Entry Table and Chalkboard Makeover

My husband and I bought a home last year, in our home you walk right into a wall right when you come in the front door.  I needed a piece of furniture that was not too wide, that was cute and affordable to go in that space.  I also did not want it to be too personal with pictures of my family in case someone strange knocked on my door.

I finished this project about a year ago, but I got an email from Wood Creations Furniture that they wanted our Color Story for Red, White & Blue Projects.  They inspired me to write this up!

I spent a total of $40 on our front entry furniture plus paint. 

This is the end result....

Now, it did not look like that when I bought it...   This is what the entry table looked like before....

It was VERY sturdy, all WOOD, great BONES, very narrow, $40 and EXACTLY what I wanted except for the color.  My decoration style is definitely Farmhouse/Shabby Style so I definitely need to paint it.   I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the Pure White.  I painted it with two light coats of paint then I heavy roughed it up with sandpaper.    I LOVED the results!

I then needed something to go above the entry table.  I really wanted to do a family picture, but my husband didn't want everyone that came to our door to see our family.   So, I decided on a chalkboard. A while back my sister, Brittany, gave me an ugly picture and frame that she was going to throw away.  I stuck it up in my attic thinking that I would eventually come up with something to do with it.  I decided to make it into the chalkboard...

  I took the picture apart and painted the frame with the matching Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White.  Then I used Chalkboard Paint and painted the glass for the actual chalkboard.   You cannot even recognize it is the same piece!!!

I absolutely LOVE how my entryway looks now especially for $40!!!  The Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is SUPER easy to use!

My New Project-Sewing Hutch

As Briana said in her last post, we bought a house at the end of October and have been completely remodeling it.  Don't worry, I will post pictures... 

It has definitely been an adventure, to say the least!

Right now, I am currently trying to get my sewing room completed.  I have never had an actual "sewing room" so it has been super fun buying furniture for it.  

My most recent project is this hutch....

I found it on Craigslist for $75 and it is one heavy and Sturdy piece of furniture!  I am planning on stripping it and giving it a new white finish!

Here are some pictures of the hutch taken apart...

        

EASY Toddler Bed Makeover!

We recently moved from Amarillo, TX to Mesa, AZ.

During our move my daughters bed got destroyed!  When I found this toddler bed at a yard sale I knew I had to redo it for my daughter.

This is the bed in my daughters room now!  

It definitely fits her Shabby Chic room!

This is what the bed looked like when I bought it... 

Pretty dinged up, but for $5 I couldn't resist.

We were actually lucky it made it home in one piece, because it blew out of my truck driving down the road!!

To redo the bed, I used Krylon Paint & Primer Spray Paint.  I roughly sanded the bed down and then went to town with the spray paint. 

 This bed actually used 3 cans of spray paint.  It was SUPER easy and definitely worth the $5!

My New (Refinished) Computer Table

Years ago, we found this table on the side of the road.  I was so excited!  I couldn't believe that my neighbor didn't want it any more!  So I quickly enlisted my boys to walk down to her house and pick up the table and drag it to our house.  I knew that I could use it for something. 

 For a while, this table served me well as my craft/sewing table.  I always had the intention of painting it and making it look cute, but I just never took the time to do it.  It needed a bit of work before I could paint it.  It was pretty wobbly.  

Fast forward about 4-5 years...

I finally finished the table!  My husband made the table sturdy, my boys sanded it down and helped me paint it and then I glazed it and...I love it!

I can't believe that it took me so long to finish!  One of the reasons it did take me so long was that I remained indecisive on what paint color to use.  I debated over white and black, then turquoise.  But when all was said and done, I decided to use Valspar's Bungalow Gold.  Since we are renting right now and all our walls are white, I wanted to do a splash of color to decorate around.  And this was the perfect choice! 

After the sanding and painting, I decided to glaze it.  I tinted the glaze with ebony stain.  I painted it on and then wiped it off.  I  really liked all the imperfections of the wood, so I left as much glaze as I could in all the knicks and scratches and grooves of the wood.  It turned out amazing and is now the new home of my computer!  

Dresser Makeover using Homemade Mod Podge

One of our most viewed posts of all time is our Homemade Mod Podge.  Now this recipe isn't ideal for every crafting project, but it is a cheap and simple alternative.  
Recently, one of our readers emailed us a few pictures that she took of a dresser she redid using the Homemade Mod Podge.  

   I thought that the results were too amazing not to share, so I asked her if I could share her pictures and story with all of you.  And I was so excited when she said yes!

 

This is what Jennifer said:   "I found your mod podge recipe on pinterest recently.  A week later my cousin gave me a colorful and sturdy dresser for my 7 year old, self proclaimed, fashionista...because she keeps outgrowing her dresser!  She asked me to paint her dresser purple ...but I really did not have the room, or money to devote to the project.  I picked up a huge damaged paper pack at Michael's a couple months ago for a sweeeet price that would really make this dresser wild and I thought that it would be a fantastic time to try out that mod podge recipe.  So on a Monday morning after I got the kiddos on the school bus I started measuring drawers and paper and cracked out the ole calculator (I haaaaaate math).  I cut up my paper and layed it out onto the drawers, (to check my measurements....not to shabby) sanded the surface slightly and started mod podging.   I distressed the mirror using some shimmer spray in the color sunflower, that I had in my scrap-booking kit, and added some paper scraps and a light sprinkle of glitter while the mod podge was still wet.  Next I cut out some leopard print shaped and mod podged them to the top of the dresser in a swirl pattern.  My dad painted the knobs and pulls a nice golden metallic hue.  I sanded the edges of everything and this is the end result...My girlie just loves it!  In total I devoted about 8 hours to the project and spent about $10.  I also gained a new addiction to add to my growing list of crafty addictions...decoupaging!"
Here are the before and after pictures:

Didn't Jennifer do an amazing job?  Thank you so much for sharing.  

