Too Much time on my hands

Snazzy Little High Chair

I feel like I spend weeks and weeks on pinterest collecting ideas and then for one random week I go crazy copying ideas. Check out this little number I found a few weeks ago!

I KNOW!

It is so so so cool, unique, and fun!

So look what I did with that inspiration.

I apologize for less than stellar photos. I completed this one during my maniacal race to get a truckload full of "stuff" to take up to Trina Rose Boutique before their store opening. And it had just snowed...obviously.

This is what I started with.

It was a bit rickety so I tightened it all up and used some wood glue to secure all the joints. Then I busted out some of my scrap booking stickers (which I know I will never use) and stuck them on the untouched wood in a fun pattern.

Next, I used my homemade white chalk paint to paint the whole chair with 2 coats.

I was super worried when I saw the stickers lifting and puckering, but was in it this far so just went along for the ride.

The stickers were soaked through and really a pain to peel off.

(I should have waited to peel them off till after I painted the gray stripes-but apparently I enjoy making more work for myself:)

Check out this mess of leaked paint blobs...super...more work again.

The paring knife worked the best for me when I was scraping little tiny bits of sticker and paint from the inside edges of the flowers. The scraping went better than I thought it would and didn't take too long.

Much better! Since I knew I would be distressing the whole chair I wasn't super picky about perfectly clean edges. I taped off my stripes next.

I used Americana craft paint for the stripes because it was what was right next to me while I was working.

After it dried, I distressed and sanded the whole chair. I got most of the gray paint off of my designs, but left just a bit behind.

Then I used Annie Sloan clear and dark wax to finish 'er up.

I am pretty happy with how it turned out!

It took a long time though.

I think it would look cute as a "table" in the bathroom too.

Thanks for hanging out ! This ends today's regularly scheduled programming.

Labels: furniture, projects, tutorials

An ABC Wall - My Way

Our good friends, Eric and Christen, recently had a beautiful baby boy, Alex.

While Christen was pregnant, she came upon this photo and fell in love.

source

However, she was definitely NOT in love with the price tags of the cute ready made letters she was finding. She asked me if I thought I could help her DIY it and I said, let me do it for you as our gift to welcome little Alex into the world! I feel like she was so generous to let me do it because while it was a ton of work it was super fun to get crazy creative.

She sent me all the photos she loved, and some specific styles she wanted to include, but otherwise she let me go crazy and this is what we came up with!

That little "P" is wearing a pirate hat and he is my favorite!

I haven't been over there to take pictures since the letter were hung, but Christen sent me these to appease my intense curiosity about how they looked!

Now I know why people charge and arm and a leg for a complete set like this. It was a big job! But totally worth it for our friends!

Labels: crafts, projects

An Easy and Cheerful Serving Tray

I grabbed a bunch of metal serving trays a few weeks back and found lots of inspiration pieces for this lovely little number.

First, I sprayed it with Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer....this stuff is truly indispensable to me. Then the tray got 3 coats of Rust-Oleum Painters Touch spray paint in Green Apple-super duper bright! Then it got one coat of clear gloss.

I decided to mod-podge fabric onto this guy. I used leftover fabric from my decoupaged desk project and it looks so fun!

I also painted the fabric with a coat of poly-urethane to protect it from water and dirty little 3 year old fingers.

To finish this one off I lined the inside edge with jute.

This tray isn't for everyone....well unless you have sunglasses:)

Labels: projects

Earth Day Thursday- 20 Upcycling Projects

Good morning to all you "greenies" out there!

Here is a great collection of fun and innovative eco-friendly recycling and upcycling ideas! I always like to see what creative types can do with regular old, "junk."

Click on the link to go to the source.