French Door Photo Collage

This is by far the most special project I have been a part of. When my father asked for a photo collage of all his grandchildren, I knew immediately what we should do and called my other "Martha Stewart protege" sister, Jessica. She was instantly on board. We consulted our other siblings, who all agreed. 

Even though we all live far apart, we each undertook an element of the project to make this come together. Luckily, we had ample time to prepare and complete this enormous collage. We all agreed to have this ready for his birthday - more than half a year later. At some point, I am sure our Dad assumed we had forgotten. 

Finding an old french door with 18 window panes was a challenge, but eventually the right one came along. If needed, we could have grouped sibling children together for some of the photos. We might have to do this in the future for replacement photos if more come along.

DIY Nautical Knobs and Handles

I wish I had taken more photos of these knobs and handles, but it was an afterthought. I really wasn't sure how well these would turn out. In addition, I almost forgot to take a "before" picture of the dresser! So, most of the handles and knobs were missing when I took the photo below. The top drawers had standard round knobs. 

DIY 3D Portholes

Recently, I undertook the task of completely making over my son's room. I have to say, I had a lot of fun redesigning this room. Even better was his reaction to the transformation. Slowly, I am accomplishing small projects to really make his room pop - like these DIY portholes! 

I originally suggested having porthole vinyl decals next to his bed so it appears he is looking out to sea. He loved the idea. Then I had a conversation with my father, who suggested 3D portholes would be more realistic and way cooler. Why are you trying to create more work for me Dad?(Even though your idea IS awesome)

Rather than go through the trouble of cutting perfect circles out of plywood, I decided there MUST be something circular on this planet that I can use instead. I also researched the web for ideas and surprisingly really didn't find much help. So, this project was entirely all guess work and pure luck. Which explains why I had to redo them multiple times after trial and error. 

This tutorial will provide the basics, optional material and what ultimately worked for me. What I envisioned was a 3 dimensional porthole with material that mimicked glass and rivets as well. The hardest part was finding what looked like glass, but wasn't glass, that I could cut. Clear acrylic sheet! Who knew this existed? Because I totally knew, just testing you. Honestly, I cannot even remember who first enlightened me to its existence, but this is the part where you bat your eyes at someone with knowledge of a jigsaw and ask them to please cut circles for you (or do it yourself if you're so inclined, but I wasn't).

Nautical Dresser with Stained Faux Wood

Let me say, this is my favorite piece of all the furniture I've redone. It looks nothing like it used to. I tossed around a few ideas on how to paint this dresser for my son's newly designed bedroom. Once I formulated a color plan, I wondered to myself, "just how am I going to pull this off?" 

Wooden Boat Oar Hat Rack

What better way to hang your hat in a nautical themed room than with an oar? This was the easiest project for the entire room and really adds to the decor. I searched for weeks for an oar, but everyone selling them in this area must think they're made of gold. I happened to find this one just browsing at Hobby Lobby and it was 50% off, plus matched perfectly. Score!

I ordered a few boat cleats from Amazon and made markings on my oar and drilled the holes I needed for screwing in the cleats. If you do not pre-drill holes, you run the risk of splitting your wooden oar. 

I screwed in three boat cleats and then attached mounting hooks to the back of the oar. Done. Simple, but really cool according to my son. This would also make an awesome coat rack by an entryway or even a towel rack in your bathroom. 

Nautical Sign

In recent years, my son has asked me to redesign his room because he felt that Thomas the Tank Engine was too baby-ish. This year I finally committed to redesigning his room and what is more perfect that a nautical theme when you live on the coast? 

We came across a framed sign at Hobby Lobby that my son loved, with a whale and a quote from Psalm 93:4, but it was $60. Um no. We wanted it so bad though! How cute it would be to hang just over his headboard. So, I thought to myself, maybe I can make one. I turned to my son and said..I will make it. 

