Bench Revival

I acquired this bench from my dad.  He built it last year and left it outside sitting without any sealer on it to protect it.  Needless to say, the Michigan weather reaped havoc on it and the finish looked like this:

Yucky, right?  The stain was coming off in most parts, the finish was uneven, etc.  We needed something for our front porch.  Most of the time, we place two patio chairs on the porch, but we wanted something different and since this bench was simply going unused and wasted, I asked my dad if we could have it and if he would drop it off to our house.  He did.  Yay.

Obviously, I wasn't going to display it looking the way it did.  So I had to revamp it.  I sanded it down, restained it and added a coat of polyurethane.  Luckily, the bench will be he protected from the elements sinec our front porch is covered but I still love the shine of the poly.
Here is the end result.  I wasn't able to move it back on the porch until Clint got home since my preggy belly wouldn't allow it.  It was one thing to drag it off by myself but for some reason I couldn't find the motivation to drag it back.  Maybe it was the exhaustion from the days work?  I am so happy with it.  I even made a pillow for each seat. 

I will soon post pics of it with the pillows and some other changes that took place on the porch. 

Two best part about this one---(1)  FREE!  No cost for the bench and my dad brought over the stain and poly.  I had the brushes.  (2)  We now have a comfy spot to rest our behinds and enjoy the front yard.

Kids bathroom project

I have recently undergone some big projects. They may not seem too big for a normal self proclaimed do it yourselfer, but for an over eight month pregnant diy'er the projects I am undertaking are quite strenuous. 
First of all, I have decided to redo the kid bathroom.  It hadn't changed anything since we moved in three years ago with the exception of an ugly paint color that I thought I would like from the oops section of Home Depot and some wall art, shower curtain, etc.

I knew that I wanted to neautralize the space, make it brighter and gender neautral without a "theme".  I decided to paint the walls my favorite color from Behr which is Antique Beige and painted the wod trim a beautiful glossy white. So that is what I did.

I also knew I wanted to make something to hang Jude's and Gwenyth's towels that were one of a kind and cute.  This is where this post comes in.  

I found two of these wooden shields (?) at Goodwill for .99¢ each a long time ago not knowing what I would ever do with them.  I decide to turn them into the kids towel holders.  I started with priming them since they had been stained previously, I then painted them the same white gloss as the trim.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do next and remembered that I had bought some Mod Podge which I had never used before but wanted to give it a whirl someday.  I then found some fabric from my stash and traced the shape of the shield and cut it out.  I printed out the numbers 1 and 2 on the printer and cut them out.  I traced them onto the center of the cut fabric.  I painted in the numbers with fabric paint and allowed them to dry.  Then I Mod Podged them to the surface of the plaques.  I was instantly nervous when I saw the Mod Podge made the fabric paint look dull.  I was hopeful that when it dried it would be bold and bright again.  If not, I would have simply had to of painted over it again once the adhesive had dried.  Luckily, the problem fixed itself.  After being satisfied with the results I needed to decide what would hold the actual towels.  I thought of using a bent spoon or fork and drilling it to the plaque, I also found a know with each child's first initial on them that I thought of using, but then settled on a standard hook for each of them.  The knobs just seemed less practical as they were ceramic and I thought the towels were more likely to slide off. 

The original look of the shields/plaques.  Boo!

  My fabric choice and my primed and painted plaque.

Shield traced onto fabric.

Perfect fit.

Number one traced onto center of cut fabric.

  

Mod Podged to the surface of the plaque.

And for the final result.......

What do you think? 

I personallly love them.  I especially love that I had everything except the hooks on hand.  So it was practically free to make two of these babies!  I plan to hang them behind the door in the kids bath as there is no other great spot for them due to the placement of the towel rack that is in there now. 

I will soon be posting pics of the bathroom and the other changes I have made in that space....so keep your eyes peeled!

