Study Desk Make Over | part of my Study/former guest room redo, part 2

So, my battle to have a nice, neat, clean study/blog space continues. I had a cheap, white $20 desk from Wal-Mart in here for 4 years, but I decided I needed to upgrade. Nothing wrong with my $20 Wal-Mart desk, it had just been through the ringer between sewing, crafts, painting....it needed a new home where it could continue to be used & abused and I needed something that looked a little more grown up and was suited to my grown up taste. I had originally planned on mod-podging some stuff on there, but never took the time...then when I started painting on that desk (without anything to protect it), I decided that it was better off not mod-podged. So I began the hunt for the perfect study/blogging desk. I needed something big enough to fit my laptop & wireless keyboard & mouse, along with any books I would be using to do homework, etc, and a drawer would be a plus so I didn't have to keep everything (staplers, pens, etc) on top of my desk. I found this beauty on Craig's List right after finals last spring. Turns out someone on campus was moving out of the dorms and into an apartment and was selling their stuff. (I'm assuming to avoid moving it, or to begin fundraising for all the "new apartment costs", but you never know with college kids.) (P.S. I can say "college kids" because I'm old enough to be working on my PHD, but life happens, so here I am, almost 30 and still in school.)  Anyway..... After chewing him down from $75 to $57 (why he would do $57 & not $55, I don't know, but whatever,) I had my new study desk and it only cost me 1 night's worth of tips..(it was a slow night).

Normally I would not paint wood, especially pretty cherry with a great finish, BUT this desk had some wear & tear. Scratches on the legs from chairs & shoes bumping it, scratches on the top from stuff being moved around...some chips on the side in the finish, so I decided to paint it. Other than that it was in great shape, just some normal wear & tear. I just had to tighten a few wing nuts on the legs to sturdy it up. 

I was at Lowe's and found this great premixed Indigo color sample that I loved. I had already decided that I wanted to do navy & tan/linen color in this room, and recovered my great-grandmother's chair (it was in desperate need of a rehab) in my newly chosen color scheme. It had been my desk chair before, and I thought I'd continue it's employment there. So when I found this Valspar sample in Indigo Cloth, for $3, I grabbed it and went on to find the rest of my supplies. I decided to chalk paint my desk. This was actually the first chalk paint I had done, and I had looked at the premixed samples, but they were around $9 for an 8 oz sample and I wasn't having it. So I got my "milk carton" full of Plaster of Paris, and quart of Polycrylic and went about my day. I knew I needed to seal my desk so what I had envisioned as my beautiful new paint job, would not get scratched & dinged like it's original finish had. Here's what I used:

I also used a sanding block, (not pictured).

Here's what I did:

1st I removed the hardware from the drawer (the only hardware on the desk), then I lightly sanded with a sanding block. With chalk paint, you don't have to sand, but since this had a slick finish, I wanted to ensure that my paint really stuck. I used the drawer as a test.

Then I mixed my chalk paint. You can see my free side table post for some stuff that I've learned along the way...mostly from THIS project. Lowe's also has a great recipe recipe chalk paint (and some helpful tips & techniques) that is pretty standard and it's what I used for this project.

After I mixed my chalk paint I applied it to the drawer with my foam brush.

However, I did use a roller for the desk top...

 It would have taken me FOREVER with my 2" foam brush.

Then the rest...

Now it's time for the protective coat of polycrylic. Most people would say it defeats the purpose of chalk paint because you want the calk-y texture, but I know this desk is going to get a lot of use so I don't want my new paint job chipped. To me that's redundant.

Plus, I saved the primer step with the chalk paint :)

And apparently the paint guy didn't think I'd remember not to shake the poly so he left me a note.

Greatly appreciated Steve!

After I poly-ed I just had to let it dry. I had spay painted the hardware silver, so I re-installed it and put my new desk to use!!!

