Easiest Craft EVER

My MIL called the other day and said that she had a great little to show me.  Since I live exactly 45 seconds away, I ran right over.  She had created these adorable block letters out of 2x6s for Halloween.  Here are her adorable BOO letters.  This picture is from my phone, sorry it's crummy.

I am a far bigger fan of Fall than I am Halloween, so I decided to create some fallish blocks. Now, my MIL and I are super lucky because we have Herb across the street.  He had a mountain of 2x6s to cut up, and within a day of her request my MIL had her blocks cut and was painting them. Man that Herb is efficient.  She had Herb cut them 6", 7", and 8".  He even sanded them. After she showed me her cute letters, I immediately text and asked Herb for some blocks.  Here is what I started with...

I painted them using plain old brown craft paint.  Then cut my background paper.  I cut it a bit smaller than the board so you could see the brown paint in the background.  I traced my FALL letters using some handy tagboard letters that my MIL had.  I used mod podge to adhere the background paper to the brown wood block. Then mod podged my letter on top.  Done.  Easy-peasy!

I ended up putting them up on the mantel.  I think they would be awesome to make for a Christmas gift with either JOY or NOEL.

Another Cabinet Door Redo

I am really loving these cabinet door chalkboards.  I really wish this one had a larger "chalkboard" area, but I had to use what I had.  I found these doors a while ago at Habitat for Humanity.  They are only about $2.50 per door. I gave it a quick sanding and then I painted it a great color called Avocado by Krylon.  I brushed on some Ralph Lauren glaze in Tobacco and then when it was dry I taped off my chalkboard area and painted it with my chalkboard paint.  Man alive...I still have over half a quart left of that stuff, it lasts FOREVER.  I used my wood glue to glue on that cute little wooden detail at the top, and turned a cup pull upside down for a chalk holder.

All done...this one is for one of my best pals.  Last weekend was her birthday, and I was too busy working on wedding shower stuff for my little sister to finish it.  But here she is...all done!

Second Time's a Charm

I saw this pretty thing at the Goodwill about a year ago.  It was pretty beat up and one of the legs was wobbly.  I saw some potential though, and the $27 price tag didn't hurt helped.  I paid, but there was no way this baby was going in the Mustang.  So, I called up Herb and he helped me bring this gal home.  We rode the whole way home with the backdoor of the van open.  I am not sure what I would do without that fella, everyone should be so lucky to have such a great neighbor.

I brought it home and worked and worked on it, until I thought it was absolutely perfect.  We lived with it for about 9 months and then....I cracked open a can of paint and started again.

I know...it's crazy.  But see, I had originally painted it Heirloom White and I didn't seal it properly, so what was a nice creamy white ended up being more like a creamy yellow.  And creamy yellow was NOT what I was going for.  So, out came the Annie Sloan Pure White.  I painted, and sanded, and painted and sanded....on and on.  Then after I thought it was perfect I put on a coat of glaze.  It turned out lovely.....I am so happy that I fixed it.  You ever have something that you just don't feel is perfect, and it bothers you EVERY single time you look at it?  Maybe I am the only one...but it's done anyhow.  and I couldn't be more pleased.

Lil' Table

Yay!  Another project finished!  My MIL called one night to tell me that her husband had scored some super great pieces that needed a LOT of love.  I jumped in the Mustang and was there in about 2 and 1/2 minutes.  I picked the piece that needed the least love to work on first.  This little gem wasn't in terrible condition, it just needed some wood glue and clamps.  I painted it Annie Sloan Pure White and I am not gonna lie when I tell you I was not thrilled with the way it was going on.  But, I do love that you can sand it smooth as a baby's bum.  I topped it with some glaze in the cracks and a coat of Poly.  The top is stained dark walnut.  It didn't turn out half bad if I say so myself.  ;0)

Here is a chance for you to see what a mess I really am.  This isn't exactly the before because I am terrible at remembering to take before pics!!!  This is more "mid" renovation.

Well, here she is...all distressed and beautiful!  If Santa asks what this gal wants for Christmas, she could really use a nice new camera.

Chalkboard Love...

I am officially in L.O.V.E. and not just with my handsome new husband.  I am in love with chalkboards!  They are the easiest and most fun way to add a little bit of personality to your home.   You can write quotes, song lyrics (my personal fav), reminders, menus, notes to the ones you love, anything...  So many ways to personalize... the list is endless!

I was in the market for a super large chalkboard for a skinny kitchen wall we have and I have been on the lookout for a large pretty frame at the Goodwill.  But the other day I was rooting around in my crafty multipurpose closet and I saw a huge empty frame I used to have above my mantle.  It was just staring at me.  So, I got that big ol' thing out and I put on a fresh coat of Annie Sloan Pure White Chalkpaint (the jury is out on how I feel about that stuff yet).  I distressed it a smidge and then it was ready for the chalkboard.

I ran over to the Home Depot and got a piece of MDF.  My resourceful neighbor Herb helped me use the handy table saw in my garage (that I am still too scared to use alone) and cut it to the appropriate dimensions.  Two coats of chalkboard paint and VOILA...a brand new huge chalkboard.

