bedroom series part three: dresser re-vamp

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this was a small bedroom project, but i think it made a big difference. 

my mom and dad gave us this dresser.  it has been through many coats of paint and moved to many different rooms.  when we got it, it was painted off-white and the drawers had a crackle finish on them.  i always thought the knobs were navy--turns out they were black.  never knew i was color blind....

anyway. :)  i will apologize for the quality of this picture.  i tried to snap a few "before" shots of our room before we ripped the carpet up and this is the only picture i got of the dresser.  i had to zoom and crop it, so it's a bit fuzzy.  but you get the idea.

before:

i had no idea what i wanted to do with it, really, but i did like the off white--just not the crackle.  i decided to use some black gloss paint that i already had and then rough the drawers up some.  i just painted the inset of each drawer where the crackle was.  i like the distressed look on some things, so i didn't worry too much about it not being a smooth finish.  i sanded them first to knock some of the texture off and then painted one coat on each drawer.  since the knobs were (ahem) black, i just sanded them some, too. :)

after:

up close of the distressing on the drawers:

see the detail in the trim?  i love it!  adds a nice bold touch to our room.  speaking of, check back next week for the full reveal.... :)

sunday

i heart nap time - flamingo toes - cherished treasures - diy show off nifty thrifty things - twigg studios
under the table and dreaming - debbiedoo's

monday

keeping it simple - alderberry hill - craft-o-maniac - serendipity and spice  - the gunny sack
skip to my lou  the dedicated house

tuesday

cherished bliss - a diamond in the stuff - tip junkie - the only ten - crafty texas girls

claiming our space - elizabeth and co

wednesday

southern lovely - beyond the picket fence - lil luna - ginger snap crafts - embracing change
savvy southern style  

thursday

the shabby creek cottage - my repurposed life - liz marie blog - somewhat simple - a glimpse inside
the 36th avenue - house of hepworths

friday

craftionary - 2805 - from my grey desk - create.craft.love. - delicate construction - 504 main
simple home life  becoming martha  fox hollow cottage
the shabby nest

saturday

classy clutter - funky junk interiors - positively splendid - six sisters stuff

too-much-time  serenity now

high five for friday!

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we thought we'd collaborate on this weeks h54f. here goes:

leshia:

1) my cousin had her sweet baby girl, skyler. you'll be a great mama, brandi!

3) lilly needs a haircut. you can barely see here eyes. :)

5) my wreath was featured on crafty texas girls! thanks samantha! :)

katie:

2) being reminded several times this week of this verse. love getting encouraged!

4) this. fall. weather. i'm in love.

hope you had a great week! link up with lauren @ from my grey desk to share about yours!

diy rag wreath

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i ran across this tutorial for a rag wreath.  i love making wreaths and am always looking for ways to add some uk true blue to our home during football and basketball seasons. J

in the tutorial, she used 5 kinds of fabric—1 yard of each.  i wanted ours to be blue and white, so i used three fabrics (one being white ribbon).  i did 2 yards of blue, 2 yards of white, and quite a few rolls of ribbon.  i got the letters from michael’s.  they were already painted white, and i just outlined them with a royal blue paint pen. 

to make the wreath you need a wire wreath frame.  you can find those anywhere—wal-mart, michael’s, target.  5 yards of fabric, whether it’s 1 kind or 10 kinds, and if you want to add anything in the middle, you can do that, too!

cut your fabric into strips that are 10” long and 1 1/2” wide.  tie the fabric in knots on the first and third rings of the wire frame.  make sure you fit as many on there as you can to make it really full! 

that’s all it takes!  to add the letters, i screwed screws into the backs of the letters (not so far that they poked thru), and then i wrapped wire around the screws and tied the other end to the frame.  since the wreath is so full, it hides the wire perfectly.

what do you think?  easy way to root on your favorite team for football season!  hope this little number inspires you to dress up your front door!

style statement tuesday

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happy tuesday, y'all!  today (and tuesdays in the future), we're linking up with jessica @ the only ten i see.  i found her blog through our friday linkup with lauren @ from my grey desk.   

you can read more about this on her blog, but she found out about "style statements" from some fellow bloggers.  a style statement is a 2-3 word phrase that you use to describe your style.  i've stewed over this but i think i finally narrowed it down.  i like a classic look, and i can make classic pieces last a loooong time.  but i'm also a sucker for a good trend.  it might take a while to grow on me, and some i never do like, but there are times when i think some animal print or polka dots or colored jeans really make an outfit.  my style statement is classic trendy. 

it's also important, once you narrow down your style, to choose a style icon--someone who can be your "go-to" for inspiration.  i've chosen kate middleton.  she's so classic, but she adds trendy items or colors, as well.

