I'm Feeling Blue. . .

  

Holy Bajeeeebers. . .This post is wuh-ay overdue.  I've been talking about these projects that I've had in the works for what feels like forever.  Oh, you think this is the big bathroom reveal?  No sweetie, that one's not quite done yet.  Just a little while longer. . .please run down to your local big box store and purchase a small amount of patience.  And then throw some my way, cuz I could really use an extra dose of patience after how long that bathroom is taking me to finish.  It is certainly slow in coming along.  No, this post is about the nightstand that I was refinishing for Tyler's bedroom.  That project is the one we're talking about now.  That's what I've finally gotten finished. 

Above, is the sad little nightstand that I picked up from Goodwill several months ago.  I paid a whopping $10 for it and trust me when I tell you this squat little dude is HEAVY!  I think it's technically categorized as "crate style" furniture and it matches the style that the Little Man already has in his bedroom.  It just needed to be refinished to match the color.  So, after sitting in my garage and getting comfy for a few months, I decided to give it the makeover so that it could finally become a part of the family in Ty's room. 

In case there are any other aspiring nightstand re-doers out there, I remembered to take some step by step pictures along the way but not enough to be considered a tutorial by any means.  Therefore, I hope this post will help someone, but if you need more detailed instructions, I would suggest you check out Sherry & John's projects page over on their blog Young House Love (if you don't already read their blog, it is a MUST ADD to your blogroll!) as that's where I got most of the information that I used to finish this project.

First, I started off by removing the drawer hardware, removing the drawer, and giving the entire piece a nice wipe down with a wet rag.  You can even see in the picture above that some dust had moved in.  I had to give that dust and cobwebbies their eviction papers.   Time to move, Fellas. . .I've got some refinishing to do! 

 As you can see, the top of the piece had some dents, dings, and scratches.  So, in order to get a nice smooth surface that was going to take well to painting, I needed to sand down the entire piece focusing special attention on the top to try to level everything out.  Pay no attention to that screwdriver on top.  It had no part in this production and was simply stopping to take a rest on its way to another project.  Not sure how it snuck its way into the picture.  On top of that, I am now realizing that I got no pictures of the piece after I had sanded it all down.  Sorry about that!  Clearly, I was a little too excited to move onto the next step which was. . . .

Breaking out the primer and cute little foam roller.  Once everything was all sanded down and smooth, it was time to prep the surface with a good latex based primer.  The dude at Home Depot recommended this stuff

Glidden GRIPPER in grey (HD guy said that since I was painting the nightstand a dark blue, the primer would do better if tinted so as not to show through the paint as white).  To apply the primer, I picked up this little Touch UP & Trim Kit which I think cost me about $2.00 total.  It came with the roller and a very convenient little tray.  The size of this roller was perfect for the little nooks and crannies in the nighstand.  A little bit small for the larger surfaces (like the top, sides and back) but I made it work just by working in smaller sections on those areas.  Here are some pics of Getting all Gripper with it

Here's one with the whole piece covered in primer.  In total, I put two coats of primer on just to make sure that everything was nice and covered. 

This is where the lack of pictures will probably do the most damage.  Once I actually started painting, I was just on a roll and didn't even come up for air, let alone to take a picture.  Actually, I had to switch the positioning of the piece so many times in order to paint a different side/angle, I didn't have any time to take pictures.  I was too busy moving, painting, moving again, painting again, etc.  It was a painful rinse & repeat process.  Although, the paint that I used was Valspar Ultra Premium semi gloss in Royal Navy.  This is the same paint (as in, same can of paint--it was leftover!) that the rest of Tyler's bedroom furniture is painted in so I knew it was going to be an exact match.  Plus, it meant I didn't have to buy more paint.  Score!  As for a brush, I used one of my Purdy paintbrushes.  These are the only paintbrushes that I use.  They are more expensive than other brushes, but they are high quality and really produce an excellent finish.  I say that like I have a ton of experience in painting but I don't.  I just copy from those that do and Sherry & John over at YHL certainly qualify as professionals (in my book, at least) in the furniture painting department.  They recommended Purdy so that's what I use! 

After the entire piece was painted, the question of what to do about drawer hardware needed to be addressed.  Initially, I was going to replace the drawer pull and put something else on.  But, as I got the piece painted, I actually kind of liked the lines of the handle that came with it.  That, and reusing the original handle was going to save me from filling in the screw holes left behind if I had decided to use a different handle.  However, something definitely needed to be done with the color.  



I decided to go with a rich brown since Tyler's room has some brown sprinkled througout and I figured a brown handle would tie right into his room.  I also just happened to have a can of glossy brown spray paint in my arsenal so it saved me from the cost of buying a new handle and new spray paint.  I'm all about keeping it cheap!  

Sorry about the sideways picture. 

