smudges with a wet paper towel. I let it dry over night and it was perfect! The glass was held in place and I didn't need to find a mouse to wield a tiny hammer!
Easy peasy. Don't you love when it's easy peasy?
Cheers!
Jenny
Dining Room and Powder Room Updates
Hi! We are thoroughly enjoying summer and I can honestly say that we are doing a whole lotta nuthin' and lovin' it. Today Molly went to our town's safety program called Safety Town. It's so cute. For two weeks the kids learn about all types of ways to be safe: bike safety, pedestrian safety, fire, etc. Afterwards, we had our neighbors over. My neighbors are the best. They have two little girls who get along so well with ours and we adore their parents. Just cool people. So the girls spent hours playing outside and then more friends came and the fun continued. Molly was exhausted! This is how I envisioned my summer.
I'll be honest. Last summer was incredibly hard. Molly was very unhappy to move so far from our friends and she missed our sweet little house. She hated our apartment, longed for her yard back and for the familiarity she had always known. She cried a lot and struggled to find friends. She would try to meet other kids at the park and get rejected, mostly because they already had their little friends with them and she would sit by herself with her head on her knees.
To add salt to her wounds, she had double eye surgery and was uncomfortable for much of the summer. I felt like her little heart was so broken and I struggled to find a way to help it heal. I didn't do a great job either. I wish I could go back and be gentler on her. Maybe not fuss so much about her bedtime or her hair being combed or whatever.
I vowed this summer would be different. It would be filled with friends, lightening bugs, swimming, and ice cream cones. Today was a great example. My friend and I laughed as we watched 4 little girls come running barefoot out of the house in various dress up outfits (ladybug, mermaid, ballerina, and fairy!), jump off the deck and sprint to the far edge of our yard to hang upside down on the swing set and to later exclaim that they had seen fairies in the trees. I am so grateful that we found not just a house but a home that is now filled with friends and laughter!
And it's slowly becoming a home we feel reflects us. I recently added the doors back onto my china cabinet and now it's complete! You can check out the back story on this cabinet here.
Here are some snapshots of the dining room.
I need to put some stuff up on the walls that is still packed from our move. Eventually I'll upgrade our dining set and get a much bigger one.
I mentioned that Jim has been working on the powder room and I am so excited! We painted it with chalkboard paint!! It's so cool. I am going with a vintage school house vibe in it but I don't want it to be theme-y.
As we progress I'll post more! Eventually I hope to do bigger reveals. Enjoy these snips though!
Cheers!
Jenny
I'll be honest. Last summer was incredibly hard. Molly was very unhappy to move so far from our friends and she missed our sweet little house. She hated our apartment, longed for her yard back and for the familiarity she had always known. She cried a lot and struggled to find friends. She would try to meet other kids at the park and get rejected, mostly because they already had their little friends with them and she would sit by herself with her head on her knees.
To add salt to her wounds, she had double eye surgery and was uncomfortable for much of the summer. I felt like her little heart was so broken and I struggled to find a way to help it heal. I didn't do a great job either. I wish I could go back and be gentler on her. Maybe not fuss so much about her bedtime or her hair being combed or whatever.
I vowed this summer would be different. It would be filled with friends, lightening bugs, swimming, and ice cream cones. Today was a great example. My friend and I laughed as we watched 4 little girls come running barefoot out of the house in various dress up outfits (ladybug, mermaid, ballerina, and fairy!), jump off the deck and sprint to the far edge of our yard to hang upside down on the swing set and to later exclaim that they had seen fairies in the trees. I am so grateful that we found not just a house but a home that is now filled with friends and laughter!
And it's slowly becoming a home we feel reflects us. I recently added the doors back onto my china cabinet and now it's complete! You can check out the back story on this cabinet here.
Here are some snapshots of the dining room.
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| The day we closed on the house. |
 |
| This buffet was given to me by my parents. It had been in the house I grew up in forever and they gave it to us when they sold. The painting is a Jenny original and I keep thinking I will repaint it the right way some day! LOL! |
I need to put some stuff up on the walls that is still packed from our move. Eventually I'll upgrade our dining set and get a much bigger one.