Armoire Upcycled to Entryway Mudcloset

I have struggled for years to keep the front entryway organized and neat with shoes, book bags, umbrellas, husband's junk. I really hated seeing it all. It's a nightmare for someone who dabbles in OCD :/ 

My original plan was to make a mud closet...and I did! See my earlier post here where I re-purposed an old entertainment center into a mud closet. Not bad for my first try. After a couple years of constantly barking orders for someone to straighten up the mess, I decided I wanted an armoire to hide the mess!

Distressed Cottage Style Coffee Table

I found this coffee table at an estate sale for $20. I had no idea what I wanted to do with it, but for $20 you buy it anyway. I thought about painting it antique white and actually started the process, but hated it and began again. 

I really enjoy coastal cottage colors, so I proceeded with a soft blue. I made my own chalk paint and you can find the recipe I use here. In most cases, I usually apply 2 coats, as I did with this table. After each coat has dried, lightly sand for a smooth finish using a very fine grain. I use 400 grit. To distress furniture I use a course sanding block. I have a very detailed article on distressing and waxing here. The instructions will show you how to distress, what kind of sanding block to use and how to apply clear wax and dark wax. Speaking of, I've also made my own dark wax!  

For this coffee table I only distressed it slightly. I added two coats of clear wax for protection using SC Johnson Paste Wax. Remember to click my link above for full instructions on how to apply this! 

Now to find this coffee table a happy home!

UPDATE: This table found a home in beautiful island cottage!

Faux Fireplace

I know this is pretty unconventional, but I certainly didn't want to waste a good piece of furniture. This is an old mirrored shelf from an outdated dresser. I bought the dresser to makeover, which is still on my "to do list". These old dressers usually sell better without the bulky mirrored shelves. I originally considered turning this piece into some type of foyer storage shelf with hooks for jackets and coats. I even saw someone on Pinterest who turned hers into a hutch on the wall. Nice! I felt this piece was too heavy for a wall though. 

It is the perfect size for a fireplace however! In the deep south we really do not have the need for a fireplace, yet they are so pretty to decorate with. I love my fireplace just for it's facade. I rarely actually utilize it though. So, I assume others out there would find this faux fireplace convenient. Nice soft glow of fire, without all the mess, and a mantle to decorate!

In all the excitement, I forgot to take a "before" picture. This is as close as I got. I barely started so we'll say it counts. As you can tell I had already removed the mirror. We'll get to that in a bit. 

I used Glidden Antique White latex paint. I found this ready made color in a sample size at Walmart. I had no idea they sold premixed colors! 

Vintage Nautical Dresser

I discovered this vintage dresser at a local estate sale. I had been keeping my eye out for something exactly like this for my husband. Frankly, I'm tired of sharing my dresser :) I bought this piece for $50, which I believe is a very fair price for it's age and condition. It is solid wood and has the dovetail drawers. Nice!

Here is what this little gem looked like beforehand. Built tough, but ugly. This project was a little more difficult than most since I had to consider someone else's opinion on the piece. My husband asked for green and chose his own color, which I agreed with. However, we did not come to a consensus on how to redo the drawers. It took some trial and error (and disagreements) till finally I said I know exactly what to do, you'll love it. Just trust me!

Girls Pink Ombre Desk

I had a friend cleaning out storage and I bought this desk for $20. I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it. I had such positive reviews of the Boy's Ombre Desk that I thought it might be nice to redo this desk for a girl. I really like how my Cottage Desk turned out though, so I decided to paint this desk with my homemade chalk paint. 

Zebra Chair Makeover

I originally made over this chair months ago for resale, which you can see here. After I finished my daughter fell in love with it and claimed it for her own. I bought it for her originally, but she didn't think she'd want something without wheels so I ended up redoing the chair differently. However, once she saw the finished product she realized how pretty the chair could be. Gee, this sounds familiar....she did the exact same thing when I made over the zebra nightstand for her room.  

This quick change didn't cost me much except time and about $6 in new fabric. My daughter doesn't like distressed furniture so I repainted over it with the white I already had on hand from her Tween Zebra Room Makeover. I did a bit more research on reupholstering seats since I wasn't all that sastisfied with how it turned out last time. 

I found some great suggestions from the Little Green Notebook on how to upholster corners. For the most part it worked for me, with a minor modification at the end. I removed the fabric and stapled according to her directions. 

