Wall Collage

In our living room above the couch there is a big blank wall.  It has remained blank since we have moved in.  We just didn't know exactly know what to put there so we just left it alone.  We couldn't decide between a big painting/picture or lots of little ones.  Lame.  

So thanks to Pinterest we were able to see our ideas put into action.  By the way...do you follow me on pinterest? 

I found the frames at Hobby Lobby and they already had the white mattes in them!  Yay!  I waited until they were 50% off and luckily they had exactly six.

I printed out our 8x10 black and white photos from Snapfish because I had found a coupon code so I only had a to pay a few bucks for them.  I went with black and white because I wanted them all to be subtle and I thought with color photos it would be too vibrant.

 

Check out our leather ottoman!  We scored that bad boy on Craigslist.

Closet Furniture

I found this piece on Craigslist and loved the shape of it instantly.  My sweet Hubs drove about 35 minutes with me to go pick it up.  We took the dog too, it was a family affair.  Loved the piece, loved the price, loaded it up!  

We bought it to use for extra storage in our closet.  It does make me kind of sad that it will be in there where no one will see it but oh well.  It was this aged funky yellow color when we bought it.  Notice the top is a white laminate material.  I just sanded it a tad (just enough to rough it up), primed it with a roller, and painted it with a roller.  Before doing all of that though I did remove the hardware.  I didn't want to spend extra money on hardware because I kind of liked the way the existing hardware looked.  I just gave it a little makeover with some white spray paint.

For the paint color I had some oops paint left over from our master bath and nightstands.

I was going to remove my hair tools and the hubs' stuff off the top but I thought I would just keep it real!  It's our closet...it's not all that glamorous. 

Nightstand Redo

I found this nightstand on Craigslist for a great price.  When I emailed the guy he wanted to meet somewhere so I had him meet me at my work.  Easiest purchase ever!  All I had to do was sit at work and work while waiting for him and he dropped it off for me!  Score! 

This project took place back when I was 7 1/2 months pregnant so the husband was feeling sweet and sanded the heck out it since it was pretty beat up.  After he did the hard part I primed it using spray paint primer.  Then I painted it with some white paint and a roller.  Apparently I was using a super cheap roller and it looked horrible so I just took a paint brush to it for 2 coats.  I also found the knobs at Hobby Lobby.

Here it is in it's nice little spot in our guest bedroom.  

 The run down-
Bedding: Marshalls
Headboard: Goodwill
Curtains: IKEA
Nightstand: Craigslist
Lamp: Homegoods
Tray: Goodwill
Pineapple: Yard Sale
Ponytail Plant: Gift
Pot: Ross

Old Dresser turned Changing Table

I found this old dresser on Craigslist and the seller just so happened to live down the road from our church.  We stopped by after church and picked it right up!  We had been searching for a dresser that we could turn into a changing table.  We researched the different size changing pads to make sure it would fit and still have room for a lamp and a little basket of other changing essentials.  The goal was to keep the entire project under $50.

 

  Sold for $20!!!

The original plan was to paint the dresser a fun turquoise blue color but as Hubs and I were sanding we discovered that this piece was completely solid wood.  It's kind of rare that the top would be wood (how much wood would a woodchuck chuck...) because usually when you find lower price pieces the top is MDF or press board.  So we sat there for a minute (or ten) and decided it would be more economical to stain it a similar color to the crib. 

I applied a wood conditioner with a brush and let it dry for about 30 minutes or so.  Then I applied a Polyshade by Minwax with my new Purdy brush.  (Like all that name dropping?)



The key is to use long strokes so you don't have lines.  I love using Polyshades because then you don't have to go back at the very end and do a coat of polyurethane.  I ended up doing 3 coats total to get it to the color I wanted.

 (like all the junk?  Just keepin' it real)

Then began the hardware saga.  My original plan was to go with something like this:

It was 2 1/2 inches long.  Bought 8 of them, hubs went to put them on, they don't fit.  Then I bought ones like this in 3 inch:

 

Then I went to put those on and guess what, yup, you're right, they didn't fit either!  BLAST!

I remeasured the holes from the previous handles and found out that the space between them was 2 3/4 inches.  I didn't remember seeing that option in the store so to Google I went.  Come to find out a lot of furniture made in the 1960s used that size and they don't really make them anymore.  DOUBLE BLAST!

Back to the drawing board.  I guess the original hardware isn't that bad, kind of looks like it wants to be Greek Key?  Maybe?  If you look really hard?  So I devised a plan involving Rub n Buff. 

