Emerald City - Tall And Skinny 3-Tier Stand Fix-Up #1

Sometimes I buy things that look like they should have been placed at a curb side pick-up.

This is one of those pieces.  I think I paid $5.00 for it. 
 I know.....

                                                              
 Most of the joints needed gluing and the piece on top of the drawer had come completely off.

I glued and clamped the pieces and then lightly sanded it. 
I wanted some of the wood to show through so I just gave it a thin coat of paint.
I used a Behr Ultra Flat sampler in a green (sorry it doesn't have the name on the bottle).

FYI:  Emerald Green is the "in" color this year!

The handle was broken so I spray painted a knob in Krylon's Oil Rubbed Bronze and replaced that.
Here is the end result!

BEFORE                                                       AFTER

                   









  It SOLD a few days after I took it into the store.

                                                                

Trash-For-Mation #2 Bookshelf Tutorial

trash   (trash) ,  n.  1. anything worthless or useless; rubbish.

I found this shelf on the side of the road in the big and bulky city pick up.  It was just waiting to be rescued by someone who could see it was clearly not "trash".

                                   

The paint was peeling too bad to just paint over it, so I scraped most of it off and then sanded it down.

I added a plywood back to give it stability and well, a back!  Here it is sanded with the back.

I then took a scrap piece of molding I had and drew and cut around the shape of the curved back of the side so the top shelf would have a back too and be a little "spiffy".

 
                        

I also added a piece of the same molding to the bottom as there was nothing there at all to start with.  I had already started painting it and realized it needed "something".

It was a pain to do two different colors and I don't know if I would invest again in the time it took to tape off, paint one color and then tape off the other surface and paint the opposite color.  (Had I known ahead a time I was going to use two colors, I would have painted the backing before I put it on.  This would have saved hours!) I then distressed it and rubbed a stain over the whole shelf to antique it.

Here it is finished:

  This is what they saw:                Here is what I see: 
BEFORE                                                         AFTER

                     

Night Stand Inspiration From Scrapbook Paper

This is a typical night stand/bedside table we found

We used scrapbook paper for inspiration.

First we lightly sanded the whole table, spray primed it, and then spray painted it with white flat paint.

We painted the drawer edge and bottom piece black with acrylic black paint and the inside back of the backing with black spray paint because the paper wasn't wide enough to cover the whole thing.
The paper was decoupaged to the inside back of the table.

We (meaning my sister)took a part of the design and painted it on the drawer front to work with the knob I found in my collection.  It had a perfect matching design on the knob.

Then she blew up the paper and traced and painted the bigger design on top.  If you are artistically challenged like I am, you could cut it out after blowing it up and decoupage it on.

PAPER                                              HAND PAINTING

                              

After the table was done it was scuffed up (while my sister looked the other way) and finished off with a clear wax.

I added a cut piece of gift bag  I found at the Dollar Store to the inside of the drawer because it matched so well.

Here it is finished!

 BEFORE                                                               AFTER

                                                                                                            

 

                     If you are really aware you may notice I used a different piece of scrapbook paper in the end because I tore the other one when I was decoupaging it on. Uugg!

                                                        

Re-Do #2 SHELF

Just wanted to share another easy RE-DO.

We thought this shelf could use an update.
It was a wooden shelf screwed to a black metal frame.

We unscrewed the wood and painted it yellow leaving the metal black.
It took a couple of tries before we were satisfied.
I called the first attempt the Bumble Bee shelf.  
Something about it just didn't feel right. 










  
So we tried it again and this is what we came up with.  We used RUST-OLEUM French Lilac and white spray paint.

                                                                                                                                                  
   BEFORE                                               AFTER
                                                                        

                                        



                                                                                                                  

Anthropologie Inspired Frames

You know how some things just catch your eye?

   Well, these bowls from Anthropologie did just that! 

 

 We loved the colors and designs and were inspired by them.

Soooo....we used these frames we picked up at the thrift store for .50 each,

And did this!

And this!

 

And this!

                                              

                                                         
BEFORE                                                         AFTER

 

                  






 Aren't they SO colorful and beautiful?! 
(My sister is the mega talented artist so I can gloat.)

                                                         

Tutorial: Trash-For-Mation #1 DESK

One of the features I want to add to my blog is a segment where I show how I transform and refurbish what someone else has defined as "TRASH".  These are pieces I usually pick up on the side of the road somewhere. (I have no shame--at least not in this area!)

trash   (trash) ,  n.  1. anything worthless or useless; rubbish.

  
I have a distortion problem.
I do not see what others define as "trash".

This is what they see.... 

This is what I see........

 

The top was a glued-on laminate.  I started to peel it off with the intention of adding a new piece of wood when I saw how beautiful the wood underneath was.

I scraped it off (this took some time).  I then sanded it down to the bare wood, making sure to get all the glue off.

I also lightly sanded the legs.  The drawer had layers of paint so I filled in the holes where the knobs were and sanded the drawer down almost to the wood.  It was more work than I wanted to invest so I changed plans mid-project (which is what creative people can give themselves permission to do) and left some paint still on the drawer.

I then used an "oops" sample of  Glidden sample paint (not a typo) for .50 from Home Depot.  Sorry I don't know what the name of the color is.
I painted the drawer full strength because of the aforementioned problem and with a damp 100% cotton sock I rubbed in the paint on the legs and bottom so some wood would still show through.

I wanted to highlight the wood after the paint dried, so I rubbed stain on and then wiped it off the whole bottom, including the drawer.  (Sorry I don't remember what kind of stain I used.)
I stained the top with a built-in stain/finish so I didn't need to polyurethane it.

I then replaced the 2 wooden knobs with a metal pull handle and then added 2 metal brads for decoration where the old knobs were.
              And there you go!
                   
BEFORE                                                                                                                AFTER 
                                                                                                  

                                                                         

Small Metal Repurposed Table BEFORE/AFTER

Here is what one of my "Repurposing" looks like.
I will take you through the process as I worked it out.

I found this (heavy) lamp base at a salvage store for under 5.00.  (I think 3.00)

  
I bought this tray tagged Ikea when I was visiting my children.  It came from Goodwill for 2.00 .  (I shipped it home in my suitcase!)

I thought the two should meet each other.

I don't remember if I took pictures of the process the first time, but I didn't find them.
I took the metal ring and the glass top off.  (I have an "idea" for those two pieces later.)
Then I cleaned the base and tray well and primed them (or at least the base-I forgot to prime the tray). 
{ I love Kilz spray primer!  It gives a good coat the first time.  It may be more expensive but I found I use less than other primers.   I also use it a lot and if you buy, I think it's 6, you get a better deal at Home Depot.}

I glued them together with Gorilla glue but found later that the base wasn't big enough, and so there wasn't a good connection/bond.  I (easily) broke the tray off. (FAIL)

I then added a wooden cutting board to make it more stable.  That is what you see in the picture. 

   









I then primed the bottom with automotive black primer (because it was closer to gray I guess) and then I spray painted the new parts with Rust-oleum Metallic Matte Nickel spray paint.  (Metals are in this year!)
And here it is finished.  This isn't the best picture but I get excited to take things to the store and forget to take "afters".

 BEFORE                                                                                                                                   AFTER

                      And there you go!