I don't think my corners came out quite as nice as hers and I believe it's because my foam is much thicker. 

I modified my corners to accommodate my thick foam. I tucked in my fabric and folded it over almost like you're wrapping a present. This worked out pretty well for the thicker foam. When you're done stapling remember to hammer your staples in so they're not sticking up.

This is an easy update with just a little paint and new fabric. I hope to redo more chairs in the future.

Distressed Cottage Desk

This desk makes me think of cool mornings by the breezy ocean coast, sipping warm green tea. Complete peace around me, just listening to seagulls and reading a book. 

HAHAHAHA....I wish. I'm currently listening to a medieval battalion attack the Bat Cave in the background while my daughter keeps interrupting me to help her with yet another rainbow loom bracelet. I'm ok with that though. It means they still want to be near me and haven't written me off yet. 

I purchased this desk a few months ago for $50. I got a second desk for $10 along with it and made over that one for my son's room here. I had intended to sell this desk but I think I may keep it.

This is what the desk looked liked beforehand. Not bad, but pretty scratched up. Not sure if it was done this way on purpose or not. 

Homemade Angel Wings

After much debate over this year's Halloween costumes, my daughter decided to be an angel. Great! A white sheet, cut to fit, easy. Angel wings? How in the world do you make angel wings?? I of course Googled this. I found a site with instructions for DIY wings. I went and purchased 12 gauge wire and white pantyhose. The instructions said to shape the wire into your desired wings. The whole time I'm shaping this wire I am thinking to myself, this bends way too easy. How in the world will it hold it's shape with pantyhose stretched over it? But, whatever. The site had drawings and everything, so it must work. Well, my gut was right. The second I tried to put pantyhose over the wire it bent all out of shape....and I'm using my nice language on here. My daughter looked horrified and worried that I could not produce the cool angel wings she so desperately wanted for her costume. 

So after a few choice words and then finally back to logical thinking I decided...FINE...we need wire that doesn't bend? Easy. I have a closet full of stupid wire hangers that I can't stand! I pulled 2 hangers out of the closet and my daughter looked so skeptical and sad. She said that won't look good, it won't work. Wanna bet? Challenge accepted!!

I am going to be as descriptive as I possibly can. I did not take a lot of photos. I had no idea I would even blog about this until I was done and thought holy crap these look awesome!! So, here's what works in real life.

Items you will need:
2 wire hangers
Electrical tape (even duct tape would work)
Pipe cleaners (those little furry wire thingys for crafts)
White pantyhose (queen size)
White Christmas garland
2 feather boas
Hot glue gun
White elastic for the straps
Scissors
Wire cutters

Boy's Desk with Ombre Drawers

I shopped around for awhile for the perfect desk for my son. He wanted a cool desk just like his sister's Zebra Desk. I came across 2 desks through a friend and bought this one for only $10! I gave him the choice of which desk he preferred and he chose this one. The other desk is my next project :) I asked my son what color he wanted and he requested blue. As usual I spent days thinking and pondering my game plan. When the idea hit me, I was immediately excited! The associate at Lowes wasn't too thrilled with my paint request and said he'd duck next time I came in lol. 

This is what the desk looked like beforehand.

Tween Dresser Makeover

The last piece of furniture is finally done in my daughter's room! I am so glad too. This year is flying by already and I've had little time to dedicate to finishing her room. It's time for a break!

This dresser is a home store find we got for $65 a few years ago. It's laminate and not real wood anywhere! So if you sand this before painting, you'd end up with either of two results:
1) Lightly sanded for nothing because the surface is still as smooth as a baby's butt or
2) Break out the sander to cut through and roughen the surface and you end up sanding the entire laminate surface off down to the cheap MDF underneath.

I have done this before when I thought a piece was "real wood". 

All is not lost though. You can still have beautiful results on laminate furniture. The secret is priming! I use Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer.

DIY Dark Wax

Have you ever wanted to try dark wax but can't find it anywhere? Or you just can't see paying a ton of money for it? Well that was me. So I researched to see if you could make your own. Indeed you can! I found a great video tutorial on tinting wax on YouTube.

