[completed] painted toy chest

Awhile ago, I bought (for $10) a toy chest that had been spray-painted a primary blue. Not my color. I recently (finally) repainted the chest. I went with Valspar's Notre Dame, which is a light silvery gray, for the exterior of the toy chest.

... And Valspar's Orange Slice for the inside!

When the chest is in the sun, the interior practically glows. Like a treasure chest in a cheesy movie. It's awesome.

I'll probably be taking this chest to the craft fairs I'm attending to help display some of my quilts and crafty things. And aside from that, it will be used to store all the quilts that don't sell!

[completed] diy kitchen island

DIY island

Today, Adam and I (and a few friends) finally finished our DIY kitchen island! I put the final touches on the paint this morning, and then just now we (and the friends) put the huge piece of granite onto the island body. We definitely needed the extra assistance to move and maneuver the heavy heavy granite.

The process was (fairly) simple. We bought a unfinished sink base cabinet, attached caster wheels to the bottom of the cabinet (which involved adding some wood to the bottom of the cabinet to attach the wheels to), put unfinished end panels on the sides and the back, attached a toe kick to the front bottom of the cabinet, put corner molding around the back and front bottom corner to hide the edges of the end panels and toekick, primed and painted the island three different colors (chalkboard black for the back, Valspar Mountain Smoke for the sides and front, and Valspar Wet Pavement for the drawers and door fronts).

chalkboard back

The granite was purchased from a local rock shop, after looking at multiple granite shops (and getting $800-900 estimates) and the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore (which had $20 granite remnants but no pieces big enough). At the local rock shop, we got a finished piece (64"x34") with demi-bullnose edges for exactly $300. It was so-o worth it - it looks about a million times better than laminate would have, and was not that much more expensive. Our piece came from a remnant. I wanted a lighter piece of granite, since the kitchen is already covered in black, and I liked that this tan-gold piece had flecks of black and grey in it. Also I loved the giant stripe that runs through this piece.

striped granite

Grand total: Less than $600 for a giant custom DIY kitchen island.

Compare that to the $1000+ premade, less than ideal, assembly-required islands, and I think we did pretty well. Plus it was fun to have a project to work on with Adam!

More pictures to come!

staining failure

You know how every DIY looks amazing on the internet? Well, today I am sharing a failure instead of a finish.

I decided to stain my new desk Minwax Charcoal Gray. I got excited, bought all the stuff, and started as soon as the weather hit 65F today.

And this was the result:

blotchy

uneven

stain

I followed this tutorial (which also featured Minwax Charcoal Grey stain), and as far as I can tell, I did everything right. Yet the results were awful. The texture of the wood shows through way too strongly, the color is way too dark (and blue, for some unfathomable reason), and the finish is terribly uneven.

As you can see, I didn't even bother finishing staining the legs or underside of the desk. I am going to switch to primer and paint and polycrylic for this project. No more stain for me.

It's frustrating and sad - a waste of time and resources and materials. But I am determined to fix this project (after all, this is a custom desk made just for me!). I just need to be patient and let the stupid stain dry so I can paint over it.

Not all DIY projects go swimmingly. I'm chalking this one up to experience. Adam told me of a great saying his mother used to repeat: "Adults have experience because they've done it wrong once".

So there you go.

[completed] sewing room paint job

Yesterday, Adam and I and a friend of his finished painting my sewing room. The lower portion of the walls are the same navy blue that they were originally, and the upper portion of the walls are from a $5 one-gallon mistint of Valspar's "Yachtsman". Adam was concerned that there wouldn't be enough paint, since we used a gallon and a half for our bedroom, but we had plenty. The high-hiding primer from Valspar did such an excellent job that we only need one coat and some second coat touchups of the wall color.

"Yachtsman" turned out to be more blue than I expected (the sample on top of the can looked gray), but it looks great with the navy and the white chair rail. I love it - it's such a calming color.

Today, Adam changed out all the painted-over outlets and light switch for me. The faceplates were nice already, but the outlets themselves needed to go. Thankfully I have a husband who is good with tools!