I used Silver Leaf and Spanish Copper.  In the past I had only used Silver Leaf but I didn't want it to look soooo silver.

I had never mixed 2 colors of Rub N Buff together before so I followed this tutorial.  For some reason the RNB got clumpy and didn't dry correctly.  Maybe it's due to the metal I was applying it to or maybe it was operator error?  So I used the Deglosser and removed all of it and then just mixed the 2 colors of RNB together and applied it by hand (with a glove on of course).  After it sat for a few hours I took a rag and buffed it.  This was easier for me and seemed to work quite well.

Ahhhhh (not just saw a shark Ah but rather noise you make after drinking a glass of pink lemonade).  Much better. 

Cost Breakdown:

Dresser- $20

Rub N Buff- $2 (had to buy the copper, already had the silver)

Stain- already had

Wood Conditioner- already had

TOTAL COST: $22

Accidental Craigslist FINDS

My good friend, Melody has been looking for a new dining room table on Craigslist.  She finally found the one she wanted but knew it was going to take some coaxing as far as the hubs was concerned.  She was sweet enough to invite my husband and I to go look at the furniture with them.  Not only was the dining room set GORGEOUS, but the lady was moving and was getting rid of a bunch of other furniture too.

Here is Melody's new dining room set. 

                                                 Check out those amazing chairs!!!

 

It was posted for $350 OBO...so Mel went the OBO route and got it for $275!!! She got the dining table with 6 chairs and 2 leaves, a china cabinet, and a buffet.  So far the plan is to paint it all an antique white and make some cushions for the chairs.  I cannot wait to start helping her with it!

My finds consisted of 2 vanities, a desk, a cabinet/nightstand/sidetable, and an amoire.  I will end up keeping 1 of the vanities for my bedroom and then selling the other one in the booth.  I'm also planing on selling the desk.  The amoire will be going in our bonus room to house all of my crafting supplies.  Here they are a few of the finds I could get good pics of (the garage is a bit cramped right now):

Be still my heart...

Note to self: NEVER EVER LET KIDS PLAY WITH STICKERS UNATTENDED

DIY Chest of Drawers

Here is the chest of drawers I showed you in the craigslist post.  

I removed all the handles and took the drawers out.  I then sanded the whole thing.  There were some parts that were the "pressed board" type stuff (I don't really know the technical name) so I just roughed those up a little bit.  I then primed it and let it dry for about an hour...just to be sure.  Then I painted it with your typical black paint.  I used a satin finish.  It is actually from the same gallon I bought for the table.  I bought all new hardware at Lowe's and I'm kind of partial, but I really think it makes the piece.

The little white pineapple on top was quite a deal.  It was FREE!  I forgot to take a before picture so you are just getting the after (sowwy).  Mrs. DeVore and I had the ultimate thrifting/yardsale/fun day.  It was a "great success" (said in a Borat voice).  We showed up to one of the yard sales late and apparently the neighborhood was going to have a donation service come and pick up the stuff that didn't sell so they put it at the end of the driveways.  I know what you're thinking....and yes we did it.  We dug through the bags at the end of the driveways.  I got a Tupperware 9x14 cake container for free, a basket, and the cute pineapple!  The embarrasing part it the guy that lived at the house came outside while we were snooping through his stuff.  Whoops.

I spray painted the pineapple white to go more with my decor.  It actually has a candle inside but I painted it shut.

 

I also found the book on top at Goodwill for $1.39.  Not only does it make me look studious it goes with the whole red and black thing.

These little guys also live on top of the new piece.  They are succulents called "Hens and Chickens".  Why you ask...well I have no idea.  You'll have to Google that and let me know.  You just break off the leaves and set them on top of dirt and they grow!  It's a pretty amazing thing.  I love the color and well, think they are just darn cute.

Stay tuned for more posts that are related to the best thrifting/yardsale/fun day ever!

Craigslist

I have a love/hate relationship with Craigslist.  I get SO excited when I find that perfect piece of furniture I have been looking for.  I LOVE when I find it, I HATE when it's an hour away or the ding dong person so kindly selling their stuff won't email you back. Even though Craigslist plays with my emotions I still spend a great deal of time checking it.  Here are a couple of my latest finds.

A side table for in the living room or maybe the bonus room.  I fell in love with it because it reminded me of my grandparents house.  They had one very similar and we would always open the doors and inside were games!  I'm not quite sure how I'm going to redo it yet.  Paint, stain?!

A chest of drawers.  I know exactly what I'll be do with this little guy.  Sneak peak: it's going in the kitchen!