A Painted Dresser

I have all these projects that I need to write about and I had the good intention of writing then in chronological order of when I did them. Then I realized I hadn't blogged about a chair I refinished back in July...so since I was already off I might as well throw that idea to the wind.

This project is one I just finished for my aunt and it's my favorite piece I've done to date so that's what I'm going to write about :)

The dresser to start out wasn't bad at all. It just had a very "Pottery Barn" look about it (probably because it was from Pottery Barn but that's beside the point). Anyway, so it used to be in my cousins nursery and they're redoing her room now and it doesn't fit with the new decor there or in the rest of the house so it had been living in the basement. 

My aunts house is mostly browns, golds, and cremes. It's a mix of classics with a touch of what I'd call "glam". 

Luckily, my aunt was game for pretty much whatever. She just wanted the chest to be a chocolate brown. I sent her the idea for the painted chest (which I saw here) and she loved it. 

I started out by using a little gold rub n' buff on the edges in the hopes that it would show through when I distressed it. However, it wound up rubbing off quite a bit when I distressed it so next time I think I'll use another kind of paint. 

I made my own chalk paint again using this tutorial. The just bought another Behr sample from Home Depot in Dark Truffle. I did two full coats and then a touch up third coat where it was still not completely opaque.

Then, I put the drawers back in and sketched out my design to paint. (I actually had only painted the drawers at this point and not the dresser base because I was anxious to paint the detail work :) ) I used a white kind of charcoal crayon because I couldn't find any chalk but basically the idea is to be able to sketch out the shape of what you want to paint with a medium that you can wipe off later when you finish.

I only sketched out the general shape because I wanted it to have that really hand painted feel and not be completely perfect. I used a cream Behr paint (I can't remember the name of it now!) and watered it down. I used that with just a craft paint brush to create a sort of "leaf" shape for the vine design.

When I had completely finished painting everything, I waxed everything down using Annie Sloan wax (2 coats on the drawers and 1 on the base). The drawer pulls I used were just from Hobby Lobby. I wanted something cream and simple with a sort of flower shape that would compliment the vine design.

The last thing I did was to add some drawer liners. It wasn't necessary, but I think it added another fun touch and helped the piece feel more expensive and like all the details had been though through. I found the wrapping paper I used locally at Celebrations and simply cut it to size and used double sided table to keep it in place in the drawers.

I was SO pleased with how this piece turned out! As usual, my parents wanted to keep it, but it went back to live with my aunt. It has yet to find a permeant home but has been moving around for now :)

Here's the final before and after. I love how such a simple piece can be so special after a bit of work!

PS I "staged" the shots for the finished piece in our house. It's so funny how it looks good in the shots you take but really the room looked like a complete wreck and it was too small for the space! ;)

Anthropologie Drawer Knock Off Tutorial

So I need to start off this post by saying that this is purely theoretically. I get these "great" ideas but the sad part is, I don't have my own house yet so I don't need any new furniture! The end result is a picture I made in Photoshop but I wanted to make this tutorial in case anyone was in the need for a set of drawers.

The "Real Thing" is from Anthropologie here.

And without further ado...here is the picture tutorial!

What you need is:

-RAST 3 Drawer Chest from Ikea

-Minwax Stain (I'd recommend Provincial)

-Drawer Pulls

-Stencils (or make your own!)

-Black Paint (you can buy a Behr paint sample)

-Fine Grit Sandpaper

Budget Breakdown:

Chest - $34.99

Stain - $4.78

Drawer Pulls (3 @ $4.78) - $14.34

Paint Sample - $2.94

Sandpaper - $4.97

TOTAL: $61.02

Not too bad, right?

xoxo

P.S.  A little birdie told me that someone might be coming back to the blog with a post soon. Exciting right??

Washi Tape Keyboard Tutorial

If you've been on any blogs or Pinterest recently, you know that washi tape is EVERYWHERE. Essentially, what it is is Japanese colored tape. It's not super sticky on the back but has a smilier feel to painter's tape.

I saw an idea for this a while back and started it but never really finished it out. So yes, I did keep my keyboard looking like this for about a year...no big deal. But what I can report is that it looked just fine after a year (granted, I keep a cover on my keyboard which I'll show later, but not too bad!) Also, I went ahead and pulled off one of the stickers to see what would happen but it actually didn't leave any residue! 

As prep for this project, I'd recommend cleaning your keys. I just swabbed over mine with rubbing alcohol and it seemed to do the trick just fine.

The first step is buying your washi tape. There are tons of places out there but I got mine from Le Box Boutique on Etsy. It was just under $6 for 8 colors. Each came on a cute little spool and it was way more than enough tape to cover your keyboard. The colors I used were green grid, yellow dots, spring flowers, garden pink, garden blue, grey polkadots, grey diagonal, and blue stripes. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't pick the gray because you can't see it as well on the dark keys. The tape with more color and less white worked out the best.

I used a self healing cutting mat and x-acto knife to cut my tape but really, you could just use scissors and keep it simple. I did it this way because then I could cut them precisely to size.

After I stuck it on the mat, I used a clear ruler to make a vertical cut.

Then I cut the corners off the tape. Again, maybe not necessary but I did notice with the tape I had on my keys before, it was starting to pull up a little at the corners and I figured this was the safest way to go.