Up-Cycled Cabinet Doors

I have seen a lot of projects lately using old cabinet doors and drawer fronts.  I love turning something someone considers trash into something great.  So, as it happens Habitat for Humanity Renovation Station downtown has a ton of old cabinet doors.  I purchased a couple to try to put together some chalkboards.  Here is one I made for my sister-in-law's birthday.

Now, this picture was taken with my phone and I had no intention of putting it out there into the digital world, so that's why it is not fantastic.  I painted it some aqua color paint sample I had and then put a glaze on it, you can see the brush strokes up close.  I painted my chalkboard and added an upside down cup pull for a chalk holder.  Those cute little wooden decor things are at Michael's.  I painted it black and glued it on.  It is sitting on a picture frame stand I got from Hobby Lobby.

Now, I also have been dying to try to create a sign I saw here on Adventures in Decorating.  She has this lovely sign in her living room that says "Gather"....I have been looking for something to paint it on and then I thought...geez Pete...just use a long skinny cabinet door.  So, back to the HfH I went and they happened to have one that would fit perfect over my dining room window.  So, I primed and painted it. I put the Ralph Lauren glaze in Tobacco I had left from another project and then used a letter transfer tutorial I found here on Pinterest.  I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out.  I sanded down the black letters after I painted them to try to create a more weathered look, and it hid most of my mistakes. Yay!

Here it is in our freshly painted dining room! 

Goodwill Table

So, I saw this lovely solid wood table at the GW and I thought...holy cow $27?!?  It HAS to be mismarked. But then I saw why.  Someone's four-legged friend had used it as a chew toy.

I bought it anyway, and I had a plan.  I was going to fix it with wood filler.  I thought it was a good plan :0) Alas, when my trusty neighbor Herbert heard my plan he laughed out loud. Not to worry though, it just so happened that Herb had a piece of wood almost the exact thickness of the leg and so he just traced it, cut it out, and then planed it down.  Voila...I put the new leg on and now the table was ready for priming, painting, and distressing.  Here she is before...

And here she is...all white, distressed, and lovely.

Coffee Table Re-do

So, during my lunch break, instead of actually eating lunch I ran over to the GW to see what treasures I could find.  This beauty was in a sad state, but it's gorgeous shape and $9.99 price tag appealed to my senses.  I wondered if I should pay for it and ask my trusty neighbor Herb to help me pick her up, but alas I threw caution to the wind and I headed to the counter with it.  Now when I got out to the Mustang I thought I could just maneuver it into the front seat, but it just wouldn't go.  I have definitely fit my fair share of finds into that front seat, but this baby just was not cooperating.  So, I took the legs off and BINGO.

I didn't take any before pictures, but I assure you it was really in terrible shape.  Someone had apparently tried to stain it, over the veneer that was already on it.  It had dripped all underneath it.  Yuck!  When I applied the stripper to get the stain off,  I literally wiped it off with a rag.  I sanded the flat surfaces with the DeWalt sander my soon-to-be surprised me with and sanded the rest by hand.

I taped off the top and painted the base with Rustoleum Heirloom White.  I should seriously look into purchasing stock in that company.  I distressed the edges and grooves with sandpaper, then applied some Ralph Lauren Faux Glaze in tobacco.  I stained the top with a Minwax stain in dark walnut and sealed it up with a coat of Minwax Polycrylic.  I am happy I stumbled onto that stuff.  It doesn't amber the white like other sealers can.

Here is an up close picture of the legs.  The detail is just beautiful.  I am going to have a hard time letting this beauty go.

My First Post

So....here it is.  My very first blog post.  Well, actually it's not really my first one.  I had to create a blog and write several posts for one of my Library Media classes.  You may be surprised to learn that you need a Master's Degree to be a librarian.  I assure you, it is necessary.  You have to get an actual degree.  Now I have the degree...but no library job.  Someday...fingers crossed.

This is my first blog post about a project I finished.  Now, I have finished plenty of projects.  But this is one I am seriously proud of.  I found this baby at the Goodwill for $29.99.  Now, I got 10% off because I have a discount card...yes...that's right.  I have a Goodwill discount card and I use it so often that I don't actually even have to get it out of my wallet anymore.  (Who am I kidding...I don't put things back in my wallet anyway, but I no longer have to dig it out of that space between my seat and the console.)  With my discount it cost me about $27.00.

Here it is...all finished and beautiful.  Sorry for the crummy garage photo.
Ta-dah...

The top is stained a Dark Walnut, while the bottom is sprayed with Rustoleum Heirloom White. I distressed the legs and put glaze in the crevasses on the legs.  The feet are brass, and I was going to clean them, but there is something lovely about the patina that has formed on them.

Here is the before...I knew this would be beautiful when I walked into the GW and saw it.

Here is the during...now I know what you are thinking.  That top is white.  Yep.  It was.  It's not anymore though.

I was about half way through and decided that I wasn't crazy about the top, so I decided to strip it.  I tried several things to fix what I didn't like about it, but to no avail.  My first instinct had been to go dark on top, Heirloom White on bottom.  I should of just done it like that to begin with.  What can I say???  I like to do things the hard way.  Like my bff Lauren says, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS PEOPLE!!!

 So, I started scraping and sanding away.  Then...I came home one day and lo and behold...look what was sitting on my stripped table...Buster got his lady a new DeWalt Orbital Sander.  He even got her a package of masks.  This baby has 4 speeds.  I am in love.