I mentioned that Jim has been working on the powder room and I am so excited! We painted it with chalkboard paint!! It's so cool. I am going with a vintage school house vibe in it but I don't want it to be theme-y.
 |
| What we were starting with |
 |
| We added a thicker, chunkier than usual cap molding for the top as we wanted to feel a little like a chalk ledge in a classroom of yore. |
 |
| We changed the fixtures over to new ORB ones. I love it! |
As we progress I'll post more! Eventually I hope to do bigger reveals. Enjoy these snips though!
Cheers!
Jenny
Summer Dress and Features
Hi all! I have been itching to try my hand at sewing something a bit more complicated than a skirt or pillow lately. So I used a dress that Molly already owned and used it as a pattern! I added some length to it because it was a size too small and then just winged it (wung it? wanged it?). I didn't do a lick of measuring either. I'll never be a terrific sewer because I don't measure. Anyway, she's decided to wear it as a beach cover up. Truthfully, I don't think she's digging the material. Frankly, neither am I but I had it left over from sewing the playroom curtains. You just thought about Scarlet O'Hara, didn't you. Or you thought of Carol Burnett as Scarlett with the curtain rod going through the shoulders, right? HA HA HA! awesome.
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| I got this ladder shelf at a flea market for $20! Shwing! |
Ok so now here are some features from last week's party!
Game Room Reveal
Bathroom Storage
Bathroom Makeover
Rooftop Bed
Limoncello Cupcakes
Thanks for linking up! See you all tomorrow!
Cheers!
Jenny
Distressed Turquoise Table
Hi Friends! I refinished a table this weekend turning it from blah blue to a distressed turquoise. It was kind of a funny story. Jim isn't always so gung-ho about my decorating ideas. It's not that he's not supportive of my efforts it's just that in our long history together he has helped me undo many projects that were good in theory but not in practice. Picture re- sanding every cabinet door and box in our old house because I neglected to prime before painting them black and the paint peeled. He was a good sport and did it without a word but that's just one example. So sometimes I just surprise him and this table is an example. I wanted something bright for our foyer and decided I wanted teal/turquoise/peacock. I threw a can of teal spray paint in our cart while in Wal-mart nonchalantly. He asked me what it was for and I said "Don't worry about it."
Fast forward to Friday afternoon. He walks outside with the AC repairman and sees our entry table in the back spray painted peacock blue. Surprise! To his credit, Jim didn't say a word other than "Painting today?"
I blogged about this table months ago and you can read about it here. Here is a quick run through.
I never felt the blue-gray. Our entry is boring and we aren't going to paint it any time soon. I needed something brighter in there.
I sprayed 2 coats of Krylon spray paint in Teal, sanding lightly between each coat. The next day I used fine grit sandpaper to lightly distress it and then I used a foam brush to coat it with Minwax Dark Walnut stain. I wiped the stain off and let it overnight. The day after that I rubbed on Minwax finishing wax in natural.
I am super happy with it! I don't feel like the pics are an accurate portrayal of the color though. I tried in all sorts of light, with all sorts of camera settings, and it still looks too royal blue. Maybe I'll drag it outside one day.
Cheers!
Jenny
Fast forward to Friday afternoon. He walks outside with the AC repairman and sees our entry table in the back spray painted peacock blue. Surprise! To his credit, Jim didn't say a word other than "Painting today?"
I blogged about this table months ago and you can read about it here. Here is a quick run through.
I never felt the blue-gray. Our entry is boring and we aren't going to paint it any time soon. I needed something brighter in there.
I sprayed 2 coats of Krylon spray paint in Teal, sanding lightly between each coat. The next day I used fine grit sandpaper to lightly distress it and then I used a foam brush to coat it with Minwax Dark Walnut stain. I wiped the stain off and let it overnight. The day after that I rubbed on Minwax finishing wax in natural.