Two quick coats of spray paint on the handle and it we were ready to put everything back together.  Are you ready for the big reveal? 

TA-DA!!!!  I'll be honest, I'm not toally sold on the brown handle.  I don't think I love it.  It doesn't tie into the lamp and the rest of the room like I thought it would so I'm considering pulling it off and painting it another color.  Maybe red?  Brushed Nickel?  What do you think?  But, I do like the nightstand!  It matches the rest of Tyler's furniture very well and he LOVES having somewhere to put the remote to his TV and his cup of water at night.  Since I have yet to ever highlight Tyler's room, here are a few total package pictures so that you can get a feel for what his room looks like--

Tyler also has a bookshelf on the other side of the room which is the same color as well as a dresser along the wall (you can kind of see the shadow of it in the whole room shot) that is also the same color.  This is probably the one room in my entire house that is as finished as it's going to get with the exception of getting his TV hung on the wall--I can't seem to find the right wall mount for the TV.  Boo! 

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my first little furniture makeover post.  All in all, here's about what I spent to finish the project:

Nighstand: $10 at Goodwill
primer: $11 at Home Depot
foam roller kit for primer: $2

The rest of the items used for the project I already owned so there was no additional expense there.  So, overall, I only spent $23 to get a new piece of funiture in my son's room that totally rounds out the room!

Kid Bathroom Makeover-Part 1

While most normal people were spending their Christmas break visiting friends and family, eating hoards of delicious foods, analyzing their Holiday spending receipts and pondering bankruptcy, or coming up with excuse after excuse to get out of traveling to see those relatives, I was spending quality time with my ipod.  And paintbrush.  And sharing close quarters with a toilet used solely by a six year old boy.  One, which I have recently discovered, possesses the aim of a blind bat.  Fabulous times, let me tell ya!

Since I was off work for almost two weeks (which is unheard of), I'm out of school for a few more weeks (again, almost unheard of), and I (gasp) don't have too many other things on my to-do list other than DIY projects, I figured I'd start to tackle one of the projects which has been on the painfully slow moving to-do list for awhile.  Like, for a year and a half. 

Step into my office. . . .err, my canvas?. . .no, my PROJECT!. . .

This is Tyler's bathroom.  Well, kind of.  I took this picture after I had already started in on some of the makeover.  Oh, not those blue blocks.  Those have been there for a year and a half.  Yeah, I'm a little slow.  I had already started moving in my tool friends and had removed the cabinet doors by time the thought occurred to me to grab my camera and document the process for you blogger friends of mine. 

The next few pictures are courtesy of my over eager six year old.  Ty wanted to help SO bad but there was just no way I could give him a paintbrush during the (much dreaded) cutting in phase.  So, I told him he could be the photographer instead.  I must say that the kid might have some talent.  At least they came out clear.  This pic is of me cutting in around the tub.  Unfortunately, Tyler doesn't know how to zoom in and out on the camera so he didn't capture the interesting way that I had myself positioned with one foot on the edge of the tub and the other braced on the back of the top of the toilet.  This is dangerous work, people! 



Another photo of the cutting in process.  I HATE CUTTING IN!  I don't mind painting. . .well, not a whole lot. . .I don't love it while I'm actually doing it, but I like when it's done.  I'd like painting much better if I could just snap my fingers and have it be done.  Regardless, I HATE cutting in.  It's slow, it's painful (seriously!  My wrists hurt really bad right now.  Typing is killer after painting for several hours!), and it's dreadfully boring.  I'm much happier when the cutting in part is over.  And right now, it's far from over.  So, I'm far from happy. 

I've got to get back to painting.  For now, here's a sneak peek at the progress that I've made so far.  There's some color on the wall.  Be sure to come back soon to catch up on the progress as I go. 

Pantry Overhaul

Have you ever been assaulted by a pantry?  I know it seems weird, but it happened to me.  I was opening the pantry door to get some cereal down for Ty and something jumped out and attacked me.  Don't laugh, it hurt.  I can't remember what it was that fell (see, I think it gave me amnesia!) but that experience made me realize that the pantry had gone too far.  I had given it too much control.  It was time for me to show it who was boss.  In other words, it had been neglected far too long and it was high time it got an overhaul. 

I'd like to introduce you to my pantry.  This picture was taken after I had already started taking things out of it.  After my head met an unknown object that originated from that top shelf, I figured I should probably start removing items as quickly as possible in the interest of human safety.  Just try to visualize the top shelf looking like the rest of them.

Here is a closer look at just how crammed those shelves were.  Looking back on it now, I can recognize that this may appear to be a scene out of "Hoarders". 

 I grabbed my friends Trash Can and Recycling Bag and got to work.  Good thing I called in those friends, they saw a lot of action during this mission. 