We had a reader ask if the Homemade Mod Podge can be used as fabric Mod Podge.  I haven't tried it with fabric.  So I thought that I would ask you all.  

Have any of you tried it on fabric?  And how were the results?  

Thanks!  You are all awesome!

 

I Love FREE!

A few weeks ago on my way home from picking up my boys from school, I noticed this cute bench and a matching chair on the side of the road a few houses down from mine.  I think that I almost came to a screeching stop and put my van into reverse.  Now this was probably quite the site to see because I drive a 15 passenger van!  

Anyway, there was a man outside and they were in the process of moving.  I asked if he was getting rid of the benches and he said that he was going to take them to the dump if no one wanted them!  I quickly said that I would take them.  He kindly helped me load them into the van and we were off.  The benches need a little attention.  There are a few loose boards and it needs a new coat of paint, but I'm so excited!  Wouldn't they look so cute outside with a few pillows?  Now for the big question...

Should I keep them white, or paint them a fun color?

Cinder Block Bench

After finishing our Cinder Block Sandbox I still had TONS of cinder blocks left over.  I wanted to make something that was usable, so I decided to make a Cinder Block Bench for our back porch.  It was super easy and super cheap (since I already had all of the Cinder Blocks).

I stacked the cinder blocks where I wanted them.  I used 1 1/2 x 5 cinder blocks to make the base.

I wanted some cushion for the seat.  So I went to JoAnn's and picked up some 2 inch foam and I picked up some vinyl at Hobby Lobby.  I used the same vinyl that I redid my Step Stool Chairs in. I also used some old plywood that we had around the house.

To make the cushion you first cute the plywood down to the size you want.  You then put the Foam on top and the Vinyl on top of the foam.  Then you just staple everything to the plywood.

I did the corners last just to make sure they looked the same and looked neat.

 The cushion fits perfectly on the cinder blocks.  For the cushions I made covers for 2 king size pillows and several 17x17 accent pillows.  You can find the tutorial for the pillows HERE.

I really liked how the bench turned out.  It is actually really comfortable and is really nice not have those cinder blocks stacked up where my kids can get hurt!

DIY- Easy Outdoor Pillows

I LOVE outdoor pillows!  They add a lot to any outdoor space.  The problem is that they are so expensive.  I decided to make my own Outdoor Pillow Slipcovers.  I am telling you- they are SO easy that you will go crazy making all sorts of outdoor pillows!

I used Outdoor Canvas that I bought at Joann's for the fabric.  Joann's actually has a pretty large selection of Outdoor Material.  When I saw this orange fabric, I couldn't resist it!  I did not want to spend a lot of money on these pillows, so I went to Goodwill and picked up some pillows that were in good shape.  

They were $1-2 a piece.  These pillows are all about 17in x 17in .

 I bought one yard of fabric- one yard made 3 pillow covers.  I cut the material at 18 in x 36 in.

You hem both of the 18 inch sides.

Next, I laid out the material so the sides are over laping about 1 inch and pinned it on both sides.  Make sure the right sides are together.

I then stitched up both of the sides and turned the material out.

Now, I stuffed the pillow in the cover.

You can leave the pillow just like this, but I wanted a little extra feature.  So I stitched on some wooden buttons that I won from a giveaway a while ago.

You are DONE!

These pillows cost me about $4 per pillow (the outdoor canvas is more expensive than regular material).

I LOVE THEM!

Step Stool Chair Makeover #3

If any of you have been following our blog, you know that I absolutely ADORE the old Cosco Step Stool Chairs.  Well, I finally finished my last Step Stool Chair for my daughter!  Here is the finished product.

 Here is a picture before...  I paid a $15 for this chair at a yard sale- I thought it was a little high, but it is in perfect shape!

These chairs are SUPER easy to do!  I just taped up the stainless and spray painted the steps red.  I used Rustoleum Spray Paint (it taked forever to dry, but it is WAY worth the wait).  Then, I recovered the seat by using hot glue, vinyl tooled leather and trim.

Now my Step Stools match each other!

You can check out my other Step Stool Chair Makeovers by clicking HERE and HERE!

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Step Stool Chair Makeover #2

Back in October I posted a Step Stool Chair Makeover that I did for my sons chair.  In the makeover I used some Iron-on Vinyl for the material.  It looked really good for a couple months.  My son, being 3 years old, constantly picked at it until the vinyl eventually peeled off.  So, I redid the makeover using some tooled leather vinyl. 

 Here are some pictures...

I really liked out it turned out and I think that it will definitely hold up better with my little boy.
Here our some pictures of the stool before...

To this... see the makeover HERE.

To this...

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