Things I want to make/do

So there are a few ideas that I have been gathering of things that I want to make in the near future.  Most of it includes sewing since I have to stay away from my beloved spray paints while pregnant.  Oh how I miss them!  I miss them on a day like today especially when it's getting nice out and there is no wind.  The spray paint calls to me but I must refrain.  I am sure that within a week of the baby's birth, I will be back at it in full swing!

In the meantime, here are some things I am looking to create.

1.  Mr and Mrs Burlap Pillows with insert by Ballard Designs.
These beauties retail for $59.00 each!  Can we say INSANE?  These would cost $10 at most to make both of them.  I cannot wait to pick up some burlap on my next trip to JoAnn's and make them.  Not sure if I will use the Mr and Mrs idea or put some other genius words on them.  I love the earthy feeling of them.



2.  Utensil Holders done by Crafts by Amanda - found this idea via Be Different Act Normal (a blog I <3).

I like this idea for one reason-I have a lot of utensils.  I have tried to downsize or get rid of some of them many times and have a hard time doing so.  I can honestly say-I use them all!  I cook a lot, so I use them frequently as well.  As of right now I have a stainless steel utensil holder that has my go to necessities, but then I have a drawer of others that I use less often and then another space for all my serving pieces, and another space for the grilling utensils.  It's not that they are all unorganized and a mess...its just that they are all in different organized spaces.  If I had seperate holders for each, I could keep them together - but separate in a wonderful way.  I am not sure when I make mine if they will necessarily be in the same type of plastic containers...but I just like the concept used here.

3.  Neu Home Mounting Wrap Storage Rack

I want to better utilize my storage space in the kitchen.  I am constantly improving this problem by moving things over and over again, finding better storage tools that are sold or by changing the way I buy items.  I want to free up some space before the new baby arrives since where Jude's bottles use to be, there are now sippy cups, cups, kids plates/bowls, etc.  Now we will need space for both.  I thought that if I bought two of these it would free up two drawers in our kitchen.  I would install them on the cabinet under the sink and use one for the wraps and storage bags and the other for the phone book that is in the other drawer.

4.  Car organizer found at http://www.themayfly.com/weblog/

I have been saying for awhile that I need a car organizer of sorts.  My vehicle has always been my downfall.  I keep everything else in my life neat and orgaized....everything has its place.  My car on the other hand is a different story.  It's a disaster.  Unfortunately for me, Jude doesn't care about the cleanliness of my car either.  I found this tutorial and I think that I may use this exact one or find something similar.  I will likely make one for each of my seat backs; one for Jude and one for the new baby when she makes her appearance.

5.  Shower Curtain by DesignSponge

I have been searching for a gender neutral shower curtain so I can redo the guest (kids) bathroom.  Right now-it is decorated for adults.  I don't necessarily want it to be too kiddish, but more kiddish than it is now.  That means that it needs a paint job, a new curtain, new rugs and kid friendlier wall art.  Also, I would like to remove the existing towel bar and replace it with a hook for each child at a kid friendly height.  I would like to put an additonal hook above to hang a slouchy basket or a galvanized bucket with their names on it above to hold their lotions, washcloths, and such other things.  I thought that this tutorial from DesignSponge was great for including things that would fit both genders.

Big boy bed?

I have decided to begin the process of moving Jude to a "big boy" bed.  Today I started sanding a twin headboard and footboard that I got for free.  I plan on painted it and putting his initials on the headboard.  It may be a few more months until he moves to a twin bed because we will first convert his crib to a day bed (which may happen tomorrow) and see how that goes.  It will be interesting to see how many times he gets out of bed.  We will be putting up a gate to ensure he doesn't wander around the house in the middle of the night.  His bedroom is well baby-proofed, so no worries there.  Also, he plays in there all the time by himself and we have never had any issues.  I will post pics from the headboard/footboard makeover soon!

At what age do most parents move there child to a daybed/big boy bed?  I am apprehensive about whether I am doing it too soon.

