Christmas Swirl in use.

Just a very quick post to show you how the swirls look.

So lets see what we can do with this stuff. 

I suppose this works. 

We got it all decked and decided it was a little overwhelmed. I pulled a few things off.  

I like the swirls but then wonder if I really do or if I am just committed to them.

Fabric flowers I made last year. 

A star on top will complete all the scenery. (Patrick Star) 

 My sister ordered a tree online that has not arrived yet. She finished some of her 

decorations around the house. 

Her 3 year old daughter looked around and said "It's not perfect yet." 

My sister asked "what would make it perfect?" 

She answered" "We need presents."  

Never mind the missing tree

So, have you decked your halls?

Counter Makeover

I found this cute cabinet at the local thrift store. I loved the shape but knew the color needed some help.  

I had found these nifty tin strips at a craft store in Kaysville. They have a few designs. I knew I wanted to eventually find a 

way to use them. This cabinet seemed like a good place.

The edge of the table was a bit thinner than the smaller strip. I used tin snips to remove the edge. 

It did leave a bit of a sharp edge so I used a Dremmel cutting disk and just hit the edges with the flat side of the disk 

Then I pulled the counter off of the cabinet so that I could cleanly paint all of it. 

I had seen the Tim Holtz Alcohol paints and have wanted to mess with them. But I wanted this to be the specific color.
I painted the strips the turquoise. Then I squeezed a little rubbing alcohol and brown paint into a baby food jar and shook
it up to mix it well. I brushed the thinned paint onto the strip. then rubbed off with a rag leaving some behind in the details. 

Then using small tack nails I put the strip around the edge, 

I was going to use the larger edge pieces on the door. But I just wasn't liking how it lined up 

and I really wanted the cooler Knob. 

Just a fun little project 

I am liking that I have easy access for things I am going to carry to church 

but that I can hide it all away during the week.  

Crazy week ahead. I get to meet my dear friend for some Christmas shopping. Hopefully get a hair cut and sacrifice time to be Kori's European Facial model.  Yep, it will be rough.   

Hope your week is great

Hand Me Down Dresser

On Labor day this year we definitely Labored. We helped my brother and his family move to their cute new home. After repainting this dresser "Thrice" they were ready to get rid of it. So I threw it in the van figuring I could find somewhere to put it. 

The paint was really soft and gummy. I didn't want to do a ton of sanding but I didn't want that sticky paint either. It was bad mostly on the top so I did a quick "once over" with the belt sander and called it good.

I had a small can of paint I found in the Lowe's "reject pile".  

*A great way to find fun colors for way cheap.*  

A little spray paint on the handles 

I wanted a little something extra, but subtle. I found a Damask print I liked on the Googles;-), enlarged it and cut it out to use as a template. I then used a polyurethane to give a tone on tone pattern. 

*note* The card-stock stencil didn't end up with very smooth edges. I think I would look for an actual template if I ever try that again. Also my pattern has turned yellowish so maybe I would use a modpodge instead. 

I put this next to my makeup spot to hold hair brushes, headbands, eyeglasses and random "get ready things. 

Then, Just this week, I swapped the dresser in my room with the one from my sons room. I was looking for storage/display options for his Lego sets.

I found this at the DI (thrift shop) for $5. 

It didn't really have any use in his room after all so I set it aside for future thinking. Then as I was 

re setting my room I realized I needed one more drawer in my dresser. I looked, and measured, and thought "why not"

So a little more turquoise paint,  a little gold spray, a couple of L brackets and some Agents of Shield to keep me company...

and I have more room for lotions and potions.

Cameo appearance by Mel

Hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving. 

Mom's Kitchen Continued.

Lets start with a small re-cap.

This was Moms kitchen on October 24. 

Then after a little work, her kitchen looked like this. 

Better, but not quite finished. So on Nov. 12 we taped up plastic sheeting,  

sanded down her counter tops to rough them up. 

Added some thick black paint 

Threw on some sprinkles 

Then let it sit over night. 

The next day 

We finished painting the remaining cabinet space underneath the counter.

Sanded down the loose and rough sprinkles. 

Then we ran to Home Depot for plastic "tin" tiles

Then a little snippy snip. 

Some slide rails and strong double stick tape, and a shiny sealer on the counters.

With about 7 days of work and less than $700 later we turned 

This

Into THIS

We honestly went into this with NO idea what we were doing. We ruined our first tile making a hole for the outlets but kept going. We were able to use the "ruined" one to fill small gaps at the ends of the space so it turned out just fine. 

Sometimes you take a breath and throw on the first bit of paint so there is no turning back.  

Mom's kitchen is so bright, clean and Cool!  She couldn't be happier, and I drove home a little proud and amazed that we actually did it. 

Apparently my comment section doesn't work. No idea why. I need a lesson in blogging from all you SuperBloggers I know. 

