A dresser to share!

First off, I know my blog page is a mess and I apologize. No tittle, things half done, things not done, etc. But that's kinda how I roll in life so I'm just gonna stick with what works for me : )

I am super excited to share a piece with you all! I bought this dresser about a month ago off CL. I was thinking it would be perfect for my daughters room but once I moved it in there, no can do. Way too deep and I was stuck feeling like her room was all bed and dresser (she was upgraded to a full last spring). Good thing for me, I'm in the business of selling this stuff.

Anywho, it started out like this

I was a bit bummed after driving to the city, carrying it down 4 HUGE and curvy row home staircases, that the top 2 drawer fronts were badly broken. Apparently I didn't see those prior ; ( So I decided on adding boards to the bottom and buying some baskets to fit. It also had some pretty wicked carvings on the top and sides. Things like "def leopard #1", "get high", and I think the saying was "don't you go laying no boogie woogie on the king of rock and roll"! Ummm, what?

After lots of wood filler and a good sanding, I was super excited to try a homemade chalk paint recipe. I Sharon at Elizabeth & Co had recently shared a mixture she really liked and so I decided to try it. I'm happy to say it worked great and here is the finished dresser. I don't have a superb camera so this is as good as my pics get! A soft aqua, lightly distressed and drop pulls : )

I think it's adorable and I hope someone else does too!

Linking to:
POWW @ Primitive & Proper
Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co

um, 25 things?

1. im terrible at blogging. dont believe me? look at the date of my last post.

2. i thought this would be a fun way of getting back to blogging but im already starting to re-think it.

3. i spent $60 at ulta on monday and havent touched a single thing from the bag. its my new favorite store to spend money on beauty products i wont use.

4. im at work as i type. eating in front of people who are working out (cause i work at a gym, in case you couldnt figure that out!)

5. i get lots of belly aches.

6. i read lots. pretty much anything that mentions the holocaust, fiction or non.

7. im pretty sure i could eat thai and mexican every night and never be sick of it. red curry, native thai, extra spicy = yum!

8. i HATE having my picture taken. no matter what, i always look funny. no wonder people always laugh at me!

9. i LOVE being scratched. all over. really slow so it kinda tickles.

10. i refuse to scratch my kids backs cause i dont want them to grow up like me. its a sickness.

11. i am the definition of homebody.

12. i dont watch much tv but waste hours on the computer! go figure.

13. i have self diagnosed add/adhd/ocd. everyone i know agrees with me.

14. im a super duper scaredy cat. i wont go in the basement if my husband isnt home and have to close all the curtains so the creepy people cant see in my house.

15. i want sooooooooo bad to get back to riding horses but we cant afford it : (

16. i am not a confidant person, by any means.

17.  i very much so do not like my hands to be dirty!!

18. i wear a housecoat. yep, $17 from walmart and you can join in my comfort too. seriously, go get one now!!! the highlight of my day is usually putting on my pajamas and housecoat : )

19. i keep getting distracted and laughing at people on the elliptical = )

20. my wedding ring cost somewhere around $200 and i love it more than anything! i think its wasteful to spend crazy amounts of money on things like that.

21. my husband purposed to me on the way to the courthouse = )

22. i love family movie nights. tomorrow we are going to start the anne of green gables series. the boys are gonna love it!

23. my children are the most amazing little people ever!

24. and because my children are so amazing, i have very little patience for other little people, especially un-amazing ones!!

25. even though i havent blogged in months, ive gained somewhere around 5 followers! not too shabby.

auction pieces ready for lucketts!

im tired. and i plan on being tired for the next week and a half as i hussle to finish stuff for lucketts. so im gonna make an effort to blog but dont be surprised if its just pictures = )

remember this guy?



well now he's as sweet as can be in yellow!

(sorry for the bad color pic but i had to use my phone!)

and this pretty thing i picked up at the auction the following week. it was more than i wanted to pay ($40), but i had to prove a point to the jackass bidding against me. who has the deeper pockets now?! plus, i couldnt go home with another empty carload and full wallet!

isn't she too sweet now?!

