What's up in my crib, you say?

I know, I know... weak joke. But I feel like it's been forEVER since I've posted on here so here I am... updating. Ish. haha

The crib in this photo was originally white with the WORST glazing I've seen. Seriously, y'all. It was messy and not... good. Thankfully, my sweet sister in law had other furniture (like that little credenza on the right) she wanted the crib to coordinate with, so I sanded off some of the glossiness and got to work. A coat of primer, some fresh white paint, and a dirty-cowboy finish later and it was good to go! I was a little concerned about it matching but it seems to have come out just right. And it barely made it to their house before the baby! haha. Oops... For real. I delivered the crib the day after she delivered her sweet boy. 

This set was a dark cherry finish and still in pretty good shape, aside from some little teefy marks. My other prego sister in law wanted a grey-ish set so I sanded things down a bit and put a couple coats of Maison Blanche La Craie in Cobblestone on and gently distressed the edges here and there. I'm not sure what's up with the 'glow' here but these are the pictures I have at the moment. 

The changing table almost took longer than the crib. It had some weird hot spots where the paint just would. not. stick. I had to sand portions off and scuff things up a lot to reapply the paint. It finally behaved and went home with her the other day. Her baby is due in the next month so I'm getting better at this whole... time management... thing. 

Fiona and Twig - Magnolia Pearl Giveaway

This giveaway caught my interest, admittedly, mostly because of the pictures of this AMAZING ranch that is for sale. I could never in a million years afford it but the house is stunning and I cannot take my eyes off the pictures.

Head on over here

to enter the giveaway by March 15.

March 6, 2013

I feel like these last several weeks have been unproductive because I really have nothing to put here. But school/kids are never without their own reward so it HAS been productive around these parts. Hoping the weather warms up soon so we can be outside more and I can work on a few projects.

January 10, 2013

These two faces are a large part of why I haven't gotten anything 'done' lately. haha. One of these days, I'll be brave and just let them help. How could they mess anything up with chalk paint, right??

French grain sack-inspired IKEA hack - $80

I finally got the hardware in my grubby little hands for this dresser. I love it so much! I'd be happy to sell it but I'm also just as happy to keep it and just paint the other one instead. 

This sweet little dining table is actually already spoken for. I bought it thinking I would paint it right away and sell it and one thing after another came into the garage and ended up in front of it. Whoops! Anywhoo.. it's finally 'in progress' so yippee!

Just a quick coat of white to get started. I'm thinking there will be two more coats before it gets a coat of poly and goes home. I wish I had the right kind of chairs to go with it. 

Frederick here wants to go home with somebody. I picked him up for my brother but I'm not sure he was quite what they had in mind so... I'm just refinishing it in anticipation of someone realizing that this is Their Table. It's got great lion head pulls on the sides and the leather inlay is actually in really good shape so it's not coming out. The legs have wheels, so moving this fella around is a breeze!

What can you say?

What can you say when the unthinkable happens? When something horrific and violent, like a shooting at a theater or a mall or a school, shocks you out of your daily routine and makes it impossible to just be... happy.

I cannot grasp how these things happen and I'm just so terribly sad for the families involved. Those that are innocent victims and those that cannot understand why their children would do something so awful. What was so terribly broken in these minds and hearts that they thought this was a viable response to the world around them?

Tonight, our synagogue had our annual menorathon: we bring our family menorah and candles and light them together. It's a beautiful sight to see so many lights burning brightly... reminding us to be a light to the world, to continue the chain of tradition, to reflect on years past, to burn with hope for the future. Tonight it felt like a reminder that there is light in the world and that we need to fan those flames when we have dark days like today.

Praying for peace and healing.

Sometimes my brain goes on vacation without me...

You know how sometimes you can reaaaaaaaaaally mean to do something and you just... don't? Not things like taking out the trash (I forget that on purpose) or putting laundry away (that's just a self defense mechanism) but just other things that seemed important and then... weren't.

I forgot to post finished pictures of the square end tables:

Nothing really changed from this picture, tho. I waxed them and put their hardware back on and I wish I had a large enough living room to really use them before they find a new home. Unfortunately, my living room will not expand so these puppies are just sitting in the garage until someone realizes they NEED them. 

Originally listed them at $75 for the pair on my Facebook page but holidays are approaching and if I want to be able to acquire anything new to work on, these guys need to go. $55 makes them yours, peeps!

More sale prices coming up soon!

Ikea hack - French grain sack theme

This dresser is actually one of a pair we own. I think it's an old version of the Tarva or Rask? I don't know for sure. It's 4 to 6 years old tho. I know I put it together while big and pregnant, I'm just not sure who was baking. haha. 

I actually unpacked and took all the pieces upstairs so I could put it together in the hallway and not have to carry the assembled frame/drawers up. Just couldn't wait for the hubby to help, I guess. 

So! It's just a simple yellow pine dresser. It wasn't finished but when I tried to stain it yesterday, you would have thought that was a lie. It would NOT accept any stain except for in the one spot that I'd sanded a water mark off. Ugh. I wiped it all down (sorry! I didn't think to get pictures of this mistake) and took it outside and hand sanded the dickens out of the top. I just wanted to stain the top to contrast with the white, you see. Anywhoo. It looked much more 'receptive' but I guess it just wasn't good enough. I stained it again with English Walnut and it only took the stain with any conviction in the few places my 80 grit had gouged. Double ugh. 

And this is when I did what any self respecting DIYer would do: I mixed up some chalkish paint and painted the whole dadblasted thing. 

Right before I got started tho, I dug out some massive chunks of hardened Plaster of Paris or grout from my gallon of off-white. Triple ugh. I should have taken pictures but A. I was alone and B. both of my hands were covered in paint. 

Anywhoo! I painted this puppy during the girls' nap and then started googling to see what I could do with it. I thought about doing some grain sack stripes and found a couple pieces via Pinterest and Google: this is my favorite.

In progress...

Yes? No? Still deciding on the new hardware. I wanted to get some pretty red ceramic melon knobs but then I found these: 

and now I am not so sure.