I also installed new curtain rods (with old curtains) all by myself, and I've started moving furniture and stuff into the room. I really need to stain my new desk and move it in there. That's on the to-do list for tomorrow!

[wip] painting my sewing room

before

For the past few days, I've been trying to find a time to paint the sewing room in the midst of all the unpacking. This morning, Adam recruited a friend of his to help us prime the Mizzou-colored walls. I decided to keep the navy blue below the chair rail, but repaint the (hideous) yellow-orange color above the rail.

after priming

To cover up that intense color, we used Valspar's high-hiding primer. It was pretty effective, as you can see. As soon as that coat is dried, we'll be painting the walls in a light gray paint that I bought as a mis-tint at Lowe's awhile ago. I love buying mistints - first because I love random things, and secondly because you can get great unexpected colors for cheap!

I can't wait to get this room all nice and repainted! Then I will be able to finally unpack both the sewing room (obviously), and the spare bedroom (where all the sewing room stuff is being stored). I won't be able to start/continue any sewing projects for awhile, though... I still need to stain and prime my new unfinished desk so I'll have a place to work. That project is definitely on the agenda for next week!

I start my new job (yay!) on the 10th of June, so I have about a week left to finish up around the house. Of course I know I won't/can't get everything done before then, but I am certainly going to try!

[wip] bedroom

before we bought the house
weird purple color and painted-over wallpaper

after stripping
weird purple color and drywall

after one coat of primer & two coats of paint
awesomeness

Adam and I decided that our first project in the new house (!!!) would be the bedroom. One wall featured some lovely painted-over wallpaper, so with the help of two friends, we stripped the wall. That took awhile, but it wasn't too difficult. After moving in with the help of many wonderful friends, we primed and painted the bedroom walls (with the help of those two awesome friends again!) last night. We just finished up the second coat of paint this morning. I'm crossing my fingers that we won't have to do a third coat. 

I just LOVE the gray color. It makes the room so serene. We chose this color ("Urban Sunrise" by Valspar) because we thought it would make the room calming and sleep-inducing. Also did you know that yellow goes into mixing this color? Isn't that strange? I learned that today while buying a second gallon of paint. I'm always amazed how much paint gets used.

[completed] bedroom dresser

before!

Today I finally finally put the finishing touches on my WIP bedroom dresser, which has been a work-in-progress since March. I actually finished painting quite awhile, and even sealed the dresser pretty promptly, but then with school and practicum and weather and waiting for cool Ikea knobs to arrive, I never got around to re-assembling the dresser.

after!

You might notice that those awesome Ikea knobs are not present. I ultimately decided against them for two reasons: 1) the red was too dark to go with the paint colors and the clear didn't stand up to the white, and 2) the knobs were too small to go with the style of the dresser. So I went to Lowe's and bought some inexpensive silver concave knobs instead. I screwed them on, screwed the drawers to the drawer slides, screwed the dresser feet on, and voila! A completed bedroom dresser for the new house. For now it will continue to live in the messy garage, but soon (10 days!) it will be relocated.

In that "after" picture, you might notice the tips of blue drawers from my other WIP dresser project. That set I am abandoning - I made a deal with dear Adam that I would be done with them before we moved, and that has not happened (due to weather, laziness, working, etc). So I am reselling them to some other poor soul, and they will hopefully be gone by tomorrow. That will free up room in my garage for packed boxes!

Yay!

[wip] blue dressers

covered in citristrip

Today it was finally nice and warm enough to start stripping my blue dressers. I am using citristrip to take off the (at least) five layers of paint. I started "painting" the dressers with the citristrip around noon, and it still isn't really ready to come off. According to this tutorial, I need to see it bubble. So I am impatiently waiting. I can't wait to get this hideous paint off!

thread holder

all set up with the thread in color order

Awhile ago, right around Christmas, Adam and his father (who was visiting) did a little woodworking and made me a thread holder. Adam and I had attempted to make it before and failed, but Adam and his father were finally able to make me my very own thread shelving unit! It's a bit wonky, but I love it all the same.