Here's a break down of my costs (not including my desk):

• sanding block - $3
• Plaster of Paris - $7 (but this carton will last me an eternity, so it was worth it to me.)
• Polycrylic - $10 (again, this will last me an eternity)
• Foam brush - $2/ 1 pack
• paint roller - $5 for kit w/handle and additional roller & tray
• paint sample - $3

All and all I only spent $30 to rehab this desk! And the polycrylic and Plaster of Paris will last me forever so in reality it was some where around $20.

Don't underestimate the power of paint!

Spooooky Halloween Decor

It's that time of year again!!! Pumpkin flavored everything and mums have been out for a good month now, it's starting to get cool...finally (well, in the south at least), and it's just feeling like fall! So what better time to put out my Halloween/Fall decor! Some of this stuff I've made over the past few years, some I made this year, some I've bought, but regardless it's on my mantle, walls and tables! 

I know that I have at least 15 posts that I haven't had time to make yet, but it's OCTOBER!!! What good is OCTOBER without HALLOWEEN???.....

1st on my list is hats!!! Hats. hats, hats!!! Over the past few years I've bought a few super cute hats at TJ Maxx to wear while passing out candy, working at the bar, etc. I NEVER know where to put them, and I always end up moving them from tables, etc, so this year I decided to put them on the wall! Command Hooks are my best friend with seasonal decor! (Sometimes permanent too!) Sometimes the initial hook & adhesive combo can be upwards of $5 for like 3, but once you have your supply of hooks you're good to go! The refill adhesive is always less than $5 for an assortment pack. 

If you are currently hat-less, then you can always visit the costume section of Target or Wal-Mart...Target usually has some cute ones in the "dollar isle". They may not be big enough for you to wear, but they'd make super cute wall hangings! Especially for around $3 you can't beat it! If you've got kids, totally raid their costume stash! Get creative! Hang them on top of mirrors, or in empty picture frames... I didn't have any empty picture frames big enough for my hats and I am currently cute mirror-less, so just plain on the wall they go!

Next up is my super awesome (well I think so at least,) skull jars!!

I found a bag of skulls at the evil Wal-Mart (I avoid going just because I can NEVER leave with JUST what I came for...yesterday it was pictures and I left with skulls, candles & Pumpkin Spice flavored Candy Corn (which is pretty good BTW if you're a pumpkin spice kinda person, which I am). At any rate, a bag of these little beauties was less than $4. I had my mind set on plastic spiders, but they did not have ANY! I was rather upset. They had all different kinds of colored webbing, but none of the little black plastic spiders to put in the webbing....so I ended up with skulls! (BTW if you're like me and can never go in Wal-Mart without leaving with just what you came for, any of those TRUE $1 stores are great for this kind of stuff...I just was trying to take advantage of the "one-stop-shop".)  If you're also like me, you save glass candle jars. I re-purpose them a LOT. Once they're almost dead I pour out the hot wax and pull out the metal wicks and in the dishwasher they go! They're great to use to hold things like cotton balls, cotton swabs, bath salts and in this instance my skulls!!! Only this time I didn't pour out the wax or pull the wicks. 

I simply lit this candle and let the wax melt just enough on the surface to where I could strategically place my skulls! I had some really cool colors to use. I had purple & orange...I really wanted to use the green one in my bathroom, but it's still too full, so purple & orange it is! The purple had enough life left to light and let melt. I wasn't so lucky with the orange one. I had to pour a little hot water in the top and swirl it around enough to melt some wax. Then I put my skulls in and let the wax harden again. Once it did that I poured out the excess water. Easy-peasy! Although, Once I placed my skulls in the purple one, I was really regretting not cleaning the glass jar first! It was full of wax built up and gunk from the candle. But a sanitizing wipe & a little elbow grease did the trick!

I originally was going to fill it up with skulls, but when I did, it didn't look right to me, so I removed a few and was happy with my end result. You can also paint the jar lid...Mine were silver, so they still look cool, but I may paint them later...if I ever find the time BEFORE Halloween is over. If not, I'll do it next year......now I just have to find a place to put them. I do have a white candle that's on it's way out & is calling my little black spiders' names! If I ever find the little buggers I'll post a pic!

