Saturday, March 19

Visions in My Head

The past couple of weeks I've been on a mission to find a buffet. I wanted to use it as our T.V. console, entertainment center or whatever it is that you want to call it. Well, I found one for $50. Bargain!

The hubs and I carried that 70 pounder up two flights of stairs because oh yeah we couldn't live on the first floor.  It's $200 more  a month for the same apartment that just happens to be on the first floor. The bargain shoppers that we are, we just couldn't justify paying $200 more. So, back to the point. Yes, we carried this 70 pound buffet up 2 flights of stairs.

It was quite comical. The hubs is 6'5" and I'm 5'5" and I'm not necessarily what you would call strong in the physical sense. Up the first flight we tried flipping it over and over again until we reached the second floor landing. Then the second flight of stairs we did a little by little, inch by inch, pick up put down method. Anyways, we made it to the third floor and into our apartment exhausted but no injuries.

I was so excited about this buffet that I couldn't wait to tackle it. I started sanding it the very next day. The second day I put 2 coats of paint on it. The third day a third coat and 2 coats of stain. By the fourth day it was finished and I stood, head cocked sideways, staring and thinking, I'm not sure this is what I envisioned.

Convinced, however, that once we got it inside and the T.V. on it and the decor around it I would see that it was in fact what I had envisioned in my head.

Wrong!

The hubs and I lugged it into our living room and he put the T.V. on top of it. Again, I stood, head cocked sideways, staring and thinking, No, this is definitely NOT what I envisioned! Darn it!

It was all wrong. All wrong! Ugh! I just spent 3 days making it into what I thought I wanted and it was not at all what I wanted.

First, lets start with the paint choice. I chose white because I recently added some white decor to the living room and I thought it would tie in nicely with that. Also, I thought it would brighten up the space. Next, I chose a mahogany stain. What you need to know about me is that I've never stained before. This was my first go at it. I don't know a lot about staining except what I read on the back of the can. However, it was relatively very easy and it seems like it would be difficult to really mess up. My only problem with this particular stain was that it was way more red than brown. I was looking for brown. Even though on the can it had a picture of the color it was and it looked like a dark brown with a hint of red which is what my coffee table and end tables are. Needless to say, this red wood was not matching with my  space at all.

Still determined to try to make it work I decorated it. Put all our DVDs and games in it. And, as the hubs told me to do, I let it marinade for the night.

As I was watching T.V. I knew that it was just wrong for our living room. It didn't fit. It didn't work and I could try to force it but I was not going to be happy with it.

So, the next day, the hubs and I AGAIN moved it and brought our old entertainment center back to its spot.

I was disappointed. I really thought it would be awesome but it wasn't.

Here's where this story takes a turn. I decided to put it in my Etsy Shop. Within the first hour it already had 21 views. Which, for me, is a lot. Some items can take days to get 21 views. Anyways, within 2 hours someone was emailing me telling me it was exactly what they were looking for and really wanted to buy it. I was ecstatic! This would be the first time I sold a piece of furniture on Etsy. Yes, I've sold a few things on Craigslist but not furniture that I put a lot of time and love into like this one.

Now, time to ship this 70 pounder! Uh oh...

Here are before and after shots and a link to my inspiration which was by Perfectly Imperfect (Awesome!). Have a look~see!
Before... Bleh!

After



Saturday, March 12

Paint It This Not That Results

And the winner is...    drum roll, please...    Turquoise!

Ayyo! (exclamation courtesy of Andy Bernard from The Office)

Which makes me very happy since it's always my favorite. I'll be working on sanding the headboard this weekend and I will get pictures up as soon as it's painted.

Happy Weekend!

Wednesday, March 9

Paint It This Not That

Can you believe the hubs found this headboard by a dumpster? Someone was going to throw it away. *Gasp*


It has a great shape and it's very solid. It does have some water damage that hopefully will disappear after some sanding.

I'm going to paint it but I need your help picking a color. See the poll below and let me know what color you would like to see it painted. Feel free to add your own color.
[polldaddy poll=4689499]

Tuesday, March 8

Friday, March 4

All Things Favorite

Have you seen my all things favorite page? If not, check it out under the Faves tab or click here!

Wednesday, March 2

Jane Austen, Chalkboard Paint and Vases

I wasn't kidding when I said I have a collection of glass vases. I even have some jars. Where did they all come from, you say? I have no idea because I don't even like them. So I'm slowly transforming all of them into something more fun and interesting to look at.

I took a glass jar and a small vase and covered them with pages from a book about Jane Austen. I love Jane Austen. Love her! And my hubs bought me this book for a $1 off a clearance rack and you know what they say, you get what you pay for. I didn't like the book at all. So I cut out the parts of the book where the author quoted some of Austen's writings or said something interesting about her and used them here.

Also, I'm loving chalkboard paint right now and I'm tempted to paint everything with it. Although, if there's anything us modern ladies can learn from Miss Austen it is a little something called self-control. With that said, there is no need to restrain ourselves here! As you can see the chalkboard paint on this vase completes this little collection perfectly. So paint away my dears.



This is a fun and easy project that any creatively gifted person can enjoy and any creatively challenged person can do.

What you'll need:

  1. Elmer's Glue

  2. Water

  3. Paintbrush (cheap one will do just fine)

  4. Chalkboard paint in a spray can (Wal-Mart for about  $3.50)

  5. Paper (pages from a book, newspaper, craft paper)


How to do-it-yourself:

  1. Mix half water and half glue.

  2. Paint glue/water mixture on the surface and on the paper.

  3. Brush paper on to surface.

  4. Let dry


For the chalkboard vase:

  1. Spray at least 2 coats ( I sprayed 3)

  2. Let dry 24 hours before writing on it.


Enjoy!