Dresser Paint Job

I am thrilled to be sharing this post with you!  This project was on my list of things to do this summer, but I never got around to completing it.  Recently, I stumbled across this post from Centsational Girl about painting furniture.  She had some great tips, some of which I used on this project.

So here's the story:  My son has a dresser in his room that my husband and I purchased right out of college after we had gotten married.  Money was tight so we decided on purchasing some unfinished furniture.  I painted the dresser green and purple to match our (then) comforter.  Not sure what I was thinking, but obviously I thought it was "the bomb."  Once we were done with it and my son inherited it, I painted an orange color right over the green and purple (without any sanding and priming.)  I had also dry brushed an off-white on top of the orange.  Over the years the paint has chipped, especially on the top of the dresser.  It had become an eye sore and something needed to be done.

I came across this picture while poking around the internet and instantly became inspired.

So, here is what I started with:

This is where it gets bad.  The top of the dresser had chipped paint and "guck" that was left after my son tried growing crystals with a kit.

The gradient paint job was a great idea until I realized that the dresser had 5 sets of drawers instead of four like in the picture.  The problem was that all of the paint chips had 4 colors on the cards and I needed six (5 colors for the drawers and 1 color for the dresser.)  Sure, I could've extended the colors onto the next paint chip, but the colors either got too light, or I didn't like them.  Here is the paint chip from Behr I decided on:

After looking at a lot of colors and trying to figure how I was going to make this work, I decided that I would paint the frame of the dresser the darkest brown.  I would also paint the top set and the bottom set of drawers the darkest brown.  The middle drawers would be painted the 3 other colors.

To save money, I purchased the sample size containers of paint for the middle drawers.  I used Martha Stewart and Glidden because they offer a satin finish and the Behr samples only come in flat.  The woman at Home Depot color matched the paint for us since we had decided on Behr colors...and I think I ended up with one Glidden because she ran out of Martha paint.

Then, because we chose Martha for the drawers, we went with Martha for the dark brown color so that everything would have the same sheen.  Underneath the Martha paint is the primer that Centsational Girl suggested.  It is an oil based primer so I used one of the (pink) rollers for smooth surfaces and just trashed it when I was done.  I wasn't about to try to clean it.

Here are some of the materials I purchased for the project. 

The first thing I did was use a sander to rough up the drawer fronts (even though the primer says said it wasn't necessary) and the dresser top.  I did a more serious sanding job on the top of the dresser compared to the drawers.  I used a roller to paint the entire dresser.

We had this primer tinted one of the lighter browns on the paint chip.  It was easier to cover the tinted color versus the bright white of the original primer color.

After the primer...

And now....(drum roll, please) the finished product!

This project was completed in one afternoon and for only $45.00!!

Thursday Thoughts

Ten Thoughts This Thursday

1.  I wish...there was no daylight savings...just let it happen naturally.

2.  I want...new hardwood flooring.

3.  I think...I might participate in the "No Bread" Crossfit challenge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_oIDEaOl6U)

4.  I laugh...at our chickens.

5.  I appreciate...that my kids don't fight me when it's time for homework.

6.  I enjoy...the smell of fall scented candles.

7.  I struggle...with stepping away from the candy corn.

8.  I feel...super duper sore from yesterday's Boot Camp.

9.  I recommend...http://www.food.com/recipe/Crock-Pot-Garlic-Rosemary-Chicken-Breast-186256

10.  I hope...tomorrow's in-service day is better than today's.

Halloween Owls

I finally finished my first (and maybe only) Halloween craft.  A while back when fooling around with some felt, I made an owl, which can be seen here.  For October, I thought it would be cute to make 3 owls and put lettering on the front to spell "BOO."  And so I did.

I pulled out my patterns and felt.

I decided that I wanted purple thread for the wings and white for the border of the owls.

I used my glue gun to attach all the parts and decided to use "googly" eyes instead of buttons.  Are the white circles behind the eyes perfectly cut?  No.  But, to me, that's part of the charm. 

I found the glitter letters at Joann's.  It came with a complete alphabet set.  I used the glue gun to attach the letters, too.

Finished product!  I placed them on my "Fall Mantel" for this picture, but I look forward to finding a creative way to display them for my Halloween Mantel.