I've wanted a way to keep and organize my thread for ages, and was inspired by similar thread holders I'd seen around the internet. For months, the shelving unit sat in my sewing room with rows of disorganized thread. When I decided to paint my most recent dresser project, I grabbed my thread holder to paint as well. That meant I had to remove all my spools of thread, which made a bit of a mess.

pile of thread

I decided to use two mistint samples I bought ages ago from Lowe's. I love buying mistints because they are so much cheaper - and the random aspect appeals to me. I don't have names for these colors, since they were mistints, but I still have plenty of paint leftover if I ever want to paint something to match.

I used a lavender color for the interior of the thread holder, and then a bright pink for the exterior. It took about two coats of each color, plus primer. I tried a spray primer for the first time on this project, with disastrous results. So it was back to good old Kilz for me!

before organization

The thread holder currently sits atop the color wheel dresser I painted awhile ago (which is getting lots of good use!). The colors of the thread holder don't match at all to the dresser. I could have used leftover paint from the dresser for the thread holder, but I decided against it. I like the purple and pink, and I don't mind a few mismatched pieces. Gives the room character!

after organization

I'm going to be very sad to undo and redo the thread organization when we move. But at least I get to enjoy the rainbow of thread for a few more weeks!

so pretty!

[wip] yet another dresser project

nightstand

Yesterday, I picked up a dresser and matching nightstand for $50 (together!). I am going to strip and repaint the set as soon as I'm done with my bedroom dresser, which should be very soon. This set will not be for me - I am going to do all the work to restore them and then (hopefully) sell them. I know the dressers don't look like much now, but they have great lines and should be fabulous once refinished!

I can't wait to start this next project!

[wip] dresser ready to seal

painted dresser

I am done painting my dresser and drawers! In the end I needed three coats of the Sonora Rose color on the body of the dresser, and two coats of the Soft Silk on the drawers. I am now waiting impatiently for the paint to cure so that I can apply a clear polycrylic top coat and then I will be done!

My mother kindly bought me some red Ikea drawer knobs (she also got the clear version, just in case the red doesn't look good). I can't wait to receive the knobs in the mail and get to finish this dresser!

[wip] painting the bedroom dresser

wip in the garage

So far I have done two coats on my bedroom dresser! I settled on using the Sonora Rose and Soft Silk paint colors for the body of the dresser and the drawers. The Sonora Rose color isn't quite accurate in this photo - it's a softer, more dusky rose color. The Soft Silk on the dresser drawers is coming out very white - we'll see if it looks good with the dresser body.

That purple shelving? That's a secret for another post!

[wip] more paint colors for dresser

Now instead of mixing the Valspar Soft Silk color with the Summer Night color, I'm thinking of punching it up a bit and using Sonora Rose. It's from the same collection, so I think the colors will coordinate nicely, and I love the dusky pink color of Sonora Rose.

It has been too cold the last few days to paint, but it's supposed to warm up this weekend. Hopefully I'll make a decision soon so I can paint on Saturday or Sunday!

[wip] bedroom dresser

I am thinking about using these two colors for my new WIP dresser. The colors are Soft Silk and Summer Night by Valspar, and I found them in a new spring collection set of paint chips. Adam vetoed the idea of a wildly colorful dresser (I was thinking a dark pinkish red originally), so now I'm looking at some more subtle colors. I like the idea of a two-tone dresser (sort of like this one), but I can't decide if I'd like the darker color to be the body of the dresser or the drawers and feet.
Any input?

[wip] new dresser project!

all sanded, wiped down and ready to go

I'm at it again - starting a nice new long-term furniture project! The weather finally warmed up enough to make this possible.  I belong to a few yardsale groups on Facebook, and when this six drawer wood dresser popped up for $70 recently, I immediately posted for it! I was the first of many, so I got the dresser! It barely barely fit in my awesome little car. It was a tight squeeze for sure, but I managed to get it home a few days ago.