Printables, printables, printables!!!I found these freebies on Ella Claire Inspired. Thanks Ella! They are awesome! Check them out on my mantle :) [In TRUE $1 Store spray painted frames of course] and with my normal LED candle decor for ambiance... now I'm just missing my cup of Pumpkin flavored hot beverage!

.....and on my sofa table.... some real goodies! 

[P.S. in real life my husband's "pocket basket" on the end next to the mirror...it's where he empties his pockets when he comes home. Before the "pocket basket" he had a "pocket table". It's one of the few things that I've implemented that he actually uses!] 

And for my buffet decor, I clearance watched after Halloween a few years ago at Hobby Lobby until this beautiful $30 pumpkin was around $6! I was very patient and went back every week, sometimes more than once a week...(needless to say I didn't have a job at the time). My patience paid off and I got this awesome ceramic pumpkin for like 80% off! Of course they were out of the vinyl letters that go on them, but I didn't care! I rocked that baby through Turkey Day on my mantle and the next year I went back around September and there was my vinyl "N". Of course I used a 40% off coupon. 

I also added a few other things to my normal decor. There is usually a candle where my pumpkin is now, and I just added a ribbon to the glass pedestal, then stacked some left over Styrofoam gourds & pumpkins (from making wreaths) on top of my normal wine corks. Eventually I'll find a cute, fall table runner for my buffet, but until I find one that I like, on clearance, it stays the same.

I LOVE these DIY Potion Bottles! They're fabulous, but I'm running out of space to put things, so I've decided to gift them to my Grandma. Plus, what a great way to get rid of some of the wine & liquor bottles you've been hoarding in your garage because you've "got something in mind" for them...or you're like me and hate to chunk them (our city doesn't recycle glass). I drink enough wine at home to have a plentiful stash, but when I bartend, I see some really cool liquor bottles & if they're empty I grab them! Especially if they have neat corks in them. I've actually asked bartenders at other bars/restaurants for their empty bottles too if I see one that strikes my fancy. They just shrug & give it to me...usually. I got the inspiration from something I had seen online or in a store display that was just not in my budget. I did these last year, before this blog, so no step by step pics, but they're super simple! You can even scan the mighty Pinterest, and find some printable labels for them, or just do what I did & print some out on regular paper in a super cool font & stain them with tea :) While they were still wet (that's important, otherwise your cool tea stained label that you just spent 20 minutes finding the right font for ends up in ashes) I held them over the sink (because my luck I would totally catch something on fire) and took a lighter and just lightly singed the edges. Then I stuck them on the bottles with double sided tape (after they dried) & popped a cork back in them! Super easy! For the "Witch's Brew" I had a green bottle, but for the "Vampire Blood" I had a clear bottle and just poured some water & red food coloring (with a few drops of blue) in it and it turned out great! I had cornstarch in it last year, but after being packed away all year it settled to the bottom, so I went back to the basic colored water! 

Now what fun is Halloween if it's not visible from outside?

There will be pumpkins beside the mums on the ground, however when I went to the farmer's market they didn't have any out. I'm a big believer in buying local, plus it's usually so much cheaper and they last a lot longer! I can usually keep my pumpkins on my front patio for a good 2 months or so. (Longer if the birds, chipmunks & squirrels leave them alone.) [P.S. Please ignore my unpainted doors...they will get painted one day!]

Here's a closer look at my wreath. It was SUPER SIMPLE to make. Just a wire wreath frame (from the floral department, I got mine at Hobby Lobby, of course with my 40% off coupon), black boas (I think I used 2), orange ribbon from my stash, the cute center ornament & colorful spiders & ghosts I found at various places, and of course HOT GLUE! All in all I know I spent less than $20 on it. It's been a few years ago, but I'm actually thinking it was more like $10-$15. Of course everything was on sale, clearance or I had a coupon for.