Oops! How did I forget?

As I was revamping my blog I noticed that I forgot to post my tutorial on the Jewelry Board that I made!  I don't know how I forgot, especially as it was featured in my post about the bathroom update.  It has come in handy and has completely made me more responsible with my jewelry.  I use to just set things everywhere; night stand, kitchen island, bathroom counter, medicine cabinet, ashtray of vehicles, pockets, etc.  Now, with the aid of my jewelry board, I know that I have a designated space for these things.  I use the jewelry board to house my dangling earring and necklaces.  In my jewelry box on the buffet below, I keep my rings and post earrings.  It's a great system.

Well here is the how-to:

First, I simply went to my local Goodwill to find the right size frame.  I was lucky enough to find this hideous painting of geese flying over some Fall trees.  The painting was ugly, but the frame was just the right size I was looking for.  I painted it the same Caribbean Blue color I used on the handles of the buffet I refinished.

Next, I had to gather my supplies.  Luckily, they were all items I had on hand or could borrow from others.

I needed some thin batting and a piece of fabric large enough to fit over the backer board of your frame. You could also cut a piece of thicker cardboard to fit and cover that.  Also, I needed a staple gun, a regular stapler, scissors, staples, wire cutters and chicken wire. 

I simple cut the batting large enough to wrap around the painting that was inserted.  I used a regular stapler to stable it around the edges.  Make sure you stay close to the edge as they may show depending on the lip on the frame.  I cut off any excess batting that I could.

Next, using the wire cutters, I snipped the chicken wire to size and wrapped it around tightly.  I pushed the board back into the frame and used the staple gun to to staple all the elements into the frame.  The staples must be long enough to penetrate though the painting/board, batting and fabric but short enough that they do not go through the visible side of the frame.  Unfortunately, I didn't take this into consideration when I was doing this and there was some damage done to the visible side.  Also, as I was stapling I made sure I was securing the chicken wire down at the same time.  Once it board is staple gunned in place, snip off any excess wire that may be sticking out.  Be careful as the chicken wire has sharp pointy ends!

Here is the finished product!

Before                                       After

And here it is with my baubles on display.

Bathroom Spruce-up Part 1

I have been working on revamping our master bathroom. When we first moved in the walls were just plain white. One aspect that I love about this bathroom is that there is a full size closet in it (that I installed a closet system in) with a dressing area in front of it. That makes it so convenient but til now, I wasn't properly utilizing the space. I had my jewelry and hair ties scattered everywhere, my belts in a tub, towels on a rack that I didn't love and toiletries completely unorganized. Now, it is a much more functional space.

I purchased and painted this paint quite some time ago from Home Depot's oops paint! I always get lucky with the oops paint. In fact, all three of our bathrooms are done with it and so is Jude's room. At $5.00 a gallon, you can't beat it!

Anyways, the buffet I got for free and refinished was placed along the left wall. I hung the jewelry board I made from a $1.99 Goodwill frame above it and hung some of my earrings/necklaces/rosary on it. I placed two dishes I received from my mother in law on top. They each contain a shade of blue or aqua that makes it work in the space. One contains all of my (and some of Clint's) smelly goods (perfumes/lotions) and the other holds some decorative items. There is a silver holder from Pottery Barn that I use for q-tips and also some capiz shell accessories as well.

There are a few things that I still need to do on the dressing room side of the bathroom.