I haven't yet decided what color(s) this dresser will end up being painted. For now I just plan to prime it and let it harden for a few days while I contemplate color schemes.

so many drawers!

[completed] v-day masks

his & hers

To celebrate this past Valentine's Day, our local paint pottery place threw an awesome VDay event and posted details online. Adam and I immediately registered to be one of the limited number of couples present and paid a small deposit to ensure our seat. The event featured a buy one piece get one piece half off promotion - and there was even champagne, cheesecake, and chocolate covered strawberries!

We had a lot of fun, and it was a lovely way to spend Valentine's Day together. We spent our usual ridiculous amount of time trying to decide what to paint. Adam loves Venetian masks, so when I saw two different masks available, I knew we had to choose those to paint. We decided not to consult each other on how to paint the masks, but we still (accidentally) chose very similar color schemes.

hers

The above mask is my creation. I went with a solid red background, and painted on details with little squeeze bottles of cream and black paint. My mask is supposed to be feminine - see the eyelashes on the left eye? - but not too girly. I googled a few images while my background coats were drying to get inspiration, but tried not to be too literal. Overall, I'm really pleased with my mask!

his

Adam went in another direction entirely, and made a very abstract mask. He used the same red I did for the top portion of the face, and painted the lower portion of the face pink. Then he used sponges to dab on red for the checks and used foam shapes to do the black heart and question mark. I painted on the black teardrops for him, at his request. I think his mask is super fun and whimsical, and I love the punch of black. I made fun of him for his imperfect painting, but secretly I love it.

I can't wait to be able to hang up these masks somewhere (hopefully in a new house!). I think they will look great, and will always be a reminder of a romantic yet fun date night together!

[completed] color wheel dresser

ta-da!

Today, I finally finished my dresser! I just put the hardware on, and now it's done! At last!

I haven't been working on it much lately - I finished all the painting awhile ago. On Sunday, Adam and I and my new friend moved the dresser into the sewing room. It was Adam's idea to move it, because he wanted a surface to puzzle on (you can just barely see the puzzle mat along the top of the dresser - the dresser top isn't quite wide enough, so we are using my cutting mat to do the puzzle on).

Yesterday, I finished spray-painting the original hardware a glossy white, and this morning, I put all the hardware on. I am so glad that my mother suggested that I spray-paint the hardware white - I was originally planning on silver, but the white looks even better. It matches the body of the dresser, and looks so fresh and fun. I was going to use new hardware, but this looks awesome, and was so much cheaper!

As you can see, the dresser is painted with the primary, secondary and tertiary colors. If you go up the dresser, the primary colors mix to make the secondary colors, and then mix again with the secondary colors to create the tertiary colors. So the yellow and red make orange, and then yellow plus orange make yellow-orange at the top. Clever, right? All credit for this idea goes to Adam. We are going to use the dresser to teach our future children the colors. In the meantime, it looks awesome and fun. I love colorful things!

As previously mentioned, the top of the dresser is painted with chalkboard paint. We've tested it, and it works great. Took a lot of coats, but so worth it! (I have a lot of the chalkboard paint, and I'm on the lookout for more things to paint with it)

There are a few minor touch-ups that I need to do still, but overall, the dresser is finished, and I love it! Now I just need the contact paper to come in so I can line the dresser drawers and actually start using it...

[wip] dresser colors

it's getting there!

Here is (another) update of my dresser. Now you can begin to get a sense of how it is going to look finished! I'm still working on the six colors for the top drawers (but I only have two left to do!), and I have yet to paint the dresser body the glossy white. But the primer is close enough in color to get a sense of the final look. The chalkboard top is done, and Adam tested it last night. It works great!

You can definitely see the corners/edges that I didn't repair, but it doesn't bother me. This dresser will get knocked around plenty in the future, and I kind of like the imperfect look. It's supposed to be fun and functional, not sophisticated and perfect.

I am so excited! Now if only it would cool off so I could paint more...