A little something more...

I thought I was finished. I really did. But the more I looked at this red chest of drawers, the more I thought it needed a little something more...

Here is the before:

...and here's the after:

I think I like it!

Ravishing Red Chest of Drawers

Will I ever get tired of red? I don't think so. (Remember this other chest?) I neglected to take a picture of this chest of drawers before I painted it, but it was dark blue and VERY beat-up! I used my free sample pot of paint from Valspar (Heirloom Red) and repainted....

I didn't even begin to try to sand down or cover up the dings, scratches, and nicks that come about over time. Instead, I glazed it all with black paint, and then....magically...the once-upon-a-time "defects" just add character!


I didn't even use craft paint for glazing this time....because I couldn't find it! (Hazards of a home with six children.) Instead I just used some watered down flat-black paint. It worked just great. As you may remember from my side table project, I am all about using what's on hand!

Pottery-Barn-esque Side Table

I picked up this little side table at Deseret Industries a couple of weeks ago. It is solid wood, but the details on the front and back are what really caught my eye.

See?

I put my right-hand-boy to work sanding the top down to bare wood. I like my children to be useful as well as ornamental!

I pulled out the spray paint for this project...it was just handier. The bottom got coated in Rustoleum's Heirloom White. The top got multiple coats of stain and sealer...first I used Minwax English Chestnut, because although I wanted a darker top, I think walnut on pine wood goes kind of....flat. It's just bleeaaaahhhh! But if I use the English Chestnut first, it seems to warm up the color a little...then I put on a coat of walnut stain. For good measure, I then sealed it with Minwax Polyshades, also in Antique Walnut. It's still not my most-favorite product, but it has its uses, like on this table.

So it's better, right? But obviously it needs a little sumpin' to make those details pop...

...So I glazed it with the Polyshades. Never tried that before, but it worked great!

Look at me now!

Love how the top turned out!

I think it looks very Pottery-Barn-esque...what do you think?

Cute skirts...with a "whoops!"

Someone posted a link to this Quick & Easy No-Hem Skirt a while back...and I knew I had to make some. I love looking at pretty fabrics, but I don't have the $60+++ to spend on a quilt! I figured this was a good way to get my "cute fabric fix" without breaking the bank!

Shopping at Hobby Lobby, I have been able to make two skirts for about $8. Can't beat that! These are the second set I have made, and I got a little creative and added the tulle ruffle at the bottom.

Here's my cute 3-year-old. She would wear skirts every day if she could!

She tells us her skirt is "dirty"--because it has cupcakes on it! Gotta love a toddler's sense of humor.

Yes, I know she's wearing shoes that don't fit. She calls them her "ballet shoes."

My 7-year-old also got a skirt. I saw a lady in the check-out line carrying this black owl fabric, and although I hadn't planned on shopping for fabric that day, my feet inexplicably led me in that direction...



Are you noticing my "whoops" yet? Well, I thought the owls were in a random, all-over type pattern.

They're not.

See it now?

Yep. The owls are all upside-down! Gah! Well, at least they're right-side up to my little girl when she sits down!

Yes, I could take it all apart and try again...but that seems to be too much work for a $4 skirt!

Spring is coming!

...And that means it's time to get back to my garage!

My husband left town for about four days this week, leaving his side of the garage empty.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

So I filled it up for him.

I am tickled to be back to looking for my furniture bargains! I really didn't know how much I missed it!

In celebration...here's my first furniture project of 2011

What about the cabinet-at-the-top-of-the-stairs, you ask? Didn't count. It was for me, and I worked on it INSIDE the house!

I picked up this little coffee table at Deseret Industries this week. It didn't look too good, which explains why I got it for $10.

I have a friend who was looking for a bench for Touch of Class Photography, so I snatched it up (he does amazing work if you happen to need a photographer in northern Utah).

But this is a coffee table, not a bench. Meh. No biggee. This particular table has iron legs (see?), which seem rather bench-ish, and it's higher than a normal coffee table. And it was $10. It'll work.


The top was good solid oak under the horrible finish.


I applied two coats of Minwax Antique Walnut Stain, and two coats of hand-rubbed polyurethane.


Still looks like a coffee table to YOU? Well, probably, since it's in the middle of my living room!

I guess I should have let my children sit on it after all...

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