I am super happy with it! I don't feel like the pics are an accurate portrayal of the color though. I tried in all sorts of light, with all sorts of camera settings, and it still looks too royal blue. Maybe I'll drag it outside one day.
Cheers!
Jenny
Guest Blogger: Sarah at Home Sweet
Happy Easter! We had a very busy but blessed day. So many of us were in church that we took 3 pews at church and it was so special. I served a traditional ham dinner and the cousins all played outside all afternoon. I hope your day was joyful!
Sarah from Home Sweet is visiting today while I entertain my family in from North Carolina. I love her furniture transformation and I bet you will too! Thanks for guesting here today, Sarah!
Sarah from Home Sweet is visiting today while I entertain my family in from North Carolina. I love her furniture transformation and I bet you will too! Thanks for guesting here today, Sarah!
Hi! I am so thrilled to have been invited as a guest blogger over on Days of Chalk and Chocolate!
My name is Sarah, and I blog over at Home Sweet. Home Sweet is my little corner of the blogosphere to share the projects (small, large, and everything in between) that I've been working on lately... decorating, gardening, kids' activities, organizing... and also some amazingly cute pictures of the fam! I'm so excited to share with you today one of the larger projects that I've attempted.
These cabinets have been a part of my bedroom decor for as long as I've been married. I inherited them with the marriage:
Yikes, I know. They're mammoth-sized pieces of bad 90's laminate furniture (or maybe 80's?), and they needed some serious love. Or the dumpster.
I like the storage that they provide, though, so I decided to try to paint those bad boys. Why? Well, I reasoned that if the project really didn't turn out, then I hadn't lost a whole lot. So I gave it a go.
I found some great tutorials via Pinterest. Centsational Girl recommended priming with oil based primer and painting with water based paint. So here we go.
After removing the drawers and hardware,
and giving both pieces a light sanding,
I primed them:
And then painted them with my color -- Freshwater, by Sherwin-Williams. First coat:
And second coat. I let that dry overnight, then added hardware. I bought the knobs at Hobby Lobby (50% off, woohoo!) and made rope drawer pulls for the drawers.
Here's a close-up of those knobs:
And how did it turn out? I'm pretty happy with it. Instead of an eyesore, it's now something that pleases me every time I look at it. I guess that's a good definition of a successful project!
If you enjoyed reading about this project, I'd love for you to stop by and see some of the other stuff I've been working on lately:
Thanks to everyone for hopping over to check things out, and a big thanks to Days of Chalk and Chocolate for the invite! Hope you guys have an awesome week!
Sarah
Using Spray Starch to Adhere Fabric
Hi all! I'm so excited to show you my latest project: Adhering fabric to the back of my china hutch! Want to know how to do it? Read on!
So I revealed my china hutch the other day. It's not finished. But I wanted give a little info on how I was able to adhere the fabric to the back. It was SO easy!
First I measured the back of each shelf area and then cut the fabric to that size. Then I held it to the back to check the size...perfect!
HA HA HA HA! That was funny, wasn't it? Hold on while I wipe my eyes. Ok, there. So we all know what really happened. I measured, then cut, then held it up to the back to check the size which was WAY off. So I eyeballed the amount I needed to trim and cut it crookedly. So then I had to trim it some more to even it out. Of course, then it was too small on a side so I had to ditch it and do it again. Except this time instead of trimming it by eyeballing it and I just ran my open scissors along the crease. Perfect! HA HA! HA HA! I did it again! Bazinga! I kill me. So again I had to trim it and then decided it was just fine if it wasn't perfect because really, is anything in life perfect?
Spray starch! You know my mom actually uses this stuff to iron my dad's shirts?? I'm not sure which is cuter...the fact she irons or the fact she uses spray starch for its intended purpose. She's so quaint. Anyway, buy the aerosol kind not this one but it's the same stuff. Some brands call it sizing.
I sprayed the back of the cabinet pretty heavily. It smells purty. Then I just stuck the fabric on top and moved it until it was in the position I wanted. It dries quickly but you still have plenty of time to move the fabric around. Then I just sprayed under and over the fabric, smoothing it out as I went.
