Refinishing A Dresser

i finally refinished my little dresser! yaaaay!  this was my $5 yard sale find that is now in my office and i'm LOVING it.  i feel like it really completed the space.

this dresser definitely needed some tlc.  it had yellow paint and adhesive on it and it had also been the nesting ground to some spider eggs and bugs... YUCKY CHUCKY!!

actually, the remnants of the spider eggs kept me from tackling this project for months now.  when i turned the piece over i saw this... can you say NASTAY??? i'm sorry but that really funks me out.

in addition to these eggs/nests there was a bunch of random thick yellow paint on the dresser. 

i should stop to say that i was so thrilled to find an old label on the back that dated it from 1964. coolio julio!!  

i sanded this baby down goooood.  i love my little power sander.  what a life/arm/back saver!

and this next part was fun.  i wanted to add detail to the top so i used my lattice die cut and cut out 28 pieces on this funky contact paper.  

 i measured and laid them out...

and i actually debated on whether or not to just keep it this way.  i absolutely LOVE the Stampin Up lattice die cut!!

if you decide you want to do something like this, make sure to use a tool to press down and smooth out the die cut pieces. 

or else it will look something like this after it's stained. bummer!!!

so after that mess up, i taped up the dresser and resanded the top again. 

i used a medium grit and finished it off with a fine grit sandpaper.  i hoped that by doing this, less stain would seep under the contact paper die cuts. 

after it was sanded down a SECOND time, i laid down the die cuts, stained it again, and PRAYED for better results. 

and the end result came out just the way i had originally envisioned!!! yaaaay!!!

 and now here it is at home in my office. 

even with the mistakes, it was a fun makeover. :o)

i'm participating in made by you monday, its so very creative, get your craft on, anything related, show and tell, DIY tutorial, make it yours, whatever goes wednesday, we can do it cheaper, frugal friday, tickled pink, and SNS.

A Minor Face Lift

I saw this great piece at the thrift store for $10.  The top was pretty beat up.  I thought it was too much and left it behind. But during the week, I couldn't stop thinking about it.  I loved the geometric look of it. As I was sewing during the week, I thought it would be the perfect place to store my sewing machine.  So I drove back to the thrift store 5 days later a little anxious that it wouldn't be there.  But it was!!  And they sold to me for $7!!

I sanded it, primed it and gave it two coats of black satin paint.  

Stopped to admire the shadows it cast.

After it dried completely (which is sooooo hard for me to do... waiting for paint to dry), I Mod Podged it and applied one of my new favorite fabrics I just received.  I'm new to the whole "modge podge" thing.  So new that I didn't know I've been mispronouncing it all of these years! :o)  I really liked smoothing out all of the bubbles and wrinkles with a terry cloth covered sponge.

I covered it with 2 more coats of modge podge and VOILA!  Super quick face lift!  There wasn't much to do in the first place... she was adorable to begin with. 

 

 

Oh... by the way... it's finally here!!! My 100th post will be tomorrow!! I'm so excited to share some things I've learned, areas I've grown in AND... have a fun GIVEAWAY!!!  

Here's a hint... if you enjoy blogging and decorating, come back and check it out!!

DIY: Office Chair Transformation

Whew! This week I've been recovering from last weekend and catching up on homework.  Today I finally got back to a quick transformation.  I acquired two of these chairs free from work. Can't beat that price.

They were blah so I picked up some 50% home decor fabrics from Joanne's.  I removed the arms because they were beat up. I tried to take the back off the chair, but it was fastened on REALLY tight.  So instead I cut out the fabric and used my paint scraper to shove the fabric in the crack.

I stapled the fabric on to the bottom of the chair as close as I could get to the corner.

Then I folded it over, held the fabric down, and stapled it.

Then I trimmed the excess fabric.

And here's the quick transformation:

DIY Tutorial: Making a Charging Station

I love my Blackberry, I love my digital camera, I love my bluetooth, but I can't stand all of those ugly cords hanging around. I've been looking at charging stations, but they're so dang expensive.

Here are a couple I've looked at:

Pottery Barn $79

Red Envelope $89.95

I really didn't like those prices.  So I recently found this jewelry box at Goodwill and thought that it would be the perfect solution to my problum.

First, I sketched out where I wanted the opening for the cords to go.

Currently I don't need the opening to be so big, but I'm trying to plan ahead.

I'm not sure what electronics will be added in the future, so I made the opening big to accommodate anything.

Next, I wanted to remove the wood directly below the cover to make room for the jigsaw.

The space also needed to be cleared for the power strip.

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to remove.

I used a hammer to remove the small wood piece.

Then I was able to punch out the bottom piece with my hands.

Now there was plenty-o-room for the power strip and cords to go.

Next I drilled 2 holes in the top so that the jigsaw blade would fit.

Just in case you haven't read my previous posts, I'm blessed to have a boss with a contractor hubby who lets me borrow his tools.

I used his jigsaw to cut out the rectangular piece.

Yummmm!! Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE power tools???

Then I used my chisel to even out the edges.

And used the chisel again to take off the front panel.

I removed the hardware from the front and filled the holes with wood filler.

I turned it over and found the center point to drill my hole for the extension cord to go through.

I used my drill and new attachment to make the hole.

How pretty is that??

Then I just gave everything a good sanding. This next part made me laugh.  It confirmed that I'm definitely a DIY GIRL.  To sand in those hard to reach places, I used something I already had on hand. 

It worked GREAT!  After I was done, I was curious to see if it still worked. 

Yip!  Still worked great on my nails!

Ok... so after the sanding, I primed it, and gave it two good coats of Heirloom White.

Ready for it???

Just a reminder of the BEFORE:

And here's the fun AFTER:

I'm going to look for another power strip that is a tad bigger, but for now this will do.

So a $1.50 investment = A Reasonably Priced Charging Station (and a happy girl)

I'm participating in Met Monday and DIY Day