DIY Chalk Paint

I made something!  Ok, technically I didn't make it, but I did refinish it which is close enough.

After a bit of a dry spell craft/DIY wise, I decided to chose a nice easy project to kick off 2014.

I found this little cabinet at our local thrift store for $25.

It had a couple of scrapes but nothing major and the top glass panel is in perfect condition which is a major bonus.  It's made by Lane so is a good quality piece, is really sturdy and ridiculously heavy.  I thought it would make a perfect tv cabinet.  

I've seen chalk paint all over Pinterest and the blogosphere.  I Googled a couple of major brands, and making my own (while saving a few pennies) seemed to be the best way to go.  Plus the 'no prep required' really sweetened the deal - you know I love a shortcut!

I picked up a tester, a couple of mixing cups and a box of plaster of Paris all from Lowes.  I mixed:

1 Lowes paint tester (221 ml)
75ml plaster of Paris
75ml cool water

These measurements are all in milliliters because that is what's on both the tester and the measuring cups.  Much easier than having to Google conversions!

The mixture itself was like slightly watered down paint - but not to the point where it would run or drip more than usual.

I removed both doors and the hardware, then used a regular cheapo paintbrush to apply 2 coats - no sanding or priming needed.  It went on unbelievably easily with each coat dry to the touch in about an hour.  I'm not sure how well the mixture will last, but I had enough paint left to refill the tester jar so I'll let you know!

I left the cabinet overnight to dry completely, then applied a coat of Minwax finishing wax with a cloth to seal the piece.  Next up I spray painted the hinges and pulls using Rustoleum in Champagne Mist.

I picked Almost Charcoal for my color, but failed to take into account the fact that the plaster and water would lighten the color.  So it's not quite as dark as I wanted, but I'm still pleased with how it turned out.

I'll snap some more pics once we've heaved it upstairs.  We just need to drill a couple of holes in the back for the cable wires to run through and we'll be all set.

Kate

xxx

And the winner of the 2013 saddest un-christmas christmas ornament is...

this amazing creation from West Elm.

Can you guess what animal it is?

It's the same colour as a Zeigler hot dog with the face of a pig.  Clearly it can only be one thing, a fox!  And it can be yours for only $4.  Ha, it had me laughing for hours.  I'm all for hand crafted but seriously West Elm!

How about choosing this little cutie from Etsy instead.  Ah, much better!

Kate

xxx

Holidays are coming!

Can you believe Christmas is less than 3 weeks away??!!  Time for panic buying Christmas presents - keep your gift receipts people!

For the 5th year in the row I dusted off our sad little 5ft tree.  By the time I had attached all of the branches, there were more papery pine needles on the floor than on the tree.  It had more than a little of the Charlie Browns about it!  There was only one thing for it, I hot footed it to Target and picked up a half price 7 footer.  Weirdly it didn't look that big in the shop, but in our living room it is a complete whopper!  As in, I had to move the furniture to fit it in, whopper!

When it comes to Christmas decorations I'm more of a buy rather than make.  Each year I have great intentions of crafting my ornaments from string and bits of twig (or something like that) and each year I completely run out of time.

Festooning our tree this year we have a London bus.

Some cute string ornaments that were from the Michaels dollar section last year.

And some vintage style glass ornaments from Target.

I used some glittery gift boxes to jazz up the mantle, along with some white ceramic accessories that I already had around the house.  The white window frame was only $5 from Habitat for Humanity and was the perfect height for hanging a feathery wreath.

And of course no Christmas mantle would be complete without a teeny tiny Santa.

Kate

xxx

Lime Chair

And the newest member of our household is this little beauty:

I'd been eyeing this chair on the Target website for weeks.  It went from regular price, to sale price, to clearance, to gone!!  Ugh, don't you hate it when you wait too long to buy something then it's no longer available.  I know, I know, 1st world problems! 

So when I saw a stack of them at our local Southeastern Salvage for only $50 I knew one of them had to be mine.  It was super easy to put together: plop seat on base.  And it's really comfy too.

Kate

xxx

Runner Runner!

Can it really be nearly 2 months since my last post??!!  Where does the time go!  In short it's been filled with work, a surprise trip to Vegas, a not so surprise trip to England, and finally some booth space.  The booth is only just beginning to take shape so I'll post some pics later this week.  For anyone in Birmingham it's at Urban Suburban in Crestline.

It's been a little quiet around here on the jazzing up the house front.  Sorry about that folks, but we have made a few small updates.

I nabbed this black and white striped runner from Target the other day.  I can't remember the exact price, but it was under $20, which seemed like a real steal.

It's a little Beetlejuice, humbug, Halloween-ish, but I really love it.

For a cheapo, it's surprisingly heavy duty. 

Kate

xxx

Headboard History

Happy Monday, and Happy Autumn!  Today I wanted to share the transformation of my $30 head board.  This is how it looked when I first brought it home from a local flea market.

After an allover coat of cream, this is how it has looked for the past year.

It seemed to be the perfect candidate for a chevron paint pattern given that the wood was already carved into that shape - so no measuring or taping needed, yippee!

I used the existing cream as one chevron colour, and picked a colour 2 shades darker than the wall for the second chevron.  I wanted to make sure the tone would work in the room, so using a colour on the same paint chip was the easy option.  It only took a couple of coats and it was evenly covered.

It's like a little hidden surprise when you lay the pillows down, and is a much more interesting than it being in one colour.

 

Kate

xxx

Guest Room Before and After

It's fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinished!  Ok, so the ugly black ceiling fan is still up, but everything else is D.O.N.E!  About a week later than planned, our Guest Room makeover is complete.

Sit back, because this post is pretty photo heavy.

The bedding was from Ross, lamps from JC Penney, throw from TJ Maxx, nightstands from Target and crazy cat pillow from H&M.

I've had these 2 wall shelves sitting in a cupboard for months, so it was great to finally get them on the wall.

I mixed some vintage family items with thrift shop finds and a few new pieces.

The camera was my Grandads, the print was from the Christmas Tree Shop (for only $4!) and the little bowl was from a thrift shop.

You can just about see the newly painted headboard behind the pillows.  I left 2 of the panels in the cream, and painted the rest 2 shades darker than the wall colour.

I tried to add something to read and a place to put rings or coins or watches on each nightstand.

And of course no nightstand would be complete without a felt owl.

Can you believe my mum made this?  Love him!

Every time I see this pillow it makes me laugh.

And now for a good old before and after.



And after!

Kate

xxx