The Little Guy's Dresser

My daughter just gave birth to her first child.  In preparing for the event, she was in need of a dresser for the nursery.  A friend passed along a simple dresser with clean lines, but as you can see below, it had a little problem on the bottom drawer.

I just happened to have a little bit of white trim left over from a contracting job we did last summer.  It was just enough to cover the problem and give the dresser a bit of style.

The knobs were removed and given a coat of white spray paint.

The top, back edge also had a similar problem.  I just added a wider piece of trim along the top and covered it up.

And this is the sweet little guy that's going to use the dresser!

It's great being a grandma!

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A Toad Stool Foot Stool!

My youngest daughter is expecting her first child in March.  She has decided to decorate the nursery in a woodland animals theme.  While shopping around for a comfortable swivel rocker for the nursery (which we found a perfect one at Value Village for only $7.99!) we luckily came across the perfect footstool to go with it.  Well, it had the makings of the perfect foot stool, we just needed to change it up a bit!

We started with this brown, furry mushroom-shaped foot stool...straight out of the 70's!  In fact, if this would have been orange, or yellow, it would have fit in perfectly with my junior high bedroom back in the day!

My Sewing Studio: The Aqua Hutch

Of all the projects in my sewing studio, this one has to be my favorite!  I was searching for something that could do double duty....storage and table space.  I came across this two-piece gem at a used furniture store for....drum roll please....only $15!!  They weren't actually connected, and at first, I didn't even know if they were a matching set.  The owner of the store had accidentally dropped the upper section while moving it one day and had tweaked the hinges.  When I found it, the door on one side wouldn't close properly.  But, for $15, I was more than ready to tackle the project of fixing the hinges.  The funny thing is, though, that I didn't have to do anything at all.  Just putting them on their backs and driving them home in my van did the trick.  When I unloaded the two pieces, everything worked perfectly.  Woohoo!!

I had plans for the lower half becoming a roll-out work table, so I knew the upper part wasn't going to be able to sit on top of it any longer.  So, I gave the sides a decorative cut and fastened the upper piece to the wall.  The original plan was to add a couple of dowels across the lower area to accommodate spools of ribbon, but I decided to scratch that idea for a less cluttered look.

My husband and son helped me attach it to the wall by screwing it to the studs.

I then turned my attention to the base.  I purchased a sheet of 3/4" MDF and cut a new "drop-leaf" table top.  I also cut a couple of legs from the MDF and attached them to the underside of the table with hinges.  When the extended table is not in use, they fold up neatly for storage.

I purchased a long piano hinge and fastened it underneath so that my table could drop down when not in use.  I also added some heavy-duty casters to the base cabinet so that my work table can move around easily.

Once I had it the way I wanted it, I painted the exterior cream, and the interior, along with the table top, aqua.  I also added some gold details to tie in the existing gold trim on the glass doors.  The hardware was sprayed with oil-rubbed bronze spray paint.

I covered three of the screws that attached the upper piece to the wall with some vintage buttons.  (The upper screws are inside the cabinet and not visible.)

I found some baskets on clearance at JoAnn's that fit perfectly with my color scheme.  The cupboards below are perfect for storing larger pieces of fabric.

The glass cupboard above showoff fat quarters and other smaller pieces of fabric.   

I also had a friend cut me out a well-loved quote from vinyl to add to the piece.  A small tabletop ironing board was covered with the same material as the office chair.

The top of the cabinet was the perfect place to showcase the Singer Featherweight sewing machine I learned to sew on as a child, along with a few other vintage accessories!

When the table is extended, it makes a great workspace for cutting out and creating projects!