(again with the bad colors! its a light gray with glass daisy knobs)



elephants a$$ and brass

highly inappropriate, i know. but when i tried to describe this color in an email, thats all i could think of. and then laughed like a 5 year every single time i had to type it or read it.

well, here it is!



and cause ive been sanding, and priming, and sanding, and painting, and sanding, and waxing for 2 days, this is the end of my post!

thanks for input everyone! i hope you all like the desk = )

p.s. if you missed the before of this desk, click here.

linking up to:
Metamorphosis Moday @ Between Naps on the Porch
POWW @ Primitive and Proper

Isn't she lovely?

Isn't she wonderful? Oh, and goofy, smart, adorable and lovable = )

This is the mirror that she loved that came with the big aqua dresser I just finished. Though the dresser wouldn't fit in her room, the mirror did!! And its the perfect height for her to have her own floor mirror.

And PLEASE pay no attention to those drab green walls, they will be painted after Lucketts = )

Or the ugly paper room darkening shades :-(

I AM DONE!

and i found my camera = ) remember the dresser i showed you a few posts ago? picked it up from goodwill on the way home from the bust of an auction? well here she is

let me tell you, this one is a back breaker! big, solid and heavy. i really wanted to keep it for aubraes room but since we are getting her a full size bed, it would just be too crowded in there.

i secretly hope that whoever buys this doesnt need it delivered.

andi, i hope this makes your heart go pitter-patter = )

linking up to:

POWW @ Primitive and Proper

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage

opinions please?

first off, i know this post comes as a shock to you all. 2 posts in one month...butter me up baby cause im on a roll = )

ok, onto business. i picked this desk up at the thrift the other day.

i kinda forgot i had bought it cause i didnt take it that night and then i got an email from andi saying she saw a desk with my name on it, like literally, a sold tag with my name on it. funny lady.

so my dilemma is everything! keep the hardware? everyone says im crazy not to. my MIL had some brass polish and it cleaned up really nice (though i dont have a pic of it all clean). if i keep it, what color would you paint the desk? black, white, aqua? those are the three contenders so far. ill be getting some QT in with the MIL thursday and friday while i work on this desk and another dresser and she rehabs a vanity for my daughters room at her house. fun stuff. so let's make it snappy, i need your input!!

i can also ditch the hardware and paint it any color i want.

take a look at this post by cassie. just recently she painted a dresser black and it has brass and bakelite hardware too. sorry i have no other inspiration pics :-(

ready, set, GO!

stop me if you've heard this one....

i went to the auction and i got......the same thing cassie did....

AND this cute table/desk! since it's a mahogany stain, im hitting it with some cover stain primer for those hard to reach areas and then brushing on the same primer for the flat areas. i recently saw an avocado green table that someone linked up somewhere (i cant remember where) and i think im may try something like that. or maybe a darker blue? or light gray?

and since im sure you all follow cassie's blog then you know that we made some stops on our way back at the goodwill and i picked up this dresser with a matching mirror

and here it is so far (i've hurt my right wrist somehow so i'm taking a day to recover before i distress and antique it)



im really having a hard time not keeping this for my daughters room. she has been through 4 dressers in the last year and seems like nothing works. and can i just tell you that she is in LOVE with the 4' mirror that goes with this? its a big as she is and if you know anything about little girls then you know they like LOVE to look at themselves!!

so i've made my monthly quota of 1 post. dont expect too much more from me = ) im off to finish some blog reading and work on my banner!

HAPPY EASTER PEEPS = )

fUnKY GrEEn dResSer

A few weeks ago I picked a dresser up for $22 from the thrift store where "creepy guy who follows me around" works. I have to say that the best thing about having a stalker is that you can get furniture for really good prices! Anywho, I knew I wanted to go blue or green as I definitely saw this as a dresser for a boy or in a funky city apartment. I picked a color that Scott refers to as "baby poop green". Really I thought it was a nice earthy color. Well, those colors on the lid can be quite deceiving cause this paint came out bright green. No problemo, a heavy dose of walnut stain and here it is

Its not my all time fave but it'll do. I think if I could go back, I would have gone with the blue. Oh well, I'm sure it will find a loving home = )

Linking to:

POWW over at Primitive and Proper

Great Giveaway over at I Heart Naptime...hop on over!!