I really like this wreath. However, my neighbor hung a pretty bright mesh one that made me almost want to make another one. Hmm....maybe when everything goes on clearance :) I have to have a step by step tutorial for the sake of ye' ole blog right? 

I hope you're feeling inspired!!! What kind of decorations have you come up with? Please share!!!

Hope you have a SPOOK-TACULAR Halloween!

free! free! free side table!

This post is part of my guest room make over!

I was at my goddaughter's dad's house and I spotted this little gem in a corner with nothing on it. I asked what he was doing with it, and he said nothing, that's why it was lonely, he was trying to figure out how to get rid of it! He proceeded to tell me that I could have it, that he would even carry it to my car! Apparently, his mom was moving and gifting him with things that she thought he should have. But being a mid 20's guy, he or his wife didn't necessarily like this table.

I however, LOVE this table. I had recently purchased a desk off Craig's List (post to come), with the exact same lines! So I knew that this little table would be a perfect addition to my guest room/work area. Although the legs of this little table are wood, the top was laminate/particle board, and it rough shape from water damage.

I sanded the top down to get it as smooth as possible. I had planned on painting it with chalk paint so I knew that the thick paint would help hide some of the bubbly wood that the sanding didn't fix.

After I sanded, I primed. Just a latex primer, 1 coat. Normally you wouldn't have to do this with chalk paint, but A) I knew the more layers to help fill in the bubbles in the table top the better and B) this dark cherry color table would definitely show through or need a few coats of my almost white grey color I had planned on painting it.

After a good thick coat of my super light grey I knew this transformation was going to be fantastic!! It was already looking amazing...a million times better than before. Oh, the power of paint! But, I knew that it needed something else. A little pop. Something to make it blend with the blue and tan that I was redoing my room in. Remember my great-grandmother's chair? So I decided to go with a blue pattern on top. I had some blue paint left over my my matching desk (post to come), so it seemed only logical to use it!

Since I'm impatient and cheap, I didn't want to spend $ on a stencil to do an actual shape, so I decided to go with what I had, naturally. I broke out my painters tape and went to work! I decided on diamonds. so I stretched my tape diagonally across the table measuring precisely the same interval between each strip of tape. I would measure at least 3 places on each strip to make sure that I wasn't veering off course. Nothing worse than crooked lines with a bold color! 

Once the paint dried, I removed the tape. I was tempted to keep just the diagonals, but I decided to complete my diamond mission.

So...I remeasured and re-taped diagonally in the opposite direction.

Using the same intervals as before, of course.

Once I finished and the paint dried, I removed the tape. There were a few spots where it bled a little or the grey-white paint wasn't completely dry and lifted with the tape, so I touched up. Once my touch ups were dry I applied a coat of polycrylic to the top. I only applied the poly to the top because that's where all the use would be. I didn't want my striped labor to become scratched, or repeat the water damage issue. Plus with such a light color it's good to be able to wipe off the top.

I might have made my diamonds a little bigger, but live, learn & correct next time!

I believe this was a success, plus it didn't cost me a dime! With my free table and a quick raid of my stash this once lonely table, now has a place in my in-progress guest room/work area.

Supplies for this project:

• home made chalk paint
• This could have been done with a paint sample in a color of your choosing that you can pick up at any home improvement store (Lowe's & Home Depot's samples are $3 for approximately 8oz, which is plenty for this project,) mixed with a few heaping paint stirrer fulls of plaster of paris (also found at any home improvement store for around $7 for what looks like a milk carton full) and a little warm water. Here are a few recipes from Lowe's. 
• Here are a few tips & tricks I've learned with home made chalk paint:
• Although a recipe is good, DIY chalk paint is not an exact science. I dip my paint stirrer in the plaster of paris and dip out a few paint stirrer fulls (2-3 for one paint sample) and it's served me well!
• If at all possible mix the plaster of paris with hot water before adding the paint. The hot water helps dissolve the plaster of paris and any lumps that might be. If you mix this really well before adding your paint, it helps tremendously. After all, you don't want lumpy furniture!
• Chalk paint keeps! Your can put it in a jar with a lid (salsa jars, mason jars, etc) or you can buy paint buckets with lids, both plastic and metal. 
• paint sample for diamonds
• painter's tape
• polycrylic 
• foam brush (of course!...and yes I used the same foam brush for the entire project.)