The total cost for this double duty storage and workspace is:

Used hutch.....$15.00

Paint.....already on hand

Half sheet of MDF.....$16.00

Piano hinge.....$10.00

Casters.....$12.00

Baskets.....$12.00

Vinyl lettering.....$12.00

Leg hinges.....already on hand

Total Cost....$77.00

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My Sewing Studio: The Desk

 

I really felt lucky when I found this solid wood desk on Craigslist.  It was a corner desk, the perfect size, solid, and had a mid-century modern feel to it.  I really liked the curved shape flanking the drawers, and the funky legs.  At the time, this desk was being used in the office of some grimy industrial business and it was pretty forlorn.  I knew it was really crying out for someone to take it home and give it some tender loving care.  My suspicions were correct when I opened the top drawer and found the following label inside:

It was fate!  This desk had ties to the sewing world before, and now it was time to return to that world and become a valuable asset to my sewing studio.  No more grit and grime for this beauty!  The ad on craigslist had listed the price of $50 for the desk.  In my enthusiasm of finding the perfect desk, I was willing to pay the price, but my frugal side just had to ask the gentleman how much he wanted for it.  Well, he was anxious to get rid of it and said I could have for $25.  SCORE!  He, along with a fellow worker happily loaded it into my van and away I went.

I decided that I wanted both sides of the desk to be closer in height to each other.  I solved this by purchasing a couple of new legs from the local home improvement center, cutting them to size and reattaching them. I also drilled new holes a few inches higher than the original holes for the bolts that attached the two sections of the desk together.  

One thing I knew for sure was that I didn't want the laminate top to remain dark brown in color.  I had painted laminate before and knew exactly what to do.  I first primed the laminate with Zinsser water based primer.  Once dry, I top coated it with the same latex paint I used on the rest of the desk.

    

After everything had dried thoroughly, I laid some lace fabric over the top and lightly sprayed it with Heirloom White spray paint.  Some areas have a heavier coat of paint than others, but it just adds to the effect.  Years ago I did the same technique on a dresser and metal cart.

Once the spray paint dried, I coated it with a few layers of Water Based Polycrylic.  I like the clear satin sheen.  Years ago I painted the laminate-covered rails of our pool table with the same technique (minus the lace overlay, of course) and it hasn't chipped or scratched off at all.

All of the hardware is original and got a coat of oil rubbed bronze spray paint.

I found an adjustable silverware tray at a thrift store for $2 that fits perfectly in the center drawer.

Each side of the desk has extra tabletop space that pulls out, if needed.

The lower drawer is just the perfect size for a wastepaper basket.

I'm loving the convenience of sitting at a corner desk and switching effortlessly between my sewing machine and serger!

The total cost for a corner desk in my sewing studio:

Thrifted Desk.....$25.00

One Gallon of "Oops" Paint.....$15.00

Spray Paint.....already on hand

New Legs.....$7.00

Polycrylic.....already on hand

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My Sewing Studio: The Blue Hutch

After painting the walls and installing the flooring, next on the agenda was sprucing up a hutch I had picked up a few years ago in anticipation of having a dedicated sewing studio.  This hutch was sturdy, but definitely dated.  I actually liked the gold colored glass inserts in the cupboard doors, though, believing they would eventually play into my future color scheme.

It was so heavy I knew I would never get it upstairs in one piece, so I took it apart and went to work prepping for paint.

The cupboards were all decked out with this "lovely" contact paper!  I removed the contact paper and hardware, then sanded and primed everything.

I picked up a gallon of "oops" paint from the local hardware store.  It wasn't the aqua that I wanted, but I thought it would do.  The gentleman at the paint counter was kind enough to add a bit more tinting to try and get it more to my liking.  In the end, I went back to the hardware store and picked up another gallon of "oops" paint.  This time it was the aqua that I wanted.  Of course, I had already painted the whole hutch and wasn't too excited about painting it again (there was a lot of areas to paint!)  So, I figured I would continue with the rest of the projects in the room and then determine if my hutch would get a color change or not. 

I was lucky enough to find a roll of contact paper at a thrift store that fit into my new color scheme!  The little storage containers with drawers came from my previously organized office and fit perfectly.  I painted all the hardware with the Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.