Total Cost = $4.00

I had all of the materials except the lettering. 

Fall Wreath

I'm super excited about this post because I am in love with the outcome.  I have been seeing a lot of wreaths on blogs that I follow in addition to Pinterest.  Here are a few I stumbled across when I searched for "fall yarn wreath" images.

high-heelfootinthedoor.blogspot.com

www.indiespotting.com

www.joyous101.blogspot.com

I've had the wreath project in the back of my mind as one of those things to do...eventually.  Well, when I was doing a quick walk-through at Goodwill a few days ago I came across this wreath for $2.99 and it got me going.

To cover the wreath I wanted yarn with some texture instead of using the real thin yarn.  I headed to Joann's and WOW do they have an extensive supply of yarn.  After walking up and down the aisles (I think there were 2 and a half aisles of yarn on both sides) I decided on this one.  I purchased 2 bundles, but only ended up needing one.  I returned the unused one, and with a 40% off coupon, the yarn was $4.00.

I left the plastic covering on the wreath because it made it easier to wrap.  I would wrap a bit, then scoot the yarn together, wrap a bit, and scoot...until it was completely covered.

So onto the craftier part of this project, the felt flowers.  I did not take pictures along the way as a tutorial.  I will say that I started with the tracers below.  I ended up cutting 6 of each pattern to make the petals.  Then, using embroidery thread, I stitched the bottom of each petal in an "up, down, up down" manner until I had done that to the 6 pieces.  Next, I pulled on the string to gather the petals and tied a knot.  After that I moved the petals around, got them where I wanted them, and glued them onto the wreath.

But here's the deal, after a while I quit using the tracers and just free-handed some on a whim.  I created flowers as I went and here is the final outcome.

Dollar Store Leaves

Back when I made my fall topiary I had gotten a few different styles of leaves.  I tucked the unused leaves away hoping to eventually use them.  Well, an idea came to me the other day.  I could hang the leaves above my fall mantel.

Here are what the leaves look like

I had to think of a way to hang the leaves.  I decided to curl the stems to create a loop.

Initially I was going to hang the leaves by some fishing line, but I decided to use thread instead.  I had some thick thread we used on some outdoor curtains, so it was perfect.  There were 10 leaves in the bag, but I decided to use 9 since it's better to use an odd number of something when making arrangements.

It was difficult to get a picture that really showed what the leaves look like.  They look better in person, if you ask me, but you'll get the idea.  The best part about them is that they spin around when the fan is on, or when a slight breeze moves through the room.

Felt Autumn Banner

I've been on a bit of a felt kick lately, just browse through my most recent posts.  Since felt is easy to work with and doesn't always require using a sewing machine, I decided to use it to make an autumn banner.

I began with some fall colors.  I purchased my felt squares at Joann's for 30¢ each.  I also made a tracer out of some scrapbook paper I had on hand.  Using a permanent marker, I traced the pattern on each felt color and cut the squares out.

I used a piece of equipment at work to cut out the letters.  Although they are expensive, I'd like to one day purchase a Silhouette which could cut out letters and so much more.

To add detail to each square, I embroidered the edges with string (used for needlepoint) that matched the felt squares.  I used hot glue to attach the letters.

Needlepoint string

Next, I used a sharp pair of scissors to cut a small hole in the upper left and right hand corners of each square.  I wove jute in and out of the holes so that I could hang the banner on my mantel. 

Cost Breakdown

6 pieces of felt = $1.80

6 bundles of string = $2.00

Letters = free

Jute = free

Total Cost = About $4.00

Fall Mantel

Call me crazy, but I enjoy decorating my mantel for all seasons, holidays, and most special occasions.  I usually get my fall mantel up right after Labor Day weekend.  Sure it's not technically fall yet, but I prefer to get it arranged before it's time to switch over to Halloween decor.  Last night after the kids were to bed, I poured myself a glass of wine and got to decorating.  It was a relaxing evening for me.

Here are a couple of" before" pictures of the mantel:

I pulled everything out of the storage tub to go through.  Here are 2 pics of what fit on the table...there were more things on the couch.

I spy with my little eye...a glass of wine!

That's it...until October rolls around and then it's time for witches, ghosts, and goblins.