re*dresser

I had this old dresser that I wanted to re-purpose, so I ran with it. This is what I started with. Gave it a quick sanding so the wood would hold paint.
I then painted the main part red and then gave it an over coat of white.

I then had the idea of making the drawers pop out by painting an inset square and then adding some numbers.

...and here is the final product.
I think it turned out fairly well. Kind of fun and different.

Wall Art

Heather had some ideas about some fun projects that we could hang on our wall. I took on the task of making them myself! The first one is for the guest bedroom. The thought was hang 9 squares, 3x3 and use fun scrapbook paper to add some color to the wall.
I started off making the frames using some 1x2 boards that I ripped down to 1x1 and some thin mdf board for the top.
Gave them a couple coats of paint, yellow base with a dry brush khaki finish over the top.

Added the paper squares. Here is the layout on the floor before I hung them on the wall.

The finished product hanging on the wall (don't mind the empty base cabinets, that is a bathroom project in the making). I think they turned out great!

The next project was to hang up pictures. I started off making two empty frames, one square one and another rectangle. Painted them brown...

I then used some of the leftover fabric from the kitchen as the backing.

Using upholstery tacks, I strung some wire across the frame. We found these great clips at Ikea, and now we have a photo board! This is the tall rectangle frame.

Here is the square frame. Heather then cropped the Christmas cards that we received and they got hung up!

What a fun way to display our Christmas cards year round!

*tis the season

So we got this new machine, a Cricut, it is a cutting machine. You program in what you want it to cut, push a button and like magic it cuts. Heather came up with a fun Christmas craft. We started with some plain frames.
Added some red vinly and cut out some letters.

Removed the backs of the frames and super glued the glass to the frames.

Drilled a couple holes and added ribbon.

Stuck on the red vinyl letters and...tis the season!

I also found out the the Cricut can cut out snowflakes!

The hardest part was sticking the letters on the glass straight.

*rock star chair

Every Friday, Derek and I hit the garage sales over our lunch break. I stumbled upon this little blue chair. I thought it is the perfect size to fit with our small IKEA table. It would also be great for when nephews/nieces/friends stop over and kids need a place to color, the only problem was the color...
...so with a little painters tape and some spray paint, the little blue chair turned into a rock star chair!

...complete with star and racing stripes!

*chalk one up for the team

I took on the adventure of painting with chalkboard paint. I got some old lockers from my parents, I was so excited to get this project started that I forgot to take before pictures but I did find this one that shows what the original lockers looked like.
I mixed up my own chalkboard paint and it is easy to do. 1 cup paint (any color) and 2 tablespoons of non-sanded white grout. Mix together really well and you are ready to go.

You might be asking, "Why mix your own when you can buy chalkboard paint?" Good question, the answer is...custom colors. This time I went with black, but my round will be a coordinating color to match our paint in the basement. I used a sponge brush to apply.

It took two coats but I am very pleased with the results.

Here is a close up view, I wrote and erased on locker number 7, so it looks a little more broken in.

Another idea I have is in the garage. I kept some of our old kitchen cabinets and I plan on chalkboard painting the door fronts and then I can label what tools are held inside.