• Crown molding (entire bathroom)
• Hang a chandelier
• Sew a chair pad for the stool pictured on the right
• Buy/Sew and Hang drapes
• Refinish other two frames bought at Goodwill to hang on either side of jewelry board

As for the other half of the bathroom, an update will surely follow (hence the "Part 1" in the title). I have plans on painting a two-tiered basket that I got yesterday at a garage sale for .25 and hanging it outside the bathtub/shower. It will house some washcloths, soap and bath salts within arms reach. Also, the towel warmer will be moved to a more appropriate position right next to the bath in lieu of the towel holder that I spoke of previously that I didn't love. I will be repainting the magazine holder to match the new decor and accessories.
My dream would be to rip out the existing tub/shower combo and just make it into a large tiled shower with a bench. It would better suit our needs as we rarely take baths in there and have another bathroom in our home that has a bath tub. Also, it would be more spacious for two people. When we do get to the point where we do pursue this idea, we will also redo the floors and add radiant heating.
Well here are pics of the dressing area. I don't have a before, but just imagine an empty space of white walls.

A sneak peak.....

Here is a sneak peak at my latest project. I finished it in the wee hours of the night over the weekend and am happy with the end result. There are a few silly mistakes that I made (which I will go over when I post my tutorial), but overall it turned out presentable and I am happy with it.

It will be used to hang my jewelry on. I need to purchase some small "s" hooks for my necklaces and bracelets, but my earrings will hook right onto the chicken wire with ease.

Details to follow.

Buffet Makeover (pt. 1)

It's been a long process...but it is finally almost complete. It's taken quite a while since I am only able to work on my projects in shifts....and those shifts revolve around balancing work, the upkeep of the house, cooking dinner and a very energetic 15.5 month old and his naps.

I sanded, primed and painted the buffet that I scored for FREE at a garage sale early this summer. I think that it turned out amazing. The piece was outdated and simply an eyesore before the transformation. It was dark and rustic which wasn't the look I was going for at all. The new one is fresh and vibrant. I actually even repainted all the hardware with spray paint in a Bahama Sea color. I considered swapping colors and making the buffet the bold color and the hardware the almond color, but knowing that I get sick of things easily, I decided I should save myself the trouble. I know that had I done it in the Bahama Sea color that within a few months, I would be shopping for a new color to repaint it.

Here is a look at the colors up close. I don't know why...but I tend to always go with the Krylon brand. It covers so well, dries fast and I love that you can switch the angle of the nozzle.

I got a great idea while preparing to paint the screws. I wanted to paint the screws because they would all visible...but I did not want to get paint on the anchor portion because I thought that the buildup of paint would be a mess when I replaced the hardware on the piece. I sure as heck didn't have time to tape them all off....so this was my solution.

I found an old piece of cardboard from the hose I purchased for Clint awhile back and poked them through. It worked like a charm and was proud of myself for being so resourceful.
I want you to remember what it looked like originally. See what I mean...yuck! I do appreciate that its real wood and is a solid piece though!

Now---for the after. Still a solid piece, but fresh and much more current. The blue is much more teal/Carribean in person.

The only thing that I have left to do to is refinish the backer board. If I set this buffet against the wall now, you would see the wall behind it when you open the doors. I removed the backer board because I plan on covering it in a coordinated wallpaper, fabric or wrapping paper. I want it to look cute even when its doors are open.
I have also been debating whether I wanted to get a stencil and do a design on the sides of the buffet. We'll see. You'll have to wait for pt. 2 to find out what I decide.

Garden Bridge---complete!

First things first, my dad constructed the Garden Bridge for me and brought it over Tuesday night. It was SO heavy. It is quite large because I decided I wanted it big enough to drive the riding mower across in case Clint wanted to start using that instead of push mowing that side of the yard. The lumber my dad used was just stuff he had left over from previous projects so it was a little rough in some areas. I decided to sand it by hand to get rid of some discolorations, flaws, etc. I had decided earlier that day that I would put Jude to bed about 45 minutes early so that I would have some day light left to get it sanded and stained. Putting him to sleep went perfectly, as it usually does. I retreated to the garage with the baby monitor to gather my supplies (stain, sanding wedge, rag, paintbrush)...until I realized after searching for about 15 minutes that the paint brushes were not in their usualy place and that Clint must have moved them. Obviously, I couldn't call and ask him where they were, so I called my wonderful father in law who was kind enough to bring one over. I literally had about 10 minutes left to get it stained. It turned out wonderful. I have all the lumber to construct the side rails but am unsure now if I want to put them on because I like the way that it kind of blends into the yard. Maybe I will for a few years until I feel comfortable with Jude not falling over the side since I can always remove them later. We'll see.

