Jul 24, 2012

Vanity/Desk Before & After

Since the publishing of the post where I showed my refinished dresser, I have had enough requests to warrant the writing of a tutorial.  So, in the next few days I will be describing how I refinish furniture. 

For now, I will show you the before and after of one of the pieces that I will be using in the upcoming tutorial.  This is a vanity that I picked up at a yard sale.  The family was moving and I managed to get it at a reasonable price. 


It is a decently made piece of furniture.  There is a little bit of wooden veneer, but the majority is solid wood.  There was some sort of paint/faux finish on it, even though it may look like plain wood in the picture. 

I brought it home and realized it smelled overwhelmingly like perfume.  A couple days outside in the heat and sunshine fixed that problem up for me, though.  Better perfume than smoke any day, I say.  I find that smoke smell is just soooo hard to get rid of. 

I refinished the top and the drawers, and painted the body.  I used the diy chalk paint version, and I can honestly say I'm not a huge fan of it.  It's too gritty for my liking.  In  my opinion, any time you may save at the beginning by not having to sand is lost by having to sand all the grit off at the end. It does come smooth, though, once you sand it, so no worries there. 



It's a super fun piece now.  I lined the drawers with some wallpaper.  I bought a whole brand new roll of it at a yard sale for one whole dollar.. can't beat that price!


One of my favorite details on this piece is the string of little balls down the front.



So the whole thing wasn't overwhelmingly in your face turquoise, I painted the mirror white.  Honestly, until I went to paint it, I didn't even notice how pretty the detailing was at the top of the mirror.  One thing about white paint- it is good at accentuating details. 


So, stick around if you want to get the low down on how I refinished the top and the drawers on this piece.

Update: You can catch the tutorial Here!


Linking to:
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint Party
PHJ Designs: Totally Transformed Tuesday
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Jul 23, 2012

Recovering An Old Mousepad

Today, I am going to share with you a project that was so quick and easy, I should have done it years ago! 


I have had this mousepad since I was in university.  It was green.  Green has never been one of my favorite decor colours.  Usually I avoid it.  I have had this mousepad since I was in university. It's definitely seen it's share of use as you can see by this photo.  It was a little stained and a little worn. 


Now, all I did was lay my mousepad on top of the paper I wanted to use, trace around it and cut it out.  Then, I brushed white glue (you could also use modpodge, if you wanted) all over the back and pressed it onto the mousepad.  I supppose if you wanted to protect it, you could brush a layer of modpodge over the top. I didn't do this.  I figured it would be easy to change it up with different paper in the future if it begins to show its wear. 

Honestly, this whole project took less than ten minutes from start to finish.  It's taken me longer to write this blog post about it than to do the actual project!

No mouse pad will ever be safe again!  My next victim will be the mouse pad in the office at church, where I am secretary.

A cheap, quick, easy and satisfying project!   And a nice way to add a bit of personalization to an office space. 


Linking to:
It Pays To Be Cheap
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Jul 12, 2012

Pink & White French Provincial Dresser

So, lest you think that I pick up all my pieces at yard sales and auctions... I'm not going to tell you where this found one was found... okay, okay, it was at a yard sale... but this time not down the street, but in a whole 'nother town, ten minutes away.


I have been wanting to paint something pink for quite a while now... and finally gave in to temptation on this piece, as it was just begging for something girly.  I mixed the pink up myself.  It is a combination of a light pink that I used in my bathroom and dark pink mistint that I picked up.  I have to say that it is just the colour I was hoping for, too. 

Pink has always been one of my favorite colours... you can often find me wearing at least one item of pink. 

I sanded and primed the whole dresser first.  Then added the pink and white paint.  I find that the angled purdy brushes are really great for cutting in when you are working with two different colours. I did have to touch it up a teensy bit at the end, but not that much.   I didn't distress this one, but left it fresh and clean looking. 


I lined the drawers with some vintage wallpaper that I have been saving for a girly piece. 



And for those who are curious... here is it what it looked like when I brought it home.  I don't know why people like those ugly plastic handles...This isn't even the first piece I've been bought that's been sporting them. 

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Jul 10, 2012

Ruffled Curtain (Another Laundry Room Sneak Peek)

So, last week, one of my projects was to make a new curtain for the back door.  If the hot afternoon sun didn't pour in there, I might not have bothered, but since it does, I did. (Hope that makes sense to you, but that's how I think).

I had some curtains up there already, but since we were redoing other parts of the room, I thought they deserved to be redone too.  However, the old ones were in great condition, and I still didn't mind them, so I felt guilty going out and buying new fabric to make more.  So, I came up with this, which used up some of my scrap burlap and the muslin, I already had on hand, too.


Ruffles, muslin, burlap and lace to tie it all up.  How can you go wrong with that combination?


Here's a pic of it untied to block the light.  And it is blocking the light in this picture, but it is the only window in this room, so sorry that it's a bit dark.


The room is almost done.  I still have to paint trim, and my husband still has to put trim around the electrical panel. But this week, he is studying for an important exam, so it will be at least a week until he can finish that up for me. 

Even so, it is so much more refreshing to go out there now.  To see a pic of where we started, you can click here.

Linking to:
Southern Lovely: Show & Share
Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday 
My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch Can
The 36th Avenue: Show Me Extraordinary
The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday 
Five Days: Five Ways 
Tatertots & Jello: Weekend WrapUp Party 
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Night Special 
Gingerbread 
Freckled Laundry 
Classy Clutter 
My 1929 Charmer
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
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Jul 3, 2012

Refinished Dresser

This sad old dresser was just waiting for me at a yard sale a few weeks ago.  After I purchased it, I purchased a vanity at another sale.  Now, there's only room for one larger piece of furniture in the back of our vehicle at a time.  So, I had to drive this one home before I could take home the vanity.  My husband wasn't around that morning, so I had to unload this sucker all by myself. That was tricky.

dresser before refinishing

Now, I love the look of painted furniture.  Obviously I wouldn't paint so many pieces if I didn't.  However, most of my own personal furniture is not painted.  My nightstand is painted, my craft cabinet is painted and I decided to keep this desk that I painted (for now, anyways).  So, for a bit of a change, I decided to not paint over the pretty wood grain on this piece and to refinish it instead.   It was a little bit more work, but I do like how it turned out. 

And, here it is all spiffed up!
refinished dresser after picture

The wooden knobs that it came with were not original to the piece, so instead of taking the time to
refinish them as well to match (which would have been quite fiddly), I just switched them out to metal ones. 

Check out the lovely grain in this piece.  If anyone knows what kind of wood it is, I'm all ears! 



If anyone is interested in the steps I took to refinish this piece, let me know and I will write a tutorial. 
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Jul 1, 2012

Simple Way to Display Old Clothespins and Happy Canada Day

My sister-in-law was sweet enough to recently gift me with a couple of old canning jars.  And me being me couldn't just leave them alone, now could I? 


Now I recently shared with you a scary picture of our back/utility/laundry room.  This project will take up residence in there shortly.  You can see our new walls in the background of these pictures :)

I had these old clothespins that I had gotten for free at a yard sale last summer.  I have been waiting for just the right project to do with them, but for now, they will take up residence inside this old jar.

I wrapped the lid with twine... this is actually my first 'twine wrapping' experience... I've loved the look for a while, but this is my first project incorporating it. 


And then, to complete the look, I hung a clay tag around the neck.  So fun and simple, and just what those old pegs were calling for.



This is an Improved Gem Jar... and it was proudly MADE IN CANADA! 

 HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Thanks for the jars Victoria!


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