If I would have had to purchase these supplies from scratch it would have been something like this:

• chalk paint
• DIY chalk paint: 1 paint sample $3 + plaster of paris $7 = total $10
• chalk paint sample - $9-$10 (The only down side to using these samples is that they only come in select colors and they're usually pastels.)
• paint sample (for diamonds) - $3
• painter's tape - approximately $3 (depending on what width you get)
• polycrylic - approximately $12
• foam brush - approximately $2 for a pack at the craft store (more expensive at your home improvement stores)

Total cost for this project if you had to purchase all your supplies from scratch - approximately $30 w/polycrylic, approximately $18 without. Like I said with my antiqued mirror post, it's not necessary, but it'll help prolong the life of all your hard work!

I totally believe in purchasing neutral paint colors, such as white, by the quart! It's $12-$15 for a quart depending on what type you get, but it's worth it. Here are some of the benefits:

• You will probably ALWAYS need white
• You can purchase a $3 paint sample and tint the white paint into another color. Just remember when doing this you need to purchase the sample a few shades darker than what you actually want. 
•  A quart goes a LONG way. I've painted so many pieces with just 1 quart of white paint! Especially if you make your own chalk paint, it covers better and 1 good coat usually covers everything.

Hope you've at least been amused by my journey to rehab this little table.

Save something from the dumpster!

mirror, mirror on the wall...

This is part of my Master Bath Redex.

To start, I just want to let you know how spoiled, and how much of a mommy's boy my yorkie is. He always sits with me, in my lap, etc. He even has to sit in the chair next to me at the kitchen table when my friends and I are just sitting around talking. So naturally, now that I have a desk again instead of a big shelf, he wants to be in my lap or right next to me. After him fussing at me constantly (he's like a little kid, never gives up fighting for what he wants), for about 10 minutes I decided that if I was going to get any work done this morning I was going to have to make him a bed, because heaven forbid he lays in the floor. SO....this is what I ended up with.

I had a storage box that's super cute & decorative, and currently stores my niece's toys. I folded a piece of fleece from my fabric stash, but apparently that wasn't good enough for him. He had to have some of my blanket. I pulled some over for him and he tugged and scratched until he had it pulled over enough to lay on. He may be spoiled a little.

Now to my latest post, my antiqued mirror.

Here is what you'll need:

-low odor mineral spirits (to clean any paint off the glass)

-flat white paint

-antiquing glaze

-as lint free as possible cloth

-foam brush

I'm a little frugal, obviously, so I just washed out my foam brush and reused it for the glaze. I try to only use 1 brush/roller per project. It doesn't always work out that way, but every bit you can save, even if it's just a foam brush, cuts down the cost of your projects.

I've had this mirror for almost 10 years and it's been more colors then I care to admit. Spite its rainbow of colors, it's never been one that I found worthy. The latest of which was this gold color, that was more yellow than gold. Can you say faux pas?  

Step 1

First I painted the entire mirror flat white. Let dry before moving to Step 2. 

(The instructions for the glaze said that it needed to be a flat paint.)

Since it was such a bright color, it took me a few coats, but I got it covered. I used a paint & primer in one because I had originally bought these supplies for a piece that was unfinished, bare wood so I knew I needed something that would cover really well. (You can sand if you want, but it wasn't necessary for my mirror, which is wood. I've tried the glaze on my painted laminate cabinets...it failed. Majorly.)

Step 2

I applied the antiquing glaze with my reused foam brush.