I organized, and accessorized my hutch with a variety of thrifted jars, a basket, and vintage suitcases.  The jars were "recycled" from my aforementioned office space.  As luck would have it, I found one jar that was the same colored glass as the cupboard door inserts.  It sits in the middle of the jars.  The suitcases I already had on hand.  In fact, one of them was used to hold cards at my son and daughter-in-law's wedding reception.  The lower cupboards are filled with stacks of fabric.

In the end, my lack of motivation (hey, let's be honest!) to repaint the hutch won out, although I like to think it was a stroke of decorator's luck.  I ended up painting some of the furniture pieces blue, and some pieces aqua, and then interspersed them throughout the room.  I think it adds to the eclectic feel, keeping it from being too matchy matchy.

Total cost for this project:

Used Hutch.....$20.00

Gallon of "Oops" Paint.....$15.00

Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint....left over from the curtain rods

Thrifted Contact Paper.....$1.00

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My Sewing Studio!

I'm so excited to finally post about my sewing studio!  If you follow any of my posts, you may have seen glimpses of it in my refashioning "before" photos.  Now, after completing several DIY projects for my studio, I'm ready to show you the whole room!

My studio isn't huge (10 x 10), but its a space dedicated just to sewing so I can't complain.  I actually had my eye on a bigger bedroom with a bay window and walk-in closet, but we're not empty nesters yet, so I'm content with the space I have while I enjoy having our "nest" still occupied!

This room is filled with lots of DIY projects.  Stay tuned over the next several days as I dedicate an individual post to each of the projects.

With some savvy shopping, I was able to purchase the three main furniture pieces in my studio for a total of $60.00!!

I've been a seamstress for over 40 years and I've never had a whole room dedicated to just sewing.  It's so much fun and inspirational!

Stay tuned over the next several days for details on how I was able to turn a spare bedroom into my sewing studio, including new Pergo flooring, and all of the following DIY projects....

Corner Desk

Button Cabinet

Wall Mirror

Hanging Pendant Light

Wall Hutch with Fold Out Cutting Table

Reupholstered Stool and Office Chair

Large Hutch

Revamped Ceiling Fan

Bulletin Board

Wall Clock

Accessories

Curtains and DIY Curtain Rod

 ...for under $600!!

(FYI, the new Pergo flooring was half the budget, which means all the furniture, lighting, and accessories totaled less than $300!)

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Corralling those chapter books!

So, this project doesn't feature any earth shattering new techniques, in fact, its really pretty simple.  But, none the less, I'm happy with the results.  Our youngest really enjoys reading at bedtime.  We've have been devouring many books lately.  Sometimes I read to him, sometimes its his dad, other times its an older sibling.  He can read on his own, of course, but really enjoys laying in bed and listening.  Wait, let me rephrase that...he really enjoys playing with all his little Fimo clay creations while someone else does the work of reading!  Well, all those chapter books need to be corralled and I have been on the hunt for something to do just that.  I finally found the solution.

I picked this up for $5.99 at Goodwill.  I would have preferred a half off sale, but since I have been hunting for awhile, I was ready to fork out the big bucks!  I brought it home and was tempted to paint it  a bright color, fill it with pots of herbs and label them accordingly, but I stuck to my original plan.  (It would have made a cute herb garden, though!)

The bedroom furniture is painted black, so the black spray paint came out.  I just painted, distressed a little, and labeled.  That was it.  I guess I could have made specific labels for each genre of book...mystery, adventure, etc.  I added a clip-on lamp for illumination because my eyes just aren't what they used to be!

The books are organized...now if we could just get the rest of the room in order!

And, here's a picture of just a few (believe me, there are MANY more!) of his Fimo creations.  He LOVES making things with clay and baking them in the toaster oven!  In case you can't tell, he kind of likes Link from the video game, Legend of Zelda.

(He made all of the above except for the orange one with the blue shield...an older brother made that one.)

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