Dresser Makeover Part 1

If you have been reading my blog for a while (or if you are related to me!) you may remember this:

This is the beautiful floral dresser that has been sitting in my bedroom for the last 10 years. For about the last 3, it has not matched the "decor" of my room AT ALL. (And I really use the term "decor" loosely, because sadly I don't have much of it in my bedroom.)  I created this floral monstrosity about 14 years ago when we lived in a different house.  It DID match the decor in that room, and I got a lot of compliments on it in the late 90's. 

ANYway...I thought since its now 2013, it was ready for an update!

The first step (and probably the hardest part of the whole process!) was emptying out the drawers and dragging it downstairs. I was secretly glad to do it though, since it forced me to get rid of some things I no longer wanted and/or needed.

Today I started on what I hope is Part 1 of a three-part process:

BYE BYE floral fabric!

ADIOS! Brass handles!

The fabric came off MUCH easier than I thought it would.  I was a little surprised, since I glued it on with a watered-down mixture of tacky glue! If that stuff was too hard to get off, it could have been a real deal-breaker! Now I am ready to start painting!

Stay tuned for Part 2...it won't be long. (Did I mentioned that in addition to dragging the dresser downstairs, we also dragged another older and much SMALLER dresser upstairs for me to use in the meantime? I don't want to use that thing any longer than absolutely necessary! It's painful, but great incentive!)

Patio Furniture Transformation

I'm happy to report that my "quick" project from early in the summer is FINALLY done! Once again, the summer has FLOWN by, along with my my hopes of various craft projects! I'm glad that this one is done, but my To Do list is still very long. (I'm embarrassed to say that I currently have a nice little 4th of July project sitting on my dining room table, just waiting to be finished. But that's another story!)

Anyway. Take a look at my patio chairs BEFORE...

 

We have patio chairs and a table that are several years old...hmm, make that at least 10 years old! This summer our house is 10 years old, and I'm pretty sure we inherited these from my parents the first summer we moved in. Since they had recently transformed their porch into a 4-seasons room, we were the lucky recipients of their patio furniture. It has seen better days - I've replaced many of the straps that hold the cushions in place, and have thought about the spray-paint idea for at least 2 summers.

Moving on...to cover up the rust, and for a bit of a new look, I chose a completely new color of spray paint (and not that ASCP stuff either, I honestly know nothing about that craze!) I went with Rustoleum Antique Brass Metallic.

I started by sanding down the loose rusty spots on the chairs & table, and used about 1 can on each chair.  The table took almost 2 full cans. I have just a little bit left for touch-ups!

Here are some shots of the finished product:

Look who has been checking out the "new" patio furniture!

Thanks for stopping by & checking out my patio project! I'm hoping to have my cute 4th of July creation done before August! LOL!

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Summertime!

Well, school has been out for a week now, and life is slowing down a bit. Last Friday for the kids' first day of summer break, we took a weekend trip to ADVENTURELAND (The closest thing in Iowa to Disney!) It was much more relaxing than Disney, and a lot less crowded. Over my lifetime, I've probably been there 20 times, and not a whole lot has changed. Although they do have a new "waterpark" section - which we didn't visit since it was a little chilly!

Anyway...on Sunday after returning from Adventureland, I quickly made a birthday cake for the new TEENAGER in our house (yikes!) and a batch of chocolate chip cookies for him to take to church Sunday night. Whew!

Monday night was our troop's Boy Scout Court of Honor (They do this a couple times a year to recognize boys who are moving up a rank and to award merit badges). There's always a reception afterward with cookies & drinks, which I did manage to buy a bag of Oreos for. Hey, they were Double Stuffed, and I had already reached my baking limit for the week on Sunday!

Tuesday night, the previously mentioned TEENAGER invited some friends to a movie (Men In Black III - it was pretty good!) and to sleep over at our house. Luckily I'm not a light sleeper, and I missed all the craziness that went on after about 11pm.

Last night was our one "free" night of the week, which I spent working on a new project! I'm so excited to share it...hopefully soon. It is kind of a big one, so it's taking a while to get done. BUT, if you're curious, here's a little sneak peek:

Okay, so that's a little more than a sneak peek, but I'm SO EXCITED for the finished product! Let me just say that spray paint is my new best friend!

I won't be able to work on these much tonight since Sportsfan has a meeting & I'll be taking the TEENAGER (by the way, maybe that will be my new name for him. What do you think?) to volunteer at a local event for scouts.

Tomorrow Ginny will be coming home (she is spending the week at Grandma's house) and next week will be a little busier since we'll be going to softball games again. I have to admit, it has been kind of nice skipping this week's games!

After the big "patio project" I have more painting projects in mind that I'd like to get going on. Stay tuned!

Snowflake Tray

I decided this year that my color "theme" for Christmas would be silver and red. I really liked the silver & red wreath I made earlier this month, so I decided to go with it. And then......I remembered I have two kids who make numerous Christmas crafts at school, church, Grandma's house......SO, we'll go with the silver and red theme as much as we can. Because, really, who can resist displaying a homemade pipe cleaner wreath or a nativity set made out of macaroni? 

So my second silver & red "themed" project for this season was a serving tray. I picked this up at Goodwill for a dollar in October while looking for Halloween supplies:

It was in great condition, and is really a great piece of wood (I usually prefer the natural wood look over painted, but in this case, I had an idea already in mind). 

I started by taking off the handles, and spray painting the whole thing silver:

(I also painted that basket underneath silver - not sure what I'll use it for yet!)

After the paint dried, I took a snowflake pattern (printed off a Google image search & cut out of paper - Hey, anyone out there with a Silhouette giveaway going on? I could REALLY use one of those things!)

Next I traced the snowflake outline onto the tray, and hand painted it with "Santa Red" acrylic paint. When that was dry, I sprayed over the whole thing with an acrylic gloss. Finally, the handles went back on and it was DONE!

I think it will be a great way to serve treats or just put on display this Christmas season - you know, with the "Silver and Red" theme party going on at my house!