Just a heads up, Jamilyn over at I Heart Naptime is hosting an awesome giveaway from Barn Owl Primitives. The have an Etsy shop with tons of great painted wood signs and I first found them through Etsy's suggested shops. Since I'm going to be getting my laundry room all spiffed up soon, I'm hoping to get my hands on this one

So head over for your chance to win!!

Lots of pictures, few words!

i cant wait until these samples arrive = )



fabrics.com



fabrics.com

joann.com

fabrics.com

those were all options for my new living room curtains

and this im hoping will work for the basement which is the kids toyroom (check this post for a few things in there now)

fabrics.com

thats it : p

 off to enjoy this beautiful day and get some painting done

before & after.....

except for i always forget to take the before shots, oh well.

im on a mission to use crap supplies i have laying around the house. i tend to buy things knowing i will do something with them or save a piece that comes off something knowing it will be put to good use one day. usually though, one day never comes around but im trying!!

last week was wine and design with my fave group of crafting ladies. the theme was lucky/st patty's and i had plans to make one thing but wasnt able to get the supplies for it so in came this guy

if you look closely through the primer (and upside down!), you'll see the cutest little mouse drying his hair. i think it must have been someone's art project in school back in the 70's. i got it last year at the thrift store for a buck fifty. he used to hang on the kids bathroom door until someone slammed it and he ended up with a broken hanger laying on the floor. no love.

add some paint, cute scrapbook paper and a few attempts with my silhouette and here it is after

i ended up using mini glue dots for the letters and shamrocks. i wasnt feeling the mod podge and glue dots are SO much easier and less messy!

and as much as i would like to up my number of blog posts ill just share another one now = )

this was the best before pic i could get as i had already painted the frame. i love these pictures that you can find at thrift stores-but just for their frames!

ive been wanting to make this for a while now and since i was up till 2 am last night, i figured id finally do it.

is this bunny not the most adorable thing?! i simply doubled up some burlap for the background and cut a bunny from a moss sheet from the dollar tree.

it feels so good to start getting those little projects done and use up stuff laying around the house, especially since my sister texted me the other day and she will be here in 7 days to stay for a week! time to clean!!

HOLY.......fat cat!!!

This post has absolutely nothing to do with furniture painting or crafting. At all. I went to pick up my pretty dog from the groomers today and this is what I walked in on

A 50 pound cat! I kinda want him = )

This one goes out to you Cassie!

Alright, I know I said I would have a few posts with valentine crafties but I didn't really finish them all until after vday and some still aren't complete :-( So lets just move long, okay?

Today I met Cassie over at her Salvation Army as she found a dresser that was perfect for a TV stand for my house. I'd show you a pic but its big and still in the car = ) As I was leaving she told me in a sweet way that I had better post my dresser I just completed and link to her party so here it is.

(sorry for the mini pic but a few weeks ago my computer suffered a virus and other things I don't understand now all the pics I saved are super small)

I picked it up for $20 at one of my fave thrift stores. I LOVE their prices! I don't think there has ever been anything I've wanted from there and felt it was overpriced. I had also recently picked up a great shade of yellow from the oops section.

Because Cassie had just finished a dresser like it, I followed her lead as far as prep. I sanded it down with my orbital and medium paper, put one coat of primer and two coats of paint and primer in one, topped with Minwax Polycrylic for protection. I also used oil primer for the hardware with a white enamel paint. And here it is after

 So of course I am linking up to POWW over at Primitive and Proper
as well as PoPP at Domestically Speaking

Goodwill & Dollar Tree Hurricanes

Well I haven't been very productive the past couple days but I did manage to put these guys together = )

It was kinda nice to have all this stuff laying around the house and not have to make a trip to any craft store. I picked up the candlestick bases a looong time ago from one of my Goodwill stores. I think they were maybe a buck a piece and they already looked like this (maybe silver leafed?), glass from Dollar Tree, scrapbook paper from a Martha book and the sand from the floral dept at Michael's.