For example, there was this: 

 Unknown package of something.  I'm pretty sure it was pudding or Jello, but have no idea what flavor or anything. 

Or, there was the container of Easy Mac that expired in November 2009.  Yes, that's sad.  But, it gets worse. . .we've moved twice since then.  So apparently, we packed up expired food and moved it with us.  Twice.  Nice. 

This package of Spiced Cider looked innocent enough.  That is, until I looked at the side panel. . .

Yes, you read that right.  In case you can't make it out fully, the expiration date listed is 12/31/2006.  Umm. . . .I have no explanation that would sound the least bit rational.  The only thing that I can say is that I have cleaned out my pantry since then.  I just missed this somehow.  I won't even tell you how many times we've actually moved since 2006.  How this got missed all those times, I'll never fully understand.  Yikes!

There were also some less gross but equally interesting discoveries during Mission Pantry Takeover.

Yes, that's a can of applesauce.  That's not the interesting thing. 

This is:

That's ALOT of applesauce!!  I don't know what's worse: the fact that I apparently thought that a giganormous (yes, it's a word. . at least in my world) can of applesauce would ever actually have a use in this house or the fact that a giganormous can of applesauce was able to hide in my pantry completely undetected. 
Pretty much my plan of attack consisted of the following:
Empty each shelf and scrutinize every single item taken out of the pantry.  Anything that was unidentified (jello or pudding?  Your guess is as good as mine!), expired, or stale (like the 12 bags of opened half eaten chips?) immediately met Mr. Trash.  Any boxes or packaging that were able to be recycled met Miss Brown Paper (Recycling) Bag.  Throughout the entire mission, Mr. Trash, Miss BPB and I worked tirelessly together to divide and conquer. 
Once all enemies had been identified and disposed of, our POW's needed to be assigned their places of captivity.  Therefore, each shelf in the pantry took on a "theme" of sorts.  The top shelf was designated for any "breakfasty" items (cereal, oatmeal, pop tarts, etc) as well as any stockpiled snack items (unopened bags of chips, cookies, etc).  The second shelf was where pastas, rices, sauces, and baking items were to be held. 

The next shelf was for opened snack foods and cookbooks.  I went and extra step here and filled up two wooden bowls with snack foods that are "Mom Approved" for the little bear to consume.  I did this so that when Ty asks me to get a snack, I can direct him exactly where to pull his snack from and I know that whatever he gets out of those two bowls has already passed my nutrition scrutiny.  In one bowl, I put little packets of goldfish crackers and peanut butter crackers.  In the other bowl, I put packages of fruit snacks.  Maybe not the absolute top shelf in healthy eating, but they were items that I had on hand that I could deal with him eating for a snack. 

The next shelf down was now home to all of our drink mixes, tea bags, and then two soft sided cube containers that I keep all of Tyler's plates, bowls and cups in.  He is at the age where he could probably graduate up to using the same stuff that I do to eat off of, but he likes that he can get his own cups of water and help me set the table by getting out his own plates and stuff.  So, I leave them in there.  The very bottom area of the pantry is where I keep overflow stockpile of sauces, potatoes and rice, and then a basket of tupperware lids.  For years, I tried to find the best system for organizing my tupperware containers and lids.  I finally came down to a system of keeping the containers themselves in a cabinet and then all of the lids in a basket at the bottom of the pantry.  It's the best I could do. 

Have you completed any organization projects lately?  Share them!  I can use all of the organizational tips/tricks out there. . .I've got a lot of organization to accomplish around here!  

Thrifty Thursday: Fun Christmas Ornament Craft

I love fun, easy, and cheap crafts that I can do with Tyler!  What I love even more, are crafts that we can do together that don't look like they were necessarily done by a six year old and his creativity challenged mother!  Therefore, this craft was P-ER-FECT for us!

Cinnamon Applesauce Christmas Ornaments

Ingredients:

3/4 c. cinnamon (yes, that's alot of cinnamon!)
1/2 c. warmed applesauce (maybe a little more, if needed)

Directions:

Mix cinnamon and applesauce in medium size bowl.  If mixture is too crumbly (i.e. dry), add more applesauce a little bit at a time until mixture forms a nice dough consistency.  Do not add too much applesauce at one time or dough may be too sticky.  Once dough consistency is reached, place dough on large piece of wax paper.  Sprinkle down some cinnamon both on wax paper and on top of dough ball to act as "flour" to keep dough from sticking to wax paper.  Add another sheet of wax paper on top of dough ball and roll to 1/4 inch thickness. 

Sprinkle down more cinnamon as needed to keep dough from sticking.  Once dough is rolled out, use regular cookie cutters to cut out shapes and place on wax paper lined cookie sheet.

Once all shapes have been cut out, use a straw (or similar shaped object) to poke a hole in order to string ribbon through to use as ornament hanger.