The best part is that when I tire of this print I can just peel it off, wipe the back of the cabinet, and adhere something else. If I wash the fabric then I can use that for something else too!
There is so much you can do with this method. As a teacher, my mind started reeling. Wouldn't it be cute to adhere a big fabric tree to a wall and then change out the leaves, flowers, branches, etc. for the seasons? Or how about having kids make different planets using fabric and creating a fabric solar system? Then they could create their own planets and decorate them in crazy fabrics and use it a a creative writing prompt.
I will make a confession. I have a white blouse hat is super thin and gauzy. I tried the spray starch on it while I ironed it and wow, it is awesomely pressed and crisp. So while I poke fun at my mommy, she is a smart lady who irons a mean shirt.
In other news, I spent the day in a great third grade and tomorrow I'm in second. I am finding myself loving being back in a classroom and I am leaning toward going back in September. I'd love to do part time but full time may be ok too. But as soon as I made that decision I changed my mind when I rocked Ellie before bed. I felt like I hadn't seen her all day (which I really hadn't) and I also didn't have any alone time with her. So then I decided I wasn't going back! LOL! I guess we'll see what happens as the time gets closer.
Cheers!
Jenny
So I revealed my china hutch the other day. It's not finished. But I wanted give a little info on how I was able to adhere the fabric to the back. It was SO easy!
First I measured the back of each shelf area and then cut the fabric to that size. Then I held it to the back to check the size...perfect!
HA HA HA HA! That was funny, wasn't it? Hold on while I wipe my eyes. Ok, there. So we all know what really happened. I measured, then cut, then held it up to the back to check the size which was WAY off. So I eyeballed the amount I needed to trim and cut it crookedly. So then I had to trim it some more to even it out. Of course, then it was too small on a side so I had to ditch it and do it again. Except this time instead of trimming it by eyeballing it and I just ran my open scissors along the crease. Perfect! HA HA! HA HA! I did it again! Bazinga! I kill me. So again I had to trim it and then decided it was just fine if it wasn't perfect because really, is anything in life perfect?
Then I got out my new favorite product.
Spray starch! You know my mom actually uses this stuff to iron my dad's shirts?? I'm not sure which is cuter...the fact she irons or the fact she uses spray starch for its intended purpose. She's so quaint. Anyway, buy the aerosol kind not this one but it's the same stuff. Some brands call it sizing.
I sprayed the back of the cabinet pretty heavily. It smells purty. Then I just stuck the fabric on top and moved it until it was in the position I wanted. It dries quickly but you still have plenty of time to move the fabric around. Then I just sprayed under and over the fabric, smoothing it out as I went.
The best part is that when I tire of this print I can just peel it off, wipe the back of the cabinet, and adhere something else. If I wash the fabric then I can use that for something else too!
There is so much you can do with this method. As a teacher, my mind started reeling. Wouldn't it be cute to adhere a big fabric tree to a wall and then change out the leaves, flowers, branches, etc. for the seasons? Or how about having kids make different planets using fabric and creating a fabric solar system? Then they could create their own planets and decorate them in crazy fabrics and use it a a creative writing prompt.
I will make a confession. I have a white blouse hat is super thin and gauzy. I tried the spray starch on it while I ironed it and wow, it is awesomely pressed and crisp. So while I poke fun at my mommy, she is a smart lady who irons a mean shirt.
In other news, I spent the day in a great third grade and tomorrow I'm in second. I am finding myself loving being back in a classroom and I am leaning toward going back in September. I'd love to do part time but full time may be ok too. But as soon as I made that decision I changed my mind when I rocked Ellie before bed. I felt like I hadn't seen her all day (which I really hadn't) and I also didn't have any alone time with her. So then I decided I wasn't going back! LOL! I guess we'll see what happens as the time gets closer.
Cheers!
Jenny
About Jenny
If I can create beauty, you can too! Creativity is within your reach, trust me. I believe that you don't need any special talents to be creative and you only need to have a willingness to try. So in addition to being a mom, teacher, wife, and sister, I am also a creative tryer!
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