TIP: The longer you leave the glaze on, the darker it will be. You want to do this in sections so that you have even "antiquing". Make sure that you get the glaze in all the little nooks and crannies so that it gives that great aged look.

Step 3

You have to remove the excess glaze with an as lint free as possible cloth. I used an old receiving blanket that I cut up and use for dusting, etc.

TIP: as mentioned in Step 2, I did mine in sections, because the longer you leave it on the darker it is and I wanted an even look. Plus, if you want it darker in areas you just reapply the glaze and wait a minute before removing. If you want a part lighter, just really wipe it well and put a little elbow grease into it.

Step 4

POLYCRYLIC! This stuff is amazing. It looks like watered down milk and has a water consistency. Once the glaze was dry, I applied the polycrylic with yes, the same foam brush! (I only used 1 brush for this project...if you used one for each step then you would have used 3! Just take a minute to rinse it out.)

TIP: I chose Clear SEMI-GLOSS. My home improvement store had a little chart with different finishes and what they looked like. I like the semi-gloss because it wasn't super shiny like high-gloss and it wasn't matte. It has the perfect sheen for me :) 

Please note: This step is kind of optional. If it's a table or something that's going to be getting a lot of use, I HIGHLY recommend you seal it, weather it be with polycrylic or wax. I chose polycrylic because it's easy to apply and no buffing!! Plus I wanted to put this mirror in my master bath and didn't want to take the chance of the glaze that I worked so hard to get in the nooks & crannies, heating up with the steam of a hot shower and running.

Tah-Dah!! 

Note: I didn't clean the excess paint off the mirror yet. I decided to wait until I was getting ready to hang it. No use in cleaning it twice!

All in all this project only cost me the price of the polycrylic which was some where in the neighborhood of $12. If I would have purchased everything needed for this project it would have been something like this:

-flat white paint sample: $3

-antiquing glaze: around $15

-polycrylic: around $12

For a total of approximately $30, but I already had everything in my stash. Go buying paint by the quart! 

   Antique it!

plants, plants everywhere!

Whew! It's good to be out of school for a bit! I have to say I've been very productive with projects...just not with posting...which I'm working on I promise! I was at my grandma's this past weekend and she has a "sun room" and a "sun porch", so she has LOTS of windows & natural light for plants! Which she capitalizes on with tons of little container gardens. I thought they were so cute...and it gave me inspiration. I had this wine crate that I had procured from Sam's Club. They'll let you take them as long you find a home for the bottles that currently occupy them. I was lucky enough to find one with minimum number of bottles to relocate and it was still in tact. It's had various homes and uses over the past few years at my house as a magazine holder, a corral all, etc. I finally decided that it's new function would be as my container garden container. I didn't purchase anything for this project, so it literally didn't cost me a dime! Plus, it got all my plants corralled to one place which my husband was very happy with :)  

Here's what I used: 

wine crate/container

potting soil

trash bag

various indoor plants

moss/orchid moss (optional)

Here is the empty wine crate. I love wine crates period, so this was a real find!

First I secured the crate with a million staples from my staple gun. It was "tacked" together and I'm pretty sure that the wine that it once housed maxed out the tacks capacity. Plus, my luck, I would pick it up to move it and everything would fall out.

 Then I lined it with a trash bag to keep the dirt & water in the crate.

Put some mulch and stones in the bottom to give the water a place to drain a little.

I put my potting soil in.

...and started to place my plants. Of course I arranged and rearranged my plants about a million times before I decided where I wanted them. 

Afterwards, I trimmed off the access plastic, leaving about an inch above the surface all the way around. I kind of tucked it around. After that I took some left over orchid moss and moss that was in one of the container gardens that I relocated to the box to place on top. That's totally optional of course, but it makes it more aesthetically pleasing, plus when your moss is dry, it's time to water!

Now all my plants are in one container and placed in the prime plant real estate in my kitchen. 

Stay green!