Nighty Night

This piece has been in the "to do" pile for some time now just waiting for the right time to appear in all its glory. This past weekend it was time for it to make its debut down at "The Roost".

Once again, I am being a bad blogger because I forgot to take before pictures! It came to mind just as I was finishing my first coat of primer on the headboard. So sorry...I think my excitement gets the best of me.

I loved the original wood tone, but there was just too much of it for it to be appreciated. My solution was to add a rub on vinyl phrase that I found and liked from my local Target store. I centered it right on the bare wood and then primed and painted right over the top of it. This is where I got excited....it was all I could do to wait for the paint to dry before peeling off the transfer.

Except for a few tiny touch ups it worked beautifully! Nice crisp edges, I could never stencil this good. I used a bright white satin acrinamel by Miller that I picked up for $1.25. It is a little more durable than the latex I usually use, but I figured it should be since someone will be crawling into it every day.

I distressed the edges to bring out the yummy, curvy lines. I wanted to make it all pretty with linens to take a picture, but I was just too darn lazy to move a mattress, make the bed, take a picture and then move it all back again. I'm tired just thinking about it. None the less, I hope it is just what some lucky girl is looking for to complete her dream bedroom.

Linking up with these lovely ladies:

Oh Bee-have!

There has been a whole lot of creating going on here lately. Bits of this and pieces of that. Do you ever feel like you're just spinning your wheels and nothing is getting accomplished? That's how I have felt until today...finally I finished a project!

I acquired this little dresser, minus a drawer as a Craigslist freebie. I wish I could show you how she looked before but....I forgot to take a picture. In fact I don't know what I was thinking but I didn't take any pictures during the transformation either. You'll have close your eyes and use your imagination. Picture her pale yellow, wood knobs with a missing drawer...just blah.

Okay, now open your eyes... tada! Isn't she cute? I think the previous owner had used it for her TV and discarded the drawer to have a place for her DVD player. I have been wanting to paint a harlequin pattern on something and decided this would be the one. There is a great site I found http://www.silverspoonmurals.com/articles/How_to_Paint_Harlequin_Diamonds_aid27155.php  you  just put in your dimensions and it does all the math for you.

I'd be lying if I told you it was easy. It should have been, but my paint kept bubbling up and peeling off. Maybe that's why I didn't take any pictures...I didn't want you to witness my tantrums. Eventually, it worked itself out. I had decided to cover the remaining drawers with images on canvas. I found this bee image at www.thegraphicsfairy.blogspot.com and that set the color pallet for the project, yellow and black. The photos make the yellow look much brighter than it actually is. I used spray adhesive to attach the canvas to the drawer fronts and used my nail gun to apply some dainty black moulding to hide the fabric edges.

I finished her off with a couple black bins I found at Target to tie the whole thing together. My daughter says it reminds her of Harry Potter...whatever that means? It turned out just as I had envisioned. It's quirky, and that's why I like it.

Linking up with these lovely ladies:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                     

                         

Splendor In The Grass

Uhhh...., yeah not quite the grass you are probably picturing. Nothing green or lush or relaxing about this grass. No picnic here. In fact, it is about to send me into gaining a whole new set of skills I didn't realize I had signed up for. Confused? Yeah, me too.

Look what I uncovered when I tore into a Duncan Phyfe setee I acquired recently....GRASS! Old, itchy, dry grass, layers of it. I have seen this once before, but only in a photo. Marian over at missmustardseed had posted a lovely grass filled setee she had acquired late last year. She ended up turning hers over to her favorite upholstery goddess to transform. Well, I wish I had a money tree in the backyard so I could do the same with mine, but alas...nope.

Maybe I have lost my mind. Maybe I will need some kind of therapy by the time all is said and done, but I am going to try and remedy this on my own. Now bear in mind I have exactly zero upholstery skills beyond stapling fabric over a chair cushion. We shall see how she turns out. Will she resemble the burlap coffee sack covered, ivory painted and distressed beauty I originally pictured her as when I acquired her for free?

Too bad those coffee sacks didn't come full of the strongest beans out there...I think I'm gonna' need an I.V. drip to survive this one. 

The Pallet Bandwagon

I did it, I've jumped on the "use a pallet" bandwagon! I actually live just a short distance from a pallet manufacturer. Usually they have a couple large bins of wood; free for the taking. Many a day I have driven by and thought to myself "I really need to grab some of those". Furniture, signs...the possibilities are endless. I probably have a dozen pictures of projects I've seen on blogs that I have tacked to my inspiration board.

What took me so long? Let's see, hmmm....free wood that I can use to create something to sell and make money? I guess my common sense has been on vacation. Also beneath the gray hair I found this morning, I am blond. Alright, enough excuses...on with the project.

I have a stash of wooden plaques that I buy from time to time at the Goodwill. I make all kinds of things with them. This time I wanted to step outside the box a little. I painted the edges a blue from my stash of oops colors. I used some scraps of of canvas drop cloth and foam from an old lawn chair cushion I tore apart. I used my heat transfer tool and transferred a laser copy of one of my favorite birds from Karen over at the graphicsfairy. I traced around the plaque and cut the oval out of my canvas. I grabbed a scrap of thin luan/plywood from my garage and cut it as well as my foam about 1" smaller in diameter than my fabric.

I wrapped the canvas bird over the foam and stapled it to the back of the luan. I glued the whole thing with some wood glue to my plaque and added some trim. I cut some pieces from my pallet wood and constructed a backer board put together from the back with screws. I added a couple of ivory aged finials and a wire on the back for hanging. The finished product turned out so cute. I even left the nail heads in at the top...it just adds to the character.

If I wasn't addicted to pallet projects before, I sure am now. And...the price is right!

Linking up with these lovely ladies: