Upcycled Cabinet Turned Nightstand

Hello!

Yesterday I finished my latest project and I was pleased with the results. The building at which I work is undergoing a lot of construction/remodeling and it always seems they have something perfectly usable that they are going to get rid of. A couple months ago they gutted an office which had a cabinet system in it- score! Since they were going to throw all of it out, I took what I could. One of the items was a smaller, single doored cabinet. 

Here is a photo to give you an idea of what it looked like before (sorry for it being a bit blurry)

So, as you can somewhat tell, the cabinet was a medium brown/cherry color to begin with. The door and front frame of the cabinet were real wood and the rest of it was particle board or something. 

Don't think it looks like a nightstand? It kinda doesn't- but we needed a nightstand and this was free so, viola, it started to look more and more like a lovely nightstand :)

 I had some white paint and primer that I had bought for something else and turned out not being able to use it, so I decided that I would paint this soon to be nightstand the old fashioned way rather than with spray paint. 

My grandparents were awesome and let me paint this in their basement since I don't have any room or space to do so right now. I set up a folding table and covered it with newspaper which turned out to work perfectly. 

I, bravely and perhaps foolishly, decided that I wasn't going to sand anything prior to priming and just ended up wiping the cabinets down with a wet cloth and letting them dry. I took off the door (hinges and all) and also the hardware that was on the door- I knew I was going to replace it anyway. 

I did this during the week so I ended up working on it 3 nights at about 8 pm until 9 or 9:30. I was surprised at how easily this project went and how little time i had to spend on it!

Okay, anyways, the first night I put a coat of primer on the cabinet. 

NOTE: I was painting another cabinet at the same time, which is why there are an extra set of drawers. I'll post that project soon!

I used Valspar Interior Latex High Hiding Primer which I bought from Lowes for about $8. 

When I was done with the primer, I thought it looked pretty crappy. (I felt this way after the two coats of paint too- it wasn't until all coats had been applied and fully dried that I liked the outcome)

Since it was previously a cabinet, it obviously didn't have any legs or anything. I thought with some nice legs the piece would look more like a nightstand so I went to lowes and bought some super easy screw in legs. You buy the legs, unpainted, and also a square plate that you attach to the bottom of the furniture. The legs screw into this plate. It cost $4 total for each leg ($2 for wood leg, $2 for metal plate).

The second and third night I applied a coat (one each night) of white Valspar paint. It was paint + primer which was unnecessary since I had already primed it, but it was what I had and I thought the extra coverage could't hurt. 

After 1 coat of primer, and 2 coats of regular paint I was finished. I reattached the door with the old hinges and replaced the hold knob with a simple stainless steel one I had left over from a previous project (I got a back of 10 at Target for $10 see them here)

I attached the metal plates and legs, which was super easy. 

Check out my new, upcycled Nightstand:

Not to shabby, eh?   

I'm super happy with it and think if will work perfectly. 

Will be posting photos of our room set up once we get settled! 

What do you think, would you have done something differently? Comment below!!

Jordan

Moustache Pillow in Progress

Good morning!

I thought long and hard about posting about an unfinished project. Personally, I don't have the patience for waiting to see the finished product on other people's blog. Since I'm going to have a busy few weeks coming up and I don't know when I'm going to have the time to finish this project I decided, obviously, to post about my Moustache Pillow (18in x 18in)  in progress. 

Its hard to find DIY projects that are directed towards guys. How often do you find a throw pillow you can make that you can gift to your boyfriend, husband, or son? Well, its rare. I wanted to find something that is masculine and could be equally enjoyed by both parties: enter the 'Moustache craze'. 

The moustache seems to have become one of the popular staples for parties, silly gifts, and a go to manly symbol. I decided that given the fairly simple outline, it could be easy to duplicate onto something. I have been wanting to try a spray-painted pillow so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

To start off, the materials I used/needed for this project are as follows:

Exacto knife

marker

printer and paper

some type of plastic paper or sheet, NOTE: I used a sheet of laminating paper because it was easily accessible, but any plastic sheet should work as long as you can cut it with an exacto knife.

spray paint

well ventilated space

newspaper

tape

fabric (amount depends on size of pillow you intend to make) NOTE: I was able to get ahold of some curtain drapes that were going to be thrown away, which I quickly snatched for free. If you have the option to reuse any type of fabric, I would say go for it. The fabric may not be what you would have ideally chose but it can make for a more interesting pillow- with a better purpose too!

Okay, to start off I found a clipart image of a mustache that I liked off google images. I then made it the appropriate size and printed it off onto a piece of scrap paper I had. 

Please note, I did this for sunglasses and an elephant too (I thought sunglasses on a pillow would be sweet. I don't even have to explain the elephant.) 

I then cut the image out with scissors- I happened to take photos of me cutting the sunglasses outline and not the moustache so for visual purposes there will be sunglasses in the next few pics. You can do this for any simple image really, so the instructions can be applied to any outline you'd like to try.

Next, I cut out the image and laid it on top of my plastic laminate paper.

I then traced the outline onto the paper with a marker. 

This next part was the trickiest: tracing around the sunglasses with an exacto knife. This would be super easy with an image that lacks curves- it takes a bit more skill to trace around circles because the knife wants to go in a straight line. I would suggest practicing on an extra sheet of whatever plastic you are using to see how easy it is to move the exacto knife through it. 

Anyways, when I was done this is what I had: 

You are not going to be using the inside part (bottom portion of photo) so you can discard this if you wish. 

Next, I laid my fabric square out and placed my outline sheet on top of it in the position I wanted. I taped the edges down to the fabric with painters tape and then used newspaper to cover the exposed fabric that I didn't want painted. Using spray paint, I sprayed over the exposed "sunglasses" portion of the fabric. I let it dry overnight and then this is what I had: 

Now, as you can see the spray paint got a bit outside of the outline near the top of the moustache. To prevent this from happening make sure that your plastic sheet is pressed firmly to the fabric without any gaps and spray paint directly DOWN onto the fabric. If you spray paint at an angle the paint will get underneath the plastic (which results you can see in my slightly blurred moustache print). 

Anyways, this is as far as I have gotten. I can say that if you are wanting to try spray painting fabric, go for it. It was much easier than I anticipated and looked better on the fabric than I thought it would. You could do this with any simple outline or stencil you want. Eventually it would be cool to do this on plain sheets to transform them into curtains. The possibilities for how you can use this technique are endless. 

I hope to finish up this project in the future, when I have a bit more free time, and can't wait to share the results. 

Tempted to try this? If you do, comment below or email me to be featured on the blog! Better techniques or suggestions? Share those below!!

Not trying to say I'm awesome or anything...

 

I recently found the reciept I recieved when purchasing my our bedding from Kohls and it sent me into a ridiculously giddy fit of accomplishment when I saw the "Amount Saved" portion at the bottom. They do that for that exact reason. "They" as in Kohls and "that" as in telling everyone how much they saved so their shoppers can feel good about their still probably overpriced purchases.

 

 

Any ways, whatever reasons Kohls has, it works. I blame them partially for my unhealthy obsession with finding deals.

 

 

ANYWAYS, we needed bedding. I happened to have a generous Kohls giftcard, Kohls cash, and a coupon so I decided to head there in search of  comfortable, cute, and queen sized bedding.

 

I ended up find a queen sized comforter/sheet set that was blue/grey and yellow and had a fancy medallion print on the comforter. It also came with matching throw pillows, sham covers, and 6, YES SIX, regular pillow cases. It was on sale so I had to get it.

 

 

I also picked up a yellow queen sized quilt to use for those Northern Michigan nights and lazy weekends.

 

 

 

Okay, I ended up paying $53.06 out of my own pocket- saving $527! Major score. I'm pretty happy with my purchases and couldn't resist sharing the reciept with you all- I mean come on, I will probably never see "total saved: 402.00" on anything again any time soon.

 

Heres a photo of the bedding from Kohls.com all set up and pretty! I will post photos of our set up once we get settled.

 

 

Subscribe and leave comments!!

 



Ridiculously Simple DIY Frame

Hi :)

Our official move in date for our new apartment is drawing near and I have been trying to finish up the last few apartment decor projects that I've been working on. I am excited and anxious- I just can't wait to get settled and find out new routine in our new place! 

One of the projects that has been sitting around for a while is a frame that I purchased a few weeks ago from Kohl's. First off, a few things about Kohl's: 

1. There are always, always, always Kohls coupons circulating around, whether it be a newspaper flyer, web site, email, etc. I rarely ever go into Kohls without a coupon, but when and if you do, you can usually still receive a discount. When I have forgotten a coupon, I have told the cashier that I "have one, just not with me" and bam! You've got the discount, cause turns out they've got the whole lot of them under the register and pull them out to scan for customers. If this is a Kohls secret it is apparently not a very good one because even I could figure it out! :) 

2. Coupons are usually good on sale and clearance merchandise so if you hit it at the right time, you can save mucho dinero at Kohls. One of my favorite sections is their "Limited Quantity" where they offer items 60% off simply because they have a limited stock. 

It is in this section that I found this 8x10 frame: 

I know, its not too spectacular but some subtle hints clued me in on the tremendous potential it had! For one, the frame is really high quality and a semi-heavy weight. The second thing is that the structure and frame design were gorgeous. A general rule for frame purchasing (especially discount or future DIY/upcycling frames) is to focus on interesting texture, structure, and size. An ugly color can easily be changed, an ugly shape not so much. 

Any how- the gold wasn't horrendous but I had my heart set on a white frame with an interesting design or texture. The supplies that I needed/used for this project were: a frame, paper, duck-tape, and white spray paint (or color of your choice). I started off by removing the glass and leaving the piece of cardboard behind it. I place the piece of paper in the face of the frame (on top of the cardboard) and then duck-taped the edges under the frame so that the entire surface was covered. 

* I had to do this because the back of the frame was attached and couldn't be removed. If you can remove the back of the frame, do so and you can simply start spray painting the frame without worrying about protecting the back.

Next I used my white Rustoleum spray paint to apply two coats to the frame. Follow directions on can for drying times between coats- mine was only 10 minutes and then I let it sit overnight to fully dry. 

The result is a pretty frame that will look awesome with my decor- I could have bought one brand new for $30 at Target (trust me, I had my eye on a couple!) but I found this one for about $8 and had left over white spray paint from another project. The entire frame cost me $8- a bargain when compared with similar looking items that are triple the cost!

Here is the final product:

Look at the gorgeous detail:

I'm debating typing up a cute quote-thing I found and printing it on stock paper to go in the frame. I downloaded some free fonts that I absolutely love- see the links below if you're interested (there easy to download and use). 

I think this would look awesome in the frame!! What do you think? Comment below if you like, dislike, or have any cute sayings to put in frame.

Links for free fonts:

http://www.urbanfonts.com/free-fonts.htm

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/fonts/

http://abduzeedo.com/tags/ffff

Purple Tool Set

 

Hello all! I just recieved a wonderful gift that I wanted to share with all my fellow crafties. My friend and coworker gave me a super cute purple tool kit (a late Christmas present) the other day and I nearly died in excitement.

 

 

 

 Believe it or not I have been completing all of my projects while borrowing family members and friends tools- I am now so thankful to have a nice little set that is my own and, of course, in a color that my fiance Tyler won't dare steal! (I hope.)

 

My next item to get will hopefully be a small drill (one that is easy to operate and light weight!).

 

You can find cute tool kits similar to the once I recieved here.

 

Do you have any good drill reccomendations? Comment below!

 

Jordan

 



Upcycled Piano Bench

Hello all! To get things started with my first official post, I would like to share a project that I completed a couple months ago. I was not anticipating sharing and- making an amateur mistake- did not take photos of the entire process. Thankfully, I did take some which will be displayed below as I describe the process!

Knowing I was going to move into an apartment soon and wanted to have some sort of bench/ottoman to match my furniture I decided that I wanted to do some custom upholstery. I had previously made some cute pillows with some fabulous fabric from Joanns Fabric Store and wanted to stick with that print for the next project. 

I found an old piano bench in the garage with was pretty humble- the top of the bench was completely missing and it was in need of a good cleaning. Thankfully it was extremely sturdy which convinced me that it would be a great bench....! Right?! 

I first sanded the bench to get the waxy/ stain/ finish off. I'm not exactly sure what the wood was coated with but it reminded me of 70s style- which simply won't do. I used a flat, belt hand held sander to do the smooth portions of the bench. The legs of the bench were curved and detailed so I had to sand these parts by hand. I used to the roughest sand paper I could find.

(Go here to find a similar hand sander: Belt Sander) 

Note: I don't know if I would use a belt sander for future projects- I felt like it was difficult to use and I made some indents in the wood. I think that an orbital sander or simply going over it quickly with harsh sand paper by hand would have been better. With the belt sander I tried to get all of the varnish completely off- which isn't always necessary if you're going to spray paint after like I did). 

As you can tell from the pictures, its obvious that I sanded until I reached "virgin wood". I think this would make stripping the paint easier in the future but typically I would suggest just roughing the finish up so the spray paint and primer will adhere better. 

I decided to go with spray paint to cover the bench frame. I started with a spray paint primer that I bought from Michaels craft store for about $3 after coupons and savings. 

(See a similar spray paint primer here: Spray Paint Primer)

For my peeps who have spray painted before- please skip this section. If you haven't, please read!! I HIGHLY suggest using some sort of facial mask while spray painting. They are relatively cheap (maybe 5 for $3) and can be reused. The fumes from spray painting can be harmful and this is a way to prevent short term annoyances like headaches and odors as well. Also- paint in a well ventilated area. If its winter open windows or the garage you are painting it. If its summer try to do it outside. 

Similar face mask.

After I let this coat dry as directed I painted a satin black on next. I did two coats (or more on spots when needed). The key to making spray paint look nice like it does on pinterest or other blogs is to APPLY IT IN LIGHT STROKES, at a reasonable distance away from the item to be painted. This is just one of those things that practice makes perfect. 

Anyways, I left this dry and continued on to make the seat and cushion. I bought a large piece of thick plywood from Lowes and had the fiance help me cut it to size. I bough upholstery foam at Joanns- this can be expensive without a coupon and is purchase by the yard. Measure the length and width of whatever your upholstering and then determine how many yards are needed. (I usually get more because I eventually use the leftover foam for other projects!). 

The foam comes in different thicknesses and increases in price for thicker foam. Choose one to your liking- I love the thicker foam simply because its more comfortable. 

Next, I stenciled the wooden top's outline onto the foam with a marker and then cut the foam to size with a bread knife (it really works!). 

Before I glued the foam to the board with Spray Adhesive I decided to make small holes in the wood for tufting. I am not going to go into the tufting process here but here are some sites that describe in detail how to do it:

Tufting Youtube Video

Jenna Sue Design Tufting Explained

Six Sisters DIY Tufting

I had help drilling the holes! :) 

Next, I sprayed the adhesive and applied the foam. Theres no "right brand" adhesive and because I was going to upholster the fabric to the board (helping keep the foam in place) I wasn't overly concerned about it. 

Spray Adhesive I Used bought at Joann Fabrics.

After letting it sit for a day or two, I nailed the board(with attached foam) to the bench frame. When cutting the wood board I allowed room for a small hangover (in other words, the wood board is slightly larger than the bench frame) where I would be able to staple the fabric onto. 

Finally, I got my fabric and upholstered it on with a heavy duty T-50 staple gun! The fabric was purchased from Joanns and is interior decorating/upholstery fabric quality. It is a bit more expensive but is thicker than just standard cotton. 

The finished product: 

As you can tell from the top photo- the underside of the upholstery is not perfect, but for my first time I don't think its half bad.  

I love the fabric and am excited to use it in my apartment in a couple weeks!

Please remember: If you are going to attempt a similar project, do not start upholstering to adhering upholstery foam to anything until you read a bit or atleast watch a youtube video on how to tuft!

Its an age of DIY- I'm not a professional upholsterer or tufter or painter and I don't think my project displays that I am. What it does display is someone who is trying to reuse things around her that are destined for the dump, and simultaneously someone who is trying to fulfill interior design dreams while on a budget. 

I dare you to try something like this- the feeling of accomplishment is awesome!

Stay tuned for my next post on how I transformed some leftover wood pieces and fabric into some fabulous trays for my coffee table!!

Jordan

Have you upholstered anything? Spray paint?  Share your stories, tips, and comments below!

Hello

Hello! Thanks for finding my blog. Regardless of how you ended up here, I am so glad you came :) Take your shoes off and stay a while!

I hope to start blogging about my DIY and upcycling projects.

More to come soon and stay tuned for my first post about upcycling an old piano bench into an awesome living room piece!

Jordan


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