Here's how they started out

Everything fit perfectly! You gotta love it when things work out like that = )

I used crinkle scissors to cut the paper and liked the tattered-ness of it. Not that anyone will be close enough to read but its got all kinds of mushy sayings on it = ) My strips weren't long enough to go around the entire glass so I used some mini glue dots to quickly adhere 2 strips. I totally plan to take the paper band off and use these after Valentine's too (minus the red sand, of course)!

Now to find a party to link to......

Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming

I'm ALIVE! And I have a sign!!

yeah, its been a while. i wish i had tons of amazing projects to share to help explain my absence but i dont so im just gonna jump right into valentines, mmmkay?

i have absolutely no decorations for valentines day and have been loving everything i see out in blogland. im going to share my projects in the next few days and since this is the only one thats 100%, you get it first! a few days ago i raided the dollar tree and the dollar section at target for some goodies. ive also been organizing the craft area and found some useful things, like this divider that came out of an old desk

now i have no idea why i saved it but im glad i did! a put a few coats of paint on, distressed it, and then came the stickers. i started with these and quickly realized that i wouldnt have enough letters and they were kinda small

lucky for me i had some wall clings i picked up from the dollar tree a while back. aubrae and i worked together to come up with some words. you wouldnt believe how many words use the letter e. we had a bit of a hard time but here is the finished product

i love that little girl! and you can see a bunch more projects in the wings so stay tuned...i promise i'll be back ;-p

look what I got today!!

the end = )

A True "Piece of Work"!

This dresser fits my favorite link party to a T this week! I originally purchased this dresser at my fave thrift store last week with the intention of using it in my bedroom. I was going to stain the top and paint the bottom. Here is was before

I took it outside yesterday to sand and first off, let me tell you I almost didn't survive. I was so cold and didn't realize until I came inside that my sanding mask was filled with snot! Eww, GA-ROSS! I never felt a single drip while I was out there. Moving on....

I spent the time to strip the top and somehow never noticed the 2 obvious cigarette burns on the top :-( I thought about trying to stain it and just pretend that they were knots in the wood but Scott nixed that.

Moving on...again!

I was wanting a dresser of similar style to use as a tv stand/toy storage in the kids room. I have these cute pillows from Pier 1 that I was using as inspiration for colors in the room

I happened to have a teal on hand so I was super excited to get started. This was also my first chance to use the new Kilz Clean Start zero VOC and I like it! It dried quickly and since my paint was a dark color, I only needed one coat. If I were going light I would definitely recommend 2 coats.

So here is how the dresser turned out after a little distressing and antiquing

And this is why its still a piece of work. I have the hardware (teardrop pulls are from HL and the others are the orignals) but I'm really not sure on a color!

So, if you would be kind enough to leave a color suggestion, you are AWESOME!

Linking to Piece of Work Wednesday at Primitive and Proper

i am one HAPPY girl = )

and it just took these few things. now i can spend hours a day shopping and not accomplish much but tonight i had one hour and here are the things i got:

fabric for my bedroom curtains! this is going to help so much with deciding on wall and furniture colors.

a foam cone for wine & design tomorrow night. any guesses as to what im making?

a tin for my cookies to take to wine and design and the ornament exchange next week. im making oatmeal cookies with cinnamon chips and mint chocolate chip cookies. om nom nom!

and a 17 foot ladder. we are having our attic finished and decided to get one of these instead of installing attic stairs. i did a little research before leaving the house and found that HD had it on sale for 119 but online only and you had to pay shipping. i went to Lowes and their price was 180. i asked them to match it and they did! so tomorrow morning i will venture up there to measure for the flooring. hello storage!!

im so excited i dont know if i can sleep :-(