Then I pulled it off the mat and stuck it on the key. Don't worry about getting it right the first time. It's really easy to pull the tape back off and reposition it again if you need to.

So there you have it! My colorful keyboard in all of it's glory. I'm kind of obsessed...seeing all the colorful keys make doing real work on my computer seem a little less sad ;) Plus it's a fun way to personalize your Mac since everyone and their mother's looks exactly the same!

Like I mentioned before, I actually do keep a silicone cover on my keys so that if anything spills it won't be able to leak into the guts of my computer. The color is a little less bright that way but you can definitely still see it! 

xoxo,

Cooler Painting Tutorial

Hey everyone! Happy October! 

One of my friends asked me to give her a guide as to how I painted a cooler back in the spring. Now, if you aren't familiar with cooler painting, here's a quick run down. It seems to be an only Southern college tradition and it's bigger at some schools than others. Basically how it works is that when a fraternity boy invites you to his formal it is proper etiquette for you to paint him a cooler. The cooler is then brought, filled with drinks, to the formal. The cooler is usually hand painted and personalized for the boy. Some might say...that's a lot of work for just a boy (aka my mom) but the concept is that he is paying for pretty much everything so all you have to do is the cooler :)


I don't have any step by step pictures but the pictures are from the cooler I painted for a Sigma Nu at Vanderbilt! (also please excuse the crappy iPhone quality...I took them at 4am before I left and this was also before I had my nice camera!) Also, there seems a be quite a few different ways to paint coolers. Mine might have more steps than most but in my opinion, if I'm putting all this time into painting it, I want it to last. And so far, this one did.

Step 1: Sand

You don't need to sand super, super well but just enough to kind of scuff up the surface so the primer will stick. I used a coarse sand paper then a finer grit after to make sure it was sanded pretty well. Again, this is just me being extra sure but I think this is one of the most important steps because everything is going to peel off or chip if the paint doesn't adhere well to the cooler

OPTIONAL 
Step 1.5: Spackle over logo




On the front of the cooler, there is usually an indented logo of the cooler brand. I didn't really want to paint over this and just leave it so I took spackle (doesn't really matter what kind...you can get any at Home Depot or Walmart!) and with a spackle knife filled in the logo. Lightly sand after.

Step 2: Prime

I used Kilz 2 primer which you can get at Home Depot, Walmart, etc. I love this stuff. It sticks well to most surfaces and you don't actually have to sand shiny surfaces super well for it to work (however, again, see my opinion on step 1 for amount of sanding). I think I did 2 coats because part of my cooler was red.






Step 3: Paint

This is the fun part. Paint whatever designs you want on the sides and top! (See tips at the bottom for painting ideas!) I just used regular acrylic paint and then paint pens for the details.



Step 4: Seal

This may be the most important step of all. A lot of girls and places on the internet say to just use Modge Podge. PLEASE DON'T. Modge Podge is NOT water proof. What I used to seal (and this is also what we used to seal our square project last spring if that tells you how much I trust it) is Minwax Polycrylic. I cannot stress how wonderful this stuff is. You can just get it (again) from Walmart or Home Depot. It comes in a few finishes (gloss, matte, and satin I think) and you just shake it up and paint it on. It looks a little cloudy when it goes on but it dries clear. I think I did 3 coats. Seriously ya'll...please trust me on this. Seal with Polycrylic!! 




And that's it :)



Tips:

1. If you're looking for inpiration, check out Pinterest or Cooler Connection on Facebook

2. I free handed most of my drawings BUT this is how I did the lettering. Print off the letters for the size you want then flip it over to the unprinted side. With a regular pencil color the area where the letters are. Just color the whole thing in with pencil graphite :) Then tape the graphite side to the cooler where you want it so that you can see the printed side. Trace over the edge of the letters with a pencil. When you trace you will leave a graphite imprint on the cooler then you can see where to paint!

3. If you write on the handle like I did...make sure to seal that too! I did it last minute and forgot then when Josh carried the cooler down to the beach, he had "the good life" on his hand :)

Good luck!

Jar O' Encouragement

Before I left for Madrid for this semester, I decided that I wanted to do something for JJ, my boyfriend, to encourage him while I cannot physically be there for him. I wanted to do something that when he needed a pick-me-up would push him directly back into the loving arms of our Lord. Words are very important to me and carry a lot of meaning, so I decided to do something for him that could dictate what I may or may not be able to tell him while I am away.

This is what I came up with: Jar o’ Encouragement

It was simple to make, but carries so much meaning! First thing I did was choose a theme verse which is, 1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” I based all my notes around this verse and used it as my goal for each note! I wanted to make it even more personal, so I went to Hobby Lobby and went sticker-crazy picking some fun ones that would make JJ laugh.

The other thing I love about the jar is that when I gave it to JJ, he laughed and then pulled out this:

He made me a Box o' Encouragement! God totally merged our brains together in a way that would bring both of us closer to Himself. For the past week that I have been in Spain, these jars and notes have been so encouraging for both of us! God has used it to bring smiles, peace, laughter, and show His love and faithfulness. I can’t wait to see what other gifts God brings through this little jar!

Could you bless someone in your life by encouraging them and reminding them of God’s beautiful, unchanging love for them? Who comes to mind? What’s stopping you?

xoxo