Bake in oven on 200 degrees for roughly an hour (maybe more, maybe less) until ornaments feel mostly dry.  Remove from oven and let air dry overnight or until dry and hard.  String ribbon through, hang on tree, and ENJOY!



Things to note, be careful when handling these ornaments once they are done because they are very brittle.  At least, mine are.  We haven't broken one yet but they just seem fairly delicate.  This project was super fun, easy, and cheap (I think I paid like $5 for cinnamon and only used half of it, already had applesauce, and we got about 12 ornaments out of it) and it made the house smell DELICOUS!!!  The ornaments are all sitting in my living room right now waiting to go on the tree and almost a week after making them, I still get a waft of cinnamon scent every time I walk by them.  Now, if you don't like the smell of cinnamon, I wouldn't recommend making these. . .cuz it's gonna smell like a cinnamon factory in your house!  In my case, I don't mind that (trust me, it's better than sweaty six year old boy, wet dog, and old grumpy cat!) so this was great for us! 

Do you have any fun Christmas crafts that you've done lately?  Share them with us!

Thrifty Thursday: Frugal Advent Calendar

For this Thrifty Thursday, I have a project that I found to be VERY exciting.  Probably because I thought it up all by my lonesome (thanks to being bored at work!) and also because it's for my little baby bear and I think he's really going to like it!  I have always admired advent calendars but I've never found one that was really just it for me.  I also wanted something that was going to allow me to include activities each day that Ty and I could do together.  So, I made one myself.  And I'm so excited how great it turned out.  I hope you think so too! 


Here's what it took and how much it set me back:

• 24 clothespins--FREE (just stole them from my laundry room) for me but you could probably get a whole big pack at the dollar store for only. . .well, one dolla!
• 3 cans of spray paint (white, red & green)--$3.40 for all three cans @ Wal-Mart
• Sisal rope (need a higher weight rope to hold up all those clothespins)--$6.48 from Lowes but I have a TON leftover so I'll probably finish that rope jar project that I never got around to making for my mom's beach house (Sorry, Mom!)
• 24 mini cards and envelopes--$2.00 from Micheals

You could number the envelopes any way you wanted but I found a super cute set of tiny letter stamps at Wal-Mart for only $.97 plus some small Christmas themed stamps (3 to a package!) for .97 so I splurged on those and an extra ink pad for $.97 also. 

Grand total spent: $14.79--not too shabby when you consider that I now have enough sisal rope to either complete another project or hog tie a herd of wild elephants.  Cuz I sometimes find those walking around in my neighborhood.  Just sayin'.


And here's how I made it happen:

Step 1: I laid out all 24 clothespins on some old newspaper in the garage and seperated them into three groups of 8.  One group was spray painted white, one group red, and one group green.

I put two good coats of the red and green on each side but the white took three coats.

Step 2: I took my mini stamps and spelled out the different numbers from One to Twenty Four on the mini envelopes.  I then took my little Christmas stamps and decorated the envelopes.  This step is totally optional.  You could number the envelopes any way you wanted or decorate them any way you wanted. 

Step 3: I took the Sisal rope and strung it between the two light fixtures that Tyler has hanging in his bedroom.  You'll want somewhere fairly sturdy (tied to a banister going up a stairwell, hung from a mantel, etc) because once all of the clothespins and envelopes are on there, it's fairly heavy. 

Step 4:  Once I had everything else done, dried and tied to the wall, I wrote an activity inside of each of the little cards.  Since I wanted activities that were going to allow Ty and I to spend some extra time together, I included things like:

• Extra snuggles before bed
• Pick out a movie to watch together
• Go on a nature walk
• Breakfast at IHOP
• Paint a picture together
• Do something nice for someone else
• Put together a puzzle together

And other activities that I thought would really help us bond during this crazy stressful time otherwise known was the Holiday season as well as some things that would give Ty an opportunity to learn about the giving that is associated with the Holiday season as opposed to only receiving.

Step 5: After all of the cards were filled and put into their envelopes, I used alternating colors of clothespins to hang the cards on the line.  I started with number Twenty Four and went all the way down to One since the idea is to have a countdown till Xmas.  I'm hoping that by spelling out the numbers, versus just printing the numbers on the envelopes, it will help Tyler with his sight reading skills of numbers.  Always gotta think about the educational spin! 

And there you have it.  An advent calendar that I'm totally in love with!  I put it together last week while Ty was at his dad's house as a suprise for him when he came home to me on Thursday.  He LOVED it!!!  He's gotten so excited about seeing what is inside of each envelope each day.  I've tried to schedule around the fact that he's with his dad 50% of the time so I've included activities on those days that he's with his dad that I thought would be relatively easy for his dad to complete with him.  

What do you think?  Do you have an avent calendar project that you love?  If so, please share!!