Here is a photo of it in the yard now without the side rails.

Happy Father's Day

I always thought that Independence Day would always be my favorite holdiay. I don't know what it is exactly about it that I have always loved...but its the feeling I get when it approaches and arrives that has always made it my favorite. I think that its the romance potential that it holds and the nostalgic and historical meaning behind it that really makes it special. Now that I am a parent, Indepence Day has taken a back seat to Mother's and Father's Day. Who would have thought that these holidays could change in meaning so dramatically? Although I think that parents should not just get one day per year to honor them or tell them how special they are, I think its a great way of saying "here is a day just for you". It's more than just a Hallmark holiday.

Unfortunately, my husband is out of town this year (only his 2nd Father's Day) for a class he must complete for his Master's program in Traverse City, MI. He left yesterday and won't return until this coming Friday! I hate that he is away, but glad that I will be able to complete a great project for him while he is away. I decided to work over the weekend so that I only had to work two days during the week so that I could work on the project and have it completed before he returns.

We have a narrow creek that runs through our back yard and since we moved in over three years ago, we have talked about putting in a garden bridge to go over it so we can cross from one side of the yard to the other. This would eliminate having to "hop" over it every time we want to cross and would save Clint the hassle of trying to get the push mower over since he can't get the rider over. My husband isn't handy, at all. Therefore, I thought that with my dads help of getting all the wood cut--I could knock this project out and have it in place before Clint returns. I am trying to think of a way to make it special and commemorate that it was a Father's Day gift but am undecided. I was thinking that I would carve our son Jude's initials into one of the posts, that way we can add to the post as we add children to our family, but am still brainstorming ideas.

I am so blessed to have found such a wonderful husband who happens to be an excellent father. Hopefully he will love his gift and know how much love went into it.

Wish me luck on this project. Here are a few ideas of what I am looking to create.

I like the simplicity of this one but unsure of how safe it would be with a one year old.

I really like this one but would like more of an arch.

Projects in the works

If you don't know this about me already...you must know now. I love garage sales...and finding great deals. I am very excited to say that already this garage sale season, I have scored some GREAT deals! Three noteable purchases were a bookshelf for Jude's room, a wingback chair that I am hoping to recover and a buffet made of solid wood that I would like to put in the dining room or masterbath.

My plan was to sand and paint the bookcase for Jude's room as it is very old, but because his books were all over the place, I immediatly shoved the books on the shelf in his room....and decided to put it on hold til I had more time. I found this piece at a sale covered with other little figurines. It wasn't actually for sale--they were using it to display other things that had for sale. (I didn't know this at the time). So when I asked "how much"?, the lady threw out $2, and I was sold!

Perfect size for his books!

Reading a few books before bed time.

The wingback chair was a great deal. I was looking for a "project chair" to recover since I am a beginner sewer and was looking for a reupholstery project. I found this chair at a subdivision sale in Flushing, MI for $10. For now, it is in the garage waiting for me to choose the perfect fabric and spot to place it. I am thinking that it will go into Jude's room when I remove the rocking chair that I use in there now. Otherwise, I was going to make a "reading" space for myself in our spacious master bedroom.

It looks so comfortable but needs work to look fabulous.

As for the buffet, I got it for FREE! What is better than that? I went to a garage sale my aunts new husband was having and I asked how much he wanted for it since it wasn't priced....and he said I could just have it since it was given to him and he just used it in his garage to store some extra tools! How wonderful!

A solid wood buffet for FREE!

That is three pieces of furniture for a mere $17. Others junk (if it can be tastefully redone) is another person's treasure!