 

exhibit a:  classic blazer with trendy skinnies.

 

 

 

 

exhibit b: a classic peplum dress, belted.

 

 

 

exhibit c: classic cardi with skinny and knee-high boots.

 

 

catch my drift? :)

 

 

what's your style statement?  join us on tuesdays as we venture through our closets and possibly some sale racks! 

 

 

 

high five for friday!

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cheers to the weekend!  today we're linking up with lauren @ from my grey desk.  here are my five favorites from this week:

 

 

1.  my first ever batch of no-bake cookies.  i've never made them because they aren't my favorite, but my boys like them.  super easy and not too shabby.

 

2.  my last bright pink nails of the season.  ready to turn on the fall colors!

 

3.  my sweet brax snuggled up with his pooh bear.  i took this with my iphone that has a flash and the poor little guy never moved.  he was "shew tired" as he says. :)

 

4.  first dove shoot of the season!  it's my favorite--doesn't require being quiet..... :)

 

5.  my jewels one day this week.  the bangle came from kohl's on clearance and the more dainty one my sister got me when i was in her wedding.

 

 

hope you all have a fabulous weekend! 

 

  

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diy nightstand

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this old stool had been sitting in my basement since we moved in three years ago.  it was just awkward sitting alone anywhere and to be honest, i hated the color and the finish.  it's solid wood, but that shiny honey oak just wasn't doing it for me.

i saw this idea on pinterest (surprise, surprise) to turn your old bar stool into a night stand.  perfect!  we needed an extra night stand in our newly updated room and i'm not all into the matchy, matchy so this was a perfect idea since we only had the one stool.  (don't ask me how that happened.)

here's what i started with:

an old barstool (sanded to get the finish off)

minwax special walnut stain 

an old rag

a piece of plywood that leshia's husband cut into a circle for me--we measured the top of the stool and went 2" out on each side

i put two coats of the stain on the stool and it was still a bit light for me, so i added a coat of minwax provincial, too.  it darkened it up nicely, but by itself i think it would have been too red.  i like to use a rag for projects like this instead of a brush.  sometimes brushes apply the stain too thick and leave runs in places you can't see.

after i let that dry, i painted the top with a coat of a satin paint.  sorry, i'm not sure of the name of it.  it was just something we had down in the basement.  i wasn't happy with the finish...it still looked a little "undone", so i sanded the edges and rubbed stain where i sanded to distress it a bit.  after that dried, i applied two coats of polyurethane to seal it from any wear and tear.  

here's the finished product.  i do love it!  

oh, and i attached the top to the stool with a nail.  can't see it a bit, now.  you could also use glue or epoxy of some kind. 

enjoy! :) 

 

the bracelet

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i never sit on pinterest for hours. that's a bold faced lie. i love it. it takes up lots of time, makes my list of "to do" grow longer and longer, all the while my wallet getting smaller and smaller. no, seriously. i can thank pinterest for this blog post.

 

 

i saw this gorgeous turquoise and white bracelet that i wanted to make. it's one of those three-strand beaded ones. i didn't think it looked too awfully hard.... i couldn't have been more wrong. first of all, it requires supernatural, god-given patience of which i do not have and forgot to pray for that day. secondly, it requires 20/-5 vision and i also am lacking in that area. i just got reading glasses.

 

 

but before i learned all that i went to michael's and got all my goodies to embark on this diy journey. i set out to make this for katie, and since i knew she already had plenty of turquoise, i went with coral. so this being my first time making any sort of jewelry, i was a tad bit overwhelmed in the huge jewelry section in michaels. how in the world are there possibly that many clasps to choose from? i eventually stumbled across some thin wire that looked strong enough to hold the beads i had chosen and i was finally able to decide on a clasp.

 

 

side note: if you haven't already noticed, i am not much of a planner. that's where katie comes in. i am notorious for "running to the store" to get everything i need, only to find out that i don't have what i need at all. i am telling you all this to make you aware that this exact scenario also happened with this bracelet. i got so frazzled trying to make this, that i forgot to take pictures through the process. for that i apologize--i will try to do better next time. :)

 

 

the easy part was beading the wire. the hard part was tying the knots. next time i will try to show you pictures of how to tie knots and how not to tie knots. i was working on this late at night and i finally asked cb to come help me. he tied those knots like a pro! all the fishing has finally paid off. :) credit here goes to my hubby! this is the first time katie's seeing her bracelet, too, so katie--here's the jewelry cb made you! ha!

 

 

so here's the finished product. not too bad for my first try! when i get a little more practice under my belt, i hope to have some of these for the etsy shop.

 

 

have you ever had any jewelry making experience? if so, what are your tricks of the trade?