Cupboards

My Mom has wanted to brighten up the cabinets in her kitchen.  

The last week of October Mom was heading to Las Vegas. Before she left we bought the paint kit. I realized she would be away from the home and not in much need of the doors, so I stole them so I could work on them at home. 

This kit is pretty cool, it comes with almost all you need.

Step one, after removing doors and all hardware, is to give them a good cleaning. Then you use the bottle on the far left. It's a de-glosser that preps your doors for the paint. No Sanding!!

Next is the bond coat / paint. Mom wanted hers light so we used it "as is" but you can get it tinted for whatever look you are after. 

(Green or Turquoise could be fun.) 

I did 3 coats

At this point you are about tired of your paint. Then the fun begins. 

Time to glaze

The glaze just gets brushed on. Just slop it on there. Leave it on in consideration of the look you are after. I painted on and wiped off but if you wanted a deeper more aged look, let it sit a minute.  

Then with the lint-free cloths provided in the kit 

you wipe the glaze off. 

I texted Mom "Right or Left" just to make sure. She liked left. So how do I lighten the right? With a handy dandy spray bottle filled with water.  I gave the door a couple of squirts and wiped more off. 

This gets me to Monday, Mom won't be home till Friday and we have invited the family to her house sunday night for sunday sweets and the bench reveal. (last post) 

I wasn't sure when we would get it done. So after being unable to sleep most of monday night followed by strange dreams that may have involved one of the quail in my yard walking around with a Tonka Truck stuck on its head followed by me yelling at Benedict Cumberbatch for his evil villain rolls. I decided tuesday would be the day to get to it. 

I broke into Mom's house.

Cleaned

deglazed

3 layers of paint

Then a return trip thursday to alternating layers of paint on the upper cabinets with glazing and rubbing down. Till it was finally time to return the doors. 

Friday evening my phone rang. I said out loud "Moms Home" then answered.

I am so glad she didn't come home to a half finished mess.  

I think it turned out pretty good. *Next up, 

Because we are adventurous And you never know till you try. 

Have a great week. 

Drumroll Please

ok Peeps.

This.

Today.

This is why the Blog was suggested, considered and created.

I am 5 posts in and I have probably hit my peak.
(but you never know so come back anyway). 

I am going to be a little annoying here because I am stinking proud of this one. 

I saw this going around the internet and thought it was way cute.

Then it hit me that I had the perfect piece.

 

This is My Mom and Dads bed. One of the first thing they bought together. 

It was painted white for me and was in my bedroom for years. It has moved with me to Illinois and back and everywhere since, mostly living in storage. I have thought to donate it but I could never part with it. Then Dad passed away last year. With this new, cool idea in mind, this became a very special re-purpose for me. Then I realized If I made it, I couldn't keep it. 

So with this new idea in mind, I chopped the foot board in half. 

I sanded and stripped and scraped and sanded some more. I wasn't planning to totally sand it but the oak underneath was so beautiful I had to get it bare. Then I set out to build it back up. 

A guy at Lowe's suggested I use dowel pegs to build it. Which I tried. and tried, and tried to do. But it was a mess and I was denting wood trying to hammer it together. The wood started to split in places and I was getting frustrated. I didn't set out to destroy the piece but that's what it was feeling like. So I stopped. 

Then on the day I planned to return the tools I borrowed, the way snapped into place in my head.

 (I'm asking for my own tools for Christmas)

I re-cut my wood, screwed together 4 boards to make a simple frame then put 3 cross boards in. 

I mounted that to the two foot board ends. Then I added the back to it and it was upright. I may have punched the air and danced around the garage a little. 

I then laid boards across the frame 

Pretty Huh? 

The lattice was too hard to strip so I gave it a good once over to clean it up and had to move on from there. But with all the exposed oak I couldn't paint it again. I decided on a stain and found a white paint with the right red undertone to match.  

 I cut a sheet of foam padding down to size and sewed the cover. 

I had made the pillows a few weeks before. 

you ready?

really?

ok here it goes. 

I am giving this back to my Mom for her anniversary. I think she will love it. 

I am giving it with the clear understanding that when she is done with it, 

I GET IT BACK!!. 

I loved the pattern of the blue fabric but didn't realize one cool little unintentional detail until the pillows were all finished... 

See the cool hearts in there? I'm calling it Mom's extra hug from Dad. 

We got together at Moms Sunday night and brought it in. Mom pulled a tendon on Thursday so she is down resting her leg. We brought the surprise inside. Apparently it will most likely stay inside. 

Wanna see the reaction? 

http://youtu.be/K2dur5CKn-8

This uploaded weird. (I'm still new at this) so click the link to see the actual reaction**.

Please leave comments.. No one has over here so I don't know if anyone is -really- looking. Also what good is a blog without feed back (of the not rude kind of course)   

**Note, most things said when the Robbins family gets together are untrue and filled with teasing and sarcasm