So I gathered my supplies, Minwax Paste Finishing Wax and Rust-Oleum wood stain in a very dark color called Kona. I scooped out a bit of wax, as shown in the video tutorial, and melted it down on the stove on medium heat. Remember to add a bit of water in the pot.

Once the wax is melted remove from heat. I added 2 Tbs of wood stain to the wax and stirred thoroughly. Let it sit until it hardens once again. You're done! 

You can add a little less or a little more stain, depending on how dark you want your wax. I've also read you can use a black oil based paint to tint your wax as well. Just be sure to use oil based products. 

I used my dark wax on a nightstand to age it. Below you can see before and after applying dark wax. Check out how beautiful the nightstand came out here!

I keep my dark wax stored in a mini mason jar. I can't wait to use it again on another project!

*UPDATED TIP: After months of storage I found my wax to be very hard and almost impossible to work with. I thought all was lost until I tried this...Scoop out a dollop of your dark wax and a dollop of soft clear wax (I used my SC Johnson paste wax). Smash it together and mix really well. It will blend together nicely and your dark wax will be just as smooth as it was originally. I was so glad this worked for my Faux Fireplace project!

How to Distress and Age with Dark Wax

To start off, this nightstand was the first piece of furniture specifically redesigned for someone else. All my other furniture pieces have been for my home. Melanie, my good friend and colleague saw the post I did on my daughter's nightstand and said "I want one too!" How honored I felt that someone would request a furniture piece redesigned for them! So the search began for the perfect small chest to turn into a nightstand with shelves.

This is what we found :) Perfect right?

We discussed her style and wants; dark top, light colored bottom, loves the distressed look and 2 bottom shelves. She pretty much gave me free reign over her piece and said have at it! What trust!!

I thought long and hard about what to do...the pressure was on. I decided to attempt a couple things I haven't done before. Apparently I like a challenge. My husband could not understand why on earth I'd attempt new techniques on someone else's furniture. Well, that's easy. If I didn't think I could do it, I wouldn't :)

How to Make Your Own Chalk Paint

Well most of us know there is a craze about chalk paint. I really wanted to try this out as well. For those that don't know, chalk paint is very different from "chalkboard paint". Do not confuse the two. Chalk paint is supposed to be very versatile, no priming or sanding is required and can be used on almost any surface. It has a nice velvety matte finish that you can add a soft wax to for protection and durability. The original Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is quite expensive and I'm sure it's worth it. I've personally never tried it since it costs over $30 for just a quart. So, like many other budget friendly folks, I decided to make my own!

There are many tutorials on Pinterest or Google for how to make your own chalk paint. Some recipes differ. I chose to make mine as described on the Lowes website. 

What you'll need:

1) Measuring cup
2) 1/3 cup Plaster of Paris
3) 1/3 cup water (some say warm, some say cool) I used cool
4) 1 cup latex paint
5) Stir stick or something cool like a plastic knife leftover from a Frozen party :)

I read many tutorials on how to make chalk paint. Most seemed to use Plaster of Paris, which I already had so I went that route. The sample paint at Lowes is exactly a cup so perfect for small projects like this!

Mix 1/3 cup of Plaster of Paris and 1/3 cup of water. Stir until smooth. Mix in 1 cup of latex paint and stir thoroughly.

How to Update Fireplace Tile

In the past I have posted my fireplace makeover however I did not really focus on the great tile update. Without this piece of the puzzle, the fireplace would not look near as great as it does now. This is the part of the fireplace makeover that I'm most proud of and I want to share this with you. 

There are others out there who have ugly outdated tile (you know who you are) and I want you to know, you can change all that in an afternoon.

Maybe your fireplace is still beautiful but the tile just needs a facelift. 

Maybe the whole facade is terrible and you want a drastic change as I did.

I did a little research before I attempted to paint mine. I thought I was the only crazy person who considered painting her tile. I was wrong thankfully. I'd love to go back to Lowes and show this picture to the guy that looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Why haven't men figured out we're always right yet? It's baffling.